Chapter 410: Some Things Must Be Known

Chapter 410: Some Things Must Be Known

Zhu Lian had never met the old master Zhao Shi, who had been invited to visit the academy, but Li Baoping had mentioned that eye-catching white deer.

Zhao Shi, with his tall hat and broad sash, walked with footsteps and a breathing rhythm no different from an ordinary old man.

Even though Zhu Lian saw nothing unusual, he nonetheless tensed his heartstrings the moment he laid eyes on him.

At this moment, everyone who appeared near the courtyard was likely to be a dead warrior of Great Sui.

Immortal techniques were ever-changing and impossible to guard against completely.

Immortal combat was also a battle of wits and courage. Zhu Lian had sparred with Cui Dongshan twice and understood the myriad wondrous uses of a cultivator's magical treasures. It had opened the eyes of this former number one under heaven in Lotus Flower Paradise.

If he hadn't been following Chen Ping'an, and if his household registry hadn't fallen under the Great Li dynasty, then according to his true nature, while still in Lotus Flower Paradise, he would have struck already. This was what was called "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty slip away."

However, forcing himself not to rise up and kill didn't mean Zhu Lian had no means to test the other's depth.

Zhu Lian glanced at a parasol tree by the roadside. The stem of a verdant parasol leaf silently snapped off, shooting like an arrow toward the old master Zhao Shi, who was accompanied by the white deer.

Zhao Shi seemed completely unaware, simply continuing forward.

Just as the leaf was about to slice off the old master's head, it suddenly lost its guidance, becoming an ordinary falling leaf, drifting and fluttering down to the ground.

Zhu Lian had traveled across two continents and knew the weight of a Confucian academy head. Even if it wasn't one of the seventy-two academies, but a private academy established by great scholars from various nations, it was still the best talisman.

Such an identity was similar to that of a mortal monarch or feudal prince, and would receive the protection of Confucianism.

If a cultivator dared to assassinate such a person without authorization, they would incur the pursuit of the Confucian academies. The entire Haoran World was governed by Confucianism—where could they run? Either hide through secret channels into some obscure and shattered cave heaven or blessed land, or simply leave the mortal world entirely. However, if treacherous ministers, eunuchs, frontier generals, or imperial relatives harmed the monarch—whether by usurpation or by installing a puppet—the seventy-two academies would not interfere.

If Zhu Lian had actually chopped off the head of a private academy head like this, and if Zhao Shi turned out not to be a dead warrior but a genuine old Confucian scholar who had simply had a whim to visit Cui Dongshan today, then Zhu Lian would certainly be in deep trouble.

But Zhu Lian still didn't let it go. He kicked a roadside cobblestone with his toe, striking Zhao Shi's calf.

He skillfully controlled the force to correspond to the seventh realm, the Golden Body Realm.

The pitiful old master cried out "aiyo" and looked down to see a gash torn along the side of his calf, covered in cold sweat.

Zhao Shi raised his head, grinding his teeth, and asked, "Who are you?! Why are you assaulting someone? Don't you know this is Cliff Academy?!"

Zhu Lian, with a look of surprise tinged with slight panic, first muttered and cursed under his breath, "Aren't academy heads supposed to be brilliant qi refiners who speak with the authority of heaven? Since he has a white deer, a spirit creature, as a companion, how can he be so fragile now—a useless waste? Terrible, terrible..."

Then Zhao Shi saw the man trotting over, smiling apologetically: "My apologies, my apologies! I was lost in thought, kicking stones for fun, and accidentally got in the way of Academy Head Zhao. I deserve ten thousand deaths..."

Zhao Shi, in great pain, had to bend over, his face pale and drenched in sweat. He didn't dare look at the bloody wound, glaring instead at the trembling, hunched old man.

Zhu Lian approached Zhao Shi, reaching out to support him. "Academy Head Zhao, let me help you to the courtyard for treatment."

Zhao Shi allowed Zhu Lian to take his arm, sighing, "How can there be such a reckless martial artist like you? Since you've learned some combat skills, you should restrain yourself all the more. Is a child throwing a tantrum the same as a strong young man brawling? 'Knights-errant disrupt the law with force'—that's what they say about people like you!"

Zhu Lian nodded repeatedly in agreement.

In the flash of a lightning bolt.

Zhu Lian, who was already accustomed to hunching, instantly contracted his body like an old ape. Sidestepping, he stomped heavily and slammed viciously into Zhao Shi's chest.

A lifebound flying sword, which should have pierced Zhu Lian's brow, only managed to stab through his shoulder after he transformed into an ape-like posture.

Zhao Shi was sent flying backward by Zhu Lian's powerful collision, crashing into the white deer behind him.

