Chapter 375: Great Unity under Heaven, the secret of the Master

As soon as these words were spoken.

The fourth floor fell into a sudden silence, as if even the air had frozen.

The original tranquility vanished instantly, replaced by a profound stillness.

Yu Ke felt two gazes slowly open behind the beaded curtain, as if piercing through the screen to land directly upon him.

He took a deep breath, steadied his nerves, and continued: "Xie Guan once had the fortune to glimpse the Immortal Realm."

An aged voice, carrying a hint of urgency and anticipation, asked slowly: "That Immortal Realm... what does it look like?"

"Are there immortals who live forever? Are there ageless immortals who ride swords across the sea of clouds?"

"Within the Moon Palace and the Toad Palace, are there truly immortal maidens dancing?"

Yu Ke pondered for a moment, then replied calmly: "Xie Guan has never seen them."

The aged voice faltered, muttering to itself: "No... immortals?"

The tone revealed a trace of disappointment.

Yu Ke suddenly chuckled, "Although Xie Guan has not seen those legendary immortals, I have seen the myriad states of all living beings."

The middle-aged man's voice sounded at the right moment, carrying a hint of doubt and curiosity.

"The myriad states of all living beings?"

Yu Ke spoke slowly, his voice clear and firm:

"In this world, I see all living beings selecting the virtuous and the capable, speaking of trust and cultivating harmony. Thus, people do not only love their own kin, nor do they only cherish their own children. The old have a place to end their days, the strong have work to do, the young have room to grow, and the widowed, the orphaned, the solitary, and the disabled are all cared for. Men have their roles, and women have their homes."

At this point, his voice grew even clearer, piercing through the silence of the fourth floor.

"They despise that goods be abandoned on the ground, yet they do not necessarily hoard them for themselves. They despise that strength not be exerted for the body, yet they do not necessarily act for their own sake. Thus, schemes are closed and do not arise, and theft, chaos, and villainy do not occur."

"The common people all have their plans, all living for themselves."

The words rang out with resonance!

The fourth floor remained silent, as if even breathing had become faint.

The gaze behind the beaded curtain remained fixed upon him.

Yu Ke bowed slightly and finally said in a deep voice:

"In this Immortal Realm, the world belongs to the public, and everyone is like a dragon."

As soon as the words fell.

A heartfelt laugh rang out, carrying a hint of emotion and admiration: "Everyone is like a dragon?"

In this human world, the "dragon" is the symbol of the emperor. For everyone to be like a dragon means that everyone can be an emperor, and everyone can master their own destiny.

The middle-aged man's voice revealed genuine joy, as if some expectation in his heart had been answered, his tone full of relief: "Truly, it is an Immortal Realm."

Yu Ke naturally recognized this as the voice of the Third Master, and replied respectfully: "Xie Guan thinks so too."

The middle-aged man's voice sounded again, his tone carrying a hint of appreciation and expectation.

"Xie Guan, you are very good."

"As for the matter of the Three Truths Sect, the Academy will guarantee it for you."

After a brief pause, he asked again: "Xie Guan, are you willing to come to the Academy?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Ke was slightly startled, though his heart already knew from the "Kunxu Cauldron's" prompt that this should be a safe encounter.

He had not expected the Academy to invite him to join.

It was an unexpected joy!

The Third Master seemed to see his hesitation, smiled slightly, his tone gentle and firm: "You need not worry; the Great Qi imperial court will not make things difficult for you."

"The matter of the Three Truths Sect will never be mentioned by anyone again; let it be put to rest."

"Go down now."

Yu Ke nodded slowly; since the Third Master could say this in front of Su Xiang, there was naturally no problem.

He bowed respectfully to the Third Master, not forgetting Su Xiang.

Then he turned and exited the fourth floor.

Xie Guan's back gradually receded, finally disappearing around the corner of the stairs.

Following Yu Ke's departure, the fourth floor fell into silence once more.

A moment later!

The Third Master chuckled, breaking the silence: "Wuxin, you seem not very happy?"

"Could it be that you are truly disappointed in this 'Immortal Realm'?"

The old man opposite shook his head slowly, his expression carrying a hint of melancholy.

"I wouldn't call it disappointment, it's just... this is not the Immortal Realm in my heart."

The old man changed the subject, teasing: "You took Xie Guan into the Academy; do you also want to take a disciple on behalf of the Master?"

The Third Master sighed softly, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and heaviness: "The lineage of the Academy has long since rotted in the human world. Xie Guan is a clean and innocent person; I cannot bear to see him tainted by the karma of this lineage. I only want to give him a clean place to study and cultivate, at least... while I am still in this world."

