Make Metal Virtue Great Again

"Teacher Xun, I believe the reason no lord occupies the true position of [Dui Metal] today lies in the flourishing of the four Metals."

With Suqiu's help, Jiang Jinyi had chosen the most effective approach: predicting the question!

After more than a dozen lessons, the great student Chen Suqiu had long since gathered information on Teacher Xun. One look had brought a shock: Teacher Xun came from the famous Tai'a Sword Valley and cultivated [Dui Metal].

More than thirty years ago, the current university president, True Person Chonghuan, had personally gone to Sword Valley to invite Teacher Xun out of seclusion to take charge of Metal Virtue at Lüyu. But after arriving, Teacher Xun had not taken charge of the Metal Virtue department, instead accepting only the position of its admissions director.

In just over a decade, the Metal Virtue department, which had started with nothing but two or three big cats and kittens, had seen several students gain admission to the Great Qian Central Bank.

Over the following decade, Lüyu's Metal Virtue department also blossomed and bore fruit at the Gold Federal Reserve and Philosopher-Sage Heaven. Luyu University leaped to prominence as a talent pool for Qinghuan's three great Metal Virtue Xuantian.

And for these achievements, Teacher Xun deserved the greatest credit.

Unfortunately, Teacher Xun had already been old upon coming out of seclusion. A fundamental injury suffered in his youth had prevented him from reaching Purple Mansion Divine Ability. In recent years, he had stepped down from his frontline post, and with no intention of returning to Tai'a Sword Valley, he planned to spend his retirement in Lüyu!

When it came to such a veteran, senior students from previous years all said Teacher Xun loved "metal" and had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the study of Metal Virtue as a whole in his later years!

Thus, Jiang Jinyi had quite easily predicted today's major question on [Dui Metal]!

Seeing that the usually endearingly clueless Jiang Jinyi had come prepared, Teacher Xun lifted his eyelids, signaling her to continue.

The eyes of the entire class fell on Jiang Jinyi. Jiang Liyang stared at Jinyi with bright eyes, as if cheering her on!

Oh no, Suqiu, my legs are a little weak! Jiang Jinyi hurriedly signaled her good roommate with her eyes.

Chen Suqiu seemed to have anticipated that her sister would be unreliable at the critical moment. She quickly placed the prepared cheat sheet on her thigh.

Jiang Jinyi swept her eyes over it, and the speech she had rehearsed came flooding back.

"Today, Qinghuan alone possesses four Metals. The Gold Federal Reserve issues Tongbao throughout the world, unifying the currency, while the Great Qian Central Bank holds the financial center in its hands, regulating interest rates invisibly."

"The powers and intent of these two Metals alone have reached realms that ancient Metal Virtue never touched. Let alone the fact that [Rare Metal] Philosopher-Sage Heaven builds war colossi and tempers the various Metals into a heaven of 'miracles' to suppress the Devil Ancestor. Such achievements were rare in ages past."

"Since the near-ancient era, Tai'a Sword Valley has wielded the sword for Qingheng Great Luo to sweep the world clean, and has followed Immortal Lord Dongyuan on campaigns north and south. The [Geng Metal] Fruit Position won its present standing by cutting its way forward step by step over the wreckage of numerous other Fruit Positions!"

When she spoke of [Geng Metal], Jiang Jinyi's lips turned a little pale. A mere mention of this lineage of slaughter was enough to set invisible killing intent roiling.

After one last glance at the cheat sheet, Jiang Jinyi concluded, "[Dui Metal] is the true position of the five Metals and commands Metal Virtue. With Metal Virtue flourishing as it is today, I fear a single True Lord of the [Dui Metal] Fruit Position cannot command all five Metals. So I venture to guess that only an Immortal Lord can command Metal Virtue!"

As soon as she said this, the true essence of the Metal Virtue students in the class surged. Well said! This age was a golden age for their Metal Virtue lineage.

Jiang Jinyi was right. Wasn't the absence of a lord in the true position of [Dui Metal] precisely because Metal Virtue was so strong that attaining its true position was harder than ascending to the blue heavens?

Ultimately, that was a good thing! If any stray cat or dog could attain the Dao and reach the [Dui Metal] Fruit Position, where would that leave the dignity of Qinghuan's four Metals?

The students below began whispering among themselves. Even the students cultivating [Rare Metal], who were so poor they could barely keep a pot boiling, proudly puffed out their chests at the thought that Philosopher-Sage Heaven was still suppressing a Devil Ancestor from the near-ancient era. They listed the great deeds their lineage had accomplished over the past thousand years and more, one by one, to the students around them!

No one knew who suddenly came up with the remark: "I think some of our teachers are wrong. They often encourage us to make Metal Virtue great again, but we don't need to make Metal Virtue great again. Metal Virtue is already very great today!"

Watching the lively discussion around her, Jiang Jinyi, whose energy was limited, flushed bright red. This time, she had finally won a round back!

Jiang Liyang, however, frowned. He felt that wasn't quite right!

As the clamor below gradually died down, the students all looked at Teacher Xun at the front, eager to hear the views of the person who had once borne the great cauldron of Metal Virtue at Lüyu!

Teacher Xun, however, shook his head and waved for Jiang Jinyi to sit down. Then he straightened his trademark tall cyan hat and sat upright.

"Jiang Jinyi, you did your homework and consulted sources in advance. That attitude and approach are good, but your answer today was nine parts truth and one part falsehood. I expect you copied it from the words of some unlearned person!"

Seeing that Teacher Xun had exposed her with a single remark, Jiang Jinyi immediately lowered her head in dismay. The girl who refused to admit defeat had been beaten again today!

