Thoughts on the Spirit Realm

Dean Li Yanxi's words detonated like a thunderclap in everyone's ears. Stunned expressions froze on every face, lapsing into dazed silence. There was simply too much information to unpack; they needed time to process it all. Before hearing this, the trainees' impression of the Spirit Realm had been "mysterious" and "bizarre"—lofty, unfathomable, and utterly beyond human comprehension. Yet what the dean had just revealed practically peeled back a corner of that enigmatic veil. To think that the Morality Points binding all spirit realm walkers and keeping them trembling in dread was actually a karma-based item? Not some unimaginable, unfathomable, incomprehensible supernatural force? Past their shock, the trainees found it shockingly reasonable. "So no matter how we try to exploit bugs—whether by controlling others to commit crimes or committing them indirectly—as long as the deed is tied to you, Morality Points will inevitably be deducted. That's because the essence of Morality Points is a karma-based item." Xiahou Aotian muttered, "Following this logic, could character cards also be manipulated by some item of an unimaginably high level of existence? Could it even be that the Spirit Realm itself is constructed from multiple supreme rule-based and karma-based items? "Yuanshi Tianzun said this morning that instances aren't incomprehensible divine powers, but pocket dimensions that even demigod-level spirit realm walkers can create. "Could it be possible that the creator of the Spirit Realm is an individual, or a group of spirit realm walkers of unimaginably high levels? No, not spirit realm walkers—they'd have to be... gods?" "S-stop talking..." a trainee choked out with a contorted grimace. Zhang Yuanqing glanced around and found that practically everyone was suffering a bit of a sanity loss. Only the trainees of the Scholar class wore fervent, thrilled expressions, looking like aged scientists on the brink of a major breakthrough, or researchers struck by inspiration for a thesis. Li Yanxi sipped his tea unhurriedly. It took several full minutes before he set the lid onto the teacup, screwed it tight, and said clearly: "The notion that Morality Points is a karma-based item has yet to be verified, because no one has ever seen its true form. Spirit Realm scholars deduced this based on existing karma-based items. However, this conjecture has already been accepted by the Alliance Masters." *Accepted by the Alliance Masters? So the Alliance Masters know the truth? Or at least part of it...* Zhang Yuanqing mused. In his view, Xiahou Aotian's deduction was hardly wild fantasy. The truth was very likely just that; it was merely lacking definitive evidence. *If Morality Points is a karma-based item, does that mean whoever obtains it can hold the life and death of every spirit realm walker in their grasp?* The critical point struck him in an instant. Once placed on the Spirit Realm's wanted list, a walker's location was exposed. The Spirit Realm's tracking method was presumably the character card—so what item lay behind the character card? "How many karma-based items currently exist?" Zhao Feiwen asked loudly. As a direct descendant of a Scholar clan, he had never even heard of the existence of karma-based items. Li Yanxi shook his head. "That is exceptionally precious intelligence. I cannot answer you, because I don't know either." With that, he looked toward Xiahou Aotian and continued: "Every previous class has pondered the questions our class monitor raised, but it ended at mere speculation. Given your current levels and capabilities, you are not yet qualified to touch the truth. "Personally, I don't want you obsessing over these matters. If any trainee advances to Dominator or even demigod in the future, it won't be too late to investigate then. Furthermore, all knowledge taught in this academy is strictly forbidden from being shared outside. "Once your training concludes and you leave this instance, the organization will have you sign non-disclosure agreements. All right, let's return to the lecture." The trainees cleared their minds of stray thoughts, setting aside the matter of Morality Points to focus on the class. Li Yanxi spoke at an unhurried pace: "An item's potency depends on many factors: level, quality, category, and function. Among them, level and quality are hidden attributes that do not appear in the item description. "The best way to discern an item's level is by looking at its function. An item possessing a Level 5 Saint skill is definitely Level 5. The best way to evaluate quality is whether its function is focused and potent. "To give a simple example: if a Level 5 item can give a Level 5 Saint a severe headache, or even strike fear into them, then it is top-tier. If it merely possesses a single skill of a Level 5 Saint, it is of ordinary quality. "Cost-based items are the most widespread, followed by rule-based items. In our understanding, rule-based items are far more precious and formidable than cost-based ones. Formidable might not always hold true, but precious is a certainty. "What makes rule-based items so terrifying and precious is the rule itself. It cannot be resolved through brute force; only by identifying loopholes in the rule can a rule-based item be overcome." Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing raised a hand and said, "But some rules don't have loopholes." Take the Purple Gold Shield's rule of deflecting any attack, or the rule that once bound to a master, no one else could use it. Li Yanxi smiled. "It seems Yuanshi Tianzun has come into contact with quite a few rule-based items." Instantly, all eyes in the room turned toward Yuanshi Tianzun. Zhang Yuanqing nodded and replied in a placid tone, "About six or seven, I'd say." *Six or seven?!