Taoist Master Xuanhuang

That's so profound; people like us simply can't afford it.

I don't know if Manager Hu is mocking me or not.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not mocking you, but this sentence means a lot to me... After the old man said this, I experienced a mind-blowing change. I realized that tigers and wolves are the same, they both want to eat meat, and we are the meat they want to eat. There is no such thing as wolves being better than tigers, or even more cruel to us."

"In the period that followed, I experienced many setbacks and hardships. There were many times when I felt like giving up, but whenever I felt like I couldn't go on, I would remember the old man's words—'I want to prove that I can afford it, that I have not been defeated...'"

"I persevered and worked hard until I opened Xinrong Pavilion myself. I really want to meet that old man again."

“I told him, ‘I admit you were right back then, but I wasn’t eliminated by the chaotic times. I opened my own shop…’ I think if it weren’t for the old man’s encouragement, his jokes, or even his mockery, I wouldn’t have been able to persevere. What about you?’”

This is the only remaining vestige of conscience that Mr. Hu, the owner of Xinrongge, possesses.

He could never let go of his past self, and the young man in front of him was his former self.

I lived through that turbulent era, experienced many setbacks, and survived and am doing alright.

He hopes that at least one of the young people in front of him will survive, and ideally, pass on his story so that when similar things happen to the next generation, they can say the same thing to the younger generation.

Even though it's a seemingly unrealistic fantasy, people always need to have some fantasies.

The distraught young people left.

"The lesson people learn from history is that they learn nothing from history. Alas! It's just a cycle."

Watching the young people leave, Boss Hu Xinrong sighed.

Small cities have also felt the dramatic changes and the approaching autumn winds.

Some changes are transmitted from the outside to the inside, while others are transmitted directly from the top to the bottom.

The split in the four superpowers is a transmission from the top to the bottom, which is why it appears particularly intense.

Qingyun Mountain and Nanshi, these two important holy sites for cultivators, haven't been this lively in a long time.

Unlike other cities and small towns, this place is home to true masters and powerful forces.

They remained remarkably calm, showing no signs of panic.

This is exactly what they expected, so they naturally made ample preparations.

They are the ones who can benefit from chaos; they are the predators, the true elite.

Unlike the weak who drift with the tide, turmoil is a disaster for them.

In the South City, within the first branch of the Confucian School, this place is not only the first branch but also the headquarters that manages the mortal administration.

Countless eyes are watching this place.

They had been dreaming of witnessing the departure of the Refining Spirit cultivators from the First Branch of Nanshi.

But instead of the chaos and strife they hoped for, there was the unexpected separation, much more unbelievable than the parting of old friends.

Those watching were quite puzzled.

This shouldn't be the case. How can there not be strife and chaos when the power is divided by a third?

Until a figure walked out of the main hall of the first branch with a calm demeanor, it was Yan Lai.

Yan Lai's sharp gaze swept over the group of people who seemed completely unconcerned.

These informants could not escape the notice of Yan Lai and the Confucian school. Although they appeared nonchalant, they were actually gathering information.

A sharp gaze and the prestige of the number one leader of the most powerful force create immense pressure for many cultivators.

Many people were flustered by Yan Lai's sweeping gaze; some bumped into each other, while others stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Hmph!" Yan Lai didn't say anything, just snorted coldly.

They couldn't overdo it, but they also couldn't do nothing. Yan Lai and the Confucian school's higher-ups had actually put their hearts into it.

Zeng Wu led a group of divine cultivators, following behind Yan Lai.

Upon seeing this, the informants felt they had struck it rich, having uncovered a major news story.

It turns out that the leader of the 'rebellion' was Zeng Wu, one of the three deputy leaders of the Confucian school. The Confucian school has four leaders: one principal and three deputy leaders. Yan Lai is the leader.

The other three deputy leaders are Meng Qiao, Zeng Wu, and Bian Chunqiu.

This betrayal was actually led by Zeng Wu, one of the three deputy sect leaders. This news will surely be rewarded if it is passed back.

In Nanshi, you need to be capable to become an informant.

At the very least, you need to have the ability to live in Nanshi.

Therefore, the eyes and ears of many forces are one person, or rather, a cultivator from Nanshi who is a shared eye and ears of many forces from other places.

These informants are not their people, but they will pass on all kinds of news and intelligence about what is happening in Nanshi to these forces.

These entities pay a certain amount of money each month, establishing an employment relationship.

After all, Nanshi is too special. It is the capital in the eyes of cultivators. If you want to survive in the cultivation world, how can you not know the situation in the capital?

