Xu Bai: Is Five Thousand Years of Culture a Joke?

Looking at the tightly closed gate in front of him, the Seventh Prince felt as if he were about to collapse.

He didn't do anything taboo this time, nor did he come to provoke anyone. He even brought gifts. How come he was turned away and kicked out by Xu Bai before he could even speak? You should at least wait for me to finish speaking!

The Seventh Prince gripped the box tightly, causing it to warp slightly. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his frustration and anger, forced a smile, and stepped forward to knock on the door.

"Lord Xu, I know we have some past grievances, but I've come here to apologize. Please open the door."

The door didn't open, but Xu Bai's voice came through.

"Just leave the things outside the door. I haven't been feeling well lately, and I'm afraid I might infect His Highness the Seventh Prince, which would be bad."

infect?

Feeling unwell? You, a dignified Transcendent Realm expert, are now claiming to be unwell? Are you trying to fool me? The Seventh Prince's brows twitched violently; he felt that if he stood here for a few more minutes, he would explode with rage.

But the other party wouldn't open the door, and he couldn't force his way in. Thinking of this, the Seventh Prince could only put the things he was holding outside the door and slowly get up.

"Then I'll leave it here."

The Seventh Prince did not linger and turned to leave. However, after he left, he found a corner and secretly watched.

About half an incense stick's time later, two maids carried the gift box he had put in earlier and threw it outside like trash.

Upon seeing this, the Seventh Prince clenched his fists. He knew that Xu Bai not only did not want to see him, but was also very wary of him. He was unwilling to even open the gifts Xu Bai had given him, and did not even want to glance at them.

Thinking of this, he took out the ordinary mirror from his pocket and thought to himself.

"Luckily I didn't put the mirror inside, otherwise it would probably have been broken."

This mirror contains the Prime Minister's "Everlasting Righteousness, but it is made of ordinary mirror material. The Everlasting Righteousness has no effect on people with righteous hearts, so it is even less likely to make the mirror more secure.

If he were to drop it directly, the mirror would definitely break. But since Xu Bai is not looking at him now, how could he possibly hand the mirror to Xu Bai so he could look at himself?

After thinking for a moment, the Seventh Prince gritted his teeth and stepped out from the corner, returning to Xu Bai's house and knocking on the door.

"Lord Xu, I must see you today. If you don't come out, I will wait for you up ahead."

Compared to the past, the Seventh Prince no longer has his usual arrogance; instead, he looks like someone who has visited Zhuge Liang three times to seek out talented people.

Inside the room, Xu Bai stroked his chin, somewhat confused as to why the Seventh Prince had come.

Has she changed her personality? That's hard to say.

It's impossible to change the nature of someone like that out of nowhere, unless they've been severely beaten.

It's like someone who, without experiencing life and the harsh realities of society, always thinks they're the best.

Something's definitely going on here.

I just made it clear that I wouldn't see him and threw all the gifts away, but he still insists on coming and is determined to wait outside the door. It seems that if I don't go out, the Seventh Prince will definitely not leave.

Thinking of this, Xu Bai went to the door and opened it.

"Why is Your Seventh Prince so insistent on this? The past grievances between us have long been over, and there is no need for an apology."

We still have to maintain appearances; after all, these days, everyone has to put on a show of respect.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Xu Bai opened the door, the Seventh Prince didn't even say a word, but simply raised the mirror in his hand and looked at Xu Bai's face.

"Um?"

The mirror didn't reflect on Xu Bai's face; instead, Xu Bai snatched it away, turning the smooth side away from him.

Then, Xu Bai raised his foot and kicked out forcefully.

The Seventh Prince was attacked and rolled several times on the ground before finally stopping.

The Seventh Prince, who had stopped, was disheveled. His once neatly combed hair was now scattered to the side due to the continuous rolling around, and even the silks and satins he wore were covered with a dense layer of dust.

He didn't expect Xu Bai to react so quickly. Before he could even look in the mirror, Xu Bai snatched it away and kicked him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Oh dear, Your Highness the Seventh Prince, how can you be so careless when you walk? These are all hard stone slabs; if you fall, it will really hurt." Xu Bai said with feigned concern but actually without any expression.

