The Confucian Dao Takes Root, the Literary Heart Begins to Burn

Within the chaotic folds of spacetime, the Myriad Dao Celestial Tome floated quietly. The chaotic radiance flowing across its pages alternated between urgency and calm.

As though it echoed the grand deduction unfolding within it—a deduction concerning its own fate.

Wanhua's consciousness had already become wholly immersed in the brilliant sparks born from the collision of wisdom from two universes.

The initial direction of inspiration was clear—"Seek within oneself; let literature carry the Dao."

Yet how to turn this grand vision into reality, how to construct a practical cultivation system capable of gaining a foothold in this cruel Primordial Era world—that was the true challenge.

He no longer rifled through his memories without aim. Instead, like the most rigorous scientist, he used the Myriad Dao Celestial Tome as an experimental ground and began systematic construction and verification.

The first step: define the source of power.

The mainstream path of the Primordial Era absorbed the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, refining it into mana and true essence. Then what was the power of the Confucian Dao?

Wanhua recalled Mencius's words: "I am skilled at cultivating my vast, flowing qi." He recalled Wen Tianxiang's Song of Righteousness, and the reverence countless sages had held for "righteous qi" and "spiritual strength."

In the settings of those novels, there were also concepts such as "talent qi," "literary qi," and "the power of faith."

"Spiritual qi is the energy of heaven and earth. Then can the spirit and will of living beings—their understanding of and steadfastness in 'principles'—also condense into a unique kind of power?"

He pondered, "Perhaps this power should lean more toward 'Order,' 'understanding,' and 'definition,' rather than pure 'destruction.'"

He tried guiding his faint core consciousness away from sensing the spiritual qi outside, turning instead to explore inward.

He gathered his own unyielding will—the will born of a transmigrator's soul, tempered by the deluge of information, and now unwaveringly seeking the Dao!

At first, there was nothing. Within the empty core of his consciousness, only thoughts churned.

But he did not give up.

The deductive power of the Myriad Dao Celestial Tome operated in tandem, helping him adjust his frequency and capture the energy that might exist in the unseen, resonating with spiritual will.

A day, a year, perhaps longer... Within this chaos, where the very concept of time had vanished, Wanhua simply continued his attempts with unwavering focus.

Finally, at a certain instant, when he cast aside all stray thoughts and held fast solely to his conviction to "forge a new path"—

An exceedingly faint yet incomparably pure warm current arose from the deepest depths of his consciousness core!

It differed from the liveliness and violence of spiritual qi. It was gentle, upright, and tranquil, carrying an indescribable sense of "Order."

It seemed to originate from the soul itself, the crystallization of wisdom, will, and conviction.

"That's it!" Great joy surged through Wanhua's heart. "This qi shall be—literary qi!" He gave this new power its first definition.

The second step: construct the cultivation ladder.

With a source of power, the next question was how to accumulate, wield, and elevate it.

He borrowed the general framework of mainstream cultivation realms, but endowed it with entirely new meanings.

· Literary Qi Realm: Sense and gather literary qi, using it to nourish one's consciousness (true spirit) and strengthen the spirit. This was the foundation.

· Literary Heart Realm: When literary qi accumulated to a certain extent, condense a "Literary Heart" within the core of consciousness.

The Literary Heart was the core of a Confucian cultivator, the tangible manifestation of principles and will, and it concerned one's future Dao path.

The quality of a Literary Heart could perhaps be divided into the Innocent Literary Heart (purity), the Brocade Literary Heart (erudition), the Ironbone Literary Heart (unyielding resolve), and so on.

· Literary Gallbladder Realm: Once the Literary Heart was stable, it could be further tempered to give birth to a "Literary Gallbladder."

The Literary Gallbladder represented courage and responsibility. It was the assurance that one could practice one's principles and remain unbowed before power.

Once the Literary Gallbladder first formed, one could initially project literary qi outward and wield basic divine abilities.

· Literary Palace Realm: Within the Sea of Consciousness, construct a "Literary Palace" from literary qi and principles.

The Literary Palace was the foundational Dao field of a Confucian cultivator, a place to store knowledge, deduce principles, and contain literary qi.

Once the Literary Palace was formed, one's foundation would become stable enough to bear more powerful divine abilities.

· Intent Realm: Clearly establish the core principle one upheld, setting an "intent" for one's Confucian Dao.

For instance, one could establish the intent of "benevolence," the intent of "righteousness," the intent of "wisdom," or the intent of "reform," and so on.

One's intent determined one's future direction of development and the tendencies of one's divine abilities.

· Great Confucian: One's own principles became harmonious and complete, one's literary qi vast and surging. One could write books and expound doctrines, influence an entire region, and have a Literary Palace stable enough to reflect reality.

