A Pawn's Passage

The books did not say where Qi Xuansu could find such an ancient pseudo-ascension ritual

Daoist records likewise made no mention of it. Perhaps, it had already been lost in the long river of time.

Or perhaps Wu Luo, the Li family, and the Yao family knew, but they certainly would not tell Qi Xuansu.

The Li family’s knowledge could be inferred from the fact that they had inherited the Holy Xuan’s legacy and possessed the Longevity Stone Heart, so they must have conducted deep research into it. The Yao family’s knowledge was even more obvious, as they carried the bloodline of the Great Witches and were orthodox heirs of the Ancient Wuist Sect.

Surely, the Zhang family, which was one of the Three Great Daoist Families, would be aware. More importantly, the Zhang family’s ancestor, the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor, had led the Zhengyi Sect to destroy the Ancient Wuist Sect and shatter the Lingshan Paradise.

If the Ancient Wuist Sect were regarded as a state, then the Lingshan Paradise was its capital. The Zhengyi Sect was the first army to breach the capital, slaughtering all the Great Witches within. Naturally, all spoils would have fallen into the hands of the Zhengyi Sect and the Zhang family. To claim that the Zhang family knew nothing of the Ancient Wuist Sect’s secrets would simply make no sense.

If the Yao family and the Li family would not help him, he could turn to the Zhang family for answers. After all, he was the Zhang family’s prospective son-in-law, and Zhang Yuelu was the designated heir to the Zhengyi Sect. Thus, such secrets would inevitably be passed on to Zhang Yuelu.

With this realization, Qi Xuansu returned the book to its place, activated his Class-C authorization to summon the mechanical puppet, and ordered, “Erase any traces related to me.”

The mechanical puppet’s eyes flickered with a clear light as it nodded. “As you command.”

However, Qi Xuansu also knew that if the Earthly Preceptor truly wished to know what had happened, his Class-C access would never be able to conceal it. This sort of mechanical puppet would certainly give priority to higher-level permissions.

He now seriously suspected that it was not Yao Pei who had leaked the secret, but this giant iron shell. Perhaps its eyes were image recording stones, capturing everything that happened that day, which the Great Sage Shi later reviewed. That was how Great Sage Shi learned of his blunder.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu kicked the big hunk of iron in irritation. “Go on.”

One had the physique of a Martial Arts Practitioner, while the other was an iron shell. The impact tolled like a bell, yet neither felt any pain.

Of course, the mechanical puppet did not get angry and simply turned to leave.

By the time Qi Xuansu left the Tianshui Core Tower, it was already bright. Thus, he decided not to return to his residence and went straight to class instead.

When Qi Xuansu arrived at the lecture hall, Zhang Yuelu was already there. She had left an empty seat beside her for him.

Although those present were fellow classmates, everyone besides Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were seventh-generation disciples. They were elders with high positions who cared about their dignity, so they would not provoke Qi Xuansu for the fun of it. That sort of thing was the pastime of the young.

By now, Qi Xuansu had very few peers of the same age. Aside from the Three Daoist Prodigies, Chen Jianchou, Li Zhuyu, Chen Jianqiu, and Ke Qingqing were considered promising young talents. The higher one climbed, the stricter the hierarchy became. Those jealous rivalries and petty dramas were growing ever more distant from Qi Xuansu.

Moreover, offending a Sage was unwise. Especially after Li Tianzhen had been publicly humiliated by Qi Xuansu, no one dared to provoke him anymore.

After sitting down, Qi Xuansu felt a faint sense of novelty. Back when he studied at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, he had always sat next to that fellow Mo Qingdi and had never been paired with a beautiful young lady.

Zhang Yuelu asked in a low voice, “You really went to the Tianshui Core Tower last night?”

Qi Xuansu waved the jade token in his hand. “Special permission from Great Sage Shi.”

Zhang Yuelu nodded and said nothing more.

Before long, Great Sage Jiang entered the hall.

Everyone rose to their feet and performed a formal salute.

There were only 20 students in this cohort, yet they came from all walks of life. Some were from prestigious families, and others were from humble backgrounds. However, all of them had clawed their way up through hardship and had real capabilities. Quite a few of them were haughty, thinking they were merely going through the motions because they were already experienced.

That was why all traces of arrogance vanished when the Daoist Order sent a Virtuous Great Sage to conduct the lectures.

Everyone simply listened, because what could they possibly say?

On the first day, Great Sage Jiang lectured about a Daoist priest’s cultivation. On the second day, Hall Master Ning spoke on the political situation of the East and the West. On the third day, Great Sage Shi lectured on the Daoist Order’s current economic priorities. On the fourth day, Sun Hewu spoke on the future development trends of the East. On the fifth day, the Heavenly Preceptor himself was scheduled to give a lecture, though the topic had not been set and would most likely be improvised.

