A Heart Set on Saving the World, Only Then Can One Know the Suffering of All Living Beings

One Heart Sect.

"Leader, Night Dream has already entered White Cloud Martial Academy and registered."

Great Offering Mu Linyuan reminded him softly.

Yin Shen Gong gave a grunt, unconcerned.

Mu Linyuan said, "Leader, I just remembered Night Dream's identity... The Guardians have probably already grown suspicious. If they notify White Cloud Martial Academy, then..."

He sighed. "Our operation against the Su Family of Azure Wave City was a little rash back then."

"Rash?"

Yin Shen Gong looked at Mu Linyuan, a strange, faintly mocking expression in his eyes. "Great Offering, you think it was rash? You're only realizing that now?"

Yin Shen Gong bit especially hard on the word "now."

"Could it be..."

Mu Linyuan froze.

Yin Shen Gong closed his eyes and said blandly, "That is precisely where Night Dream's true value lies!"

"What?"

Mu Linyuan was stunned.

He did not understand. The traces of the sect in the Azure Wave City incident were so heavy that Night Dream had been watched before she even joined the sect. How had that become a point of value?

Yin Shen Gong kept his eyes closed, his voice ethereal. "The White Cloud Martial Academy trial, including the grand competition, is something Night Dream must pass. And the other side will not make things too difficult for her. If Night Dream cannot even pass this trial, then dying is no great loss."

"She is only a newly initiated believer, after all. At present, her life or death has no value whatsoever. Only after she passes this trial will her value gradually reveal itself. This is a long-term investment. First, she must at least qualify to become one. Wood Offering, you are still better suited to fighting."

Yin Shen Gong fell silent.

Mu Linyuan did not stop thinking about it even after returning to his quarters. He only felt that his thoughts were still a tangled ball of hemp.

It seemed he understood, yet it also seemed he did not.

"Am I really only suited for fighting?"

Night Dream was diligently cleaning her new home.

At present, this large compound—with three courtyards and a huge garden—was occupied only by her and Fang Che.

Cleaning it herself without using her cultivation was an exhausting task.

Yet she was still cleaning with great enthusiasm.

Night Dream had been orphaned at a little over two years old. This large compound was the first home she had ever owned in her life.

Although the deed was registered under Fang Che's name, Night Dream was still thrilled by the feeling of being its mistress.

She arranged everything inside and out, directed the placement of all kinds of furniture, cleaned the courtyard, arranged the rooms...

She was busy until she was fragrant with sweat, yet she still found it endlessly enjoyable.

After all the deliverymen had left and Night Dream finished cleaning, she stared blankly at the renewed courtyard.

Her eyes were filled with indescribable affection.

During this period of infiltrating Fang Che's side, aside from being unable to reveal her cultivation, it was actually the most comfortable stretch of her entire life.

There had been no competition, no pressure, and no battles.

Although Fang Che often spoke harshly to her and treated her coldly, Night Dream knew in her heart that Young Master Fang was not bad to her.

He could even be said to be exceptionally good!

Although he wore the title of an evil cult demon, he truly had nothing to criticize when it came to her.

The Heavenly Vein Vermillion Fruit had improved her aptitude—just that alone was a favor as high as the heavens and as deep as the earth.

Aside from parents giving such treasures to their children and masters giving them to their chosen successors, who else would be willing to give something so precious to an outsider?

Yet Fang Che had simply given it to her.

There was also the most orthodox cultivation method, along with all kinds of martial arts postures that removed the dross and retained the essence...

It had practically corrected every place where she had originally gone wrong!

How much had it increased her combat strength? More than doubled, surely! She now even had a fair chance of fighting above her level!

And all those pills for ordinary cultivation... Even in major sects and the various Martial Academies, those things had to be snatched up!

Yet Fang Che had simply given them to her.

Although he was cold and sharp-tongued toward her every day and never gave her a pleasant look, he truly cared about her!

Although he constantly shouted that he would sell her into a brothel, that fellow probably did not even know what brothels were for. He did not even know how to change his threats.

