Chapter 1789: Five Talents of the Dao-Seeking Academy
Zhu Santong had chosen his next life, and the old woman, the lady, and the girl each stepped forward in turn to choose their own reincarnations. Qin Fengqing treated them extremely well, allowing them to freely choose their race and family background without any impatience.
Old man Dongyang observed carefully, and only after confirming that Qin Mu was not playing any tricks did he relax and step forward to choose his own family background for his next life.
After the five had made their selections, they began to dissolve their cultivation and dao attainments.
When accomplished cultivators dissolve their dao, it is naturally no small matter—and these five were not ordinary accomplished cultivators. Each of them could be considered a titan of the prehistoric universe!
When their dao fruits scattered, their dao trees crumbled, their physical bodies decomposed, and their primordial spirits dispersed, transforming into the great dao of heaven and earth along with spiritual energy and spiritual qi, the spiritual energy in the skies of the Primordial Realm suddenly became intensely rich, gathering into clouds, the clouds gathering into seas, and the sea of clouds continued to expand and rise.
Soon, brilliant stars appeared in the sky, shining brightly, the stars rising higher and higher, more and more constellations appearing!
By nightfall, several rivers of stars had appeared in the skies of the Primordial Realm, stretching across the north, south, east, and west, making every night in the Primordial Realm feel like a full moon night.
Even a torrential downpour formed from spiritual energy and spiritual power fell from the sky, lasting for several years—yet strangely, the rain never touched the ground, dissolving in mid-air!
The entire Primordial Realm became like a paradise of cave heavens and blessed lands. Every divine mountain could be called a sacred ground, every tree and flower could be counted as spiritual herbs, and every river was brimming with spiritual energy!
After the battle when the Heavenly Court invaded the Primordial Realm, the realm's vitality had been greatly damaged and had yet to recover—but the five accomplished cultivators dissolving their dao had elevated the Primordial Realm beyond what it had ever been before!
"Honored dao brothers."
Qin Mu looked at the souls of Dongyang, Zhu Santong, and the others floating before him, and bowed: "Please enter the cycle of reincarnation and complete your rebirth."
The five souls returned the bow, saying: "Thank you, Seventh Young Master, for giving us a chance to start anew!" With that, the five souls flew toward the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel.
The Six Paths Heavenly Wheel operated on its own, and the five souls quickly disappeared into the cycle of reincarnation, vanishing from sight.
Qin Fengqing looked up at the rivers of stars formed by gathered spiritual energy in the sky and clicked his tongue in amazement. Suddenly he said: "Bad little brother, these five people's dao attainments are truly formidable. If they cannot awaken their past life memories, what a waste that would be. If they are reborn into poor circumstances with mediocre aptitude, they will likely fade into obscurity."
Qin Mu said: "As long as they learn the Dao of Reincarnation, they can still recover their past life memories. Didn't Lan Yutian recover the memories of Imperial Lord Yu?"
"Fat Lan's intelligence and comprehension are not something just anyone possesses."
Qin Fengqing shook his head: "How many people in this world can achieve what he has?"
"The Yenkang Reform is precisely about turning the impossible into the possible."
Qin Mu smiled: "Three hundred years ago, who in Yenkang could cultivate to the Divine Realm? Now the Divine Realm is no longer out of reach for supernatural power users. Two hundred years ago, who in Yenkang could cultivate to Yujing or Xiaoxiao? Now the Imperial Throne realm is nothing special for Yenkang—the Ancestral Court's Dao Realm system is better than the Heavenly Palace system. One hundred years ago, who in Yenkang dared to dream of becoming an accomplished cultivator? Now there are over a dozen beings who show promise of achieving dao."
He patted Qin Fengqing on the shoulder and smiled: "Brother, the times have changed. If they still carried their past life memories, it would not be a good thing for them. They would still follow the old systems, cultivating according to past life experience, unable to integrate into the Yenkang Reform. Even if they achieved dao again, they would merely be the same as their past lives. I need their wisdom to help the Yenkang Reform go further. Brother, the times have changed."
He steeled himself: "This era is moving faster and faster! Even you and I, if we do not change with the times, will eventually be eliminated by them! But rather than waiting to be eliminated by the times, it's better to walk at the very forefront, leading this era forward!"
His words were extremely infectious, yet Qin Fengqing remained completely unmoved.
Qin Fengqing had long grown accustomed to his younger brother's impassioned speeches, though he could still take Qin Mu's words to heart.
