I Have a Dream

Qin Ran wandered around Mo City for over a month, thinking about how to sneak into the Imperial Palace and become the emperor of Xuanqin.

Just as Zhang Liang thought, the entire vast empire existed because of that one man. As long as that man was removed, the entire powerful empire would collapse instantly. Thus came the assassination attempt by Bolang Sha.

And Xuanqin was also a highly centralized feudal dynasty, with an ambitious emperor. So as long as Zhao Zheng was killed, all the crises would dissipate on their own.

But...

He never expected that before he could even think of a way to get into the palace, the Emperor of Xuanqin took the initiative to come looking for him.

At this moment, as Qin Ran stood before Zhao Zheng, he finally realized that he had made a terrible mistake... He was still too arrogant.

Indeed, weakness and ignorance were not the most fatal things, arrogance was.

He thought he was a cultivator, he thought he was just a water clone, he thought he was careful enough. But deep down, he still felt that this was just a mortal kingdom. Apart from that Divine Transformation cultivator, there was nothing worth noting about it. He looked down on Mo City from a condescending perspective.

So he brought this disaster upon himself.

Who said the emperor of a mortal dynasty must be a mortal?

Was there such a rule? No.

It was just that people had always thought so, that the ruler of a mortal kingdom would only be a mortal, and cultivators rarely had interest in mortal power. Qin Ran also subconsciously thought so. Coming from a world without supernatural powers, the question of whether cultivators would become emperors had almost escaped his mind. He hadn't even considered it before.

But just because things had always been so, was it right?

Yes, the man sitting at the tea table, Zhao Zheng, was a cultivator. Qin Ran could see clearly that he was at the late Foundation Establishment stage, with a very solid foundation, no weaker than the top disciples of the Dao Sword Sect.

Zhao Zheng brewed a cup of tea for Qin Ran and said,

"In this world, mortal lives are not lives. Cultivators fight, sword qi and mystic arts run amok, moving mountains and overturning seas, destroying cities and exterminating countries at a whim, killing hundreds of thousands, millions, even billions of mortals. Mortal lives are like ants. What does Fellow Daoist Qin think about this?"

Qin Ran walked over to the tea table and sat down, taking the teacup handed over by Zhao Zheng. He didn't know what Zhao Zheng was getting at for a moment, so he remained silent.

"Let's put aside accidental injuries from battles for now. If a cultivator is unhappy, and destroys a mortal city on a whim; if a cultivator wants to cultivate demonic arts, and randomly captures hundreds or thousands of mortals for blood sacrifices. What does Fellow Daoist Qin, who was once a mortal himself, think of this?" Zhao Zheng asked again.

Qin Ran still couldn't grasp what Zhao Zheng was trying to say. He wouldn't be saying that mortal lives were also lives, would he?

After some guesses, he finally spoke, "The rules of this world are like this. Golden Core cultivators' physical bodies have completely transcended, and Divine Transformation cultivators' souls have completely transcended. The moment a Golden Core is swallowed, cultivators and mortals are no longer of the same species. Cultivators do see mortals as mortals see ants."

Upon hearing Qin Ran's scientific and dialectical words, Zhao Zheng was also stunned for a moment.

He asked again, "Cultivators were all once mortals. The gifted ones, like Fellow Daoist Qin, become Golden Core cultivators before thirty. At this time, your parents are still alive, your siblings are still alive. So do you see them as ants? No longer of the same species as you?"

Qin Ran didn't have much real emotional connection with his relatives in this world, so he wasn't deeply affected. But when he thought of the relationship between Li Shiyin and her family, he couldn't help shaking his head.

"Even gangs in the mortal world have rules not to harm family members, yet cultivators don't," Zhao Zheng continued. "As such, the cultivators with the best temperament, in order not to affect mortals, at best remain aloof from fame and fortune and live in seclusion in the deep mountains."

At this point, Qin Ran could no longer hold back and asked, "What exactly is Your Majesty trying to say?"

Two countries at war, and you capture a spy but don't ask about military affairs, instead asking about cultivators... What a Xuanqin Emperor, one who doesn't care for the common people but only asks about ghosts and gods?

"Cultivators should have rules, and mortals should have dignity," Zhao Zheng poured himself a cup of tea.

Qin Ran vaguely grasped something, because he remembered that the Emperor of Xuanqin had something he wanted to do after unifying the Land of Immortal Legacy, but he still couldn't figure out what exactly he was trying to do.

He looked at Zhao Zheng, waiting for him to continue speaking.

Zhao Zheng sipped the hot tea, put down the cup on the table, and continued pouring tea for himself. While gesturing for Qin Ran to drink tea, he said,

"If not for you, North Chu would have already been incorporated into Xuanqin by now. Cloud Heaven Sect would have been fully integrated into Mo City. I would only have needed to combine the national strength and sects of the two countries, and then the general trend would have been set, unstoppable from then on. Even if the other five countries and other sects realized it later, they would no longer have had the strength to resist. It would be like a horse carriage already set in motion. All the mantises spreading open their hands to block the wheels would be crushed to dust.

"You're not the first person to guess my thoughts, but those fools either didn't care or gambled that I wouldn't succeed. No one took it seriously. You're the first to see the whole process, to know how I would unify the Land of Immortal Legacy. You, a cultivator, have such foresight into the affairs of the mortal world, very impressive."

Qin Ran thought to himself, "Because I know someone who did just that."

He asked, "I want to know what you plan to do after unifying the Land of Immortal Legacy? How will you get cultivators to have rules and give mortals dignity?"

Zhao Zheng put down his teacup and pondered his words before saying, "The way of cultivation today requires spiritual roots. But among mortals, one in ten thousand has spiritual roots. And these people, they merely have spiritual roots, their moral character and temperament cannot be determined. A child brought into a dog-eat-dog world from a young age, how he will turn out when grown can be inferred. He will merely become another demon with great power and indifference to life.

"The talented and virtuous are mortals; the fatherless and masterless are cultivators.

"To get cultivators to have rules and give mortals dignity, this state of affairs must change. And to change this state of affairs, cultivation must not emphasize spiritual roots.

"Instead of spiritual roots, emphasize morality and knowledge. For example, scholars, wise and proper, the higher their learning the higher their cultivation, eventually able to attain sainthood through virtue; for example, soldiers, protecting home and country, the greater their contributions and battle prowess the higher their cultivation, eventually able to attain the dao through martial arts; for example, officials, governing justly, the higher their office the higher their cultivation, eventually able to become immortal through prestige.

Qin Ran listened and grasped Zhao Zheng's ideas a little.

"That is the result, but how will you achieve the first step?"

Zhao Zheng drank another cup of hot tea and said, "I plan to turn the Land of Immortal Legacy into an integral whole, gathering all the spiritual qi, and use the Will of the Heavens to realize what I just described."

"How does one control the Will of the Heavens?"

"By creating a new Will of the Heavens." Zhao Zheng said lightly.

"How does one create the Will of the Heavens?"

"Through formations..." Zhao Zheng put down his teacup and looked at Qin Ran. "Sect Leader Qin, use formations. Deploy a grand formation enveloping the entire Land of Immortal Legacy."

Qin Ran picked up his teacup, his hands trembling uncontrollably. After a long time, he finally managed to drink a cup of hot tea.