"Sigh..."

Night Dream sighed softly in her heart.

She asked herself: If one day an order came from above, commanding her to kill Fang Che—

Would she truly be able to do it?

At that thought, she bit down hard on her lip.

Who can blame you for being an evil cult demon... Who can blame me for being only an undercover agent? Who can blame us for having different beliefs?

Night Dream was fragile for only a very short while before recovering.

Then she began arranging the new home.

That man had a bad temper. If he came back and saw that she had not finished tidying up, he would certainly throw a fit.

Fang Che was taken away in a state of utter bewilderment.

What happened to me? What did I do?

Why had he been taken away the moment he registered?

The administrative building was magnificent. The four characters "White Cloud Martial Academy" stood in its center.

On both sides hung a couplet that glittered with golden light.

It had actually been made by melting gold and using pure gold to gild ten enormous characters. Each character was two zhang across, grand and imposing, its radiance reflecting across heaven and earth.

The first line read: A heart set on saving the world.

The second line read: Only then can one know the suffering of all living beings.

The signature read: Yao Guang.

They were two very ordinary lines.

Yet Fang Che suddenly stopped. He stared at them, feeling as if a great bell and ancient chimes had violently shaken inside his mind.

For a moment, he felt dizzy and disoriented.

Instinctively, he sensed that this had something to do with him.

But no matter how he thought about it, he could not remember.

He looked at the two characters "Yao Guang" in the signature and found himself unable to move his feet. His blood and qi surged in his chest, and his vision blurred.

Seeing Fang Che staring blankly at the couplet, the people accompanying him also stopped in unison.

The white-haired old man sighed softly, his voice filled with boundless reverence.

"This couplet was personally written five hundred and twenty years ago by Lord Meng Chuxing, the Yao Guang Monarch and ninth headmaster of our White Cloud Martial Academy. It replaced the original exhortation-to-study couplet and left behind these two words of warning for the world."

"A heart set on saving the world, only then can one know the suffering of all living beings. These two lines are truly profound. Only by carrying the world in one's heart and wishing to save it can one understand the hardships faced by all living beings under the Sole True Sect. And precisely because one understands those hardships, one strives even harder to find every possible way to save the world."

"Lord Meng was far-sighted and compassionate. He served as headmaster of White Cloud Martial Academy for four hundred and fifty years before finally stepping down. Before leaving, he pointed to the couplet above and said to Lord Meng Hejun, the newly appointed headmaster at the time: Remember these two lines!"

The white-haired man spoke with deep reverence. "Lord Meng Chuxing guarded White Cloud Martial Academy, exhausting his heart and spilling his blood. He could even remember every student who attended during his tenure. From that point onward, our White Cloud Martial Academy truly rose into the ranks of the Eight Great Martial Academies and gradually climbed to fifth place through its years of teaching!"

"His successor, Headmaster Meng Hejun, was Lord Meng Chuxing's only beloved daughter. She remembered her father's teachings deeply and upheld them without change for more than a century. Even after retiring, she continued to serve as our White Cloud Martial Academy's honorary headmaster. The academy's current prosperity and abundance of talent are all thanks to the two Lords Meng."

Everyone wore deep respect on their faces. When the white-haired man finished speaking, they bowed deeply toward the couplet and the signature beneath it.

Fang Che felt golden thunder rumbling inside his mind.

It was as though something was about to break free from its cocoon.

For a moment, his head throbbed as if it were splitting apart.

Whether it was the couplet, the name "Meng Chuxing," or the characters "Yao Guang," all of them made his soul tremble.

Just as everyone was showing their reverence—

"Jingle..."

A crisp, ethereal ringing drifted from inside the building, and a person walked out.

It was a woman.

She wore a purple dress and was naturally peerlessly beautiful. Her entire being carried the graceful air of someone who had long occupied a position of power, along with an effortless dignity and authority.

A string of small bells was tied around her wrist. No one knew what they were made of, but they emitted a gentle white light.

