Chapter 762: Worldly Affairs

Today, the biggest change in the world is not the rise of the stars and the moon, not the return of the ancestors, and not even the killing of the true demon, Xujing.

The real biggest change is that the nine cauldrons have returned to the sky, and there are no more cauldrons.

The absence of the tripod will lead to the fact that the status of the original tripod sects may not be stable. Everyone no longer has a level-appropriate sect-level nuclear weapon, and at the same time, they no longer have the advantage of being able to touch the Tao of Heaven at close range. Everyone’s starting point has become the same, and they all have to perceive the ethereal Tao of Heaven on their own, without any external help.

In Xue Mu’s eyes, this is to some extent a sign of breaking the class system, and everyone has the potential to become a dragon. This should be a good thing, even if it is not good for the Xingyue Sect, but Xue Mu still believes that the atmosphere of a sect and a healthy and positive system are the most important, not a ding.

Even if there is a sect with a ding, it will become like the Xinxin Sect, and it will not be better than the Xingyue Sect without a ding.

When others have the ding, they need to compete for it. When everyone has lost it, they rely on their own governance.

Therefore, Xue Mu did not care about the loss of the Star and Moon Sect’s ding, not to mention the fact that he himself was still half of the Qiankun ding, and the Star and Moon Sect still had a greater advantage than others.

Even the court’s advantage will not change for the worse. The court is still a regime with uniqueness and orthodox legal principles. In the absence of a tripod, the court’s room for maneuver is even greater than before.

So Xue Mu knew that he had not caused his own people to suffer because of his public-spiritedness. He was not a saint after all.

None of this matters.

What really matters is that without the tripod, the external evil spirits cannot be suppressed, and evil spirits may gather everywhere. At the same time, without the tripod, everyone can understand the way of heaven, and the power of the world may rebound to the peak of a thousand years ago. In other words, the current situation may repeat the chaos of a thousand years ago, and the evil spirits will gather quickly and strongly. This is the first problem that needs to be solved urgently.

Xue Mu’s first step was to do something extremely selfish.

He hid this part of the law that belonged to his own soul, not revealing it to the outside world. This is the same as the state of everyone missing a small piece of the Tao for a thousand years. From then on, the Tao became obscure again, and breakthroughs became difficult again. It can even be said that if no one has ever come into close contact with this part of his law, they will never be able to achieve the Tao.

He cut off the path to enlightenment for outsiders. The ceiling of this world is the void.

The shameless thing is that the path of his own people is not cut off, and they can still continue to grow through his dual cultivation. Everyone can achieve the youthful body and long life after unification with the Dao. At worst, they can be forcibly promoted, just like Xu Mucheng…

No one knows that Xue Mu has done such a shameless thing. What people can see is his second step.

He went to the palace.

“…Xue Mu, the Duke of Deer, has gathered martial artists from all over the world to stop the tide on the coast, to stabilize the crisis of evil spirits, to calm the mountains and rivers, to cover the country with his achievements, to be the Grand Tutor and the Prince Regent, to take charge of the affairs of the world…”

“I have been in a hurry for half my life, and I am now 27 years old. I have no descendants, and I am ashamed of my ancestors. The universe should be united, and the two families should be united in marriage. This is the way of the ancients. Now Xue Mu uses the eight clans as a matchmaker and is willing to tie the knot… By the decree of the Empress Dowager, I am willing to make a contract with Xue Mu, the regent, and the good relationship will last forever…”

Eunuch Li read out the edict, and Xia Hou Di sat on the dragon throne, his face obscured by the crown and his face flushed. The bigwigs in the court looked straight ahead and said nothing.

Since ancient times, there have been emperors who marry women, but they are called “inviting a son-in-law,” not “marrying down” or “joining in marriage.” There is a big difference between the two.

What the hell is the eight-clan matchmaker? The Empress Dowager decrees that you two don’t need any formalities in your relationship. Just say he’s your husband. Who has any objections?

In this play, the most important thing is actually Xue Mu’s responsibility to “control the affairs of the world.” After all these years of change, the “literary” way has finally taken a dignified place in the political core, becoming an extremely important official orientation in the world.

Xue Mu sat comfortably next to Xia Hou Di. He was satisfied with the title, and he was finally no longer a eunuch… If he had been made the Prince of Guangyang, he would have really suspected that the position was malicious towards him…

Now it seems that this position is still very kind to him…

“The so-called world of literature is not something that affects everyone’s fundamentals.” In the midst of the attention, Xue Mu smiled kindly: ”It’s just that I think the existing system for selecting officials is a bit lacking. You see, such an outstanding talent as I was almost beaten into the lowest class back then. This is not good, right? Some reform is needed…”

People looked at him expressionlessly, saying that changing the official selection system would not affect the fundamentals of everyone…

“First, we should set up a unified examination for officials. The examination questions will be set by the imperial court, and the questions will cover the current policies, local governance, disaster response, and other measures. Then, the examination papers will be reviewed by all of you, and the ranking will be determined… Of course, this will not have a major impact on everyone’s fundamental interests. Everyone is a family heirloom for thousands of years. How can the average person compare with you…

Everyone was silent.

