Chapter 181: The Epoch-Making Concept That Fell Through

The Supreme, whose clever plan had fallen through, did not reveal it on his face, but instead said with his usual amiable and approachable demeanor:

"Hero Duan, back then, in order to repay you for saving my life, I once wanted to reward you, but you did not accept it.

Now that you have come into my Imperial Palace, it is time for you to accept my reward.

Whatever you want, just name it, as long as I can satisfy you."

Duan Fengyun thought for a moment; it just so happened that he had not yet picked out gifts for his nephew/niece and his sister-in-law, so he might as well take them from the hands of this Supreme.

Operating on the principle of taking what is free, Duan Fengyun spoke up:

"Since the Supreme is so generous, then I, Duan, shall obey rather than decline."

"Hero Duan is indeed a straightforward person; just name whatever you want."

Upon hearing that Duan Fengyun was finally willing to accept his reward, the Supreme was overjoyed; if Duan Fengyun could accept the reward, it meant that he still had a chance to befriend him and then use him for his own purposes.

Meanwhile, Nie Feng and the others saw Duan Fengyun's devious expression and guessed that he wanted to get gifts from the Supreme.

They wondered how greedily Duan Fengyun would act, and how long the Supreme would feel the sting of it.

Seeing this, Duan Fengyun began to speak:

"I want two things.

The first is that I would like to ask the Supreme for something that can preserve youth forever and best capture a woman's heart."

What do women value most? It is nothing more than their appearance; no one wants to see themselves grow old and withered, only to be spurned by others.

Duan Fengyun had heard that the Imperial Palace possessed a secret, non-transferable method for women to remain forever young.

Duan Fengyun had once seen the Supreme's harem, and the Empress, who should have been at the age of growing old and withered, looked like a girl of sixteen.

Later, the knowledgeable and well-informed Disan Zhuhuang told Duan Fengyun that there was a method within the royal family that could keep women forever young.

Therefore, the first thing Duan Fengyun asked for was this method of eternal youth, not only for his sister-in-law whom he had never met, but also for Youruo and the others.

Although he would certainly imitate Di Shitian to create a Cultivation Method similar to the Heart Sutra that allowed for immortality after he obtained the Dragon Origin in the future,

he still felt it was better to ask the Supreme for the method first, just in case.

The Supreme had assumed Duan Fengyun would want gold, silver, jewelry, or a martial arts Secret Manual; he had not expected him to ask for such a private treasure for women.

It was true that their royal family possessed this method, but as time passed, this method had actually long since been lost.

Now, the royal family only had two bottles of pills refined using this method left.

However, a monarch's word is final, and the Supreme felt it was well worth sacrificing a few things for women to exchange for Duan Fengyun's favor.

The Supreme pretended to think for a long time, then replied with the appearance of having made a difficult choice:

"Hero Duan, to tell you the truth, my royal family does indeed possess this method.

But that was a very, very long time ago, and this method has long since been lost.

Within my royal family, we now only have two bottles of pills refined by relying on this method, with six pills in each bottle.

I can give Hero Duan one bottle; I wonder if you would be satisfied with that."

The Supreme had already prepared himself mentally; if Duan Fengyun were to be greedy and want both bottles, he would just give them all to him.

Exchanging two bottles of pills for the stability of his empire was well worth it.

Besides, if a woman grows old, one can just replace her; as long as the empire remains, would there be a shortage of beauties?

The Supreme stared at Duan Fengyun, waiting for his reply.

Duan Fengyun smiled and said:

"Supreme, you are too kind.

One bottle of pills is enough; I, Duan, only have one such confidante, so having more would be useless."

Upon hearing Duan Fengyun's reply, the heart that the Supreme had been holding in suspense finally settled down.

"Someone, go to the Empress and bring back one bottle of the Youth-Preserving Pills.

Tell the Empress that this is for me to reward Hero Duan, and tell her she must bring it out."

The Supreme instructed the eunuch.

The eunuch said "Yes!" and walked toward the Empress's palace.

"Your Majesty the Empress, this old servant is here by the order of the Supreme to retrieve a bottle of Youth-Preserving Pills to give to someone.

The Supreme and the others are waiting in the court for me to return, so I hope Your Majesty will be understanding and give the Youth-Preserving Pills to this old servant as quickly as possible so I may return to report."

"What!

The Supreme actually wants to gift the Youth-Preserving Pills to someone else, and a whole bottle at that?

Who does he want to give the Youth-Preserving Pills to?"

When the Empress learned from the eunuch that the Supreme actually wanted to gift a bottle of Youth-Preserving Pills to someone, she was filled with immense doubt and ten thousand times unwilling.

But upon knowing it was for Duan Fengyun, the Empress instantly understood the Supreme's intention.

A bottle of Youth-Preserving Pills in exchange for the stability of the empire; this was a very worthwhile trade.

In any case, she had already used the Youth-Preserving Pills, so she had no use for them; why worry so much?

After thinking it through, the Empress opened the heavily sealed small box and took out one of the bottles of pills inside.

After carefully handing the bottle to the eunuch, the Empress warned:

"You must keep it safe and absolutely do not break it."

"This servant obeys!"

After the eunuch carefully took the pill bottle in his hand, he turned around and walked back toward the court.

After the eunuch walked back to the court, he reported:

"Reporting to the Supreme, the Youth-Preserving Pills have been retrieved by this servant."

