The Grand Tutor
It was time to return to Yuntai Peak and explore it. Having received the mud potato, a token of the Beichen Sword Sect's leader, Li Fan didn't delay any longer and flew directly back to the Lou Guan Branch to pay his respects.
The abbot, Yao Xuanzhou, and Real Person sat in a triangular formation in the main hall. Xiao Yao appeared to be in good spirits. He had not suffered any physical damage to his body. After a month of meditation following the great battle, his Qi had recovered, and he had also survived the tribulation. His cultivation had probably improved again.
Li Fan entered, greeted him, and was given a prayer mat. He sat down to Yao Xuanzhou's left. It seemed that Lou Guan's internal meeting was already mostly over, and now they were just waiting for him.
Guanzhu Feng said directly, "Qingyue, you have already achieved the cultivation of a True Person Realm cultivator. This time, you and Xuanzhou assisted in rescuing the Shuofang Army, and you made meritorious contributions in defending the city and guarding the pass. You also killed the Blood God Child clone of the Chanyu. The Grand Tutor Manor intends to promote you to Marquis Che, promote your merit to the rank of Flying Cavalry Captain, and reward you with ten million coins as a token of your merit. There was nothing scheming involved this time, so you can accept it without worry."
Yao Xuanzhou nodded and said, "Fighting on the battlefield and being ennobled is a man's ambition. I have also been promoted to Marquis of Duting, although it is just an empty title. The Grand Tutor has helped a lot this time, so Qingyue, please don't refuse. Just consider it as the Three Palaces sending you two sets of new clothes."
As long as he didn't end up marrying a woman from the Nangong Family, Li Fan didn't care, but...
"Could we discuss with the Grand Tutor about replacing him with a Marquis within the Guan Nei Hou?"
Real Person, listening from the sidelines, was utterly bewildered and couldn't help but explain, "The Marquis of Che is the highest of the twenty ranks of nobility. Although a decision still requires a petition to the Ziwei Yuan, he must at least be the head of a pavilion, leading a thousand households and possessing ten thousand acres of land. The Guan Nei Hou of Guannei, on the other hand, is the nineteenth rank, the lowest among the feudal lords. He only receives a fief and a stipend of a hundred acres of land, without any territory or people. Why would you want to change it?"
Li Fan, "... Because 'Guan Nei Hou' sounds better?"
Real Person, "???"
The abbot didn't mind, so he wrote a talisman and sent it out. "Alright, let's do it this way. As for the title of Guan Nei Hou, I can appoint you as the garrison commander of Moshan. During this period, I will entrust the protection of Five Sons Peak to you."
Li Fan bowed deeply in gratitude, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Abbot. Please, I beg you, save my master."
The abbot nodded and said, "This calamity has passed, and the lineage of Mo Shan will not be broken. Later, you will go with Xuan Zhou to thank the Grand Tutor. After bringing the items back to Ink Bamboo Mountain, we will discuss the details when we meet. Pingyang, you will be in charge of looking after Yuntai Peak."
Li Fan didn't understand what the abbot meant at first, but he agreed.
The abbot nodded, and with a flash of white light, it transformed into a paper talisman, which then burned to ashes.
Li Fan was taken aback. "A talisman avatar? This talisman can actually be effective for more than a month?"
"This is Lou Guan's Huixing Cloud Script. As long as there is star power to guide it and Dao Breath to supply it, and it is not allowed to be scattered, it can be used indefinitely."
The abbot is currently stationed at the Ink Bamboo Mountain Grotto-Heaven, and can use this talisman at any time to guide his spirit to leave his body and assist him. That's why I said there's no need to cultivate any methods of spirit division. You can learn it once you pass the examination to become a talisman master."
As Real Person spoke, he made hand seals and retrieved ceremonial robes and monastic garments, handing them to Li Fan and Yao Xuanzhou to change into.
After thanking Real Person, Yao Xuanzhou said to Li Fan, "Qingyue, you will come with me to pay respects to the Grand Tutor. We may even have to go to Taiwei Yuan to receive an official title, so I'll teach you the palace etiquette first."
