Chapter 121: So Many Rules in the Capital
The young patriarch also picked up a fishbone and drew on the ground the Five Radiance Realm cultivation diagram he had seen in the ruins, though it was also incomplete. He said, "This is all I saw. Because the diagram was too damaged, I didn't carve it into the Qingyang Hall."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He drew the incomplete Five Radiance Realm cultivation diagram he had seen in the Zhenyang Palace and compared it with the young patriarch's drawing. The missing parts of the two incomplete diagrams differed in many places. If overlapped, they could fill in some of the gaps!
Qin Mu then drew a new diagram beside them. In this new diagram, only one part was missing—the left shoulder's collarbone!
However, even without the cultivation method for the left shoulder's collarbone, he could still fully activate the Overlord Body Three Dan Art and continue cultivating!
The young patriarch carefully examined the new diagram he had drawn, pondered for a long time, and used the fishbone to sketch a few lines on the left shoulder. He said, "I'll complete this cultivation diagram for you based on my understanding, but my additions may not be correct. There will definitely be deviations from the original. When you fight someone, if your primordial energy flows through here, there will still be a slight flaw in your left shoulder. If your opponent's skill is average, they won't notice it. But if your opponent has sharp eyes, your left shoulder could become your fatal weakness."
Qin Mu's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Patriarch, how sharp must an opponent's eyes be to see through this flaw?"
The young patriarch thought for a moment and said, "Heavenly Being or Life and Death Realm."
Qin Mu relaxed and laughed, "With such powerful opponents, why would I go looking for trouble?"
"There are also some young people who, though not high in realm, have very sharp eyes."
The young patriarch said calmly, "For example, there are such young people in the Imperial Academy. Don't think too highly of yourself. This is no longer an era where you can dominate with just a few ancestral techniques passed down. If dao techniques and divine powers don't advance, relying only on what the ancestors left behind, heh, sooner or later you'll be wiped out by others. Do you know why I became the Grand Sacrificial Officer of the Imperial Academy? It's to study all the knowledge under heaven, to witness a new era."
There was a trace of sorrow in his eyes, and he said softly, "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I won't be able to see it…"
Though he was indifferent to life and death and not saddened by his approaching end, he grieved that he couldn't witness the arrival of this new era—an era he himself had set in motion.
"It doesn't matter if I don't see it."
The young patriarch's spirits lifted, and he laughed, "But you can. Young Sect Leader, don't be complacent. Broaden your horizons, broaden your heart!"
Qin Mu took his leave of the young patriarch. The impression this old man gave him was different from the other villagers.
The impression the villagers of Cripples' Village gave was that of a group of kind old gentlemen. Though they were all fierce and intimidating, after getting to know them, one found they were actually very kind. They taught Qin Mu the principles of being a person and the means to survive.
But the young patriarch didn't teach him these things. Instead, he used a method of gentle guidance, making him stand at a higher vantage point to look at the world.
Standing at different heights, one sees different worlds.
Sparrows and chickens fly low, only seeing chicken coops and thatched huts, only able to catch insects and peck at rice on the ground.
An eagle spreads its wings, its gaze spanning a thousand miles, and a thousand miles of land become its hunting grounds.
To become the Holy Lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect, one must have the spirit to see a thousand miles.
For Qin Mu, the most practical gain this time was still the Five Radiance Realm cultivation diagram of the Overlord Body Three Dan Art. With this diagram, he could continue cultivating; otherwise, his cultivation would be stuck at the Five Radiance Realm with no progress.
He returned to the Scholar's Residence and tried to activate the Overlord Body Three Dan Art, guiding his primordial energy according to the reconstructed cultivation diagram. The Five Radiance Realm cultivation path of the Overlord Body Three Dan Art was much more complex than before. It was a layer of technique overlaid on the foundation of the Guidance Art and the Embryonic Spirit Realm.
Qin Mu had extensively studied all the techniques in the Great Cultivation Heavenly Demon Scripture. Though there were many techniques in the scripture, and they were quite miraculous, few could compare to the Five Radiance Realm cultivation path of the Overlord Body Three Dan Art.
The Five Radiance Realm cultivation path of the Overlord Body Three Dan Art seemed to activate three techniques simultaneously. It activated the simplest Guidance Art, which then drove the cultivation path of the Embryonic Spirit Realm, and then the Embryonic Spirit Realm drove the cultivation path of the Five Radiance Realm. It was truly complex.
This time, his primordial energy surged forth vigorously. As he operated according to the cultivation diagram, suddenly his consciousness split into five parts, merging with the surging primordial energy and rushing into the Five Radiance Divine Treasury.
Inside the Five Radiance Divine Treasury, the five great stars suddenly blazed with light!
But this time, there was no chaotic mutual annihilation of the five elements. Instead, a beam of starlight shot down from the Metal Radiance Star, merging with one part of his consciousness to form a Metal God, with snakes hanging from his ears, treading on twin dragons, with tiger claws and white fur, holding a bronze battle-axe.
Qin Mu carefully activated his primordial energy, letting the Metal God's phantom continuously absorb the Metal Radiance starlight.
The starlight formed the Metal God's phantom, and this kind of starlight was called star power—the power of the stars.
