Chapter 375

"Little Xun."

When Lu Xun returned to the Lu family building, the first person he saw was the Martial Manor's Xu Tongling.

Xu Tongling was waiting outside the building; upon seeing Lu Xun, he warmly went up to greet him.

It looks like he came together with the Martial Manor Master.

As the capital's Tongling, his rank is equivalent to that of a senior Tongling in a provincial city like Rong Cheng.

His strength is only at the Six Realms, still several levels below the Martial Manor Master.

I don't know why he has the qualifications to come here.

"Xu Uncle, I don't know what the Manor Master wants with me this time?"

Lu Xun asked.

"I'm not sure of the details either; I heard something happened over in Fusang, possibly related to this matter, Little Xun, don't worry too much—the Manor Master has always been open-minded, and even if it's something you did, he won't blame you."

Xu Tongling said quietly.

Well,

It really is related to the Fusang affair.

The Martial Manor's information is quite sharp.

That's normal.

Fusang isn't far from the east, and besides, experts are generally in the heavens.

Battles at the Seven Realms level have energy so high that going unnoticed is impossible.

It seems Xu Tongling deliberately waited outside to remind Lu Xun, also to ease his mind.

"Thanks, Xu Uncle."

Lu Xun expressed his gratitude.

Xu Tongling has always treated him well, so even after his own strength increased, Lu Xun still respects Xu Tongling.

"Little Si, you're being too formal; come on, let's go see the Manor Master—my elder brother is there too, and he'll speak up for you if needed."

Xu Tongling said.

His brother?

"That's Xu Silong, my real brother; he's thirty years older than me, but his strength far surpasses mine—don't laugh at me, Little Xun."

Xu Tongling sighed.

Xu Silong is his real brother?

That strength gap is indeed quite large.

One is at the Eight Realms, the other at the Six Realms.

Though it seems only two realms apart, the difference between them is as vast as heaven and earth.

"What you say, Xu Uncle, with your talent you will surely break through to the Eight Realms someday."

"I'll take your kind words; if I manage to break through to the Eight Realms, I will surely repay you well, haha."

As they talked, the two entered the Lu family building and went straight to the reception hall.

Several people were waiting inside.

Lu Xun recognized two of them: one is the capital's senior Tongling, the other is Xu Silong.

There were three others Lu Xun didn't know.

His gaze, however, immediately fell on an elderly man.

The man's aura was quite similar to that of Fu Yue and Fu Xue's father.

At first glance he seemed ordinary, but upon closer look one would notice his extraordinariness.

"Lu Xun, your eyes are sharp—you recognized the Manor Master at first sight."

Seeing this, Xu Silong smiled and praised him.

"Greetings, seniors, greetings, Manor Master; I had some matters just now that kept you waiting—please forgive us."

Lu Xun clasped his fists, first offering greetings, then explaining why he had only just arrived.

"Lu Xun, please sit and speak."

The Manor Master nodded slightly and spoke in a warm tone.

"Yes, Manor Master."

Lu Xun sat opposite him.

"This time I came to see you mainly for three reasons."

The Manor Master got straight to the point without preamble.

"Manor Master, please speak."

"First, in about a year, Lan Xing will enter a new ancient road node; at that time you will surely become a target of assassination by various clans, so I have brought Master Mu Lan to have her tailor a nine‑grade treasure robe for you."

Having finished, the Manor Master gestured toward the woman beside him.

This woman looks about forty, yet her eyebrows and eyes are like a painting, her charm remains, and every movement carries a mature grace.

Nine‑grade treasure robe?

What a find—this woman can craft a nine‑grade treasure robe, truly amazing.

It seems the Martial Manor intends to focus on protecting Lu Xun, even willing to bring out a nine‑grade treasure robe.

Quite normal,

given the cosmic origin Lu Xun earned for Lan Xing on the Heavenly Dao battlefield; if the Martial Manor isn't blind, they will surely maximize his defenses to prevent him from dying midway.

