Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 529 - 30: Who Else but Me

This question from Wang Jiu finally awakened the Academy Cultivators from their daze.

Indeed, how did they become so unknowingly immersed in it? Isn’t that the swordsmanship that people despise and resent the most? What’s so appealing about slaughter and killing? What’s more shameful is that as the battle entered a fever pitch, everything in the Sword World began to operate, and the aura of slaughter nearly overflowed, making everyone subconsciously imagine scenes of mountains of corpses and seas of blood... Yet that bloody scene not only did not repel them but instead stirred a passionate fervor deep within, filling them with a transcendent longing.

This runs counter to the Academy’s long-standing anti-war philosophy.

Even the eloquent Shang Miaoyu was momentarily speechless, feeling ashamed and alarmed at his earlier loss of composure.

Though one could argue vehemently, there are many arguments, such as explaining that they were merely attracted by the opponent’s profound realm, unrelated to swordsmanship itself, and with such mysterious divine techniques, even the animal path could captivate cultivators. Or one might argue that the momentary distraction was just an instinctual reaction, but what sets humans apart from beasts is the ability to control instincts...

But these arguments, in the face of the astonishing projection of the Sword World, seemed utterly weak. After witnessing the opponent’s profound realm firsthand, to continue using sophistry for argument would be to insult oneself.

So Shang Miaoyu didn’t say much, just waited for Wang Jiu to speak first.

"Slaughter is the nature of human civilization. The seeds of violence, inherited from generation to generation since humanity awakened from ignorance millions of years ago, are embedded within each human being. It’s like humans have two eyes and two arms, an unchangeable nature. And this is nothing to be ashamed of. The ability to revere violence shows humanity’s rationality for survival of the fittest, realizing the quickest way to resolve problems—compared to verbal disputes, permanently silencing the opponent is undoubtedly the most efficient means. Therefore, humanity’s instinctual veneration of violence is precisely a symbol of human civilization."

"Nonsense..."

In the Assembly Hall, a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum arose, not from Shang Miaoyu but from her sister, Shang Wuming, skilled in mechanical techniques.

"We never had any violent nature..."

Wang Jiu asked, "Then what did you do when you were bullied as a child?"

Shang Wuming said, "I was never bullied as a child."

Feng Xiaolu nodded earnestly, "Yes, you can’t assume every one of us was ostracized by peers as children. Wuming is from the direct line of the Shang Family. Besides those few blood brothers, who would dare bully her? And those few fools related by blood, after getting pummeled by Wuming’s machinery war chariot... ah."

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Feng Xiaolu dejectedly lowered his head again, almost burying his small face in his chest.

On the other hand, Wang Jiu nodded, "So when bullied by your kin’s brothers, your first reaction was to use your knowledge of mechanical techniques to create machinery war chariots, ensuring a martial advantage."

Shang Wuming was silent for a long time, reluctantly nodding, "But that was just an exception."

Wang Jiu said, "Indeed, it was an exception. Most bookish types in human society, when bullied in childhood, cannot directly retaliate using knowledge of mechanical techniques, herbalism, biology, etc. Transforming knowledge into combat capability is both a talent and an opportunity, not something everyone possesses; thus, it’s easy to become distorted from humiliation, forming the extreme thought of ’learning is noble, wielding a sword is lowly’ in the future..."

"That’s simply groundless extrapolation. Humiliation doesn’t necessarily lead to distortion but instead can make one conscious of shame, gaining courage to continue moving forward and face the future."

Wang Jiu said, "Yet, you now refuse to even face the two-thousand-year-old Sword Manual inherited from your own family, sneering at the misfortune of fellow initiates who dare to try. Such behavior is indeed hard to associate with words like courage and progress."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chenlu was completely certain that Wang Jiu’s rhetoric was certainly inherited from Shang Lanfei. Because back then, when the Nameless Sword God first debuted, he too faced similar questions.

A sword cultivator of humble origin, with no else to boast but his sword, on what ground was he entrusted with such heavy responsibility, and why must the immortal cultivators from many noble family lineages heed his command? Further, why should the world’s resources be gathered to support him in advancing beyond the peak of the Heaven Shattering Realm to touch the other shore?

So many resources that could be used to build the Central State Fortress, preserving humanity’s last hope, or concentrated on crafting the Supreme Immortal Treasure to contend with the Demon Emperor. Even saying, if everything must focus on one person, it should be someone prestigious or knowledgeable from the Myriad Immortals Alliance, why should it be a nameless sword cultivator? Just because he can fight?

Is being able to fight everything? Even if he can fight, could he be more formidable than the Demon Emperor? If mere pursuit of combat power, what difference is there between humans and the Demon Race? If there’s no difference, why not surrender to the Demon Race and live as demon people? Although the Demon Race does not accept prisoners...