Zhao Shi twisted in midair, landed steadily, and felt great displeasure.

Why was there a Distant Traveling Realm martial artist hiding in this academy?

Zhu Lian paid no attention to the wound on his shoulder, from which blood soaked through. His eyes blazing, he grinned, "So this is the capability of an Earth Immortal sword cultivator! What a thrill!"

Inside the courtyard, Yu Lu leaped onto the high wall and said in a low voice, "They're here."

Xie Xie warned, "Baoping, Li Huai, Pei Qian—you three retreat into the main room's study. Keep the door closed. Don't take a single step out unless I come to open it!"

The three children didn't ask a single question; they ran into the house.

Lin Shouyi said softly, "I probably can't be of much help right now."

Yu Lu stared at the confrontation on the road between Zhu Lian and the old master Zhao Shi. "Find your own opportunity."

Xie Xie came to the courtyard. Silently reciting the incantation in her heart, she formed hand seals and paced out the celestial steps. Following the secret technique taught by Cui Dongshan, she began to channel the courtyard's spiritual energy, temporarily transforming this place into an exquisite miniature world. And she would have the chance to taste what it was like to be a "local sage" controlling the river of time. If Mao Xiaodong could command a great river of time, then Xie Xie could only mobilize a small stream.

Fortunately, the courtyard was not large, so it was unlikely to have too many flaws.

That old master, who had inexplicably become an assassin, did not engage in a life-or-death battle with Zhu Lian using his lifebound flying sword.

That flying sword traced rainbow arcs through the air, streaking toward the courtyard again and again.

Each time the flying sword tried to break into the courtyard, it was blocked by the barrier of the miniature world, exploding into a brilliant display like shattered colored glass.

Yu Lu had already retreated back into the courtyard and asked softly, "How long can you hold out?"

Sweat beaded on Xie Xie's forehead. Her voice trembling slightly, she laughed bitterly, "Even if Zhu Lian can hold off this sword cultivator and keep him from fully commanding the flying sword, I can still only last at most half an incense stick... The flying sword's attacks are too fierce, and the spiritual energy stored in the small courtyard is being consumed too quickly!"

Sword cultivators were, after all, the most adept beings in the world at breaking through all kinds of barriers.

"A single sword can break ten thousand methods"—that was not mere self-praise from sword cultivators.

Xie Xie said helplessly, "What a pity that Academy Head Mao left East Flower Mountain."

Yu Lu shook his head. "If Academy Head Mao hadn't left East Flower Mountain, the enemy would have had other countermeasures. He and Chen Ping'an might have already successfully lured the main force of the enemy away, facing even greater danger than here."

On the small path outside the courtyard, Zhu Lian's figure moved so fast that only a faint blue smoke could be seen. The sword cultivator, on the other hand, tried to avoid him as much as possible, focusing more of his mind on breaking through the miniature world with his flying sword. Above the small courtyard, bursts of colorful glazed light bloomed again and again.

Faced with a Distant Traveling Realm grandmaster who could engage in close-quarters combat with the advantage of terrain, that sword cultivator old master was having a rather difficult time.

If a pure martial artist and a qi refiner of comparable strength were to engage, once the former closed the distance, the latter would be in for a world of trouble.

But the reason sword cultivators were someone no one wanted to provoke was that, whether in long-range attack or close combat, their explosive killing power was enough to make anyone cautious.

Zhu Lian's whip-like kick sent the sword cultivator's head crashing into a parasol tree, snapping the tree in two.

Zhu Lian didn't fare well either; the enemy's lifebound flying sword pierced through his abdomen.

True to his reputation as a martial madman, Zhu Lian wiped the blood flowing from his belly, looked at his hand, and burst into loud laughter. He smeared the blood on his face and charged forward, continuing his pursuit of the sword cultivator.

Amid the fierce battle, with life hanging by a thread, Zhu Lian still found the leisure to remind those in the courtyard, "Watch out—this old bastard might be hiding his true cultivation level. I don't think he's just a mere Nascent Soul. If he pulls out some damn secret technique..."

The old master Zhao Shi coughed up a mouthful of blood. Upon hearing this, he smiled. He produced a military armor pill and donned the armor, apparently intending to play the turtle.

Then he turned his gaze toward the small courtyard and roared, "Break for me!"

One sword struck.

His lifebound flying sword, which had always been known for its speed, now overflowed with a stream of pure and refined Li Fire.

It crashed into the barrier of the miniature world with a thunderous roar. The entire flow of time in the small courtyard began to shake violently. Yu Lu, a Golden Body Realm martial artist, could still stand steady, but Lin Shouyi, who was sitting by the green bamboo corridor and had not yet reached the Middle Five Realms, found it extremely unbearable.

