Chapter 222: Guidance of a Heaven Rank

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Hehe…” Hearing Zhao Xuanxuan’s words, Su Wen stood up and left.

However, Zhao Xuanxuan quickly walked forward and stretched out her hand to stop Su Wen. She smiled and said, “Don’t think too much. I have a few words that I hope you can listen to.”

Su Wen looked at Zhao Xuanxuan. He wanted to know what else this woman wanted to say.

Zhao Xuanxuan continued, “Your words and actions are far beyond that of ordinary people. It is truly unfair for you to be a servant of the Su Family. If Your Excellency is willing, I can think of a way to help you obtain an official position. With your talent, you can only display it when you serve the country. Looking at how Your Excellency was filled with righteous indignation just now, shouting at Zhao Jingzhi to stop, you are definitely not someone who wants to waste his days. Becoming a slave for others is not a long-term solution.”

Su Wen smiled and said, “Miss, I’m afraid you’re thinking too much. How can I leave after selling myself to the Su family? Don’t you know who the Su family is? My young master’s father is the current prime minister!”

Zhao Xuanxuan said, “As long as you agree, leave the rest to me!”

Su Wen touched his chin and asked suspiciously, “Miss, are you someone who would help me for no reason?”

Zhao Xuanxuan laughed at his words.

“Of course not. You are a smart person. I guarantee that you will make it as an official. However, if I need your help in the future, I hope that you can assist me!”

Su Wen roughly understood the entire picture now…

She was roping in talents.

But… Why would she do that?

She wanted to seize the throne? Or did Zhao Xuanxuan start to side with someone?

In his memory, Zhao Xuanxuan seemed to be closer to the second prince.

Could it be that she had seen the full text of the memorial at the second prince’s residence?

Su Wen’s mind raced.

However, he still refused. “I’m sorry, I can’t agree to this!”

He had no choice. If Su Wen did not need to return to Chu, it would be fine. However, he still had to stay in Chu most of the time. He could not possibly agree to her request.

Zhao Xuanxuan frowned, “Why? Could it be that being someone’s slave for a lifetime is more attractive than being an official?”

Su Wen smiled and said, “I am indeed a servant in the Su family, but according to what Miss said, even if I become an official, I will still be your servant. Then why should I go to another place? In the bureaucracy, if I’m not careful, I will die a horrible death.

I’m a greedy person, and if I’m greedy for my Master’s money, I’ll at most get beaten up because my young master is magnanimous. However, if I embezzle the public’s money, I might even be beheaded. Why bother? Sorry, I’ll take my leave!”

Su Wen walked down the stairs. Zhao Xuanxuan did not stop him this time.

She only looked at Su Wen’s departing back and said with a smile, “What an interesting person. That Su Wen is interesting, and so are the servants in the family… Unfortunately, he was sent to jail by Father! Who asked him to cause so much trouble!”

Su Wen walked on the streets and realized that the citizens were abnormally excited. All of them were talking loudly and clearly about how the war was going smoothly.

In reality, Su Changqing and Emperor Zhou’s methods had worked.

Previously, Su Changqing followed Su Wen’s example and unfolded a ponzi scheme in Yan Country as well. The moment he saw that Yan Country had gotten the upper hand in the war…

Su Changqing immediately got someone to take the money and run away.

With this, chaos broke out in Yan Country.

Inevitably, the soldiers at the front line were affected.

Even their military supplies had been intercepted.

Lu Zhen, who was fighting at the front line, never expected such a thing to happen at the rear.

Together with the two armies clashing, Lu Zhen suffered a huge loss.

They were continuously defeated. In addition, they originally occupied the Zhou Country, so they were not popular with the citizens and were eventually forced back to the northern border.

However, Lu Zhen was still capable. As he retreated, he organized the army and gathered rations himself.

He forcefully defended the offensive and occupied seven of Zhou Country’s cities!

He forcefully stabilized the situation with his own skills!

The Zhou citizens were naturally happy. Of course, they still could not help but curse at Su Wen.

If he had heard this news before going to the Prime Minister’s residence, Su Wen would still be very happy. However, after going to the Prime Minister’s residence, his heart was filled with complicated emotions.

Having grown up in the Zhou Country, it was impossible for him to not have a sense of belonging to the Great Zhou.

However, some of Emperor Zhou’s actions made Su Wen’s heart turn cold.

Although he also knew that Emperor Zhou’s actions might be right on the part of an emperor…

However, thinking about how he could become a sacrifice at any time, this feeling was really not good.

