Dragon Canon

It was nearing dusk. The setting sun was as red as blood.

In the capital of Bianning Commandery, smoke was rising from every household, and the occasional sound of roosters crowing and dogs barking could be heard. Were it not for the thick green mist visible just outside the walls, the place would have seemed like a utopia.

At the city gates, a long line of people were waiting to enter. Soldiers searched through their belongings, occasionally tucking any decent-looking items into their own pockets.

A lazy-looking general was sitting on the ramparts and looking lazily down at the queue of people below. He didn’t look very old. The city gate commandant was standing beside him, bowing and scraping obsequiously.

The young general yawned and said, “There are a lot of people here, but no money to be made! Those guys here are all dressed in rags—how much could we get even if we stripped them all?”

The commandant groaned. “I know right? Lately, it’s been nothing but people like this. We only come across a few merchant caravans now and then, and they all have connections. They just hand over a couple of coins as a formality—it’s practically like giving alms to beggars!”

After venting his grievances, the commandant immediately put on a smile and said, “It’s only after following you that I got to live the high life, General Yue!”

Yue Qilin yawned again and said, “It’s almost mealtime. Eating is important. Tell you men to stop searching, let them all in, and shut the gates immediately! Then, we’ll go to your place for dinner. I’m craving your wife’s cooking.”

The commandant’s face lit up with a broad grin. “My wife may not be much to look at, but her cooking is truly second to none! Tonight, she’s prepared salted vegetables and hot-pot tofu—I guarantee it’ll be a whole new experience for you!”

Yue Qilin patted him on the shoulder. “Excellent! If tonight’s food is good, I’ll have my new bride learn a thing or two from your wife.”

“Rest assured! My wife will teach her everything!”

A short while later, the soldiers at the city gates stopped questioning people and let everyone into the city at once. Among the crowd were a few burly men carrying tattered bundles. They vanished without a trace once they entered the city.

Inside the commandery administrator’s residence, the lights were bright, and the music was melodious. A large table had been set up in the main hall where Lee Weisheng, commandery administrator of Bianning, was hosting a banquet for his colleagues. The second-highest official in the commandery, Vice Administrator Sun Chao’en, was present as well and sitting next to him.

One official asked, “Why hasn’t General Yue come?”

Lee Weisheng replied casually, “General Yue doesn’t care for crowds, nor does he care for such common dishes. If he doesn’t want to come, then so be it.”

Immediately, several officials read the room and started listing General Yue’s faults. However, they all chose their words carefully and did not make any overly harsh remarks.

After three rounds of wine, Lee Weisheng said, “Lord Sun, I heard you sent a memorial to the capital early this morning. What important matter could be so urgent as to warrant such diligence?”

Sun Chao’en smiled and replied, “I neither have deep-rooted connections nor powerful allies in the court like you, Lord Lee. Naturally, I have to be more diligent. There wasn’t much in my memorial, really. Remember that immortal tree that recently emerged from the west? Years ago, I read in an ancient text about an immortal tree called the White Jade Crimson Cherry, and it bears a striking resemblance to the tree in the rumors. It is said to be an immortal tree that could prolong life—exceedingly rare.”

“Rumors aren’t necessarily true; you acted too hastily, Lord Sun. Was that all you’ve written in your memorial?”

“Of course not. I also submitted a complaint against Commandery Administrator Yuan. The immortal tree was right under his jurisdiction, yet he remained completely oblivious to it until its existence became public! The charge of incompetent governance and lax oversight alone should be enough to land him in hot waters.

“Furthermore, I have also submitted a report against General Yue Jinshan. The Shamans have been making frequent moves as of late, but what has he achieved? He also appointed only his cronies to positions of importance and monopolized all the power. As if that isn’t enough, the generals and officers of his strongholds do not consult with their civil officials at all! One might say that he harbors treasonous intentions!”

Lee Weisheng was just raising a cup of wine to his lips when his movements paused. When he listened until the end, he finally said with a stunned expression, “Lord Sun, I must admit there is... quite a lot more in your memorial than I expected.”

Sun Chao’en replied, “I am living up to my king’s expectations, that’s all.”

Lee Weisheng continued, “Setting that aside, there is a pressing problem at hand that I hope everyone here can offer some solutions. The number of refugees arriving from Inner Jin has been increasing daily in recent days. Already, the city is struggling to handle the burden.”

Just then, a young official sitting at the farthest end of the table, with the air of a bookish scholar about him, spoke up, “The Shaman frontier is a harsh place, ravaged by war. Why would these people leave behind the comfort and security of Inner Jin and come to Outer Jin?”

The other officials remained impassive, though inwardly they were all sneering and thinking: This guy really hasn’t struggled a single day in his life, hasn’t he? If Inner Jin really is all that ‘safe’ and ‘comfortable’, why would they travel a thousand li just to venture to Outer Jin?

