Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1150 Public Opinion in the Capital (4200)

"Did you hear that?"

In the inner city of Shenjing, a breakfast stall in an ordinary alley.

Before dawn, the shop was already bustling with activity and steaming with activity. A large pot of braising liquid, about half a person's height, was bubbling away at the entrance, releasing a rich and fragrant aroma.

One of the diners put down his porcelain spoon and said mysteriously to his old friend who had just sat down next to him, "The inside information about the big battle in the suburbs a few days ago has come out!"

"That's right, I've heard!" A new customer was holding a plate of pork knuckle, which was soaked in braising liquid and was so tender that the whole knuckle trembled with his movements. "It's quite a big deal! The Yuan family is conducting human experiments in the suburbs!"

He spoke with a strong voice: "I heard they're using refugees to create puppets, what a tragedy!"

"is not that right!"

The previous customer slapped his thigh, took another sip of the fish porridge in front of him, and said indignantly, "I heard that locals have also been arrested. It's terrifying."

Another diner, who had already started gnawing on the pork knuckle, was surprised to hear this and mumbled, "That's unlikely, isn't it? Aren't they all from out of town?"

"The locals...chew...it's not like they'll lose anything...chew...what idiot would sell themselves to those dirt-digging bastards from the Yuan family?"

"Who says it's not?"

The diners drinking porridge laughed and said, "Just kidding. Those arrested by the Yuan family were all homeless people on the streets and poor bastards from the suburbs. No wonder the city looks so much better lately."

"Oh dear, he's still a nobody from out of town."

Hearing this, the diner munching on the pork knuckle breathed a sigh of relief: "If that's the case, then the Yuan family has actually done a good deed this time—although they did a bad deed, it was still their doing, hahaha!"

"Yes, I heard from my seventh uncle's friend's niece's best friend that there's a big argument going on in the imperial court right now!"

"What's all the commotion? How are we going to deal with the Yuan family?"

"How is that possible! Even if the sky falls, the Yuan family won't be punished."

The person drinking porridge said, "What they're discussing in heaven is how to handle the Ascension Path!"

Such scenes appeared in many corners of the streets and alleys of Shenjing.

The gentlemen of Shenjing, who never lacked food or clothing, would eat fish porridge from the two rivers for breakfast, gnaw on a braised pork knuckle until it was translucent, drink a small pot of sweet wine, and have two side dishes.

This was just an ordinary morning for the people of Shenjing.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, it was time for the guests to enjoy a little wine, speak freely, and discuss important matters in the capital and current affairs.

Speaking of major events, there is naturally the great battle between Cang Linzu, the Northern Frontier General and the Yuan family, who is a friend of the Natural Master.

This great battle took place in the suburbs, very close to the capital, and many people witnessed the terrifying scene of the earth changing color and the city burning in flames.

The reasons behind this are varied and numerous, but since this place is, after all, the capital, people who have lived here for a long time, even an old man passing by, probably have his own special information channels. And a seemingly ordinary customer in a random roadside shop might have a relative who is a surviving heavenly soldier from that war.

The Way of Ascension, the Art of Puppetry.

This is the reason.

"I told you the Path of Ascension is a path to chaos!"

In a tavern, an old man with white eyebrows and beard downed a cup, then glared and exclaimed, "A person is just a person! Our ancestors cultivated immortality and martial arts to strengthen themselves, understand? Yourselves!"

He slammed his wine glass down on the table, drawing a chorus of agreement from those around him.

"To turn oneself into something neither human nor ghost is to follow the demonic path, the evil path! Our ancestors have said that the human body itself has infinite potential, and it is enough to tap into it. Why bother to modify it!" The old man's voice was full of vigor, echoing in the not-so-large tavern: "Not cultivating oneself is ultimately a heretical path!"

"That's right!" A burly man with a thick beard chimed in, his face flushed, clearly enjoying his drink. "Martial arts are perfect, of course. Can a master change them? No, they can't!"

"In the end, this is all the wisdom of our ancestors. The path of ascension, which turns people into human form and uses them as resources, is an opportunity for those powerful families!" He took another swig of wine and slurred, "Why didn't our ancestors develop the path of ascension? Isn't it because this path is not viable? Do you think you and our ancestors understand this?"

Some people, after learning this news, did not discuss the Yuan family's trip, but instead belittled the Feathered Ascension Path. They only had a superficial understanding of the Feathered Ascension Path, and only knew that it seemed to be a cultivation method to modify one's own body, just like cutting hair, getting tattoos, or injuring one's own body to do something unconventional. In short, these were radical and novel things that old men disliked the most, and were really difficult to control.