At the same time, a beam of starlight shot down from the Wood Radiance Star, merging with another part of his consciousness to form a Wood God, with a human head, bird body, and bird feet, treading on twin dragons, holding a willow whip.
A beam of starlight also shot down from the Water Radiance Star, merging with his third consciousness to form a Water God phantom, with a human head, red hair, and a serpent's body, holding a trident.
The light shot from the Fire Radiance Star merged with his fourth consciousness to form a Fire God phantom, with a beast's body, a human face, treading on twin dragons, holding a fire gourd.
The light from the Earth Radiance Star merged with his final consciousness to form an Earth God phantom, with a human head, a serpent's body, and two doors on its back. The doors had writing on them, but because it was a phantom, the writing was blurry and unreadable.
His primordial energy merged with the phantoms of these five gods, and a slow mutual transformation occurred between his primordial energy and the star power. This phenomenon was puzzling.
"Primordial energy transforming into star power, star power transforming into primordial energy—what kind of change is this?"
Qin Mu was puzzled. He carefully sensed it but didn't find any difference. He only felt that when primordial energy transformed into star power, he vaguely sensed a mysterious force stirring in the starry sky. What that force was, he didn't know.
And when star power transformed into primordial energy, he found his cultivation had increased slightly.
"Not a bad thing."
He completely relaxed. Though the Five Radiance Realm cultivation diagram still had a slight flaw, at least he could cultivate now without easily falling into demonic deviation.
"There's still some time before the Imperial Academy starts classes. I should return to the Listening Rain Pavilion and bring Fox Ling'er here. Also, I promised to continue treating the people in Flower Lane."
Qin Mu left his residence and walked out, immediately seeing a group of scholars approaching.
The area where he lived was separated from the divine ability practitioners. It was where scholars of the Embryonic Spirit and Five Radiance Realms resided. Scholars below the Six Harmonies Realm in the Imperial Academy all lived here. Since the academy had opened, many scholars from previous years had returned from elsewhere. They had enrolled a few years earlier than Qin Mu and had deeper cultivation, but as long as they hadn't broken through to the Six Harmonies Realm, they still lived here.
The Imperial Academy gave ten spots to junior scholars each year. It was hard for junior scholars to break through to the Six Harmonies Realm in three to five years, so the number of junior scholars in the academy wasn't small.
These scholars passed by Qin Mu, and one of them looked him over and said, "Junior brother, I heard there's an abandoned one from the Great Ruins in the academy. Do you know where he lives?"
Qin Mu was startled and said, "Senior brother, what business do you have with that abandoned one?"
The scholar said, "Abandoned ones are lowly people fit only to be slaves. I can't believe the emperor allowed an abandoned one to become a scholar of our Imperial Academy. This is an insult to us. When we heard about this, we were indignant and planned to make him back off and not stay in the academy. If he stays, what face do we have left?"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "I see. I've seen that abandoned one before. He lives nearby. How about I lead you there?"
The dozen or so scholars were overjoyed and bowed with smiles. "Thank you for your trouble, junior brother!"
"You're too kind, senior brothers."
Qin Mu said, "I also come from a famous family, a noble clan. To study with an abandoned one shames me so much I wish I could dig a hole and crawl in. By the way, my surname is Qin."
"The Qin surname?"
These scholars were all surprised. One of them said politely, "So you're a brother from the Qin family. The Qin family in the capital is indeed a prestigious clan. Studying with an abandoned one truly dishonors the family name. The Qin family has many good generals, full of loyalty and righteousness. Though I enrolled two years before you, I dare not call myself your senior brother. Let's address each other as brothers."
Another scholar laughed, "My father runs a mine in Tiger Walk Mountain. Every year, he transports several hundred abandoned ones bought from the border. Several hundred die each year, so he has to keep buying. Heh, I never thought I'd be studying in the same academy as an abandoned one. If my father finds out, he'll be furious and say I'm associating with slaves."
A woman said, "I've heard about this matter too. The emperor is using this opportunity to pressure the ministers. Allowing an abandoned one into the Imperial Academy is also a way to hint at annexing the Great Ruins. By recognizing the abandoned ones as citizens of Yankang, isn't he also recognizing the Great Ruins as national territory? But the emperor didn't think it through. Putting an abandoned one in the academy ignores the feelings of us scholars."
Qin Mu walked with these scholars to the end of the Scholar's Residence, chatting along the way. Near the end, there was only one courtyard, very secluded. Qin Mu smiled and said, "Senior brothers, this is where the abandoned one lives. Please wait a moment."
He stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a moment, the courtyard door opened, and a round face poked out. Seeing Qin Mu, it was startled, then smiled, "Brother Qin…"
Qin Mu pushed the door open and entered, and the crowd filed in, crowding the stout, plump scholar into the center of the courtyard.
Qin Mu closed the courtyard door and bolted it. His face was calm. "By the way, senior brothers, does the Imperial Academy allow killing?"
The scholars were all taken aback. One scholar laughed, "Brother Qin, we just want to teach this abandoned one a lesson and drive him out of the academy. Why would we need to kill him? If we kill him, we'll all be expelled from the academy. Just beating him up is enough!"
Qin Mu looked a little displeased and said grudgingly, "There are so many rules in the capital. You can't just kill people casually. If this were in our Great Ruins, killing a dozen or so people would go completely unnoticed…"