Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way

The foolishness of ordinary people had resulted in the wrong interpretation of so many words, scriptures, cultivation techniques, and spells.

Little did they realize that the original meaning of these things was actually the greatest proof of intelligence.

The most obvious example were those cultivators of items who believed in the Way of the Sword, telling generation after generation bullshit like “one sword cuts through a thousand spells” and stuff like that. They have no idea how many cultivators they’ve misled with such words.

The original story was that there was a period in ancient history that just wasn’t as prosperous as the era before that, so the cultivators then had no choice but to cultivate in such items. But their descendants boasted so much about it, as though it was an invincible technique of sorts.

Just like what Gu Suihan had said before – what was a sword? What was the Way? What was the Way of the sword? It was nothing but bullshit.

Regardless of whether you were talking about a saber, a sword, a magic weapon, a spiritual weapon, or even great treasures and dao weapons, all of these were nothing more than killing tools for cultivators.

And killing someone was simply just that.

Killing out of defense or manslaughter were just ways in which people tried to make it sound nicer.

The Way of the Sword, to put it very simply, was really nothing more than a method to kill another person.

But they were so proud of this that they would rather suffer for nothing or, worse, lose their lives over it.

This was Gu Suihan’s opinion of these idiot cultivators who claimed to cultivate in the Way of the sword or the saber.

He had killed so many of such people when he was on Earth. Killing them was as simple as slaughtering a chicken. To think that these people thought their one sword would make them invincible. They must have drunk too much bleach or something.

“Half of the Dao De Jing has been used to discipline all peoples,” said Gu Suihan with a sigh after he had returned to the study and held up an old book.

The Dao De Jing was an incomplete publication.

That was what Gu Suihan’s shifu had told him.

The front half that was left only taught people what manners were and how to have them. The back half was actually an all-powerful cultivation technique.

As for why the back half disappeared altogether, nobody knew. Or rather, those who knew were all dead.

“Qingming had learned from the Mohists. His ability to lay those ancient traps were sincerely admirable.” Gu Suihan looked up at his full bookshelves filled with all sorts of books. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he started thinking.

The school of diplomacy, the school of agriculturalism, the school of yin-yang, Mohism, Confucianism, Daoism, the school of legalism…the hundred schools of thought. Only a few had been passed down the ages and developed well. And that was because those that weren’t obedient had been crushed to death by Ying Zheng a long time ago.

All that talk about the right way to rule a country or the mentality a king should have was utter rubbish. Did Ying Zheng need a bunch of ants to teach him what to do? That was ridiculous!

Everything Ying Zheng said was the law. Everything he did was a command. Everything was standardized and every message was consistent, like how a totalitarian regime was. Who would dare to disobey? Who could even disobey? Anybody who did was sure to die. There was no second option.

As for those who chose to die defending their Way.

Unless one were pushed into a corner with no hope of ever bouncing back, very few would choose to do this.

Dying a martyr?

Such people were just a bunch of self-pitying, selfish bums who were way better at whining than doing anything productive.

They took the moral high ground and used their narrow-minded views to attack everything else while forcing their moral views on everybody.

Such people were called petty Confucians – they were petty people. In today’s terms, they were the social justice warriors.

These people should be glad that they live in the current era, in a world that was considered relatively peaceful. Because there was something called the law that oppressed them yet protected them at the same time.

But this world that Gu Suihan was now in was different. Anything you said could literally be your last. That was because there was no law here. Laws were just some shackles you could break because the possibilities for a cultivator were endless.

They had more than enough time to wait, cultivate, and eventually break through these shackles compared to the mere mortals on Earth. This world was way more cruel, and the law of the jungle was much more evident here.

Take Gu Suihan, for example. He killed Wen Xinglong in an instant because Wen Xinglong had tried to trick him, and he had wiped out the entire Wei family because they went back on their word. Why? Because he was powerful. He was so powerful he could ignore some of these worldly laws.

“Sir, someone asked me to pass this to you,” said a maid timidly as she held up a thin name card.

“You’re here too? Things…are really getting more and more interesting.”

Gu Suihan immediately chuckled when he saw the name on the card and kept the card. He gave the maid a few instructions, then disappeared into thin air.