Furthermore, Zhao Xuanxuan’s appearance caused his feelings to only be further amplified.

“If this memorial was leaked before Ji Yuchen died… then there might be more to this matter.”

“The explanation Father gave me is only his subjective deduction. Perhaps something went wrong!”

Su Wen started to calculate. Although Su Changqing had always been very accurate in his deductions, he was still no prophet. He had never been able to predict the future.

But that did not mean that he could control everything.

At the very least, in Su Wen’s opinion, the failure of the Yan Country’s intelligence network was something that had completely exceeded Su Changqing’s control.

Since that was the case, then could every word of his father still be taken as verses in the Holy book?

He was just speculating as well.

But the problem was, how should he find out from Zhao Xuanxuan who she had learnt this tax system from?

Su Wen returned to Chu with such thoughts in his head.

After instructing Zhao Jin, Su Wen prepared to enter the palace.

Zhao Jin drove the carriage to the palace gate. He didn’t even need to stop and directly drove inside.

No one dared to stop him.

Over here, Su Wen was the Nanli King who stood above everyone else and only below a single person.

When Su Wen saw Xiang Feiyan, he did not hide his intentions and directly said that he hoped that Xiang Feiyan could talk to Xiang Ding to give him some pointers.

Xiang Feiyan immediately agreed and brought Su Wen to the depths of the palace.

Even in Zhou Country, Su Wen had never been to such a place.

When they arrived at a secluded courtyard, Xiang Feiyan said, “Fourth Great Grandfather stays here.”

As she spoke, the courtyard door opened and Xiang Ding appeared at the door.

“Fourth Great Grandfather, Daqiang is stuck at the 9th Grade of Earth Rank. I hope Great Grandfather can give us some pointers,” Xiang Feiyan said honestly.

Xiang Ding nodded and said, “Your Majesty, go back first. I’ll talk to him alone.”

“Alright!” Xiang Feiyan moved closer to Su Wen’s ear and gently kissed him before turning around to leave.

Su Wen entered and realized that the courtyard was not luxurious. There was a towering tree with a stone table and four stone stools under it.

There was also a recliner beside it.

At this moment, Su Wen noticed a chess set on the stone table.

And it was precisely the chess game that he had played with Emperor Chu that day.

Noticing Su Wen’s gaze, Xiang Ding said indifferently, “Xiang Feifan is dead, so I took this chess board.”

He sat over and sized up Su Wen. “You’re stuck at the peak of Earth Rank?”

Su Wen nodded.

Xiang Ding smiled. “Actually, breaking through to the Heaven Rank is neither difficult nor difficult.”

Su Wen looked at him expectantly.

He only heard Xiang Ding say, “Heaven Rank is the beginning of a martial artist’s transformation from the heart. To put it simply, it is knowledge and desire.”

“???” Su Wen gave a confused expression.

Xiang Ding explained, “This perception is not a single perception. Firstly, the first is the martial comprehension. The comprehension and comprehension of one’s own martial arts are actually not difficult. Most martial artists should have some insights. However, besides understanding martial arts, one also has to understand heaven and earth.”

“Look at all the living beings in this world. You have to have a good understanding of them, especially things that are closely related to the Heaven Rank cultivation technique you cultivate. Therefore, cultivation techniques shouldn’t be too complicated. The more individualistic the attribute that you cultivate, the easier it is to break through to the Heaven Rank.”

Su Wen felt his head swelling from this information.

Wasn’t this too abstract?

He probed, “For example?”

Xiang Ding smiled and said, “For example, you cultivate a fire-elemental cultivation technique. Then let me ask you, what is the sun?”

“A fixed star!”

Su Wen blurted out without hesitation.

Xiang Ding’s eyes widened. He could not understand this answer at all.

“Shouldn’t the sun be the source of all flames?” Xiang Ding asked Su Wen.

Su Wen explained seriously, “The fire of the sun is different from the fire here. The sun is an explosion caused by internal nuclear fusion, and our fires are conducted through burning oxygen. In essence, it’s not the same.”

Xiang Ding stared at Su Wen with his mouth agape.

After a while, he shook his head and said, “Alright, alright, alright. Let’s not talk about what the sun is. That’s not the main point. Instead, can you be extremely certain of your understanding?”

Su Wen was instantly speechless.

He didn’t know.

To be honest, he could not be sure.

Much of his current knowledge came from a technological civilization. However, after he came to this world, as his strength became stronger and stronger, he began to see things differently. This was especially after his enlightenment of the Flame God Sect, where he had almost transformed into a Vermillion Bird. If the Vermillion Bird could exist, then was the sun still created by nuclear fusion? Or was it actually a Three-legged Golden Crow?

