Yun Shu walked through the bustling marketplace.
Several children chased each other as they ran past her. They wore well-fitted short tunics and trousers, with cloth shoes on their feet and cloth bags slung across their shoulders, from which the corners of books peeked out.
The little boy running at the very front looked adorable and sturdy. He was probably running too fast, for he suddenly sprained his ankle. The small wooden sword in his hand slipped out, rolling twice across the ground.
Just as he was about to crash onto the cement road, Yun Shu blurred forward. Her right hand steadily supported the boy's elbow, while her left hand gently caught his forward-leaning shoulder.
The little boy stumbled half a step before standing firm, still shaken. He looked down at his feet, then confusedly patted his arm, seemingly wondering how he hadn't fallen.
His companions caught up from behind.
“What are you dazed for? Let's go! My mother said school is closed today for the Day of Divine Descent. Everyone is praying at the Divine Lady statue, and we won't even be able to squeeze in if you keep dawdling!”
“Oh... right!” The little boy snapped out of it, bent down to pick up his wooden sword, patted off the dust, and turned to look blankly in Yun Shu's direction.
Seeing no one there, he laughed and ran off to catch up with his friends, their playful banter audible from far away.
The little fox sighed with emotion. “No wonder those laborers say children have it good these days. Looking at how carefree they are, they really don't seem like children born in chaotic times.”
“None of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication of their parents. It is those parents who have used their own shoulders to prop up a clean world for their children.” Yun Shu looked out at the streets of Xindu City once more; the bustling, everyday world was as peaceful as a painting.
“In the future, it will be even better.”
Her voice gradually dissolved into the wind.
A moment later, holding the little fox in her arms, Yun Shu stood upon the palm of the giant Divine Lady statue in the center of the city.
The wind swept beneath her sleeves, making her robes flutter like feathers.
Below, a dense, dark sea of heads surged toward the foot of the statue like a tide, all looking up.
No, to be precise, they were gazing with devout reverence at the dozens-of-meters-tall Divine Lady statue behind her.
“Host, look! Pei Wanning, Cui He, Shen Yu, Shen Jue, Feng Chunya, Lu Sui, Pei Du, Cheng Ji, and Ye Qingqing are all here!” The little fox excitedly poked its head out of Yun Shu's arms, straining its neck to look down at the base of the statue. To see more clearly, it even pulled out a pair of binoculars.
“Fang Shuo seems to have grown quite a bit taller, but he still looks a bit slow. Wow, I even see Lan Yi and her loyal, house-husband hidden guard, A'han!”
Shifting the binoculars, it cried out in surprise.
“Oh my gosh, Fang Yingqiu really loves her experiments. Her dark circles are so heavy I almost didn't recognize her.”
“Hmm, Lin Xun next to her has dark circles almost identical to hers. A screenshot of them could literally be used as matching couple profile pictures.”
“And those over there must be Cui Erlang, Zhang Qiaoniang, Wang Chuntao, and Zhao Erniu. They've aged so much.”
Having said this, it suddenly fell silent, its initial excitement vanishing. It realized that except for its host, these people were all mortals, and mortals would eventually grow old and die.
“If only everyone could live forever.” Its voice carried a hint of undeniable melancholy.
“System, if the people of a world lived forever without dying, perhaps in a few hundred years, no new life would ever be born. That is not beneficial for a world's development.”
Yun Shu's gaze landed on Shen Yu and the others.
“However, once they learn the Body Tempering Technique, they should be able to shine and contribute to this world for another hundred years.”
The little fox's eyes instantly lit up.
“Host, what are you waiting for then? Hurry up and teach them the Body Tempering Technique! Oh, and there's also the Body-Tempering Pill. How about I go and hand one out to each of them later?”
Yun Shu shook her head, however. “We cannot hand out the Body-Tempering Pills. We cannot guarantee that the people who receive them will actually be the ones to consume them. Only by dissolving them into the water the common people drink daily can we ensure everyone gets the benefits of the Body-Tempering Pill.”
The body-improving effects of the Body-Tempering Pill were simply too miraculous. While Shen Yu and the others might resist the temptation, it did not mean their subordinates would all be able to restrain themselves from harboring wicked thoughts.
If the ordinary people's Body-Tempering Pills were withheld, they would never be able to surpass those who had improved their constitutions. Over time, this would inevitably lead back to a state where commoners had no hope of rising.
“Host, you really think of everything.” The little fox pondered for a moment. “Then how about we teach them the Body Tempering Technique first? When night falls and the wind rises, we can secretly drug... no, I mean, grind the Body-Tempering Pills into powder and sprinkle them into the wells the common people drink from.”
Yun Shu remained silent, a trace of deep thought flashing in her eyes.
Promoting the Body Tempering Technique was imperative.
However, she still had some concerns.
The martial comprehension of scholars was, for the most part, definitely not as high as that of trained martial artists. They would learn the Body Tempering Technique much slower and fail to grasp its essence, making it difficult for them to achieve success in martial arts.
If she did not find a way to balance it beforehand, a bias favoring martial arts over scholarly pursuits would be unavoidable, which would eventually lead to major issues.
“System, if I use the Body Tempering Technique to elevate the dimension of this book world, will this world then allow other extraordinary powers to manifest?” she asked.
“Theoretically speaking, it should be possible.” The little fox was somewhat puzzled. “Host, what are you planning to do?”
Yun Shu did not reply. She hastily opened her system wardrobe and pulled out the Cranes by the Inkstone Set to wear.
A moon-white undergarment and a dark green crane-patterned cloak, with a solitary crane perched on a cliff embroidered in silver thread at the cuffs, she exuded the cool fragrance of pine-soot ink.
She looked cold and detached.
She twirled the Poet Immortal's Brush in her hand, and the essence of ink manifested naturally.
“Today, I shall not only promote the path of martial arts to forge unyielding bones, but also promote the path of scholarly arts to make brush and ink stir the wind.”
The moment her words fell, the drumbeats below happened to reach their climax, as if cheering her on.
At the foot of the Divine Lady statue, tens of thousands of people knelt in worship, stretching from the statue in the city center all the way down the long official road outside the city gates, a dense sea of heads undulating like waves of wheat.
Everyone prostrated themselves on the ground, their foreheads pressed against the stone slabs and their hands folded over their chests as they muttered prayers.
It was not until dusk began to fall that they stood up.
The lanterns along the streets were lit one by one.
The candlelight formed a winding river of light, illuminating faces that were devout to the point of near-obsession.
Everyone looked up at the towering Divine Lady statue. It was their faith, the unyielding backbone of this city that would never fall.
Shen Yu and Pei Wanning stepped out from the crowd, gently placing their offerings to the Divine Lady on the altar before the statue.
Even though they rarely received a response from the Divine Lady, they still presented gifts to Her every year. On the Day of Divine Descent, they held a worship ceremony so that the world would remember Her forever.
“You have shown great devotion.”
A faint, celestial voice descended from the heavens.
Everyone froze.
A streak of flowing light landed upon the palm of the Divine Lady statue. Only then did they realize that the Divine Lady had arrived.
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