The Three Palaces are the pivot of the realm, the core of the Central Plains, unlike other vassal kings' palaces. One must be cautious in speech and action, and never be disrespectful.
"Yes, Qingyue understands."
As the legitimate capital of the Jingji, the Immortal Palace, Li Fan naturally knew the gravity of the situation. Moreover, the system had previously stated that this was the company's headquarters, so he needed to be even more careful and play dumb to outmaneuver the enemy.
So Yao Xuanzhou taught Li Fan the etiquette of paying homage at court, specifying which foot to step forward with first and how high to raise his hand. Li Fan learned quite quickly, and besides, he wasn't actually attending the grand court assembly; he was just going through the motions at places like the Ministry of Rites.
So Li Fan changed into a Purple Sash Immortal Clothes and followed Yao Xuanzhou, boarding a mechanical flying boat to the Three Realms.
Incidentally, the Black and White Evil Qi gourd of evil energy that was blown away during the battle of Shuofang was actually retrieved by the abbot, but since he couldn't take it to the Three Palaces for worship, he put it in the flying boat for now. After flying out of Yuntai Peak, Li Fan's Storage Jade could also be used, so with the principle of just in case and unleashing a powerful attack if anything happened, Li Fan swallowed the Moon Soul and took out a bunch of pills for self-defense.
The system is still not online, and who knows, this place might be a secret base for the company's systems.
Seeing Li Fan's wariness, Yao Xuanzhou probably thought that this country boy was nervous because it was his first time in the capital, so he gave a brief introduction to the Three Palaces.
Of course, the institutional background of the Twelve Immortal Palaces need not be repeated. Specifically, regarding the Three Enclosures, they refer to the Ziwei Yuan, Taiwei Yuan, and Tianshi Yuan.
Simply put, Ziwei Yuan is the palace where the Immortal Emperor's family resides, Taiwei Yuan is the imperial Imperial City where the Star Official Zaifu governs the world, and Tianshi Yuan is the marketplace where ordinary people live.
However, this "common people" refers to the common people of the Immortal Venerable era. Now, this group is known as the Immortal Clan of the Three Enclosures, who have long been in opposition to the Guards of the Four Directions and the Border Troops of the Eight Feudatories. Roughly speaking, they can be seen as interest groups derived from different factions within the Immortal Palace system. Of course, the grudges and feuds between the various factions, clans, and aristocratic families are too numerous to be explained in a few words, so we can only touch upon them briefly.
Therefore, the term "Three Enclosures of the Immortal Palace" is now commonly used to refer to the Celestial Emperor's clan, the Immortal Palace court, and the Celestial families.
As mentioned earlier, Changsi City, the capital of Li Country, is a replica of the Three Enclosures Imperial Capital, but that's not entirely accurate. Strictly speaking, Changsi City is a two-dimensional replica of the Three Enclosures Ancient City from Li Country founding period of Li Kingdom.
But today's Jingji city, under the chaotic historical influence of the Three Great Sects and the system, has long been a proper three-dimensional flying Immortal Palace. After all, Yuntai Peak has been in the hands of the Immortal Palace for so many years, and those noble families and aristocratic clans who have been nobles for generations have seen the celestial emperor flying around so coolly, and of course they also want to experience the feeling of living in a mansion in the clouds.
Therefore, for various reasons such as the majesty of the Immortal Palace, the security of the Imperial City, and the convenience of officials and military personnel to travel and commute, the Immortal Palace developed and built a new Taiwei Yuan Flying Immortal Palace, which was essentially a separate building for the imperial court's offices, flying up into the sky.
So very quickly, those high-ranking officials and nobles began to make good use of the technology developed by the Immortal Palace, transforming their own residences, villas, and fortresses into flying celestial Immortal Palace.
