Chapter 691 - 692: True Blessings Are Always Silent

Chapter 691: Chapter 692: True Blessings Are Always Silent

Chu Xingchen sipped his tea lightly, his gaze calmly shifting to Lin Luoyu.

He didn’t know much about the Confucian cultivation path, and upon hearing this news, he had specifically looked into it—reading about how the previous Sub-Sage had walked the Sub-Sage Path.

These records were extremely sketchy even among immortals, with the real materials almost entirely gathered from the mortal realm.

For no other reason than this Sub-Sage Path, besides having difficulty far beyond cultivators climbing to Tribulation Transcendence, also required strength far below that of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator—by comparison, roughly equivalent to a Spirit Transformation realm cultivator.

Although climbing to the Spirit Transformation realm with a mortal body, without consuming heaven and earth spiritual energy, was already absurd to the point of disbelief.

But ultimately, they were still bound by their ceiling.

And all Confucian cultivation realms before Sub-Sage were somewhat insignificant in the cultivation world.

There was even a saying in the cultivation world—only those who can’t cultivate immortality go study Confucianism.

After all, the shortcomings of Confucian cultivators were obvious—short lifespans, insufficient strength, cumbersome rules, and no shortcuts.

Cultivators who reached Golden Core had hundreds of years of lifespan. Those who reached Nascent Soul had a millennium.

The key was the word advancement—poor cultivators could still pop pills, while the rich consumed heavenly and earthly spiritual treasures.

Confucian cultivators had it simple—just book after book to read.

There was also a joke in the cultivation world—Confucian cultivators need far more epiphanies than regular cultivators.

But naturally, every path, when pushed to its extreme, would undergo a qualitative transformation.

The difficulty of becoming a Sub-Sage needed no elaboration—holding a bright flame high in the long night, illuminating the vast sky.

There were certainly no fewer Confucian cultivators in the world than regular cultivators. Yet while the cultivation world now had quite a few Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, the Sub-Sage position had been vacant for a millennium with no one filling it.

Absolute difficulty naturally came with extraordinary sublimation.

After successfully climbing, one would be protected by the world’s literary qi—equivalent to the Heavenly Dao issuing a top-tier good-person card.

It was a reputation of unparalleled mastery.

If an ordinary Tribulation Transcendence cultivator said one word—[retard].

Most people’s first reaction would naturally be that the cultivator was cursing, not that the person was actually retarded.

But if a Sub-Sage said—[retard].

Even if the person being described was Xu Jin, the current core disciple of the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, everyone’s first reaction would be—how did core disciple Xu Jin suddenly become retarded? Was it from qi deviation, or what part of him was retarded?

This kind of top-tier reputation, in a sense, carried power far beyond that of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.

At the very least, it gave an enormous advantage when cursing people out.

Naturally, this top-tier reputation didn’t come entirely from the Heavenly Dao’s recognition.

It was because to become a Sub-Sage, what one did would be recognized by everyone in the world.

The previous generation’s Sub-Sage—Zhou Quan.

He established the Tianzheng rites and music, humanity inheriting heaven’s fortune, goodness, filial piety, justice, and mortal self-governance.

If these summaries sounded simple, like just a few lightweight slogans.

Then the ultimate result of these summaries was—nearly completely driving the great immortal sects and immortal gates out of mortal dynastic succession.

In the past, dynastic changes weren’t always because the ruler was incompetent.

They came from the different interests decided by the immortal gates.

Although the Heavenly Dao had placed various restrictions on this—mortal monarchs’ cultivation couldn’t exceed Qi Refining, dynasties established relying on cultivators received no heavenly blessings, no national fortune support.

But what did these things have to do with cultivators?

If it didn’t affect them personally, then it was nothing.

With various karmic methods of isolation, mortal dynasties were nothing more than puppets on strings in cultivators’ hands.

But beneath these dynasties were countless living beings crying without a voice, countless white bones piled along the roads, countless mortals who wanted to live but couldn’t.

They didn’t understand what change meant, didn’t understand why things were this way—they just wanted to survive.

And the one who changed all of this wasn’t a cultivator with vested interests.

It was a Confucian cultivator who decided to change everything.

It was someone who, with a mortal body, said no to the immortals trying to lower their strings of control over the human realm.

Sub-Sage—Zhou Quan.

People today might be confused—why was something now so easily obtained considered great?

Simply because what was now easily obtained was something tens of thousands of people had fought for over tens of thousands of years and never won.

In the dark and lost, silent submission was the only way to survive.

For tens of thousands of years, everyone complied, because besides that, there was no other path.

It was acceptance, it was rules, it was it’s always been this way, it was heaven decreed it so.

When even resistance became a sin, no one would think about why they should resist.

But someone, in the dark and lost, held a bright flame high, illuminating heaven and earth, and shouted loudly—

Since there is no path ahead, follow me!

And so.

Beneath the starry sky, sparks blazed brilliantly.

One person walked alone through the darkness holding a flame, with snakes and insects drawn to the light.

Regardless of the thorns and sharp stakes at their sides, the sharp stones beneath their feet, the noisy voices behind them—they still led people to the other shore.

The one who accomplished all of this was nothing more than a mortal with flesh and blood.

What supported them through all of this was simply the truth in their heart.

From nothing to something—that was greatness.

Only then did Zhou Quan become the world’s Sub-Sage.

The two words "pioneering."

Carried the weight of tens of thousands of jin.

A millennium had passed, and Sub-Sage Zhou Quan’s reputation had not diminished.

The White Horse Academy, which preserved Zhou Quan’s humble writings, was still the number one academy for Confucian cultivators in the world.

Even though the White Horse Academy’s location was in the Southern Zhanbu Continent, this remained true.

Even in today’s cultivation world, most people still had a favorable impression of Sub-Sage Zhou Quan.

Anyway, after Chu Xingchen finished reading about what Zhou Quan had done, he could only sigh on the spot—heaven has sent down a fierce person.

With such terrifyingly brilliant achievements, even if Chu Xingchen tried to do it now, he might not necessarily succeed.

So when Li Junzi made her preparations and stepped onto the pioneering path,

Chu Xingchen also found himself rather scratching his head.

But pioneering matters—until the very end, only the person involved would likely know what exactly needed to be done.

After all, if matters weren’t kept secret, they would fail.

Back then, Zhou Quan had silently completed all his groundwork, and only when the various nations of Tianyun joined hands to advance and retreat together did he reveal his hand to the world and the immortals above.

Li Junzi had only sent a letter to Lin Luoyu—feeling her years were limited, she was preparing to walk this path for the world.

She had counted her life—one third spent reading for herself, one third spent on Lin Luoyu and the meaning in her heart, and the final third she wanted to spend on the people of this world.

On this lonely and silent path, only Li Junzi herself could walk it.

Chu Xingchen’s reputation was now too great, and the help he could provide was limited.

Sometimes many things couldn’t be accomplished through force alone.

Only when reason reached everyone’s heart could it be done.

All he could guarantee was that if something went wrong, if Li Junzi couldn’t continue on this path, Chu Xingchen could protect her safe retreat.

Although Lin Luoyu was a Confucian scholar and Li Junzi’s disciple, she was also Chu Xingchen’s disciple.

Now, she could no longer accompany her master on such a path.

Pure emotional attachment couldn’t solve any problems.

Chu Xingchen took another light sip of tea, his gaze slowly sweeping over the disciples around him.

He suddenly smiled lightly:

"Come, let’s all peel melon seeds together."

True blessings were always silent.

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