The flowing light dissipated.
Only then did the crowd clearly see the figure standing upon the palm of the Divine Lady statue.
The dark green crane-patterned cloak upon the Divine Lady fluttered in the night wind. The solitary crane embroidered in silver thread shimmered under the moonlight, looking as if it might truly fly out from her cuff.
Shen Yu and Pei Wanning were ecstatic.
Behind them, the civil and military officials who had traveled thousands of miles from various prefectures back to Xindu City to attend the worship ceremony were even more thrilled.
“It is the Divine Lady! It is truly the Divine Lady!” an old voice suddenly cried out.
Immediately after, a torrential wave of people fell to their knees, and the sound of kowtowing rose and fell like heavy rain pelting down on tiled eaves.
Cradling the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox in her arms, the Divine Lady stood upon the palm of the statue, looking down at the prostrate crowd with an expression of calm detachment.
“The Heavenly Dao has felt it; the path of martial arts shall flourish in this world.”
Her voice was cold and clear, yet it cut through the clamor and fell distinctly into everyone's ears.
The tens of thousands of people at the foot of the statue were stunned for a moment, and then an uncontrollable wave of whispering broke out.
“What does the Divine Lady mean by this?”
“I don't know.”
“Could it be that the Divine Lady wishes for us all to practice martial arts?”
“But I am a scholar, unable to even lift a sword or axe. I surely cannot practice martial arts. What should I do?!”
Just as everyone fell into confusion, the first to react were the military generals.
Shen Jue and Feng Chunya were the two highest-ranking generals among the military officers of the northern prefectures. Almost at the exact same time, they took a step forward. Their iron armor clashed with a metallic ring as they brought their knees heavily down onto the stone slabs, their armor plates clinking.
Having not seen the Divine Lady for a long time, Shen Jue subconsciously gripped the long saber at his waist. His knuckles turned white from the force, and his throat bobbed a few times before he spoke cautiously, “Divine Lady, are you about to grant us a path to the heavens through martial arts?”
The Divine Lady looked down at the two of them.
“It is not a gift from me. Rather, the path of martial arts has arisen as destined. I am merely passing on the Dao to the mortal world on behalf of the Heavenly Dao.”
With that, her fingertips pinched lightly within her sleeve, and a cluster of golden light floated up from her palm, drifting downward.
Midway, the golden light suddenly split into two. One streak flew into the center of Shen Jue's brow, while the other fell into Feng Chunya's.
In an instant, an ancient text named the Body Tempering Technique appeared in both Shen Jue and Feng Chunya's minds.
“This Body Tempering Technique can be practiced by anyone. If you can grasp its essence, it will be of great benefit to your martial path, and it is not impossible to extend your lifespan,” the Divine Lady said, her voice remaining as calm as an ancient well. “Shen Jue, Feng Chunya, the martial talent of you two is rare in this world. Thus, I impart this Body Tempering Technique to you both, so that you may spread it throughout the world.”
Hearing that the Body Tempering Technique could actually extend one's lifespan, the civil officials looked at Shen Jue, Feng Chunya, and the other military generals with eyes full of envy. Although this Body Tempering Technique could be practiced by anyone, those without martial talent feared they would never be able to grasp its essence even if they tried.
“We thank the Divine Lady for her grace!”
“We swear our lifelong loyalty to the Divine Lady!”
Led by Shen Jue and Feng Chunya, a vast crowd of military generals knelt down in unison at the base of the Divine Lady statue.
The civil officials stood to the side, their expressions complex.
“Revitalize the path of martial arts!”
The cheers of the military generals were loud enough to nearly shake the lanterns loose, while the civil officials remained as silent as statues.
Yun Shu took all of this in.
She slowly raised her hand, pretending to perform a divination.
“I have just calculated that the spiritual energy of this world is gradually growing, showing signs of a new era. If we only emphasize the path of martial arts, we will lose balance. The scholarly and martial paths are like the two wings of a bird; neither can be lacked. Therefore, the path of scholarly arts must also rise, so as not to waste the abundant fortune of this world.”
