Our Vibe Is Bad

Chapter 49: Our Vibe is Not Good

The carriage swayed, and Li Muge steadied himself before continuing, "Over time, the plants and trees of the previous era turned into combustible Calamity Ash. These kilns and smelters use Calamity Ash as fuel to refine ores and create things."

Su Yun asked, "If plants and trees turned into Calamity Ash, what about the people of the previous era? What did they turn into?"

Li Muge hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know about that."

The area ahead gradually brightened. Su Yun peered out the window and saw layers upon layers of light in the distant sky. The lights floated in the air, arranged neatly in rows.

Even more peculiar was that there wasn't just one row of lights, but hundreds!

"Senior Student Muge, what are those lights over there?" Su Yun inquired.

Li Muge looked a bit embarrassed. "If we're not being formal, you can just call me Senior Brother. I'll call you Junior Brother. 'Senior Student' and 'Junior Student' is how people in the Eastern Capital speak. In Shuofang, we call each other Senior Brother and Junior Brother."

Su Yun and Flower Fox had also seen the terms "Senior Student" and "Junior Student" in ancient books from the Dragon Burial Mound, so they were unaware of Shuofang's customs.

The ancient books from the Dragon Burial Mound were written by scholars from Tiandao Academy. Is Tiandao Academy not an Official School of Shuofang, but rather the Official School of the Eastern Capital? Su Yun thought to himself.

Li Muge glanced out the window and chuckled, "Those are Towers."

"Towers?"

Su Yun, Flower Fox, and the others were stunned and exclaimed, "Such tall towers?"

If those lights were from within the towers, wouldn't that mean the topmost floors were in the clouds?

Could there be such tall towers in the world?

After all, the tallest building in Tianmen Town, the Heavenly Gate, was only a few dozen feet high. How could there be towers that reached into the clouds?

Li Muge asked curiously, "You haven't seen towers before?"

Su Yun and the four children shook their heads. Hu Buping said, "There are no such tall towers in the countryside!"

"Since Lou Ban the Sage built towers, these buildings have become increasingly tall. Old towers were at most a hundred feet high, but now, towers of a thousand or ten thousand feet can be built!" Li Muge explained. "In the past, when building towers, wood was used. The finest wood, grown for hundreds or thousands of years, would be cut down to be used as pillars, resulting in structures only a few dozen feet high, supporting only a few floors. Building any higher was impossible, as the wood couldn't bear the weight. Thus, palaces were only a few stories tall, or simply a single grand hall. Now, when building towers, the techniques of artifact refining are used. Applying artifact refining techniques to construction is the original creation of Lou Ban the Sage."

"Lou Ban the Sage?"

Flower Fox, Li Xiaofan, and the others looked on with admiration. "This person became a sage by building towers!"

Su Yun was taken aback. The ghost and god he encountered outside the temple of a great figure last night was also named Lou Ban.

Furthermore, that Lou Ban knew Qiu Shuijing and said he was also a follower of the New Learning, just like Qiu Shuijing. Lou Ban had also given Su Yun a wooden box, calling it a key, and told Su Yun to take the wooden box to see if his hidden belongings were still in the underground of Shuofang City.

Could this Lou Ban be the same person as the Lou Ban the Sage who applied artifact refining techniques to building towers, as Li Muge mentioned?

Could it be such a coincidence? Su Yun thought.

"Lou Ban is not a sage. The Great Emperor of the Eastern Capital did not bestow the title of sage upon him, only that of Celestial Master. After his death, a temple was built to worship him as Celestial Master Lou," Li Muge clarified. "Previously, sages were revered for their high learning and widespread influence, with disciples all over the world. Their teachings were considered Major Schools of Thought, like Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, hence they were honored as sages. Later, the Emperor of Yuanshuo could no longer tolerate this and decided to bestow divinity and sainthood himself. Thus, sages gradually became those appointed by the Emperor. However, among the common people, Lou Ban is referred to as Lou the Sage."

The officials did not bestow divinity, but the people did. The officials did not bestow sainthood, but the people did. The situation in Yuanshuo was truly remarkable.