Blood trickled from the corners of Xie Xie's mouth, but she remained motionless.

As the array eye of this miniature world, Xie Xie's cultivation was too shallow; she dared not move a single step, or the stability of the entire courtyard's world would falter, leaving more openings.

Xie Xie formed a sword seal with both hands, and even a drop of blood began to ooze from her eye sockets.

The old master Zhao Shi, now wearing the military armor pill, laughed as he fought with Zhu Lian. "Are you determined to keep me entangled here, letting my flying sword break through the barrier without going to save them?"

This Li Fire flying sword of his—if he cultivated it to its peak as a lifebound sword, and after he broke into the Jade Pu Realm as a sword cultivator, even boiling rivers and lakes would not be difficult. A miniature world that didn't live up to its name, guarded by a little girl who hadn't even reached the Dragon Gate Realm—what was that?

Xie Xie's face was now covered in blood, but she still persisted. However, human strength had its limits. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, she fainted backward and collapsed to the ground.

The flying sword not only pierced inch by inch into the miniature world, but it also burned a hole the size of a winnowing basket through the Li Fire contained within the sword's body.

So whether Xie Xie was conscious or unconscious, presiding over this miniature world had become largely meaningless.

Yu Lu leaped high and punched the flying sword.

The fist energy shattered. The flying sword of that Earth Immortal Nascent Soul pierced straight through his fingers, then "broke through the soil" from the back of his hand, streaking toward the main room study.

Having already suffered greatly in the distorted flow of time, the sudden removal of the miniature world—this unexpected shift in realms—caused Lin Shouyi's consciousness to blur. He staggered, reaching out to hold a pillar of the corridor, and rasped, "Block it!"

Shi Rou's figure appeared at the study window. She closed her eyes and allowed the Li Fire flying sword to pierce into her immortal vestige's abdomen.

A soft snap of fingers sounded, yet it rang clearly in the ears of everyone in the courtyard.

At the foot of East Flower Mountain, at the academy gate, the old master surnamed Liang handed over a jade token. Staring fixedly at the white-robed youth with a golden flying sword spinning around him, he said sternly, "Cui Dongshan, I'll trust you this once and temporarily hand the academy over to you. If anything goes wrong..."

The fellow standing at the gate clenched the jade token, took a deep breath, and said with a grin, "I know, I know. You're the one with the most complaints, Old Liang."

That flying sword, shaped like a golden ear of wheat and named "Golden Autumn," was the very one that had earlier gone to warn Mao Xiaodong of the trouble at East Flower Mountain.

Cui Dongshan stepped across the academy gate in one stride. Closing his eyes and tilting his head back, his face full of intoxication, he said, "How many years has it been since I've breathed this haoran righteousness as an Upper Five Realm immortal?"

Opening his eyes, Cui Dongshan snapped his fingers. In an instant, East Flower Mountain became a world unto itself. "First, close the door and beat the dog."

Then he took one step, and the next moment he appeared in his own courtyard. Rubbing his hands together, he chuckled, "Then, beat the dog. Senior Sister's words are so learned—hit the wildest dog first."

Xie Xie had already fallen unconscious, as had Lin Shouyi, who was abruptly thrown back into the miniature world.

Even Yu Lu, a Golden Body Realm martial artist, found himself unable to move.

Shi Rou's situation was the most ridiculous at the moment. Because she possessed an immortal vestige, her spirit was relatively less affected by the washing of the river of time within the miniature world.

But after having the Li Fire flying sword lodged in her belly, the sword was like a fly trapped in a thunder prison, darting around madly.

This caused Shi Rou, who was blocking the window, to lurch back and forth in the air, tumbling and flipping.

Seeing Shi Rou in such a state, Cui Dongshan rolled his eyes, finding it too embarrassing for his reputation. He reached out a hand and lightly slapped the air.

Shi Rou's entire immortal vestige was slammed into the green bamboo corridor, shattering countless floor tiles.

That seemingly casual slap sent even the spirit consciousness hiding within Shi Rou's vestige into a daze.

Cui Dongshan stepped on Shi Rou's abdomen. The Li Fire flying sword, which had stumbled into this trap by mistake, immediately calmed down and became still.

Cui Dongshan crouched down and was about to use a secret technique to "pick out" that quite good-grade flying sword from Shi Rou's abdomen.

On the road outside the courtyard, the Nascent Soul sword cultivator transformed into a rainbow and fled toward the west of East Flower Mountain. Seeing that the situation had turned unfavorable and that killing anyone had become a hopeless luxury, he had even abandoned his lifebound flying sword.

