Chapter 211: Ignorance
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
“Gather troops to kill off the pirates?” Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly when he heard this as he shook his head, “That is too difficult to achieve. Far too difficult.”
“With Top Scorer Pei’s capabilities, how can you find this difficult?” The Governor paused to ask.
“This isn’t an issue of capability.” Pei Zi Yun coldly answered. “Firstly, it’s clear that these pirates have some insider support, since they could last this long and carry out such sustained attacks. It must be that there’s a spy within the government or military.”
“Besides, I’m undeserving of such praise. I’m just a mere Scholar, without any official titles or positions. If I were to make any decisions, nobody would follow my orders. If they ignore my orders, we might lose the opportune timing to attack, and lose the battle against the pirates. When that happens, who shall take responsibilities for the failure?”
At this point, Pei Zi Yun stood up, “Your excellency is really putting me in a spot. I am just but a mere Scholar, and am ignorant in many other matters. Such a huge responsibility is beyond me.”
“Hold it there!” The Governor called out, and looked at Pei Zi Yun walking away resolutely. He then broke out into a smile, “What if I give you a title of military commander, and allow you to use the Emperor’s imperial tile. What would you say?”
With the stabilisation of the dynasty, the Imperial gave huge amounts of authority and autonomy to many high ranking officials, including the Governor, Inspector-General and Imperial Envoys. These officials were granted an imperial tile, which possesses the authority of the Emperor himself.
“Your excellency, that shows your sincerity in this matter. I was too brusque and might have offended your excellency, please forgive my ignorance.” Pei Zi Yun gave a serious look as he bowed down, “But this matter is huge, and cannot be resolved with just a few words.”
“I’d like to ask your excellency to hand me the reports on the navy admirals and pirates please.”
“That’s for sure.” The Governor smiled as well as he raised his tea cup. Pei Zi Yun then stood up and bade his farewells. The Governor escorted him to the door of the room, as Pei Zi Yun bowed once. After walking through the corridors, he stopped at the fountains and allowed the cold wind to run through him. Only after that did he deeply exhale.
‘If we were to talk about authority, the Governor has more or less the same level of authority as the Crown Prince. It’s only the matter of status which the Crown Prince trumps over him.’ Thinking up to this point, Pei Zi Yun forced a laugh, ‘Doesn’t that mean that just by having a higher status, one would be able to win over the entire country and rule?’
‘Of course a Crown Prince should have more authority than a Governor, especially with an heir now. The Crown Prince from the past clearly lacked influence and power without an heir. Now that he has a son, it’s clear that his authority is starting to recover.’ Pei Zi Yun shook his head and walked out of the door, ‘Forget it. What’s the point of thinking so much. At least there’s some progress made in attempting to get my Dao Master status. I shall return back and read up on the Dao manual, I have been neglecting it these past few days.’
Fu Mansion, Study Room
A single incense stood in the burner, and several candles were laid around the room, illuminating it. There were several art pieces made up of green bamboos, flowers and plum blossoms.
Behind Pei Zi Yun was a painting of a tall mountain, with a waterfall falling from a cliff. Just by looking at the life like painting would cause one to prick his ears for the sound of water gushing.
At this point, Pei Zi Yun’s head was bowed as he read a Dao manual.
Page by page, he read through and flipped. At this point, he was reflecting on whatever he had read, as if he didn’t agree or couldn’t understand something. He then skipped it and continued reading. He would occasionally flip back to the previous page to re-read the contents once more before flipping forward again. When he finished reading, he thought hard about it and reflected, allowing the meaning to sink into his heart.
The few candles around him were almost used up. Pei Zi Yun walked towards a cupboard to retrieve a few more candles and kept reading. After a long time, he stretched out a hand to close the manual.
The cover page of the manual was a deep shade of red. There were golden inscriptions of flying dragons and the huge words on the center were, “Free Cloud Sect Dao Manual.”
Pei Zi Yun then placed the entire manual in front of the candles, and allowed it to catch fire. He then dumped the entire manual into a pot of fire. As if it was covered in oil, fire swallowed the entire manual effortlessly and smoke drifted into the air.
This manual was a copied version of the actual manual from Free Cloud Sect’s monastery. There were many Dao arts and techniques unique to Free Cloud Sect only. Hence, he burnt it after reading the contents so as not to allow its secrets to be leaked.
Seeing the manual burning up in such bright rays of light, Pei Zi Yun then sat down to ponder and reflect over whatever he had just read.
