Chapter 446: Jixia Academy

"Without cultivating merit and virtue, one cannot pass."

Guihong Mozu murmured, guessing that this might be the key reason why Jixia Academy dared to recruit across the entire First Realm.

Bai Yuanxianjun had a similar thought: "The various great myths forbid divine beings from teaching the people of the First Realm to cultivate out of fear that the one being taught might become some terrifying existence in the future. Once taught, the river of time continues, and the future can no longer be changed.

However, not everyone of this generation in the First Realm will achieve something in the future. Some will become invincible, and naturally some will become stepping stones, becoming withered bones on the path to success.

These kinds of people are innocent.

The various great myths uphold the principle of 'better to kill by mistake than to let go,' forbidding divine beings from teaching everyone in the First Realm. These people are innocently taking the blame, but it is to eliminate the possibility of terrifying existences arising in the future, so this is the only way.

However, the various great myths are not without a solution. Jixia Academy is precisely able to judge those who will become terrifying existences in the future, that is, those who would be harmful to the past side.

That is why Jixia Academy exists.

As for forbidding divine beings from teaching, it is simply out of fear that divine beings would teach recklessly and end up teaching someone who would become a terrifying existence in the future. After all, the various great myths have countless divine beings, and not everyone knows these secrets. That is why it is strictly forbidden, in order to let Jixia Academy handle the teaching."

Zhang Hao agreed with this view: "I think so too. The various great myths forbid divine beings from teaching the people of the First Realm to cultivate, but they have not truly cut it off. It is simply to avoid adding trouble to Jixia Academy and bringing any trace of future trouble."

Speaking to this point, Zhang Hao pondered for a while and finally recalled the origins of Jixia Academy.

In his previous university history elective course, he had indeed heard the history professor mention "Jixia Academy," which further confirmed the three's thoughts.

Immediately, Zhang Hao shared what he knew about Jixia Academy with Guihong Mozu and Bai Yuanxianjun.

Guihong Mozu was not idle either, sharing the information obtained here with the group members.

Gao Xiang Hong saw the message sent by his master Guihong Mozu and was astonished: "Jixia Academy?!"

Having studied the history of Hua Country, Gao Xiang Hong naturally knew what Jixia Academy meant.

Jixia Academy was the earliest official institution of higher learning in the world and the earliest social science academy and government think tank of Hua Country.

Legend has it that during the Warring States period, King Wei of Qi established Jixia Academy for the purpose of teaching the doctrines of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi.

Even looking across the world, Jixia Academy was also the world's first institution of higher learning in the special form of being officially established and privately run.

Even more.

This rare and spectacular "Hundred Schools of Thought" in the academic and ideological history of Hua Country centered on the Jixia Academy of Qi. The official school was the doctrine of Huang-Lao, meaning the doctrines of Laozi and the Yellow Emperor.

As the central arena for the contention of a hundred schools of thought at that time, it powerfully facilitated the formation of the situation of academic contention in the world.

In the history of Hua Country, Jixia Academy played an extremely important role.

But now it seems that Jixia Academy was probably not simply about teaching academics.

Before the emergence of the supernatural, people would only think that ancient times were about slash-and-burn farming and the chaos of war. But after the emergence of the supernatural, people changed their views.

Ancient times were an incomparably prosperous civilized era where gods and demons roamed the earth, immortals and demons filled the sky, and immortals, gods, and humans coexisted in the world.

Its brilliance was grander and more majestic than the present era, beyond the imagination of ordinary people. And the more ancient the era, the more unimaginably brilliant the immortal and god civilization was.

The Warring States period of Hua Country was an ancient era of Hua Country. In such an era, it goes without saying that immortals and gods roaming the earth was basic.

And Jixia Academy, as a product famous in such an era, could it have simply taught academics? Probably not entirely. Perhaps what it taught was not academics, but immortal arts!

This was an... immortal academy!

A sacred place dreamed of by cultivators and immortal cultivators.

"Ah!!!"

A shrill scream interrupted the thoughts of Zhang Hao and the others.

At the top of the sky of Immortal Ascension Mountain, at some unknown time, Immortal King Wangming stood before that rift in the sky.

The Immortal-Treading Bridge did not allow entry into the Xianshan immortal realm, so he chose to force his way in, crossing the Xianqiao, wanting to fly directly into the rift in the sky. Jixia Academy had everything he wanted, and a mere Xianqiao could not stop his heart.