"Netherworld Venerable is not far from achieving dao. Once he achieves it, he will come to take over your position, allowing you to free yourself."
Qin Mu strode away, saying: "I will wait for you in the Ancestral Court. When you arrive, I will need your combat power to share my burden, and I will need you to achieve dao in the Ancestral Court!"
Qin Fengqing watched him walk away until he disappeared, then his body spun and slowly sank into the Netherworld.
Dongyang, Zhu Santong, and the others were born one after another. Dongyang and the girl were reincarnated into the human race, while the old woman and the lady felt that demigods had more promising futures, so they chose to become demigod descendants.
As for Zhu Santong, he became a pig demon among the demon race, born into a prominent family.
Back when Qin Mu received the blessing of Heavenly Emperor Taichu, he had thrown the emperor's blessing to a wild black boar in the mountains. After receiving the blessing, that black boar immediately gained intelligence. Sensing something was wrong, it fled that very night with its entire family.
Gradually, it transformed into a demon, learned to cultivate, and came into contact with Yenkang's supernatural power users. In Yenkang, the status of demons was not inferior to humans—at the top, the demon fox Hu Ling'er held high office, controlling Yenkang's financial power, and in the middle ranks, various demon gods were spread across the southern regions.
This black boar demon had now become one of the leaders of the demon race, with a vast family and estate, known as the Great Venerable Black Mountain.
This Great Venerable Black Mountain was Zhu Santong's father in this life.
Zhu Santong was clever and quick-witted from a young age, highly valued by the Great Venerable Black Mountain. The Great Venerable knew that he had risen to prominence thanks to the inexplicably obtained blessing of the Heavenly Emperor, and that his own aptitude and comprehension were actually quite poor—which was why none of his descendants were particularly intelligent.
Since Zhu Santong was exceptionally clever, the Great Venerable invested heavily in him, spending money to send him to the best elementary school, and even buying a house in the Lower Capital so he could study there.
Zhu Santong did not disappoint his expectations either, achieving greater and greater success. Later, during the Grand Academy entrance examination, he successfully passed and entered the Grand Academy.
The Great Venerable Black Mountain was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He held a grand banquet at Black Mountain, inviting all the demon gods, celebrating for three days and three nights.
After entering the Grand Academy, Zhu Santong displayed extraordinary aptitude. Before even graduating, he was recommended by Grand Sacrificial Wine Gu Linuan to pursue advanced studies at the Dao-Seeking Academy.
The Dao-Seeking Academy was no small matter—it was the most sacred and solemn holy land in all the myriad worlds. Any supernatural power user or deity with outstanding talent in all the myriad worlds considered it an honor to enter the Dao-Seeking Academy.
When the Great Venerable Black Mountain heard this news, he thought his ancestors' graves must have been smoking with good fortune—though unfortunately, his family didn't have ancestral graves.
However, the Dao-Seeking Academy had many talented scholars. After Zhu Santong entered, although he was still considered an outstanding talent, there were no small number of talents who could match him.
The academy's dean, Su Muzhe, and the other high-ranking members initially didn't pay much attention to him. It wasn't until later, when Zhu Santong came into contact with the Dao of Reincarnation at the academy and his aptitude and comprehension gradually improved, producing many ingenious ideas and thought-provoking insights, that Su Muzhe, Si Youyou, and others began to take notice.
Si Youyou summoned this young demon, and after questioning him, Zhu Santong said: "I don't know how I became so clever. Ever since I began cultivating the Dao of Reincarnation and studying its mysteries, strange thoughts and images have been floating up in my mind from time to time."
Si Youyou exchanged a glance with Su Muzhe and dismissed him. Si Youyou said: "This is a sign of cultivating the Dao of Reincarnation—the precursor to past life memories awakening. This person has a past life. But his insights are exquisite and unique, so his past life must have been extraordinary. Could he be a reincarnated remnant of the Heavenly Court? That doesn't seem right either. Even the Ten Venerables might not have his breadth of vision and insight."
Su Muzhe said: "We need to invite Lord Tubo to investigate his background."
Qin Fengqing descended, and upon hearing the two talking about Zhu Santong, he explained Zhu Santong's origins.
Si Youyou and Su Muzhe's eyes widened, and they exclaimed: "Such a thing happened? Why didn't you say so earlier? What if he awakens his past life and goes on a rampage? What then?"
"How could it be that easy to awaken?"
