I Can See Your Combat Power

They signed a joint petition, demanding the Elder Council to revoke all the honorary titles of the patriarchs from the Secret Arts Pavilion, and to brand all those martial arts masters who participated in the modifications as criminals of the Tang Clan, especially Elder Tang Hongtao, whose impeachment posts had piled up on Clan Leader Tang Zhi’s desk.

Moreover, the warriors of the family began to refuse to practice the Heavenly Pathway Technique, saying, “Since it’s no longer the original technique of our lineage, why shouldn’t I cultivate the classics from Martial Saint Mountain?”

It seemed to these people, so-called inheritance was only considered complete when it was passed down unchanged.

In Tang Luo’s eyes, such a rigid mindset was no different from that of a stupid donkey, because the only constant in this world was, perhaps, change itself.

After all, ever since the Tang Clan had defeated the Mi Clan, the people of the family had become content with the status quo and saw such drastic reforms as a waste of resources and energy, nothing more than foolish hassle.

Fortunately, the members of the Elder Council at the top tier understood the future challenges the Tang Clan would face. Despite the misunderstanding of their clanspeople, they still clenched their teeth and persisted.

If a single-branch family technique had so many conservative supporters, then imagine the Four Imperial Spirit Seals, which had created an entire civilization.

Idolizing the ancient, this anti-intellectual behavior, was never scarce. The era was progressing, martial arts were progressing, everything now had to be better than in the ancient times. Cultivators were stronger, the literature was more abundant, the exploration of martial arts was deeper, and the limits of realms were more awe-inspiring.

Yet there were those who stubbornly believed that the older something was, the more powerful it must be, which boiled down to a kind of baseless pride.

Perhaps at some point in the past, one’s own family or civilization stood at the apex of the world. And after the trials of time, all crowns of the pinnacle were bound to scatter in the wind. Many people could not accept the change in their status, thinking that by clinging to the pride of that era, they could return to that peak time.

Even for someone with extraordinary talent like Master Chen Menglu, after pushing the Four Imperial Spirit Seals to an unprecedented level, he too found no way forward.

The root cause lay in the adoration of the ancient, the excessive worship of the Four Imperial Civilizations, to the extent that he dared not judge what was wrong, vainly trying to find the right path in the wrong. Naturally, it was incredibly difficult.

The reason Martial Saint Mountain had stopped researching the Four Imperial Spirit Seals was precisely because it was the wrong path, and a wrong path is not worth correcting. Giving up was the decision that most aligned with cost management.

Tang Luo, at best, was just a martial arts master with exceptional talent. To claim that he could redirect a misguided civilization onto the right path in a single day was ludicrous, but to find a path that led in the correct direction was still possible.

Master Chen Menglu failed not because his martial arts skills weren’t sufficient, but because he dared not negate the achievements of his predecessors, forcing himself to produce a correct blossom on a wrong path. If he really could have grown such a blossom, that would have been truly miraculous.

Tang Luo simply pierced through the paper window, but whether he could achieve it all depended on Chen Menglu himself; he had no intention of assisting from the sidelines or watching the reconstruction of civilization.

“Chen… understands,” Chen Menglu nodded solemnly. Suddenly, a bejeweled brocade box appeared on the table. He carefully folded the thin scroll and placed it in the brocade box, as if he were storing a rare treasure.

After the brocade box swallowed the scroll, it vanished from the table surface. Chen Menglu, feeling as though he had accomplished a great deed, let out a long sigh and turned his gaze back to Tang Luo’s face. He saw the young master intently analyzing another document. Out of curiosity, he took a couple of glances, then his expression suddenly became very strange. He couldn’t help but ask, “Young friend, why are you studying the Zen sect’s Empowerment?”

Empowerment was a secret technique practiced by those who felt they had reached the limits of their cultivation in this world and intended to pass on their mantle. From any perspective, a young person in their twenties beginning such a study was premature, especially one who had not cultivated Zen’s power of vows.

When Tang Luo heard the question, he looked up, thinking that it would take Chen Menglu a while longer to muster the courage to decide. He put the pen down, rubbed his swollen brow and nose bridge, and responded, “The junior has been bewilderedly empowered by Buddha Son Yankong. I am now seeking a way to erase the Buddha Seed from my Sea of Consciousness.”

“Why would you do such a thing?” Chen Menglu asked with astonishment. “This Yankong is a rare genius who has revived the Sutra of No Suffering and Extinction, and bewildering empowerment is a ceremony exclusive to the inheritor of the mantle. If your brother were to follow Yankong back to the Buddha’s Country in Zhongzhou, he would immediately attain a status not inferior to a reincarnated spirit child, worshipped by millions of believers. Why would you want such a fortuitous encounter to be erased?”

“So Master Chen’s point is, a commoner’s daughter being captured by bandits to be their chief’s consort is a great fortune because in the face of endless glory and wealth, things like dignity, honor, and willingness don’t actually matter at all, right?” Tang Luo rubbed his face and asked with a smile, “Isn’t Master Chen’s way of thinking a bit too pragmatic?”

There seemed to be a look in Chen Menglu’s eyes that had seen life and death, as he spoke indifferently, “In the dark ages, when demonic beasts roamed the entire continent, simply wishing to survive, the Human Race had to exert all its strength. Each autumn and winter, when the beasts hunted for food storage, any youngster who left home for provisions might never return. If there had been a bandit stronghold at that time, so strong it could fend off the beasts and guarantee food and clothing, then being a bandit chief’s consort would be better than ending up in the stomach of a beast, wouldn’t it?”

“Are you saying,” Tang Luo asked with a smile that was not quite a smile, “that if the bandits’ ship is big enough and there are enough of them, when they come to recruit, instead of resisting and getting beaten to a bloody pulp, it’s better to willingly accept and survive? That sounds very cowardly. It seems even worse than dying.”

“Yes, when the Human Race faces such situations, they tend to lean towards resistance,” Chen Menglu nodded and sighed. “That’s why the predecessors of the Four Imperial Spirit Clans were enraged when they heard that cultivators from Martial Saint Mountain wanted to study the holy altars. Hence, you have seen the shattered wastelands of the Illusionary Dream Space.”

“What a sad story,” Tang Luo said with a smile. “So, elder wants to remind me not to repeat the mistakes of the Four Imperial Spirit Realms, right?”

“Yes,” Chen Menglu nodded. “What you’re doing is very dangerous, even more dangerous than what I’m about to do!”

“May I hear the details?”

Chen Menglu pointed to the scroll Tang Luo was analyzing and sighed, “The eternal lineage of Zen relies on the Empowerment of vows. When those great virtuous monks travel and preach, encountering young talents with exceptional aptitude, they would perform the bewildering empowerment; and after the empowerment, even if the family is reluctant, facing a child whose heart belongs to Buddha, they can only painfully let go.”

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