Any organization with a bit of power will hire an informant in Nanshi to relay everything that happens in Nanshi every three days.

Nine out of ten of the informants gathered in front of the Confucian School's first headquarters were like this.

"We've made it! We've made it!" Many informants exclaimed with unbridled joy.

"It's really splitting apart. I thought it was fake. I never imagined that even the Confucian school would experience decline. It's unbelievable." Some spies also felt a chill.

"But this doesn't seem like the scene of a split. There's no fighting or arguing. They seem to be getting along peacefully. Could it be fake?" one of the informants wondered.

"Foolish! Even if there is a split, it should not be presented as a split. Only in this way can we deceive other forces. The more realistic it is, the more convincing it will appear," an informant retorted.

This is exactly what Yan Lai and other high-ranking officials wanted to see.

Make everyone think you're trying hard to maintain the status quo. The harder you try to maintain it and act like nothing happened, the more people will believe it's real.

"You make sense? Brother Li, how many small forces hired you this time?" They're all acquaintances; people in their line of work also have their own small circles.

"This news is too shocking. I've taken on jobs from thirteen small forces in other places. What about you?" the cultivator surnamed Li said happily.

"Me? I can't compare to Brother Li. I've taken on seven jobs from small out-of-town forces, which is only half of what Brother Li has done," the cultivator who asked the question said.

Seven is not a small number; one piece of information can earn you rewards from seven different companies.

This was the first large order he had received in a very long time.

"Haha, keep up the good work! Winter is coming and the cold winds are rising. This is our chance to make a fortune. Work hard, little brother," said the cultivator surnamed Li.

"Brother Li is right, keep up the good work! My idol is Mr. Yan Lai, and I never thought I would actually meet him today. He is indeed majestic and extraordinary; one look from him almost made me lose my footing." The cultivator seemed very excited.

His idol is Yan Lai, the number one leader of the top power. Although he lives in Nanshi, there is almost no hope of meeting Yan Lai.

I never expected to see Yan here.

"The Confucian School is truly glorious, the number one power in a century, and its leader, Yan Lai, is a legend among legends, and in my opinion, the greatest legend. It's a pity we can never compare in this lifetime… Even if the Confucian School splits, so what? It's still one of the four superpowers. Even if it splits into ten or a hundred parts, we still can't even dream of reaching its heights." The man surnamed Li spoke with a mixture of disappointment and nostalgia. "Brother Li, do you think that with such prestige and strength, and being one of the Dao Lord's personal disciples, even Yan Lai couldn't maintain the integrity of the Confucian School?"

“Little Liu, it’s not what you think. It can be maintained, but the cost of maintaining it is more painful than the split, so we have to let go. This is fate,” said the cultivator surnamed Li.

The cultivator surnamed Liu opposite him fell into deep thought.

"Heaven's will, Heaven's will, isn't Heaven's will just the Dao... Waaah!"

"Brother Liu, don't talk nonsense, don't talk nonsense! Even if you want to talk, you should do it away from me. I'm afraid that if you get struck by lightning, it will affect me." Before the cultivator surnamed Liu could finish speaking, the cultivator surnamed Li quickly covered his mouth.

Can you just spout off about something like that?
"Cough cough, Brother Li, it was my fault, it was my fault." The man surnamed Liu felt a wave of fear.

If you know, you know. Don't talk nonsense, it could cause a death.

However, a wave of emotion stirred within it. Everyone said that the Lord of the Dao was infinitely benevolent, but he was also a highly skilled master.

The brilliance lies in making cultivators constantly fight and involuntarily compete, so that the idea that a constantly used door hinge will not rust and flowing water will not stagnate does not exist in this cultivation world.

The four super-powers will be split apart by fate, forced to compete with newly born subordinate cultivators and with the saints.

There's no need for any intervention; your will is the will of Heaven.

Besides these hired informants, there are also informants from truly powerful forces.

Big organizations wouldn't be so shabby; they need to crowdfund their informants and have their own permanent offices in Nanshi.

Commonly known as: Beijing Liaison Office.

They carefully observed the Confucian school.

Zeng Wu and his group of cultivators are about to move to a new headquarters in a place called Nishan, not far away, seemingly to solidify their relationship with the Confucian Temple.

Doing so will only make things more confusing, making it harder to tell what is real and what is fake.

Furthermore, even if they knew, it wouldn't matter. The Confucian school would know, but apart from the three super powers joining forces to counterattack them, what could others do if they knew?

