Chapter 47: Never Killed Anyone
“Buddhist Sect’s Wuzhi pays respects to the Human Sovereign!”
“Confucian Sect’s Wang Bian pays respects to the Human Sovereign!”
Wuzhi and Wang Bian were extremely excited, bowing deeply, showing even more reverence than they would to their own masters.
As the strongest in the Nine Provinces, Jiang Li was the idol of the younger generation. In this era where ascension was impossible, their ultimate goal was to become a powerhouse like him.
Jiang Li blocked out his voice. These two knew their place, but if other passengers found out his identity, they’d definitely swarm him again.
Jiang Li felt like a celebrity from his past life, the kind that had to wear sunglasses just to go shopping for fear of being recognized.
“All you think about is magical duels. You nearly got yourselves trapped and went down the wrong path!” Jiang Li scolded them in the tone of a senior.
The two, who had just been looking quite formidable, quickly admitted their mistakes and promised never to repeat them.
Seeing their sincere apologies, Jiang Li didn’t dwell on it further. “Are you both headed to the Dao Sect’s Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly? Where are your masters? Why did they send just you two juniors to represent your sects?”
“My master said he’s at a critical moment in comprehending the Dao of Space and can’t be distracted, so he sent me instead,” Wuzhi replied.
Jiang Li understood. It seemed Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru had made further progress in the Dao of Space.
Wang Bian hesitated for a moment before saying, “My master said just looking at the Dao Sect Master makes him angry…”
“So he sent you in his place?” Jiang Li knew that the Confucian Sect Leader and the Dao Sect Master had a personal grudge. The Confucian Sect Leader believed in the theory of innate goodness and spent enormous effort cultivating a nation of virtuous people who would return lost items without hesitation.
Then he proudly showed this off to the Dao Sect Master. But the Dao Sect Master, believing in the innate greed of human nature, simply threw a handful of high-grade spirit stones on the street. Sure enough, the supposedly well-mannered crowd instantly turned into a frenzied mob, leaving the Confucian Sect Leader furious.
“No, he said he was actually interested in seeing the self-refining of an immortal artifact, so he told me to attend officially while he sneaks in secretly.”
“…Your master has quite the mindset.”
What Jiang Li actually wanted to say was—doesn’t he worry about shattering his own Dao Heart of Righteousness?
“What do you plan to do with this eagle demon?”
“We’d like to hear the Human Sovereign’s advice.”
Jiang Li chuckled. “Since you caught it, it’s yours to deal with. Why ask me?”
“The little monk believes in having a compassionate heart. How about letting it go?”
Hearing this, the eagle demon quickly spoke up, “The Buddha’s disciple is indeed a person of great virtue! I will erect a Longevity Shrine for you once I return and ensure the incense offerings never cease!”
Wang Bian shook his head. “Let it go, so it can go rob another flying boat? Better to kill it.”
Wuzhi was tempted but hesitated. “But it hasn’t killed anyone. Wouldn’t killing it be too harsh a punishment?”
“Yes, yes, I’ve never killed anyone!” The eagle demon hastily declared itself a good demon, terrified that if it spoke too late, these two would cut it down.
Looking at Wuzhi, however, the eagle demon wasn’t so sure. This guy had quite the killing intent! And he calls himself a Buddhist disciple?!
Wuzhi was conflicted. Logically, the eagle demon was lying, but he couldn’t justify killing it based on mere suspicion. If he made a mistake, his tranquil heart would be disturbed.
Wang Bian pulled out the Great Scholar’s Manuscript, wrote the character “Truth,” and stuck it onto the eagle demon.
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
The eagle demon replied, “No.”
“You only rob spirit stones from flying boats but don’t kill?”
“I don’t kill.”
Wang Bian turned to Wuzhi. “The Truth Seal I just applied forces it to speak only the truth. Since it says it hasn’t killed anyone, then it’s not guilty of a major crime. We can let it go.”