The official’s surname was Cai. He was a newly appointed presented scholar[1] from the previous year, assigned to Bianning Commandery upon passing the imperial examination.

Emboldened by his colleagues’ token compliments, the scholar raised his voice, saying, “Human lives are at stake here. These people have traveled thousands of li to reach Bianning Commandery; they must surely be destitute. Fortunately, the commandery still has ample surplus grain. I believe we should set up food relief centers, open the granaries to distribute grain, and then mobilize these people to cultivate the surrounding wasteland. This way, the situation will be stabilized by next year.”

Lee Weisheng remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Sun Chao’en spoke up. “Although the commandery has grain, it is all allocated for specific purposes. For instance, the military rations are drawn from here, and so are the local militias’ provisions. We simply cannot spare a single grain. If we open our granaries because a few starving people are asking for food, then open it the next day because more refugees had shown up, it is only a matter of time before we run out of everything. We are not immortals; we cannot conjure grain out of thin air.”

The scholar surnamed Cai felt his face grow hot with embarrassment and retorted, “I have examined the ledgers. It is clearly stated in the records that we have more than enough to last until next autumn. As long as we clear enough new fields this year, we can replenish the royal granaries by the next.”

Sun Chao’en replied calmly, “I wonder where Lord Cai has seen these ledgers? I have not seen them myself.”

Before the scholar surnamed Cai could answer, he continued, “In any case, we cannot distribute grain without a royal decree. Are you truly acting in the court’s best interest, or are you simply using the court’s funds to bolster your own reputation, Lord Cai?”

This was a heavy accusation. The scholar surnamed Cai flushed crimson and argued, “My personal reputation is of no consequence—”

Lee Weisheng cut him off, saying, “The matter of distributing grain is of the utmost importance. I cannot act on my own authority. We must report this to the high-ups and await the decision of the court officials.”

The scholar surnamed Cai sat back down unhappily, saying no more.

Several officials exchanged furtive, knowing glances. Unlike the scholar surnamed Cai, they knew the truth: the grains only existed on paper. The granaries were all empty, their contents having long since been sold off. As for who had bought it, everyone knew full well, but no one asked or mentioned it—after all, they had all received their share of the silver.

..................

Qingming.

Wei Yuan had not rested for several days. Every day, he ran back and forth between the armament workshop, the mines, the herb garden, and the drill grounds. He handled almost everything personally, as if this was the only way he could forget certain things.

It was now the hour of daybreak, when the sun was rising and the shadows were receding; when life was at its most vibrant and lively. However, the drill grounds were shrouded in solemnity. Over two hundred cultivators were sitting cross-legged on the floor and waiting for the most important moment of their lives.

Most of the cultivators were dressed in rags, clearly hailing from the Shattered Realm. However, among them were several dozen people dressed in fine, uniformly-styled garments—they were the scions of the Cui Clan.

Wei Yuan walked across the drill grounds, passing through the ground. At that moment, spirit qi surged, and Life is a Flash was triggered, granting everyone one final experience.

With the aid of Qingming, Wei Yuan could sense the state of everyone’s sea of consciousness and roughly gauge their probability of establishing a Dao Foundation.

This batch of cultivators was far inferior to the previous two. Roughly only half would be able to forge a Dao Foundation. Even though Wei Yuan had blessed them with fortune beforehand, less than seventy percent of them were expected to succeed.

Those who originally possessed sufficient innate talent but were limited by their cultivation methods or cultivation resources had already established their Dao Foundations. Those who were only forging their Dao Foundations now were either lacking in innate talent and foundation, or born with some sort of innate weakness. Even though Wei Yuan had used his fortune to bolster their physical constitutions, effectively raising their baseline, and illuminated the path forward with Life is a Flash, there were still quite a few of them who could not pass the threshold.

Wei Yuan could not help but feel a pang of regret for them. These cultivators had all endured countless bloody battles. It would not be an exaggeration to say they had crawled out of the dead. Each one possessed an unwavering will and ironclad resolve as well. Alas, their innate foundation was simply too weak—it was like trying to build a house on quicksand; even the most skilled architect would not be able to succeed.

The members of the Cui Clan, though, were a different story altogether.

Most of these spoiled, wealthy brats had only experienced one bloody battle in their lives; the one from a few days ago. Now, only seventy remained, including more than twenty who had purchased an immunity from death.

In other words, the Cui clansmen’ actual combat losses amounted to thirty out of seventy-odd survivors—nearly half their number. However, the growth gained from surviving such a fierce battle was equally evident. Every survivor’s primordial spirit had grown significantly stronger, and their willpower was incomparable to what it had been before. In truth, these youngsters had no idea that the strengthening of their primordial spirits was their true gain—in some respects, it was even more important than establishing a Dao Foundation.

