After twenty years of development, the Taoist Academy has grown into a colossal entity, with countless powerful figures emerging from its ranks. Some of these individuals roam the world on their own, some establish their own forces, and others join other factions.
Although Pei Xuanjing did not control their comings and goings, they were connected through a commonly recognized identity; they all identified themselves as disciples of Pei Xuanjing. Even in the absence of any actual teacher-student relationship, this did not mean that they didn't acknowledge the kindness of Pei Xuanjing. This connection resulted in the formation of a vast network throughout the entire world.
For the current Great Ming Divine Dynasty, the threat from the Taoist Academy superseded that of many alliances and forces. Despite having fewer powerful individuals, their sheer number was eliciting concern in many within the Great Ming Divine Dynasty.
However, it was odd that the emperor of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty paid little attention to the growth of the Taoist Academy. He seemingly did not mind their elevation within the Divine Dynasty.
Even stranger was the emperor's decision to retreat and hand over the management of the court affairs to the elders and officials after receiving news of the return of certain forces from the Sky Wasteland after thirty years. Only matters of utmost importance warranted interrupting the emperor's retreat. Counting, it had been twenty years since the emperor last attended court.
However, even after twenty years of not attending court, the control over the affairs of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty was still firmly in the hands of the emperor. No one could challenge his position.
By holding the Golden Book and Jade Scroll, the emperor controlled the fate of all the subjects. No one could go against his will.
"What does Master Pei have planned?" Zhu Houji wondered, seeking answers from Mr. Wu, "Could you help clear my doubts?"
Zhu Houji did not particularly concern himself with the Taoist Academy's growing influence. As long as Pei Xuanjing did not attempt an uprising, there was no threat regardless of the academy's strength.
He was more interested in understanding what Pei Xuanjing planned behind the spread of the Taoist Academy.
As the ruler of the Divine Dynasty, he had a keen perception of everything happening in the world. He strongly felt that the focus of the Taoist Academy was not its disciples but the statues of Pei Xuanjing that it erected.
Over the years, statues of Pei Xuanjing sprung up across the land, outnumbering those in temples built by the emperor.
Further, the emperor, who had personally visited the Taoist Academy, could sense spiritual consciousness attached to the statues of Pei Xuanjing in the academy. It was this spiritual consciousness that was driving everything within the academy.
In the last twenty years, countless subsidiary academies were established, and the contribution points system advanced by Pei Xuanjing was widely accepted by the martial artists of the world. More importantly, it allowed Pei Xuanjing to spread his spiritual consciousness everywhere.
"These spiritual consciousnesses interconnected, forming a gigantic web that enveloped the world." And that was what the emperor feared the most.
Despite Mr. Wu knowing Pei Xuanjing from the start, their interaction over the years was infrequent, mainly limited to occasional exchanges related to cultivation.
Zhu Houji, the emperor of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, on the other hand, had a close association with Mr. Wu, as if they had reached some agreement.
In the decades when Zhu Houji refrained from holding court, many senior officials found it difficult to see him. However, Mr. Wu could easily come and go from the secluded palace, which went a long way to prove the depth of their association.
"Indeed, with these subsidiary academies scattered across the world, this grandmaster can dispatch an incarnation at will, utilizing these figures," Mr. Wu's eyes filled with astonishment.
If he was initially uncertain about Pei Xuanjing's sprawling network, witnessing the tangible incarnation kill a cultivator at the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm using his spiritual consciousness and power from the faith of incense fire solidified his awe for Pei Xuanjing.
Even with his extensive knowledge about the techniques of incarnation, he had never imagined the potential of this technique being actualized to such an extent. It was nothing short of remarkable.
He turned to the emperor, "Grandmaster Pei's ingenious method is truly unheard of. Based on my memory, even the top tier External Incarnation technique has its limitations, and no one has managed to use it as Grandmaster Pei has."
Mr. Wu found that the longer he spent in the company of Pei Xuanjing, the more mysterious he appeared, evoking his curiosity.
"It seems like Master Pei is a divine being sent down from the heavens. Ever since his emergence, he has continued to prosper, and nobody has ever been able to stop him," Zhu Houji sighed.
Being a cultivator on the Path of Spirit Refining, controllinng the Golden Book and Jade Scroll, and occupying the most powerful divine position of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, he should have been the most formidable person in the world. But, when compared to his Master Pei, he felt a sense of inadequacy.
