The Rise of a Culture of Learning

If one believes that the True Self Realm is the limit of cultivation, ordinary people will feel satisfied with reaching the Divine Ability Realm or the Sole Self Realm, and will also agree that reaching the True Self Realm is the end of cultivation.

When these cultivation limits reach a higher level, it undoubtedly makes people feel that there is still hope ahead, and the pursuit has not stopped.

Compared to the listless Golden Crow Great Emperor, who lingered listlessly by the fire, Divine Lord Zhenyuan was indeed more spirited and energetic.

Especially since Divine Lord Zhenyuan used the Longevity Fruit to refine the Longevity Technique and extend his lifespan, he now appeared even more energetic and spirited, like a young cultivator who had just left the mountain.

If it weren't for the need to care for the Longevity Fruit Tree in the secret land of Broken Soul Ridge, and the potential problems associated with the Longevity Fruit, Divine Lord Zhenyuan would have almost traveled to the ends of the earth to witness the splendor of the world.

Even though he still missed the Longevity Fruit Tree, he felt that going away for a while wouldn't be a problem, since he sensed that the tree had come back to life.

If Zhang Xuezhou is willing to help, after he sends Zhang Xuezhou back to Chang'an City, they can wait for a while and then go to the Yedie River Holy Land to find Daojun, and it is also possible to visit the Venerable One at the Xieluosi River Holy Land.

Gazing at the magnificent landscape below, he felt a sense of clarity and comfort.

"There's a city below; let's go see where we are."

Zhang Xuezhou didn't know the way, and Divine Lord Zhenyuan was also traveling far from the Sacred Land for the first time. The two flew in a straight line, and wherever they flew, they planned to find a landmark to determine their location.

After flying over mountains, wastelands, jungles, and seas, the two finally found a place where people gathered.

Seeing that the area below was no longer the tribe's grazing grounds, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he had finally found a landmark.

He spoke first, Divine Lord Zhenyuan agreed, quickly drawing the wind and waves downwards.

"This place seems somewhat familiar to me!"

As the plane continued to fall, Zhang Xuezhou felt a vague sense of familiarity welling up in his heart.

He and Divine Lord Zhenyuan landed on a hillside in the mountains. After the two of them had traveled several miles, Zhang Xuezhou looked up and saw the three characters "Shu Commandery City" hanging high on the city gate tower.

Searching back and forth for the correct route to the Western Kunlun Holy Land, Zhang Xuezhou never expected that the Feiyu Demon King, stumbling and constantly traversing the clouds, would carry him and fly in a straight line.

This is the landing point where he previously fell when struck by lightning, and it's also the area where he landed in a straight line after flying 15,000 miles this time.

With this landmark, Zhang Xuezhou's journey to and from the Kunlun Sacred Land will be several times simpler. He can simply take off from the landing point and fly straight west to reach it, without having to take a long detour.

He relied on the Cloud Soaring Technique to fly with Divine Lord Zhenyuan, and flew for more than two days in total. During this time, he took breaks, and if he had used the Technique Within the Clouds to continue flying, it would obviously have saved some time.

After careful consideration, Zhang Xuezhou concluded that he would only need about a week to return to the Kunlun Sacred Land, eliminating the need for repeated trips.

"This is Shu Commandery City!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan was somewhat unfamiliar with the Great Han script, so Zhang Xuezhou was responsible for introducing it to him.

"I passed through here many years ago and received help from the local prefect Wen Weng, which is how I came to know the people here. Since we're passing by now, we might as well ask for some food to eat!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed towards Shu Commandery City, which greatly pleased Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

Both Divine Lord Zhenyuan and Zhang Xuezhou are skilled in Grain Avoidance, but both are mortals. Once they encounter the consumption of continuous spellcasting, their physical strength and Law Power will be depleted, making it difficult to sustain them by relying on the Grain Avoidance Technique.

If they could eat, especially if it was high-quality food, they would obviously recover much faster.

When Zhang Xuezhou west, he carried only a purple-gold gourd that couldn't fit into his storage bag. He didn't bring any other Law Treasure Law Artifact, but his storage bag was still full of small items.

When he took out his 'scepter', he couldn't help but feel a little sentimental, as he vividly recalled the days when he made 'scepters' in Shu Commandery.

As for his guarantor, Prefect Wen Weng did provide the guarantee out of respect for Dong Zhongshu, but the other party's assistance was genuine.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the city normally with Divine Lord Zhenyuan. He felt that the Shu Commandery City, after several years, had both familiar and unfamiliar aspects.