· Literary Master: Founding a school and becoming an authority in one's own right, one's principles could draw resonance from the rules of heaven and earth, and the might of Word of Law would begin to reveal itself.

· Literary Sage: Becoming one with the Dao one had established, enlightening all living things, with literary qi flowing through heaven and earth. A single thought could set the moral order; a single word could rectify the laws.

This was merely a preliminary framework. Future realms, such as Sub-Sage, Supreme Sage, and even levels related to the Great Dao of Hunyuan, still required continual refinement in the future.

Yet a clear path leading straight to the Great Dao had already appeared!

The third step: create foundational methods and divine abilities.

Theory had to be joined with practice. Wanhua began creating the most basic application methods.

Combining the body-tempering concepts from Perfect World and Saint King, he deduced the Confucian Dao Foundation Establishment method—the Literary Fire Body Tempering Chapter.

Rather than brutally using spiritual qi to batter the physical body—he had no physical body, after all—it used nascent literary qi to simulate "literary fire," tempering the consciousness body from within outward.

It would make it resilient and lucid, better able to bear literary qi and principles.

This method could even, to a certain extent, draw upon the infinitesimal spiritual qi of heaven and earth in reverse, transforming it into gentler literary qi as replenishment.

In terms of offense, he created the rudimentary form of "Tongue-and-Sword."

He compressed and condensed Literary Qi to an extreme, turning it into formless and intangible weapons of intent. Their sharpness depended on the purity of the Literary Qi and the firmness of the wielder's will.

Though its initial power might not match flying swords or magical treasures, it was superior in being invisible and traceless, striking directly at the soul and consciousness.

For defense, he conceived "Impenetrable Defense," guiding Literary Qi to form a barrier that guarded the mind and blocked the erosion of external malice.

He also had the preliminary concept of "Subtle Words, Profound Meaning," attempting to use Literary Qi imbued with specific "principles" to influence the rules of reality within a small area for a brief time.

For instance, it could temporarily bring order to the chaotic spiritual energy in a region, or cause the malice of a weak evil spirit to collapse on its own.

The fourth step, and also the most crucial one—ignite the Literary Heart!

The theories, the steps, and the methods had all been initially prepared. Wanhua knew that the time had come to take the first substantive step. He needed to condense a Literary Heart for himself!

He gathered all his scattered thoughts and sank his consciousness fully into his core.

That newly born, feeble strand of Literary Qi stirred, circling the core that represented his self-awareness.

He recalled what he had learned in his previous life—the Hundred Schools of Thought, the benevolent loving others, righteousness standing where it should, propriety setting its norms, wisdom discerning clearly, trust keeping one's promises... He distilled the essence of these ideals.

He reflected on his own circumstances: the confusion of transmigration, the despair of becoming a book, and his persistence in seeking a way out.

As well as the unyielding spirit and bold passion with which he had ultimately established the Confucian Dao... He forged these emotions and this will into one.

"My Dao is not for scraping by, nor is it for destruction. It is to 'establish the heart,' to 'illuminate reason,' to claim a place in this vast Primordial Era for the wisdom of the Humanities!"

"With my will, I shall bear the wisdom of ages past and present, and kindle Civilization's undying spark!"

"Literary Heart—condense!"

Boom!

A deafening crash, as though heaven and earth were being split apart, exploded solely within the core of Wanhua's consciousness!

That feeble strand of Literary Qi suddenly erupted with dazzling yet gentle radiance. Countless tiny Runes representing principles, knowledge, and will appeared and vanished within the light, combining and condensing!

In the end, all that brilliance contracted inward, gathering at the core of his consciousness.

It condensed into a heart core about the size of a thumb—warm and translucent, bearing the hues of chaos, yet seeming to contain countless tiny characters flowing endlessly within it!

This newborn Literary Heart was weak, yet it beat steadily.

With every beat, it naturally drew in an indescribable power of "Order" from the surrounding chaos, transforming it into wisps of Literary Qi to replenish itself.

It was also the anchor of Wanhua's own path, allowing him to cast off his muddleheadedness and confusion completely.

An unprecedented sense of fulfillment, power, and clear purpose flooded his consciousness.

He, Wanhua, was no longer the artifact spirit who could only passively record things and wait in despair for death. He was a pioneer upon the path of cultivation, the founder of the Confucian Dao system!

The Literary Heart had begun to burn. Though its light was faint, it had already illuminated the road ahead.

The next step was to use this Literary Heart as a spark, igniting more kindling so that the fire of the Confucian Dao could truly sweep across this Primordial Era world in a blazing prairie fire!