The Literary Way Spreads, The Hundred Arts Flourish

Red Dust Realm

In the misty rain of Jiangnan, a painted boat glided over the rippling waves. Jiang He stood at its prow, idly toying with a warm, ruddy pearl between his fingers—the human race's supreme treasure, the Red Dust Pearl. Light shimmered across the pearl's surface, reflecting the brilliant glow of Merit from the Primordial World. The news of Feng Luo's enlightenment as a Quasi-Sage surged into his consciousness like a tidal wave.

"The Literary Way has just been born, and the human race gains another Quasi-Sage..." A smile tugged at the corner of Jiang He's lips, and his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. He turned to look into the cabin, where Feng Li Yue was holding Jiang Hanyue's little hand, guiding her as she sketched the landscapes of the Red Dust Realm. Mother and daughter laughed and chatted, their warmth filling the space.

"Yue'er, Hanyue," Jiang He said as he stepped inside, his voice gentle. "There are urgent matters in the Primordial World that require my return. You two stay and enjoy yourselves here in the Red Dust Realm a while longer. Once everything is settled, I'll come back for you."

Feng Li Yue set down her brush and looked up at him, understanding clear in her eyes. "It's about Feng Luo, isn't it? Go on without worry—I'll take good care of Hanyue." Jiang Hanyue lifted her head and piped up, "Father, come back quickly! I want to paint all the beautiful sights of the Red Dust Realm and show them to you in the Primordial World!"

Jiang He ruffled his daughter's hair, nodded with a smile, and with a flash of crimson light, transformed into a streak of radiance that shot out of the Red Dust Realm, piercing the barrier between worlds and racing toward the heart of the human race in the Primordial World.

By the Luo River Bank in the Primordial World, the Human Race Council Hall stood towering and majestic, its roof covered in Ten-Thousand-Year Glazed Tiles that glittered under the sun. Jiang He's figure materialized abruptly in the square before the hall, the aura of the Red Dust Realm still clinging to him, when a beam of golden light tore through the sky from the direction of the Eastern Sea and landed before him in the blink of an eye—it was Liu Bai, bearing the Sage Edict.

"Liu Bai greets Clan Leader Jiang He." Liu Bai stepped forward and bowed, offering up the golden scroll with both hands. "This is the Alliance Edict personally bestowed by my master, Sect Master Tongtian. My master has declared that the Jie Sect wishes to form an alliance with the human race, to jointly protect the peace of the Primordial World—not limited merely to Tianyuan City."

Jiang He took the edict, and the moment his fingers touched its runes, he felt the pressure of a Sage's will and Tongtian's intentions within. He let out a hearty laugh. "Sect Master Tongtian is as straightforward as ever. He wants to borrow the human race's fortune to stabilize the Jie Sect's foundation, yet he insists on finding a pretext of 'jointly protecting the peace.'" He unfurled the edict, his eyes sweeping over its arcane symbols, understanding dawning in his heart.

At present, the Three Pure Ones were as close as brothers, with none of the rifts from a past life. But the Heavenly Dao was unpredictable—no one could say whether change would come. Though the Jie Sect had many disciples, most were beings of non-human origins, their fortune mixed and impure. Even with Liu Bai's efforts to reorganize the sect, the Jie Sect's very philosophy meant it could not remain as it was forever.

Tongtian's move was both a contingency for the Jie Sect and a boon for the human race—a win-win for both sides.

"I accept the alliance." Jiang He tucked away the edict, his tone steady. "Tianyuan City may establish Jie Sect Preaching Points and a Marketplace. Disciples of the Jie Sect are welcome to cultivate throughout human territory. As long as we uphold the spirit of 'watching each other's backs,' the human race and the Jie Sect will be the firmest of allies."

Liu Bai's face lit up with joy. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Clan Leader, for your approval. I will return to Tianyuan City at once to see this through." With that, he transformed into a streak of golden light and departed.

Jiang He turned and strode into the Council Hall, seating himself upon the Clan Leader's throne at its center. He gave a solemn order: "Summon the Libationer, Feng Luo, to see me."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a figure in a blue robe appeared outside the hall—it was Feng Luo, his Cultivation Level now firmly stabilized. Literary Qi swirled around him, and his brow bore the gentle warmth nurtured by Merit. He entered the hall and bowed. "Feng Luo greets the Clan Leader."

"Since when did you start being so formal with me? Come on, tell me—what's the state of your Literary Way now?" Jiang He smiled and gestured for him to rise, his gaze fixed on Feng Luo. "I've already learned the gist of your Heart of Literature Proves the Dao Art through the Red Dust Pearl. I called you here today to ask what your plans are."

Feng Luo composed himself and replied, "To answer the Clan Leader, the Literary Way is founded on the 'Heart of Literature' and guided by 'Talent Qi.' It does not discriminate by talent—anyone with a righteous heart, who has read widely, discerns right from wrong, can draw upon Literary Qi to cultivate. It does not require tempering the body like the Martial Way, nor does it demand communion with the world's spiritual energy like the Immortal Path. It is best suited for the human race's scholars, poets, philosophers of the Hundred Schools, and even ordinary folk."

He raised a hand, and a wisp of Literary Qi flew from his fingertip, coalescing into the two characters "Enlightenment" that hung suspended in the hall. "The Literary Way can enlighten the masses and unite their hearts; it can nourish the Dao Heart and stabilize the soul; and it can even evolve into laws, using Righteous Qi to prove the Dao and attain immortality. I created the Heart of Literature Proves the Dao Art so that the human race would have not only the Martial Way to strengthen the body and resist enemies, but also the Literary Way to illuminate truth and pass down civilization."

