Chapter 58: Even The Sage Of Literature Would Shake His Head
The two of them remained silent for a long time.
Until Jiang Ce spoke up and broke the silence, proposing a bold idea.
“Why doesn’t Cao Gong unify the Cultivation World, then gather the full strength of all Righteous Sects to fight against Evil Cultivators? That would surely be better than the current situation of everyone acting independently. To repel external threats, one must first stabilize the interior.”
Hearing this, Cao Ji rejected it without a second thought:
“A hundred flowers blooming together is always better than a single flower standing out. Everything in the world has its value in existing.”
“Even if it’s destroyed, is that still better than protecting it in this way?” Jiang Ce was extremely puzzled.
Cao Ji was silent for a moment, then turned around and shook his head helplessly:
“That’s not something I can decide. Perhaps you should ask my brother directly to find the answer.”
“Mm.” Seeing that Cao Ji didn’t want to continue the topic, Jiang Ce tactfully nodded: “What I said today was actually a bit presumptuous. I hope Boss Cao won’t take offense.”
“No harm done. These aren’t any big secrets anyway. Anyone at Blue Talisman level or above knows a bit about them. You’ve just learned the true nature of This World a little earlier than most.”
Cao Ji waved his hand dismissively, not minding at all.
The trust in his words and the high affirmation of Jiang Ce’s future also left the latter somewhat flattered.
“Do you have a Driver’s License?” Cao Ji suddenly asked.
Jiang Ce shook his head blankly: “No, what’s up?”
“I’m relatively idle, but I still have some mundane matters to handle every day. I was thinking if you had a Driver’s License, I’d lend you my car so you could go out anytime. But no worries, when the time comes, I’ll have a driver pick you up and drop you off. You just focus on cultivating Righteous Qi.
I must remind you: Wei Lao is mostly very generous, but when it comes to Cultivation, he’s extremely strict. If your Progress is slow under his training, you might end up getting punished.”
Cao Ji gave Jiang Ce a heads-up, and the latter cooperatively showed a troubled expression.
“Let’s go. It’s getting late. We’ll call it a day. Starting tomorrow, come here for a few hours of Cultivation each morning and evening. It’s much better than the training room.”
With that, Cao Ji turned to head back the way they came. Jiang Ce jumped down from the big rock, patted his butt, and followed.
Over the next few days, Jiang Ce would come to this place every morning and evening at the time of Sun and Moon transition, loudly reciting various Confucian classics provided by Wei Lao.
Then he’d return in the morning to listen to Wei Lao’s lectures on the top floor of the Building until lunch. In the afternoon, he’d digest it on his own, and occasionally Cao Ji would call him to help with some chores.
As for evenings after returning, he was naturally called out by Cao Zheng to drink.
At first, Jiang Ce wanted to refuse, but Cao Zheng kept saying things like not drinking means you’re not a man of letters, and not being a man of letters means you can’t Cultivate Confucianism.
Plus, Jiang Ce couldn’t resist the temptation, so he went.
After a few times, Jiang Ce became more proficient and even got to know Cao Zheng’s usual drinking buddies.
They were called Ordinary People, but in reality, Cao Zheng’s so-called Ordinary People just meant those who couldn’t Cultivate. In fact, they were all either rich or noble, each with a terrifying background—almost all bosses of various industries in Yangcheng.
Being friends with Cao Zheng, their Knowledge and demeanor were naturally incomparable to ordinary people. They didn’t look down on Jiang Ce because of his background; on the contrary, they were willing to befriend him. Of course, how much of that was sincere is hard to say.
But at least on the surface, things went smoothly, and they got along very pleasantly.
Notably, every time Cao Zheng went out drinking, he used his true body. Because his Past Body and Future Body shared Ideology, Jiang Ce didn’t notice.
Until the day before the winter break ended, Jiang Ce, as usual, was reciting The Great Learning on a cliff in the Yangding Mountain Range—somewhat literally having attended university. Suddenly, a stream of heat surged from his chest throughout his body.