The emperor had already spoken, instructing him to take good care of the Seventh Prince, so how could he possibly let this opportunity pass him by?

Besides, it was the Seventh Prince who fell down on his own; it had nothing to do with him. As for the footprint on his chest...

When you fall, it's perfectly normal for the ground to be dirty and leave a footprint or two.

The Seventh Prince was instantly enraged. He stood up, pointed at Xu Bai, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty. He seemed to have something to say, but the words remained unspoken.

How can I put it? There's simply no way to solve it.

The other party didn't seriously injure him; they just kicked him once and said he fell down.

There was no one else here. The two maids had been guarding outside the door, so they couldn't act as witnesses. Now, even if he was suffering, he had to bear it all by himself.

Pointing at Xu Bai for a long time, he couldn't say a word. In the end, the Seventh Prince snorted coldly, waved his hand, and left.

Never mind, the mirror has already been delivered. Whether it works or not is none of his business.

Not long after the Seventh Prince left, he happened to run into Wen Chengshu was watching the play in a corner.

The Seventh Prince disliked the Prime Minister's third disciple's bland demeanor, especially after what happened today that made him lose face, which he found even more unbearable.

Wen Chengshu, hiding in a corner, beckoned to the Seventh Prince, signaling him to come over quickly.

He looked extremely lewd, like a voyeur.

Although he was angry, the Seventh Prince still went over and explained what had happened.

He emphasized that Xu Bai had snatched the mirror away, and that the mirror did not actually reflect onto Xu Bai.

"It's alright." Wen Chengshu patted his chest confidently. "Actually, as long as the mirror sees him, it has already been triggered, it's just a little later, and he doesn't need to look in the mirror."

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince gritted his teeth and said, "So you mean I've become a tool for your plan, and you deliberately made me look bad?"

He clearly said that all he needed to do was touch it, but he insisted that he had to look into the mirror to successfully trigger it. This was obviously Wen Chengshu deliberately not telling him so that he would be embarrassed.

Moreover, given the Prime Minister's personality and temperament, he would never deliberately make things difficult for him.

The reason for this is that Wen Chengshu acted on his own initiative.

"Seventh Prince, please don't be angry. This can be considered a kind of training," Wen Chengshu said calmly.

He lacked the arrogance of a scholar; instead, he exuded an air of reclusion.

"What a test." The Seventh Prince was practically grinding his teeth to powder, but then he thought about the other party's identity and his future cooperation with them, so he could only swallow his anger.

Wen Chengshu took out a brush and sketched in the sky for a moment, easily transmitting the scene from Xu Bai's side.

In the courtyard.

Xu Bai was about to throw away the mirror in his hand when, unexpectedly, a strange current of energy appeared in the mirror. This current of energy carried a light that was too bright to look at directly, just like the light of the righteous path.

"There was definitely a problem."

The two maids guarding the door did not notice anything unusual. Even though the light was very bright, the two maids seemed not to see it at all.

Based on this, Xu Bai deduced that the thing was actually heading precisely towards him.

"It's specifically targeting me."

With this in mind, Xu Bai braced himself and prepared to deal with the inexplicable light.

But the next moment, before he could react, the light from the mirror in front of him gradually dimmed and finally disappeared completely, as if it had never existed.

"What's going on here?" Xu Bai wondered, holding the mirror in his hand and looking at it repeatedly, but he couldn't see any difference.

The light had clearly appeared just now, but it vanished in an instant. What was going on? Xu Bai was unsure what to do, but he still threw the mirror in his hand, turned around, and went back to his room. He planned to take a good look at himself to see if there was anything wrong with him.

Just as he returned to his room, in a corner outside, Wen Chengshu stared at the light before him, completely stunned, like a wooden sculpture, without any reaction.

The Seventh Prince was standing nearby, was curious and wanted to reach out and push it, but then he remembered that these things were particularly strange. If he touched them and something happened, he would have no one to complain to. So he suppressed his curiosity.

Wen Chengshu had a blank expression on his face. After a moment, he cleared his mind of the scene before him, his face slightly gloomy, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

At this moment, only he, the Prime Minister's third disciple, could know how incredibly exciting what had just happened was.

