[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-75":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2337280,4570,"Chapter 75: Learning Makes Me Progress","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-75",75,"\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang shed tears, “Before an immortal, who could know this? If it’s something that ruins fengshui, why do wealthy families, even the imperial house, revere bound feet? Only the outcasts of eastern Zhejiang forbid boys from studying and girls from binding their feet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun stared, dumbfounded; due to her low historical and cultural knowledge, she didn’t know what the outcasts of eastern Zhejiang were, nor who had devised such a ridiculous rule, and for a moment couldn’t find a better rebuttal, so she kept warning with mysticism: “Binding feet ruins the fengshui of a person and their family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Sun Xianniang had witnessed Pan Yun’s supernatural abilities, she still half-doubted her judgment on foot-binding: “Perhaps it only ruins my family’s fengshui and harms my household, but overall it’s still correct. Otherwise, why would wealthy families and the imperial house compete to bind feet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun shouted inside her mind to Pan Xiaohei: [Find me every historical book in the Spirit Realm—especially those about foot-binding! I need to study!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To refute her, you must know more broadly and understand the essence of things better than she does.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a cultivated person with knowledge, culture, and achievement, how could one be defeated by an ordinary person on something as obviously wrong as foot-binding?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She needed to know how foot-binding originated, how these beliefs were forced into ordinary minds, and she would rip them out at the source!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen and Miao He also fell silent, frowning: “Foot-binding first harms the body. Even if it doesn’t ruin fengshui, shouldn’t one avoid inflicting suffering on oneself?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang: “Only by enduring the harshest hardships can one rise above others. Suffer now, and you’ll enjoy fortune later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen: “The future is uncertain. If you don’t enjoy fortune when it’s within reach, how can you be sure you’ll ever have fortune to enjoy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang frowned, her face resolute: “That’s precisely why we must endure more hardship now. My daughter meets all their standards—how could she not enjoy fortune? Immortals like you also had to study hard to attain your abilities, didn’t you? Isn’t today’s hardship meant for tomorrow’s comfort?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” the three girls said in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen looked at Pan Yun, then said seriously: “I cultivate to be human, to seek truth—what does it mean to be human?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang opened her mouth wide. She had once studied characters with her father, knew basic characters, and had always been proud of it—at least she was better than many ladies she knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, she realized she couldn’t understand what an eight-year-old child was saying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He: “I learn skills to survive, to repay my master, to repay Sanqing Temple, and to repay the villagers below the mountain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang’s eyes lit up, nodding eagerly: “Yes, yes! Just like my child—studying and foot-binding are both to repay parents and family, to live better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He looked bewildered: “But why must a child repay parents and family by mutilating themselves? If a person is crippled, how can they live better? My master never harmed me—he only reluctantly stopped me when I ate too much and still wanted more. But that was following nature; I was the one who violated it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang spoke dryly: “I do this so my daughter will have a better marriage. Immortals can transcend worldly concerns and needn’t worry about this, but we mortals cannot. Especially women—marriage is like a second birth. The first is fate, beyond choice, but the second can be chosen, so we must strive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun understood her: “In the end, it’s about prospects. A girl’s only prospect is marriage—too narrow. We should develop career paths instead. She could earn her own money, secure wealth and honor herself, stand on equal ground with men, no longer bound by male aesthetics—she could bind her feet if she wished, or not, and choose her own lover and marriage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t a problem of ordinary people—it’s a problem of state and policy. To resolve its root…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little sister!” Xuan Miao cut her off coldly: “Miao Zhen and Miao He explained why they cultivate. What about you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun paused, swallowed the words on her tongue, thought carefully, then said: “I don’t have the aspirations or character of my two disciples. Long ago, I cultivated for humanity; later, only for myself; now, I cultivate for myself and my family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuan Miao: … Hadn’t she already aspired to cultivate for all humanity? Wasn’t that enough?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to them, Miao Zhen cultivated for herself, Miao He—though seemingly unrelated to the Dao—had incorporated everyone she knew into her Dao; Pan Yun was stronger still, cultivating directly for all humanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Xuan Miao’s expression, Pan Yun thought she didn’t believe her, so emphasized: “Truly, I’m not lying. Long ago, I studied precisely to elevate all humanity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long before my past life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was raised in an orphanage, nurtured and educated by the state. From childhood, my ambition was to elevate humanity; everyone’s goal was to purify the world, so ordinary humans could live safely on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until the explosion, my ambition never changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reincarnating, when I came to this relatively safe Great Ming, where demons and monsters vanished, I shifted to cultivating for myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuan Miao: “Your aspiration is good. You can still pursue it now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned to Sun Xianniang: “Foot-binding originated in the Southern Song imperial house—it first became popular in the palace, became court fashion, then spread to the common people. Later, officials encouraged it, and it grew even more widespread.