Sincere Blessings, Always Silent

Chu Xingchen gently sipped his tea, his calm gaze turning to Lin Luoyu.

He did not know much about the path of Confucian cultivation, so upon hearing the news, he made a special effort to learn about it, even reading up on how the previous Sub-Sage had walked the path of a Sub-Sage.

These records were extremely sketchy within the immortal sects; the true materials were almost entirely collected from the mortal realm.

There was no other reason. This path of the Sub-Sage not only possessed a difficulty far exceeding that of a cultivator climbing to the Tribulation realm, but it also offered strength far inferior to a Tribulation cultivator. In comparison, it was roughly equivalent to a Soul Formation realm cultivator.

Although climbing to the Soul Formation realm with a mortal body without consuming the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was already somewhat unbelievably outrageous.

It was just that they were ultimately trapped by their upper limit.

Moreover, all the Confucian cultivation realms prior to Sub-Sage were somewhat insignificant in the cultivation world.

There was a saying in the cultivation world: only those who cannot cultivate immortality go to study Confucianism.

After all, the shortcomings of Confucian cultivation were very obvious: their lifespans were too short, their strength was insufficient, their rules were cumbersome, and there were no shortcuts.

Once a cultivator entered the Golden Core realm, they would have a lifespan of hundreds of years, and entering the Nascent Soul realm granted a thousand years of time.

The key lay in the word shortcut. Poor cultivators could still take pills, while rich ones consumed the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth.

Confucian cultivation was much simpler: there was only book after book to read.

There was also a joke in the cultivation world: Confucian cultivators needed sudden enlightenment far more than regular cultivators.

But naturally, when every path was walked to its extreme, a qualitative change would occur.

The difficulty of becoming a Sub-Sage went without saying; it was like raising a bright fire in the long night to light up the vault of heaven.

The number of Confucian cultivators in the world might not be fewer than regular cultivators, and nowadays, there were quite a few Tribulation cultivators in the cultivation world, yet the position of Sub-Sage had been vacant for a thousand years without anyone claiming it.

Absolute difficulty naturally came with extraordinary sublimation.

After successfully climbing to the top, one would be protected by the literary aura of heaven and earth, which was equivalent to the Heavenly Dao issuing a supreme good guy card.

This was a reputation that had reached the pinnacle.

If an ordinary Tribulation cultivator called someone mentally retarded.

Most people's first reaction would naturally be that the Tribulation cultivator was cursing someone, not that the person opposite them was actually mentally retarded.

But if a Sub-Sage said the words mentally retarded.

Even if the person being spoken of was Xu Jin, the contemporary core disciple of the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, everyone's first reaction would be: Why did Xu Jin, this core disciple, suddenly become mentally retarded? Was it caused by cultivation deviation, or in what way was he mentally retarded?

This kind of stellar reputation, in a certain sense, possessed power far exceeding that of a Tribulation cultivator.

At the very least, they had a massive advantage when scolding people.

Naturally, this stellar reputation did not entirely come from the recognition of the Heavenly Dao.

Rather, to become a Sub-Sage, the things one did had to be recognized by the people of the world.

The previous generation's Sub-Sage, Zhou Quan.

He established the heavenly righteousness, rites, and music; humans inherited the heavenly destiny; promoting kindness, filial piety, and justice; and realizing mortal self-governance.

If these summaries sounded a bit simple, as if they were just a few lightweight slogans.

Then the ultimate result of these summaries was: driving the influence of the great immortal sects and immortal gates almost completely out of the dynastic transitions in the mortal world.

In the past, dynastic transitions were sometimes not due to the incompetence of the monarch.

But rather determined by the different interests of the immortal sects.

Although the Heavenly Dao placed various restrictions on this, limiting the cultivation of mortal monarchs to the Qi Condensation realm, and ensuring that dynasties established with the reliance of cultivators would not receive the blessings of the Heavenly Dao and lacked the enhancement of national destiny.

But what did these things have to do with cultivators?

As long as it did not affect them personally, then it was nothing.

Isolated by various means of karma, mortal dynasties were nothing more than marionettes in the hands of cultivators.

Yet beneath the dynasties were countless sentient beings crying silently, countless white bones piled by the roadside, and countless mortals desiring to live but failing to do so.

They were mortals who did not understand what revolution was, who did not understand why things were this way, but simply wanted to survive.

And the one who changed all of this was not a cultivator whose own interests were involved.

It was a Confucian cultivator who decided to change it all.

A person who, with a mortal body, said no to the immortals dropping threads to control the human realm.

Sub-Sage, Zhou Quan.

Some people in the contemporary era might be puzzled as to why things that are now easily attainable could be called great.

It was simply because the things that are easily attainable today were things that thousands of people fought for over thousands of years and still failed to attain back then.

Amidst the confusion of the dark night, remaining silent and lying low was the only way to survive.

For thousands of years, everyone complied, because other than this, there was no other path.

It was default, it was the rule, it had always been this way, and it was ordained by heaven.

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

But someone in the confusion of the dark night raised a bright fire, illuminating heaven and earth, and shouted aloud:

Since there is no path ahead, then follow me!

Thus.

Beneath the starry vault, sparks shone brightly.

One person walked alone in the darkness holding a fire, drawing venomous snakes and insects toward the light.

Regardless of the sharp thorns bristling beside him, the sharp stones beneath his feet, and the endless noisy voices behind him, he led the people to the opposite shore.

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

What supported him to finish all this was merely the truth originating from his heart.

Creating something out of nothing is what greatness is.

It was at this point that Zhou Quan became the Sub-Sage of the mortal realm.

The word pioneering.

Carried the weight of millions of pounds.

A thousand years had passed, and the reputation of Sub-Sage Zhou Quan remained undiminished.

The White Horse Academy, which preserved Zhou Quan's down-and-out brush, was still the number one academy for Confucian cultivators in the world today.

Even though the White Horse Academy was located in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, this remained true.

Even in the current cultivation world, most people had a very favorable impression of Sub-Sage Zhou Quan.

Anyway, when Chu Xingchen finished reading about what Zhou Quan had done, he could only sigh on the spot that this was a heaven-sent fierce man.

Even if Chu Xingchen were to do such terrifying and illustrious deeds now, he might not necessarily be able to accomplish them.

So when Li Junzi prepared herself to step onto the path of pioneering.

Chu Xingchen also felt quite a headache.

It was just that for the matter of pioneering, until the very end, probably only the person involved would know exactly what needed to be done.

After all, if a matter was not kept secret, it would fail.

Back then, Zhou Quan silently completed all the groundwork, and only when the nations of heavenly destiny advanced and retreated together did he lay his cards on the table to the people of the world and the immortals in heaven.

Li Junzi only sent a letter to Lin Luoyu: feeling that she did not have many years left, she prepared to make this journey for the people of this world.

She counted her life in detail; she spent a third of it studying for herself, a third for Lin Luoyu and the ideals 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 too great now, and the help he could provide was not much.

Sometimes many things could not be achieved by martial force alone.

One had to explain the reasoning into everyone's heart to achieve it.

He could only guarantee that if there was a one-in-a-ten-thousand chance that Li Junzi could not walk down this path, Chu Xingchen could protect her and ensure her safe retreat.

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

Currently, she could no longer accompany her teacher on such a path.

Pure emotional impulses could not solve any problems.

Chu Xingchen gently sipped his tea again, his gaze slowly looking at the disciples around him once more.

He suddenly chuckled softly:

Come, let us shell sunflower seeds together.

Sincere blessings have always been silent.