Qin Fengqing said dismissively: "The Dao of Reincarnation is the most difficult to cultivate. For him to awaken, he would need to cultivate to the twenty-eighth level of the dao realm. But reaching the twenty-eighth level of the dao realm in the Dao of Reincarnation—even Empress Dowager only barely managed to reach that level in her lifetime. Give Zhu Santong three thousand years, and maybe he could reach the twenty-eighth level."
The two breathed a sigh of relief. Si Youyou suddenly remembered something and quickly said: "What about the other four? Five prehistoric accomplished cultivators were reincarnated, but we only know about Zhu Santong. You must tell us about the other four as well."
Qin Fengqing checked and said: "Jun Xieyu is already studying under Flower Venerable—she was the old woman among the five accomplished cultivators. The accomplished cultivator called Yaya is currently at the Shangcang Academy, taught by Mu Yingxue, going by the name Tu Yulou. There's also a middle-aged woman who was reincarnated into the demigod race, named Yi Qiqi after rebirth. Recently, during the Lesser Yujing examination, she entered Lesser Yujing. The one with the best aptitude is Dongyang—let me check..."
After a moment, Qin Fengqing's expression turned strange, and he was silent for a long while.
Si Youyou quickly asked what was wrong, and Qin Fengqing stammered: "Dongyang is doing odd jobs at a manufacturing workshop in the Western Mountains..."
Si Youyou and Su Muzhe were speechless for a long time.
Qin Fengqing quickly explained: "His family was originally wealthy, but after he was born, the family fortune declined and they became destitute. He only attended two years of school before dropping out. He's now thirty years old, making a living in a small county town by doing odd jobs. Because he has no skills, he changes workshops every half month or so. No woman has ever taken a liking to him, so he's still a lonely bachelor."
Si Youyou glared at him fiercely and said: "Find Dongyang for your old mother and send him to the Dao-Seeking Academy!"
Qin Mu had been raised by her and had always been afraid of her, and Qin Fengqing was afraid of her too by extension. He hastily searched and said: "I'll deliver him to Granny within two days!" With that, not even bothering to spin, he hurriedly sank into the Netherworld.
A few days later, Dongyang—a big, burly man with a simple, honest face—was delivered to the Dao-Seeking Academy, looking around in confusion, not knowing what to do.
A group of strangers surrounded him, circling around him, looking him up and down, even feeling him all over, and shaking their heads: "He's already missed the optimal cultivation period. There's no saving him."
Si Youyou shooed the sacrificial wines aside and examined Dongyang herself. She also frowned and sighed: "Maybe there's still hope... Quickly fetch the Medicine Master!"
From the moment the man known as the Medicine Master arrived, Dongyang's miserable days began. He was soaked in medicinal vats every day, silver needles stuck all over his body, suffering beyond words. Dongyang tried to escape several times but was always caught and brought back. He secretly lamented, not knowing what crime he had committed to deserve such torture.
A young man named Zhu Santong often visited the Medicine Master's courtyard, and the two gradually became familiar, eventually becoming good friends.
Later, Dongyang finally stopped being soaked in medicinal vats, but he still had to consume many spiritual pills every day.
Si Youyou arranged for him to attend elementary school. Dongyang sat among a group of ten-year-old children, feeling deeply ashamed.
At first, he learned everything very slowly. The elementary students around him changed batch after batch, and he was still studying at the elementary school when he was fifty years old.
Another twenty years passed, and Dongyang, now white-haired, was still sitting in the elementary school, becoming a peculiar sight.
However, after turning seventy, it was as if he had suddenly become enlightened. He learned everything quickly, entering university within a few years, and a few years after that, Si Youyou sent him to the Grand Academy.
Zhu Santong had already become a famous demon god in his region, and he marveled at this sight.
A few more years passed, and at eighty years old, Dongyang finally entered the Dao-Seeking Academy. Si Youyou personally taught him cultivation. His classmates included the erudite Jun Xieyu from under Flower Xuanxiu's tutelage, Yi Qiqi from Lesser Yujing, and Tu Yulou from the Shangcang Academy.
As for Zhu Santong, he had already left the Dao-Seeking Academy to campaign against the remnants of the Heavenly Court, returning only once every few decades. When he returned, he would find Dongyang for a drink and talk about his adventures outside.
Time passed swiftly, and before anyone knew it, three thousand years had gone by. On this day, Shang Jun returned from the Ancestral Court to visit these five old acquaintances.
The five had long heard of Shang Jun's reputation, and they were both fearful and admiring. Suddenly, Zhu Santong's mind roared, and he blurted out: "I remember now! Seventh Young Master, you bastard—didn't you say Shang Jun had been reincarnated?"