Su Wen would sometimes suspect this.

The two cognitive conflicts showed an extremely obvious difference.

Seeing Su Wen fall into silence, Xiang Ding said in a deep voice, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but no matter what your understanding of this world or the extension of the martial path you cultivate, you have to believe it and believe it with absolute certainty! You’re the correct one! You can’t have even a shred of hesitation!”

He said, “I know that even if I tell you, it will be very difficult for you to do this, but you have to firm up your own understanding and keep repeating it. This way, your martial comprehension will resonate with the understanding of the world, and it will be one of the keys to opening the Door of Heaven and Earth!”

“Self-hypnosis? I must be right?” Su Wen tilted his head and asked.

“That’s right! You can think of it that way.”

Su Wen: “….”

How many normal people could be so confident about themselves in this manner?

If this wasn’t chuunibyou disease, then what was?

Xiang Ding continued, “But that’s not enough. You have to have a desire for power in your heart.”

Su Wen felt like he was going crazy.

What kind of answer was this?

Su Wen couldn’t help but complain, “Desire for power? Who doesn’t want to become stronger? Isn’t that nonsense?”

Xiang Ding smiled and said, “That’s right, but do you think your desire is truly a desire?”

“To put it simply, you want to obtain power, but if I tell you that I will give you an invincible strength, you will die in two hours. Will you take it?”

“Harh?” Su Wen was dumbfounded. “Isn’t that nonsense? Whoever wants it is a fool!”

Xiang Ding said seriously, “However, you have to be able to develop a similar level of desire at a certain point in time. That will serve as the source of your breakthrough to the Heaven Rank! You can understand that under this extreme desire, you will generate an extremely powerful consciousness to support your soul, breaking through the barrier and connecting to the heavens and earth.”

Xiang Ding said, “This is also why people can become Heaven Rank after waking up from their sleep. This is because they thirst for power and firm knowledge. However, some people will be stuck at 9th Grade Earth Rank for their entire lives.”

Xiang Ding looked at Su Wen and shook his head. “Your current battle prowess has completely exceeded that of an ordinary 9th Grade Earth Rank cultivator, but are you showing any signs of breaking through to the Heaven Rank?”

“Even if you continue to cultivate diligently and increase your strength, you will still remain at 9th Grade Earth Rank.”

“Perhaps no 9th Grade Earth Rank is your match, but your chances of winning against a true Heaven Rank expert is negligible.”

Su Wen fell silent.

Xiang Ding patted him on the shoulder and smiled. “That’s also why it’s useless to impart the method to ascend to the Heaven Rank. Even if you understand it, you can’t control your thoughts. Many people have their own nature to doubt. Many people will never have such a strong desire for power in their entire lives.”

“But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You haven’t reached the Heaven Rank yet, so no matter how strong you are, you’re still at the 9th Grade of Earth Rank. If you fight against another country like this, you won’t be restricted and can attack wantonly. When that time comes, you’ll be the greatest weapon of Chu!”

“Heh heh heh!”

Su Wen was speechless. You might be willing to be a killing machine, I don’t want to be one.

No matter how powerful he was, if the other party decided to go all out and send a Heaven Rank expert after him, he would still die. What was the point of becoming a weapon for Chu?

However, he also understood… that advancing to the Heaven Rank meant turning himself into an idiot!

Only then would there be a high chance of success.

However, cursing in this situation was one thing. Su Wen was still helpless against the method needed to promote to the Heaven Rank.

Just like what Xiang Ding had said, some things could not be believed just because you wanted to.

It was just like how some people would stubbornly believe that Earth was flat, but Su Wen would definitely not believe it.

For a moment, Su Wen could not think of any good solution.

Besides, to be honest, what was the point of science? It was in short just a matter of constant doubt.

The smarter a person was, the more they would think.

Su Wen was clearly not a fool. The more he thought about it, the more complicated it became.

“So f*cking annoying!” Su Wen had no way around it.

Moreover, he even said that he had to have a similar understanding of the Heaven Rank cultivation techniques he cultivated?

Great Solar Supreme Policy… Stellar Transposition… and that damned Roaming Dragon Wind Sword!

F*ck!

No matter how you looked at it, the three were not the same type, right?

Furthermore, when would he desire for power…? This was even more nonsensical.

“Is there any other way to break through to the Heaven Rank? If it requires a strong spiritual power… a Spiritual Master?”

He decided that he should go back and ask Ni Hongxiao what the cultivation method of a Spiritual Master was.