Su Yun mused, Lou Ban, my fellow Daoist, doesn't know that after his death, he has already been revered as a sage by the people. When I return home and meet him, I must tell him this news!

"Junior Brother Yun, have you ever seen a Spirit Divine Weapon? Spirit Divine Weapons are forged from special metals and materials using sacrificial refining methods, fused with Spiritual Abilities, and tempered through countless trials to become weapons."

Li Muge continued, "Spirit Divine Weapons are exceptionally tough and indestructible. We Spirit Scholars can easily crush mountains and bend steel, but we cannot destroy Spirit Divine Weapons. Lou Ban integrated the techniques for refining Spirit Divine Weapons into building houses. His life's work was to refine houses as if they were Spirit Weapons! Therefore, the towers in Yuanshuo are also indestructible and built ever higher! I heard that in the Eastern Capital, there are already towers two to three thousand feet tall, truly like living among immortals!"

Su Yun, Flower Fox, and the others yearned to see them immediately.

"After Sage Lou mastered the method of refining Spirit Weapons to build towers, the first place he built was our Shuofang City."

Li Muge said leisurely, "After he gained fame in Shuofang, he was summoned to the Eastern Capital by the Great Emperor to build the city. He was the one who turned tower construction into a Major School of Thought, comparable to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Now, our Wenchang Academy has a course in Architecture, equivalent to Confucianism!"

Su Yun listened intently as the Land Candle Dragon's speed gradually slowed.

The Candle Dragon had carried them to Shuofang and was now walking into the city. The Candle Dragon, carrying eighty small wooden structures, had its passengers beginning to pack their belongings, preparing to disembark.

Flower Fox pushed open the window and looked out, seeing a vibrant scene of colorful lights and lanterns everywhere, with festive decorations.

Su Yun also took the opportunity to look outside. The city's night mist was hazy, and towering buildings that pierced the clouds stood tall within the city.

He examined the nearest building. Each floor of this tall tower resembled a palace. The exterior of each floor featured traditional dougong brackets and architraves, with long eaves that curved upwards like wings or swallowtails.

The Land Candle Dragon exhaled, and white mist surged along the ground. The Candle Dragon slowed further, but it had already arrived in front of a tall tower.

Su Yun leaned half his body out the window, continuing to observe. He saw that the eaves of each palace-like floor were adorned with stone sculptures of auspicious beasts, such as figures pointing the way for immortals.

He looked up. This tall tower was an octagonal building, with an unknown number of rooms and sixty-four floors. Each floor was about thirteen to fourteen feet high, making its total height likely eighty to ninety feet, significantly taller than ordinary mountains.

The topmost floor was an architectural structure resembling the roof of a palace, an octagonal double-layered building, like the main hall of an imperial palace, brightly lit!

Then, a second tall tower appeared before him, even taller than the previous one!

A third building appeared, much taller than the second.

Towers and grand buildings rose straight into the clouds, the light from their lamps illuminating the clouds, turning them into vibrant hues of red and purple.

Even more peculiar was that high-altitude sky bridges connected these tall buildings and mansions. Su Yun looked up and saw pedestrians walking on these sky bridges that reached into the clouds, as if walking in a city in the heavens.

"These sky bridges on the tall towers are interconnected and can even accommodate four or five carriages side-by-side. People living on them might not need to descend to the ground their entire lives!" Li Muge said with a smile.

Hu Buping, Li Xiaofan, and Qingqiu Yue, the three young demon children, also stuck their heads out, their eyes wide, letting out gasps of amazement.

Rows upon rows of towering buildings pierced the clouds, their structures shimmering with various colored lights. Flying bridges resembled tree branches. The sight of Shuofang City was truly like a forest forged from steel, with the buildings as the trees and the sprawling roads as their roots.

"The Paoxiao from Linyi Village once told us the city was like a steel forest. It really is," someone said.

Su Yun leaned against the car window, quietly watching the scenery outside. He thought to himself, The Paoxiao said the city was a hundred times more dangerous than Tianshiyuan, and that people in the city ate without spitting out the bones. Is that true?

