Two avenues of breakthrough

Zhao Shou and Yang Gong exchanged a glance, showing no surprise whatsoever, but instead sighed.

What difficulties do you two ministers face?

Huaiqing asked the question with a dignified air.

Zhao Shou shook his head and said:

"Silver Gong Xu has dealt with the Carving Knife knife and Confucian Crown, but he hasn't communicated with the spirit of the artifact, has he?"

"That's really true." Xu Qi'an was taken aback at first, then hesitated before saying:

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

He dealt with the Nation-Guarding Sword more often, but the sword's spirit rarely communicated with him, and never initiated communication when his cultivation level was low.

Even after he advanced to the Transcendent, the Nation-Guarding Sword never took the initiative to communicate with him.

This divine weapon, inherited from the founding emperor, is like a majestic king, working silently, never gossiping, never acting coy, and never being eccentric.

It's way more sophisticated than the Peace Saber.

Therefore, it is understandable that the Carving Knife Confucian Crown, as ritual implements of the Confucian Sage and the Sub-Sage, maintain a high-class image.

Wang Zhenwen, a cunning old fox, glanced at Zhao Shou and probed:

"It seems there's more to the story."

Zhao Shou said frankly:

"That's true. In fact, the spirit of the Carving Knife has always been sealed, and it was sealed by the Confucian Sage himself."

When everyone heard that the spirit of the Carving Knife knife had been sealed, they were first taken aback, wondering who could seal a Transcendent Rank artifact. Then they suddenly realized that it was the Confucian Sage who had sealed it himself, and their curiosity grew even stronger.

Xu Qi'an asked in surprise:

"The Carving Knife for the seal of the Confucian Sage?!"

Daoist Jinlian voice:

"What exactly caused the Confucian Sage to seal away his own magical artifact?"

The people in the hall were solemn, realizing that there might be a shocking secret hidden behind this matter.

Moreover, it involves the secrets of Confucian Sage.

Seeing everyone so serious, Zhao Shou was momentarily at a loss for words.

So he looked at Yang Gong and gestured with his eyes: You tell me.

Yang Gong looked conflicted and returned the gaze. "You're the dean, you should speak."

As the two remained locked in a stalemate, Protector Yuan slowly said:

"Lord Zhao heart tells me: This kind of dishonorable thing is really hard to talk about."

"Lord Yang heart tells me: to speak out would only bring shame upon the Confucian Sage and the Confucian School."

Yang Gong and Zhao Shou's expressions suddenly froze.

It was a disgraceful act, a disgrace to the Confucian Sage. The crowd, looking at the two Transcendent Confucian School, immediately began gossiping.

He immediately reined in his thoughts, preventing them from spreading uncontrollably—to guard against Protector Yuan.

"Cough cough!"

Seeing this, Zhao Shou cleared his throat and had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:

"The notes of the Sub-Sage record: 'Whenever my master wrote a book, it was rejected; when he wrote another book, it was rejected again. I wanted to teach him, and this went on repeatedly until my master sealed it away.'"

What? The Carving Knife is going to teach the Confucian Sage how to write books? This is the legendary "I am already a mature pen, I can write books on my own." When I was a student, if the pen in my hand had this awareness, I would wake up laughing in my dreams. Xu Qi'an almost covered his mouth and burst out laughing.

He glanced around at the crowd.

Wei Yuan picked up his teacup, lowered his head to drink the tea with a serious expression, concealing the emotion on his face.

Daoist Jinlian pretended to look at the scenery around her.

Wang Zhenwen was dumbfounded, feeling a sense of disillusionment, as if her beliefs had been tainted and her worldview had collapsed.

Li Lingsu pointed her flying sword at Protector Yuan's throat.

The other people had different expressions, but they all tried their best to remain calm.

Of course, some people didn't understand; Lina and her father Long Tu looked completely bewildered.

"There's nothing funny about this," Li Lingsu said seriously.

"It seems we can't rely on the Carving Knife."

Xu Qi'an spoke up at the opportune moment, easing the awkwardness between Zhao Shou and Yang Gong, and asked:

"And what about the Confucian Crown? Surely the Confucian Crown didn't teach the Sub-Sage how to wear a hat?"

"Pfft!" Li Miaozhen couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I'm so sorry!" Flying Swallow Heroine waved her hands repeatedly.

Zhao Shou ignored Li Miaozhen and said helplessly:

"The Confucian Crown doesn't speak, well, to be precise, the Confucian Crown doesn't like to speak."

