Dragon Canon

Having just settled the matters with the Cui Clan, Ren Suxing came knocking on Wei Yuan’s door accompanied by a junior brother and a junior sister.

All three looked radiant after a hearty meal. It wasn’t because cultivators were particularly susceptible to hunger, but because an empty stomach naturally soured one’s mood—especially when a group was eating eight meals a day right in front of your face.

Upon seeing Wei yuan, Ren Suxing immediately declared in a clear voice, “Brother Wei, I can see that there is much to be done here, and that there are more tasks than there are manpower. As fellow disciples, it is only natural that we help each other! Just so you know, we are going to, one, inspect the domain and identify gaps and needs. We will focus our efforts on where manpower is most required.

“Two, the great affairs of the domain lie with sacrifice and warfare[1]. I intend to reorganize the armies within the domain and, when the time is right, wage war against the Shamans to expand human territory!”

At the mention of expanding human territory, Ren Suxing’s face flushed slightly. The guy was obviously stirring with excitement.

Wei Yuan remained silent as he mulled over the guy’s words.

What did he mean by, ‘Just so you know’? [2]

What was he implying when he quoted Zuozhuan? That he studied history? [3]

Wei Yuan turned his gaze to the two young fellows behind Ren Suxing next—they were also from the Skyblue Hall—and asked, “Do you share the same opinion as well, Senior Brothers?”

The duo appeared somewhat self-conscious in Wei Yuan’s presence and replied, “We have come here to gain experience. Naturally, we should be brave enough to take on responsibilities and lead from the front. Senior Brother Ren possesses profound cultivation and seasoned experience; he has fought against the foreign races for many years, and he is willing to bring us along with him. Naturally, all of us disciples of the Skyblue Hall hold him in high regard.”

“That reminds me, where are my senior brothers and sisters from the Water Moon Hall?”

“They are quite interested in the herb gardens and the armament workshop and are planning to inspect them first.”

Wei Yuan’s face betrayed no emotion. He simply asked, “Before you came here, what instructions did the two Truemen give you?”

Ren Suxing replied, “They instructed us to assist you with everything we have and to earn merits as soon as possible.”

That was definitely the style of the Truemen of the Skyblue Hall—focusing only on the big picture and overlooking the details; speaking only what was most important and neglecting the not-so-important ones. The problem was that their view was so broad that many minor details that should not have been overlooked ended up being neglected as well.

Still maintaining a calm expression, Wei Yuan said, “Thank you for enlightening me on the Truemen’s intentions and your thoughts. However, due to a series of major battles, the realm has only recently stabilized, and the work is as plentiful as it is challenging. Thus, I would like some time to consider which task is best suited for your expertise. Rest assured that I’ll make the arrangements later when I’m ready.”

Ren Suxing waved his arm uncaringly. “There’s no need, Junior Brother. Just go about your business and don’t worry about us—we’ll find work to do on our own.”

A smile that didn’t reach the eyes spread across Wei Yuan’s face as he replied unhurriedly, “Every task within the realm is currently assigned, and there are no vacancies at the moment. Moreover, there are many areas that are off-limits to unauthorized entry at the moment, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to find work on your own.”

Ren Suxing looked somewhat displeased. “This realm belongs to the Skyblue Hall, and you’re saying that there are places we cannot enter freely? Junior Brother, as your senior, it is my duty to tell you that—”

Wei Yuan interrupted him, “Senior Brother Ren, the frontier is a complex place. I’m afraid they’re not quite what you imagined. For the time being, I ask that all of you stay within your courtyards and await further news. If you wander about recklessly and accidentally provoke the senior disciples from other halls, you’ll be putting me in a difficult position. If you find this arrangement unacceptable, my Master, Zhang Sheng, is also here. You may speak with him directly, Senior Brother Ren.”

At the mention of Zhang Sheng’s name, all three of them flinched instinctively.

Wei Yuan cracked a faint smile and said, “Please be at ease, Senior Brothers. You’ve traveled a long way, so you should rest. Only when you’ve regained your strength will you be ready to do battle with the foreigners.”

Ren Suxing forced out a smile and replied, “Then we shall await your good news, Junior Brother.”

Wei Yuan nodded and picked up his teacup. A young cultivator standing next to him immediately stepped forward and addressed the trio, “This way please, Senior Brothers!”

That was what he said, but his smile didn’t reach the eye, and his gaze held an inscrutable meaning. It took Ren Suxing a second to realize that it was one of the Cui clansmen he had shared a ship with—a man with whom he shared a grudge as deep as the ocean!