As we all know, the Everlasting Righteousness has an extremely powerful effect on those with evil intentions in their hearts; the more serious the evil intentions, the stronger the effect.

But the fact that nothing happened just now proves that Xu Bai not only has no evil intentions, but is also a person with a righteous spirit.

But these are just the views of laymen. Wen Chengshu, as an insider, is more aware of this situation and that there is a second unexpected event that could occur.

No one can be completely pure inside, unless they are a newborn baby. Everyone has some flaws, but Xu Bai didn't even react to the mirror, which can only mean the second situation.

The second scenario is that Xu Bai has already surpassed the Everlasting Righteousness, but is that possible? Absolutely not! Because Xu Bai is not a scholar. Although current information suggests that Xu Bai has learned a lot, the knowledge of scholars accounts for a very small portion of his knowledge.

"I'd like to see what kind of extraordinary person he is, who can even withstand the teacher's brushstrokes." Wen Chengshu took a deep breath, then raised his brush and began to draw in the air.

He had already studied the Everlasting Righteousness, so he wanted to take this opportunity to use it as a starting Everlasting Righteousness to explore its underlying principles. Even if he could only uncover a tiny bit, it would still be extremely useful.

A unique, Righteous Qi, characteristic of scholars, flowed through Wen Chengshu's heart, spreading through the air with his brush. After a moment, Wen Chengshu closed his eyes.

The next moment, he seemed to see a white light, and within the white light, lines of text were being continuously transmitted.

The words gradually grew larger and clearer, coming into Wen Chengshu's view.

"The virtue of a gentleman is to cultivate himself, and then the world will be at peace."

"A gentleman is inclusive but not partisan; a petty person is partisan but not inclusive."

"A wise man is cautious about what he cannot see and fearful of what he cannot hear."

Many sentences appeared before his eyes. These sentences were composed of the words he had just read. In Wen Chengshu's view, each sentence was deafening.

Every sentence could cause him a huge shock, even giving him a tingling sensation throughout his body—this feeling was resonance.

Wen Chengshu stood frozen on the spot, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably. The brush he was holding had even cracked from his grip. Compared to his previous composure, Wen Chengshu was now unusually agitated.

Through the Everlasting Righteousness, he discovered that these words were all words from Xu Bai's subconscious.

Either Xu Bai had seen it before but didn't write it down; he only subconsciously remembered it but didn't actually memorize it.

Or maybe Xu Bai wrote it himself!

Wen Chengshu quickly came up with the second scenario in his mind, because the first scenario was unlikely. If someone had written it and Xu Bai had read it, that person's talent would have already flowed like a great river, and everyone in the world would have seen it. How could they have remained unknown?

Of course, what he didn't know was that Xu Bai couldn't remember so many things, but as someone who grew up in a culture spanning five thousand years, he must have seen them all, right? Having seen them, they left a shadow in his subconscious, and now they were just being brought up by Wen Chengshu.

"This person is truly a genius, a treasure for us scholars. No, I must let my teacher know about this!"

Wen Chengshu turned around and immediately prepared to leave.

He wished he could sprout wings and run to his teacher to recite all the words he had just seen, but before he could take two steps, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Seventh Prince, you've gone a bit too far this time."

Xu Bai stood suspended in mid-air, having already mastered the Transcendent Realm.

There was no wind blowing, but Xu Bai's Sun and Moon Daoist Robe moved without any wind, making him look somewhat terrifying.

Not long ago, Xu Bai suddenly sensed that someone was watching him. When he stepped outside and scanned the area with his spiritual senses, he discovered the anomaly.

The Seventh Prince suddenly felt an immense pressure coming down on him. He hurriedly looked at Wen Chengshu, preparing to speak.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, he felt a pain in his chest, and he was sent flying high into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

"Xu Bai, how dare you!" A dozen figures suddenly appeared around the Seventh Prince, and then they pounced on Xu Bai.

"You bunch of dogs raised by the Seventh Prince, do you even dare to speak to me?" Xu Bai waved his sleeve.

A chaotic aura emanated from the scene, filled with boundless despair. At the same time, all of the dozen or so people were sent flying backward, spitting out blood. Had Bai not shown mercy, they would have been dead by now.

"Xu Bai, how dare you hit me!"