As she walked, the crisp, quiet bells rang naturally.

Like wind passing through a bamboo forest, producing heavenly music of its own accord.

White waves and sandy shores, perfectly formed by nature.

As soon as the woman in purple emerged, she looked at everyone and smiled. "Huang Yifan, why are you all suddenly bowing here?"

White-haired Huang Yifan and the others bent in unison, the respect on their faces nearly overflowing. "Greetings, Lord Meng."

The woman in purple smiled. "I am no longer the headmaster of White Cloud Martial Academy, only its honorary headmaster. There is no need for such ceremony."

"Lord Meng will always be the spiritual pillar of White Cloud Martial Academy!"

The white-haired man spoke with solemn earnestness.

"You flatter me."

The woman in purple was clearly Lord Meng Hejun, the only beloved daughter of the Yao Guang Monarch Lord Meng Chuxing and the tenth headmaster of White Cloud Martial Academy.

Her purple robes fluttered as she walked down the steps with a smile. "Go on and get busy. Several elders have summoned me, so I need to hurry over."

"May you have a safe journey, Lord Meng."

Meng Hejun nodded and strode away. When she passed Fang Che, she casually asked, "Is this this year's new student? Only one has arrived so far?"

Huang Yifan hurriedly smiled. "Yes. That's why we wanted to have a look at him first."

The woman in purple clearly realized something. She frowned. "Take it easy. Your temper is explosive, so don't act willfully. Discuss everything with Headmaster Gao."

"Yes, yes."

Huang Yifan nodded repeatedly.

Meng Hejun chuckled and said to Fang Che, "Little fellow, don't be nervous. Train hard in the future."

Fang Che's consciousness felt somewhat hazy. "Yes."

Meng Hejun nodded. She came to his side, raised her hand, and pointed at the ten characters. "Little fellow, look carefully at those ten characters. As a martial artist, you must remember them forever. You learn martial arts to protect the goodness of this world and save all living beings from suffering."

She patted Fang Che's shoulder and said earnestly, "A heart set on saving the world, only then can one know the suffering of all living beings. I only hope that one day, you can truly recite these ten characters from the depths of your heart and devote your entire life to striving for them. This world cannot withstand being overturned again."

Her voice was gentle and kind, carrying boundless spiritual power. It flowed like a tiny stream, smoothing the waves in Fang Che's mind.

In an instant, he felt complete tranquility.

"Work hard! Walk the righteous path!"

Meng Hejun patted Fang Che's shoulder. In that moment, Fang Che vaguely felt something like a sense of mission being passed on to him.

It was as though his soul had been cleansed. The comfort was indescribable.

Her purple robes fluttered.

Meng Hejun instantly soared into the sky. Her graceful figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye, a point of purple light appeared several hundred zhang away on the horizon. With another flash, she vanished.

Huang Yifan shook his head and smiled wryly. "Lord Meng is as gentle and kind as ever. She even gave this little fellow a Soul Cleansing Art before leaving."

He knew very well that he had sought out Fang Che because he had received a letter. Fang Che was supposedly a spy from the demon sect, a seed deliberately sent in to infiltrate them from within.

Meng Hejun had clearly guessed this as well. She understood that these people would not truly mobilize themselves for an ordinary new student.

Yet she had still done it.

It was only because of her compassion and her responsibility as a teacher. She could not bear to see any student lose his way.

And so she had given Fang Che a Soul Cleansing Art.

"No wonder countless students who graduated from White Cloud Martial Academy all say that Lord Meng is someone capable of saving souls!"

Huang Yifan spoke with immense reverence. "I, Huang Yifan, have not truly admired many people in my life, but I sincerely admire both Lords Meng from the bottom of my heart."

The others laughed. "You're the only one who does?"

Fang Che's mind settled. When he subconsciously turned around to look, the woman known as Lord Meng had already vanished without a trace.

Only that faint, crisp ringing, like heavenly music, seemed to continue echoing in his heart.

Jingle...

Jingle...