On pondering over Pei Xuanjing's rise to power, he had weathered countless crises and deadly circumstances since stepping out of the small border town but eventually managed to emerge unscathed. He had also reaped substantial gains, making it feel like he was divinely assisted.
Startled, Mr. Wu replied, "Legend has it that when a significant era is about to begin, a child chosen by the Heavenly Mandate is born. The one with profound Qi Luck, favored by the heavens, prospers in every endeavor…"
Although he didn't finish his statement, the implication was clear to Zhu Houji.
"Perhaps, we may need Master Pei's assistance to weather the storm that the Great Ming Divine Dynasty will face in ten years," Zhu Houji sighed.
After ten years, with the return of ancient forces, the ones facing the most significant threats would not be other powerful entities, but his Great Ming Divine Dynasty, apart from Pei Xuanjing, the most powerful entity in the world.
The Divine Dynasty, which hadn't appeared in thousands of years, is imminent. There's no telling what attitude those ancient forces will take.
Will they acknowledge the position of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty?
Probably not that easy.
In the final analysis, whether the Great Ming Divine Dynasty is eligible to maintain its position in the upcoming situations will require further testing.
Over these years, with the continuous revival of Heaven and Earth, the news about Ancestral Land has been widely circulated among everyone in the Sky Wasteland. Every cultivator in the Sky Wasteland is clearly aware of this matter.
For those cultivators born and grown in the Sky Wasteland, Ancestral Land might only be a distant legend for them. Apart from a few specific feelings, they do not have much recognition of it.
But for those mighty ones who left the Great Ming World initially, their nostalgia for Ancestral Land is profound. They left reluctantly at that time, and now since they have the opportunity, of course, they will not miss the news of returning.
Of course, what excites these strong beings the most is another matter. That is, as mentioned in the rumors of leaving Ancestral Land, when the Ancestral Land revives again, the path to immortality might descend, and someone may take this opportunity to ascend to the legendary Immortal Realm and become a true immortal who never fades away from the world.
In these more than 20 years, powerful beings from the Sky Wasteland have continuously returned. Various forces have also deployed many cultivators to return to the layout, waiting for the upcoming Great World.
However, even though these people have returned, they have still maintained a low profile and have not been too ostentatious or recklessly acted.
It is not that they do not want to do so, but because of the existence of Pei Xuanjing. Especially after Pei Xuanjing killed the four cultivators at the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm, it completely silenced them.
Everyone is waiting for ten years later when the forces of the Sky Wasteland will no longer be bound by any restrictions, and their strong ones will also return. That will be the real time to decide everything.
Therefore, although His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty is very wary of the things that his Master Pei is planning, he very well knows that at this moment, he and the Great Ming Divine Dynasty will eventually have to rely on Pei Xuanjing's help, so he can only suppress his feelings.
"All this depends on what Grandmaster Pei thinks." Wu Shijiu shook his head and chuckled.
If it is said that his initial association with Pei Xuanjing upon arriving in the Ancestral Land was somewhat humble, then at this moment, Pei Xuanjing has shown enough strength to make him treat him with respect and as an equal.
As for all the talks about him, Pei Xuanjing is completely in the dark; he does not have much attention to worry about these things. At this moment, he concentrates all his attention on refining Taoyun value.
Over these 20 years, the majority of Pei Xuanjing's attention has been focused on refining the accumulated Taoyun value. He wants to accumulate as much Taoyun as possible, seize time to simulate life again, enhance his strength once more, have more power in the future, and gain more say.
The life simulator is his biggest trump card and the ultimate reason for achieving his current realm and strength. No matter what strategy and plan Pei Xuanjing has, he will never forget what is the most crucial thing.
"The Taoyun value needed for a single life simulation is 10 million points. It's simply an astronomical number," Pei Xuanjing shook his head and sighed.
With the continuous improvement of his realm, the Taoyun needed for this life simulator also begins to increase. Pei Xuanjing needed 5 million Taoyun to perform one simulation last time. Now, after stepping into the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm, the Taoyun value needed for a single life simulation has become 10 million.
