Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he looked at Si Wuya who had just fallen to his knees and said, “If you can answer me, I’ll regard you as my teacher.”
“…” Si Wuya trembled inwardly. He felt a chill ran up his spine. If his master was anything like his old self, he would have rained down punches and kicks upon him. His master would not have bothered to ask him questions. He could wrap his mind around his master’s change in attitude.
The others who were watching were also shocked by Lu Zhou’s words. Lu Zhou must be confident to say these words to Si Wuya.
Si Wuya did not dare to say anything. He did not even dare to look up.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and considered it. As a transmigrator, he could ask questions about calculus, world-class mathematical problems, or conjectures of the School of Names, but he felt that it would be meaningless. Apart from thoroughly putting Si Wuya in his place, it was not a good way of educating Si Wuya. It was the duty of a teacher to resolve his students’ confusions. After muttering to himself for a while, he finally said, “The people in power shouldn’t fear a scarcity of resources but rather it’s unequal distribution… If I only have eight weapons, how should I distribute them among my disciples?”
Si Wuya was taken aback. He was at a loss over how to answer the question.
The others exchanged glances as well. How were eight weapons supposed to be divided among nine disciples? How could the distribution be equal? Would a weapon still be a weapon if it was split? If he killed one of his disciples, would it be even?
“Answer me,” Lu Zhou said commandingly in a deep voice as he looked down at Si Wuya.
Lu Zhou seemed to be intentionally putting Si Wuya in a tight spot, but the others thought there was more meaning to this than meets the eye. Would Si Wuya be bold enough to answer? Would he revolt and attempt to become his master’s teacher?
“Everything in the world has a source… In that case, what’s the origin of the world?” Lu Zhou asked again.
Upon hearing this question, Si Wuya shuddered.
Lu Zhou said in a deep voice again, “Answer me.”
“…” Were there answers to these questions? The elders of the Old Age Pavilion kept shaking their heads. Let alone them, even Si Wuya could not answer this question.
Many years ago, someone had asked this question in the cultivation world. However, the explanation proposed was so vague that it could be applied in any situation. Since the advent of cultivation theories of the Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist sects, there had already been heated debates about similar matters. If there had been an answer, there would not have been such a wide gap in understanding.
“Can’t you answer it?” Lu Zhou looked down at Si Wuya.
Si Wuya shook his head. He would never dare to claim that he was a great scholar. He had the pride, but he did not have the guts.
“If it’s something vague, the others might think that I’m bullying you…” Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he pondered on it. He suddenly remembered about the issue of severing the Golden Lotus. Was the truth valid just because everyone believed it? Galileo experimented with two iron balls by allowing them to fall at the same time in his quest to challenge the truth. In a similar way of thinking, was it a must for the Golden Lotus to exist? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
With these thoughts in mind, Lu Zhou asked again, “Cultivators formed Golden Lotuses to enter the Nascent Divinity realm and sprout leaves to improve their cultivation bases. Let me ask you this, which came first, the Golden Lotus or the leaf?”
Si Wuya was slightly taken aback. Was this question difficult? It sounded simple enough. When a cultivator formed the Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar, it was a given for them to form a Golden Lotus before sprouting leaves. However, he only dared to answer the question in his heart and not out loud.
The others found this strange as well.
“How can there be leaves without a Golden Lotus? It’s only natural for the Golden Lotus to exist first,” Hua Wudao said.
“If the method of severing the Golden Lotus is real… It’s also possible for one to sprout leaves before forming a Golden Lotus,” Pan Litian said.
“The problem is nobody has succeeded yet.”
The others began discussing this matter in earnest. When they returned to the topic of severing the Golden Lotus, they wondered if it was possible that the method was flawed to begin with? Throughout these few days, the Evil Sky Pavilion had also obtained some information from the outside world. So far, those who severed their Golden Lotuses had died.
Si Wuya did not need to answer the question because the answer was obvious.
Lu Zhou had expected everyone to have these thoughts. If his second disciple, Yu Shangrong, had not successfully severed his Golden Lotus, he would not have asked this question. He looked at Si Wuya calmly. All he had to do was throw questions at him. When Yu Shangrong returned, the answer would be obvious.