The city walls have grown higher, and people come and go in an endless stream, with vendors calling out their wares on the streets.

Although Shu Commandery County was not as prosperous as Chang'an City, such bustling trade and commerce were rare in many cities.

Some vendors had children reciting numbers and calculating on simple bamboo slips, while others played arithmetic and rock-paper-scissors games. Some people had a scroll of bamboo slips on their carrying poles and would flip through it when they had nothing else to do.

"The people here are truly enthusiastic and eager to learn; even the vendors are reading books," Divine Lord Zhenyuan exclaimed happily. "This must be an extremely enlightened place!"

"This is truly a good place to learn!"

Zhang Xuezhou focused on the prosperity of commerce, while Divine Lord Zhenyuan felt that this place was blessed with outstanding people and resources, and even the merchants loved to read.

Reading more books means understanding things, and understanding things means being able to reason with others, rather than resorting to violence to solve problems.

Such enlightenment was unheard of in Divine Lord Zhenyuan's limited knowledge.

"In the past, only nobles were qualified to study," Divine Lord Zhenyuan said. "I never imagined the world had developed to this extent!"

"Reading and learning to read are not as important as filling your mouth with food. It is difficult to study when you are hungry. Only nobles have money and time to read books," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"That makes sense," Divine Lord Zhenyuan nodded. "That's precisely why I'm curious about this enlightened atmosphere. How exactly do they manage to get people to study and learn to read despite their hunger?"

"That's not difficult; we can just ask," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

Zhang Xuezhou had not been to Shu Commandery County for several years. He had witnessed the embarrassment and helplessness of Prefect Wen Weng when he promoted the academy, but he never expected that things would be so different a few years later.

The fact that merchants can read proves that people in other industries or of higher social classes must also be serious about reading.

In a society where words are everything, this requires Shu Commandery County to have an extremely high level of self-management.

For the Great Han Dynasty at that time, the area outside the capital city had undergone several adjustments and was barely able to make ends meet. No one cared about things like studying. The changes in Shu Commandery City really surprised Zhang Xuezhou.

This is not the era of abundance brought about by the technological explosion in modern society, where people can constantly focus on their studies, but rather the agricultural era that requires working from dawn till dusk.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan was curious, and Zhang Xuezhou was also extremely curious.

"The students of the Prefect's academy are exempt from corvée labor. One person's enrollment brings blessings to the whole family. After completing their studies, they can become officials in the prefecture, or even serve as elders and village officials. Who wouldn't want to study there!"

After paying two and a half taels of silver for ten wild fruits, Zhang Xuezhou easily learned the reason from the vendor.

"Since ancient times, people have been driven by self-interest. This prefect is truly a man of great courage," Divine Lord Zhenyuan praised. "However, such a move will inevitably harm the interests of others and will certainly be opposed. How did he begin to push it forward, and how will he continue to push it forward?"

"This question about the Divine Lord is a bit beyond their level!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't need to ask; he knew perfectly well that the vendor couldn't possibly know such things.

In the eyes of these vendors, all they knew was that studying could bring them benefits; they saw nothing else.

This is also the most effective way to promote learning.

Profits can motivate people to learn, but Divine Lord Zhenyuan was quite curious about who could provide such enormous profits to sustain so many people following him to learn, and whether there were enough positions available for scholars. Moreover, after exempting these scholars from corvée labor, the overall profits of the city were even shrinking. How could this be sustained?

After leaving the Kunlun Sacred Land, Divine Lord Zhenyuan felt that this situation was similar to a difficult problem he had encountered in his cultivation. He also wanted to see how people from different fields solved related problems.

"Having seen countless things, dispelling doubts, and understanding many principles, one can then apply those principles to other situations!"

When Zhang Xuezhou showed some curiosity, Divine Lord Zhenyuan responded seriously, indicating that his journey into the world after leaving the Sacred Land was not just about interacting with the large group of cultivators, but rather about pursuing whatever beauty he discovered.

Having gained a clear understanding of all things, he might be able to draw inferences from one instance to another and gain a clearer understanding of his own spiritual practice.

Humans are social creatures; one cannot ascend to great heights alone, detached from the group!

He uttered a seemingly pointed remark, but quickly stopped himself to avoid inadvertently mentioning any powerful cultivators.