"Good, quickly give the Youth-Preserving Pills to Hero Duan."

The Supreme told the eunuch to quickly give the Youth-Preserving Pills to Duan Fengyun, lest Duan Fengyun change his mind later.

"Hero Duan, here."

Upon hearing this, the eunuch respectfully handed the Beauty-Preserving Pill to Duan Fengyun.

Duan Fengyun took the Beauty-Preserving Pill and felt its weight.

He secretly rejoiced in his heart:

"Not bad, not bad, this first gift is finally settled."

Seeing the joy on Duan Fengyun's face, the Supreme himself felt much happier as well.

Without waiting for Duan Fengyun to speak, he took the initiative to ask:

"Hero Duan, you have already obtained this first item.

May I ask what you would like for the second item, Hero Duan?"

To tell the truth, Duan Fengyun himself was not sure right now what would be better to give his little nephew/niece.

If it were to let his little nephew/niece learn martial arts, he would not even need to think about it before asking the Supreme to send a divine weapon.

However, regarding his own little nephew/niece, Duan Fengyun's thoughts were exactly the same as those he had for Duan Lang.

Duan Fengyun hoped that their lineage could stay away from the Jianghu and peacefully be Mortals, living an ordinary yet stable and happy life.

Duan Fengyun had the same thoughts for Xiao Ruoruo and Xiao Wuyou; if they did not have a strong desire to learn martial arts, he would not teach them.

After all, the Jianghu is a Jianghu composed of blood and tears; he was unwilling to watch Xiao Wuyou and the others bleed, and even less willing to shed tears himself because they were hurt.

Duan Fengyun thought that since he wanted his little nephew/niece to be able to be a stable Mortal, he must influence them subtly from a young age.

Thus, Duan Fengyun finally thought of what he should ask for.

He opened his mouth to answer the Supreme:

"Supreme, the second thing I want is:

I hope you, Supreme, can promise me to repair and build schools throughout the world.

Let the people of the world all have books to read, regardless of gender, regardless of status.

As long as boys and girls reach the age to attend school, they can all go to school to study.

Furthermore, the imperial court shall provide subsidies to the schools, and schools shall absolutely not charge money to children from poor families.

I wonder if you, Supreme, can agree to this?"

As soon as Duan Fengyun said this, the entire imperial court could not help but be in an uproar.

Nie Feng and the others could not help but rub their eyes; this sentence had actually come from the mouth of their junior fellow apprentice, the Martial Arts Myth—the Playboy Evil God—Duan Fengyun.

The civil and military officials in the entire imperial court were also impacted by these words from Duan Fengyun.

This epoch-making concept proposed by Duan Fengyun indeed dealt a heavy blow to the people of this feudal era.

If things followed what Duan Fengyun said, everyone would be able to go to school and study in the future.

Diligent study leads to wealth; if everyone could study, then this country would certainly be full of talent.

But the problem arose: if everyone went to study, who would be responsible for the farmland, and who would join the army?

Duan Fengyun had indeed only considered the issue of studying, but had not considered the issues of food and the military in this era.

This problem needed to be considered by the Supreme.

The Supreme stood frozen on the spot, considering what Duan Fengyun had said.

Regarding this epoch-making concept proposed by Duan Fengyun, he actually wanted to implement it too; who wouldn't want a country full of talent?

But just as the civil and military officials thought, if everyone went to study and attend school, then who would farm the land and who would join the army?

The prosperity of a country indeed requires numerous talents, but it also requires silent laborers and the military.

After thinking for a while, the Supreme opened his mouth to answer:

"Hero Duan, I am afraid I cannot agree to this request of yours."

Duan Fengyun did not make a sound; he was silently listening to the Supreme's explanation.

Seeing that Duan Fengyun did not make a sound, the Supreme continued to speak:

"Hero Duan, I do indeed admire this concept you mentioned.

A country needs a continuous stream of talent to grow strong.

But the development of a country does not rely solely on scholars; it also needs laborers and the military to provide protection.

May I ask, if everyone in a country goes to study and attend school, thinking about passing exams for fame,

then who will farm the land, weave cloth, and raise livestock?

Who will join the army and defend the country when enemies invade?

Hero Duan, I am afraid I cannot agree to this request of yours; please propose another request, Hero."

After hearing the Supreme's answer, Duan Fengyun immediately reacted as well.

It was indeed true that he had only seen the issue of stopping war with literature, but had not considered that the development of a country requires the silent dedication of many people; his concept was too ahead of its time and did not fit the current requirements.

Duan Fengyun replied:

"Supreme, this request was indeed my rashness.

I did not consider the multifaceted nature of the matter; this request does not count, I will change to another one."

Hearing that Duan Fengyun was willing to change his request, the civil and military officials, including the Supreme, all let out a long sigh of relief.

They were all worried about what to do if Duan Fengyun insisted on this request and would not let it go.

But they were all worried about Duan Fengyun's next request.

If Duan Fengyun were to say another whimsical, epoch-making concept, how would they refute it then?

To refuse someone's request twice in a row—may I ask who would not be unhappy if it were them?

Not to mention the capricious and strangely-behaved Playboy Evil God, Duan Fengyun.

The civil and military officials, the Supreme, Nie Feng, and others were all staring at Duan Fengyun, watching to see what request he would make.

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