Seeing Lu Xun look at her, she bestowed a glance upon him and nodded slightly.

"Manor Master, how did you manage this so quickly?"

Lu Xun, however, turned his attention to another problem.

In the past, every time Lan Xing left the ancient road node, she would need to wait at least five years before heading out again.

The longest stay was even ten years.

Currently, it's been less than two years since leaving the ancient road node.

Even if she enters a new node next year, that would still be less than three years.

Isn't that a bit too fast?

In fact, this news not only surprised Lu Xun, but Commander Xu beside him also seemed to be hearing it for the first time, his face showing astonishment.

As for Director Xu, however, his expression remained normal.

As an Eighth Realm cultivator, the news is certainly more well-informed.

"In the future, it might become even faster; we're not entirely clear on the exact reason now, as the Heavenly Dao is not a sentient being, and our communication with it yields limited information."

The Manor Lord said.

Will it become even faster in the future?

In that case, something might have happened in the universe.

Or perhaps Lan Xing wants to catch up to those Spirit Stars ahead of it, like the Spirit Star where Babara resides.

It's unclear whether Lan Xing alone is like this, or whether other Spirit Stars, which are mutually hostile yet to some extent cooperative, are the same.

"Manor Lord, what about the second matter?"

Lu Xun set this matter aside for now and moved on to the next issue.

As for Nine-Grade Treasure Robes and such, Lu Xun took them in stride.

Not to mention Nine-Grade Treasure Robes; even if there were Ten-Grade or Eleven-Grade Treasure Robes, Lu Xun felt they were his due.

The crises that threatened Lan Xing's destruction were all resolved by Lu Xun luring the Ancient God to Yao Xing.

What's the deal with getting a few treasure robes?

"The second matter concerns Heavenly Dao Contribution; you've probably heard these four words, right?"

The Manor Lord asked.

Heavenly Dao Contribution?

Lu Xun had indeed heard of it.

Fu Yue and Fu Xue came over to serve as instructors, hoping to also accumulate some Heavenly Dao Contribution on the side.

"Manor Lord, I've heard of it, but I don't fully understand."

Lu Xun replied truthfully.

The Manor Lord said: "So-called Heavenly Dao Contribution can be understood as success virtue; its effect is not obvious when a cultivator is weak, but once one's strength grows, it becomes very useful—for instance, during tribulation transcendence one receives more protection from Lan Xing, and furthermore, joining the Heavenly Dao Council requires not only a certain cultivation level but also an extremely high Heavenly Dao Contribution."

Lu Xun gave an "hmm" and continued to listen attentively.

"Put simply, Heavenly Dao Contribution is a cultivator's contribution to Lan Xing; it looks at deeds, not intentions—that is, only the outcome matters, not the motive."

"For example, if you meant well but ended up causing major losses, you would certainly lose merit."

"If a cultivator on Lan Xing recklessly attacks ordinary people or other cultivators, it likewise reduces merit."

The Manor Lord then gave a more detailed explanation.

Upon his saying that,

Lu Xun then somewhat understood the Manor Lord's intention.

They probably really suspected that he was behind the Fusang Country incident.

The grudge between the He Yue Family and Lu Xun was no secret; after the He Yue Family's assassins came to kill Lu Xun, he nevertheless told Commander Xu about it.

In his fury, Commander Xu issued a kill order through the Martial Manor.

The Manor Lord surely wouldn't think these matters are that simple.

Although the Manor Lord suspected, he didn't say so outright, instead launching into a discussion of Heavenly Dao Contribution.

In that case, the Manor Lord wasn't here to pursue blame.

but rather to give a reminder.

"Manor Lord, if someone else kills me and I kill them in return, would I still lose merit?"

Lu Xun asked.

"With karma, that wouldn't happen naturally; but if you are an unforgivable wicked person with negative merit, then when someone kills you, the killer's merit actually increases."

