Chapter 18: Nine-Rank System

In the Taoist ancestral temple, the most terrifying thing for Taoists at all levels is not Ziwei Hall, where at most they will be dismissed from office and go home to take care of their wives and children, nor is it Tiangang Hall, which is only for external use, not internal use.

The most terrifying thing is Beichen Hall, which corresponds to the Ministry of Justice of the court, but in terms of function, it is more like Qingluan Guard, which has the power to directly examine Taoists below the third rank. After authorization by Jinque, it can examine the third rank Youyi Taoist. If authorized by Zixiao Palace, it can examine the second rank Taiyi Taoist.

The fourth rank Taoist is called Jijiu Taoist, and the world calls it "Master", who is either responsible for a county, or holds an important position in the West Kunlun ancestral temple, and is qualified to accept disciples.

The third rank Taoist is called Youyi Taoist, and the world calls it "High-level Master", who is either responsible for a prefecture, or serves as a deputy in the ancestral temple.

The second-rank Taoist priests are called Taiyi Taoist priests, and the world calls them "Zhenren". They have a transcendent status. Whether they are in charge of a hall in the ancestral temple or in charge of a state in the local area, they are extremely powerful and have the power to recommend the Grand Master.

The first-rank Taoist priests are called Tianzhen Taoist priests, and the world calls them "Dacheng Zhenren", or "Da Zhenren" for short. Among them, the three deputy masters are the leaders of Taiping Dao, Quanzhen Dao, and Zhengyi Dao, and they live in Yunjin Mountain Da Zhenren Mansion, Zhongnan Mountain Wanshou Chongyang Palace, and Penglai Island Zhenjing Villa respectively.

The ancestral temple has always been said to be "Yujing, Xuandu, Zifu, and Jinque". The four are from large to small. If we use the imperial capital city as an analogy, "Yujing" is equivalent to the outer city of the imperial capital, "Xuandu" is equivalent to the inner city, "Zifu" is equivalent to the palace, and "Jinque" is equivalent to the Jinluan Palace.

Jinque is where the thirty-six assistant masters discuss matters, and Zixiao Palace is the residence of the Grand Master.

Beichen Hall directly obeys the orders of Jinque and Zixiao Palace, and its power far exceeds that of the other six halls. It is called the top three halls together with Ziwei Hall and Tiangang Hall.

Now the position of the Grand Master is vacant, and the nine halls directly under the Grand Master temporarily obey the orders of the three deputy masters.

Now the Grand Master of Taiping Dao controls Beichen Hall, the Grand Master of Quanzhen Dao controls Ziwei Hall, and the Grand Master of Zhengyi Dao controls Tiangang Hall, and they check and balance each other. The three Grand Masters take turns to act as the Grand Master. If there is a major event, they will discuss and decide together.

This year is the 41st year of Jiushi. In the first half of the year, from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the 30th of June, the Grand Master of Zhengyi Dao acts as the Grand Master. In the second half of the year, from the first day of the seventh month to the 30th of the Lunar New Year, the Grand Master of Quanzhen Dao acts as the Grand Master. It happens to be the 15th day of the seventh month, the Zhongyuan Festival, and it is the turn of the Grand Master of Quanzhen Dao.

Zifu.

Outside the Chiming Palace, a large number of high-quality Taoists who are not easy to see at ordinary times gathered.

The most eye-catching one among them is Zhao Jiaowu, a third-rank Taoist priest who assists Fei Ling in managing the Western Region Dao Palace. He is the seventh-generation disciple of Quanzhen Dao after the revival. Although he is still one step away from becoming a second-rank Taiyi Taoist priest, he is less than 50 years old this year and is in his prime. Everyone believes that he can be promoted to a second-rank Taiyi Taoist priest before the age of 60.

Fei Ling, who is also from Quanzhen Dao, is very optimistic about this nephew and believes that he can smoothly take over the burden of the Western Region Dao Palace and take charge of the Great Snow Mountain Palace - just as the Luzhou Dao Palace is located in the Taiping Palace on Taiping Mountain, the Western Region Dao Palace is located in the Great Snow Mountain Palace, and people in the Taoist sect often refer to the Western Region Dao Palace as Yaochi.

Now there are many Quanzhen Dao priests around Zhao Jiaowu, all of whom are fourth-rank priests of wine. After all, it is the ancestral temple, and the most indispensable thing is the priest of wine.

The second is Li Mingzhi, the deputy head of the Duzhi Hall, who is also a third-rank Taoist priest of wine.

The generational order of the Li family is: "All spring and autumn pass away, and one hundred years old will die. Be careful to follow the law and you will have a long life." The first generation of the Grand Master who revived Taoism and was honored as "Xuansheng" was born in the Li family. His generation was "Ru". Li Mingzhi was "Ming". In terms of generation, he was the fifth generation grandson of Xuansheng.

Another circle formed around him. They all came from Taiping Dao, which was incompatible with Quanzhen Dao and even hostile to each other.

In addition, there were two groups of people.

One group was Zhengyi Dao, which formed a three-talent trend with Quanzhen Dao and Taiping Dao, but they were very restrained and not as aggressive as the two sides.

The other group was directly under the Grand Master. Originally, they had the highest status in the ancestral temple, but as the Grand Master's position was vacant and the three great masters took turns to take power, their situation became awkward. These people kept a clear distance from the members of the other three factions and were even more silent.

"Why hasn't this young lady arrived yet?"

"A noble man speaks slowly and arrives late."

"I advise you to say less. If this gets to other people's ears, it will be bad. As the saying goes, things change over time. Don't despise a poor young man. I say, it doesn't have to be thirty years. Three years will be enough. Don't regret your recklessness today."