‘If one wishes to cultivate in this world, he would need to have intelligence. The more intelligent he was, the faster he would be able to cultivate. In a sense, intelligence was a sort of innate ability as well.’
‘It could also be said that it was the potential of a person’s spirit.’
‘Or in other words, spiritual roots.’
‘According to theory, condensing internal Qi and transforming it into energy was the most basic level of Dao arts.’
‘Opening the gates to heaven was a process in which the Yin Master was being created. This actually cultivated a person’s level of intellect. Hence, when discussing the formation of Yin Master, every time a person was being reincarnated, his foundation of intellect would be sturdier than in his previous life.’
‘However, this intelligence wouldn’t be able to be tapped on in the person’s newly reincarnated life.’
‘Most of the time he wouldn’t even be able to remember anything from his past life. Even if he was able to remember, his personality and character would’ve been different, thus making it impossible to deploy his past experiences and intelligence. It would just be present, making it easier to cultivate, but unable to be utilized.’
‘Zhang Yun was the reincarnation of an Elder in the previous life. Even if he could retrieve the memories from when he was an Elder, he would still follow the thought process and personality of the person he currently is, and not of the Elder.’
‘Then would it be said that the Elder has permanently died and ceased to exist anymore?’
‘Hence, even if someone had the ability to be reincarnated, the maximum number of times he could do that was thrice. After that, the Yin Master and the person’s soul would be separated and exist separately.’
‘However, the amount of spiritual energy available aren’t enough to even sustain all the Yin Masters, much less the rest of the other True Sovereigns. In this world, there isn’t enough spiritual energy which exists like oxygen, free for all the cultivators to breathe in and utilize.’
‘Hence, even when rogue cultivators manage to become Yin Masters, without a Paradise to aid them, it would be extremely difficult for them to take corporeal form. Should they for some reason be able to make it to the first or second levels of Yin Master, it would be considered extremely rare. As for rogue cultivators being able to make it to the fifth or sixth levels, where they were able to travel to the underworld, it would require a great stroke of luck.’
‘As for a rogue cultivator attaining the seventh or eighth levels and removing their names from the Underworld was almost unheard of. It was impossible for rogue cultivators to reach the full circle foundation and attain Earth Immortal status.’
‘Hence having Paradise was extremely important to provide the necessary amount of spiritual energy for conducive cultivation. A cultivator belonging to a sect with Paradise would even be able to cast spells without having to speak incantations, or move his hands in motions in order to achieve the desired effect. In fact, as long as his skill level was high enough, all he had to do was think it in his head, and he would be able to conjure it. Naturally, this was something rogue cultivators wouldn’t be able to do.’
‘What was most important was to accumulate enough spiritual energy over time in order to advance to Earth Immortal status.’
‘Of course, a Saintly Earth Immortal and an Earth Immortal were two separate matters altogether.’
‘And Paradise was a result of a transformation of mountains in the presence of abundant spiritual energy.’
‘However, there were limited mountains with such conditions. A mountain had to be near a long, flowing stream with sufficient spiritual energy for it to eventually be converted into a Paradise landmark. Should this mountain be sucked dry even before it could become Paradise, it would decay and turn into a barren desert.’
Thinking this way, Pei Zi Yun then recalled the last Legacy which he obtained and called out softly, “System!’
A small white plum blossom appeared before his eyes expanding rapidly before turning into an information interface. It was almost transparent as it floated around, details began to form before his eyes.
“Dao Principles: Intermediate”
Novice, intermediate, advanced and master were the levels used to determine proficiency. At this point, he had already grasped the intermediate level when it came to theory and logics of Dao arts. Understanding all these were just the tip of the iceberg. Going deeper would enable him to reach the advanced level.
“Floating Sphere!”
A floating sphere then appeared on his forehead. It was a round sphere with a tinge of transparent gold surrounding it. There was white energy swirling within the sphere, filling it up like smoke.
It appeared on his forehead, taking the exact same place where the Plum Blossom usually was. This was because it was also a manifestation of the Plum Blossom.
‘Looks like I can use it now.’ Pei Zi Yun looked at the figures reflecting his Dao Principles as he activated the white wisps of energy. Instantly, the energy poured out of the sphere and into Pei Zi Yun’s head. He then felt a certain clarity, and a level of understanding descended down upon him.
“Dao Principles : Intermediate (0.01%)
Although the difference was very minor, the energy within the sphere had been dramatically reduced. Pei Zi Yun smiled, ‘I used to absorb the Legacies directly from the sources, which gave me adverse side effects. However, the wisdom within the Legacies have been converted into experiences in which I can absorbed without consequences.’
