"The Ci Hang Jing Zhai, the Ci Hang Sword Codex... sigh." After using the Wind God's Leg Technique to arrive at the bank of the Luo River, Xu Ziling suddenly let out a soft sigh. If he hadn't learned the true nature of the Ci Hang Jing Zhai from Daniel Davis, Xu Ziling was certain he would have fallen for Shi Feixuan. It was precisely because of this that he didn't want to stay with Shi Feixuan any longer.
It wasn't that he was afraid of developing feelings for her if he stayed by her side, but rather that he deeply disliked the way the Ci Hang Jing Zhai operated, especially their so-called "sacrificing oneself to subdue the demon" tactic, which left a bad taste in his mouth.
Although Xu Ziling had his own romantic ideals, he wasn't a saint. He could accept certain things, like political marriages, but the Ci Hang Jing Zhai's practice of using the "sacrificing oneself to subdue the demon" narrative to justify their actions under the guise of righteousness was simply disgusting.
If it weren't for Shi Qingxuan's presence, which made Daniel Davis hesitant to speak too harshly or exploit the situation in the newspapers, he would have already used the media to expose their hypocrisy.
Thanks to Daniel Davis's modern perspective, Xu Ziling had completely shed the naivety of his original self. If it were the original Xu Ziling, he would have marveled at how the Ci Hang Jing Zhai, as a righteous sect, was willing to make such great sacrifices for the sake of peace.
"Amitabha, Zhenxin has already renounced the world to atone for his sins. As a monk, he is now free from worldly attachments. His past deeds are now behind him."
At the top of the 888 clean stone steps leading to the main gate of the Pure Mind Monastery, a tense standoff was taking place between ten constables from the Six Gates and over a dozen monks from the monastery, all under the watchful eyes of a large crowd of devotees.
"Enough with the nonsense. The evidence is clear—Zhenxin is the murderer who killed the three members of the Tian family. Are you saying the Pure Mind Monastery refuses to hand him over and is determined to shelter this criminal? Let's go in and arrest him!"
Seeing that the monks showed no intention of stepping aside, Constable Zhang, the leader of the group, immediately waved his hand, signaling his men to move in and make the arrest. However, the monks formed a human wall, blocking their path.
"Take action!" Seeing this, Constable Zhang immediately ordered his men to act. At the same time, he swung the iron chain at his waist.
Seeing the constables take action, the other officers also began to move.
"How dare you! The Pure Mind Monastery is not a place for you to cause trouble!"
Before the monks could react, a young monk wielding a long staff suddenly charged forward from the side. With a few swift strikes, he knocked down all the constables, including Constable Zhang.
"Stop, Zhenming!"
Just as the young monk was about to deliver a fatal blow, a middle-aged monk appeared in front of him and blocked the strike.
"Esteemed guests, Zhenming acted rashly."
"The Pure Mind Monastery has quite the nerve, not only sheltering a murderer but also resisting arrest. Let's go and report this to the Chief Constable." Constable Zhang, clutching his broken left arm, glared coldly at the monk who had intervened. Realizing that they couldn't take the criminal back today, he led his injured men away.
"Zhenming, you... sigh. Amitabha." The middle-aged monk watched the constables leave, then turned to the young monk who had struck them. He wanted to say something but ultimately only muttered a Buddhist chant.
"They actually all took action. This is quite unexpected. It seems they're used to being arrogant. I thought they would hold back, so I prepared a lot for this. Now it seems we can move on to the next step."
"Buchi, Buchen, Butan, Buju—the Four Guardian Kings of the Pure Mind Monastery?"
Looking at the information about the Four Guardian Kings of the Pure Mind Monastery, a cold smile appeared on Daniel Davis's lips. He knew a bit about Buddhist monastic names, such as how they often reflected what the monk needed to overcome—like "No Desire, No Anger, No Greed, No Fear."
From the names of the Four Guardian Kings, Daniel Davis could guess some of their past issues. He had tasked his people with digging into their backgrounds.
Even though this wasn't the modern era with its vast networks, investigating someone's past from decades ago was still difficult. However, the Four Guardian Kings were no ordinary figures. To become protectors of the Pure Mind Monastery, their strength couldn't be weak.
