Qin Mu marveled at everything he saw along the way. In Luo Capital alone, there were countless cultivators—one could only imagine how many there were throughout the entire kingdom.
Right now, the National Teacher of Yankang could not yet mobilize all this strength. But once the opposing forces were either eradicated or subdued, the overall power of Yankang Kingdom would not be weakened in the slightest—it would be greatly enhanced!
At last, he arrived in Yongzhou. Unlike Luo Capital, Yongzhou was a picture of peaceful prosperity. The people lived and worked in contentment, and the land thrived. As Qin Mu passed by a rice field, he saw several warriors channeling divine arts, commanding the wind to form wind blades that helped the farmers harvest their dry rice.
Qin Mu stopped to watch. The warriors were practicing the Heavenly Demon Sect's divine arts, manipulating the wind. After helping several families finish harvesting their rice, they went to collect payment from the farmers.
One of the girls said, "Don't dry your rice in the sun today. There'll be rain this evening."
The farmers thanked them profusely.
The warriors noticed Qin Mu standing at the edge of the field, watching them intently, and felt puzzled. The girl walked up and stopped a short distance from him, bowing respectfully. "Senior Brother, is there something you need?"
Qin Mu smiled gently. "You're from Wind Hall?"
The girl's heart skipped a beat, and she didn't dare respond. Qin Mu smiled again. "I saw that the divine art you were using just now is Autumn Wind Ground-Glide, so I asked. The one who taught you this technique—is it the Wind Hall Master?"
The girl hesitated for a moment. "It's Hall Master Lei Zhengyin of Wind Hall."
Qin Mu asked curiously, "Wind Hall didn't teach you the complete version of this divine art?"
Several other warriors stepped forward. A young man shook his head. "Hall Master Lei only occasionally teaches us a few moves, but usually demonstrates them only once and doesn't teach again. We never learned the complete version."
Qin Mu circulated his vital essence, transforming it into Azure Dragon vital essence. "Happily, I still have some time. Let me teach you. Watch."
Right there beside the rice paddy, he activated his Azure Dragon vital essence and performed Autumn Wind Ground-Glide. Wind blades materialized like curved swords, like serpents gliding through the fields, weaving and darting as they flew. A hundred wind blades skimmed along the ground, all racing straight toward an enemy's ankles.
"This technique isn't just about keeping blades close to the ground—it can also be done like this."
Qin Mu suddenly tapped his toes lightly against the ground and leapt up, then planted his foot on a rapidly spinning wind blade, which carried him charging forward.
Standing atop the wind blade, he continued channeling the divine art while attacking forward. A hundred wind blades howled, sweeping through a space of six or seven zhang, slashing forward with a piercing roar!
Although Autumn Wind Ground-Glide was an ordinary divine art, its power was far from insignificant. On the contrary, this single technique alone demonstrated the might of the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Scripture—it could evolve into all manner of combat approaches.
Qin Mu landed and dispersed the divine art.
The young men and women stared in surprise and delight. "Hall Master Lei never taught us the wind-blade-riding technique!"
They eagerly sought instruction. Qin Mu sat down on the ridge between the paddies and answered their questions in detail, explaining the mysteries of how vital essence flowed through this technique and how to control it with subtlety.
"This technique also has several variations. The wind blades don't have to skim along the ground."
Qin Mu performed Autumn Wind Ground-Glide again. Suddenly, his fingers trembled, and the wind blades rose vertically, attacking upward. "Divine arts actually share common ground with sword techniques and combat skills. Though Autumn Wind Ground-Glide is a divine art, it can at any moment be transformed into swordwork or a combat skill."
He suddenly produced a blade sphere, giving it a light shake. Curved blades flew out from within, and the technique he performed was also Autumn Wind Ground-Glide. Though the variations weren't as fluid as with the divine art itself, the power was several times greater!
