Under the guidance of the Sword Demon God Qingxu, Zayn quickly grasped a deeper understanding of the sword.
Only after true exposure did he realize just how shallow his previous "understanding" had been.
As Qingxu said—only after knowing the sword can one learn to wield it.
And the highest realm of swordsmanship was the unity of wielder and sword.
Qingxu, as a being whose true form was the Qingxu Sword, had naturally reached that state upon birth.
During the next month, Zayn traveled back and forth between Qingxu Pool and Liyue, following Qingxu to study sword-dao.
Every day he brought two bottles of Moutai as "tuition."
Qingxu taught patiently and meticulously—truly hand-in-hand instruction.
Zayn, who initially knew almost nothing of swordcraft, received careful explanations whenever he didn't understand something.
Learning was a long and steady process.
On his free days, Zayn returned to see Morax, intending to discuss the development plan for Liyue.
Because every time he visited Qingxu's domain, despite Qingxu caring little for territory,
the living conditions of the humans there—their houses, their quality of life—
were plainly superior to those in Liyue.
Liyue's people were still living in thatched huts.
Compared to wooden or stone houses, thatched huts were inferior in comfort, warmth, and protection.
So—development could no longer wait.
Originally, Zayn planned to wait until Morax and Guizhong formed their alliance and moved to her territory to build the Guili Assembly.
He intended to begin proper development only after the city was established.
But after seeing the difference at Qingxu Pool, his desire to improve Liyue was triggered early.
Morax looked a little surprised to see him—
Recently, Zayn barely visited and spent most of his time studying swordsmanship with Qingxu.
Seeing Zayn arrive in person meant something was definitely on his mind.
"You aren't studying sword today? How come you have time to come here?" Morax asked.
Zayn grinned.
"It's not like I have to study every single day. Today is my day with Qingxu. What? Am I interrupting your elderly leisure time?"
"Haha, of course not," Morax replied mildly.
Zayn got straight to the point.
"Morax, don't you think the humans of Liyue… live a little too poorly?"
"Aren't you planning to properly develop your territory?"
Morax thought for a moment, then replied:
"We demon gods should not over-interfere with humans.
If they grow too dependent, they will be unable to survive once gods depart."
Zayn sighed dramatically.
"Yes yes, I know—you want humans to grow by using their own wisdom."
"But someone who doesn't know better might think you simply want to slack off every day and avoid responsibility!"
"I'm only talking about guiding development, not doing everything for them.
Do I look like someone with nothing better to do?"
"A bit of guidance—not hand-holding."
Morax fell silent.
Hearing Zayn's words, he realized that he truly had been… a bit too laissez-faire.
Ah… he excelled in fighting, yes.
But in governance… he was still a beginner.
Which made sense.
He hadn't yet experienced the era of Guizhong.
"How should we guide them?" Morax asked sincerely.
Zayn smiled.
"Let's start with housing."
"Have people gather stones and fell trees. Use them to build sturdier, warmer, more comfortable homes."
"Improving living conditions is the most direct and immediate change."
"And food—right now humans rely only on hunting and gathering. These methods are too fragile."
"Hunting animals will eventually deplete them.
Berries and fruit trees take a long time to grow and produce little."
Morax listened carefully.
Housing he could understand—but food?
He was not Zenos.
Zenos could manifest food at will. Humans could not.
Morax asked, "It is indeed a problem. But aside from hunting and gathering… is there any other method?"
Zayn chuckled.
Morax lacked centuries of accumulated knowledge, while Zayn carried the heritage of Blue Star's civilizations.
"There are other methods. Liyue borders the sea—so it can fish."
"Winter seas here don't freeze. That's a major food source."
"But unfortunately—someone raised a whole mountain to block Liyue from the ocean."
He gave Morax a pointed look.
"Of course, protecting humans from tidal waves wasn't wrong. But still—gain some, lose some."
Zayn muttered inwardly:
Someone kept saying they wanted humans to develop independently—
but then went around clearing all nearby beasts and even creating natural barriers to protect them.
Safe environments soften the will to evolve.
But fine—once the Archon War begins, humans will definitely regain motivation…
Morax lowered his head, deep in thought.
Perhaps he had been too overprotective.
Yet if the mountain hadn't been raised, how would he have stopped the tsunami?
Zayn continued:
"Apart from fishing, there's one more solution—farming."
"You know this, right?"
Morax nodded.
"The mortals attempted it, but growth cycles were long and yields were low.
Eventually they stopped trying."
He had seen it himself.
People transplanted berry bushes and fruit trees into Liyue, but they bore fruit only once per year and in small amounts.
Eventually, the effort died out.
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