Beside him, Li Muge chuckled, "Junior Brother Su Yun, Junior Brother Hua Hu, since you're here to study, why not come to my Wenchang Academy? My Wenchang Academy is one of the top-ranked Official Schools in Shuofang City. This season is when we recruit new scholars for the upcoming year. As long as you pass the assessment, you can enroll."

Su Yun was quite tempted and was about to express his thanks when Hua Hu asked, "Wenchang Academy is highly ranked, so who is ranked first?"

Li Muge's expression faltered slightly. He replied somewhat dejectedly, "Naturally, Shuofang Academy is ranked first... But my Wenchang Academy is indeed very impressive! Last year, my Wenchang Academy surpassed Moxia Academy among Shuofang's Official Schools, ranking third!"

Su Yun and Hua Hu exchanged glances. They thought, It seems Wenchang Academy isn't all that great. They probably never ranked third before; it must have been a fluke to climb to third place.

Li Muge could sense their thoughts. His face flushed, and he stammered in his haste to argue, "In terms of grades, my Wenchang Academy is no worse than them! It's just that our school's atmosphere is poor, which has held us back! Really, our atmosphere is bad, but our grades are excellent! If you enroll in Wenchang Academy, you will absolutely not regret it!"

Su Yun felt a slight stir within him. His injuries seemed to have healed considerably, clearly indicating that the wound medicine in Shuofang City was very effective against such pain.

However, his right arm still burned as if on fire and showed no signs of improvement.

The move where he forcefully used the Immortal Sword to slay the White Ape, killing Ancestor Yuan San, had caused a terrifying surge of Blood Essence that had almost crushed the muscles in his right arm!

Even with Shuofang's spiritual medicine, it would take more than ten days to recover!

The Land Candle Dragon finally arrived at the Shuofang Station. This Shuofang Station was many times larger than the Tianshiyuan Station, with official roads stretching in all directions, leading to different cities.

As the Land Candle Dragon entered the station, Su Yun and the others saw several other Candle Dragon Carriages, dusty from their travels, also entering the station.

Several enormous Candle Dragons let out deep roars, greeting each other. Spirit Scholars fetched water to cool the dragons, and people brought cattle and sheep for them to eat.

Passengers began to disembark. The station bustled with people. Su Yun and Hua Hu, holding the hands of three little foxes, squeezed through the crowd and stood at the entrance of the station, gazing at the vast and incredibly prosperous Shuofang City. For a moment, their minds were blank, unsure of where to go.

It was snowing in Shuofang City this winter. The snowflakes were as large as goose feathers, drifting down and landing on their collars with a chilling coolness.

Li Muge, carrying a large backpack and a few other bags, struggled to push through the crowd. He smiled, "Brothers, if you don't have a place to stay, come to my place. I've rented a house in the city! Tomorrow, I'll take you to Wenchang Academy to try your luck. Maybe you'll get in! My Wenchang Academy is very hard to get into, really, I'm not lying to you. Apart from the slightly worse atmosphere, we're still a good school!"

Hua Hu looked troubled and glanced up at Su Yun, whispering, "Xiao Yun, what do you think..."

Su Yun lowered his voice. "We don't have a place to stay, so let's go to his place for now. Tomorrow, we'll go with him to Wenchang Academy to take a look. If things look bad, we'll leave immediately. We absolutely cannot jump into a cesspool!"

Hua Hu and the little foxes nodded repeatedly. Hu Buping whispered, "From Brother Muge's words, Wenchang Academy sounds like a big cesspool..."

Seeing that they had agreed, Li Muge excitedly led them out, saying with a smile, "My place is next to the Calamity Ash Factory. It's a bit noisy, but the price is cheap, so you can make do for tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll head to the academy!"

Hua Hu asked curiously, "Why doesn't Senior Brother live with his family?"

Li Muge's expression turned a little unnatural. "I've grown up. I want to forge my own path. If I stay at home, I'll always be under my father's scrutiny. I want to prove that I'm no worse than him!"

Zhai Zhu: The annual meeting is over, going home! Calamity Ash is an ancient term for coal. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, someone dug up coal and didn't know what it was. Emperor Wu then asked a monk from the Western Regions. The monk said this thing was called Calamity Ash, formed from the people and things of the previous era.