And what they said wasn't entirely wrong.

While the path to ascension does indeed carry the risk of being misused, there is no doubt that such arguments are somewhat evasive and, not only are they inconsistent with the facts, they are completely contrary to them.

Boom!
A young man nearby, unable to bear it any longer, slammed his wine glass down.

The crisp sound silenced the surrounding chatter a little, and everyone turned to look.

The young man, with a hint of anger on his face, looked around at those who had previously echoed the old man and said loudly, "Why doesn't the Path of Ascension cultivate the self? This path requires cultivating the soul first, emphasizing nature, using the physical body as a weapon, transforming it into armed combat, and can be constantly modified and replaced to correct mistakes, so that one will not make a mistake and be unable to make any progress in one's entire life!"

"In the end, this is what martial arts should be doing. When a divine phenomenon goes wrong, the martial lineage suffers as a result, and even the divine treasures cannot be entered... Who can avoid making mistakes? Great families can make amends at a cost, but how many things in this world can be salvaged?"

"Martial arts don't focus on optimizing or modifying this aspect, but the Ascension Path has been modified. From the beginning, it has left room for replacement and reconstruction. Although it also requires a price, everyone can do it, and that is progress!"

He seemed to have a deep understanding of the Dao of Ascension, and his words were clear and logical: "A good path is one that allows for mistakes! Moreover, if you are willing, you can cultivate yourself just like in the martial arts, and it is no different from the martial arts. Rather than being a completely different path, it is more of a methodology."

"Moreover," the young man said, his eyes shining brightly with longing for the future, "I can see that the Ascension Path is just a prerequisite. The reason why the physical body is not emphasized is because there will be something more important to serve as the physical body in the future!"

"Whether it's the puppet divine body of the Mingjing Sect, which is comparable to Chunyang or even Lingxiao, or the fighting puppets we already have, when fighting with people, do you not understand which is more important, losing a puppet or losing a life?"

"The path to ascension is the future!"

"Ha." The old man responded to the young man's impassioned argument with a cold laugh.

His eyes were full of disdain, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he immediately changed the subject: "Who cares about the future, isn't this how it is now? The Path of Ascension is just for fun!"

"The art of puppetry is the art of using tools, and the path of ascension is no exception. Look at the Yuan family, the Song family, the Yao family... which of these great families doesn't do this?" "They've always played this game, and now that they have a superior method, they've naturally become even more ruthless. That Master of Nature gave them the opportunity, and now they regret it, pretending to send someone over to fight... I refuse to believe that Lord An didn't consider this possibility!"

At this point, the old man's voice suddenly rose, becoming even more furious. His withered finger pointed directly at the young man, spittle flying everywhere: "If he didn't think of that, he's a fool, an idiot, unworthy of being a natural master—if he did think of it, he's condoning it, indulging it, a whore pretending to be virtuous, a son of a whore!"

"you you……"

Upon hearing this incisive remark, the young man was at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, but ultimately slumped down, his face flushed, speechless.

Surprisingly, most of the passersby seemed to agree with the old man's statement, nodding in agreement, which made the atmosphere in the tavern even noisier.

When something like this happens, they don't consider whether the major families are wrong to do it.

Because these residents of Shenjing genuinely felt that such a thing would never happen to them; the ones who would suffer were the lowly outsiders and the homeless, and they deserved it.

And in reality, this is indeed the case. As long as they have a Shenjing household registration, they are mostly safe. The exploitation, persecution, and cruelty of the powerful families do not apply to them.

Ultimately, a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow, and besides, there might be some real dragons and phoenixes among these rabbits... Those who can reside in the capital for so long, whose ancestors didn't fight alongside the Holy Ancestor to conquer the world? The ancestors of great families have done 30,000 years of work for their descendants, have others done less?
In that case, one can certainly remain aloof, make sarcastic remarks, and belittle others to gain a sense of peace of mind.

On the other side, a diner silently finished his mutton rice noodles, drank the last drop of soup in his bowl, and then got up to pay the bill and leave.

Xing Mofeng felt only frustration at that moment.

What are they thinking?

Walking on the bustling streets of Shenjing, with the whooshing of shuttles cutting through the sky in his ears and magnificent buildings constructed of spiritual light before his eyes, Xing Mofeng's mind was still filled with those harsh words from the tavern.

"The Yuan family committed such an outrageous act, and it's one thing that they don't dare to insult them, after all, they are a great family, and the General has also ordered us to be careful with our words and actions, but why did they attack the Feathered Dao and Anjing?"