Such flying palaces are convenient for self-defense and also demonstrate wealth, so now all the immortal clans are imitating them, and it has developed to the point that they no longer fight with low-level magic weapons like flying swords and flying chariots, but instead fight with immortal Immortal Palace. Hey, if you leave home and don't even have a flying villa or sky fortress for transportation, then you are automatically expelled from the immortal ranks and have no face to go out and boast that you are a member of the immortal clan of the Three Realms.
So look at that country bumpkin, he uses a flying Immortal Palace for transportation wherever he goes. He flies when he goes out to fight and battle, and he flies when he goes to Lei Marsh to gather herbs...
Therefore, under this trend, the sky above, below, left, right, front, and back of the Three Enclosures was filled with flying palaces, surrounding the central Taiwei Yuan, the hub of power, like stars surrounding the central palace. The old Ziwei Yuan, which was originally located in the northeast corner of the old city of the Three Enclosures and corresponded to the royal city of the Liqiu Palace, had become a place for ancestor worship and heaven worship, with only some old and weak palace servants left to guard it.
But this does not mean that the descendants of the Immortal Venerable have withdrawn from the stage of history; on the contrary, they have always existed.
The real Ziwei Yuan New City is still the highest-flying and largest of all the Immortal Palace. Of course, no one would dare to fly higher than Ziwei Yuan.
This Purple Immortal Palace, high in the sky, is like an eternally hanging sun, situated at the edge of colorful clouds. During the day it is like the purple sun, and at night it is like the North Star. Only at dusk, when you look up, can you barely see a corner of the forbidden palace in the clouds, like looking at a mirage.
The direct descendants of the Immortal Emperor reside in the Immortal Palace, protected by layers of protective arrays and countless Imperial Guards. It is said that since the Immortal Emperor's assassination, the direct line of the imperial family has lived deep within the Ziwei Yuan Enclosure, where there are their own rules. Only when the direct imperial heirs reach adulthood will the palace gates be opened to select eligible men and women from the powerful immortal families for marriage, thus maintaining the alliance. Of course, you could also say that this is a form of hostage-taking.
Normally, the gates of the Ziwei Yuan are tightly closed, and even a member of the Bei Gong Wuji family from one of the four kingdoms, such as Beigong Wuji, a first-class duke, cannot approach without an imperial edict. On a daily basis, only the Three Dukes of the Taiwei Yuan, the Guardian General of the Guard responsible for the defense of the Ziwei Yuan, and the Pillar of State with twelve ranks of merit who guard the Immortal Emperor's side—these are the highest-ranking officials who can enter the palace to pay their respects.
In theory, as long as a descendant of an emperor in the Ziwei Yuan can cultivate to the Transformation Stage, he can rule the court; if he cultivates to the Enlightenment Stage, he will be the rightful Immortal Emperor of the world.
However, to this day, the throne of the Immortal Emperor remains vacant.
From Grand Commandant and Grand General to the current Grand Tutor, the Immortal Army and Immortal Clan factions have taken turns ruling the Taiwei Yuan Immortal Palace over the years. However, no one in the Ziwei Yuan has ever attained enlightenment. Well, enlightenment is indeed not easy, but it's a bit disappointing that there isn't even a Nascent Divine Transformation capable of fighting. Of course, there is an Immortal Emperor in the palace now, but he seems to be just a ruthless stamping machine. All matters, big and small, outside the Immortal Palace are decided by the Grand Tutor.
Speaking of the Grand Tutor, the current Grand Tutor, Duke of Shouyang, is a person who truly holds power over the world. He not only wields real power in the Three Palaces Immortal Palace, but also enjoys considerable prestige among the Nine Great Xuan Sects of Yuntai Peak.
Moreover, even Yao Xuanzhou held this person in high regard, explaining it to Li Fan.
"The Sima Clan is not considered a prominent family in Tianshi Yuan. Originally, they were from the North Suwei. Duke of Shouyang was only able to move to the Jingji because his father was an official. His family had no real foundation. He was recruited by the General's staff based on his talent and started as a clerk. He also experienced the Luo Sect Rebellion and led troops for the Immortal Palace to suppress the four directions. He not only stabilized the situation in the world, but also managed to negotiate with the Three Great Sects in recent years. As a result of his merits, he was promoted step by step to become the head of the Three Dukes and the prime minister."