* A muted stir swept through the trainees. Even Dean Li Yanxi registered genuine astonishment, staring at him blankly. *Red Dancing Shoes, the Zoo, Morality Points, the Purple Gold Divine Artifact, the Holy Infant head, and Fu Qingyang. That's about right. Hmm, nearing the Dao through technique is a rule in itself, so Boss counts as an item too. Totally checks out...* Zhang Yuanqing bantered mentally, while asking aloud, "Dean, you haven't answered my question yet." Armed with vast theoretical knowledge, Li Yanxi answered without a pause: "That depends on the specific rule. If it is an aggressive, offensive rule, it will certainly have loopholes. But if it is an auxiliary rule, it indeed may not have loopholes, though it will carry limitations." The trainees looked half-comprehending, but Zhang Yuanqing, with his wealth of practical experience, caught on immediately. The former was represented by the Red Dancing Shoes, while the latter was represented by the Purple Gold Divine Artifact. Binding and defense were auxiliary rules, so they lacked loopholes; their limitations were the death of the owner and the fact that it could only deflect attacks from the front. "I understand," Zhang Yuanqing said. Li Yanxi nodded and resumed his lecture: "Item quantities grow scarcer the higher you climb, from Extraordinary to Dominator. There should be trainees present who own more than ten Extraordinary-stage items. Anyone? Raise your hands." Xiahou Aotian was the first to shoot his hand up. Then followed Zhao Feiwen, Zhu Mingxu, Liu Yushu, and the other young masters from Spirit Realm clans. The trainees from grassroots backgrounds cast envious looks around them. As Level 4 Saints, most of them possessed only a single Saint-grade item, while a few didn't even have that. Yet these clan scions of prominent birth held over ten Extraordinary items alone, and surely at least two Saint-grade items. Zhao Feiwen and the others wore proud looks; superiority was born of comparison. "Hands down, please," Li Yanxi called out again. "Are there any trainees with ten Saint-grade items?" Silence fell over the room. "I have three," Zhao Feiwen stated flatly. "I have five," Xiahou Aotian declared, thrusting his chin out proudly. In terms of sheer item hoard, Scholars crushed every other class. "This is the disparity in numbers between Saint and Extraordinary. Even if you reach Level 6 in the future, it will be hard to acquire ten Saint-grade items, barring those from Scholar clans." At this point, the dean looked at Yuanshi Tianzun and teased, "Yuanshi Tianzun, haven't you encountered many rule-based items? Seems your personal stockpile isn't quite as deep. You need to step it up." "He's from a grassroots background, after all," Zhu Mingxu remarked with snide sarcasm. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him, then looked back at the dean. "It's decent. I have a little over a dozen Saint-grade items stashed away, all rewarded by headquarters. Too many merits to spend, after all." The classroom went dead silent. The dean stared at him blankly. "Why didn't you speak up earlier?" Zhang Yuanqing answered earnestly, "Didn't want to hurt your feelings." *Then why the hell are you saying it now?!* The trainees wore complicated expressions, roasting him furiously in their minds. Zhu Mingxu's face twisted into an awkward, unsightly scowl. Xiahou Aotian secretly vowed that once he advanced to artificer, he would craft twenty Saint-grade items, host a private exhibition, and make absolutely sure to invite Yuanshi Tianzun to see it. "Fine, it seems you're an outlier," the dean salvaged what dignity he could before continuing. "Dominator-stage items are even scarcer, so I won't bother asking you." *Ask away! I just happen to have a Dominator-stage item, two rule-based items, and one karma-based item...* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally. "According to data, most Dominators possess only one or two items. On one hand, Dominator items are exceedingly rare; on the other hand, once reaching the Dominator stage, items seldom play a decisive role in battle and generally serve as support. Rule-based items are the exception, though Dominator-stage rule-based items are rarer still," Li Yanxi explained. "The Five Elements Alliance has quite a few elders, but those possessing Dominator-stage rule-based items can be counted on one hand. Spirit Realm clans usually possess one or two, treating them as heirloom treasures." *Does that mean my strategy of winning through items won't work once I reach the Dominator stage? Still, if I can upgrade the Purple Gold Divine Artifact to Dominator quality and assemble the four-piece Heaven Sacrificial set, then when I advance to Dominator, I'll have two Dominator-tier items...* *The Demon Lord should have some Dominator-stage items as well, so scraping together three or four should be doable... They truly are rare; in the entire mythological history of Island Nation, there were only three Dominator-grade items...