After he finished speaking, his gaze slowly turned toward Su Jing, his eyes seemingly filled with deep meaning.

Su Jing smiled upon hearing this, his expression indifferent: "Senior Brother, don't think of me as too evil."

"A young man like Xie Guan, even just looking at him now, makes one feel like a clear breeze after rain, bringing joy to the heart. It's just that..."

He paused, his tone growing colder, "As long as he doesn't block my path, we shall be at peace. I walk my single-plank bridge, and the people of the world walk their own heavenly avenues; we have nothing to do with each other."

The Third Master frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of worry: "However, your path... is perhaps too extreme. If you alone attain the Dao, the world will likely fall into a thousand years of chaos once again."

Su Jing did not care at all, a trace of indifferent mockery curling at the corner of his mouth, saying lightly: "After I die, let the floods come."

"I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me."

Su Jing's voice was cold, "I, Su Jing, am not Lu Chen of the Three Truths. The path to ascension is right under my feet; why should I not walk it? What is the use of gaining a thousand years of fame for the sake of the so-called world? In the end, it is nothing but a pile of withered bones. I actually hope the people of the world are all such 'righteous' fellows, just enough to clear a path for me."

The Third Master sighed long, a look of sorrow appearing on his face, his gaze full of pain: "Wuxin, when did you become like this?"

Su Jing smiled coldly, his eyes showing no fluctuation, his tone carrying a hint of mockery and self-deprecation: "Senior Brother, I have been like this since I was a child."

"I am different from you—Second Senior Brother was born to cultivate the Dao, and you were born standing on a treasure mountain, surrounded by splendor."

"And what about me? I was nothing but the son of a charcoal seller in a narrow alley."

"Everything I have now, I fought for with my life. You don't understand, and you never will."

The old man's expression remained unchanged, but his tone grew more agitated.

This was a scene never before seen by the Su family or even the imperial court.

The dignified Su Xiang of Great Qi would actually reveal such an expression.

"I apologize, Senior Brother."

The fourth floor fell into silence once more.

The Third Master looked down at the paper in his hand, on which was written: "The immortal strokes my head, I receive longevity by binding my hair."

The tone revealed between the lines was profound and distant; the more one read it, the more one felt the grandeur of its artistic conception, as if it transcended the mortal world, not like the writing of a human.

He couldn't help but think of the "Immortal Realm" described by the youth just now, his heart lost in thought.

Seeing this, Su Jing chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of understanding:

"I know what Senior Brother is thinking. You are wondering why I would let Xie Guan go."

He paused, his gaze growing cold, and continued:

"The Shocking God Array built by the Master in Above Bianjing just now attracted the so-called 'Immortal descending to the mortal world.' At today's Flower Banquet, the most brilliant one is this Xie Guan."

The Third Master remained silent, only frowning slightly, as if pondering.

Su Jing did not care, continuing: "However, just now, hearing Xie Guan talk about the 'Immortal Realm,' I knew it was not him."

"He was merely influenced by the Master's learning, bound by the principle of 'drawing a circle on the ground as a prison'."

His tone carried a hint of mockery, his voice growing colder: "The Master placed cage after cage upon Great Qi, firmly binding the people of the world with the shackles of etiquette and morality."

"The people of the world today are like livestock wearing collars, having long forgotten what freedom is."

The Third Master's expression was indifferent, seemingly unbothered by Su Jing's words.

He recalled Xie Guan's interpretation of benevolent people, and a ripple stirred in his heart: "There is no good or evil in the substance of the heart; there is good and evil in the movement of intent. Knowing good and evil is conscience; doing good and removing evil is the investigation of things."

However!

Su Jing's way of viewing heaven and earth was completely different. He examined all things in the world from the perspective of utilitarianism, viewing the people of the world as chess pieces on a board, believing that those who achieve great things must make sacrifices. The "Three-Four Dispute" of that year was rooted in the fundamental divergence of their learning.

That year, when Su Jing was studying at the Academy, he presented the "Thirteen Strategies for Peace" to the Master.

This strategy condensed his thoughts on stabilizing the nation, one of which was "supporting war through war," advocating for strictly dividing people into nine ranks to maintain order.

However, these claims were too radical and were ultimately rejected by the Master.

Su Jing championed "utilitarian learning," believing that useless things should be discarded.

In his view, all people, things, and events in the world could be used by him.

He pursued results without asking about the process, even believing that obtaining the correct answer through the wrong method was not unacceptable.

In contrast, the Third Master advocated for education, proposing to benefit the common people with Confucian etiquette and morality, hoping to change hearts and minds through subtle influence, making the hearts of the world move upward.

The learning of the two masters was poles apart, and the debates within the Academy grew increasingly intense because of this.

