"A native of Ping Shui Prefecture, Mingjiang is not even his hometown, yet he has done so much for us. I believe Teacher Da deserves the title of Bodhisattva more than that so-called Medicine Buddha."

"Teacher Da truly has the heart of a Bodhisattva, a reincarnated Living Buddha. I support Teacher Da."

In that moment, as Zhou Xuan introduced himself, the sincerity and steadfastness in him moved the eyes of millions of spectators, who all supported Zhou Xuan from the depths of their hearts.

With this grand support, a zealous tear fell from the eyes of those millions of spectators in the theater.

Millions of tears transformed into a continuous shimmer,

and these tears kept accumulating until they finally condensed into a single azure tear, which gently floated before Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan reached out and grasped the tear in his hand.

As the tear entered his palm, Zhou Xuan felt a kind of "heat."

This heat also stirred the incense within Zhou Xuan’s body, making him feel that his battle power level was climbing steadily with the tear’s presence in his hand.

Originally at the level of six sticks of incense, now his incense battle power had leapt two whole stages, reaching the level of eight sticks,

all achieved without Zhou Xuan undergoing the Heavenly Gods Divination.

The continuous rise in incense power created significant incense fluctuations,

which the ancestors of the Dunjia Incense and the top human experts of the Buddha Country Five Styles could clearly discern.

"It’s over; Zhou Xuan has already gained the tear condensed by the audience, enhancing his incense battle power by several levels,"

Hulu Taoist spoke first.

Purple Ox Taoist then asked, "Has Zhou Xuan broken through to nine sticks of incense yet?"

"Not yet, for now."

"Then there’s no need to worry," Purple Ox responded.

Between nine sticks and eight sticks of incense, though there seems to be only one stick of difference, that one stick is vast like the distance between Heaven and Earth.

"We, at the level above nine sticks of incense, should not fear an eight-stick level," Purple Ox Taoist asserted.

With a sigh, Hulu Taoist said, "What if Zhou Xuan finds an opportunity for a temporary power surge? If he reaches nine sticks of incense, we should stop fighting,

because back in Yellow Field Prefecture, Zhou Xuan was invincible in the same realm."

"Please, don’t let his power rise any further," Purple Ox prayed in his heart.

Perhaps his prayer was effective; Zhou Xuan’s incense battle power halted its rise at the threshold from eight to nine.

Zhou Xuan gently flexed his joints, feeling as if an ancient fierce beast had taken residence within him, ready to shred every living creature to pieces at the opportune moment.

However, Zhou Xuan’s self-introduction had not yet concluded. He continued, "The second reason for my storytelling at Xie Family’s Cave is that, after the reconstruction of Mingjiang Prefecture is completed, I intend to use the excess Human Desire Power to forge a Golden Core,

this Golden Core will be made for the Heaven and Earth of Jing Country. If I succeed and refine it well, I will undoubtedly become the Heavenly Dome Pill Official."

Once again, Zhou Xuan’s words stirred the public’s support.

But this time, the people were not just moved; they were filled with admiration and genuine joy.

The admiration is self-explanatory; though the people did not know what a "Pill Official" was, the term "Heavenly Dome" before "Pill Official" suggested a rise to prominence, naturally earning their admiration.

As for the joy?

In the hearts of many in Mingjiang Prefecture, they had lived with Zhou Xuan at Hui Feng Medical College for a while, and their impression of the Teacher Da was—capable and unassuming.

Many regarded Zhou Xuan as a friend, a family member,

and when friends and family rise to become a Pill Official, it’s glorious, leaving no reason not to be happy. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The support for Zhou Xuan in the theater continued to increase, and his incense was furtively climbing as well.

However, the gap between the threshold of the eighth incense and the true nine incenses was vast, so even though Zhou Xuan’s support rate kept rising, the breakthrough to nine sticks of incense remained distant.

"Honored elders of Mingjiang, I, Zhou Xuan, am sincere and forthright. Even if the rules of this theater compel me to speak my truth, I have no fear. Speak, then speak; what do I have to hide?"

Zhou Xuan, on reaching the end of his statement, glanced coldly at the Dunjia elders, his sarcasm evident.

"All right, I’ll end here as an introduction... Hulu Taoist, Medicine Buddha, you should also express your heartfelt sentiments to the vast people of Mingjiang quickly. Time is precious; exceed it, and this theater is fatal."

He addressed a still-blooming "peony flower" at the center of the battlefield.

The blooming pace of this peony was significantly slower than the previous wintersweet, granting more time for Medicine Buddha and the Dunjia elders.

But time, while ample, was not infinite; delay meant impending theater erasure.

...

"You speak first."

"You are people of Jing Country; even a powerful outsider doesn’t surpass a local force. You go first."

In that moment, both Medicine Buddha and the Dunjia elders showed humility, yielding to each other the opportunity to "speak."

At this point, Zhou Xuan was not watching the play but said to the Engineer, "Teacher Gong, my Colorful Play Master’s incense has an issue."

"What issue?"

The Engineer asked.

Zhou Xuan replied, "My Colorful Play Master’s incense is only an inch away from reaching the realm of the ’Drama God,’ but it’s that very inch of incense that refuses to burn further."

"Stopped burning?"

"Yes, not only has it stopped burning, but the incense also shows signs of extinguishing,"

Zhou Xuan commented, "I felt that when the tear dropped into my hand earlier, my Colorful Play Master’s incense received a significant boost, yet the incense refuses to burn down further, what’s the reason?"

"This... this... I don’t know either,"

The Engineer remarked, "In the past, the Colorful Play Hall was full of experts, but there really wasn’t any disciple who reached the nine sticks of incense realm. Now, hearing Boss Xuan,—could it be that the final inch of the Colorful Play Master’s incense differs from other halls’ methods of burning?"

"No matter how different, it must have a method of burning, right?"

Zhou Xuan turned to ask the incense fire Taoist, "Old Incense, you’re knowledgeable and experienced; could you give me a piece of advice?"

The incense fire Taoist’s gaze was fixed on the Medicine Buddha, and as the Medicine Buddha moved, so did the Taoist’s eyes.

"What did you just say?" asked the incense fire Taoist, hastily brought back to attention by Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan smiled and remarked, "Oh, Old Incense, you seem particularly focused on the Medicine Buddha from the Buddha Country today?"