The Manor Lord explained gently.

Lu Xun understood.

That makes sense scientifically.

It's impossible that someone else kills you, you kill them back, and you still lose merit.

Nor is it possible that someone does evil, gets killed by another, and loses merit.

"Generally speaking, when cultivators fight over grudges, the effect on merit is negligible; but when it comes to nations, one must pay attention, because a century ago the Heavenly Dao Council passed a Heavenly Dao Resolution, which, after reaching the heavens, was adopted by the Heavenly Dao."

The Manor Lord's tone, however, suddenly shifted.

What a fellow.

The resolution passed by the Heavenly Dao Council can still be adopted by the Heavenly Dao.

That is, some human commands were inserted into this Heavenly Dao process.

In that case, the Heavenly Dao Council indeed has something going for it—no wonder Lan Xing's top experts all want to join.

"Manor Lord, what resolution?"

Seeing that the Manor Lord intended to keep it a secret, Lu Xun had no choice but to play along.

"Director Xu, you go ahead and speak."

The prefect looked at Secretary Xu.

"Yes, Prefect."

Secretary Xu replied, "Little Xun, the concrete details of the resolution are: if, on Lan Xing, countries recklessly slaughter foreigners, the Heavenly Dao contribution will plummet exponentially; if a country wages large-scale aggression against another, its national fortune will likewise sharply decline, and thereafter the chance of giving birth to geniuses will be cut by more than half."

It will drop exponentially?

Invading another country will cause national fortune to decline, resulting in fewer geniuses being born.

No wonder the East didn't destroy Fusang.

By the way, how are past accounts settled?

Could it be because the Heavenly Dao hadn't awakened back then, so that account can't be calculated?

Lu Xun felt that this was somewhat unfair.

"Little Xun, this resolution is said to prevent countries from slaughtering each other, but in fact it's to guard against our outward expansion; our rise has been too fast, making neighboring countries and the West feel threatened, especially Fusang, which is extremely afraid of us."

Secretary Xu said in a low voice.

Lu Xun nodded.

This resolution can be said to have saved Fusang.

Otherwise, Fusang would long ago have become the Yingzhou Province of the East.

"Lu Xun, do you know how likely it is for you to join the Heavenly Dao Council once you break through the Nine Realms?"

After Secretary Xu finished speaking, the prefect spoke again.

"Prefect, Lu Xun doesn't know."

Lu Xun knows nothing about the Heavenly Dao Council, so naturally he doesn't know how likely it is.

"Almost a hundred percent."

The prefect said.

A hundred percent?

What a fellow.

"Why are you so certain, Prefect?"

Lu Xun wondered.

Could it be that each person's Heavenly Dao contribution has specific numerical values?

"Heavenly Dao contribution cannot be looked up, but it can be measured by some means; the colors gray, white, yellow, red, purple, orange, gold represent the seven levels of Heavenly Dao contribution."

"Among the current eleven Heavenly Dao councilors, most have orange-level contribution, while only two are at gold level."

"After using a Dao artifact to measure you, we found your Heavenly Dao contribution is actually gold!"

The prefect explained with a smile, his eyes showing obvious surprise and admiration.

Obviously.

Even he, upon learning that Lu Xun's Heavenly Dao contribution level was gold, couldn't help but be somewhat startled.

Such a high Heavenly Dao contribution cannot be earned merely by saving Rong Cheng.

Although Lu Xun saved millions of people in Rong Cheng, the Heavenly Dao councilors have directly or indirectly saved tens of millions.

In the war against Yao Xing, they were always on the front lines.

Therefore, Lu Xun must have secretly done something they don't know about.

What the prefect did not say was,

When this result came out, all the high-ranking officials of the East were startled.

"Gold!"

The president and Chief Xu of the capital were hearing about this for the first time, and their eyes instantly filled with intense surprise.

Such a level of merit is indeed somewhat overly astonishing.