Cui Dongshan yawned and stood up. "It's a good thing Mao Xiaodong isn't in the academy right now. If he saw what's about to happen, this academy saint would be so ashamed he'd dig a hole and bury himself in it."

At the edge of the academy's miniature world on the west side of East Flower Mountain, a golden statue several tens of feet tall appeared—the dharma body of a Confucian accompanying sage.

The sword cultivator was terrified and immediately flew north.

Another golden dharma body of an accompanying sage stood in the sky.

It seemed Cui Dongshan was not in a patient mood today and didn't want to play cat and mouse with the sword cultivator. At the east and south, two more statues rose simultaneously.

The sword cultivator gritted his teeth, then abruptly shot straight up toward the dome of the academy's miniature world.

At the summit of East Flower Mountain appeared the tallest statue—the image of the old Confucian scholar Cui Chan, the Great Li National Teacher. It reached out a golden hand, directly grabbing the Nascent Soul sword cultivator. With a clench, thunder rolled within its palm, rumbling like a divine being's palm housing lightning.

A white-robed youth stood on the shoulder of the aged Embroidery Tiger dharma body, his demeanor elegant and refined. Rubbing the red mole between his brows, he slowly waited for that Nascent Soul sword cultivator's cultivation to be gradually worn away by the abundant spiritual energy of East Flower Mountain.

Of course, if the old fellow was willing to burn his boats and detonate both his Golden Core and Nascent Soul, Cui Dongshan wouldn't stop him. It would only damage East Flower Mountain's literary fortune and spiritual energy.

But Cui Dongshan still hoped to squeeze a little bonus out of this Nascent Soul cultivator—for instance, that lifebound flying sword temporarily isolated in the belly of an immortal vestige.

Cui Dongshan turned to look at the courtyard.

That white deer was indeed the spiritual creature of the pedantic scholar Zhao Shi, but it had been placed under a secret technique by a master.

As for the old master being held in the hand of the golden dharma body, he was naturally not the real Zhao Shi.

Although Zhao Shi was the head of a secular academy, his own physical constitution had no talent for cultivation, and his scholarship had not reached the level of communing with heaven and earth. Even if on some day he might "read to the point of understanding together with the sages" and spontaneously create a small cave heaven, how could he possibly have turned into such a rare Nascent Soul sword cultivator? On Bottle Gourd Continent, Nascent Soul sword cultivators could be counted on one's fingers.

This failed assassin, a pitiful Earth Immortal, Cui Dongshan knew without thinking—even using his butt or his knees to guess—that he couldn't be a native cultivator of Bottle Gourd Continent.

He was most likely one of the dead warriors accompanying that new top scholar of Great Sui, "Zhang Dai."

Chengming's direct disciples traveled the world in various secret identities, often accompanied by one or two great cultivators as dead warriors.

Cui Dongshan sat cross-legged on the statue's shoulder and clicked his tongue. "You run fast, kid. Killing two birds with one stone—that's a good plan. You've got Great Li's Song clan and Great Sui's Gao clan both dancing to your tune. You've got some of my style from back in the day. We really should have a good chat. Think about it—you almost ruined my big plans. If I don't stuff your soul into a woman's skin, I'll change my name! And it has to be a virgin's! Let you know that a grown man bleeding but not crying doesn't really count as a hero at all."

Cui Dongshan seemed to be rambling, but half his attention was on the dharma body's palm, and the other half was on the sword in Shi Rou's belly.

For dead warriors like this who revealed themselves, there was no need for torture; they would never carry any items that could leak clues.

So Cui Dongshan had to keep a careful eye on that Li Fire flying sword, didn't he?

He possessed countless magical treasures, but who in the world ever had too much money?

Even without his lifebound flying sword to command, that Nascent Soul sword cultivator was still extremely formidable. With his Yang Spirit avatar, he shattered the golden dharma body's fist, then sent his Yin Spirit out of his body. All three—the main body, the Yang Spirit, and the Yin Spirit—each chose a different direction to flee.

The true physical body, which was heavily injured and seemed to be fleeing the slowest, suddenly arced like lightning and plummeted downward, landing in the courtyard. Still unwilling to give up on the assassination.

Cui Dongshan, still sitting on the shoulder of that dharma body, sighed. "Trying to outplay me in schemes and tricks? You've met your match, little grandson. You ought to kowtow."

The Distant Traveling Yin Spirit was clapped into dust by a corresponding Confucian sage dharma body, which brought its hands together. The scattered spiritual energy counted as compensation for East Flower Mountain.