Wuzhi nodded. “Alright.”
Just when the eagle demon thought it was about to escape, Jiang Li suddenly asked, “Have you two considered something? When it robs the flying boat’s spirit stones, can the boat still fly?”
“Hmm?!”
Both of them instantly realized—
Indeed, the eagle demon only stole spirit stones. But without them, a flying boat couldn’t stay airborne. The passengers’ spiritual energy wouldn’t be enough to safely land it, and even if they somehow managed to descend, they’d end up in the Baize Dynasty.
A group of drained cultivators in Baize Dynasty? Their fate was obvious!
…
Perhaps feeling their intelligence had been insulted, the two of them didn’t hold back. The eagle demon did not die a peaceful death.
“This is why you can’t always rely on treasures. You need to think things through. Even without the Truth Seal, you should have realized that stealing spirit stones would inevitably lead to passengers dying.”
When Jiang Li asked them how they planned to handle the eagle demon, he was testing how far their reasoning would go.
As expected, they only thought one step ahead. Foolishly relying on the Truth Seal to test the eagle demon’s honesty, yet their questioning lacked depth. They almost let a mass murderer go free.
Jiang Li sighed and continued educating the two juniors. How did they even reach the Nascent Soul Stage? When he was at their level, he wasn’t this naïve.
He figured past Human Sovereigns had all died in battle, but he was going to die from overwork.
Can’t anyone give him a break?!
Jiang Li decided to treat this Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly as a vacation. He absolutely, absolutely wouldn’t get involved!
Even the Human Sovereign deserves a break!
【New mission issued: Despite scoring first place, your classmates mock you for your low cultivation level and insist you should drop out. Please shock them all in the end-of-term cultivation assessment.】
【This mission can be abandoned.】
【Mission rewards: One Sudden Enlightenment opportunity, an incomplete secret technique from the Beast-Taming Sect, and a Blood Ignition Pill.】
“Abandon.”
Jiang Li glanced at the mission, feeling a little disappointed, and chose to abandon it. A mission like “Celestial Realm Mystery” wouldn’t just pop up back-to-back.
…
After more than ten days, the flying boat finally landed near the Dao Sect.
As soon as they disembarked, the Dao Sect Master, Bai Hongtu, warmly greeted them, standing beside a defeated-looking Confucian Sect Leader, Dong Zhongren.
Wang Bian, full of shame, covered his face, reluctant to get off the boat.
It was obvious his master’s secret infiltration plan had failed.
In the end, Wuzhi had to drag Wang Bian off the boat.
“On behalf of the Dao Sect, I welcome the Human Sovereign to our Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly!” Bai Hongtu laughed heartily and pulled Jiang Li into a hug.
Jiang Li returned the embrace with a smile, giving Bai Hongtu a few pats on the back.
Bai Hongtu kept smiling, trying not to cry out in pain.
Behind him, thousands of Dao Sect disciples bowed in unison. “Welcome, Human Sovereign!”
Clearly, Bai Hongtu had put in effort to ensure a sincere welcome.
“And there’s also the Holy Maiden of Tranquility. After all these years, your relationship with the Human Sovereign is still the same.”
The Holy Maiden of Tranquility forced a smile, resisting the urge to punch him.
“I never asked—how’s the research on the Nine Provinces Barrier Formation coming along? Almost finished?”
Bai Hongtu’s face darkened, sighing, “You just got here, and you’re already bringing up stressful topics? Studying that formation has nearly made me bald! Can’t we talk about something happy?”
Jiang Li smirked. “Tribulation Stage cultivators can regenerate from a single drop of blood. Want me to beat you down to just one drop so you can regrow your hair?”
“D***, even landlords aren’t as ruthless as you!”
Then Bai Hongtu suddenly brightened. “Luckily, I’ve finally completed the Barrier Formation research! Now all that’s left is finding an immortal artifact to serve as the core.”