Duan Tianji stood within a similar ring-shaped earthen tower, studying level by level, round after round.
But unlike before, he began forgetting things here and there. His notes were scattered and incomplete, and he often lost focus.
Gradually, he discovered his problem. He stopped studying, sat in the courtyard at the center of the earthen tower, and sank into deep thought.
"This Dao Establishment Mountain Crown, Heaven's Mandate Sect is determined to win..."
"If it were merely my own future, it would not matter. But Heaven's Mandate Sect has shown me kindness as deep as the sea. I bear the sect's future on my shoulders—how could I simply walk away..."
"Sometimes, methods are not all that important. Besides, I would only be using a few minor tricks. I would not actually harm anyone..."
"That may be so, but if I win through trickery, I may very well seize the first place that should have belonged to Li Qingxian. If I take first place, he will receive less. That is still using vile means to steal what belongs to him and harm him. In the end, it is still evil..."
"Fate Arts Toward Good. I, Duan Tianji, wish to turn toward good, but... the elders do not seem to be turning toward good..."
"In the elders' eyes, everything Heaven's Mandate Sect does is for the good of the Human Race. It is merely that everyone else is made up of ordinary mortals who cannot see through it. Many of Heaven's Mandate Sect's methods may seem evil and wrong, but when people look back after several thousand or even several tens of thousands of years, they will surely prove correct..."
"But when I examined Heaven's Mandate Sect's conduct over the past thousand years, I discovered that from an even longer view, the