Chapter 212: 205 Advance and Retreat

The crowd froze, their expressions varied.

Some, like those from major powers such as Yitian Pavilion and Feitian Cave, were shocked at first, followed by indifference or a desire to watch the spectacle. Others, like those from minor powers such as the One Hundred and Eight Springs, were bewildered and did not understand the situation. Those who were from minor powers but were intelligent and well-informed, like Tang Zhao, knew something was amiss but did not let it escalate into instinctive anger. Those who were both knowledgeable and sensitive, like Yue Shen of the Imperial Court's directly affiliated Qingqu Academy, had already turned red in the face, filled with shock and fury.

"Libationer!" Yue Shen said loudly, "Do you know what you are saying? That is a dead end, an evil path, one that was discarded years ago! If you drag it out of the grave and dress it up with gold, you will cut yourself off from the world."

Zhu Yang said calmly, "A dead end, is it? When you reach my age and have spent half your life studying Rune Formulas, you will know that there are not many paths to survival in this world. To stuff the Spirit Official path, which has been studied for so many years, into a coffin—that is the true waste. To succeed, I must know how others failed."

Yue Shen could no longer control himself, gritting his teeth as he said, "I know how they failed; they committed atrocities, betrayed the living, and were rejected by Heaven and Earth. Do not go down the wrong path, sir!"

Zhu Yang said, "That is a human problem. It is people who do evil, people who kill; scholarship is scholarship. One speaks of one thing, two speaks of two. Scholarship is not wrong. If someone once used the wrong methods to reach the correct conclusion, must we reject even the truth?"

Yue Shen became increasingly indignant and agitated, unable to say another word.

At this moment, a woman stood up from the side; she was Shang Chisu, also from Qingqu Academy. She was not as filled with righteous indignation as Yue Shen, but merely sneered slightly, "Junior Brother Yue, say no more. You may speak a thousand facts, but he has ten thousand sophistries. There are many who publicly spread heretical ideas under various names; now he has merely replaced them with 'scholarship' as a fig leaf. We cannot reason with such a person, but I would like to ask the Beichen Hall Master—"

Before Zhu Yang could speak, she looked directly at the Beichen Hall Master beside him and said, "The Rune Assembly is currently hosted by Longyuan; do you also feel the Libationer should be allowed to say such things?"

She was looking not only at the Beichen Hall Master but also at the Snow Mountain Prince.

Longyuan was considered "remnants of the previous dynasty," but they had actively defected at the time and changed their stance; they should have no way back now. And the Snow Mountain Prince was legitimate royalty; how could he tolerate such rebellious words?

The Beichen Hall Master's face was as heavy as water, but he was always serious, and no change in expression could be seen. Instead, he said to the Snow Mountain Prince, "Prince, what do you think?"

Wang Fei had been dozing off; he suddenly woke up and said hoarsely, "What?"

The Beichen Hall Master glanced at him and said, "If the Prince does not object, I will let him finish. Seeing as he still has much to say, it would not hurt to see it through to the end. If his arguments are truly absurd, this place is an isolated island; no one can leave."

Wang Fei pressed his hand to his forehead and nodded, saying, "Speak."

With the two in charge acting this way, Zhang Shousong, who was a Martial Artist standing nearby, how could he object?

The Beichen Hall Master addressed the two young people from Qingqu Academy, "The two of you might as well sit down, calm your minds, and listen. I have heard that reading is the best way to cultivate one's Qi; why are you two unable to keep your composure?"

Shang Chisu was furious, and Yue Shen said loudly, "Reading cultivates Qi, the Haoran Righteous Qi. At this very moment, my Qi rises to the stars, and I stand in opposition to the evil path. We disciples of Qingqu Academy are students of the Son of Heaven and have never dared to violate the teachings at the academy's entrance. Today, the crooked and evil paths attempt to preach from a high platform; this is a situation where the universe is inverted and purity is defiled. As the saying goes, do not look at, listen to, or speak of what is improper. This is no place for us to stay." Having said this, he took a sword from his bosom, cut off a piece of his sleeve, and threw it on the seat. Shang Chisu did the same, and the two walked out side by side.

Walking to the door, he looked back and murmured, "You disappoint me so much; I thought you were a person who could open up the world..." Then he left without looking back.

The hall was silent. After a while, people began to leave one after another, starting with the academy students.

Any power in the world called an "Academy" was mostly related to the Imperial Court, and its best students easily entered officialdom. Even though the Imperial Court's majesty was gradually being swept away, the academies could still retain a final shred of the people's hearts.

Of course, some left because they knew how to read the room. Seeing that there was a conflict here that had escalated to the level of righteousness versus rebellion, staying behind seemed suspicious. Even if they didn't know where the suspicion lay, it was better to avoid trouble.

As more people left, some of the followers could no longer sit still and followed them out.

In the end, only a small portion of people remained in their seats, giving the place a sparse feeling. The Heaven District actually had more people left, while the Human District was basically empty.

Zhu Yang watched all this with cold eyes and suddenly said, "Very well, the remaining students are all pure, knowledge-thirsty students. Everyone, do not be constrained by the Heaven District or the Human District; come closer."

The Beichen Hall Master did not move, and Wang Fei said nothing. Finally, everyone gathered as instructed.

There were about thirty or forty people left, a bit more than the seats reserved in the Heaven District. But the layout of the Heaven District was originally very spacious, so adding a few more chairs still made for a comfortable seating arrangement.

