Different Directions

"The art of life and death?"

The Empress Dowager took a large number of wooden tablets.

The contents of the wooden tablets involve interpretations of life and death.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that this content was not as good as Shi Jiao's theories on life and death, but he couldn't find any shortcomings in it.

This is roughly the difference between a Grade A technique and a Grade B superior technique; the content of both is fine, but the level of mastery they achieve differs.

Although there are different levels, most cultivators in the world find it difficult to reach the upper limit.

For example, Zhang Xuezhou only realized the limitations of the Supreme Purity True Technique after his second transformation into a supernatural Divine Ability. To date, he has only realized the inadequacy of the limit of this one technique. Most techniques, such as the Cloud Soaring Technique, have not even touched the limit, and their evasion techniques and even cultivation have not been complete.

The contents of the Empress Dowager's wooden slips differed slightly, but this did not affect the overall meaning.

"Does the Empress Dowager mean that this kind of plan requires studying life and death?"

"Human life has its vibrant moments and its inevitable decline; only by achieving a balance between life and death can we truly experience both prosperity and decay!"

Zhang Xuezhou found an excuse and took the opportunity to ask the Empress Dowager for help on how to encourage Huo Qubing to make progress in his cultivation despite the limited number of acupoints. However, the Empress Dowager's research veered in another direction.

Zhang Xuezhou had heard Shi Wudao explain life and death, but he had never pursued that direction further.

The current situation is somewhat off-topic, but he can't bring the Empress Dowager back to the right track.

"What you call the Realm Technique is superfluous," the Empress Dowager said. "If it comes to a life-or-death situation, the matter of fusing the Realm Technique can be completely abandoned. Even if the Yang Soul Avatar lacks cultivation, it's better than death!"

"Having cultivation is better than having none," Zhang Xuezhou said. "We might need cultivation and Technique Method someday!"

"That requires you to be in excellent condition!"

The Empress Dowager emphasized this, indicating that her condition was quite serious and she was unable to delve into the Realm Technique.

If she could rely on the Yang Soul Incarnation Technique to break free from the shackles of physical pain, she would be able to think more about the enhancement of this incarnation state.

"You have endured the agony of your soul being torn apart, you should know that we likely don't have much time left," the Empress Dowager said. "His Majesty mentioned that you made a deal with the cultivators of the Xiong State, hoping to use their medicinal resources, but even the most potent tonics can only prolong our lives. The effects of the pills will inevitably diminish as the number of pills consumed increases, and at that point, we will have almost no chance of survival!"

"That's right!"

"Trying to survive while preserving one's strength is incredibly difficult, especially since the fusion of Realm Technique you mentioned is a transformation, a process akin to being reforged. While it's easier to turn back when one's cultivation is shallow, for us it's practically equivalent to starting all over again. The difficulty of overcoming this is extremely high, and very few people will succeed!"

Is it difficult to succeed?

"It's very difficult; without a do-or-die mentality, there's almost no chance of turning back!"

The Empress Dowager didn't pay much attention to the Realm Technique; she focused more on figuring out how to escape the pain of the physical body.

This is not simply about practicing the Yang Soul Incarnation Technique, but about reducing the body's influence on the Yang Soul, and even breaking free from the influence of the physical body.

Even if her physical body collapses, her yang spirit incarnation must remain normal.

This situation begins to involve the opposition between 'life and death', and only by clearly and thoroughly understanding life and death can she seek true survival.

Even without elixirs, she can prolong her life in the future.

As for how to continuously strengthen and improve the Yang Soul Incarnation, that's another matter entirely.

Daojun's flying knives left no survivors. The Empress Dowager was indeed not confident that she could be successfully saved. She had read many ancient books, but none of them could cure damage to the soul.

Zhang Xuezhou's advice led her to shift her research focus.

She is easily driven to madness by the piercing pain in her soul, so she needs to refine this technique as soon as possible, then seek a balance between life and death, and only then will she be able to return to the direction of Zhang Xuezhou's current research.

"His Majesty said you are skilled at using standardized Pill Furnace to mass-produce pills. If you have the capacity to refine more pills, refine as many as possible and increase the success rate as much as possible." The Empress Dowager said, "As long as your success rate is higher than the court's average, no one will say a word against you taking the excess pills!"

The Empress Dowager couldn't help but give Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou a few words of advice, implying that he shouldn't be too honest when he's in office.

Although the harvest of the elixirs would ultimately belong to the imperial court and benefit the Empress Dowager herself, the Empress Dowager was well aware of Zhang Xuezhou's value.