"Excellent!" Jiang He clapped his hands in praise. "The Martial Way strengthens the human body; the Literary Way fortifies the human soul. With both advancing side by side, the human race can truly stand invincible." He rose to his feet, his gaze fixed beyond the hall, and his voice spread across the entire human domain through the Red Dust Pearl: "Issue the decree: from this day forward, the Heart of Literature Proves the Dao Art shall be disseminated throughout all human lands. Every Human Race Academy and academy must offer Literary Way courses alongside Martial Way instruction, so that our human children may choose what they love and what suits them, and all may have a path to prove the Dao!"

The moment the decree was issued, the human race in the Primordial World erupted in excitement. The Jixia Academy by the Luo River Bank was the first to respond; countless students flooded in, scrambling for copies of the Heart of Literature Proves the Dao Art. Martial sects across the land also opened Literary Way lecture halls, allowing their disciples to cultivate both civil and martial arts. Even in ordinary villages, learned scholars spontaneously began teaching the basics of the Literary Way. For a time, the sounds of literary recitation and martial shouts interwove across human territory, and the race's fortune grew ever more prosperous.

This wave also ignited the ambitions of the human race's Hundred Arts inheritors.

Mo Chen, a master Artificer of the highest order in Luo Shui City, had been obsessed with forging his entire life. He had crafted countless spiritual treasures, yet due to his limited talent, his cultivation had always remained stuck at the Golden Immortal Realm. When he heard that Feng Luo had proven the Dao as a Quasi-Sage through the Literary Way, a blazing light kindled in his eyes. He immediately shut himself away in his forging workshop, vowing to comprehend a method of cultivation from the Artificer Way itself.

In the southern borderlands, the Medical Way sage Hua Tuo had healed the sick and saved lives for ten thousand years, saving countless humans, yet he could never break through the bottleneck of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. Now, gazing at the Literary Qi spreading across the sky, a sudden clarity struck him: "If the Literary Way can prove the Dao, why not the Medical Way? Healing the sick and nurturing life—that too is the foundation of the Great Dao!" He dismissed his disciples on the spot and went into seclusion to contemplate the true essence of the Medical Way.

There was also Hou Ji, the Ancestor of Agriculture; Ling Lun, the Music Master; and prodigies in Array Formation, Talisman, Alchemy, and every other field—all inspired by Feng Luo's precedent. One by one, they closed their doors to visitors, immersing themselves in their respective arts, striving to carve out their own path of cultivation from the skills they had devoted their lives to.

Inside the Council Hall, Jiang He watched the reports streaming in from all corners of human territory, his eyes brimming with satisfaction. He could feel the human race's fortune piling up like a rolling snowball, countless hidden opportunities beginning to sprout. The birth of the Literary Way was not just a new path of cultivation—it had ignited infinite possibilities for the human race to explore the Great Dao.

"The myriad paths of the Primordial World have never been limited to just the Immortal Path, the Martial Way, and the Literary Way," Jiang He murmured to himself. "The day when all the Hundred Arts can prove the Dao—that will be the true pinnacle of the human race."

"The Clan Leader speaks truly! Thinking back to those days when you led us from an age of eating raw meat and drinking blood, toiling every step of the way—the human race owes its present state to your immense merit." Feng Luo, too, was lost in memories of the hunting expeditions he had once shared with Jiang He.

"But, Clan Leader, I have a question I would like to ask you. I wonder if you might enlighten me."

Jiang He was curious about what Feng Luo would say. "Oh? Speak your mind. Why be so formal with me now?"

"Clan Leader! Our human race's fortune is soaring. I dare say it is unmatched in the Primordial World, second only to the Witch and Demon races—and the gap is narrowing fast. Yet why do you seem to be holding back the fortune, delaying the proclamation of a Human Emperor to strengthen our race's destiny?" Now that Feng Luo had become a Quasi-Sage, he could clearly sense the vastness of the human race's fortune. To put it bluntly, if Jiang He hadn't been suppressing it, the human race's fortune would have already surpassed that of the Demon Race!

"Feng Luo, sometimes standing out too much is not a good thing—especially now, when Calamity Qi is rising across the Primordial World. Proclaiming an emperor would certainly consolidate the human race's fortune, but you must understand: the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind! Sticking your head out at a time like this is unwise.

Do you know what an emperor is? An emperor is power. Walking the Imperial Way means facing the Demon Race head-on. An era can only have one emperor, and this era belongs to Di Jun of the Demon Race. The human race only needs to maintain a smooth transition. The one who lasts until the end is the true victor!" Jiang He faced the great hall's entrance as he slowly spoke the answer in his heart. It was as if he were speaking to Feng Luo, but also to himself. After all, who wouldn't want to be the one at the very top? Even Jiang He had to rein in his own ambition.

And there was still the Heavenly Dao lurking in the shadows.

At that moment, on the shores of the Eastern Sea, Liu Bai had already informed Liu Suifeng and Ao Ling of the alliance. Construction of the Marketplace and Jie Sect Preaching Points in Tianyuan City began swiftly. On Jin'ao Island, Sect Master Tongtian watched the human race's fortune growing ever denser and stroked his beard with a smile. The alliance between the Jie Sect and the human race seemed to be proceeding even more smoothly than he had anticipated.

Across the Primordial World, a new wind of change was quietly sweeping in, carried by the spread of the Literary Way and the awakening of the Hundred Arts.