"This also reveals one corner of the improper academic culture of our times. Boastful exaggeration is in fashion, and people judge lineages solely by their visible achievements. That is like judging whether you can become Foundation Establishment prospects solely by your cultivation at the Qi Refining Stage."

"But as teachers, we know cultivation can be piled up with time and resources, while Dao attainment cannot. Why is it that when using the very same Techniques, some students produce results stronger than yours? That is the difference in Dao attainment. So when you come to Lüyu to study the Dao, treat Principles lightly and the Dao with weight. Do not reverse what is important and what is not, and forget the fundamentals!"

The students below answered yes in unison, but when Teacher Xun swept his gaze over them, many wore looks of indifference. The higher one's cultivation, the more true essence one condensed, and the stronger the Law Techniques one used would be-that was the idea they had been taught all along before coming to Lüyu!

Even Teacher Xun could not call that wrong, but anyone who continued down that path of Dao theory would soon run up against their own bottleneck.

Changing such ideas could not be accomplished overnight! The sooner they came to understand, the better their chances of staying at the university. Teacher Xun had said everything he needed to say many times already; how much affinity each student had with it depended entirely on their own comprehension!

"Jiang Jinyi's summary of the current state of the four Metal Virtues cannot be called wrong, only rather shallow and superficial. But to understand the true position of Metal Virtue simply as the authority to control the path of Metal Virtue is a grave mistake!"

At this, Teacher Xun's expression grew unusually solemn. "Viewed through the ancient Theory of Five Manifestations of the Five Virtues, the true position of each Virtue is its root. Why call it the root? It is the most primitive and purest form of each Virtue!"

"There is also a theory that [Dui Metal] was the beginning of Metal Virtue, and that the other four Metals originally arose from surplus Metal positions of the [Dui Metal] Fruit Position!"

"From the perspective of the Five Manifestations, [Rare Metal] occupies the position of nurture, the Metal that nourishes other things. [Geng Metal] occupies the position of change, bearing the meaning of transformation and great agitation. [Qian Metal] is towering and mighty, and autumn lies in Qian, making it harvest. Thus Metal Virtue flourishes through the three turns of nurture, change, and harvest. Finally, it turns to [Tongbao], which converts and stores away all of the three Metals. That is storage!"

In a few expansive sentences, Teacher Xun tossed the entire Theory of Five Manifestations of the Five Virtues to the students, then turned his gaze to the person beside Jiang Jinyi.

"Chen Suqiu, tell us: what idea does this ancient Theory of Five Manifestations seek to emphasize?"

Chen Suqiu came from the Jialing Chen Clan, a great clan with several Foundation Establishment cultivators holding down the fort at home. She occupied a prominent place in the class's social order, and her generous, forthright nature had won the appreciation of many instructors.

"Teacher Xun, the Theory of Five Manifestations should be emphasizing that cultivation within our respective lineages has never been independent. Rather, the lineages are interconnected and influence one another!"

"Good!" Teacher Xun nodded.

"As for the connections within Metal Virtue, none surpass the Great Qian Circulating Treasure. [Tongbao] issues currency, while [Qian Metal] regulates the economy. Their authorities intermingle and merge, and both Metals exhibit powers and intent of harvest and storage!"

"Thus, those who cultivate [Qian Metal] often also set foot in [Tongbao]. Some who enjoy such matters say that among Qinghuan's cultivators, those who understand [Tongbao] best are not at the Gold Federal Reserve but at the Great Qian Central Bank. There is some truth to that!"

At this, everyone present laughed. Without a doubt, they had all thought of that famous Metal Virtue meme, no less well-known than the Rare Metal joke!

There have always been few [Tongbao] cultivators, but we have plenty of [Qian Metal]. So the more Qian Metal there is, the more Tongbao there is, and thus the less Qian Metal there is. Ultimately, the more Qian Metal there is, the less Qian Metal there is.

"But everyone, the situation with the Great Qian Circulating Treasure only took shape after Qinghuan established its internal economic circulation. So let me ask another question: how does the present economy differ from the Great Qian Circulating Treasure of several hundred years ago? What has changed?"

Teacher Xun's sudden question plunged the lively classroom into silence again. Changes? Had anything changed? The Great Qian Central Bank and the Gold Federal Reserve had been like this for hundreds of years. The two great Xuantian had been flourishing all along!

Jiang Jinyi, however, abruptly said, "Teacher Xun, is the change you're talking about [Origin Lightning]?"

This time, Teacher Xun praised her. "Correct, Jinyi. It seems you have gained some understanding of the Dui Metal Aperture Heart Qi Gathering Instruction. Though you have always been slow to learn, you are very quick to adapt. There is no contradiction in that!"

"Returning to the Great Qian Circulating Treasure, after True Lord Miaoshu attained [Origin Lightning], the Great Qian Circulating Treasure underwent a marked shift from the tangible to the intangible. This is especially evident here in Luyu Port!"

"That is the digital economy that has risen over the past decade or so. Currency has truly become a string of numbers stored on Origin Lightning creations. These numbers are precisely the outward manifestation of changes occurring within the two great Fruit Positions of [Qian Metal] and [Tongbao]!"

This was indeed a true transmission in a single sentence!

Chen Suqiu, who cultivated [Qian Metal], was shaken to her core. She had never heard what Teacher Xun had just said from her own elders!

If everything Teacher Xun said was true, then such a change was enough to shake the foundations of the [Qian Metal] lineage. Could even the Great Qian Central Bank, which regulated the economies of the two emperors and the Six Realms, fall into turmoil?

Teacher Xun looked with satisfaction at certain students below. This class still had quite a few promising sprouts who could understand the meaning beneath his words!

"Very good. There is one final question today, and it also concerns the question I raised at the beginning. What connection do the changes in [Qian Metal] and [Tongbao] over the past thousand years have to [Dui Metal]?"