Man as Fish and Meat

Regarding Wei Yuan's question, Feng Chutang nodded and said, "That's right. To this day, humans are still considered top-tier sacrifices for the Wu Yu Tribe. At least a million people are captured annually for rituals. In ancient times, even more humans were used for sacrifices. The Wu Yu Tribe would often capture entire tribes, and then the whole tribe, young and old, would offer sacrifices to the heavens, calling it 'Great Perfection.' To stop the Wu Yu Tribe from capturing people for sacrifices, the Liao people and the Wu Yu Tribe fought countless battles, big and small. The full-scale war between the two races later on also had the human race's allegiance as one of its reasons."

Including Wei Yuan, the young boys and girls were even more confused. Someone immediately asked, "Then why did the human race lead the Wu Yu Tribe's army through their territory to outflank the Liao people's rear?"

Feng Chutang said, "The specific reasons for this are not recorded in historical materials, so I cannot make wild guesses. I will tell you about the results that followed. If you are interested, you can research the relevant historical books yourself."

Feng Chutang paused and slowly continued, "After the Wu Yu Tribe's army passed through, the Liao people's eastern front army suffered a crushing defeat. King Hanbei and King Yunshan were killed in action, along with five hundred thousand cavalry. Countless were wounded. The Wu Yu army advanced thirty thousand li and was only stopped two months later by reinforcements from the Liao people's rear. This battle shifted the Wu Yu Tribe from a slight disadvantage to a slight advantage. The great war eventually ended three years later, with the Liao people's borders pushed back fifteen thousand li. Six months before the end of the great war, a True Monarch of the human race broke through the Heavenly Gate and achieved Return to One, becoming the first Immortal Lord in our race's history."

The Wu-Liao Great War and the human race's first Immortal Lord were both known to the scions of noble families, but they never knew there was a connection between the two. Feng Chutang presented the two historical facts together, and even Wei Yuan, who didn't know about them, vaguely sensed something.

The young boys and girls looked at each other, all falling silent. Judging solely by historical facts, the human race at that time seemed to be hard to avoid the labels of aiding the enemy and being ungrateful. Yet, the appearance of the first Immortal Lord marked the beginning of the human race's establishment as a nation.

Wei Yuan made a guess: the resources for the human race's first Immortal Lord's advancement might have come from the Wu Yu Tribe.

The class concluded at this point, and it was time for dismissal.

Feng Chutang said, "If anyone is interested in this period of history, you can research it yourself after returning. However, these historical facts are scattered across different historical books. Each book only offers a glimpse, and you need to read a certain amount to get a clearer picture. Alright, that's all for today's class. In the next session, we will discuss the Wu Yu Tribe. Their entanglement with our race spans over two hundred thousand years."

After listening to the lecture, Wei Yuan felt as if a corner of the world had quietly unfolded before him.

At the end of the lecture, a thick stack of jade papers appeared on each student's desk, at least a dozen pages. These jade papers were historical records of ancient history, with each sheet representing a book. These historical records were specifically chosen by Feng Chutang for the students to read on their own.

However, as Wei Yuan was leaving with the books, he was stopped by the duty Daoist Priest. The priest took his identity jade token and pressed it against a jade register. A line of small text appeared on the register: "Wei Yuan, disciple of Azure Hall, owes book rental fees of sixty taels."

Wei Yuan was startled. These few books would cost him half a year's monthly stipend? Although it was a debt for now, borrowed Immortal Silver still had to be repaid! Wei Yuan wanted to return all the books, but the other students who attended the class simply swiped their cards and left without hesitation, not even glancing at the jade register.

After most of the students had left, Wei Yuan quietly asked, "Excuse me, Daoist Priest, can these books be returned?"

The Daoist Priest's expression was blank. "You've already swiped your waist token, and returns are not accepted! Besides, these are assignments designated by our elders. Why wouldn't you read them? If you just want to muddle through, why come to Taichu Palace?"

Scolded by the Daoist Priest, Wei Yuan could only awkwardly leave with the books.

He observed the situation and had previously noticed that Zhang Sheng was exceptionally generous in most aspects, but hesitant when it came to Immortal Silver. Therefore, Wei Yuan guessed that his master might be short on funds and always wanted to save him a little.

Wei Yuan knew the preciousness of the historical books distributed in class, but books, once read, were firmly remembered. It seemed unnecessary to purchase them. However, the Daoist Priest was quick, and before Wei Yuan could react, he had already swiped his identity waist token.

Returning to his small courtyard, Wei Yuan picked up the small bottle containing Qi Nourishing Pills and poured out the pills to count them.

The bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills distributed was only enough for one month. Anything more would have to be purchased independently. The importance of Qi Nourishing Pills lay in their ability to enhance the mind; being able to forgo food was secondary. Wei Yuan picked up the sect admission guide again and reread it, looking for ways to earn money. The manual stated that the Dushì Hall, which managed miscellaneous affairs, would issue tasks to low-level disciples. Upon completion, there would be remuneration, which was the primary source of income for impoverished disciples studying at Taichu Palace.

However, the tasks from Dushì Hall required disciples to possess a certain level of cultivation, at the very least having completed the Flesh and Blood Forging of the Body Forging realm. Wei Yuan did not have this ability yet, so he put the matter aside.

In the afternoon, Wei Yuan read some historical books. After nightfall, he continued cultivating the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Diagram. The cultivation that night was very smooth. The ground beneath the Jade Toad's body expanded by another circle, reaching one zhang and two chi.

At dawn, Wei Yuan finished his practice. He slept for an hour on his bed and woke up full of energy to attend class at Qisi Hall.

The second day's lesson was Introduction to the Immortal Path, which discussed the history of the cultivation world. Its focus differed from the General History of the Human Race. The instructor was a middle-aged Daoist Priest named Dixia, who possessed an immortal bearing and extraordinary demeanor.

After the class began, the Daoist Priest made a sweeping gesture, and a long scroll appeared before the students. The front of the scroll depicted scenes of people eating raw meat, drinking blood, and engaging in bloody combat. The middle section, which was the longest, began to show Immortal Mountains and Daoist realms, with several Immortals traveling beyond the heavens. The latter part of the scroll was mostly filled with scenes of Immortals gathering and fighting numerous alien demonic beasts.

The Daoist Priest pointed his finger, and two scenes on the scroll lit up separately: one depicted a person achieving immortality in a simple cave dwelling, and the other showed a Human King gathering an army of a million to establish a dynasty. On the banner behind the Human King was the character "Li."

The entire history of human cultivation was divided into ancient and middle periods by the appearance of the first Immortal Lord, and into middle and late ancient periods by the establishment of the first unified dynasty, Li. The division between ancient and modern times was marked by the founding of the Great Tang and the emergence of the sect-wide examinations.

This opening lesson naturally focused on the ancient period. At that time, humans lived in tribes and were scattered across various regions. Later, someone unknown found a miraculous book, the Sky Mending Scripture, which led to the practice of cultivation. Thus, generation after generation of cultivators practiced, corrected their methods, and gradually their cultivation increased, and their cultivation techniques became more powerful. Because of the existence of cultivators, the human race's status in the eyes of other races improved. If humans were previously regarded as cattle and sheep, they became sheepdogs after the emergence of cultivators.

However, after listening to the entire class, Wei Yuan felt that the overall fate of the human race did not fundamentally change, whether cultivators existed or not. After all, when the cattle and sheep were gone, the dogs and horses would have to take their place.