Xing Mofeng had fought alongside An Jing in the northern frontier and held An Jing in extremely high regard. However, he never imagined that An Jing was actually the chosen one. After learning that An Jing was the chosen one, his evaluation of him became even higher.

He also learned about the Yuan family's affairs through military channels. The other side used refugees and homeless people to create puppets by fusing their souls. This kind of thing is the most heinous of all. Although the Demonic Sect also does it, the Demonic Sect is the Demonic Sect. How could the founding family of the Great Chen Dynasty do such a heinous thing?

And, in the end... saying the wrong things.

The demonic sect kills people to refine their souls, eats their flesh and sucks their marrow—all for the sake of becoming stronger, for reaching the heavens, for doing great things!
And what are the powerful families doing? For those low-class things, for the entertainment tools they don't actually lack... are they really going to commit such heinous acts for such trivial matters? What are they thinking? It's simply not worth it!

Xing Mofeng racked his brains but still couldn't figure it out. Not only that, he couldn't understand the thought process of those beasts from the powerful families, but he also couldn't quite understand the thought process of the local residents of Shenjing.

Listen to what those people are saying.

The prevailing opinion these days is one of victim blaming. Although they don't directly comment on the victims, the implication is that these people deserve it. Why did these refugees run to the capital instead of going anywhere else? They're just providing raw materials to those powerful families, so why not take advantage of it?

The fact that the Yuan family used the Feathered Ascension Path to commit evil deeds is also the fault of the Feathered Ascension Path.

—The Yuan family has always been this bad. It's normal for them to be this bad. It's been like this for a long time. Everyone knows that. But the Feathered Path is new. It has given them new ways to do evil. So naturally, the Feathered Path is also rotten!

If it wasn't rotten, why would the Yuan family, whose products were already rotten, use it?

It's hard to imagine how much money the Yuan family actually gave, or what kind of public opinion they stirred up... Ha, do you even need to think about it?
Thinking of this, Xing Mofeng couldn't help but shake his head.

It's naturally a xenophobic mentality.

It's perfectly normal that these gentry of Shenjing don't want refugees coming to Shenjing.

In Shenjing, they can eat fish porridge and amber pork knuckle. They drink wine, walk their birds, listen to songs and watch dances every day. All of this is regulated. If there are too many people, their treatment will be reduced. In fact, Shenjing did allocate a large amount of grain for disaster relief, which means that the food subsidies for Shenjing residents will be temporarily reduced. It is said that even a bunch of scallions is three coins more expensive than before!

Although the refugees are starving and eating dirt, and the disaster relief funds are still going through the process, it is obviously not the fault of the higher-ups or them. So the 'suffering' they are experiencing and the lack of treatment they are receiving are naturally the fault of the refugees!

The resentment was palpable, and it's no wonder they wished these refugees were dead.

Xing Mofeng doesn't apply double standards; he can actually understand it.

He was from out of town, so naturally he was unhappy about the discrimination and exclusion against him by the capital city... But if it were his hometown, he wouldn't be happy to accept a large number of refugees either.

With so many refugees, his hometown might be bankrupted and become a refugee village too... Whoever wants to take them in can do so, but he doesn't want to.

There is no doubt about this. When something happens to you, your standards will naturally differ depending on your status. Your position determines your perspective.

But that doesn't mean that when something happens, you should just talk based on your own interests!

People have mouths on their heads. Even if they secretly rejoice that these refugees deserve it, they should at least put on a show, right? Our ancestors taught us this: a hypocrite is better than a genuine villain. This blatant disregard is disgusting!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on: "I wonder... what exactly An Jing will encounter if he really comes to Shenjing."

Now that things have come to this, Canglinzu has been imprisoned in the imperial jail.

The three town princes personally took action to suppress Canglinzu... Not only that, even Canglinzu's superior, General Gu Yunzhi of Zhenbei, was arrested.

Although, based on Xing Mofeng's knowledge in the army, the Prince of De personally vouched for the grain reserves, and he and Gu Yunzhi were treated very well in the prison, even better than a junior general like Xing Mofeng, with their food, clothing, and daily necessities comparable to those of core members of aristocratic families, it was still a form of imprisonment, a mere formality.

Just like among the common people, discussions about the abundance of grain reserves and the path to immortality never ceased in the imperial court.

The four great families, the civil and military emperors, and the emperor who sits high on the throne...

"What exactly are you thinking?"

Xing Mofeng raised his head, his gaze passing through layers of pavilions and towers and the flowing array light, looking at the majestic palace in the distance that seemed to connect with the sky.

Inside the Xuantian Palace.

A heated discussion is currently underway.

(End of this chapter)