Whether it was the Celestial Clan or the Celestial Army, the aristocratic families or the commoners, all admired and feared his methods and abilities. His prestige and reputation surpassed even that of the Grand Commandant and the Grand General in the past. The Abbot also told me that when he heard that the Grand Tutor had staged a coup and seized power in the Three Palaces, he knew that the Mandate of Heaven was hard to defy. With this opponent, the Nangong Family would ultimately fail, and continuing to fight against the Immortal Palace would only lead to unnecessary bloodshed.
"Over the years, it seems that the Grand Tutor Manor has indeed recruited talented people from all over the world and has great ambitions to unify the country. All those with the ambition to make contributions have been put to use by the Grand Tutor Manor. The Immortal Palace is already under his control. As for the Xuanmen, only the Manifestation Dao Lord is capable of playing against him. Now it depends on how much skill the players on the Divine Sect still have to stop the Duke of Shouyang from unifying the world."
Hearing Yao Xuanzhou's polite praise, Li Fan didn't really feel anything; he just thought Yao Xuanzhou was some old schemer who relied on manifestation.
But when Li Fan saw the Three Palaces and the Grand Tutor Manor with his own eyes, he realized that this man was no ordinary aristocratic lord.
The Grand Tutor Manor didn't actually fly into the sky. Although it was a noble family of duke or marquis caliber, it remained on the ground, crowded among the densely packed mansions and alleys resembling a slum.
Yes, although the Ziwei Yuan, Taiwei Yuan, and Tianshi Yuan have all flown high into the sky and into the clouds, there are still people living on the ground. Those common people live on the ground in the old land of the three enclosures.
Well, those living in the old city of Sanyuan on the ground are not entirely 'common people' by strict standards.
Although this is a world where immortals and demons roam freely, and many people yearn to become immortals and attain longevity, traveling thousands of miles to the Golden Summit of Mount Emei to worship, there are still countless young talents who aspire to stand out from the crowd, seek official positions and titles, and gather from all corners of the country to the core of the Central Plains, to the 'center' of the world, the Jingji of the Three Enclosures.
While powerful clans may hold high positions in the government and monopolize all the official ranks and titles, they are unlikely to actually do any work themselves.
The vast Immortal Palace and the vast world, though the land was conquered by their ancestors, these scions of immortal clans preferred to drink Golden Elixir, take Five-Stone Powder, and enjoy themselves in their luxurious palaces and mansions with jade maidens and celestial beauties.
But the fields need to be cultivated, the taxes need to be collected, the people need to be herded, and the new gadgets for enjoyment and the rare treasures for decorating homes need to be transported from Twelve Countries to them. This is because the whole world belongs to them.
So even though people who come to Sanyuan cannot actually live there, people still keep pouring into Sanyuan.
These people harbor dreams of instant ascension to the heavens, but ascending to the heavens is far more complex than a single step. Do you think the celestial clans, who have painstakingly elevated their Immortal Palace to the heavens, would so easily grant you a direct, instant ascent?
Impossible. The Ziwei Yuan has the Imperial Guard under the Guardian General, the Taiwei Yuan has the Central Guard, and the Tianshi Yuan has the Northern and Southern Armies under the Chariot and Cavalry General. Without an official title or similar honor, and without the cultivation of a true immortal, anyone who dares to break into the Heavenly Gate in the Three Enclosures would die without even knowing how.
But what if you were to work as a servant in a celestial Immortal Palace to make a living?
That's simple. If mortals want to ascend to the Immortal Palace, they must transcend their physical form, or in other words, cultivate the path of divinity.
The physical bodies left in government offices and city god temples on earth, the primordial spirits of the gods and generals, fly out of their bodies and take refuge in official seals, waist tokens, jade pendants, golden cicadas, and other such props. They bow every three steps and kneel every five steps. Only in this way is it possible, and only possible, to meet the nobles and patriarchs of the immortal families. Of course, most of the time, they can only come into contact with maids and stewards.