While it might be hard to find information on ordinary people in this era, it was different for experts, especially when Daniel Davis made his intentions clear. Zhu Yuyan of the Yin Kuai Sect had mobilized her intelligence network to investigate.
As expected, the four had all been notorious figures in their pasts. It seemed they had been "reformed" and later became monks, eventually rising to become the Four Guardian Kings of the Pure Mind Monastery.
In this era, it was generally accepted that once someone became a monk, their past crimes were forgiven. For example, after Shi Zhixuan became a monk, none of the Four Great Saints pursued him.
But this so-called rule held no weight for Daniel Davis. The law applied to everyone, from princes to commoners. If even princes couldn't escape the law, what right did Buddhist monks have to evade responsibility by claiming they had renounced the world? This was the Central Plains, not India.
"Extra! Extra!"
A new issue of the Great Tang Daily was released, and once again, it sold out quickly. After this issue, the reputation of the Buddhist sects, at least in Luoyang, plummeted to an all-time low.
The newspaper detailed the tragic events caused by the Buddhist sects, sparking outrage among many martial artists. The articles revealed how the Buddhist sects had amassed vast amounts of land through unscrupulous means, with the most common method being forced mortgages.
Combined with the earlier incident in Chengdu and the truth about taxes, the number of Buddhist devotees in Luoyang dropped sharply. The common people didn't care who ruled as long as they could survive. Previously, due to their limited understanding, they hadn't grasped the full picture.
But now, things were different. The newspaper clearly explained, using Luoyang's taxes as an example, that if the Buddhist sects paid taxes, the tax burden on Luoyang's citizens would be reduced to about 30% of its current level.
"Father, didn't you come here to meet the Tang King? Why are you staying here?" In a pavilion within the Dong family's tavern, Song Yuzhi looked curiously at a handsome, middle-aged man sitting on a stone stool, reading a newspaper.
From her address, it was clear who this man was—none other than the Heavenly Saber, Song Que.
"It's simple. I want to see what he's really up to."
On the table in front of Song Que were not only all the issues of the Great Tang Daily but also a stack of books sold on the market, many of which Song Que had annotated.
After finishing the day's newspaper, Song Que pulled out a book from the stack titled Postpartum Care for Sows. This was the kind of book that many self-proclaimed scholars would sneer at, but surprisingly, Song Que found it fascinating. In fact, none of the books in the stack were the traditional Confucian classics—they were all practical guides like Postpartum Care for Sows.
There were books on poultry farming, how to cook pork deliciously, how to establish a ranch, and even explanations of movable type printing. These books were invaluable in this era. Anyone who followed their instructions could, in time, become wealthy.
Daniel Davis could have sold these books at a high price to certain individuals, but he realized that would slow down their dissemination. Since the entire world would eventually be his, there was no need to profit from them. So, he published them freely. Whoever followed the instructions and became wealthy didn't matter—they would still be part of his nation.
For example, movable type printing, which would normally be a closely guarded secret, was released to the public. Without widespread dissemination, spreading culture would be too slow.
The only technologies not released were those related to steelmaking, salt production, and glassmaking. Daniel Davis wasn't opposed to sharing these, but doing so at this stage risked foreign powers learning them. He planned to use these technologies to generate significant revenue.
Salt was a crucial strategic resource. In ancient times, salt and iron were state monopolies. After all, this wasn't the modern era. The Twin Dragons had always wanted to smuggle salt, and the Song Clan's primary income also came from this trade.
Steelmaking was self-explanatory, and glass, in this era, was incredibly valuable, especially when sold to foreign countries. Once glass was introduced, it would undoubtedly become another highly prized commodity on the Silk Road.
"By the way, Father, don't blame Brother for what happened." When it came to her brother, Song Shidao, Song Yuzhi's voice softened. She still remembered how stern her father's expression had been when he first appeared before her and learned of Song Shidao's actions. Song Yuzhi was deeply moved by her brother's devotion, but as the son of Song Que, his actions were unacceptable.
"I've told you not to mention him in front of me." At the mention of Song Shidao, Song Que's expression immediately turned serious, though a closer look would reveal a flicker of helplessness in his eyes.
