Title

Differences in cultural traditions meant vastly different understandings of martial arts. At the mention of a "Golden Core," for example, people from Huaxia immediately pictured a round pellet formed from primordial Qi, the condensed essence of the entire body. Even if they had never seen a Golden Core, they still had a vague idea of one.

But Westerners who heard the term would only think of a bead made of gold. No matter how much one talked until one's lips wore out, they could not understand what the thing had to do with cultivation.

That was also why the Mohist Academy of Science had been unable to decipher the rest of the Blazing Yang Battle Art for so long. Everyone's thoughts were on different channels, and when they encountered technical terms, they could only make blind guesses.

Beside him, Pan De hesitated several times before finally blurting out, "Brother Yan, I still can't agree with your decision. Why must you put your own disciple at risk? Offer enough compensation, and plenty of people will volunteer to scout the path. That wouldn't be coercion; it would be entirely voluntary."

Yan Jinghong shook his head. "Brother Pan, you belong to the Daoist School, so you can't understand what we Mohists stand by. Regard another's state as your own; regard another's family as your own; regard another's person as your own. Just because they aren't our relatives or our disciples, does that mean we can disregard whether they live or die? You say it would be voluntary, but if someone really were forced into it, how could that injustice be redressed? Those children whose hands and feet are chopped off and who are forced to beg—what can they do if they aren't willing?

"I know exactly how those people at the Mohist Academy of Science operate. If they really paid people to serve as test subjects, they would dare conduct any dangerous experiment, treating people like lab rats. But if the subject were my disciple, they wouldn't dare act so recklessly. They would rein themselves in somewhat, and at least they wouldn't offer people conclusions they weren't sure of themselves as a basis for cultivation."

Pan De gave a wry smile. "The people at the Mohist Academy of Science are disciples of the Mohist School too."

"They seek only 'technique,' not the 'way.' They threw away the teachings of 'universal love' long ago. They can't live without going mad. I can't judge whether what they do is right or wrong, but at least I can conduct myself properly."

Yan Jinghong turned to Si Ming. "I recommended the Blazing Yang Battle Art to you because you've personally experienced the pain of being unable to cultivate internal martial arts. If you succeed in cultivating it, that will be a message of deliverance for everyone under heaven who suffers the same pain. It would benefit all living beings and leave blessings for a thousand years. There's no denying that it holds unknown dangers. If you refuse, I will never blame you. I can't guarantee that others would be volunteering of their own free will, but I can at least guarantee that you have the right to choose."

Si Ming had great confidence in his talent and said firmly, "I am willing to lead the way, to hack through thorns and brambles and open a broad road for those who come after me."

If he had transmigrated four or five years earlier, he probably would have looked down on the Blazing Yang Battle Art. Even if he had followed the path of body refinement, he would have been confident of reaching the realm of progressing from the external to the internal before adulthood. But now it was too late.

Yan Jinghong cautioned him, "It's good that you think this way. We martial artists possess greater strength than ordinary people, so we must learn to hold ourselves to higher moral standards. When you reach my level, you'll discover that many people's lives and deaths often hinge on a single thought of yours. The more that is so, the more we must learn to respect life and never abuse our martial power.

"Only then can we master our power, rather than letting it master us. I've seen too many people rise to heaven overnight after a fortuitous encounter, only to lose their original selves to greed, desire, arrogance... In the end, they no longer even recognized themselves.

"If one day you stray onto an evil path and abuse your power to harm others, I will never plead for you. I will personally clean up my own sect. You must be prepared for that!"

"I will heed your teachings, Master. I will never disobey!"

In truth, Si Ming felt some resistance to shackling himself this way. But resistant though he was, and unable though he was to do it himself, he deeply respected those who could. At that moment, he truly respected Yan Jinghong for his character rather than his martial arts.

After master and disciple had finished their talk, Pan De teased, "You regret it now, don't you? It's not easy being Brother Yan's disciple. He believes in being strict with himself and lenient with others. Noble as that is, it makes him hard to get close to. You'd be better off carefree and at ease in our Daoist Gate. There's still time to change sects."

Si Ming put on a righteous expression. "As long as I stand straight and sit upright, with a clear conscience, Master's requirements aren't hard to meet. The beguiling words of a mere outer demon can't shake my resolve!"

"Well, now I'm an outer demon."

Pan De's interruption considerably lightened the previously solemn atmosphere.

Yan Jinghong also set aside his stern expression and said gently, "Actually, there are benefits to taking on the Blazing Yang Battle Art. To obtain accurate data, the Mohist Academy of Science will send someone to examine you regularly and devise the cultivation plan best suited to you, helping you learn martial arts as quickly as possible. Let's go meet the person in charge now."

Si Ming noticed that Yan Jinghong frowned slightly when he mentioned the person in charge. He seemed to have some objection to him.

But Yan Jinghong said nothing, so Si Ming did not ask. He followed him to a room filled with the smell of disinfectant, clearly furnished in the style of an infirmary.