Moreover, if they fail to please someone, they will be beheaded, their body and soul destroyed, and they will never be able to be reborn.
This is the divine path of the Immortal Palace.
The immortal clans are being a bit too cautious, but there's nothing they can do about it, because besides the Immortal Palace, there's also the mystical sect in the world.
These noble sons were truly terrified of being killed by those scoundrels in the Xuanmen sect who wielded sharp swords.
Why has no one forgotten the Beichen Sword Sect to this day? Because what the Beichen Sword Sect did is still being done by people today.
Ever since the Profound Maiden assassinated the Immortal Emperor, the relationship between the Mysterious Sect and the Immortal Palace has been purely one of assassination and being assassinated, an almost irreconcilable conflict.
Because those in the Xuanmen sect are prone to easily disliking someone and will kill them with a single sword strike.
Because the Immortal Palace is just that unpleasant to look at, and he can't change it.
Until a Grand Tutor appeared between them.
The Grand Tutor Manor is still above ground.
There were only a few personal guards and soldiers on duty around it, and patrols by the Captain of the Guard.
And the Grand Tutor really was in the mansion on business.
Imagine you are a court official, a clerk serving a powerful clan, or a manager of a trading company in the north or south. If you were to submit a memorial to the emperor, it would probably take hundreds of years for your policy proposal to reach the emperor's ears. If you wanted to offer a written suggestion, you would have to risk your soul being scattered just to get an audience with the gatekeeper of a powerful family.
However, if you turn left after leaving the residence and go to the Grand Tutor Manor, as long as you submit a petition and the guards confirm that you are not carrying a sharp weapon, you can enter the mansion, discuss matters with many like-minded people, and even meet the Grand Tutor himself directly.
Yes, a dignified Daoist master, the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty, might actually see you, simply because you are talented!
How could I not be deeply grateful and wholeheartedly dedicate myself to serving you?
This is the difference in magnanimity.
Li Fan followed Yao Xuanzhou from the moment the flying boat landed at the gate of the Grand Tutor Manor, to the moment he delivered his visiting card, and then through three courtyards filled with scholars, strategists, and officials discussing politics, military affairs, and law. In less than three-quarters of the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he finally met the Grand Tutor of the Three Realms, the Duke of Shouyang himself.
Those who have personally crawled out of slaughterhouses like the Luo Sect probably all have this kind of courage, almost like, "What haven't I seen? What do I have to fear?"
"Qingyue of Moshan," the middle-aged man with a somewhat fierce look smiled at Li Fan with his hands behind his back, "I haven't seen a true Mohist in a long time. The small world of Li Country isn't suitable for hidden talents. Why don't you come and work for me?"
Before Li Fan Fanli had even finished speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by this question, and casually asked, "Besides the Guan Nei Hou, what other price can the Grand Tutor offer me?"
The Grand Tutor laughed and said, "Ha! What else could you Mohists possibly ask for? Nothing more than a bright and clear world, and peace throughout the land. If you dare to ask for it, I will grant it!"
Li Fan frowned as he looked at the middle-aged man, and couldn't help but point to the sky, "There are so many things in the sky, where does the universe come from? How can there be peace? Please teach me, Grand Tutor?"
The Grand Tutor laughed heartily, "What's so difficult about that! Slaughter all those who blot out the sky, wipe them all out, and wouldn't that restore the sun and moon to me, revealing the true nature of the universe? Hahahaha!"
Li Fan then turned to look at Xiao Yao.
Yao Xuanzhou coughed. "Grand Tutor is joking with you."
... Is this how your Grand Tutor jokes?
With a naturally gifted appearance, he was destined to assist in governing the country. He used his literary talents to continue the good order and his martial prowess to demonstrate his authority. He treated others as if they were his own, and sought out talented people as if they were too few to count. His feelings were deep and unpredictable, and his nature was magnanimous and tolerant. He blended in with the world, adapting to the times. He hid his scales and wings, and his thoughts were destined for greatness.