The Yang Spirit avatar was struck into the academy's lake by another sage's golden dharma body. The dharma body stomped down, sending up huge waves, crushing the avatar into pieces.

With his soul already incomplete and without his flying sword, the old Nascent Soul was about to detonate his Golden Core, wanting to take the entire courtyard down with him.

But the old man suddenly froze.

That immortal flying sword "Golden Autumn," which Cui Dongshan had won in a chess game long ago, pierced into the old man's Golden Core and churned it to pieces.

Then, strange black-golden characters "crawled" all over the old man's body, slightly different from the golden haoran righteousness characters that appeared when Mao Xiaodong presided over the miniature world.

Cui Dongshan stood before this "Zhao Shi." He wiped the old man's face, peeling off a bloody, top-grade Mohist "mask." Then, with his fingertips, he stripped away the layer of skin that originally belonged to the old man's true face. Shaking off the blood and flesh scraps, he tucked it into his sleeve. Looking up at the terrifying "face" where bones could be seen, he smiled, "Thanks for that. Helped me make a small profit."

The old man could no longer speak. Not only was his entire skin cracked like tightly arranged porcelain, but even his eyeballs were covered in cracks, shattered and ruined. Only his soul deep within trembled violently, filled with hatred and unwillingness.

Cui Dongshan widened his eyes, stepped forward, and stared back at the man. "What? Trying to kill me with your eyes? Come on, come on, I'll give you a chance!"

After a moment, Cui Dongshan flicked the other's forehead with his finger. The old man, whose life force had already completely ceased, flew backward and turned into a rain of blood in midair.

Cui Dongshan stood in the courtyard and walked toward the main house. Passing by Xie Xie, who was lying unconscious on the ground, he said angrily, "Useless piece of trash."

He kicked Xie Xie, sending her crashing into the wall.

Yu Lu stood there, forcing a wry smile.

Cui Dongshan walked past him and said crossly, "I don't even want to bother with you."

Approaching the steps.

Cui Dongshan slapped his forehead, remembering that his master and Mao Xiaodong would be arriving soon. He quickly grabbed Xie Xie's form and "placed" her by the green bamboo corridor. Then he ran over, crouched in front of her, and rubbed his hand across her face.

In the end, it became a seated, smiling Xie Xie.

Cui Dongshan looked it over, quite satisfied with his handiwork. But the more he looked, the angrier he got. He slapped Xie Xie across the face to wake her up, and without waiting for her to speak in a daze, he slapped her unconscious again. "That smiling face just now was prettier."

After some more fiddling.

Xie Xie maintained that same seated smile.

Cui Dongshan confirmed that the Li Fire flying sword in the unconscious Shi Rou's belly was trembling mournfully but showed no sign of breaking free from its cage—for now.

He raised both hands and clapped loudly.

He removed the academy's miniature world from East Flower Mountain.

Zhu Lian returned to the courtyard and sat down by a stone stool. He looked down at his abdomen, a little regretful. That Nascent Soul sword cultivator had been too constrained. He himself hadn't been wounded badly enough. He felt both sides hadn't really had a satisfying fight.

Cui Dongshan scurried into the main house and knocked on the study door, fawning, "Little Baoping! Guess who I am?"

——

An assassination plot, insidious and hidden from even Cai Feng and Miao Ren—and even the Great Sui emperor—came to an end.

The entire academy, after Mao Xiaodong informed a few vice heads and old masters through spiritual communication, began to clean up the mess in an orderly manner.

At the academy gate, Mao Xiaodong and Chen Ping'an walked side by side up the slope.

Mao Xiaodong smiled. "One day, you too can protect those you care about, sheltering them all inside that courtyard. No matter the storms outside, no matter the upheavals of the world, nothing will harm them. Of course, when they grow up and leave that courtyard, unless someone is truly unreasonable, let the younger generation suffer their own setbacks. Let them cry if they need to, let them bleed if they must. Otherwise, no matter how old they get, they'll never have truly grown up."

Mao Xiaodong sighed. "Parents and teachers can't take care of someone forever. Even the highest sage, the Ultimate Sage, can he take care of all sentient beings under the Haoran World? He can't cover everything."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "That's true."

Mao Xiaodong, at the thought of meeting that fellow surnamed Cui, felt a surge of irritation.

He was silent for a long time. Walking along the broken road outside the small courtyard, he suddenly said something that surprised Chen Ping'an.

"I think the place that absolutely cannot go wrong in this world is not the dragon throne, nor even the mountains. It's the classrooms of all the small and large academies. If that place goes wrong, it's hard to save."

"Those impoverished scholars who have no hope of officialdom, who hear the roosters crowing and dogs barking every day—they determine the future of a nation."