After being repeatedly defeated, the Seventh Prince finally couldn't hold back his arrogant and domineering nature. He stood up, his hair disheveled, pointed at Xu Bai, and his face was full of anger.

"No, I'm just teaching you a lesson on behalf of His Majesty." Xu Bai smiled, and the next moment, he slapped the Seventh Prince across the face.

What level of strength does he possess now?

According to Eunuch Wei, a master of the first rank of Transcendent Realm could even fight a master of the third rank of Transcendent Realm.

How could the Seventh Prince possibly resist?

With that slap, the Seventh Prince flew up again, crashing into the wall beside him, his expression a mixture of anger and astonishment.

Wrong!

The Imperial Palace may seem loosely managed, but it is actually heavily guarded and well-organized, both openly and secretly. Now that he has been beaten, why is no one standing up to stop it?

In an instant, the Seventh Prince remembered what Wen Chengshu had said not long ago.

"How can the blessings bestowed upon Sword Empress guarantee you a life free from worry?"

The Seventh Prince understood instantly.

He was trembling slightly, but he tried his best to hold onto the wall.

Facing Xu Bai approaching, his mind was filled with countless thoughts, but there was no fear on his face.

As a member of the royal family, why would I be afraid?

Although he did not experience the scenes of the First Prince fighting on the battlefield, he had grown up from a young age, so his state of mind must not be bad.

But deep down, he still felt a sense of sorrow.

"Have I finally used up all of my mother's blessings?"

A thought popped into his head, and once it appeared, it instantly filled his mind.

He recalled a long, long time ago—no, to be precise, from childhood to adulthood—when he grew up listening to his mother's legends.

She was a true heroine, surpassing 99% of all men in the world.

Now, he suddenly felt as if he had lost face, not the face of the royal family, but the face of his mother.

The Seventh Prince raised his hands.

There was a powerful aura emanating from him.

He wanted to fight, at least not to be badly beaten by Xu Bai, and at least not to show any fear.

However, the Heavenly Change caused by Xu Bai were inherently chaotic, and the Seventh Prince could not resist his instincts. He could only lean against the wall to keep himself from falling to the ground.

"Very good." Xu Bai stopped and said, "Although I have never met the Sword Empress, I have heard her legend. At least you have not disgraced her reputation in your current state."

The Seventh Prince's legs trembled. "What do you mean?"

"Get lost," Xu Bai said calmly.

The Seventh Prince was stunned and didn't react for a long time.

At this moment, Wen Chengshu cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations to the Seventh Prince on his awakening."

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince finally understood, and his expression became somewhat complicated. "Was it Father... who made you do this?"

Xu Bai raised an eyebrow and said, "If it weren't for His Majesty's sake, you wouldn't be worth my time. This is a perfect opportunity, isn't it?"

The Seventh Prince gave a bitter smile, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

However, his departing figure was unusually different, lacking his usual arrogance and domineering manner.

Only Xu Bai Wen Chengshu remained at the scene.

Wen Chengshu sighed, "I never expected the Seventh Prince to change his personality so easily; it's truly rare."

"When a person loses his support, he will change." Xu Bai shrugged and made a bored expression. "He's not a good-for-nothing, but he has lived under his mother's blessing for a long time, which has shaped his personality. When that blessing disappears and he gets a beating, two things will happen."

"Oh?" Wen Chengshu asked curiously, "Which two?"

"Firstly, from then on, his personality became more extreme." Xu Bai held up two fingers and said calmly, "Secondly, he changed his personality."

"What if he is in the first situation, and nothing changes?" Wen Chengshu continued to ask.

Xu Bai smiled nonchalantly, "Then just give him another beating. There's nothing that two beatings can't solve."

Wen Chengshu cupped his hands in greeting. "I have learned a great deal today. It is getting late, and I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

After saying this, Wen Chengshu turned to leave.

But before he could take two steps, Xu Bai's figure flickered and reappeared in front of him.

He still maintained his calm and collected demeanor, but around Xu Bai's body, golden and grayish-white light merged, creating an extreme chaos.

Wen Chengshu took a deep breath and said, "Lord Xu, what does this mean?"

Xu Bai raised his hand and landed it precisely on Wen Chengshu's face.

