National Division

Chapter 67 An Immortal Among Men, the Pinnacle of Martial Arts!
Qilin Pavilion, second floor
Led by Zheng Guanying, Shen Xian and Xue Zhihua arrived at a reception area on the second floor. A minor official served them fragrant tea and then stepped back to wait for them.

Zheng Guanying explained: "The Qilin Pavilion has seven floors. The first floor is where the officials work. The second floor is where the Pavilion Master and the Academicians work. The third to sixth floors contain martial arts techniques and manuals for the first to seventh realms of martial arts. The seventh floor contains portraits and biographical records of the founding emperor and the founding nobles of our Great Jing Dynasty."

Shen Xian looked thoughtful, thinking to himself, "They even have techniques for the seventh realm?"
Hmm, wait, what's a seventh-realm martial artist called again?

"This, Lord Xue should know, the portrait of your ancestor, the Duke of Xue, is on the seventh floor." Zheng Guanying's face was full of smiles, and his tone was somewhat ingratiating.

Shen Xian asked, "Since the cultivation technique is so precious, what guarantees are there for safety within the pavilion?"

Before Zheng Guanying could speak, Xue Zhihua chimed in, saying, "There's no need to worry about anyone stealing the rubbings of the cultivation techniques in the pavilion. When the Qilin Pavilion was first built, a True Immortal of the Ninth Realm set up immortal restrictions, prohibiting all immortal martial artists from fighting within the pavilion. The Empress holds the key to unlock it, which only an emperor can possess, and she distributes secondary keys to the Pavilion Master Scholar. The Pavilion Master Scholar then gives twelve sub-keys to twelve evaluators, who can only travel to different areas. Most of the cultivation techniques in the pavilion are Buddhist martial arts, and there are not many Taoist martial arts that emphasize health preservation. Moreover, the martial arts manuals of the sixth realm and above are seriously missing, scattered, and have errors. The true original texts are still elsewhere."

Shen Xian asked, "A rubbing?"

But thinking about it, it makes sense. People in the martial arts world regard martial arts techniques as the foundation of their livelihood. How could they easily give them to the royal family? Let alone display them openly in the Qilin Pavilion?
Besides the Buddhist martial arts manuals collected from destroyed mountains and temples, it's likely that the founding nobles and upper echelons of the royal family also took some and hid them in the imperial treasury.

Xue Zhihua said, "For example, the martial art of the Stormy Rain Pear Blossom Spear that my ancestors relied on to become famous, my grandfather once made a copy for the royal family in order to help build the Qilin Pavilion. However, many key points and insights were not explained due to personal understanding, and could not be recorded in the book."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xian understood.

A stripped-down version, you're holding back something, aren't you?
Moreover, if a martial arts prodigy truly benefits the imperial court and cultivates to a certain level, they would need to seek help from the Duke of Xue's household; this is a matter of personal connections.

Of course, it's possible that it's indeed difficult to write clearly. If textbooks were all that was needed to learn, what would be the point of teachers? Libraries would be overflowing with people.

Moreover, truly cutting-edge academic research inevitably originates from academic conferences, which, in the context of the Immortal Path, manifests as small-scale discussions and exchanges.

"A person's energy is limited in a lifetime. If one or two martial arts skills are mastered to a high level, it is enough to dominate the world. Trying to do too much will only lead to failure." Xue Zhihua reminded Shen Xian when she saw him deep in thought.

She knew that the young man in front of her was also a martial arts fanatic, and she was worried that he would get lost in the vast sea of ​​martial arts techniques.

Advanced martial arts techniques also value comprehension, but they are not as esoteric as immortal techniques.

Shen Xian asked, seemingly casually, "I wonder what level of cultivation Duke Xue possesses?"

Before Xue Zhihua could speak, Zheng Guanying, who was standing to the side, stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Old Duke Xue is a seventh-realm immortal, an immortal among men, and the pinnacle of martial arts."

Shen Xian fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

Martial arts only go up to the seventh realm, Human Immortal!
Everything makes sense now. Why is it the Taoist sect that governs the world, instead of the imperial family that gathers the powerful armies of the world and suppresses those who refuse to submit?

Martial arts are inherently for the benefit of imperial power. Emperors may practice martial arts, but they are mostly prohibited from practicing immortality, otherwise it would be a celestial dynasty.

Zheng Guanying explained: "Back then, Emperor Taizu destroyed mountains and temples, collected martial arts from all over the world, and gathered the strength of the founding nobles in an attempt to deduce the eighth and ninth realms of skills and realms in order to seek the Dao of immortality, but he ended up without success."

Shen Xian suddenly realized something and sighed, "Cultivating life without cultivating nature will ultimately lead to nothing."

Of course, he did not believe that martial arts had been cut off.

Zheng Guanying smiled and said, "Therefore, nowadays, many sons of noble families in the capital cultivate immortality techniques."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xue Zhihua without making a sound.

Xue Zhihua chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "For those who follow the path of immortality, the life of a ninth-realm immortal is just like a fleeting dream, a mere illusion. They simply live a few more years."

Shen Xian didn't continue the topic, but asked, "Where are the elixirs and divine weapons?"

Xue Zhihua said, "It's not in the Qilin Pavilion, but it's also in the Qilin Pavilion."

Shen Xian remained silent, waiting for an explanation.