In the face of the prevailing public opinion at the time rising in attack, the Jiu Immortal Venerables chose to split up and strike. Zhao Chenlu divided the young members within the Myriad Immortals Alliance, Li Jiulong, Zhu Junsen, and others mobilized their personal connections, ensuring that the traditional forces did not completely oppose them. Then, together with Wang Jiu, they directly engaged the elders of the Myriad Immortals Alliance. At the high-level meeting, it was Shang Lanfei who spoke eloquently and left all the opposing factions speechless and red-faced.

Zhao Chenlu did not attend that debate because she was holding a concert in Qing Province and also did not want to witness her rival shining brilliantly in the debate arena. However, the outline of Shang Lanfei’s speech was discussed with the Jiu Immortal Venerables, and at that time, Zhao Chenlu had even given many suggestions, so when Wang Jiu mentioned it now, she quickly realized it was something Shang Lanfei had said back then.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chenlu couldn’t help feeling complex. On one hand, no wonder Shang Lanfei could single-handedly cause the elders of the Myriad Immortals Alliance to be rebutted until they were flushed and enraged, even laying a solid foundation for a subsequent showdown. After all, the speech outline was the crystallization of collective wisdom, further aided by the captivating swordsmanship of the Nameless Sword God. It would have been surprising if they hadn’t won the debate.

On the other hand, Zhao Chenlu was somewhat surprised by Wang Jiu’s performance.

Although Shang Lanfei had performed a perfect debate crush back then, the past was the past. Now is now; the time, place, and people involved are not the same, yet Wang Jiu was able to cleverly use Shang Lanfei’s past performance to pinpoint the Cyan Lotus Cultivator.

The quality demonstrated in this was distinctly different from the Wang Jiu of prior, who was ignorant of worldly matters.

But this isn’t surprising either.

Wang Jiu’s lack of understanding of worldly matters wasn’t due to a lack of intelligence or a congenital defect. Quite the opposite, his intelligence surpassed most people. Even without any cultivation technique refinement, he could rival Shang Lanfei in terms of intelligence index.

His ignorance of worldly matters was merely because he had not earnestly studied them. With the sword in his hand, he could solve most problems, so why bother wasting time arguing on a lower level? Also, he had too little time to learn about worldly matters. Most of his life was devoted wholeheartedly to swordsmanship cultivation, followed by the bloody and cruel Immortal Demon war. Only after being reborn in Xiangzhou, in a peaceful world, did he really have the chance to learn about the various common knowledge of human society.

Even that process was not too smooth. Firstly, the closest person to him was a 14-year-old who couldn’t even break the Wind Barrier and had a poor relationship with her parents, a flat-chested simpleton. Moreover, the Celestial Divine Sword’s natural allure for the beings of Xiangzhou was too strong, so even if his words and actions deviated from normalcy, it wouldn’t provoke much reaction, making him unaware even if he said something wrong.

Such an environment was indeed not conducive for cultivating worldly understanding, but after a year of prolonged learning, Wang Jiu ultimately grew and learned to draw on past experiences at the right moments, to wholly crush a Cyan Lotus Scholar renowned for his witty remarks.

This growth brought both comfort and a sense of crisis to Zhao Chenlu. If this trend continues, in a few years, the intelligence of the Celestial Sword Spirit will be able to overpower all beings. By that time, it may not be any easier than now to achieve a harmonious love with him...

Time is pressing, action must be taken urgently!

Thinking of this, Zhao Chenlu resolved to accelerate her course of action.

On the other hand, Shang Miaoyu remained silent all along, not rashly responding to Wang Jiu’s question.

After being awed by that magnificent Sword World, Shang Miaoyu clearly realized her extremely unfavorable position now, and the opponent’s debating ability far exceeded her expectations. Opening her mouth rashly would only let him turn it against her, completely locking the situation.

To break through the predicament, the battleground must be shifted. Continuing to argue about the Cyan Lotus people’s attitude toward the Sword Dao was no longer wise, so...

"I admit, the problems you mentioned do objectively exist. Due to various reasons, our attitude towards the Sword Dao is not fair. But pointing out problems is one thing, solving them is another. The psychological problems of hundreds of people in the Academy will not be eradicated by a single display of swordsmanship. Our knots may never truly be untied because they have become the foundation of our decades of cultivation. Yes, we know this is wrong, but knowing the fault and not correcting it is the ingrained nature of human civilization. It’s not necessarily a bad thing..."

Saying this, Shang Miaoyu was practically conceding, which was almost equivalent to admitting defeat for someone as proud as she was.

Yet Wang Jiu had no intention of letting her off and instead pressed forward triumphantly.

"Knowing the fault and not correcting it is only because you lack a strong leader. The transformations in human society have repeatedly overturned all deeply ingrained notions in a short time, so there is no unchangeable problem, only leaders who can’t alter them."

Shang Miaoyu shook her head and said, "Then where is this leader of yours who can change everything?"

Wang Jiu unhesitatingly pointed to himself: "Naturally, right here."