The Heavenly Preceptor had ample experience in teaching. On the contrary, the Earthly Preceptor never got involved in such matters. Usually, the Heavenly Preceptor and the Imperial Preceptor took turns. Now that the Imperial Preceptor was serving as the Great Sage Lunzhi and had no time to spare, this lecture naturally fell to the Heavenly Preceptor, especially since his descendant Zhang Yuelu was also here.

This gave Qi Xuansu an opportunity. Just as he was curious about the pseudo-ascension of the Ancient Wuist Sect, the Heavenly Preceptor was due to arrive at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

Unlike the other Sages, Qi Xuansu was still quite accustomed to this kind of student life, as it had only been a few years since he last experienced it. The other Sages had not risen as quickly as Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu. For them, advancing to the fourth rank had been something that happened at least a decade ago—some even decades ago. They had long forgotten what it was like to study. Moreover, without secretaries or attendants, they had to handle everything personally, so it was an adjustment that felt uncomfortable in every way.

In the blink of an eye, the Heavenly Preceptor arrived at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace on the fifth day.

However, the Heavenly Preceptor kept a low profile. He did not ride the ostentatious Yinglong Warship, but instead arrived on an ordinary flying ship. The ordinary students of the Lower Palace had no idea that such a great figure had come to the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

After arriving, the Heavenly Preceptor did not simply give a lecture. Instead, he chose a topic and invited everyone to discuss it freely.

The topic was “power.”

The Heavenly Preceptor said, “When three walk together, there must be one who can be the teacher. Take the good and follow it; take the bad and correct it. A Westerner once said that mankind faces four kinds of threats. The first kind is the strongman’s craving for the concentration of power. The second kind is the poor’s resentment toward the unequal distribution of wealth. The third kind is the ignorant’s yearning toward a kingdom of heaven on earth. The fourth kind is the non-believer’s confusion of freedom and indulgence.

“What he says carries some logic, but it cannot be treated as truth. There are some points we Daoists don’t agree with, like the second one. Why shouldn’t the poor resent unequal wealth distribution? Why is anyone destined to remain poor? To classify the dissatisfaction with such disparities in wealth as a threat is clearly inappropriate and incorrect. After all, are kings and nobles all born to their rank? The fourth point is also questionable. What does a ‘non-believer’ entail? Must one believe in the Westerners’ so-called one true god? Does disbelief automatically mean having no faith? When Westerners regard people of other beliefs as non-believers, is that not itself a form of threat? These are all open to discussion. Today, we will focus on the first point: the strongman’s extreme desire for concentrated power.”

This was undoubtedly a highly sensitive topic.

Since ancient times, the notion that there could only be one sun in the sky had taken deep root. This was the very embodiment of highly concentrated power. In the Daoist Order, the fifth-generation Grand Master had reached the peak, only for it to collapse during the sixth-generation Grand Master’s era. Judging from the actions of the three Deputy Grand Masters, they were undoubtedly opposed to extreme concentration of power, yet they must also admit that each of them yearned for such power, so long as it rested in their own hands.

At this moment, with the contest for the seventh-generation Grand Master approaching, how should this question be answered to be considered correct?

Most Sages were veterans in officialdom, so naturally, they answered in the safest, most politically correct way, saying that power must be checked or locked in a cage.

When it came time for Qi Xuansu to speak, he had not fully figured a solution, so he said, “I think the reason everyone longs for an enlightened ruler and an incorruptible official is precisely that power is so highly concentrated. Those who hold power hold everything, so everyone else can only hope that the one in power is discerning, upright, and exceptionally capable so that their interests are safeguarded. If the right person holds such concentrated power, it can unleash tremendous force, enough to remake heaven and earth. But if the wrong person holds it, disaster follows at once, plunging everything into unprecedented chaos. How we decide who wields such concentrated power is therefore of utmost importance.

“I’ve always wondered, how did people like Wang Jiaohe and Chen Shuhua come to hold power? Does this not indicate a failure of checks and balances, and a failure of oversight? This is something we must reflect on seriously. We often speak of changing the Daoist Order and rectifying the moral climate of the world. So perhaps we can begin from this very angle.”

This answer was fairly orthodox, and the Heavenly Preceptor did not offer much comment.

In truth, Qi Xuansu had guessed that the Heavenly Preceptor was hinting at the Li family’s attempt to pass down the position of Grand Master by inheritance as an example of the strongman’s extreme desire for concentrated power. But he dared not say it aloud, as that would be inviting disaster. The Heavenly Preceptor was not seeking to openly criticize the Li family. He merely planted a seed, offered a hint, and laid down a casual move for the future.

After the lecture ended, Qi Xuansu hastily pulled Zhang Yuelu along to see the Heavenly Preceptor.

Since the Heavenly Preceptor had come with some effort, he would not arrive and leave on the same day. He would teach again tomorrow and depart the day after.

The Heavenly Preceptor was not someone one could casually meet, but with Zhang Yuelu present, that was another matter entirely.

When Tang Jiahua saw Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, he smiled and said, “The Old Master was just about to send me to invite the two of you over, but you two read his mind!”