"The Qilin Pavilion has direct access to a blessed land of the royal family. Since you have taken charge of the Qilin Pavilion, you can gather twelve keys to go there and retrieve elixirs, divine weapons, and precious armor. However, it is said that everything inside is under the control of the Vermilion Bird's divine sense." Xue Zhihua said, seemingly with a veiled reminder.

Although the head of the Qilin Pavilion can obtain elixirs, divine weapons, and cultivation techniques, all of this is under surveillance, reflecting a public-spirited approach.

Beneath Shen Xian's sword-like brows, his eyes flickered subtly.

Good heavens! There's even a blessed land...

The royal family's foundation is profound; they are indeed extraordinary. If he hadn't written those two memorials outlining his path to advancement, he would probably still be in Guhe County planning his cultivation techniques and elixirs, completely unaware that such a place existed in the world.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with Guhe County, but Shendu is clearly more open and spacious.

"Wait a moment, I'll take you to the seventh floor and teleport you to the blessed land to retrieve the elixir," Xue Zhihua said softly.

Shen Xian nodded, and then asked Zheng Guanying about the Qilin Ranking.

Most of them were talented young men from Kyoto and martial arts heroes from various schools.

Shen Xian flipped through the Qilin Ranking in his hand and saw that it clearly read: "First in Class C: Yang Lingjie, peak Grandmaster cultivation; Second in Class C: Wei Gao, peak Grandmaster cultivation; Third in Class C: Shannan Road Guerrilla General Wei Fuzhi, peak Grandmaster cultivation."

Shen Xian asked, "Why are the top three only given their names, without any information such as age, background, official position, or place of origin?"

Zheng Guanying explained, "This is a list of names. Yang Lingjie is currently serving in the Right Guard, Wei Gao is a member of the Wei family of Hedong, and Wei Fuzhi comes from a military background."

Shen Xian put down the Qilin Ranking and, under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, pondered for a long while before looking at Zheng Guanying with sharp eyes: "Scholar Zheng, I have a few requests. Please write them down."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Guanying composed himself, quickly took out a notebook, picked up a brush, and began to record.

Shen Xian's clear voice rang out: "All cultivation techniques, pills, and divine weapons used in the pavilion must be recorded in an account book. I will have one book, you will have one book, and the Pavilion Master will have one book. All three books must match. I will report to the Empress Dowager regularly."

Work should be documented and recorded.

Zheng Guanying's expression turned serious, and in a flash, he understood the meaning: "This humble official has awakened."

"Compile the relevant information of those listed on the Qilin Ranking into a booklet and show it to me later," Shen Xian added.

"Yes," Zheng Guanying replied quickly.

Shen Xian said, "We will make Qilin tokens and issue them to those who are listed on the Qilin Pavilion's A, B, and C ranks. They will have the right to view martial arts techniques at a discount based on their subsequent merits, as well as... the right to have their martial arts questions answered. If they wish to join the Jingchong and Zhanyao Divisions, they will be issued a certificate and a waist token after being reviewed by the Qilin Pavilion, and will be granted a Heavenly Merit Salary according to their rank."

This was the authority granted to him by the Empress herself.

Martial arts enlightenment is a paid consultation service that he cautiously provides. He has AI-powered deduction techniques like the Yin-Yang Millstone, and can quickly dissect and analyze any martial arts technique he gets his hands on. His understanding and enlightenment of the techniques far surpasses that of others.

By leveraging the Heavenly Merit System, martial arts talents from all over the world can earn merit for him, greatly increasing the speed at which merit points are harvested, as this is part of the merit platform's commission.

But this requires caution; at the very least, he should try to negotiate with a spiritual treasure like the Yin-Yang Millstone.

Assess the rationality of the institutional framework, and the biggest problem—security.

Will the question of life and death arouse suspicion among those practicing Taoism?
Then... treasures belong to the virtuous, but if there is even the slightest danger, he would rather develop slowly and stealthily.

If the feasibility and safety are high, and one day his cultivation level improves, he can extend his martial arts to the immortal path, then he will be rewarding good and punishing evil, acting on behalf of Heaven!

Shen Xian suppressed the slight turmoil in his heart and waited for Zheng Guanying to write down the above words before speaking: "The pavilion will establish a demon-slaying list. The Qilin Pavilion will recruit students from the Imperial Academy and the National Academy, and together with the Compilation and Translation Bureau, publish a copy of the Qilin Daily, which will be distributed throughout the country along with the official gazette, to make these martial arts heroes famous."

After saying this, Shen Xian looked at Zheng Guanying, who was working hard on taking notes, and said, "Select a clerk from the cabinet, find one with excellent literary talent, and have him by my side to be at my beck and call, in charge of official documents and to review and verify documents so that the superiors can communicate with the subordinates."

After listening, Zheng Guanying felt that the young man in front of him was indeed very organized and clear-headed, and that he also showed consideration for his subordinates.

Xue Zhihua also stared intently at the young man who was giving orders, her clear eyes sparkling beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows.

He is truly a peerless national hero and a talent for governing the world.

It can be said that an expert's skill is immediately apparent upon seeing their work.

Zheng Guanying quickly said, "Scholar Shen, please rest assured, there are many clerks in the cabinet. I will pick a clever one for you later."

Shen Xian stood up and said, "Old Zheng, show me the upper floors of the pavilion first. I need to learn about the books in the pavilion."

From now on, he will be the curator of the Qilin Pavilion and the Martial Arts Library.

(End of this chapter)