"Cui Dongshan, or rather Cui Chan, has done countless brilliant or filthy things in Great Li, both behind the scenes and in the open. In my opinion, only one thing would leave even the Ultimate Sage unable to find fault."

"National Teacher Cui Chan, in Great Li, upheld the principle that 'a nation about to flourish must honor teachers and value tutors.' He introduced many policies that favored teachers and personally supervised local officials, incorporating this matter into the local assessments that determined an official's promotion. National Teacher—now that's what a national teacher should be."

Great Sui lost because the vast majority of its scholars were relatively impractical. As for the so-called barbaric Great Li, not only were its soldiers strong and its horses vigorous, but even its scholars were determined to be pragmatic.

Finally, Mao Xiaodong stopped and said, "Though it makes me sound petty, I still have to say it. Cui Dongshan is now bound to your Great Path, but who in this world would harm themselves? Ultimately, he is closer to Cui Chan. Though they will never merge into one, you still need to be careful. That old bastard and that little bastard—both are full of tricks. If they go a day without scheming against someone, they feel uncomfortable."

At the courtyard gate, Cui Dongshan, with the red seal still on his forehead, jumped up and shouted, "Mao Xiaodong! Did I dig up your ancestral grave or seduce your wife? How dare you sow discord between me and my master?!"

Mao Xiaodong flicked his sleeve, taking back the jade token that Cui Dongshan had been hiding. "Use it to its fullest. You, me, and Chen Ping'an: let's go to the study to review the chessboard. This matter may not be over yet."

Cui Dongshan was about to curse Mao Xiaodong when, the next moment, the three of them appeared in that study.

They sat down.

Cui Dongshan was surprisingly not persistent, which surprised Mao Xiaodong.

Mao Xiaodong roughly recounted the visit to the Confucian Temple and the assassination.

Chen Ping'an occasionally added missing details.

After listening, Cui Dongshan stared blankly at Mao Xiaodong.

Mao Xiaodong glared back. "Watch your damn eyes."

Cui Dongshan sighed. "Yuan Gaofeng already told you all the answers, didn't he? But you, Mao Xiaodong, have too narrow a vision—no better than Wei Xian. Yuan Gaofeng was painstaking and bold. He almost told you the truth outright, and you still didn't catch it? How did Yuan Gaofeng insult you? 'Haggling, merchant tricks, a disgrace to scholars'!"

Mao Xiaodong frowned. "Are merchants really involved? Eager to stir up trouble?"

Cui Dongshan sneered. "And more than that. There's probably a direct disciple of some major strategist family, who has been appearing in Great Sui as Zhang Dai for years, participating in a secret examination."

Mao Xiaodong was puzzled. "Two groups of assassins? Weren't they the same group that had prearranged everything? How could they have moved so stealthily, step by step, and timed everything so precisely? Not to mention that Chen Ping'an and I went out as bait..."

Cui Dongshan sneered again. "What, can't there be clever people among the villains?"

Mao Xiaodong's mood grew heavy. He waved his hand. "Your turn."

Cui Dongshan coughed a few times to clear his throat, then turned and asked, "Little Dong, isn't there even a cup of tea to drink?"

Mao Xiaodong ignored him, closing his eyes in thought.

Cui Dongshan sighed again, smiled, and looked at Chen Ping'an. "Master, please allow your student to prattle on with some crude opinions."

Mao Xiaodong couldn't stand it anymore and roared, "You little bastard! Have some shame! Stop being so disgusting!"

Chen Ping'an smiled. "I'm used to it."

Cui Dongshan was smug, glancing sidelong at Mao Xiaodong. "I never would have guessed, Little Dong. After coming from Great Li to Great Sui, you've really improved. It must be from spending so much time with me—rubbing off some of my brilliance. You even knew to prepare for moving the mountain early, seizing every advantage of time and place. And you knew to kill the key formation master first. Otherwise, if that military cultivator's hidden Golden Core had exploded in that sneak attack, you'd have been dead for sure. It wouldn't matter if you, Mao Xiaodong, died, but if my master lost a single hair, I'd spit on your corpse..."

Cui Dongshan caught a kick from Chen Ping'an. Chen Ping'an said, "Get to the point."

Cui Dongshan immediately sat up straight, bowed half-formally, and said respectfully, "As Master commands."

Mao Xiaodong closed his eyes again. Out of sight, out of mind.

After a brief pause, Cui Dongshan stood up, walked around his chair, and began to pace, as was his habit. He spoke slowly: "This setup can be roughly divided into four layers of people and realms."

Cui Dongshan held up one finger. "First."

