Ye Xuan returned to the existing universe with Qingqiu and the other two women.
Midworld.
Now, Midworld was the most powerful place in the existing universe, home to not only the super powerhouses of the Guanxuan Academy but also the gathered elites of the Yang Clan!
In a garden, Ye Xuan strolled slowly with Qingqiu.
Curious, Ye Xuan asked, “Lass, who was that man earlier?”
Qingqiu was silent for a moment, then said, “A very special person!”
Ye Xuan looked at her, “Special?”
Qingqiu nodded slightly, “He has a unique connection with the Master of the Great Dao Pen!”
Ye Xuan said gravely, “Is the Master of the Great Dao Pen on our side?”
Qingqiu thought for a moment, then said, “For now!”
For now!
Ye Xuan shook his head with a smile, “So, maybe not later?”
Qingqiu nodded.
Ye Xuan fell silent.
He was still wary of this Master of the Great Dao Pen.
Qingqiu suddenly asked, “Brother, you’ve reached Thousand Tribulations Realm?”
Ye Xuan nodded, smiling at her, “And you haven’t?”
Qingqiu snapped her fingers.
*Boom!*
In an instant, she reached Thousand Tribulations Realm!
Ye Xuan’s expression froze.
Qingqiu blinked, “Impressive, right?”
Ye Xuan shook his head with a laugh, rubbing her head, “Not just impressive!”
Qingqiu smiled, then said seriously, “Brother, did you see that man from the Boundless Tomb earlier?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
Qingqiu nodded slightly, “Don’t underestimate him!”
Ye Xuan’s expression grew serious, “Why?”
Qingqiu was silent for a moment, then said, “Just don’t underestimate the Boundless Universe. If I’m not mistaken, those three won’t appear again anytime soon!”
Ye Xuan was still puzzled, “Why not?”
Qingqiu smiled, “Because they want you to break free of these rules, the order and rules set by the Master of the Great Dao Pen! But they know, with their help, you’ll never break free! So, you have to rely on yourself!”
Break free of the rules!
Ye Xuan asked, “What happens if I break free?”
Qingqiu blinked, “I won’t tell you!”
Ye Xuan was speechless.
Qingqiu giggled, “Brother, I’ve got things to do!”
With that, she turned and left.
Ye Xuan stood in silence, feeling a vague unease.
After a moment, he shook off his thoughts and turned to see a middle-aged man nearby, Zhang Shi.
Zhang Shi gave a slight bow, “Dean!”
Ye Xuan glanced at him, smiling, “Void Realm?”
Zhang Shi nodded, “I’ve been training in the Small Pagoda lately.”
Small Pagoda!
Ye Xuan opened his palm, and the Great Dao Pen appeared, given to him by Qingqiu earlier, though the Small Pagoda hadn’t been returned yet.
Since the existing universe needed to train many powerhouses, they relied on the Small Pagoda.
Ye Xuan examined the Great Dao Pen, then asked, “Little Pen, how much do you know about your master?”
The Great Dao Pen was silent for a moment, then said, “Quite a bit!”
Ye Xuan pressed, “Can you tell me?”
The Great Dao Pen replied, “Afraid not!”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened, “Why?”
The Great Dao Pen said calmly, “Because I don’t want to get beaten!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
The Great Dao Pen added, “You’d better focus on improving your strength! You’re strong now, but your opponents are too, and as Qingqiu said, the three swords might not show up soon. You’ll have to rely on yourself more! Got it?”
Ye Xuan nodded after a pause, “Got it!”
He turned to Zhang Shi, “Tell me about Midworld now!”
Zhang Shi respectfully said, “Alright!”
While Ye Xuan was away, Midworld had changed drastically with the Yang Clan’s addition.
The Yang Clan brought wealth and manpower, and with Immortal Treasure Pavilion’s frequent sponsorship, Guanxuan Academy was growing at lightning speed. Its branches were spreading across the heavens and universes!
However, Qingqiu and Ding Shaoyao hadn’t opened too many branches due to limited manpower. Starting an academy required not just recruitment but management, and poor management could cause big issues.
Both Qingqiu and Ding Shaoyao personally handled selecting administrators.
Learning about the existing universe’s overall strength, Ye Xuan’s expression grew heavy!
The strongest here were undoubtedly An Nanjing and Qingqiu, but below them, the existing universe couldn’t compare to the Boundless Universe.
The existing universe had fewer than a handful of Ten Thousand Tribulations Realm experts, all survivors from the Ten Thousand Clans era.