Qin Mu picked up two curved blades, and their light suddenly blazed. His hands flew as he moved, the blade light skimming along the ground—the technique he performed was once again Autumn Wind Ground-Glide, and its power exceeded even the blade sphere version!
Qin Mu sheathed his blades. One by one, the curved blades flew back and clanged into the blade sphere.
He looked back to see all the young men and women standing there, stunned.
Qin Mu smiled. "Did you understand what I showed you?"
A girl murmured, "How can a divine art be transformed into a blade technique or a combat skill? Hall Master Lei couldn't do that..."
Qin Mu guided them patiently. "Who says a divine art must be used only as a divine art? Using it as a blade technique is perfectly fine, and using it as a combat skill flows naturally as well. When you practice divine arts, don't be bound by rigid conventions, and don't be limited by the experience of others."
The young men and women fell into thoughtful silence.
Qin Mu explained the essence of the technique several more times until they had learned it completely. Then he asked, "Don't you attend school? You all look quite young—why don't you go to elementary school?"
A young man replied sadly, "We're poor. Where would we get the money for school? We can only earn a little during the busy harvest season. The Holy Sect teaches us divine arts, sword techniques, and combat skills so we can eke out a living—so we don't starve."
"So that's how it is."
Qin Mu was deep in thought when suddenly a familiar voice rang out: "Well taught, and well learned."
Qin Mu turned quickly and, upon seeing who had spoken, bowed respectfully. "Patriarch. Enforcement Elder. When did you arrive?"
The Young Patriarch had appeared nearby at some point, with the Enforcement Elder beside him. The Enforcement Elder smiled. "We've been here a while. We were passing through and saw you teaching them divine arts, so we stood aside and listened without interrupting."
The Young Patriarch praised him. "I now feel that giving you the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Scripture was the most correct decision imaginable. When others cultivate the Scripture, simply learning it is already considered remarkable. For a single divine art, they can at most develop one or two uses. But you've come up with so many different applications. Good—very good."
Qin Mu was puzzled. "Shouldn't a divine art be used this way?"
The Young Patriarch laughed. "It should. It's just that the previous Sect Masters were too foolish to think of such applications. Let's go."
Qin Mu agreed and followed with Hu Ling'er, heading toward Yongzhou City.
"Oh no! We forgot to ask who he was!" a girl exclaimed.
The young men and women stood dazed as they watched Qin Mu and his companions walk away. A young man murmured, "He called the other young man 'Patriarch' and called that old man 'Enforcement Elder'... so who does that make him?"
"His knowledge surpasses even Hall Master Lei's—he must be an important figure in our Holy Sect!"
On the road, Qin Mu saw more Heavenly Demon Sect disciples using divine arts to dig irrigation channels, plow fields, and fly up to trees to pick fruit using flight arts.
But most of these disciples were clumsy with their arts, and the majority had never learned complete techniques.
This time, Qin Mu did not stop to teach them. There were far too many Heavenly Demon Sect disciples scattered across the world—he could never finish teaching them all on his own. It would take until the end of time.
"There are quite a few of our Holy Sect disciples in Yongzhou," the Young Patriarch said with a smile.
"What are your thoughts looking at this?"
"The Patriarch assisted the National Teacher of Yankang in establishing the Grand Academy, colleges, and elementary schools, yet our Holy Sect disciples have nowhere to study. You thought of the world, but forgot about the Sect."
Qin Mu shook his head. "The Patriarch should have established elementary schools, colleges, and a Grand Academy within our Sect, so that our disciples wouldn't fall behind the times."
The Young Patriarch smiled. "That is the Sect Master's responsibility, not the Patriarch's. Young Sect Master—henceforth, that will be your duty."
Qin Mu was taken aback. "Forty years ago, why didn't Sect Master Li do it?"
"Sect Master Li was infatuated with women, bewitched by the Sect Master's wife. Where in his eyes was there room for the people of the world?"