He was instantly puzzled. Weren’t these spoiled brats from noble clans acting all high and mighty earlier? Why were they rushing to act as his junior brother’s lackeys?

After watching his three senior brothers leave, Wei Yuan put the matter out of his mind. Since the Truemen had sent them over to train, Wei Yuan naturally had to make diligent arrangements. Since Senior Brother Ren had also studied history, his first lesson for him and his sect fellows was this: sidelining.

When would this treatment end depended on two things: his senior brothers’ awareness, and Wei Yuan’s feelings.

As for the Water Moon Hall disciples, they thought they had the right to “inspect” the herb gardens and armament workshops. They thought wrong. The herb gardens were the key to Trueman Chu He’s ascension, and the armament workshop was Yu Zhizhuo’s baby. Barring familiar faces, they did not allow anyone inside. As for the mortal settlements, cultivators notoriously thought themselves to be above mere mortals. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t be interested even if he specifically asked them to inspect those areas.

Wei Yuan said to the Cui clansman, “Unless I specifically give you the order, feel free to inform my senior brothers and sisters that I’m not available from now on.”

“As you command, realm lord!” Now this guy clearly had more wisdom than his sect fellows. The Cui clansman then lowered his voice and asked, “I hope you don’t take offense, realm lord, but your senior brothers are a bit... simple. Would you like me to arrange some ah, ‘trials’ and set them straight?”

Wei Yuan looked surprised. “Your lot aren’t even in the Dao Foundation stage yet. How can you force them to do anything?”

The Cui clansman chuckled. “A gentleman can be deceived by his principles[4]. Some of my brothers are quite skilled at picking fights and stirring up trouble, and your senior brothers clearly don’t understand these subtleties. The moment their tempers flare and they injure someone, it’ll be a never-ending mess for them, not to mention that the Palace’s rules aren’t just for show. I promise you I’ll get them to shed at least a layer of skin.”

Amused, Wei Yuan ultimately shook his head and said, “It’s fine. Best not to stir up trouble unnecessarily.”

Knowing the temperaments of his hall fellows, Wei Yuan figured that they would barge right into his office if they couldn’t find him. The Cui clansmen might be good at stirring up trouble, but they were also only in the Body-tempering stage. They wouldn’t be able to stop them. Therefore, the best way for him to handle this was to disappear.

After all, once today was over, the only place they would be free to roam would be the small town he had specifically set aside for guests. They wouldn’t be able to go anywhere else of importance. The cultivators guarding the realm weren’t pushovers either; they answered only to Wei Yuan.

Although the disciples of the Skyblue Hall loved debating others, they had to be in the right before they could try anything. Otherwise, the sect and hall regulations weren’t just for show. Wei Yuan had already instructed his men not to strike first, but also not to back down a single step.

With that, Wei Yuan left the central peak and traveled to the new city where boys and girls were staying. Their aptitudes would be re-evaluated over the next few days, and the six universal cultivation methods of Body-tempering would be imparted to them. This was a matter of great importance for the realm of Qingming, their own karma, and Wei Yuan’s very survival.

These past few days, the cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning had been swamped with work. Even Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng had personally stepped in to assess the aptitudes of each of these boys and girls. As Wei Yuan’s karma was at stake, the duo spared no effort and set aside all concerns regarding their face, carrying out these tedious tasks with the utmost seriousness and meticulous care.

Even Trueman Chu He left behind only his snake to guard the herb gardens and enlisted his cat’s help. The cat was a powerful Avatar pet and possessed much keener senses than those of humans. It only needed to sniff them for a moment before coming at a decision and giving them a paw print. Each paw print was unique and corresponded to one of the six universal cultivation methods.

During the assessment, the old Daoist noticed that his snake seemed to have gotten into a conflict and even resorted to violence. However, since both of his pets had long become sapient—they were no less intelligent than any human being—he surmised that the new brats from Cui Clan had likely tried to enter the herb gardens and gotten beaten up for their efforts.

The snake knew its limit and would not easily kill or maim someone, so Trueman Chu He did not pay it much mind and continued with the aptitude assessments. However, the old Daoist had forgotten that his snake had one peculiar habit: it loved striking someone in the face.

By the time Wei Yuan arrived, the assessments were already 80% complete. Without a word, he joined the group and began examining and measuring the children’s aptitude one by one.

After half a day of hard work, Wei Yuan found himself gaping at the recorded data. On average, every single one of these boys and girls possessed an innate foundation of three chi. By the immortal sect unified exam’s standards, they all possessed the potential to establish a Dao Foundation and were barely eligible for admission to a fourth-tier sect!