Among these Cui clansmen who had seen battle, eight of them held the potential to condense a Dao Foundation despite not having received any fortune. One young woman was even nurturing what looked like the faint outline of a sword inside her sea of consciousness. In other words, she had a chance of forming an Earth-tier Dao Foundation.

Wei Yuan still remembered that day when this young woman had tried to sell herself repeatedly in order to buy her younger brother an immunity from death. She had failed.

Wei Yuan walked among them, secretly bestowing a bit of fortune upon several to bring the total to fourteen Dao Foundations. As for the young woman, Wei Yuan gave her an extra wisp of fortune. It might just be enough to propel her to the Earth-tier.

In comparison, the twenty-odd people who had bought pardons fared far worse. Their primordial spirits were all dim and lifeless, and their willpowers were in shambles. In fact, several of them still couldn’t achieve a meditative state, allowing all sorts of thoughts to bubble in their minds one after another. Wei Yuan could not even imagine how they had cultivated their seas of consciousness in the first place.

These individuals’ bodies were laden with pill qi. It was clear they had been popping pills since childhood. Too much. The medicinal properties had stagnated inside their bodies and failed to dissipate, ultimately undermining their foundation. Not everyone could consume pills like rice and not retain a single trace of pill qi like Wei Yuan did back in the day.

Speaking of physical constitution, these twenty-odd individuals actually possessed the highest potential among the entire group. However, their primordial spirits were weak and their minds were impure. It was like having a solid foundation but choosing to build a house of mud and dry grass on top of it—naturally, nothing could be built.

Among the crowd, only one young gentleman in brocade robes possessed both exceptional physical constitution and a robust primordial spirit. He stood out like a crane among chickens, proving that Wei yuan had not wasted his time bestowing him three wisps of fortune back then.

The bell tolled nine times, marking the end of the count.

In an instant, Life is a Flash switched off, and Jia Wood Nurtures Life came active. Everyone began forming their Dao Foundations.

From time to time, worldly origin qi would pour down from the void. Those who had successfully forged their Dao Foundations were guided to the side, where high cultivators explained how to solidify them.

Cheers of delight rang out from time to time across the drill grounds, interspersed with sighs and even the sounds of weeping. An array had long been set up on the grounds so that those who had not yet completed their Dao Foundations could not hear any sound from the outside world, nor could they sense the fluctuation of others’ Dao energy.

Although there were many cultivators on the drill grounds, only the members of the Cui Clan were making a racket.

The native cultivators were conspicuously silent. Those who succeeded merely pumped their fist in celebration. Those who failed remained unperturbed, waiting for their next opportunity.

Moments later, grumbling voices began emerging one another. Some Cui clansmen were even grabbing the native cultivators by the collar and demanding an explanation: Why was it that they, who had paid their money, couldn’t establish their Dao Foundation, while those lowly bastards—many of whom were wretches from collateral branches or even bore injuries—could succeed?

It wasn’t until Cui Yu appeared, his face cloudy with anger, and kicked the ringleaders to the ground that the commotion was finally quelled.

Just then, a pillar of light shot skyward from above the brocade-clad young master’s head. Huge lotus petals slowly unfurled around him, and a powerful aura swept across the drill ground.

The young master rose to his feet and laughed long and loud, looking up at the sky. “Who said that I, Cui Changfeng[2], couldn’t forge a Dao Foundation? Just wait until I return—I’m gonna blind those old fools’ dog eyes with my cyan lotus!”

Staring at the fading cyan lotus, a stormy-looking Cui Yu slowly turned his head to glare at Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan himself was astonished. Had he invested too much fortune and accidentally created a heaven foundation out of Cui Changfeng? But upon further reflection, something didn’t add up. Given this fellow’s original physical constitution and state of mind, forget three wisps of fortune, even thirty wisps wouldn’t be enough to do it. There had to be another reason.

Just then, the brocade-clad young master spotted Wei Yuan and strode over, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder. “You’re a decent lad,” he said. “You get the job done. The few thousand taels of silver I spent were well worth it!”

Before his hand could even touch Wei Yuan’s shoulder, Cui Yu had already kicked him to the ground. He followed it up with a flurry of punches and kicks.

The young master cried out in pain, pleading, “Brother Yu, please, go easy on me! We’re both Heaven-tier now, and so many people are watching! Spare me some dignity....”

Cui Yu, cursing the heavens for their blindness and the Great Dao for its injustice, struck him even harder[3].

1. 進士 Jinshi - Chinese Text Project ☜

2. Refer to chapter 231. ☜

3. If you recall how hard Cui Yu had to work to get his heaven foundation... well. Let’s just say that his fury is fair. ☜