* Thoughts tumbled through Zhang Yuanqing's mind. Xiahou Aotian said in a deep voice, "I heard that the ten elders at headquarters each possess a rule-based item on average." Li Yanxi smiled. "Which is why they are the ten most powerful people in the Five Elements Alliance. United, the ten elders can check the Alliance Masters. Well, that's material for political theory class. Let's return to item categories..." Time slipped by. The rest of the lecture covered item classifications, the characteristics of cost-based and rule-based items, the essence of items, and other related topics. At 3:30 in the afternoon, the item categorization class concluded. The next session was "Particulars of the Various Classes," scheduled for 5:00 p.m., leaving an hour and a half of free time. Brother Red Chicken bellowed, "Afternoon tea time! I propose we hit the cafeteria. Any brother willing to treat?" Hearing this, Xiahou Aotian immediately remembered Yuanshi Tianzun's trick from yesterday. Determined not to fall into the same pit twice, he struck preemptively: "I propose Yuanshi Tianzun treats us!" His suggestion met with unanimous approval from the official Saints, and everyone began hooting in encouragement. Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment and accepted nonchalantly. "I'll treat everyone to barbecue, and we'll throw in some drinks. This afternoon's cafeteria tab is on this Tianzun!" A roaring wave of cheers broke out. Seeing this reaction, Xiahou Aotian realized on the spot that something was wrong. *Wait, this isn't right—how does it feel like I just boosted Yuanshi Tianzun's prestige?* He marched up to Yuanshi Tianzun, stared him dead in the face, and scoffed: "At this cafeteria's prices, treating all the trainees to barbecue and drinks won't cost a cent less than two to three hundred thousand yuan. If people gorge themselves, it'll be even higher. Well? Regretting it now, aren't you?" Zhang Yuanqing gave him a sideways glance. "It's not like I have an eighty-million-yuan debt to pay off." A single sentence had a grown man fuming with rage. Xiahou Aotian gritted his teeth and snarled, "I'm going to eat you broke! I'll eat two hundred thousand worth on your tab alone!" Zhang Yuanqing smiled faintly. "No, it's not my money. Miaomiao, come here~" Sun Miaomiao, who had been about to head out with Peony Fairy and the others while cradling the infant spirit in her arms, came skipping over. "Is Little Doubi cute?" "Cute to death!" "You're covering today's cafeteria expenses." "Huh?!" "Not willing? Then give him back to me." "N-no..." "Then you foot the bill. Any problems?" Sun Miaomiao nodded with a tearful whimper. "O-okay..." Zhang Yuanqing turned back to Xiahou Aotian and patted his shoulder. "Eat to your heart's content. Just don't upset your stomach. Fangshi have frail constitutions; watch your gut health." In one stroke, both a man and a woman were left weeping over him! At 5:00 p.m., the trainees returned to the library pleasantly buzzed and took their seats, their lips glistening with grease. Everyone had grown far more familiar with one another, bonds of friendship quietly forming. Banter flowed freely, and playful ribbing offended no one. Zhang Yuanqing had made several new acquaintances: Sanyang Kaitaitai, who had suffered social death on the pleasure boat yesterday, along with his Swordsman friend Ren Junzi; the gentle Plague God Xia Chaoxue; Xie Lingxi's distant cousin Xie Lingzhou; Liu Yushu from the Scholar clan Liu family; and a whole host of official Saints. Naturally, there were also those on bad terms, such as Zhao Feiwen and Zhu Mingxu, who hadn't attended afternoon tea. Both harbored deep grudges against Zhang Yuanqing; any friendly association was virtually impossible. In Xiahou Aotian's words, they were villains—and cowardly villains at that, since they hadn't jumped out to pick a fight. Xiahou Aotian had also mentioned that on their very first night at the academy, the two had visited him together, attempting to recruit him into ostracizing and targeting Yuanshi Tianzun. Upon hearing their plan, Xiahou Aotian had lavished praise on their idea and suggested, "You two go deal with Yuanshi Tianzun right now, and it'd be best if you killed him." Hearing that, Zhu Mingxu and Zhao Feiwen were overjoyed and asked, "Brother Xiahou, you hate Yuanshi Tianzun that much too?" Xiahou Aotian had replied, "No, because then I can jump out and suppress you both, rescuing an important supporting character and making him bow his head in allegiance to become my loyal hound. That's how it's always written in books!" Friend, important supporting character, protagonist's lackey! That was Xiahou Aotian's role assignment for Yuanshi Tianzun. Dean Li Yanxi glared with a sullen face at the tipsy trainees, speaking in a stern voice: "There aren't many rules in this academy, and none of you are children. But maintaining a proper state during class is the most basic respect you can show a teacher... Who is snoring?" "Huuuuurgh... snore..." Xiahou Aotian immediately called out, "Dean, his name is Brother Red Chicken." The dean drew a deep breath. "The class monitor is responsible for maintaining order in the classroom. Wake him up." Xiahou Aotian finally seized an opportunity to show off. Raising his hand, he summoned a rifle and took aim straight at Brother Red Chicken. The trainees beside him paled in horror and leaped forward to tackle him to the floor. "Class monitor, calm down! Calm down!" The dean roared, "I told you to maintain order, not carry out a massacre!" As a Swordsman, he had long realized that this Xiahou Aotian looked for every waking moment to show off and steal the spotlight. Ten minutes later, Xiahou Aotian and Brother Red Chicken were standing by the lectern in punishment. Handing a thick stack of A4 papers to Zhao Chenghuang, the dean instructed: "Hand these out." The old dean looked left and right and concluded that Zhao Chenghuang was still the most dependable and steady of the lot. Zhang Yuanqing was the first to take a sheet. Looking closely, he saw that it listed all the spirit realm walker classes across the two major districts.