Then he took a step and rushed into the rift in the sky.

It was as if a person who did evil would attract the wrath of heaven, triggering the anger of the Heavenly Duke.

A purple Lei Jie struck down, flying out from the rift in the sky and hitting Immortal King Wangming directly.

The purple Lei Jie was lightning yet not lightning. Though small and only as thick as an arm, it was like an angry dragon soaring into the sky, or a Kun Peng emerging from the abyss, with tremendous momentum.

The small Lei Jie was composed of billions of symbols, densely packed, converging into a single purple Lei Jie.

With a bang.

Not a single ripple was raised, not a single splash was stirred, and Immortal King Wangming was gone.

The Lei Jie struck his body, and in an instant his fierce fame echoed through a hundred thousand years ago. The once invincible Immortal King Wangming was blasted into tribulation ash.

This scene was witnessed by all living beings on Immortal Ascension Mountain, as well as all the living beings and gods and demons paying attention nearby, who all shivered, including Guihong Mozu and Bai Yuanxianjun.

An Immortal just vanished in the blink of an eye.

That was no street stall goods, nor some mortal found everywhere, but a genuine Immortal existence.

"Supreme, there must be at least a Supreme existence inside Jixia Academy! No! There might even be a possibility of a Supreme-Being."

Guihong Mozu thought of the departed Only One.

The other party giving him the token was most likely inseparably connected to Jixia Academy.

Perhaps... Jixia Academy was even opened by the departed Only One.

In other worlds, scenes of vanished ancient existences forcing their way in were also happening, and without exception, they died so thoroughly that they could not die any more, not a single one surviving.

Countless living beings were terrified, and their previous frenzy subsided somewhat, hesitating over whether to step onto the Xianqiao.

What if they could step onto the Xianqiao, but then a purple Lei Jie struck down? Even Immortals could not withstand it, let alone them, who were like shrimp soldiers and crab generals compared to Immortals.

"We must first figure out that sentence."

Zhang Hao spoke, looking back and forth at those now standing on the Xianqiao, as well as those who had stepped into empty air on the Xianqiao.

What counts as having cultivated merit and virtue?

Soon someone thought of a way, first reaching a hand into the Xianqiao to test it, to see if they could touch it.

Immediately after.

Based on those who could touch the Xianqiao and those who could not, inquiring about these people's backgrounds and so on, they figured out what counted as having cultivated merit and virtue.

The so-called Xianqiao was a Bridge of Merit. The standard for cultivating merit and virtue was very loose, and trivial matters were not nitpicked.

Anyone whose good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, whose kindness outweighs their malice, can basically cross this bridge.

Taking the First Realm's people as an example—if someone has committed many petty thefts, they will stand on the Xianqiao with the water submerging half their calves, as if standing in water, their movements extremely slow, easily overtaken by the people around them.

If the nature of the offenses is worse, the water will basically submerge their knees—these people are roughly the type who are violent and vicious, causing grievous injury to others. Such people cannot cross; even if they can step onto the bridge, they cannot walk far and can only stop and gaze ahead.

If the water submerges their waist, they basically can only stand there, unable to move. Such people have definitely killed someone, and it was intentional murder—quite possibly they are fugitives on the run.

At this moment.

Many people looked meaningfully toward the area below the Xianqiao.

Those who fell straight down without even a splash—how great a sin must they have committed? Surely they must have taken at least several, even over a dozen, lives.

"The Deathly Dark Immortal King has a fearsome reputation, not considered a good person. Before he became famous, he was already a villain, the innocent lives stained on his hands too numerous to count. No wonder he cannot cross."

Zhang Hao looked again at the living beings present at the Immortal Mountain.

Living in another realm, a cultivation world like this, it's too hard to keep one's hands unstained with blood. The survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle, is being demonstrated and emphasized to the extreme at every moment in another realm.

Therefore, it's extremely rare for beings of another realm to stand completely on the Xianqiao—most of them are submerged to their knees, having killed at least a few people.

After all, this is another realm—"if others don't offend me, I won't offend them" is hard to achieve. Even if you don't want to offend others, others will offend you, as long as you have something they need or want.

"It seems it's very hard for those from another realm to walk onto the Xianqiao. For the First Realm, the proportion of people who pass is much greater."

Zhang Hao sighed with emotion—Earth really is better. At least there's no killing at the drop of a hat, unless you live in the U. S...