"The descendants of Great Sui's honored Cai Jingshen, like Cai Feng and his ilk. Their official ranks are not high, but when enough of them gather, they can stir up public opinion throughout the court and country. They hope to leave their names in history, admiring the style of the founding generals. Cai Feng is one of the better ones—he has a Nascent Soul ancestor and harbors great ambition, aiming for the posthumous title of 'Wenzheng'."

"As for the rest, full of scholarly fervor, they are mostly fools who know nothing of practical affairs. If they actually succeed in some great undertaking, it would be sheer luck. If they fail, they aren't necessarily afraid to die. Die if they must—'With nothing to do, fold hands and talk of mind-nature; face danger and die to repay the ruler.' They live freely, die tragically, as if both life and death are equally impressive."

"As for whether they'll leave behind a mess and how rotten that mess will be, they don't care, because they can't imagine it. They've read about tragedies in books where people were sold and eaten like two-legged sheep, but that's just words—far removed from them."

"I've seen it. Plenty."

Cui Dongshan smiled. "Of course, Master probably saw it in Lotus Flower Paradise too."

Cui Dongshan held up a second finger. "Second."

"Left Vice Minister of Rites Guo Xin, Dragon Ox General Miao Ren, and their like—descendants of powerful families and meritorious officials. Great Sui has been at peace for a long time. They've been in the capital for so long, seemingly glorious, but actually just holding empty titles. They see the capital and the court as cages, longing to revive their ancestors' heroic legacy on the battlefield. Externally, there are a considerable number of powerful military commanders at the borders, from hereditary military families, echoing Miao Ren and his lot."

"Right Vice Minister of War Tao Jiu, and Deputy Commander of the Capital Infantry Bureau Song Shan—they are relatively pragmatic and familiar with military affairs. After the 'sudden death' of the vigorous Great Li emperor Song Zhengchun, it was a golden opportunity, fleeting and not to be missed. At this time, they tore up the alliance, taking advantage of the pent-up anger across Great Sui. They plan to follow the people's will, use Great Sui's formidable border armies to gamble big, unwilling to sit still and let Great Li—like a frog in slowly warming water—change their dynasty's surname and reduce Great Sui to a vassal state of the Song clan. This type of person comes to their conclusions after weighing the pros and cons. They are more astute than men like Guo Xin and Miao Ren, but still on roughly the same level. Great Sui's foundation lies in people like these—both in the court and at the borders—in considerable numbers. That barely counts as part of a nation's strength."

Cui Dongshan held up a third finger. "Third. That poor, pitiable Great Sui emperor."

"He is in the most awkward position. Originally, he was prepared to bear the blame, overriding opposition to sign the humiliating alliance, and even sending his treasured prince Gao Xuan to the Linlu Academy on Piyun Mountain as a hostage. Yet he still underestimated the surging situation in the court. That bunch of brats led by Cai Feng hid the assassination of Academy Head Mao from him. If they succeeded, they would smear Mao as a Great Li spy spreading rumors, telling the court and the people that Mao Xiaodong, with ulterior motives, was trying to use Cliff Academy to dig out the roots of Great Sui's literary fortune. Such a 'literary demon' with sinister intentions—every citizen of Great Sui has the right to kill him."

Mao Xiaodong did not refute.

Literary demon?

He, Mao Xiaodong, almost felt it was a compliment.

Who was the greatest "literary demon" ever cursed under the Haoran World?

His and Cui Chan's teacher.

Cui Dongshan laughed. "Of course, the Great Sui emperor might have known about Cai Feng and his group's actions, or he might not have. The latter is more likely, since he's not very popular right now. But it doesn't matter, because Cai Feng and the others don't realize that the Great Li Song clan doesn't care whether the 'literary demon' Mao Xiaodong lives or dies. The Great Sui emperor cares a bit more. Either way, it won't break the century-old oath. That's what Cai Feng and his kind can't understand. But their first step is to kill Mao Xiaodong, then deal with Baoping, Li Huai, Lin Shouyi, and the other Great Li students. At that point, if the Great Sui emperor didn't want to tear up the alliance, he would have stopped them. However..."

Cui Dongshan's smile turned cold. "Song Zhengchun's death did indeed make the Great Sui emperor waver. As an emperor, did he really enjoy being blamed by the entire court? Did he want to live under someone else's roof, surrounded by Great Li iron cavalry or Song clan vassal troops, while the Geyang Gao clan hid and eked out a miserable existence? Men like Tao Jiu and Song Shan saw the opportunity. The Great Sui emperor is no fool; he sees even further."