Not enough strength, and not enough strength to allow it.

The combination of Confucianism and the Temple of Literature has certain conditions, except for the Martial Arts Alliance.

But will the Martial Arts Alliance stand in my way?
No, they won't hinder us; on the contrary, they'll support us like staunch allies, because they can do the same.

With one of the three alliances gone, even if the other two were to unite, it would be useless. At worst, they could just cooperate with the Martial Arts Alliance.

With both literary and martial skills, they were invincible throughout the world.

Even if the bald monk and the bull-nose monk team up, it won't work.

Therefore, although Confucianism tries to conceal things, it does so superficially, and intelligent people will gradually see through it.

"The mountains are high and the rivers are far, so we'll meet again someday. If you have any free time, you can still come to Qingyun Mountain to see your annoying sect leader. I won't blame you, of course, provided that you still acknowledge me as your sect leader."

Yan Lai's words were not perfunctory.

After all, without the plan for the Temple of Confucius and the plan for Confucius to be revered, the Confucian school would also split.

Therefore, the division was inevitable.

Furthermore, don't assume that the one-third of the divine cultivators who split off will be incredibly united.

No, these spiritual cultivators are divided into many factions, but nominally they are all under the leadership of Zeng Wu and all study the spiritual dual cultivation of Confucius.

In other words, this is a split in acting, and also a real split.

There will never be another day when we gather together; it's truly time for us to break apart.

The division among the pioneers will provide experience for the Confucian school, which will continue to split later.

The Confucian school is already planning to continue its split.

It's truly a split, which is why Yan's words are worth pondering.

"You will always be the leader of the Confucian school, you were before, you are now, and you will always be. You are the only leader of the Confucian school. We thank you for saving our Confucian school from dire straits, supporting the great edifice, and turning the tide!"

The gods and cultivators paid their respects and expressed their gratitude to Yan Lai, the head of the Confucian school, for his guidance over the years.

Everyone here is grateful to Yan Lai. Without the sect leader, the Confucian school wouldn't be like this. No amount of praise is too much.

At the same time, they also knew that this was a real split, a real split of the Confucian school, and that the Confucian school would henceforth be just a name, a nominal identity, a nominal headquarters.

From now on, I will put my beliefs into practice, stay true to my ideals, and move forward step by step.

The headquarters is a thing of the past.

"Forget it, just do your job well and don't embarrass me."

As he spoke, Yan Lai became somewhat sentimental: "Very well, very well. From now on, I will live in Qingyun Mountain and follow the Dao Master's footsteps to cultivate freely. Without you annoying ghosts, I will live a more carefree life. Let's go, let's go!"

Yan Lai waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

The gods bowed in gratitude again, then straightened up, their bodies upright, and slowly left the gate of the First Headquarters under the strange gazes of countless people.

From now on, though mountains and rivers may separate us, we will strive for our ideals.

"Listen up, all of you. No matter whose eyes and ears you are, relay this message back to me. It is only the divine cultivators who are divided, not my Confucian sect. The mortal realm is still managed by the Confucian sect headquarters, and I, the sect leader, will still be in charge. Do not act irrationally, do not play with fire. The mortal realm is still forbidden. Do you understand?"

Yan Lai did not forget to tell others.

He was warning people not to play with fire, and not to do anything excessive just because Confucianism has split, especially in the governance of the mortal world.

This is taboo; one must not play with fire. No matter how chaotic the cultivation world may be, it cannot involve mortals.

"We'll remember this!" Involuntarily, all their spies were exposed.

But it's alright, do we really need to hide our eyes and ears?
But he couldn't hide it from the First Master.

"Good that you remember. Otherwise, even if I, the sect leader, can't control it, there's still the Hall of Merit and the Department of Suppressing Evil, and even the Dao Lord," Yan Lai said in conclusion.

What he least wanted was for the division within Confucianism to not involve ordinary people.

If ordinary people are implicated, it becomes a sin of the Confucian school.

The unequivocal admission that Confucianism's responsibility to govern mortals is a key reason why it has always been the dominant force.

This talent pool is incredibly important. It's baffling that ordinary people, with parents who are just ordinary folks, can produce such extraordinary geniuses.

As long as cultivators cannot create their own prodigies, the mortal realm will forever remain a taboo.

For cultivators to change this situation is no less difficult than ascending to heaven, and perhaps even more difficult.

This is the law of how the world works, unless the entire world is overturned.

Otherwise, no one can change it: the randomness of talent.

...(End of chapter)