Tang Zhao was sitting in his seat when he suddenly noticed someone approaching; it was Jiang Shenyi. He had been sitting in the back of the Heaven District, but now he moved to the front and sat next to Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao did not object, and he saw Jiang Shenyi give him a wink. Tang Zhao blinked and leaned over to transmit his voice, "What is it?"

Jiang Shenyi saw that they were not on the same wavelength and had to switch to voice transmission, "I think there is a problem. The Libationer's state is like a different person compared to before. If there is danger, we..."

Before he could finish, both of them felt a jolt, as if they were drifting upward. Their bodies were clearly sitting in place, but their consciousness was floating away.

Soul leaving the body?

But immediately after, Tang Zhao realized it wasn't that serious. A layer of fog seemed to rise around them. He appeared in a venue that looked similar to the previous one, but the surrounding environment was hazy. It seemed they were still in the same place, but there was a membrane like frosted glass that made everything around them blurry.

In this new place, besides Tang Zhao, there were others, all appearing as hazy light and shadows. They were no longer arranged according to the order of the outside world but naturally gathered in a circle.

At this moment, Tang Zhao immediately thought of his state during meditation, and his heart was suddenly enlightened—these were the spirits of everyone present, though he did not know what method Zhu Yang had used to bring them here.

This was somewhat like being drawn into a dream, but without the haziness of a dream. It must be a method from another category.

Sitting right in the center was a figure, none other than Zhu Yang. Only he was clear, exactly the same as he was outside. In this strange place, he was the true Host—which was why he hadn't brought the local Host, the Beichen Hall Master, inside.

Tang Zhao, like the other inexperienced juniors, was still looking around in this magical place when a shadow beside him spoke, "The Reflection Realm. Another application of the Spirit Image from the previous dynasty. Mr. Zhu, you say you are referencing the research of the previous dynasty, but you are truly referencing quite a lot."

This phantom was hazy, but the voice was recognizable as soon as it spoke: it was Zhuge Yudan of the Xuansu Studio.

Tang Zhao's heart stirred. He hadn't expected to be wrong; this wasn't a spirit body, but an application of the Spirit Image. But they clearly weren't Spirit Officials and couldn't cultivate Spirit Images, yet they had been brought here by a single method of Zhu Yang's and condensed into something resembling Spirit Images. Did that mean Zhu Yang was a very powerful Spirit Official?

But wasn't it said that a Spirit Official and the person themselves were opposites? Why wasn't Zhu Yang a young woman, but instead exactly the same as his real self? On the other hand, Zhuge Yudan's phantom, although blurry, looked like an old man upon closer inspection. Then, should Tang Zhao's own phantom be an ugly old woman?

Zhu Yang said calmly, "I said, the Spirit Official is just a reference. My methods far exceed those of Spirit Officials. You have all seen it; I do not use that crude half-body spirit, but directly condense a True Spirit Image that reflects the heart. And by using this method, I am merely bringing everyone in to teach my Soul Dao, without being disturbed by those narrow-minded people."

Chu Shanxia muttered from the side, "The Spirit Officials of the previous dynasty could also shape their spirit bodies; they dressed as dragons and tigers, with all sorts of methods."

Zhu Yang ignored him and said, "In this illusion, there is only us: I, and those willing to learn my Soul Dao. I have brought everyone willing to learn into this place. I have not only the true teachings of the soul here but also much knowledge related to Spirit Officials, which inevitably includes some rebellious words that some people cannot bear to hear. Those who cannot stand it may leave."

By now, those who minded had already run away. Those who remained had no such taboos. Come to think of it, Tang Zhao also held the title of Jian-di Division Command Officer, but in the Jian-di Division, besides eliminating demons and pacifying the people, all he heard was "Lord," where had he ever heard of any "Imperial Court"? As for being taught "good and evil" and "right and wrong" by Chen Zong since he was a child, he had never learned anything about "loyalty to the monarch."

Zhu Yang said, "Then I will speak of the real things. The soul—" Countless characters and diagrams emerged from his hands, displaying his shocking research before these young people.

Inside, they formed their own classroom, while people outside could only see that suddenly, everyone present had become like clay statues and wooden puppets, their eyes unfocused, not knowing what they were doing.

The Beichen Hall Master watched this scene, pondering in silence, seemingly thinking about something.

The surroundings were silent and cold. Elder Zhang Shousong of the Kun Yu Sword Sect was bored and actually leaned over to talk to Wang Fei, who still looked like he hadn't woken up.

"Prince, do you really not care?"

Wang Fei tilted his head in confusion and said, "What?"

Zhang Shousong lowered his voice and said, "Although I am an old man from the wilderness, I know that this Zhu Yang has big problems, and his views can be called treasonous. It would be one thing if he were a rootless Loose Practitioner, but what is the meaning of Longyuan gathering such a person? In my opinion, Longyuan as a Host is really not as good as the previous Mogan Mountain..."

Wang Fei pointed behind him with his finger, meaning that although the people of Longyuan weren't paying attention here, they were just inches away; was it really okay to speak ill of them so openly?

Zhang Shousong gave a dry laugh and leaned in even closer, saying, "Don't take offense, Prince; I have always spoken my mind. Actually, I have long found Longyuan an eyesore. I also heard a rumor here that Longyuan..."

His voice grew lower and lower, almost blurry. Wang Fei leaned over involuntarily to listen, when suddenly Zhang Shousong flipped his hand, and a sharp sword transformed into Sword Light, stabbing into Wang Fei's back!