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At first, foot-binding only involved wrapping feet with cloth to restrict growth; later, it compressed the foot arch to fit into tiny shoes; eventually, it became today’s ‘golden lotus’—breaking bones, cutting flesh, all to force tiny feet. Clearly, foot-binding is a deliberate human act. Since it’s deliberate, it can be changed. The question is: in the hearts of Master Sun and all these parents, is their daughter’s life more important, or that illusory prospect of marriage?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuan Miao had no patience for subtlety; she ripped off their veil: “Master Sun, your daughter is only six. She doesn’t understand marriage prospects—those desires are yours. She is paying with her life for your desires.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang’s face turned instantly pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuan Miao ignored her, and ordered Pan Yun and the others: “Hurry and sleep. Tomorrow we rise early to escort the spirit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three girls immediately climbed onto their mats and lay down. Pan Yun had more to say, but suddenly felt afraid to provoke Xuan Miao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuan Miao lay down with them, giving the bed to Sun Xianniang, her daughter, and the wet nurse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun closed her eyes, but her mind was active—the Spirit Realm had already followed her orders and searched out all historical records on foot-binding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun quietly read them inside her dantian. After finishing the history of foot-binding, she couldn’t help returning to examine every historical record from its beginning to its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I was wrong. I used to focus only on cultivation, skimming only human history and Chinese history. Now times have changed—my old knowledge no longer applies. We must study. Starting tomorrow—no, starting today—we add a history lesson. Two hours every night. Remind me to study. Let’s begin with Great Ming history.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Xiaohei: [It’s a parallel world, not the same historical line—just similar people and events. If you treat it as this world’s true history, won’t you make a fool of yourself?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Since this is a parallel world, there must be differences.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!. Read\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: [Do you think what’s written in history books is the exact truth of my past life? In a murder case, even eyewitnesses don’t know the full truth. It takes time to settle, and later, new discoveries emerge.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[History is like a murder case—it’s always fresh. It may need to accumulate new evidence or uncover truths over a long time, until enough proof emerges to pierce the fog, peel back the veil, reveal the truth, and finally settle the matter.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Before sufficient evidence exists, what we call history is merely what most people believe.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Xiaohei: [Do you think someone like Sun Xianniang has this understanding? Can she grasp your view of history and the world? She’ll only accept the history this world forces into her mind. And people like her make up the majority of this world.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: [Hmph.] Then said: [If others can shove things into their minds, why can’t I? What am I worse than them?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun spoke casually, and Pan Xiaohei instantly understood: if history is a murder case, and this world can shove a “truth” into ordinary minds, why can’t she shove another truth into them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before sufficient evidence settles the matter, it’s a matter of who speaks better, who finds more evidence, who can persuade with reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Pan Yun wouldn’t just reason—she’d also perform miracles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before dawn, she opened her eyes, rose, and walked to the bed, reaching out to touch Zhou Meiniang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the child’s forehead was slightly warm—whether from twisted bones and flesh, or from the shock of the family’s mourning these past days, she had developed a fever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wet nurse slept lightly; she jolted awake, eyes still closed, reaching out instinctively, finding Zhou Meiniang, then fumbling her hand, her face, and when her fingers touched the child’s neck beneath the covers, her eyes snapped open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw Pan Yun standing by the bed and screamed “Ah!” But when she recognized Pan Yun, she said nothing, immediately turned to hug the child, touching her forehead, then her neck, panicked: “Madam, madam, the child’s burning up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang finally opened her eyes drowsily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun then said: “My master appeared to me in a dream—he said the little virtuous one’s tribulation has begun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Xianniang’s face turned pale with alarm: “Little immortal, please save my daughter!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun turned to look at Xuan Miao, who had already sat up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuan Miao: … You had a dream, so speak—how are you going to save her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She resigned herself, rose, and took the child’s pulse, inserted needles…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s lucky number is any number ending in 3, screenshot as proof\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1696,"2026-06-20T22:03:57.478Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","09af70881ec17c275a7438ec5603083ecd3062cb6784addc55ea73335d12f084","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-76","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-74",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]