Chapter 756: The Overlap Between the Dao Immortal Sect and the Citizen

"Crowned as the Brother Xuanwu Candidate Daozi, achieving beyond Liánxū…"

Jiang Ding felt a tremendous longing rise within him—for the black-and-white chessboard before him, and for the Brother Xuanwu Divine Court seed it contained.

Nothing else.

Purely the pursuit of the Dao and eternal life.

Extend life by thirty thousand years!

Some might even transcend Liánxū and live even longer!

I could watch generation after generation of dynasties rise and fall, oversee the birth and death of countless cultivators, while I remain forever youthful, eternally young.

I could possess dozens of Minor Thousand Worlds, hold the fates of billions of sentient beings in my hands, possess peerless beauties at will, year after year, always new faces.

Pure, gorgeous, adorable, charming, licentious… beauties whose appearance and virtue surpass all others in the Minor Thousand Worlds, easily within reach.

Who wouldn't like this?

Who wouldn't want this?

Friends and family could all be properly cared for; there seems to be no downside, only benefits.

"The legacy beyond Liánxū…"

Jiang Ding could no longer avoid confronting the deepest desires of his own heart.

"This old thing's promise…"

He scanned his consciousness once more—nothing found, no clues detected.

"About sixty percent of what he said is credible."

The Candidate Daozi-level soul-spirit, efficient and lucid, swiftly delivered its calculation and judgment.

Some parts are excellent; others are not so favorable.

The good part: the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace needs powerful Candidate Daozi; the Brother Xuanwu Divine Court seed requires outstanding hosts.

With the aid of the Brother Xuanwu Divine Court seed, a cultivator may one day reach Liánxū—or even surpass it.

This is the policy of the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace.

It has been this way for countless ages.

Historical records show that in certain eras, multiple cultivators who defected from other Xian Sects eventually became Brother Xuanwu Candidate Daozi, two of whom later attained Soul Transformation and inherited the Heavenly Palace's lineage.

Historically, the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace has truly embraced all under heaven; thus, sixty percent probability.

Yet in the real world, one cannot think only of the benefits; one must also consider the flip side.

First, Liánxū experts are capricious, moody, and unpredictable; after securing the sect's succession, he may not choose the optimal solution—he might one day be in a bad mood and simply crush Jiang Ding with a palm strike, letting another Candidate Daozi candidate devour the Brother Xuanwu Divine Court seed.

In this way, though the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace loses the chance of surpassing Liánxū, its basic survival remains assured.

The older the expert, the higher the probability of such mood swings.

Only Candidate Daozi raised from childhood, with deep emotional bonds, might reduce this risk.

But for Jiang Ding, such a precondition does not exist.

His emotional intelligence is abysmal; postnatal cultivation is nearly impossible.

Xian Sect elders are never benevolent.

Divine authority is like a hellish abyss, like an endless sea—that is the norm.

Do not mistake his current demeanor as permanent, nor project your experiences with high-ranking Xian Gate cultivators onto the Xian Sect.

That place is one where disrespect toward a high-ranking cultivator could cost you your life.

Second, this weathered voice values the potential he currently displays, hence his vigorous recruitment—even promising the legacy beyond Liánxū, calling him the "Qi-Yun Sword Child," born from the explosive qi-yun of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion's hundred-thousand-year sword destiny.

Is this true?

Jiang Ding carefully examined his own heart.

"Was I born with celestial omens—ten thousand li of wind and clouds shifting, descending with immense destiny as a peerless prodigy?"

"Like the ancient sages?"

He recalled his past.

Especially his childhood—difficult yet warm, filled with memories: his mischievous, petty, greedy little sister; his mother working until eight every night; himself cooking daily, mastering culinary skills.

"No,"

"I am not a peerless prodigy."

"I am ordinary."

Jiang Ding suddenly understood.

"My current achievements rest upon the Xian Gate."

"At first, the Central Array Spirit computer aided my cultivation of the 'Eagle Soaring Sword Art'—this was a citizen's benefit; later, the refinement of the Taiqing Flying Sword relied on the Central Array Spirit computer's unshakable adherence to its rules."

In that situation, had he been in the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace—or any other sect—he would have lost everything, without exception.

Compared to such immense gains, the value of several Minor Worlds pales; breaching a promise to a mortal is not even worth considering—even sages reborn would be tempted.

Know this: no matter the myth or legend, sages always had minor flaws—or one day abandoned their past, achieved sudden enlightenment, and became sages overnight.

Many of these "minor flaws," these "blades," were ignored before sainthood.

"Third—now."

"My sword techniques, my Gong Fa research, my cultivation knowledge—all are built upon the Xian Gate platform. When problems arise, the Xian Gate Academy assists; seniors help; I help others too—we coexist."

"My current achievements contain considerable collective wisdom, collective accomplishments."

"If I truly believe these achievements born of collective wisdom are entirely mine, and that I am the peerless prodigy born from the explosive qi-yun of a hundred thousand years, I would be utterly mistaken."

"Didn't Xu's Soul Transformation make the same foolish mistake back then? Must I repeat it?"

Jiang Ding recalled certain histories and gazed toward the unknown location of the weathered voice.

"Back then, did Xu's Soul Transformation face the same situation as I do now?"

"An elder without any airs, kind, magnanimous, and witty, who sincerely appreciated you, divined and confirmed that you are a peerless genius born of the concentrated eruption of fortune accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years, and wished to entrust the entire foundation of the Heavenly Palace to you."

"Everything was given."

"Everything was promised, that there would be absolutely no rejection, that you would be accepted."

"The final outcome, you can see it."

"Besides,"

In Jiang Ding's heart, the hum of a sword rang out clearly, buzzing low—the Annihilation Sword Intent was asserting its own existence: destruction, law-prohibition, ruin, and…

Pride!

"So what if you truly accept me?"

"What you give me has no value—like a weed, tossed aside at will, not worthy of entering my eyes."

"What I take by cleaving with my sword, by killing you, by seizing from your hands—an inheritance above Void Refining—that holds tremendous value. A weed becomes a bright pearl, able to transcend its origin, comparable to the inheritance of a True Immortal!"

In Jiang Ding's heart, voices appeared one after another.

My path has already been set.

Many things,

Can be compromised.

War is so cruel, employing every possible means, with no so many rules, no so many principles to abide by—too luxurious. Many times one must compromise, make sacrifices.

However,

Some things,

Cannot be compromised!

Because this concerns the very foundation of one's own existence!

Once compromised, the Sword Heart will crack in an instant, the Dao Foundation will collapse, you will have denied yourself—I will no longer be myself. Even if I do not die, further cultivation will be nearly impossible.

At this very moment,

Jiang Ding's divine soul became transparent; the surging, tide-like longing and burning greed in his heart were swept clean away.

"Nothing more than this…"

"Nothing more than this!"

Jiang Ding laughed heartily, without a trace of hesitation remaining.

Clang!

He drew his sword,

The Annihilation Sword Intent churned like a sea of stars, carrying rumbling thunder as it slashed toward the sky.

The sword-light, in an instant, became far brighter and more condensed, drawing significantly closer to the Third Sword Dao Realm: Refined Sword into Silk.

"Senior, witness this sword strike of mine!"

(End of this chapter)