Unfortunately, the vast majority of them were shrouded in black qi. Not only did they possess exactly zero fortune, many of them were burdened by karmic debt and sin. In today’s cultivation world, fortune was becoming increasingly valued. Because of this, those burdened by karmic debts and sins would, under normal circumstances, rarely reach the heights their innate foundation suggested.

However, even if only half of them managed to reach the Dao Foundation stage, it would still be an astonishing number. This did not change even if the vast majority of them would never go beyond the Dao Foundation stage. Now, Wei Yuan was facing a new problem: where on earth was he going to procure the cultivation resources for them to cultivate?

It went without saying that the cultivation resources needed to nurture tens of thousands of Dao Foundation stage cultivators were no joke. Even if every single one of them were to cultivate the Immortal Sword Drizzle, the cost to nurture between 30 to 50 of them would be equivalent to the cost to nurture a single ordinary Dao Foundation stage cultivator in the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

Countless figures flashed through Wei Yuan’s mind. He quickly arrived at the conclusion that the cost to nurture just half of them was roughly equivalent to the cost it would take to nurture five of himself[5].

Fortunately, he did not need to worry about this right now. It wasn’t an impossible problem to solve either. The historical text had made it crystal clear that, when someone is in control of a great army, all of the world naturally becomes that individual’s family. And in a family, what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is also mine, right?

This was why wealth without strength was always a precursor to disaster.

Wei Yuan would continue to work until the sun had completely disappeared into the mountains before the assessment was finally finished.

As it turned out, the aptitude of this group of boys and girls were almost uniformly the same. Barring a hundred or so children with almost seven chi of foundation, everyone else measured between three chi to five chi.

The innate foundations were passable, their physical bodies were intact, and their minds were pure. Unfortunately, their weaknesses were equally evident: their fortune was literally in the negatives, and they possessed poor wisdom and insight. They had spent most of their lives sleeping in a mystic array and contributing their soul energy.

Among the six universal cultivation methods, the Earth Origin Scripture was the most comprehensive and ensured that every step of one’s cultivation was as steady as possible. It was the perfect counterbalance to their lack of fortune. Consequently, over 60% of them were chosen to practice this cultivation method.

Their simple-mindedness wasn’t completely a flaw either. Although their power of insight was lacking, they were overflowing with spirit. That was why the several hundred with the best innate foundation were chosen to practice the Great Sun Sword Holding Book.

Honestly, this outcome came somewhat as a surprise to Wei Yuan. He could not help but observe the youths while speculating on a certain swordman’s power of insight.

Only a small minority of children were capable of practicing the Great Sun Sword Holding Book, but their physical foundations were actually quite solid. It was just that years of slumber had left them somewhat weakened. For this reason, 20% of them were taught the Thick Earth Profound Body Scripture, a cultivation method focused on honing the physical body. Upon mastery, their bodies would be markedly stronger and more robust than those of other cultivators.

Additionally, 10% were taught the Illusory Sun Creates Smoke Art, a cultivation method that focused on cultivating the spirit. Upon mastery, they would enjoy a greater reservoir of Dao energy and be able to apply Dao arts more effortlessly.

Unfortunately, because the children’s fortune was in the negatives, not a single one was able to practice the Jade Toad Full Moon Painting. Wei Yuan couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Having finally wrapped up this major task, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted. So, they all returned to their respective quarters to meditate and replenish their primordial spirits. The children’s cultivation would formally begin early the next morning.

Wei Yuan did not return to his quarters. Instead, he spent the night in the new city.

As predicted, Ren Suxing and the rest of his senior brothers and sisters had sought him out eight times in a row and even forced their way through one time. Only when they saw that Wei Yuan was truly absent did they finally give up.

It was deep into the night. Wei Yuan was contemplating the general outline of the Myriad Vicissitudes Sword in a state of complete absorption when suddenly, an intuition struck him. He immediately withdrew out of his sea of consciousness and scanned the city with his perception.

What he discovered left him both shocked and enraged: in many places throughout the city, the boys and girls were embracing one another and engaging in acts of yin and yang!

There was no time to hesitate. Wei Yuan immediately ordered every child to separate themselves and cease all activities via his primordial spirit. He then summoned the cultivators on duty and placed the entire city on high alert.

Wei Yuan wore a grave, murderous expression on his face as he surveyed the city.

1. A famous quote from Zuozhuan, often translated as The Zuo Tradition or as The Commentary of Zuo, is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle Spring and Autumn Annals. ☜

2. Translation: Who’s the realm lord here, me or him? ☜

3. Translation: And I have not? ☜

4. A saying, meaning that you can use someone’s principles against them. ☜

5. Congratulations on Wei Yuan for adding to his own debt. ☜