Chapter 128: An Era Beyond Rotten
Sensing An Jing’s subtle expression, Nian Quan hurriedly waved his hand and said, “Please don’t take offense; I mean no harm… It’s just that this question is basically common knowledge in the city. If you don’t know it… then you must be a barbarian.”
He lowered his head, staring at the table. In a rather complicated tone, he spoke softly, “Because the certification for one’s spiritual root requires money.”
“…Isn’t it tested at birth? I see you already know you’re a Heavenly Spiritual Root.”
An Jing seemed a bit puzzled, so Nian Quan expined in detail, “Yes, I really am. The identification is free, but the ‘certificate’ isn’t. If I want to receive subsidies or attend a higher academy, I have to get two official documents from the Central Hospital and the General Political Bureau.”
“One document proves that my spiritual root is intact, that I’ve never had any severe illnesses in these past dozen or so years that might have lowered my spiritual root’s rank, and that I am still a worthy cultivation prospect of Xuanye City.”
“The other document proves that I ‘still have my Heavenly Spiritual Root now.’ It essentially stamps approval on that first document, making it legally effective. This one is the most important. Without it, no academy or company would give me any advantage for having a Heavenly Spiritual Root.”
—That’s too absurd!
Hearing this, An Jing still found it difficult to believe. “Certification? A Heavenly Spiritual Root?”
“You’re not joking right now, are you?”
“No… You’ve misunderstood.”
Seeing An Jing’s reaction, Nian Quan sighed. He grew even more certain that the other person was an inexperienced barbarian genius. “It’s actually easy to understand. The rules inside the city are different from those outside.”
The boy looked somewhat dejectedly at the lines on his palm, then shook his head. “In the wilderness, a tribe’s popution is small, and resources are scarce. When a genius appears—even if they aren’t of the same bloodline—it’s extremely important.”
“The tribes in the wilderness need a genius to lead them and help them survive assaults by evil monsters, strange monsters, and demonic human bandits. So as long as someone shows talent, they don’t need to prove anything. They are a genius—an asset.”
“But in Xuanye City…”
He ughed, tinged with self-mockery. “There are way too many talented people here. A Heavenly Spiritual Root—what does that amount to?”
“If you have talent, does that mean you’ll be valued? That you’ll catch the eye of some lofty master who’ll take you in as a personal disciple? Shoot straight to the top and reach the pinnacle of life? How could that be?”
With a quiet chuckle, Nian Quan, calm as still water in a pond, began to speak. These were likely words he had contempted hundreds or thousands of times in his heart: “Why would those True Persons and high-level cultivators take me as their disciple and pass on the Dao techniques and secret arts they’ve cultivated for centuries or even a thousand years, granting me their true profound teachings?”
“Am I their son or retive? Am I the offspring of some superior or benefactor they owe? Or do I carry some noble bloodline that has returned from ancient times?”
“What reason do they have to let me embark on the Dao, become a great cultivator, compete against their own children, and either become their enemy or someone they have no choice but to treat as an equal?”
“Yes, a Heavenly Spiritual Root requires fewer resources. But precisely because their own children don’t have one and resources are limited, they have all the more reason to focus on the geniuses of their own family.”
“My mother always thought she simply didn’t have enough money to get me the documentation to prove my talent, and that’s why I couldn’t get a direct recommendation to the Nine Profound First High School. But in reality, which student or teacher doesn’t know that First High School only takes the Immortal Cn’s progeny—or at worst, children from humble families whose ancestors once attained the Purple Mansion realm?”
“I’m just a Heavenly Spiritual Root from the Lower City District. I don’t even have enough spiritual energy for daily cultivation, let alone any pills or Spiritual Artifacts for support. Even my family’s inherited cultivation technique is nothing but an eye technique. How could I possibly study alongside them?”
Saying this, although Nian Quan’s voice remained calm, a deeply buried despair could be heard. “Heavenly Spiritual Root, extraordinary aptitude—does that make me so special? Even if I’m bright, quick to learn mystical arts, and adept in Dao skills, will I automatically receive resources? That’s downright ughable.”
“The world is vast; when has it ever been cking for talent? What’s cking are opportunities and resources. Those things have never been in abundant supply—and they certainly won’t go to me.”
“My mother… truly… didn’t have to work herself so hard.”
“I know that the reason she was taking risks was to save money for me… but really, really, she didn’t have to push herself to that extent. It’s useless… I only wanted us to live together in peace…”
Nian Quan did not shed any tears. He merely covered his eyes with his arm, choking up momentarily.
The boy who had seen through everything early on understood from the start that this was probably what he had long wanted to tell his mother. But because of her hopeful gaze and her face filled with anticipation, he couldn’t bear to shatter her hopes. Therefore, he kept it all bottled up.
But before that pent-up emotion could be released, that hope turned into a death warrant for his mother.
Nian Quan even felt hatred… hatred for himself for possessing a Heavenly Spiritual Root that gave his mother such hope, driving her to take desperate risks.
“I see.”
And An Jing began to understand a bit.
The Tianyuan Realm had once been a grandly flourishing Immortal Cultivation Realm. All sorts of cultivation methods and lineages had been highly developed, never cking in secret or mystical arts, to the point where the unimaginable goal of “universal cultivation” had been achieved—everyone could cultivate.
Even if someone didn’t have a spiritual root and thus couldn’t refine qi or possibly establish a Foundation, they could still train in vital essence, strengthen their bodies, and live for two sixty-year cycles without difficulty. This was the stage of most people in the Tianyuan Realm, and it still counted as cultivation in a broad sense.
But after the World Tribution, everything colpsed, Demonic Qi spread, and resources of every kind became scarce.
Yet, the number of people with a spiritual root didn’t decrease at all.
Rather than seeking more geniuses to bring into your own faction in order to grow it stronger, it was far more imperative to take care of your own spiritual-root offspring and secure your family’s standing in this post-tribution world.
This was no longer a world where you competed over “who is better.”
This was an era that had fallen into “competing in mediocrity.”
“How disgusting.”
An Jing and the Sword Spirit spoke in unison, man and sword resonating strongly.
“No, no, no, this is actually quite normal.” Nian Quan, thinking that An Jing was outraged on his behalf, quickly raised his hand to pour him some tea. “I’ve spoken too freely for someone you barely know… just forget I said any of this.”
Meanwhile, the Sword Spirit was conversing with An Jing in private.
“Leave him a chance at fortune?” An Jing wondered in his mind. “What do you mean? Help out this Heavenly Spiritual Root? I don’t mind that. His mother and he himself do indeed share some affinity with me; they even gave me some money. But my own spirit stones aren’t enough… and giving him money would only hurt him in the long run. At most, I can leave him a few talismans for self-protection.”
“He doesn’t need spirit stones. That’s not what he’s cking.”
The Sword Spirit shook its head. “You’re the Swordbearer; naturally, resources go to you first. Indeed, this young man’s thoughts aren’t wrong. In an era where resources are scarce, people distribute them based on closeness and distance, just like how I put your development as the absolute priority.”
“The state of the Tianyuan Realm is certainly mentable, but it does align with the ws of Heaven and Earth. Unless you share the same bloodline, in these chaotic times, who can trust that an outsider genius won’t consume all the resources and then switch allegiances to someone else?”
“I’m just wondering, An Jing.”
Sword Spirit Fuxie spoke in an unprecedentedly serious tone. “Your Seven Fiends Celestial Fate—that Fate which is destined to overturn the world and plunge it into turmoil… could it be used in this area?”
(End of Chapter)