"Why is that?" Xu Qi'an asked, voicing everyone's question.

Yang Gong answered on behalf of Zhao Shou:

"You should know that scholars study the Four Books and the Six Arts, and although their knowledge is broad, they still need to have one major area of expertise."

"Yes!" Xu Qi'an nodded quickly, trying to show that he was very knowledgeable.

He knew this, for example, Erlang's main focus was on Art of War.

So Erlang appears to be a scholar who lacks nothing in terms of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, but in reality he is very sneaky. For example, when he spends the night with a Imperial Music Bureau, he doesn't even flinch when he returns home to remove the smell of green tangerines.

He was well-versed in the art of deceiving the enemy in Art of War.

As Yang Gong pulled out a ruler from his sleeve, he said:

"I have been teaching for twenty years, and my students are all over the world. Although I study the Book of Poetry, I have recited the Three Character Classic more often in recent years. That's why this ruler looks like this."

"It is said that if a son is not taught, it is the father's fault; if the teaching is not strict, it is the teacher's laziness."

As soon as the words were spoken, the ruler gleamed, ready to strike.

"See that? That's his Virtue. "Yang Gong shook his head helplessly.

Asuro suddenly realized:

"So that's the Confucian Crown worn by your Confucian School Sub-Sage?"

Zhao Shou sighed:

"When the Sub-Sage was young, he loved to talk. He often spoke too frankly with people he barely knew, which caused him trouble. He was reprimanded by the Confucian Sage, and the Sub-Sage himself felt that this was inappropriate. So the Confucian Sage gave him a calligraphy scroll, which read, ' Gentleman's Cautious Speech Copybook!'"

"The Sub-Sage carried the Confucian Crown with him every day to meditate on it, and it was at that time that consciousness was born."

Therefore, it never uttered a single word from the very beginning of its existence.

No wonder the Carving Knife and the Confucian Crown never speak to me; one can't speak, and the other doesn't like to. Xu Qi'an sighed and said:

"Is there any way to break the seal on the Carving Knife, or to make the Confucian Crown speak?"

Zhao Shou shook his head:

"The seal on the Carving Knife was placed by the Confucian Sage. There are only two ways to break it: one, wait until I advance to the Second Rank. Don't worry, the seal that the Confucian Sage placed on the Carving Knife cannot be as powerful as a seal of the Transcendent Rank."

"In fact, the Sub-Sage could also break the seal, but he could not disobey his teacher, so he did not break the seal on the Carving Knife back then."

"Once I advance to the Second Rank, with the help of the Vast Righteous Qi of Clear Cloud Mountain accumulated over the years and the power of the Confucian Crown, and with the Carving Knife working together from the inside out, I should be able to break the seal."

Second, bring the Superintendent back.

"The Superintendent First Rank sorcerer and an expert in weapon crafting. I know he has a way to bypass the seal and communicate with the Carving Knife."

"As for the Confucian Crown speaking, the Confucian School ritual implements all have their own principles to uphold; to get them to speak is harder than to destroy them."

Neither of these methods can be accomplished overnight.

With the Confucian Sage's influence temporarily unreliable, the meeting reached a stalemate.

At this moment, Master Kou suddenly said:

"So, the Superintendent actually learned the method for advancing to Martial God from the Carving Knife long ago, which is why he supported Xu Qi'an's advancement to Martial God?"

His words made everyone present's eyes light up.

This is indeed a very good entry point, and the possibility is extremely high.

In fact, many people felt that this was the foundation upon which the Superintendent had planned everything.

Having said that, they naturally found their second breakthrough point— the Superintendent!

"To know what a person's purpose is, look at what they have done in the past."

A voice rang out inside the hall.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned and looked around, searching for the source of the sound, but they couldn't find it.

Then, from the shadow beneath the coffee table next to Ba Ji, the leader of the Poison Gu Tribe, a shadow emerged and slowly transformed into a cloaked figure. The upper half of his face was covered by the hood, while the lower half appeared pale from years of lack of sunlight.

"Sorry, it's a habit, I just couldn't help it."

He held back and hid for a moment.

The Shadow offered a sincere apology, returned to its seat, and continued:

"It is common knowledge that the Superintendent has been supporting Silver Gong Xu and helping him become Martial God. Therefore, in this process, he must have instilled in Silver Gong Xu the qualities to become Martial God."

"Silver Gong Xu must have something that makes him different from that Half-Step Martial God in Southern Frontier."

"It's Fate!" Heaven Gu Granny said slowly.

