Washed Clean of Worldly Glamour

"Let's start with the clan first. I hope Grandfather and Uncle won't stop me. Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if a perfectly fine family got wrecked because of me. Mm, I'll begin with something gentler. A gradual, imperceptible change will do."

Zhao Li sorted through his own understanding and made a summary, deciding to use the Imperial Examination System model he knew from his previous life to break cultivators' monopoly over cultivation resources.

If he truly wanted to change the world and remake the heavens, he had to possess enough strength to deal with resistance from the Upper Class Families. He had to make resources public, giving those at the bottom a chance to climb upward. In the middle, there had to be continuous Cultural Output and education, so that those who had already risen would not forget their original aspirations, while those who had not yet risen would be filled with hope...

Planting a seed might not show results in ten or twenty years, but after several generations were changed subtly and imperceptibly, once they grew up too, blossoming and bearing fruit, they would surely bring clear change to the world.

"I still can't create a Universal Cultivation Method for now, and I don't have enough strength yet to oppose endlessly inherited 'families' like the Eight Ancient Clans. I can only start with education."

Thinking about what needed to be done, Zhao Li quickly chose his direction.

"Fortunately, as I cultivate, my Soul Power has become extremely powerful. I can even recall all the things I read in my previous life. The Three Character Classic is good, catchy and easy to recite, but I'm afraid the content will need to be changed. Wuxia Novels should also be a good form of output. If I highlight the core of 'chivalry' and appropriately alter the background, perhaps it might even shine brilliantly in this world..."

Following the line of thought he had settled on, Zhao Li came up with more and more ideas, and recorded them one by one. In any case, they were all attempts; he would use whichever worked best.

Over the next half month, Zhao Li became busy. He was either recalling and adapting the contents of the "textbooks," or negotiating with the elders of the clan.

Whoever controlled education controlled thought. Zhao Li decided to first establish a school within the clan, allowing the younger clan members to study, while also laying a foundation for their future cultivation.

The elders did not realize Zhao Li's true intentions. They only felt that Zhao Li had good intentions and wanted to do something for the clan's juniors, so they did not refuse. They merely felt that Zhao Li's idea was not very realistic. How could children possibly be that obedient?

Still, they were willing to watch Zhao Li toss things around.

What Zhao Li said was not false either. What the school taught naturally would not be pure ideological output. Basic knowledge had to be taught as well. Perhaps in the future, it could even be developed into a "higher institute." Thinking of what it might look like in the future, Zhao Li was filled with anticipation.

Once everything was ready, Zhao Li began his daily life as a teacher.

He was full of expectation, hoping that the few little fellows below the platform would one day join him in contributing to the continent's change.

Imagination was beautiful, but reality was bony.

For several days in a row, Zhao Li was so angered by those little fellows that his head ached endlessly.

At first, they were still somewhat curious, but before Zhao Li had spoken for long on the platform, they started playing around. When Zhao Li went over to lecture them, they cried even louder, bawling and bawling, and he could not coax them back down.

Zhao Li's grand ambitions were doused by more than half just like that.

That day, he looked at the little fellows below the platform. Though forced by threats to sit in their chairs, their eyes flickered, and from time to time they turned to look at others, who knew what fun thing they were thinking about now.

Zhao Li felt extremely helpless, groaning inwardly.

"Why did I have to make things so hard on myself? Wasn't a carefree, leisurely life good enough? Or were the dancing young ladies at Melody Pavilion not pretty enough? Why did I insist on coming here to take care of kids?"

With no other choice, Zhao Li changed the lessons again and again, telling the little fellows those Mythological Stories instead: Pangu Separating Heaven and Earth, Nuwa Mending the Sky, Jingwei Filling the Sea...

At last, Zhao Li still managed to get these little fellows under control.

The days passed peacefully just like that. As usual, Zhao Li agreed to the requests of several little fellows and began telling a story again.

After he finished, a five- or six-year-old little girl as delicate as carved jade blinked her big eyes, confusion rising in them, and asked Zhao Li.

"Uncle Zhao Li, Nü Wa didn't listen and ran out to play by herself, then drowned. Why did she want revenge on the sea and fill it up?"

Zhao Li was stunned. He had not expected Zhao Xuanxuan to have such a peculiar angle and ask such a question. After thinking for a while, he considered his words and answered.

"Xuanxuan, do you think the Jingwei Bird carried stones every day without stopping to fill the sea because she wanted revenge on the sea? Uncle actually feels that she didn't want anyone else to end up like her.

Because the sea existed, she couldn't even go out to play. So she wanted to fill the sea flat, so that in the future, people who wanted to go out and play could do so without worry, and would not be buried in the sea like she was."

"Oh! Then she had already turned into a bird and could fly over the sea by herself. Why didn't she go play by herself?"

Zhao Xuanxuan continued asking.

"Does Xuanxuan want to play together with Brother Xiaoming and the others, or are you willing to play by yourself?"

Zhao Li did not answer. He stroked Zhao Xuanxuan's little head and asked in return.

"Of course I want to play with Brother Xiaoming and the others. Playing by myself is really boring."

Zhao Xuanxuan answered very naturally.

Seeing this, Zhao Li followed her words and answered the earlier question.

"Jingwei was the same as you. She wanted to play with more companions. Only by filling the sea flat could more companions come out and play together with her."

The little fellows seemed to understand, yet not understand.

Zhao Li said no more. He glanced at the time; that was about enough for today, so he let the little fellows go play by themselves.

Watching those little fellows rush out in a whirlwind, Zhao Li sighed inwardly.

"There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes. All I can do with these stories is try my best to guide them into understanding the characters from the good side. Sigh, I hope I won't lead them astray."

After that day, when Zhao Li told stories to the little fellows, he no longer casually told those familiar stories. He tried his best to choose simple ones that were not easy to overinterpret, afraid that one day the children would ask him a question he could not answer properly, causing him to pass on some bad ideas to them.

Half drunk and half awake, day after day; flowers bloomed and flowers fell, year after year. Two years passed like a white colt flashing past a crack, gone in an instant.

Over two years, Zhao Li's school grew larger and larger. The people attending lectures also changed from only children at the beginning to all sorts of people: idle old folk, middle-aged people in their prime, young adults gradually becoming steady, youths in the bloom of life...

During these two years of teaching, Zhao Li gradually felt that different kind of spirit, and his mind also underwent a cleansing and settling.

In these plain and quiet two years, Zhao Li seemed to have washed away all worldly glamour and gradually reached a state of Returning to Simplicity.

Zhao Li's strength advanced extremely rapidly. Now, he already possessed the Cultivation Level of a Peak Dou Emperor. As for the change in his mind, it had elevated Zhao Li's Soul Power as well, and he seemed to have already touched the threshold of the Spirit Realm. His Alchemy Technique had even reached the seventh tier. He could now be considered to have truly stood in the upper levels of Dou Qi Continent.

As the school grew larger and larger, Zhao Li could no longer handle everything alone. He had no choice but to find some highly respected people from the continent's original Private Schools and, after observing them, train them into Zhao Li's successors. The person currently teaching in the school was one of them.

Dou Qi Continent originally had schools too, but they only taught some basic characters and told legendary stories heard from nearby.

Zhao Li looked at the scene before him, which had already begun to take shape. Light flickered in his eyes, and boundless hope burned within them.

"Now everything here seems to have gotten on the right track. As long as they grow up, they can become my support. From then on, like a snowball, it will roll bigger and bigger, ultimately crushing the Old Order and establishing the New Order."

Zhao Li finally felt at ease. His desire to travel the continent had been suppressed for a long time, and it was time to go out and take a look.