Wen Chengshu was sent flying backwards, rolled several times on the ground, and then struggled to his feet.

"Today, out of respect for the Prime Minister, I'll only give you one slap." Xu Bai withdrew his hand and said, "I'm a man who distinguishes between public and private matters. Don't think that just because you pinned the blame on the Seventh Prince, I don't know your role in it."

Wen Chengshu covered his face and gave a bitter smile, "What happened today was indeed my fault. The teacher once said that mistakes should be punished, and I accept it."

Xu Bai put his hands behind his back, and the golden and grayish-white light around him quickly disappeared.

He turned around, went back to his residence, and left a message.

"Get lost."

After Xu Bai left, Wen Chengshu finally breathed a sigh of relief; he was drenched in cold sweat.

His palms, in particular, were covered in sweat. The chaotic power drove him almost mad. If it weren't for his own Righteous Qi, he probably would have been powerless to resist.

"With this kind of strength, how are today's young people supposed to live their whole lives?" Wen Chengshu smiled bitterly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and, not forgetting his own business, quickly left.

After leaving that place, Wen Chengshu went directly out of the Imperial Palace and arrived at a large mansion in the Capital City.

There were two servants guarding the mansion, but when they saw that it was Wen Chengshu, they let him in directly.

The courtyard was decorated in a unique and elegant style, but Wen Chengshu had no time to appreciate it. He soon arrived in front of a group of houses and gently knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door opened automatically, and Wen Chengshu walked in and bowed to a seated figure.

"Disciple greets Master."

Prime Minister Wen's hair was gray, but he was dressed neatly and simply. He was holding a brush and writing with his head down. When Wen Chengshu came in, he didn't even look up.

Although the surroundings are quite unique, upon closer inspection, they are all simple, ordinary items. Apart from looking elegant in their arrangement, they wouldn't be worth much money if placed on the street.

This is the home of the current Prime Minister. Apart from its size, everything else about it appears extremely simple.

A clear distinction between public and private matters was a characteristic of Prime Minister Wen.

Devoting himself to the Great Chu was also a characteristic of Prime Minister Wen.

Sometimes, even Wen Chengshu, who was his disciple, felt that his teacher was too ruthless towards him.

He wanted nothing but his salary.

These salaries were simply what the teachers kept for their own livelihood.

To put it bluntly, even some minor county magistrates live better lives than their own teachers.

Sometimes Wen Chengshu even wanted to ask, "Was this life worth it?" But he didn't ask.

Everyone has different ideas, and his teacher was happy about it.

"What happened? Why are you in such a panic?" Prime Minister Wen put down his brush and frowned.

Although he was old, he naturally possessed a scholarly air about him, which he didn't seem to have overtly displayed, but he was remarkably engrossed in his work.

Wen Chengshu thought for a moment, and finally told him what had happened, especially the sentences he had seen.

The room fell silent as Prime Minister Wen leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.

"Forget it, let's not worry about it." Prime Minister Wen waved his hand and said, "This round, His Majesty has won."

Wen Chengshu nodded, wanting to say something but not daring to.

"A gentleman is open and honest, and speaks his mind directly. Why act like such a petty person?" Prime Minister Wen shouted sternly.

Wen Chengshu shuddered and hurriedly asked, "Teacher, what is your opinion of Xu Bai?"

Prime Minister Wen pondered for a moment and said, "He is talented, and very talented. You can tell just by the sentences you brought back. But his ideas are contrary to mine."

"For example, Xu Bai's good friend, Yun Zihai."

"He is also a talented young man, but he is thinking about creating some kind of self-governance."

"In my view, anyone who does not uphold the interests of the Great Chu Kingdom is contrary to my principles."

Wen Chengshu hesitated and said, "Then why..."

He didn't finish his sentence because he felt that everyone said his teacher was a pedantic person, and the most pedantic person in the world.

So... why did his teacher agree, especially Yun Zihai, whose teacher had strongly opposed it at first, but ultimately still agreed?

"Sigh..." Prime Minister Wen sighed and asked in return, "Do you even think I'm a pedantic person?"

"This disciple dares not," Wen Chengshu quickly bowed his head.

Prime Minister Wen stood up, walked to the window, looked at the scenery outside, and slowly spoke.