"This man, sitting on that throne, looks at the antics of men like Cai Feng... how should I put it? He feels both joy and worry—not entirely disappointment or anger. Joy, because the Geyang Gao clan has nurtured scholars for centuries, and indeed countless people are willing to repay their generosity with death. Worry, because the Great Sui emperor has no confidence in gambling. If he openly tears up the alliance, there will be no room for negotiation between the two nations. If he loses, the Great Sui territory will inevitably suffer the wrath of Great Li."

Cui Dongshan kept three fingers raised, and smiled. "Back then, it took considerable effort to convince Song Changjing not to attack Great Sui. Song Changjing was furious and had a loud quarrel with the emperor, saying it was like raising a tiger that would bring disaster, treating the lives of Great Li soldiers on campaign like a game. It was amusing—a martial artist shouting at an emperor, spouting scholarly rhetoric."

"At that time, our emperor concealed from everyone that his lifespan was not ten years, but only three. He was probably worried about the Mohist and Yin-Yang school cultivators; even that old bastard was likely kept in the dark. As it turned out, the emperor was right. That Yin-Yang school cultivator from the Lu clan indeed intended to slowly turn him into a puppet with a clouded mind. If A Liang hadn't broken his Longevity Bridge, the Great Li Song clan might have made the biggest joke on Bottle Gourd Continent."

Cui Dongshan's eyes narrowed, and he held up a fourth finger. "Then we come to the behind-the-scenes figures, who are also divided into two groups."

"The real masters, I suspect, come from the Merchant and Strategist schools. They made no extra moves, targeting neither Mao Xiaodong nor Master, nor anyone else. They simply went with the flow, enticing the Great Sui emperor with profit. To replace Great Li—even if it only meant half of the half-continent that Great Li's iron cavalry had already trampled—that would be enough for the ancestors of the Great Sui Gao clan to laugh in their graves until their coffin lids fell off, wouldn't it?"

"The most interesting part is not this group of high-up masters, but the one who knocked out and replaced Zhao Shi, a disciple of the Lu Sage lineage. This person, using the identity of new top scholar Zhang Dai, hid among Cai Feng's layer. Later, he left the city overnight. Both Great Sui and Great Li tore the ground apart trying to find him, but no one could. As I said earlier, a direct disciple of the Strategist school is using this plot as a practical test of their learning."

"What is clever about this 'Zhang Dai'?"

"To put it another way: if the Great Sui emperor was convinced by the first group of behind-the-scenes people and went all in, then whether anyone died at Cliff Academy—whether it was Mao Xiaodong or Baoping and the others—it would no longer affect the big picture. If the emperor still hesitated, then after Zhang Dai had poked such an irreparable hole, the Great Sui emperor would have no choice but to go down that dark path to the end. Then Zhang Dai would dust off his hands and leave, but the entire Bottle Gourd Continent's situation would have changed because of him."

"For cultivators to personally assassinate a mortal monarch and thereby change the landscape of a nation is a major taboo. The sages of the Confucian academies would have to deal with them. But manipulating minds, cultivating puppets, caging or sidelining emperors, or skillfully elevating rulers—through such means, turning clouds into rain at will—the Confucian academies generally just silently record it. As for the severity of the consequences... heh, it depends on how high that qi refiner climbs. The higher they climb, the harder they fall. If they don't climb high, that's actually a blessing in disguise."

Cui Dongshan withdrew his four fingers and lightly clenched his fist. "The reason I laid out all this background, besides helping Little Dong understand, is that there's something even more important."

Cui Dongshan sat back in his chair and said seriously, "The essence of a Nascent Soul breaking through to the Upper Five Realms lies in just two words: 'He Dao'—Union with the Dao."

"I'm explaining all this in detail to Master because I hope you can see this world more comprehensively and thoroughly, understand the rules by which heaven and earth operate, and know which frameworks must not be touched and which can be broken and rebuilt. If you rebuild them, that is 'He Dao'! It will be recognized by the orthodox Haoran World. Even if the Confucian academies and saints don't want to acknowledge it, they'll have to hold their noses and accept it! Because the Ultimate Sage and the Ritual Sage acknowledge it!"

Chen Ping'an fell into deep thought.

Cui Dongshan walked to the window, gazed out at the mountain scenery, then suddenly turned his head and smiled. "Master, I also have a question I'd like to ask. I hope you can enlighten your student."

Chen Ping'an looked up and smiled. "Go ahead."

Mao Xiaodong appeared to be dozing, but inwardly he was on high alert.

Cui Dongshan asked, "If one uses wrong methods to pursue a correct result, is that right or wrong?"

Chen Ping'an smiled.

He had discussed this with Liu Qingfeng.

Cui Dongshan asked again, "Then, if using wrong methods achieves an extremely rare correct result, is that wrong? Is there fault?"