In these 20 years, aside from spending a part of his attention on the Taoist Academy branches, it was only because those Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm powerhouses who broke his rules acted that he fell into an incarnation to counter them. The rest of the time, he hadn't left the Taoist Academy at all.
Of course, this time his action was also fruitful for Pei Xuanjing. Apart from suppressing those people, which deterred many cultivators of the Sky Wasteland, he also obtained some Divine Gold and skills from those few, which provided him with quite a lot of Taoyun.
Of course, apart from these sources of Taoyun, the main source of Taoyun for Pei Xuanjing is from the Taoist Academy.
After Pei Xuanjing established countless branches of the Taoist Academy, he provided countless disciples and instructors of the Taoist Academy with skill exchanges. Likewise, they could also upload their own skills and cultivation insights in exchange for corresponding contribution points.
As the saying goes, 'If one man is short of wisdom, refer to three men.' Perhaps the realization of a single martial artist cultivator is insignificant, but when this realisation is multiplied by hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands, it can be a huge fortune.
In the past 20 years, countless disciples of the Taoist Academy have arisen. Regardless of how little each person's realization may be, all these realizations together are like countless drops of water converging into the ocean, providing Pei Xuanjing with enormous gain.
After reaping and accumulating for 20 years, the Taoyun value accumulated in Pei Xuanjing's hands has exceeded 20 million points.
Twenty million Taoyun, this number is far beyond Pei Xuanjing's expectations.
Although he had thoughts of using the cultivation insights of numerous Taoist Academy disciples to harvest Taoyun for himself when he was putting forward this Taoist Academy project, he had never thought that he could accumulate such a substantial amount of Taoyun within just 20 years.
This Taoyun can allow him to simulate life twice.
Two chances of life simulation are undoubtedly a huge opportunity for the present Pei Xuanjing to enhance his realm and combat power.
Initially, Pei Xuanjing wanted to simulate life once the moment his Taoyun hit 10 million points, but it was precisely when the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm cultivators were causing trouble was. Therefore, this disrupted his plan, causing him to have to postpone his plan and deal with them.
Although from the outsider's perspective, Pei Xuanjing easily suppressed it with only an incarnation and suppressed the four cultivators at the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm is a horrifying act. In reality, it is not as such.
Although Pei Xuanjing's incarnation has terrifying strength, when he genuinely confronted these four with his incarnation, he discovered that this was actually a huge gain for him.
Even though he suppressed these four, which made the other returning cultivators from the Sky Wasteland quiet down, what no one knew was that Pei Xuanjing's Divine Soul had suffered some damage. He encountered an exceedingly troublesome cultivator at the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm and lost an incarnation during the confrontation.
Each incarnation is condensed by Pei Xuanjing's divided spiritual consciousness and the power of faith and incense fire. The power of faith and incense fire might not account for much but each spiritual consciousness is extremely important. The demise of an incarnation, to Pei Xuanjing, means damage to his own spiritual consciousness.
That's why he was delayed. Until today, he has finally recovered and returned his mind and spirits to their optimal state, ready for a life simulation.
[Taoyun: 21847324 points.]
[Would you like to use the Life Simulator? Using it once will consume 10000000 Taoyun points.]
Pei Xuanjing was highly eager about this life simulation, hence he made his choice without any hesitation.
"Yes!"
[The Life Simulation begins:…]
The Life Simulation starts:
Age one: You are born into an ordinary tribe, just one of many ordinary tribes in the vast wilderness. But due to your premature birth, your physical constitution is somewhat weak.
As a result, they could only entrust you to the care of other tribespeople while they searched for a way to heal you.
Age three: Your parents have perished. They were killed by wild beasts while seeking medicinal remedies to bolster your health. You were left behind and raised by the tribe.
Age six: The wilderness is unbearably hazardous, filled with countless wild beasts and frequent invasions by foreign tribes. Every human in the wilderness must learn Cultivation in order to fight when encountering danger.
At six years of age, you come of age for Cultivation and train alongside all the other children your age in the tribe.
Age ten: Your aptitude for Cultivation is not exceptional. Maybe due to the complications at your birth, even if you strive hard at Cultivation, it does little good. Amongst your peers, you appear frail.
Even though your natural ability is lacking, the other tribe children have never looked down upon you. They have constantly been warm towards you, comforting you that they will protect you in the future, bringing you great happiness.
