Chapter 342: 351 Do Everything Humanly Possible

Tang Zhao listened to his words quietly, not surprised.

He had already looked over Qin Haizhou's records; in the two years of the primary and intermediate levels, his grades were very good and quite balanced. Balanced in both literature and martial arts, balanced in internal and external arts. The teachers' comments were also good, indicating he had a good temperament and was hardworking and motivated.

However, his Inspiration score was on the low side at the time; when he finished the intermediate level, his Inspiration test was around five inches.

Five inches is not very good, but it was not the lowest in his cohort; Qu Huan only had six inches and one point.

But when they reached the senior years, they began to practice Mysterious Techniques. Practicing Mysterious Techniques is meant to increase Inspiration; you might not practice your Qi well, but you cannot fail to increase your Inspiration.

Qu Huan practiced Mysterious Techniques for one year and increased to nine inches and two points, just one step away from the standard for a Sword Guest.

Qin Haizhou was at five inches and one point.

After practicing Mysterious Techniques for nearly a year, he had increased by one inch.

At this rate, he would still need to practice for fifty years to reach the one-foot passing line for a Sword Guest.

In fifty years, Qin Haizhou would be under seventy; if he practiced his Internal Arts and Mysterious Techniques well, he might not look old and could barely be considered in his prime. However, in reality, Inspiration does not grow at a constant rate with age; it is rapid at first, then gradually slows down until it reaches a bottleneck. By about thirty years old, Mysterious Techniques can no longer stimulate the growth of Inspiration.

This curve is no longer a secret; all students have been measured. To put it cruelly, anyone observed to be unable to reach the standard by thirty has no value in being cultivated.

In fact, not everyone in the Land Inspection Division is a Sword Guest, and most are not. Even for many who meet the Inspiration standard, they never have the chance to become a Sword Guest in their entire lives. But the Land Inspection Division has too much talent and the competition is too fierce; only the seeds of Sword Guests are true prospective talents who can be held in high regard by their superiors. Those who join without the hope of becoming a Sword Guest see no future.

Although the Training Camp does not directly abandon such students—low Inspiration does not hinder graduation, and if their grades are good, they can still get a job—joining the workforce is basically the end of the line. Even if they work themselves to the bone to earn merit, they will never be able to attain real power positions like Town Guardian in the future.

Only Sword Guests can be Town Guardians; one cannot reach that position just by accumulating merit, otherwise, it would be too dangerous for the person themselves. When all is said and done, the current world is too dangerous, and only strength is the reliance for survival.

A young person destined not to become a Sword Guest can only change careers early to become a civil official or find a leisurely job to support their family, such as becoming a head catcher for the Six Fan Gate or joining a Local Militia; that would be more than enough, but they should not think about any infinite future.

The other students who were eliminated in the first two years were the same.

However, since the future is the same for those who were eliminated for insufficient grades, what was the point of the day-and-night hard work and competitiveness in the first two years?

Thinking of this, his heart sank.

During this year, Qin Haizhou's grades steadily declined, finally reaching the level of the bottom few. He had no intention of listening to the previous courses and just "rotted" along with his equally hopeless companions.

But today, Tang Zhao's words tore open a corner of the restriction Inspiration placed on Art Tools, revealing a glimmer of hope and allowing Qin Haizhou to see a future, so he chased after him all the way.

In fact, there were not a few people in similar situations to him, but he was the first to chase out, which shows he was the quickest to react, the most determined, and the most proactive.

His blood had not yet gone cold.

Tang Zhao appreciated him, but unfortunately...

"It is very difficult. Sword Guests and Art Tools are different. A sword is heaven-made, while an Art Tool is man-made. Humans have room for negotiation, but the will of heaven cannot be bargained with."

Tang Zhao said bluntly.

The person before him was, after all, a youth, not an old man or a patient in critical condition, so he would not suffer some mishap just from hearing bad news. On the contrary, if he were blindly coaxed and given false hope, he would be even more disappointed when it was shattered later.

Qin Haizhou paused, then immediately asked, "Very difficult... does that not mean it is absolutely impossible?"

Seeing his persistence, Tang Zhao said sternly, "Very difficult means one must do everything humanly possible and leave the rest to heaven. If you must know thoroughly, come over, and I will explain it to you in detail." He then took his things and walked back to his office. Qin Haizhou followed him the whole way without hesitation.

Once inside the office, Tang Zhao poured him a cup of tea, let him sit down, and then said sincerely, "First of all, I have no secret recipe here to make an ordinary person a Sword Guest. I can only say that on the path of the Sword Guest, there are keys that those with slightly inferior Inspiration can work hard to fight for. Fighting for it does not mean you will win, and I do not encourage you to necessarily fight for it; you must judge for yourself."

Tang Zhao had not specifically studied how to lower the requirements for Inspiration to let more people become Sword Guests. He felt there was no need for that.

He wanted Art Tools to enter every household because Art Tools have all sorts of benefits and make life convenient, just like the technology Chen Zong spoke of, making the world a better place.

And Sword Guests... no matter how you put it, the primary duty of a Sword Guest is killing and warfare, just like a Martial Artist; they are a small part of the world's composition, essential for protecting the borders and the people, but there is no need for so many. If everyone goes to practice martial arts, what will everyone eat and wear?

Moreover, is there a shortage of people to become Sword Guests now? What is lacking is swords. The number of new swords each year is limited; Sword Seeds are truly hard to come by, and old swords are like a radish in every hole—only when one dies is there a vacancy. There are already more qualified people than can be arranged; where is the need for so many backups?