As long as it complies with the imperial court's regulations, it's not a problem for Zhang Xuezhou to take some or some things as appropriate.

If the opponent can also escape the pain of Daojun's Flying Knife Technique, Zhang Xuezhou's future role will be more outstanding than that of many other ministers.

The imperial court was indeed willing to place heavy bets on capable officials, even to the point of bestowing titles and appointments.

In the present day, all marquises in the country are inherited from the founding of the dynasty. They cannot be ennobled by non-marquis descendants or members of the royal family. However, there are ways to circumvent this rule set by the royal family. For example, a princess can marry into the royal family, thus creating a connection between the subject and the royal family, allowing the subject to be ennobled indirectly.

"Your Majesty is joking. We, as your subjects, are paid with salaries; how could we possibly engage in such acts of embezzlement!"

Zhang Xuezhou gave a dry laugh.

He wasn't exactly an honest man; he'd done this kind of thing before.

"This isn't illegal," the Empress Dowager corrected. "Those who lack ability need more practice, and those with ability can hold their positions. But if someone possesses extraordinary abilities and simply does their job honestly, wouldn't that be a waste of time? A professional Alchemist can produce five pills from ten portions of medicine, but you produce six or seven. What will people think? Will they suspect you of embezzling the pills, or will they say you're too incompetent and need to be demoted?"

"This..."

"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. It's normal to be adjusted if you perform too well. As long as you don't cross the court's bottom line, someone will cover for you for what you do!"

The Empress Dowager's open-mindedness far exceeded Zhang Xuezhou's expectations.

He has met many people over the years, but he has never really seen a superior instruct his subordinates to earn more money based on their abilities.

If Zhufu Yan heard these words, Zhang Xuezhou estimated that Zhufu Yan would instantly become extremely enthusiastic.

But how could he agree to such a thing in person? Besides, Zhang Xuezhou could clean up the mess without giving anyone a handle to use against him. The things he had done over the years could withstand investigation, or perhaps the other party simply couldn't investigate them at all.

"Excuse my bluntness, but if the court could provide a fairer distribution, why would talented officials need to do such things in secret!"

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't admit it either, because if he did, they might find fault with him in the future, and he wouldn't be considered unjustly punished when he was purged. He also couldn't deny it, because if he didn't, it would mean that the Empress Dowager's good intentions were being wasted.

Zhang Xuezhou eventually had to talk about the political system, from the utilitarianism of official selection to officials' fear of taking responsibility, and also mentioned that officials lacked the concept of maintaining the Great Han Dynasty, and that they just got by after their positions were up. All of this was nothing more than the influence of self-interest.

For example, Zhang Xuezhou himself was the same; the position of "Gyrious Censor" fulfilled his wish to enter the imperial court, and he had no desire for any official position.

There are many people like him. Most of them know very well that their career as officials has come to an end once they reach the limit of their official positions. Without nepotism, they cannot advance any further, and they just get by.

Furthermore, the promotion and transfer of court officials were too arbitrary. For example, Zheng was demoted from the position of Prefect of the Capital, which was second only to the Nine Ministers, to the position of Grand Tutor. He was a mayor one moment and a township secretary the next. Such leaps were completely without any system in place.

Officials' promotions were more like a formality, and Zhang Xuezhou often mentioned that he became a Grand Master of the Palace without doing anything.

He rambled on and on, turning the issue of embezzlement into a claim that officials were not being rewarded for their lack of merit. He even went so far as to discuss the irrationality of the macro-system, which led to a lack of popular support for the court, and that some people were even waiting for the Great Han Dynasty to collapse so they could gloat over its misfortune.

"Huang Lao Dao believes that people's hearts are natural and cannot be forced, while Confucian School emphasizes the divine right of kings, ordering everyone to follow the Human Sect and thus respect the king who guides the divine will. Your words sound like Legalists, but Legalists. Instead, they are more down-to-earth. I heard that you are a disciple of the Yin-Yang School -Yang School. The doctrines of the Yin-Yang School were very abstract in the past. Are they so practical now?"

The Empress Dowager was preoccupied with the Yang Soul Incarnation Technique; she had no time to integrate Realm Technique, let alone discuss governing principles.

But Zhang Xuezhou's rambling conversation had piqued her interest.

The Empress Dowager felt that the new emperor should listen to her advice. Although he didn't have to copy everything, taking some of the best parts would surely win people's hearts and minds, so that there wouldn't be so few loyal ministers who could only be bound by blood ties and kinship.