“Think carefully before you answer my question.” Lu Zhou was about to turn around and return to the eastern pavilion when Zhao Yue walked over with a letter in hand.
“Master, a letter from Jiang Aijian.”
“Read it.”
Zhao Yue unfolded the letter and read aloud, “Old senior, the method of severing the Golden Lotus has reached the palace. The palace gathered a hundred men to experiment on. During the day, ten of them severed their Golden Lotuses, and only one person survived. Old senior… I have a feeling that I’ll be witnessing history. Hahaha…”
Zhao Yue did not want to read the letter. She had always been annoyed by the ‘hahaha’ at the end of the letter. When she looked up, she discovered everyone was looking at her with a stunned expression. She was annoyed by the ‘hahaha’ so she was distracted.
1
The end of the letter stated that one person survived.
Everyone fell silent.
Finally, Pan Litian asked, “This means that it’s truly possible to survive after severing one’s Golden Lotus…”
“So, the leaf came before the Golden Lotus?”
Perhaps, the young cultivators did not understand the question. However, Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Hua Wudao realized that the problem lay with the Golden Lotus.
Si Wuya frowned, an incredulous expression could be seen on his face. Just a second ago, he was convinced he had the right answer. However, now, his answer was proven wrong like a slap to his face. This was much more hurtful to him than if he were to be physically beaten.
Lu Zhou glanced at Si Wuya. He remained silent and left for the eastern pavilion.
“Safe journey, master.”
“Safe journey, Pavilion Master.”
The others merely glanced at Si Wuya before leaving the back of the mountain.
Zhu Honggong was the only one who remained. He walked up to Si Wuya’s side and said, “Seventh Senior Brother, you’re finally back. Can’t you just lay low for a while?”
With his master gone, Si Wuya returned to normal. “How am I supposed to lay low?” Si Wuya asked, “These people are outsiders, after all. As an Evil Sky Pavilion disciple, I must never bring shame to the pavilion.”
Zhu Honggong scratched his head. “You seem to have a point… Are you truly unable to answer master’s questions?”
Si Wuya replied with a disapproving tone, “It’s only a vague question. It’s normal for someone to not be able to answer the question.”
“Seventh Senior Brother, have a good rest. I’ll be taking my leave.”
…
When he returned to the eastern pavilion, Lu Zhou walked up to the table, picked up his brush, and drew a Golden Lotus on the paper.
After scrutinizing it for a moment, Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded.
It was proven that severing one’s Golden Lotus was a feasible feat. The next step was to improve the survival rate. Surely, the collective wisdom of the people under the heavens could find a better way to achieve this. Relying on the strength of a group was better than fighting alone. Just when he was about to meditate on the Heavenly Writing scrolls, he heard a voice from outside.
“Greetings, master! May you live forever and ever!”
“Come in.” Lu Zhou, naturally, knew it was Zhu Honggong, his eighth disciple.
Zhu Honggong entered the room and kneeled on the ground before he said, “Master… I have a feeling that Seventh Senior Brother isn’t quite willing to accept the outcome!”
“Unwilling?” Lu Zhou regarded Zhu Honggong in confusion. Even he himself could not answer those questions, let alone Si Wuya. What was there to be unwilling to accept?
“He says your questions are vague, and that it’s normal for anyone to be unable to answer them,” Zhu Honggong said tentatively.
Lu Zhou frowned. As expected, Si Wuya, this rascal, was a tougher nut to crack than Yu Shangrong.
‘I’ll see what I can do about it.’ He suddenly remembered the fear he felt from being dominated by mathematics. His wizened face twitched despite himself. There was no need to pose the seven greatest mathematical problems of the world or ask any questions related to high-end technical fields. After all, Lu Zhou could not even prove or answer them himself. At the end of the day, Si Wuya would still be unconvinced.
Lu Zhou waved his hand, and a paper flew toward him. He raised his brush and wrote a mathematical problem in this world’s language. The paper rustled as the brush flew across the surface. After he finished writing, he put down his brush and said, “Take this to him.”
“Yes, master.”