Hearing these words, the civil officials could not help but have their eyes turn red. When the Divine Lady had bestowed the Body Tempering Technique upon Generals Shen and Feng earlier, they had naturally felt quite dejected, though they had not shown it. They believed that whatever the Divine Lady did had its own reasons, perhaps because they, as scholars, were not as useful as the military generals.
The highest-ranking civil officials in the north were undoubtedly Shen Yu and Pei Wanning. Taking a step forward, they knelt at the foot of the Divine Lady statue and looked up at her. “We beg the Divine Lady to teach us the way to revitalize the path of scholarly arts!”
Yun Shu's gaze landed on the two of them.
“You scholars, in practicing the Body Tempering Technique, though unable to enter the Dao through martial arts like the warriors do, can still cultivate your minds and character, comprehend the natural laws of heaven and earth, and absorb spiritual energy for your own use.”
With a tap of her finger in the air, she once again used her Dream-Entering skill to implant the transcribed collection of poems into Shen Yu and Pei Wanning's minds, creating the illusion of golden light sinking into their brows to pass on the Dao.
If, as she envisioned, this world elevated its dimension because of the Body Tempering Technique, then entering the Dao through martial arts and entering the Dao through scholarly arts would both be feasible. In the future, other methods of entering the Dao might even be derived from these two paths.
“Warriors temper their bones, while scholars refine their minds. With a mutual understanding of the heart, poetry, lyrics, and songs can all manifest into myriad forms; the tip of the brush becomes the edge of the blade.”
A translucent white jade brush suddenly appeared in the Divine Lady's hand, its tip glowing with a faint, ink-like light.
She wrote two lines of small characters in the air:
“A thousand chapters composed in ink, literature births myriad forms.”
As the final character was completed, the sky and earth suddenly changed color. Countless sparkling specks of stardust drifted down from the night sky.
Shen Yu reached out to catch the specks of light.
The light particles landed on his palm. Instead of melting, they leaped gently and transformed into a tiny golden rune, which flickered twice before seeping into his skin.
He stared blankly at his palm as a wave of clarity rushed from his fingertips straight to his head. In an instant, he felt his mind was clearer than it had ever been.
More people followed suit, reaching out to catch them. The stardust fell like rain, landing on tens of thousands of open palms.
The towering Divine Lady statue in the center of the city was illuminated by this rain of light, appearing as warm as jade, merciful and serene.
“We thank the Divine Lady for imparting the Dao!”
“Revitalize the path of scholarly arts!”
With a series of uniform shouts, tens of millions of stardust specks poured down from the sky once more, like the Milky Way bursting its banks.
Immediately following, the night sky displayed the outlines of beautiful mountains and rivers, birds and beasts, plants and flowers, all traced by stars, like a vast, ten-thousand-mile scroll slowly unfurling.
【Shen Yu Shock Value +100】
【Shen Jue Shock Value +100】
【Pei Wanning Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 88,588,000】
Yun Shu stood upon the palm of the Divine Lady statue, the stardust drifting all around her, scattering fragments of light across her dark green crane-patterned cloak.
She tilted her head slightly, watching the cultural veins of mountains and rivers formed by stars slowly rotate in the heavens.
The little fox had a dazed expression. “Host, it seems you've turned the unreal into reality again! Not only has this world elevated its dimension, but you've also brought actual spiritual energy to this world!”
“It's just a pity that this world is fake, and the spiritual energy generated is very thin, so cultivating to become an immortal is quite unlikely.”
“But this spiritual energy will definitely be of great help for Shen Yu and the others to enter the Dao through scholarly or martial arts.”
Yun Shu lowered her eyelashes, veiling her expression.
Through this experiment, she had roughly figured out the rules of turning the unreal into reality. It was simpler than she had thought.
Its only difficult point was that not only did she have to make others believe her lies completely, but she also had to believe them herself.
It was easy to deceive others, but hard to deceive oneself.
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