Jiang Ce’s eyes filled with uncontrollable joy.
Success!
He had truly cultivated Righteous Qi for himself.
“Looks like I really am a born scholar. Even something like this I can… hmm?”
Milky white—matched.
Glowing with golden light—matched.
The aura it emitted gave a sense of vast cosmic grandeur—matched.
“So what’s with the black fire burning on top?”
Jiang Ce suspiciously stared at his “Righteous Qi.” Though it did have a bit of that flashy vibe from back when he dueled Liang Zhi Zhou, something still felt off everywhere.
“Why do I keep wanting to drag over all the heretics who’ve only cultivated ordinary Righteous Qi and burn them to death? Must be an illusion, right?”
Jiang Ce clapped his hands and naturally convinced himself.
Wasn’t there a historical allusion from the Han Dynasty: dismissing a hundred schools and revering Confucianism alone? Since it’s the Confucian Path, the pinnacle of imperial studies, having this supremacist Idea should be normal. It means the Righteous Qi he cultivated was extremely pure and spot-on!
“Good enough, good enough. Didn’t expect my first try to produce something this top-tier in the world. Now I’m relieved.”
Jiang Ce’s eyes narrowed smaller and smaller, but he still couldn’t fool himself in the end:
“Bullshit! This is freaking evil qi, isn’t it!”
He knelt on the ground, furiously pounding the earth, his eyes full of Fear, pupils almost quaking.
“It’s over, it’s over. Cultivating something like this, Wei Lao’s gonna kill me. I’m the real heretic!”
“No, no, gotta see if there’s any way to fix this. Hiss, think about what the Sage of Literature would do?”
Jiang Ce stood up, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and applied his Great Shamatha Visualization to Confucian Path Cultivation.
In his focused imagination, his Mind immediately conjured up rivers and mountains, the nation. He inserted himself as the Sage of Literature, wandering the Zhou states, gaining Knowledge of local customs, experiencing all the vicissitudes of the Mortal World.
Up to this point, nothing was wrong.
Then, a bandit named Zi Lu appeared before the Sage of Literature, trying to rob him.
But the Sage of Literature wasn’t angry at all. Instead…
He stood up and gave the other a massive slap, sending Zi Lu sprawling to the ground with one strike, then lifted the wooden cart he was riding and smashed it onto Zi Lu’s pain-twisted face.
“Fuck your mother! You dare to mess with me? Submit or not? If not, I’ll beat you till you do! This master was just looking to write a Book of Wielding, short a witness. Running into me today is your lucky shit. From now on, follow me to rob and pillage! Today I appoint you second-in-command. You’ll be our gang’s double red stick!”
Jiang Ce was so startled he snapped his eyes open, gasping: “No, no, that’s not right. Wait, one more time.”
He closed his eyes again and continued the Visualization.
The Sage of Literature led seventy-two heroes far and wide, punching Lian Po, kicking Li Mu. Even the crippled Sun Bin got strung up and beaten if he passed by. He broed with Bai Qi, racked up Merit in the Qin King’s conquest of the six states, and advised burning books and burying scholars alive.
Not only that, the Sage of Literature fought from the Warring States all the way to the Yuan Dynasty, set up the Hongmen Banquet to kill Genghis Khan, led his men from the steppes to Rome, burned the Vatican, axed Mount Olympus, dragged Zeus down and beat him to death with clubs, unifying all of Europe.
Hearing there was a world tree in the North, the Sage of Literature didn’t hesitate and nocked an arrow.
“Watch me shoot down that Odin dog’s head, ride that black dragon as my mount, trample the rainbow bridge to conquer all heavens and myriad realms—wouldn’t that be grand?”
The arrow hadn’t even been shot before Jiang Ce couldn’t watch anymore.
He wearily opened his eyes and slumped to the ground in despair, his eyes vacant and lifeless.
“I’ve freaking scoured every Confucian classic and couldn’t come up with anything this brain-melting, so it definitely isn’t my problem. Then where the hell did it go wrong?!”