"And the Peace Saber," Xu Qi'an added.

On the night he defeated the Buddha and returned to the capital, he recounted in detail his experiences at sea.

Daoist Jinlian stroked his beard and analyzed:

"The Superintendent said this is your proof of becoming Gatekeeper, not Martial God. I believe the key lies not in the Peace Saber, but in Fate."

So, does advancing to the Martial God require Fate?

Chu Yuanzhen raised a question:

"What would Martial God need Fate for? He can't replace the Heavenly Dao like Transcendent Rank. Moreover, after Xu Ningyan Enlightenment Qi channels with the Fate-Disordering Hammer, he could completely control Fate —no, the National Fate —but that only gave him the means of Qi Refining Practitioner."

To control the Power of All Living Beings.

Seeing that no one objected, Chu Yuanzhen continued:

"I think the Superintendent stored the National Fate within Ningyan's body simply to help him better preserve Fate and prevent it from being plundered by the Transcendent Rank, or even, even..."

Huaiqing glanced at him and said calmly:

"They might even use this to coerce him, cut off his escape route, and force him to become an enemy of Transcendent Rank."

Regarding such malicious speculation about his teacher's comments, the sixth disciple nodded and said:

"This is something the Superintendent teacher would do."

The second disciple gave it a thumbs up.

The current function of Fate is only to allow Xu Qi'an to control the Power of All Living Beings, which seems to have nothing to do with advancing to the Martial God.

The meeting reached a stalemate once again.

In the silence, someone raised their hand and said:

"This holy son has an idea."

"You?"

Upon seeing that it was Li Lingsu, Li Miaozhen looked incredulous.

Her eyes held the look of a younger sister looking down on her good-for-nothing older brother.

Li Lingsu ignored her and said:

"Transcendent Rank needs to seize all the Fate of the Nine Provinces in order to replace the Heavenly Dao and become the will of the Nine Provinces."

"Would Xu Ningyan also need to do this?"

"He can't advance to Martial God yet because his Fate isn't good enough."

Xu Qi'an shook his head:

"I am not a sorcerer, and I do not know the methods of plundering Fate."

Li Lingsu waved her hand:

"Dual cultivation, you can gather the Fate within Huaiqing's body through dual cultivation. Just like you can transfer Fate into Daoist Chief Luo's body through dual cultivation to help her quell the Karmic Fire."

"Huaiqing is the supreme ruler, and he has also absorbed the Dragon Qi into his body. It can be said that, apart from you, he is the one with the most prosperous Fate in the Central Plains."

"Why don't you try dual cultivation with His Majesty Huaiqing first? You might be surprised by the results. It's better than wasting your breath here."

That seems to make sense. This is indeed the kind of thinking only a playboy would have. Goodness, Holy Son, I misunderstood you. You've always been my good brother. Xu Qi'an looked at the Holy Son with new respect.

"I think you're tired of living."

Li Miaozhen suddenly drew her sword.

Luo Yuheng also drew his sword, but Xu Qi'an held it tightly.

"Please calm down, Imperial Preceptor."

Huaiqing said expressionlessly:

"I will take the Holy Son's words as a joke."

The situation has initially stabilized.

"The Confucian Sage has been gone for twelve hundred years," said the Bodhisattva Liuli. "Who is the other person who knows the method to advance to the Martial God?"

"Superintendent!"

The ethereal voice of the Gu God replied:

You already know the answer in your heart.

The Bodhisattva Liuli nodded:

"Everything he planned was to create Martial God, so that the Martial God could guard the Heavenly Gate."

"Kill the Superintendent."

The Gu God said, "Go overseas and have Huang kill the Superintendent. Don't get entangled with him anymore."

The Bodhisattva Liuli could sense the urgency in the Gu God's voice when he said those words.

What did He see in the future? The Bodhisattva Liuli clasped his hands in prayer:

"Yes!"

Overseas, Ruins of Return.

Wearing a leather bodice and a long, slit leather skirt, the tall and graceful Nine-Tailed Fox stood high in the sky, looking down at Ruins of Return.

A vast "continent" floated on the water, covering the entrance to Ruins of Return.

In the center of this continent lies a colossal black hole, a black hole capable of swallowing even light.

The wind whipped her skirt, ruffled her hair, and tousled her sexy, alluring fox tail.

She only stood there for a quarter of an hour, and a tenth or a twelfth of her vital energy was drained away.

Huang has fallen into a deep slumber, but His innate supernatural powers have become even stronger.

This indicates that the opponent is returning to their peak.