The disciples of both sides held their own views, arguing endlessly, and the chasm between the Third Master and the Fourth Master deepened day by day.

The four masters of the Academy were originally close friends.

But!

The dispute over the path of learning ultimately stood between them.

The Second Master supported the Third Master, and the First Master acted as a mediator.

Finally!

The First Master left Great Qi in anger, and the Second Master was plagued by serious illness.

The Third and Fourth Masters parted ways, one trapped in the Academy, the other entering the imperial court.

Of course, this was only the speculation of those outside the Academy.

The old man suddenly mentioned something, his tone carrying a hint of heaviness:

"How is Second Senior Brother doing lately? The Master's corpse... if a person lives too long, they become like a god or demon, which is truly terrifying."

"Two hundred years ago, the four of us joined forces to kill the Master, but we were almost wiped out."

As soon as these words were spoken, Su Jing revealed a secret that could shock the world—the four masters of the Academy had once joined forces to kill the Master.

Two hundred years ago, the Master did not go to the East Sea to seek immortals, but was killed by the four of them working together.

The four masters of the Academy ended up like this, and the ultimate reason was still that turmoil.

The Third Master nodded, his expression solemn: "If you have time, go see Second Senior Brother. His days... are numbered."

He paused, his voice low, "The Master's corpse is truly bizarre. If Second Senior Brother had not suppressed it with his life, the corpse would revive on its own every Mid-Autumn Festival, growing back limbs. Second Senior Brother has become nearly mad in order to suppress the Master's physical body, and I fear... he cannot last many more years."

The Third Master looked at Su Jing and said, "Wuxin, and don't you dare set your sights on the Master's corpse."

Su Jing said helplessly, "Senior Brother, why are you guarding against me?"

"The Master did not die back then; he merely shed his skin like a cicada, his spirit traveling far away."

"He only left behind a physical body; the Master may have already cultivated to a realm above the Ninth Rank of Martial Arts."

He paused, his voice growing colder, carrying a hint of solemnity: "This physical body cannot be burned by fire, does not rot with time, and even if destroyed, it will grow back, and can even spontaneously generate spiritual sense. Such an existence is almost no different from a god or demon. The four of us joined forces back then and failed to truly kill the Master. He will return sooner or later, and his methods... you know them. By then, we will likely wish we were dead. Senior Brother, why not join forces with me and plot a way to survive?"

The Third Master shook his head, his expression calm, "A disciple killing his master is a grave sin. If that day truly comes, dying as one deserves is enough. I have no regrets."

Su Jing shook his head and laughed, his tone carrying a hint of mockery and helplessness: "No regrets? I, Su Jing, cannot do that."

"The Master taught the four of us, seemingly selflessly, but in reality, he harbored selfish motives."

"He always thought we four were people of destiny, wanting to steal our fortune to ascend."

"If we speak of who in this world is most eager to ascend, the Master is the first."

"He is like a wandering ghost, drifting in the world for over a thousand years. The so-called immortality, to him, is nothing but a prison."

He paused, his voice growing colder: "Moreover, longevity is not immortality, it is just not aging. But how can an immortal not age?"

"The Master, as a corpse-shedding immortal, has already shed his skin five times. According to our calculations, he only has one last chance. If he fails to ascend this time, he will never be able to escape, forever trapped here."

The Third Master remained silent.

He had long known that a spirit-cultivator who reaches the Yang Spirit realm can live for two hundred years, but faces a tribulation every ten years, and only by shedding the corpse can they prolong their life.

Su Jing asked leisurely: "Senior Brother, back then the four of us joined forces to kill the Master; First Senior Brother gained freedom, Second Senior Brother gained that sword, and I gained the Master's corpse-shedding method."

He said this, looking straight at the Third Master, his gaze like a torch, "But until now, I still don't know, Senior Brother... what exactly did you gain?"

On the fourth floor, the air froze instantly.

This was also the reason why Su Jing had long harbored wariness toward the Third Master.

The Third Master remained silent, his face hidden in the shadows where the lamp light was dim.

"What I gained, you will naturally know on the day you pass away, Junior Brother."

Su Jing smiled upon hearing this.

"The four of us agreed that the Master's corpse energy has influenced Great Qi for thousands of years, so First Senior Brother went far away to Great Sui to prevent the Master from reviving in Great Sui."

"Second Senior Brother guards the Master's physical body."

"Senior Brother, you suppress the Academy, and I guard Great Qi."

The Master's corpse-shedding is about to disperse the corpse energy into his descendants and those connected by karma.

All things in the world have their price; there is no gain without cause.

Every drink and every peck is predestined; the karma of the world all has retribution, not missing by a hair.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 376 =====