"As the Prime Minister, how could I not know the benefits of reform?"

"But change comes at a price."

"I am old and I cannot afford those costs. I know that if we continue in my way, our Great Ancestor Kingdom may not have the highest glory, but it will surely continue."

"Your Majesty's methods... Yun Zihai's self-made methods, and then Xu Bai's, are reforms."

"But whether it succeeds or fails, I can't say for sure. This is just a small-scale experiment by His Majesty. I agree to the experiment, but I need to control the factors for success. Do you understand now?"

Wen Chengshu nodded as if he understood, but he knew very well that his teacher would no longer care about Xu Bai's affairs.

However, just like Yun Zihai before, the teacher still didn't like Xu Bai.

Wen Chengshu left, leaving only Prime Minister Wen behind.

Prime Minister Wen looked at the empty room, then sat back down in his chair, a look of exhaustion on his face.

"In this world, whether it is the Great Chu, the Great Yue Kingdom, or the Barbarian Tribe, they all dream of unification, because only through unification can they truly enter that place."

"Let's see who can unify the two countries."

Ever since Xu Bai beat up the Seventh Prince, the Seventh Prince has kept quiet.

More than ten days have passed since the last time, and with the month-long period fast approaching, there are less than ten days left.

Xu Bai was still doing nothing, but he had undergone a huge change.

The fourth-rank puppet has been reduced to a first-rank puppet, and the black knife at his waist has reappeared.

It's still called Hundred Rifts, but it's now a first-grade Hundred Rifts, a huge improvement.

He had to thank the Ninth Princess for the materials; otherwise, he wouldn't have had enough to make this.

Today, Xu Bai, as usual, with Hundred Rifts hanging from his waist, first went to the Imperial Treasury to check on Ye Zi's learning progress.

Ye Zi followed the old woman to learn, and her learning progressed very quickly. It was as if she had opened the door to a new world, and she was even faintly moving towards the second rank.

After all, the old woman was a master comparable to Eunuch Wei, so it was normal for her to have this ability to improve.

After touring the Imperial Treasury, he followed the road to the Ninth Princess's palace, teased Qing Xue for a while, and only returned to his residence leisurely after Qing Xue rolled her eyes at him.

The story of his beating up the Seventh Prince also spread within the royal family.

Xu Bai had no idea what the royal family members thought, nor did he have any interest in finding out.

He had been living a very comfortable life lately, waiting for the emperor's reply. As the time drew near, Xu Bai became increasingly excited.

What exactly is the reward? According to Eunuch Wei, the reward will definitely satisfy him.

It's like watching the big prize about to be revealed, but you're still waiting—it's very frustrating.

After returning to his residence, Xu Bai leaned back in the chair and rested leisurely.

"Less than ten days left."

Xu Bai rested his head on his hands, lost in thought.

The afternoon sun was very bright, shining through the window. Xu Bai squinted, feeling a little sleepy.

The first-rank puppet stood guard nearby, tireless.

Just as Xu Bai was about to fall asleep, footsteps came from outside the door.

When Eunuch Wei pushed open the door and entered, he saw Xu Bai's state and laughed, "You rascal, you're quite content."

Xu Bai woke up from his sleep, stood up and said, "So it is Eunuch Wei who has graced us with his presence. Please come in."

During this time, besides wandering around, he would drink with Eunuch Wei every day. He suddenly found that he and Eunuch Wei got along quite well. The more they talked, the more compatible they became.

If they weren't so old, they probably would have taken the opportunity while drinking to burn joss paper and become sworn brothers.

Xu Bai's gaze swept over Eunuch Wei's hands, and he was somewhat disappointed when he didn't see the wine jar.

"Young Xu, all you do every day is drink. It seems I've stirred up your drinking habit lately. You must quit. Alcohol can easily lead to trouble." Eunuch Wei shook his head, walked up to Xu Bai, took out a letter from his pocket, and handed it to Xu Bai.

There was no wine to drink, but a letter was handed over, so it seemed to be something important.

Xu Bai took the letter, opened it, glanced at it briefly, and then narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this?"

Let me explain why the mirror doesn't trigger the progress bar: because the mirror's appearance already activates the progress bar, so it's essentially useless.