If Tang Zhao really wanted to manufacture a Sword Guest on the spot, that would require forging a new sword, not fulfilling a newcomer.

But he was also willing to help this young man within his power. It was not just an appreciation of his sincerity, but also a small, private thought.

Qin Haizhou's diligence and slightly mediocre Inspiration reminded him of another senior brother with the surname Qin, Qin Haizhou.

Although Senior Brother Qin was not as close to Tang Zhao as Senior Sister Xue, Jiang Shixiong, and Tang Zhao were, he was still a fellow disciple and had given him quite a bit of care. And compared to Deng, Tang Zhao admired him more.

Although Senior Brother Qin and Deng had similar natural talents, similar strength, and similar influence—seemingly a pair of "Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix"—Qin Haizhou was able to keep pace with Deng Chong despite his humble background and not-so-superior talent, which was the result of efforts unimaginable to ordinary people.

Although Tang Zhao sometimes mentioned Senior Brother Qin's "grind" in the same breath as Deng's "pay-to-win," he had a better impression of Senior Brother Qin's "grind."

Given Tang Zhao's own background, he would never allow himself to empathize with those noble sons who were born wealthy and got whatever they wanted.

Sometimes it is just that coincidental; if Qin Haizhou did not have the surname Qin, perhaps he really could not have made Tang Zhao immediately compare him to Senior Brother Qin, harbor a good impression, and be willing to tell him everything; this is also a kind of fate.

"The figure of one foot of Inspiration is, after all, an imaginary number; it is an estimate made by people themselves, not a heavenly law. No god in charge of swords has ever dreamt that one can be a Sword Guest only after passing one foot, or that one cannot if they don't. It can only be said that according to experience, once you reach one foot of Inspiration, the vast majority of swords can communicate with you, or at least they can perceive your talent."

He demonstrated, "It is like your Inspiration is a hand, and the Sword Intent is placed in a black box. The box is one foot high; you reach in with this hand to touch, and you can just reach the bottom, then grope around. As long as the Sword Intent is in the box, the probability of you touching it is high."

"But if your hand is not one foot long, you can only touch a part of the box. If the Sword Intent is by your hand, you can reach it, but if it is slightly off, you cannot. But if you know where the thing is and reach out straight to touch it, and the Sword Intent happens to have a certain height, you might just happen to touch it and succeed."

"If you can accurately test the direction of your Inspiration and have a sword that is a perfect match for you, it might respond even if you emit weak Inspiration, so the requirement for Inspiration might be lowered. It is just that the requirement for the degree of matching with the sword is increased."

Qin Haizhou was moved, but hesitated, "But even if it is a perfect match, can the Inspiration requirement be lowered by half?"

Tang Zhao said seriously, "I cannot give you an answer. If you have the heart to fight for it, you can try it yourself. Secondly, try changing your Mysterious Technique? Mysterious Techniques also have various directions, and those that fit you will have better effects. You still have the potential to improve."

Qin Haizhou's mouth twitched—of course he had potential; if he grew one point a year, even if he grew to two points, that would be doubling it.

He smiled bitterly, "Instructor, you don't know, I have already changed three Mysterious Techniques in one year, and this one is considered the most effective."

Tang Zhao said, "You must choose with a purpose. I see you have an Inspiration test, but no direction test?"

Qin Haizhou said, "It only makes sense to test when you reach eight inches; for someone like me, the Test Disk won't even turn, so testing is useless."

Tang Zhao said, "That is true, the Test Disk in our camp is too old and not sensitive at all. But the stroke test newly established by the Lord should work. The Lord's Sword Law is full of Sword Essence, and it reacts even with the slightest Inspiration; you can try that."

Qin Haizhou said, "But I heard that no one can understand the test results..." His heart stirred, and he looked at Tang Zhao, thinking to himself: Could it be that the Instructor can actually understand them?

Tang Zhao did not make any big promises directly and said, "In a few days, I will organize everyone to test again, and we will see then. If we can find a targeted change, that would be for the best. Although sometimes the will of heaven is hard to defy, one must still do everything humanly possible."

Qin Haizhou nodded, gaining a bit more confidence. After chatting for a few sentences, he stood up to take his leave. Tang Zhao said, "If you have anything, you can come find me. Tell the other students that I welcome all students to come and chat with me."

Qin Haizhou bowed, walked to the door, and suddenly turned back, "Instructor, I heard that children in the Yinhuo Township around the Demon Cave are often stimulated and their Inspiration increases greatly? As if they were reborn?"

Tang Zhao's heart stirred, and he said, "It is not everyone; at most a small portion. Rather than saying it increases Inspiration, it is more like a bodily deformity. It is hard to say whether this change is good or bad... no, it is more likely to be bad."

He thought of that red-haired Zhou Chengzhi; he did not know if his Inspiration had increased, but he seemed to have clearly increased his ability to melt fire, not even afraid when fire burned onto his body.

Although his combat power had increased, his body seemed to have become different from a normal person's.

Does this count as... Heavenly Demon Transformation?

Tang Zhao said with a serious expression, "If you go to Yinhuo Township to see, you will know; many people are affected by Yin energy, suffering from physical disabilities, mental derangement, and lifelong incurable conditions. Hair mutation is a minor matter; there are even more unpredictable risks. Why would someone who can walk the bright and righteous path choose to walk a single-plank bridge suspended over a volcanic crater?"

Qin Yongcheng bowed again and said, "This student understands." He turned and left.