Chapter 994: Dignitaries

Wang Ben returned, and everyone exchanged pleasantries once more.

At the banquet, many dignitaries from Jiangling City also arrived.

Most were nobles of Nanjun; although they were very unfamiliar with Gai Nie—after all, Gai Nie had been very low-key when he was in the Great Qin previously, and not many people truly knew him.

But after Wang Jian's introduction, the expressions of those Nanjun dignitaries all changed, and their gazes toward Gai Nie and Zhang Liang became somewhat different.

"Sword Master Ge!"

"Greetings, Sword Master Ge."

Everyone was extremely enthusiastic.

It was no wonder they were so fawning.

If Gai Nie were just a swordsman, he would not be worth their association at all, even if he were His Majesty's personal guard, but that was a thing of the past.

Having left Xianyang City for over two hundred years, who would still remember? Would His Majesty even remember?

The dignitaries present all held at least the rank of Duke-level Daifu; that Prefect of Nanjun, in the past, would have been a local emperor.

One step further, and they could enter the hub of Xianyang City.

But Gai Nie now is a Golden Immortal; a Golden Immortal is different to those present.

In the past, everyone might have had to bow to him daily.

After all, Golden Immortals were heavenly gods in the past; those who believed in gods and Buddhas would all offer sacrifices and pray to them.

Golden Immortals are immortal beings who live as long as heaven and earth.

The dignitaries present might have great power, almost like local emperors in Nanjun, but so what? In a fleeting hundred years, they would just turn into a mound of yellow earth.

Even if some dignitaries cultivated the Dao, most did not have high cultivation; being able to cultivate to the Golden Core was already quite good, and that was all relying on many resources.

Golden Core cultivation only allows one to live an extra two or three hundred years at most; those who practice martial arts might have even lower lifespans.

Only by cultivating to the Spirit Refining stage and nurturing a Primordial Spirit will one's lifespan truly skyrocket, allowing one to live for thousands of years or even longer.

But for many dignitaries, this is not so easy.

The Great Qin has never blocked the outflow of cultivation techniques, so even those at the bottom have the opportunity to obtain chances to cultivate.

However, whether it is martial arts, immortal arts, or other heterodox paths, without a true guide to teach them, it is very difficult to even get started.

It was not difficult for dignitaries to obtain methods of cultivating the Dao; there were very many Qi Refiners in the Pre-Qin period, and the later prevalence of the Hundred Schools of Thought spread cultivation methods very widely.

Among the many dignitaries of Nanjun, which family did not have a few cultivation manuals? Qi refining, Dao cultivation, or martial arts—almost all had them.

However, among those present, except for Wang Jian and his son, the highest cultivation was only the young man beside the Nanjun Prefect, who had barely reached the Spirit Refining stage.

Even this Prefect of Nanjun did not have high cultivation.

Not all officials were like Lü Buwei, Li Si, and the others.

Lü Buwei, a mere merchant, was able to become the Prime Minister of the Great Qin, and it was not just through opportunism; back then, he was able to help two generations of Great Qin Kings escape from Zhao, and the means he relied on were not just commercial—that Majesty back then was almost captured back by the Zhao state.

It was also relying on Lü Buwei's powerful strength; the strength he displayed back then was that of a peak True Immortal.

Now, it is even more unfathomable.

Most Great Qin officials actually do not have high cultivation, and some even have no cultivation at all.

After all, civil officials are not like martial officials; they do not need powerful strength, they only need to be able to handle government affairs.

Moreover, the Prefect of Nanjun was not from a martial background; he was from a major clan of Beidi Commandery and was a disciple of the Legalist School.

Legalist disciples are different from other Hundred Schools of Thought; they do not need powerful cultivation to erupt with great power.

The Legalist School can borrow the power of the dynasty.

Fusing one's body with the national destiny is also a divine ability created by that Legalist ancestor.

However, this divine ability of borrowing power is not so simple; there is no such thing as a free lunch in heaven. Borrowing external force to erupt with great power also has consequences.

Every time the power of the dynasty is used, the corrosion to one's own physical body is very serious, especially the consumption of spirit.

The origin of a person is actually composed of essence, qi, and spirit; spirit is essence and spirit-energy, and when both are consumed, it is equivalent to the person's origin being consumed.

This consequence leads to the fact that most Legalist disciples do not live long; even if they cultivate the Dao, it only delays this result.

Some Legalist disciples who cultivate the Dao often have shorter lifespans than others of the Hundred Schools of Thought from the same period, and even less than the Military School practitioners who practice cruel martial arts.

This can also be considered a shortcoming of Legalist disciples.

However, even with such large sequelae, for those Legalist disciples, there is still no one willing to give up this divine ability.

After all, a mere ordinary person can exert power at the level of an immortal; one can imagine how many people can resist such a temptation.

Moreover, the Great Qin governs the country with Legalism, and Legalist disciples have a very high status in the Great Qin; to enter the hub of the Great Qin, one must either be a Legalist disciple or have a military background—others are much worse off.

Not everyone is like Lü Buwei, who, although a merchant by background, invested in two generations of Great Qin Kings.

Who can do this? There is only one such person in the world.

The Prefect of Nanjun is a Legalist disciple with low cultivation, but as a Prefect of a Commandery, his status is not much worse than Wang Jian and his son.

However, because Wang Jian and his son are both people of profound cultivation, the higher the cultivation in this era, the longer the lifespan, and the longer they can protect their family.

The Prefect of Nanjun can protect his family for at most a few decades, but Wang Jian and his son, even if they take off their general uniforms, can still protect their family for hundreds or thousands of years.

This is the gap between the two.

Therefore, when the Prefect of Nanjun faces Wang Jian and his son, he will always be a step behind and feel inferior; this is also an implicit latent rule.

In a mythical world, personal strength is very important.

Even though the Great Qin has unified the world, the army is still very important; in the hub of the Great Qin, civil officials are still a bit worse than martial officials.

If it weren't for that Prime Minister Lü Buwei appearing out of nowhere, I'm afraid the military would occupy half of the Great Qin's hub, or even more.

In this era, the boundary between civil and martial is actually not that clear.

There are many people who go from being generals to being prime ministers.

Such as Wang Jian and his son, they could also become civil officials among the Nine Ministers, but most martial generals just like to stay in the army.

In the Great Qin, the strong are still the most yearned for; there is no such thing as "beating swords into plowshares."

Especially since the immortal path is evergreen, the Hundred Schools of Thought are flourishing, and various paths of cultivation are prosperous, more and more people are beginning to practice the transcendent path.

Unfortunately, there are really not many people who can succeed in cultivation.

Most of those who succeed in cultivation either go to the army or go to other places.

Only those who are half-baked will wander around in local areas. ===== CHAPTER 995 =====