The Song Clan had four sons and two daughters. Song Shidao was the youngest and, in terms of talent and potential, the best among Song Que's sons. However, he lacked any ambition. No matter how capable Song Que was, there was little he could do about this.
The position of the Nine-Five Supreme was a disaster for someone without the ability to wield it. Song Que's decision to withdraw from his duel with Ning Daoqi might have been influenced by this realization.
"How is Sister doing?" After the incident at Duzun Fort spread throughout the land, Song Yuzhi felt deep anger toward Xie Hui and the Ci Hang Jing Zhai, but she was also very worried about her sister.
At the mention of Song Yuhua, Song Que's expression changed. If it weren't for the fact that Xie Hui and Xie Wenlong were already dead, and the importance of the situation in Luoyang, Song Que would have gone to the Ci Hang Jing Zhai himself.
The Song Clan's retaliation had already begun, targeting the Buddhist sects in Lingnan. No matter how powerful the Buddhist sects were, in Lingnan, they had to bow to the Song Clan's authority.
"Your second uncle has brought her home. You should go back and see her when you have time."
"Then I'll return tomorrow."
Although Song Yuzhi didn't want to leave Luoyang, her sister's well-being was more important.
"So this is the Everlasting Life Skill. The materials are quite impressive."
The Everlasting Life Skill was written on golden silk threads, making it impervious to water and fire. Even a grandmaster-level expert couldn't destroy it. Although the text was cryptic, with the examples of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who had already mastered it, Daniel Davis had figured out how to practice it.
However, it was no longer useful to him, nor could it be widely disseminated. First, mastering the Everlasting Life Skill required innate talent and comprehension. Without these, it was better to practice something like the Golden Bell Cover or the Armor Skill. Just like the multiplication table—many could recite it, but few could apply it with mastery.
In the original story, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had passed down the Everlasting Life Skill to their descendants, who became skilled but nowhere near the level of the Twin Dragons.
Second, the Everlasting Life Skill involved refining essence into energy, making it difficult for practitioners to have descendants. The Twin Dragons, for example, seemed to have no offspring.
However, Daniel Davis wasn't concerned about this. While the Everlasting Life Skill might have contributed to the Twin Dragons' lack of descendants, it was also due to their insufficient strength. With enough power, certain things could be controlled, such as a woman's monthly cycle.
If one reached the grandmaster level, they could significantly reduce or even eliminate this issue. This alone would make many women eager to practice the skill.
"Clan Leader Song, it's an honor to meet you."
That evening, at a barbecue gathering in a mansion near the palace, Daniel Davis met the Heavenly Saber, Song Que, who had come with Song Yuzhi. Upon learning that the visitor was Song Que, everyone present—the Twin Dragons, Wan Wan, Shi Qingxuan, Lu Miaozi, and others—immediately straightened up.
Song Que's reputation, in some ways, surpassed even Ning Daoqi's. While Ning Daoqi was known as the top grandmaster of the Central Plains, Song Que was also a brilliant strategist, military leader, and politician. In these areas, only Shi Zhixuan could compare.
"Tang King, you must understand the consequences of your actions," Song Que said bluntly after exchanging greetings with Daniel Davis.
Daniel Davis, despite his youth, held the title of Tang King, placing him on equal footing with Song Que in terms of status.
"At worst, the entire world will become my enemy. Anyone who resists will be crushed."
Daniel Davis had no regard for the aristocratic families, Buddhist sects, or Confucian scholars. If necessary, he would resort to mass executions until no one dared to oppose him.
These people only cared about their own interests and had no backbone. If they had any principles, China wouldn't have suffered the historical calamities it did. Faced with foreign invasions, these so-called aristocratic families were always the first to surrender—ruthless in internal conflicts but utterly useless against external threats.
He wasn't Ying Zheng, and he wouldn't fail.
Gai Nie once said that Ying Zheng and his empire would fail because Ying Zheng was human but attempted to achieve superhuman feats. This was the reason for Ying Zheng's downfall. In short, because Ying Zheng was mortal, his death would spell the end of the Qin Empire.
(End of Chapter)
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