Qin Mu clicked his tongue. So it had something to do with Grandmother Si after all. Back then, Sect Master Li Tianxing must have been thoroughly enchanted by her, missing out on this world-shaking reformation.
By comparison, the Dao Gate and the Great Thunderclap Monastery were both ill-suited to follow the National Teacher of Yankang's reforms. Although they were the holy lands of the Daoist and Buddhist paths respectively, they both followed the master-disciple model, where a single master taught only a few disciples.
The Heavenly Demon Sect was different. It followed the model of hall masters overseeing districts. Though the hall masters were powerful, they were not responsible for personally training disciples—they only occasionally taught cultivation techniques and divine arts to the congregation.
The Heavenly Demon Sect could easily establish elementary schools, colleges, and a Grand Academy within the Sect. As for the Grand Academy—
"Top students can be sent to the Grand Academy to study."
Qin Mu calculated. "Select the most outstanding disciples from our Sect, have them take the Grand Academy entrance examination, and let the Grand Academy cultivate them on our behalf. If we do this, it'll be impossible for the Tiansheng Sect not to prosper!"
The Young Patriarch glanced at him and sighed. "I only wish you had been born forty years earlier."
He led Qin Mu into the city. The streets were filled with people coming and going, and Qin Mu couldn't help but wonder, "Could our Tiansheng Sect's headquarters really be located in the middle of the city? Wouldn't that attract far too much attention?"
The Young Patriarch led him toward the City Lord's Manor. Without announcing their arrival, he walked straight in. Inside the manor, many of the Heavenly Demon Sect's upper echelon had already gathered—various Hall Masters, Protector Elders, Inspectors, Dharma Protectors, and Heavenly Kings of the Sect.
When the crowd saw the Young Patriarch and Qin Mu, they all rose to their feet and bowed.
Qin Mu returned the salute. The Young Patriarch nodded lightly. "Is everyone here?"
A Protector Elder replied, "The Sect Master's wife and the Saintess have not yet arrived. The Heavenly King of Heaven among the Heavenly Kings of the Sect still hasn't returned."
The Young Patriarch nodded. "Then let's wait a while longer."
Before long, a sweet, alluring voice drifted in: "Has Mu'er arrived with the Patriarch?"
When Qin Mu heard that voice, he felt his blood surge to his head. The other Hall Masters and Elders flushed as well, their eyes brightening with anticipation—as if hearing that voice meant seeing the perfect lover of their dreams.
Even the Young Patriarch was somewhat affected, his expression shifting slightly. He barked, "Si Youyou, compose yourself!"
From beyond the door came Grandmother Si's voice: "How boring."
The Young Patriarch shot out the door. His voice carried back: "Who told you to reveal your true face? Showing your real appearance will turn this ascension ceremony into utter chaos... Naturally, you should look as ugly as possible... It's the child you raised who's about to become Sect Master, and you want him to fall for you too... That's more like it. Go in."
Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief. Everyone in the City Lord's Manor did the same. Several white-haired Elders and Heavenly Kings of the Sect wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads and steadied themselves.
The Young Patriarch and Grandmother Si walked in from outside. The old woman still looked somewhat displeased. She glanced around, spotted Qin Mu, and smiled.
"Grandmother!"
Qin Mu hurried forward and took her hand. "Grandmother, I know you were at the Grand Academy—you didn't even change your surname..."
Grandmother Si was puzzled. "I never went to the Grand Academy. I was only watching you from afar. Besides, the Patriarch was at the Grand Academy, so I wasn't worried about your safety at all."
Qin Mu smiled. "Grandmother, still pretending? You've already been found out. You're that Si at the Grand Academy..."
"The Saintess has arrived!" A clear, resonant voice suddenly announced.
Qin Mu was about to say Si Yunxiang's name when he saw Si Yunxiang walk in through the door. Grandmother Si's voice whispered in his ear: "The Saintess and the Sect Master were classmates—they both passed the Grand Academy entrance examination at the same time."