"A fourth-rank Taoist priest who is less than 25 years old has been given a semi-immortal item. He has a bright future."

"This is because the Grand Master has ascended to heaven and passed away. If the Grand Master is still in office, I'm afraid he would be accepted as a personal disciple."

"There's no way. You were able to climb to the position of a fourth-rank Taoist priest before the age of 30, and you have such treatment."

"After all, he was personally named by several real people. I really envy him."

While waiting, everyone began to talk in a low voice.

The person being discussed was the protagonist of today, the Taoist genius who even Qi Xuansu, who was far away from the center, had heard of. He was a fourth-rank priest in his early twenties, and had served as the head of Beichen Hall. He was given a semi-immortal item. As long as he did not die prematurely, he would almost certainly become one of the thirty-six immortals.

Suddenly, a clear and undisguised sound of footsteps came from afar.

"The immortal is coming."

"Silence!"

The real big shot has arrived.

Everything returns to silence.

The headmaster of Tiangang Hall and the deputy head of Beichen Hall walked slowly and came to the steps of Chiming Palace.

I don’t know the real age of this real person in charge. Judging from his appearance, he is probably not old at all. He has five long beards, a strange appearance, a light robe and slow belt, and a very chic expression.

The deputy head of Beichen Hall is roughly the same, but his demeanor is slightly sinister.

Although people in the Taoist sect are good at keeping their appearance, they generally don't make themselves look too young. Most of them keep their appearance around forty years old. Firstly, they don't hide their Taoist immortality, and secondly, they have the demeanor of an elder without losing their majesty. .

Both Zhao Jiaowu and Li Mingzhi saluted.

The fifth to fourth grade is a threshold, and the third to second grade is also a threshold. Only by reaching the second grade can one be truly qualified to discuss matters and participate in various major decisions of the Taoist sect.

The real big shot in the Taoist sect raised his hand to signal that everyone should not be formal and walked up the steps. The gatekeeper Taoist hurriedly pushed open the door of Chiming Palace, allowing the real person to step in first.

The rest of the people followed closely behind and entered the Chiming Palace one by one.

…

Zifu is a collective name for countless palaces, and people who are new to it can easily get lost in it.

Even if I have lived here for several years, I dare not say that I am completely familiar with all the roads in Zi Mansion. In addition, Zi Mansion prohibits flying, jumping and walking on the wind. Once lost, it will be difficult to find the right path.

At this time, Zhang Yuelu found himself in such an embarrassing situation.

"Zhang Yuelu" is one of the twenty-eight constellations, the fifth of the seven constellations in the south, and is also her name.

As the head of Beichen Hall, she accidentally got lost on her way to Chiming Palace to attend a meeting. This meeting was personally presided over by Master Tiangangtang to discuss the issue of demons in the Western Regions.

She took out an old pocket watch, opened the cover, and looked at the time.

Every moment.

If there were no accidents, the meeting had already begun. She didn't want to admit it, but she had to admit that she was... late.

That's all. The key is that she let go of the real person.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuelu pursed his lips subconsciously, but the expression on his face remained calm, without any panic.

…

Lin Yongbai is an inconspicuous seventh-grade Taoist priest. After leaving the Wanxiang Taoist Palace, he was assigned to the Dao Zang Division in the ancestral court. Together with others, he was responsible for maintaining one hundred thousand Dao Zangs. It was neither hard nor light. Ten yuan of peace money per month and three days of vacation.

In addition, Daozangsi's assessment is not strict, so he has been excellent in the assessment every year. According to the rules of the ancestral court, if he has been excellent in the assessment for three consecutive years, he can be promoted to a seventh-grade Taoist priest. In this way, he was promoted from a ninth-grade Taoist priest to a seventh-grade Taoist priest. Compared with his brothers from the same sect who worked hard to kill outside, he was really much better.

When he first came to Daozang Division, Lin Yongbai often imagined that there would be a peerless master hidden in Daozang Division? If he could be accepted as a disciple by a peerless master, he would be able to escape from his ordinary fate and even wear a sword of wisdom one day.

It's just that he stayed in Daozangsi for nearly ten years, but he didn't find a peerless master. His illusions were shattered, so he settled for the status quo. He went to Daozangsi every day at Chenshi and left at Shenshi, day after day, year after year.

Lin Yongbai was delayed for a moment because of some trivial matters today. When he walked quickly towards Daozangsi, he turned a corner and a figure appeared in front of him without any warning.

It startled him.

He stopped and looked intently.

It's a young woman.

Wearing a plain Taoist robe with no specific grade.

When Lin Yongbai's eyes fell on the woman's face, he felt his heart tremble.

There are many female crowns in the ancestral court, and Lin Yongbai has seen many of them, but until today, Lin Yongbai has truly realized what it means to be "astonished by the heavens".

The woman's appearance may not be top-notch, but her aura is unforgettable.

In an instant, Lin Yongbai had an idea in his heart: If he could stay with such a woman for the rest of his life, he would not change his position as a real person.

"Excuse me, Xiang Chi

How to get to Ming Palace? "The woman asked, very politely.

Lin Yongbai subconsciously pointed in the right direction: "Go straight forward and turn left at the second intersection. After about three hundred steps, go west for about a mile and you will almost see Chiming Palace."

"Thank you." The woman walked quickly in the direction he pointed.

The two passed each other.

Lin Yongbai turned his head and looked at the woman's retreating back, unable to conceal his loneliness.

The only person who can go to Chiming Palace is at least a fourth-grade Taoist priest, which is beyond his imagination.