‘All I have to do is think about it, and these experiences can be used to improve myself. Of course, the experiences from the Legacies have to be of the same type of Dao arts in order for it work.’
‘Those which I’ve saved up previously, I can use now.’
Just as he thought of this, countless of Dao arts information rushed in. What was most surprising was that these information weren’t found in the books or manuals that he had read previously. Instead, the information and knowledge came with his experience from all the combats he had been in.
“Continue using it!” Pei Zi Yun didn’t hesitate the slightest as he expanded all the experience within the sphere. As the white wisps of energy were being absorbed, his mind lit up and copious amounts of experience poured in.
“Boom!” 0.01%, 0.1%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 70%, 90% all the way to 99%. When it reached the 100% mark, a bright ray of light pierced through his mind and he felt nearly invincible. It felt like as if all the wisdom and knowledge in this world was his to grasp.
That wasn’t true of course.
However, I should put all these experience to good use.’
When he noticed that the sphere had been completely drained out, he finally stopped. When he looked up, the changes were visible.
“Dao Principles: Advanced (33.5%)”
‘Hssss, I broke through to the advanced level and even managed to ascend up to 30%.’
‘Ai, even my Dao arts have improved.’
“Dao arts: 33 Variations, Advanced (17.9% Completed)”
“Stars Transposition: Level 3 (5.1% Completed)”
“Cloud Form: Level 1 (29% Completed)”
Pei Zi Yun then thought that he was indeed right. Understanding the theory and principles behind such matters would see improvement. Adding to Dao Principles was even better than spending all the experience directly on Dao arts, as the principal aspects would not benefit.
‘My Free Cloud Sect’s Cloud Form was an extremely powerful skill. It would cause a person’s reactions and reflexes to increase. I didn’t even train it, but have already learnt the first level.’
‘However this skill is only limited to six levels.’
‘Even the Stars Transposition has improved considerably. After reaching the third level however, prestige no longer improves it.’
‘Looks like, Dao arts and Divine Powers are two wheels of a moving vehicle. They can’t do without each other.’
‘It’s a pity that all the wisdom and experience from the previous Legacy has been depleted. Looks like I have to find a new Legacy soon in order to improve myself. This is actually like cheating, as I improve in strengths to quickly. It’s clear that I’m far from my maximum potential. Although I wonder how much stronger I will be then.’
‘The Divine Power is also a sort of Dao art which had been perfected to the ultimate level, and thus evolved to become a Divine Power.’
‘History said that rogue cultivators were vast in numbers from when time began. After centuries of cultivation where they finally came to understand Dao arts, they pursued it further and developed it to become Divine Powers. That was the origin of the Daoist Sect.’
Governor’s Mansion
The admiral of the navy, Chen Ping was of a tall and sturdy build and had a stern cheek, adding to his overall formidable demeanor. At this point, he sat upright in the waiting room like a cat who had just been defeated. At this point his fierce demeanor had all but remained alongside him.
There was a cup of hot tea atop the wooden table. There were jade green drawings of flowers along the porcelain cup as steam wafted over it. Chen Ping looked visibly upset, as if something heavy was on his mind. When the servant brought this cup of tea over, he didn’t even notice her entrance. Instead, he glanced over nervously at the Governor who was sitting in his chair.
The Governor seemed to have forgotten that the navy admiral was seated just beneath his seat. He was flipping through his documents, and drinking his tea leisurely.
The entire hall was silent except for the sound of the Governor flipping through his documents. Chen Ping looked even more uneasy within the silence, as his face was filled with fear. In his heart, he thought, ‘Could it be that the Governor thinks I’m not doing enough in attacking the bandits, and wish to scold me for it?’
The more he thought about this, the more uneasy he felt. In fact, he realized he’d never felt more uneasy in his life apart from the past few days.
Ever since the dynasty had stabilized itself from the previous chaotic world, the Emperor had been clearly steering the nation towards peace. Hence, the military men were often placed in high regard. Now that peace was upon them, there was a huge difference in the treatment of military officials, causing Chen Ping to question his own usefulness towards the regime. He gritted his teeth and stood up before bowing, “Respects to the Governor, your excellency. I wonder what is your excellency’s purpose for calling me here today. If I have done something wrong, please forgive me. This soldier is just a military brute, and might not understand many things. If I deserve any punishment for my ignorance, please do not hesitate to mett it out accordingly.”