They knew that this was not entirely the case, but the situation was stronger than the people, and now no one could argue with the combination of Xue Mu and the tyrant, so they could only listen obediently.

“In addition, there are various subjects, such as the art of magic, the art of calculation, the art of medicine, the art of forging, business circulation, and so on. These are all techniques that benefit the people’s livelihood, and we should vigorously promote and encourage research. The best of them will be rewarded with high-ranking officials and titles.”

The officials looked at Li Yingqing, who was smiling. It was clear that he had already passed the test.

“There is also the way of teaching and reforming, loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness, the foundation of human beings, and it is up to the major sects to teach and reform the local areas themselves? Alas, I’m not saying bad things about them, what else can they do besides fight? This requires us to work for the court, right? We need people who can write, people who can speak well, to spread the local area, to teach morality… stage plays are good, even writing fables to teach children is good…”

In the eyes of the people, this is definitely Xue Mu’s selfishness, but just like this, many people began to ponder. It’s good to have selfishness, so you won’t go too far, and you still need the support of others…

In fact, in today’s martial arts world, everyone can’t beat the major sects, but if Xue Mu’s many points are combined, it will allow the world to stop focusing on martial arts, which may really be more beneficial to the court’s rule.

It may not be bad for them either. Xue Mu was right. The deep-rooted strength of each of the thousand-year-old clans is extremely strong. No matter what direction the talent is, they can be trained to specialize, and this starting point is higher than others.

At the same time, these measures also have a great restraining effect on the rate and intensity of the growth of evil spirits in the world.

This is the general trend of the times, and not a few people can resist it.

Xiahou Di said, “I will establish a special department to eliminate evil spirits, which will be dedicated to the affairs of evil spirits in the world. Both the righteous and the evil will work together to maintain world peace. Those who violate this will be punished by both men and gods!”

The court has set the tone, but the major clans are in pain.

If these things really flourish in the world and guide the trend, their influence will really decline. Mu Jianli and Mo Xuexin don’t care. As Xue Mu’s own people, they will definitely have a lot of favoritism, but what about others?

Unless they use force to do something… But in terms of force, the two Daoist towns of the Xingyue Sect are there, and Yuan Zhong also knows that they actually have three Daoist towns… What the hell…

There is only one way to maintain the immortality of the sect—in fact, this method was agreed upon by Wantian and Yuan Zhong long before the battle with the evil spirits.

That was the first trick that Xu Jing played, and they felt that it was the most suitable path for their future: based on the teachings, they would become the state religion and be officially promoted.

Of course, this would mean licking the toes of Xia Hou Di or Xue Mu, otherwise, not to mention the state religion, it would be a good thing if it wasn’t turned into a cult…

Fortunately, Yulin and Xue Mu were close, and Yuan Zhong participated in Meng Huan’s rescue, so their relationship was still very basic.

“So what about me?” In the Xingyue News Agency, Leng Qingshi looked at Xue Mu quietly: ”You kidnapped me and forced my father to fight… Yes, my father ended up having the opposite effect, but this is also your fault for not coordinating. Should I, Leng Qingshi, also die? Should the Natural School also decline from this point on?”

Xue Mu looked at Leng Qingshi for a long time before saying with a strange expression, “Why would your school decline? It is clearly a school that is qualified to be the most powerful in the world, much stronger than the Buddhist and Taoist schools…”

Leng Qingshi was stunned for a moment: “What does this mean?”

“If the trend of promoting martial arts is suppressed, and the era of civilization and development is the theme, the population will surely increase dramatically. There is still enough food now, but what about the future? Your school has both the techniques of animal husbandry and animal power, as well as the techniques of plant cultivation and species improvement. Isn’t your school a holy one, and everyone worships it? Those who have holes in their brains play conspiracies and engage in power struggles, all of which are their own doing.”

Leng Qingshi was silent for a long time, then stood up and bowed: “I have gained some insight. Thank you for your advice. I will take my leave.”

Xue Mu looked at Leng Qingshi’s departing back, and he knew that he and the Natural Gate would eventually have a grudge to settle. But it didn’t matter. No one is loved by everyone. As long as the world can go as he imagined, then it was not in vain.