Age sixteen: At sixteen, a significant stage happens to all adolescents in the wilderness. It is required of them to join the tribe to venture into the wilderness, killing wild beasts and becoming true warriors.
At that time, your strength was the weakest among your peers, far below the average strength of your age group. A lot of people persuaded you not to take part in the hunting.
Even the tribe leader personally advised you. He admired your maturity and wisdom, despite your lack of strength.
You rejected the advice of the tribe leader and your peers, insisting on participating in the hunting. This is because you remember the death of your parents. You aspire to become a strong warrior, avenging your parents and becoming a pillar of the tribe.
Left without a choice, they reluctantly agreed to let you participate in the hunt. However, they continuously warned you to take care of your safety.
Age seventeen: Although your abilities were not strong, you possessed a mind that far surpassed others. With your tactics, you captured and killed many wild beasts using your wits. The tribe accumulated enough meat reserves and you won the support of everyone.
If it were not for your lack of strength, the tribe leader even wanted to groom you as his successor.
Age twenty-one: After several years of leading the hunting team, your standing within the hunting team kept rising despite your humble abilities. Because of your extraordinary wisdom, you earned the qualification to lead a small squad on your own.
That year, you went hunting with your partners, hoping to store extra food for the winter, to get through the harsh cold months and to prevent your tribe from going hungry.
The countless successful hunts have filled you with confidence, but inevitably also added arrogance and vanity. This led you to consider going after a massive herd of beasts.
The result was pretty clear. Due to your arrogance and vanity, not only did the hunt end in failure, many got seriously injured, and some even died. Majority of them were your comrades and family friends, who treated you like their own, you also got seriously injured due to this failed plan.
All because of the existence of the foreign tribes. A formidable Blood tribe member appeared. Not only did he snatch your prey, but he also wanted to turn all of you into his Blood Slaves.
Your hunting team's companion fought to their deaths, it took a considerable loss to finally kill the Blood tribe member. Yet, this did not replace the lives of the fallen allies, leading to your immeasurable grief.
Looking at what's left of the hunting party, the sorrows of the tribal members are unfathomable. Countless children lost their fathers, countless parents lost their children, the tribe was immersed in profound mourning.
Yet, facing you – the young leader who was responsible for that incident, the tribesmen were not angry or blaming you, in fact, they were more worried about your injuries, even pretending to be happy so as not to make you sad.
You being highly intelligent, how could you not see through their forced smiles? This made you feel even more distressed and guilty. You'd rather they blame or scold you, it would make you feel better. But their continued usual treatment towards you made you feel completely ashamed.
As soon as your injuries improved slightly, you roamed around the tribe, feeling grief and anger when looking at the widows and orphans left behind by your family and friends. However, you were helpless.
You approached the tribe leader, hoping he would punish you. But he refused. He told you to broaden your horizons, that this is the fate of human race in the wilderness, that you must experience all this to survive.
However, the smarter you were, the harder it was for you to disentangle yourself. You did not understand why. Why did the wilderness have to be so cruel to the human race? You just wanted to live a peaceful life, why couldn't you?
The tribe leader fell silent, saying that he also didn't know why. All he knew was that for numerous years, the wilderness had been like this, and the human race was at the very bottom of existence. Facing the oppression of All Tribes, all Humans could do was to silently endure.
You did not accept this. You did not understand why humans had to be innately inferior, why they needed to tolerate such humiliation.
That night, you bid goodbye to the tribe leader. You wanted to venture into the wilderness, to look for answers. You desired to become stronger, to break these rules. You refused to experience such a situation again.
Age twenty-two: The young man took up his sword and journeyed into the wilderness. You embarked on a solitary and lonely path alone. Countless great men have acted similarly over countless years. They were equally puzzled and had also set out onto this path for enlightenment.
Age thirty-two: In ten years, the places you had wandered through were but a grain in the vast beach of the boundless, endlessly bright wilderness. But within these ten years, you saw many things. The oppression of All Tribes against the human race, the might of All Tribes, the passion, numbness, sorrow, and joy of the human race…
The experiences over ten years made you mature. You met a group of like-minded comrades and friends. With the same aspirations and goals, you walked together in the wilderness, seeking a path for the human race…
Confidence filled your hearts, you were determined to succeed, even if it meant dying without regrets.