Ye Xuan learned more about that history, when the existing universe was no match for the Boundless Universe. Without the Master of the Great Dao Pen’s intervention, it would’ve been crushed!
Ye Xuan sighed softly.
He now had to focus on boosting the existing universe’s overall strength!
Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked at Zhang Shi, “Is Qingqiu handling the training of powerhouses?”
Zhang Shi nodded, “Yes, Qingqiu is personally overseeing it!”
Ye Xuan was curious, “How many has she trained?”
Zhang Shi smiled, “Don’t know! Only Qingqiu does! But she needs a lot of money every so often!”
Money!
Ye Xuan shook his head with a smile, then asked, “Do we have enough funds?”
Zhang Shi thought, then shook his head, “We’re expanding too fast, opening academies and recruiting powerhouses, so I’m afraid not!”
Ye Xuan glanced at his storage ring, he had plenty of money, especially billions of Cosmic Veins, great stuff, but not suitable for most cultivators!
Zhang Shi suddenly said, “Dean, you don’t need to worry about money!”
“Hm?”
Ye Xuan looked at him, “Why not?”
Zhang Shi smiled, “Because Miss Qin Guan of Immortal Treasure Pavilion has ordered full support for Guanxuan Academy’s construction.”
Immortal Treasure Pavilion!
Qin Guan!
Ye Xuan’s lips curved, “That’s excellent!”
With Qin Guan’s support, money was no issue!
As Zhang Shi was about to speak, a woman approached.
It was Qin Guan!
Seeing her, Zhang Shi bowed slightly and stepped back.
Ye Xuan looked at Qin Guan, smiling, “Miss Qin Guan!”
Qin Guan sat before him, took a bite of an apple, then said, “Let’s talk about Guanxuan Academy’s construction! I’ve got ideas!”
Ye Xuan nodded, “Sounds good!”
Qin Guan looked at him, “Guanxuan Academy’s construction represents a new order and rules, right?”
Ye Xuan nodded, his main goal in founding the academy was to create a new order to change the universe.
Qin Guan smiled, “To change the universe, you must change hearts, and hearts are the hardest to change! You can’t rely solely on force, because forcing submission will lead to rebellion one day. But no force at all won’t do either.”
Ye Xuan smiled, “Go on!”
Qin Guan took another bite, continuing, “This universe values martial prowess over scholarship. Years ago, people thought studying was useless, so they chose martial cultivation, as strength was everything! We must change that. I looked into your Academy of Letters, it’s great, but you should give them higher status and authority…”
She thought, then added, “Like a prime minister in the secular world, a scholar commanding both civil and martial officials.”
Ye Xuan said gravely, “You mean let the Academy of Letters hold some military power?”
Qin Guan shook her head, “No! If they hold military power, they might clash with the Martial Academy! I mean give them status, lofty status. Take your Academy of Letters’ head, the Scholar Sage, he’s the head, but his authority compared to Qingqiu’s is miles apart.”
She opened her palm, and a thick ancient book floated to Ye Xuan, “Take a look!”
Ye Xuan was curious, “What’s this?”
Qin Guan smiled, “A cultivation method I wrote, called *The Canon of Confucian Divinity*. A new cultivation path for scholars, not cultivating mystic energy, but literary aura! With literary aura, poetry can kill, words can destroy armies, and essays can pacify the world. The stronger the aura, the stronger the person. For example, the Saint Realm in this method, if reached, allows one to destroy hearts and souls with a word, or command reality with speech, shaping the universe with a stroke.”
She smiled faintly, “I know scholars don’t like cultivating, or lack talent, but this method solves that. To grow stronger, they don’t need to cultivate, just study and deepen their knowledge. In other words, for them, studying *is* cultivation.”
Ye Xuan opened *The Canon of Confucian Divinity* and, after a moment, his expression grew solemn. He looked at Qin Guan, “Miss Qin Guan, I admire few people in my life, but you’re one of them, you’re incredible!”
Qin Guan giggled, “Don’t be shocked, just basic stuff, hehe!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Qin Guan added, “Once this method spreads, scholars will see studying has value, and no one will say ‘scholars are useless’ anymore. Most importantly, this book can gauge their knowledge, the higher their learning, the stronger their aura, and the higher their realm.”
She set down her apple, saying, “Only when more people in this world study and read good books can this universe change. We need more true scholars to help transform it.”
She suddenly looked at Ye Xuan, smiling, “I think ‘existing universe’ sounds awful, why not just call it the Guanxuan Universe? What do you think?”
Ye Xuan thought, then nodded, “Works for me!”
…