He still preferred techniques over blind faith.

After exiting the Xiang Ding’s residence, Su Wen went to Xiang Feiyan’s bedroom.

Upon entering the palace, a palace maid welcomed him and helped him take off his outer clothes.

Su Wen did not stand on ceremony and sat on the dragon couch as if he had returned home.

Xiang Feiyan did not care either.

Or rather, she preferred Su Wen to be like this instead of being respectful to her.

“Fourth Brother came to look for me. He wants to be sent out with a fief!” Su Wen smiled.

Xiang Feiyan leaned against him and panted, “Do… Do you want to… agree?”

“I don’t think we should do so, but I went to talk to your fourth great grandfather just now. I think there’s something I can do.”

“Wh… wh… what is it?”

“We can send troops to attack the Yan Country!”

Xiang Feiyan frowned and said, “Yan… Yan!… Yan Country is probably not easy to fight! There’s… there’s Lu Zhen!”

Su Wen smiled. “But Great Chu has me, right? Right now, I have no opponents below the Heaven Rank. Without the Heaven Rank battling, no one is my match. Get those Heaven Rank experts behind me to make preparations. Didn’t the Yan Country start a Heaven Rank battle with the Zhou Country? If we send troops, how can the Zhou Country just sit by and watch? When the time comes, we’ll attack from both sides! The Yan Country will definitely lose!”

Su Wen smiled and said, “You have just ascended the throne, so the heart of the general populace is still unstable. Everyone is unconvinced. Among the commoners, your reputation is not good. However, as long as you defeat the Yan Country and expand the territory of Great Chu, all your mistakes will disappear. People will sing praises of your achievements!”

Xiang Feiyan laid on Su Wen’s body with an excited glint in her eyes. “Then I’ll listen to you.”

Su Wen continued, “But before that, I have to return to the Flame God Sect. When I return, I’ll put this matter on the agenda.”

“Ah?” Xiang Feiyan was a little reluctant.

In reality, other than returning to the Flame God Sect, Su Wen also had to return to the Great Zhou Dynasty. He wanted to see if there was any inside story behind Ji Yuchen’s death!

Several days later, there were paper letters scattered everywhere in the capital of Great Zhou!

The contents of Ji Yuchen’s memorial were written on it.

Didn’t they call this an explosive mine? Then let it explode even more violently!

There was no one left that could continue the policy anyway.

Su Wen wanted to see if he could blow this whole thing up instead.

He was particularly staring at the palace.

Didn’t Emperor Zhou not want to offend those rich and powerful families? Once this was exposed, even if it wasn’t shit, it would still appear as shit to everyone. They would definitely come looking for the Emperor to seek redress.

He couldn’t explain it to everyone in the world, right?

Even if he wanted to explain, there was no such thing as public relations in those days.

Send out a Royal Decree saying that that they would not enforce the progressive taxes?

This matter would definitely trigger Emperor Zhou’s nerves.

As expected, after the letters appeared, the three princes were summoned into the palace.

Su Wen did not know if the two were related, but he did not dare to confirm who it was.

However, he continued to wait.

As expected, not long after the three princes left the palace, Zhao Xuanxuan’s carriage also went out.

Su Wen followed closely behind.

“Second Brother, I hope it’s not you!”

To Su Wen’s surprise, Zhao Xuanxuan’s carriage arrived at the Crown Prince’s residence.

Zhao Xuanxuan entered and met directly with the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince looked at Zhao Xuanxuan and went straight to the point, “Did you leak the contents of the memorial? Royal Father called me into the palace today, he looked as if he wanted to cripple me!”

Zhao Xuanxuan smiled bitterly, “I did leak it to Su Daqiang, but I only cherish his talent and want to hear his opinion. It might not be him spreading it.”

“Su Daqiang? Who is it?”

“Su Wen’s servant!”

“You! Why did you tell a servant about this?” The Crown Prince said hatefully, “Do you know that once this matter is out, everyone will be anxious? Now, the plan that Father originally planned to continue to attack the Yan Country has been ruined. He has already ordered Wu Kunhu and his son, Yan Luoying and Yan Ze to be transferred back to the capital, instead sending the other generals to the northern border to guard against any internal problems!”

“Father was already unhappy that I killed Ji Yuchen! Now that this happened, he was furious and even specially called the second and third brothers into the palace to reprimand me in front of them! What do you think this means? Isn’t it a warning?”

Su Wen, who was eavesdropping, suddenly developed a murderous look in his eyes.

This guy killed Ji Yuchen?

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