At the center of the black hole, there is a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of light.

Although it was faint, it was never swallowed by the black hole.

That was the aura of the Superintendent.

"The Superintendent said that in his plan, the dog man should devour the Jialuoshu to advance to Half-Step Martial God, and my departure to sea with the dog man was an accident."

"So what was his original plan?"

"How does he plan to break through the seal of the wilderness and seize that gate of light?"

As her thoughts raced, her furry, pointed ears twitched. Then she turned her head and saw the distant waves crashing and rolling behind her, with the charming and gentle Merfolk Queen standing on the crest of a wave, waving at her.

The Nine-Tailed Fox fox rode the wind and disappeared.

"Your Majesty, all the Transcendent descendants of Gods and Devils we could find have been gathered on the A'ersu Archipelago."

The Merfolk Queen said respectfully.

The Nine-Tailed Fox fox nodded.

"Well done. Set sail immediately and leave this sea area."

Besides gathering the descendants of the Transcendent Realm Gods and Devils, her purpose in setting sail this time was also to try her luck in Ruins of Return and see if she could meet the Superintendent and learn from him how to advance to the Martial God.

In the current situation, approaching the Ruins of Return would undoubtedly mean certain death.

Even if Xu Ningyan comes, he probably won't be able to see the Superintendent.

"I've done my best," she muttered to herself, leading the Merfolk Queen to the A'ersu Archipelago.

"We can discuss matters of Fate later." After listening for a while, Wei Yuan finally spoke, raising a question:

"If Superintendent learned the method to advance to Martial God from the Carving Knife, why didn't he just tell Ningyan the truth when they reunited overseas?"

Chu Caiwei said in a sweet voice:

"The Superintendent professor must have a reason he can't say it."

Wei Yuan analyzed methodically:

"He couldn't have been unaware of the current situation. To stop the catastrophe, a Martial God must be born, so passing on the method to become Martial God is of paramount importance."

"The Superintendent may have his reasons for not speaking, but that doesn't mean he didn't make arrangements beforehand. Given his Superintendent style, the method to advance to the Martial God realm may have already been presented to us; we just haven't seen it."

Wei Yuan's words plunged the hall into silence.

Following Wei Yuan's line of thought, everyone actively racked their brains.

Luo Yuheng suddenly said:

It's Carving Knife!

"The answer left by the Superintendent was Carving Knife."

Everyone was taken aback, then a surge of joy welled up within them, like the feeling of "suddenly turning around and finding that person in the dimly lit place."

I believe the truth is exactly as Luo Yuheng described.

Imagine, given the way the Superintendent acts and the limitations imposed on the Heavenly Mandate Master, what if he had truly left behind a method for advancing to the Martial God, and it was right there in front of everyone?

The Carving Knife perfectly meets this condition.

Huaiqing immediately said:

"Scholar Zhao has accumulated enough Fate during this time, and reaching the Second Rank is just around the corner. Once you advance to the rank of Great Confucian, we will attempt to break the seal on the Carving Knife Carving Knife inquire how it can be upgraded to Martial God."

Zhao Shou bowed and said:

"I understand."

Fate should be the aptitude for advancing to the Martial God, and the Shadow Leader was right about that... The fastest way to condense Fate right now is to cultivate with Huaiqing... Xu Qi'an glanced at the Empress.

The latter remained expressionless and unmoved.

But her waist subtly tightened, and her back quietly straightened.

Xu Qi'an withdrew his gaze and continued thinking:

"If the Confucian Sage knew the method to become a Martial God, he would definitely have left behind some information."

"I suspect the sealing Carving Knife isn't because Carving Knife taught the Confucian Sage how to write books, but precisely because Carving Knife knew the way to become a Martial God. The Confucian Sage hid the secret within the Carving Knife."

"This meeting was worthwhile; it really shows that there's strength in numbers."

"We're just waiting for Zhao Shou to be promoted to the Second Rank."

At this moment, Heaven Gu Granny's eyes emitted a clear light, a smoky, clear light.

She remained seated, motionless for a long time.

"Mother-in-law has glimpsed the future again," the alluring Luan Yu explained softly.

Can we glimpse the future at this moment?

The Transcendent expert from the Great Feng was stunned for a moment, then perked up and stared intently at Heaven Gu Granny.

A moment later, the clear light in Heaven Gu Granny's eyes vanished.

She suddenly stood up and looked south.

"Grandma, what did you see?" Xu Qi'an asked.

P. S.: Typos will be corrected later.