The person who had come was none other than the Equal Spirit Order saintess who had parted ways with him not too long ago – Murong Yun.

Perhaps one of her backers was using her to find out more about Gu Suihan or something else. But she had actually sent him this message privately.

“Long time no see.” Gu Suihan walked into the quaint but elegant room. He moved his fingers and set up several formations to prevent anybody else from listening in.

“Not too long, about six months,” replied Murong Yun as she removed the thin veil over her face. Her pretty eyes were clear and bright as she stared unblinkingly at the lazy-looking young man leaning back in the chair reserved for the party with higher status. Her heart was restless and palpitated like crazy.

Of course, this wasn’t the result of pheromones or bullshit like that. Cultivators were creatures who didn’t care about anybody unless you could offer them some benefit in return. Being in love was a joke to them. Anyone who dabbled in this area was definitely an idiot.

“You’ve decided on what you want?” Gu Suihan was referring to Murong Yun, helping him to contact You Hantian. The deed was done, but she hadn’t asked for anything in return yet.

“No. I don’t think it’s enough.” Murong Yun pursed her lips, her red lips gleaming with an attractive shine. She stretched her arm out to offer Gu Suihan tea, getting up enough to show off her curvaceous figure in the process. Her chiffon dress moved a little at the same time, allowing him to see some of her fair cleavage.

“Then…what do you want?” asked Gu Suihan with a little interest as he took the cup of tea she offered.

“I…want to be a saintess.” Saying these words seemed to have taken all the energy out of her.

Gu Suihan’s smile looked more and more gentle and friendly, but this made Murong Yun’s heart pound even more fearfully as she continued to observe him secretly.

“But you’re already a saintess,” he replied.

“I want to become the real saintess.” Her pretty face was all tensed up even though her voice was more and more resolute.

“What can you give me in return?” whispered Gu Suihan into her ear after suddenly leaning forward and holding her fair chin up.

“The Equal Spirit Order…” Murong Yun had clearly been caught off guard. Her fair neck turned red, and her youthful eyes lost focus, revealing a little panic inside.

“Very good. Your offer…is better than Xia Yun’s.”

Gu Suihan combed her slightly messy hair and pushed her hair behind her ears. He then put a communication jade slip into her hands, patted her small shoulders, and strolled out.

Murong Yun had come today only to get a promise out of Gu Suihan. Or rather, she wanted to know what he thought.

Compared to paying a high price to scatter the Equal Spirit Order out of a vengeful heart, it was better to use this order to its maximum first.

“All parties have gathered, but each has their own considerations and each has their own plan. The bigger fish will eat up the smaller fish, while the smaller fish will eat the shrimps. Who are the smaller fish? Who are the shrimps? Are all of you ready?”

Gu Suihan strolled through the streets and looked at the people around him. Some were just pedestrians, others were selling their wares. Some were large retailers, others were just small carts. As he uttered these words, his smile broadened, as though he was waiting for something exciting to happen.

“Whew! We’re finally here!” Li Yu panted heavily as he glanced fearfully at the flying ship behind him. He wiped the sweat on his forehead away, looked around with a slightly lost look on his face, then randomly picked one direction and started walking.

The amount he had saved up had just been enough to take the flying ship. And now he had nothing left. While it was true that cultivators could go without food and water for a few months, Li Yu was only at Foundation Establishment and really couldn’t hold out much longer than that.

And so, thanks to the instruction of the Esteemed One, he accepted a very important job – dishwashing! That was how he was going to get food and accommodation for the time being.

“How am I going to get anything done without any money?” Li Yu asked the Esteemed One after letting out a long sigh.

“Ever heard of robbery? Murder? Arson? Hmm?” the Esteemed One taught him with grave words.

“I have to rob again?” Li Yu immediately frowned. In order to get enough funds to buy a flying ship ticket, he had already committed so many crimes unwillingly. He didn’t think he would have to go through this again!

“You don’t have the money to set up your own business, do you? Look, you need time to cultivate. Do YOU have a lot of time?” sneered the Esteemed One with some exasperation at Li Yu’s retort.

“I…I’ll do it!” replied Li Yu in a rather reluctant and saddened voice.