After they knocked, a man opened the door. He was extremely handsome, with a face as if carved by a blade, swordlike brows curved like the moon, and jujube-red phoenix eyes. A hint of hesitation lingered between his brows, lending him some of the charm of an artistic young man. One look was enough to tell that he was a poetic man.

Besides being handsome, he was tall, roughly 1.85 meters by Si Ming's estimate. Though he wore a simple white coat, it did nothing to conceal his charm. He was utterly unlike the unfortunate real-life doctors who often worked overtime and had no time to tend to the stubble covering their faces. He looked more like a handsome doctor from an idol drama, with a leisurely job and time for the occasional romance.

The description "tall, rich, and handsome" might as well have been tailored for him. If someone told Si Ming that this man had notched a hundred conquests among artistic young women, he would not have doubted it for a second.

"Senior Yan! Then this must be the candidate." The man looked at Si Ming, and his eyes lit up. "Now that's a pleasant surprise. At least my work won't be dull from now on."

Yan Jinghong said expressionlessly, "He's the disciple I just took in."

Unfazed by the hostility of a Spirit Transformation powerhouse, the man said, "Even a master has no right to stop his disciple from pursuing true love, does he?"

"So-called true love is nothing but a prettified excuse. Never mind. I have no interest in arguing with you about this. In any case, if you dare cross the line, I'll remove you from your post and have you investigated."

The man smiled unconcernedly. "If one doesn't even dare give up a mere job and status, how can one speak of true love?"

Si Ming listened in bewilderment until Pan De sent him a private voice transmission. "This man is called Jiang Zhengtai. He's a Lord Longyang."

What the hell is a Lord Longyang? Is it some kind of profession? Longyang sounds familiar. I think I've heard an idiom with it...

The passion of Longyang! Si Ming suddenly realized. Doesn't that just mean he's gay?

He was quite surprised. He had not expected to meet someone who openly declared a passion for Longyang. After all, in the Sea Continent World, society as a whole was exclusionary and discriminatory toward homosexuals. Since population was a strategic resource, the government naturally suppressed a group that went against the biological laws of reproduction.

The Mohist School at least had the idea of "universal love" and understood tolerance to some extent. Even if they disliked what they saw, they would at most keep it out of sight and out of mind. Other countries were far harsher.

The Daoist School was the most tolerant of homosexuals. Since the term "Dao companion" meant a partner who sought the Dao together with another, regardless of gender, the Daoist School tacitly accepted their existence.

Yet the Yin-Yang School, which always stood in the same camp as the Daoist School, was firmly opposed to homosexuality. Men were yang and women were yin; males were yang and females were yin. If men did not get together with women, how could yin and yang be brought into harmony?

The Daoist School and the Yin-Yang School had always worn the same pair of pants, but on this issue alone, neither side would yield. The Daoists said that the Dao gave birth to one, and one gave birth to two; yin and yang ultimately returned to the Dao, and before the Great Dao there was no distinction between them. The Yin-Yang School countered that lone yin could not grow and solitary yang could not give birth. Unions of yang with yang or yin with yin violated the Heavenly Dao and natural order, defying heaven itself.

However, the harshest toward homosexuals in the world was not the Yin-Yang School, but the Military School. They believed that the passion of the cut sleeve disturbed a soldier's masculine bearing, so they loathed such people. Once discovered, they were immediately stripped of their personal rights and sent to a hospital for sex reassignment surgery. If they were gay men, they were also forced to cultivate the Transformation Canon, completely transforming them into women.

Thus, if a man dared declare on Military School territory that he liked girls with a little something extra, he would soon be turned into a girl without it himself.

Chapter 18: Title

"I'm not interested in men."

For the sake of his chrysanthemum, Si Ming thought it best to make a solemn declaration, lest the man misunderstand and think he had an opening. He had to put an end to any thoughts the man had of making a move on him.

Jiang Zhengtai glanced at him, seemingly seeing through his thoughts. "Actually, I like being the one who gets invaded."

My chrysanthemum isn't the only thing I'm worried about! Besides, I have no interest in being a shit-stirring stick either!

Si Ming wanted to give him a worldview-correcting palm strike, but considering that the Mohist Academy of Science had hired him despite his obvious "vice," he had to possess some exceptional skill. If they actually fought, Si Ming would most likely have no chance of winning, so for now he could only "reason with him kindly."

"Everyone has their own views. As someone who's different and isn't accepted by the public, you must have had other people force their values on you. As the saying goes, don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to yourself. Since you hate it when others do that to you, you should be even less inclined to become that kind of person."

At those words, Jiang Zhengtai looked deeply moved. "You're absolutely right! The true-love community needs understanding comrades like you! I'm even more interested in you now!"

Si Ming wanted to slap himself. Ever since his fight with the Mighty Rhinoceros Toad, he felt increasingly unable to control his mouth.