I will be stronger after the remake

"Similar stories of Zen masters exchanging witty remarks involve a young man asking a question to the Zen master, the Zen master making a gesture, and then the young man offering a profound answer based on the gesture. However, the Zen master's intended meaning is actually very superficial, and he didn't think much about it at all—these are the kinds of plot twists that are popular now."

"...Playing the lute to a cow! You really are a cow!"

Uncle Jiang sighed, ignored his daughter, and turned to Tang Ping, saying, "Little Tang, if you have any questions, just ask."

Yu Shujiang protested, "Dad, I am your daughter!"

"This is truly a sad turn of events."

Uncle Jiang shook his head and sighed, seemingly unwilling to accept this reality.

Tang Ping suppressed her laughter, trying her best to maintain a serious expression, and said, "The Treasure Master should be a fourth-rank spirit master of the alchemist lineage, right? But Lingbao Tianzun is one of the Three Pure Ones of Taoism. It's understandable that he doesn't belong to the immortal lineage, but why isn't he a Taoist lineage?"

"Taoists originated from alchemists and absorbed many of their theories and techniques. There is a lineage between the two. Besides, who said I am an alchemist-affiliated spiritualist?"

"That's what everyone's saying. The fifth fourth-tier psionicist is very mysterious. All we know is that he's a sorcerer... Ah!"

Tang Ping instantly realized that it was just a rumor, and no one could be sure of its authenticity. It might even be a piece of false information deliberately thrown out to mislead the enemy.

Seeing this, Uncle Jiang sighed, "If only Shu Jiang were half as quick-witted as you, when you're teaching her, don't just teach her the knowledge in the textbook, but also teach her some ways of thinking. It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish."

Yu Shujiang protested, "Praising Tang Ping is one thing, but why are you putting me down?"

Uncle Jiang ignored him and explained, "The first transformation of a Taoist's spiritual rank is a Taoist novice, the second transformation is a Taoist, and the third transformation branches out. One of these branches is an alchemist, which is the same as the third transformation branch of a magician. So, saying that I am a magician-type spiritual energy user is not wrong in a certain sense, but if others try to interpret this information, they will get a chaotic result that is both right and wrong."

Tang Ping nodded and was about to ask another question when Yu Shujiang raised her hand and said, "I also have a question. One question for each of us. I demand fair treatment."

Tang Pingxin was puzzled. Was Yu Shujiang really such an unreliable person? Shouldn't she be more serious and rigid, like a well-behaved top student?

Could it be due to the influence of Ling Ge?

But Chang'e isn't portrayed like that!

Suddenly, a possibility popped into his mind, and he turned his gaze to the empty teacup.

"go ahead."

Uncle Jiang couldn't ignore the arm that was being thrust in front of him, so he had no choice but to compromise.

“I just checked my phone. According to the Taoist hierarchy, among the Three Pure Ones, Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun has the highest status, followed by Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, and finally Taiqing Daode Tianzun. Does that mean that if someone awakens the spiritual rank of 'Taishang Laojun,' Dad, you will be more powerful than him?”

“The strength of spiritual power is not so simple to compare. Of course, I understand what you mean. Let me put it this way: Lingbao Tianzun may be stronger than Daode Tianzun, but Lingbao Daoren is definitely not as good as Taishang Laojun.”

Uncle Jiang was not ashamed to admit it, speaking in a calm tone as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him: "You should all have heard that the strength of a unique spirit depends on the character's reputation. Many people simply understand reputation as fame, but in fact, reputation includes two parts: fame and prestige. Fame is the level of recognition, and prestige is equivalent to positioning. The latter determines the upper limit of the spirit, while the former determines the strength of the spiritual energy."

Chapter 199 Non-Action and Non-Contention

"Currently, people's exploration of the spirit realm is still too superficial. In addition, there are too few psychics who have awakened their uniqueness. In order to protect themselves, the individuals involved will conceal information, which makes it impossible to form effective statistical data. As a result, the conclusions drawn are like looking at flowers through the fog, seemingly true but not true."

“Low positioning and low fame are two different concepts, and they have different effects on spirit level. The disadvantage of the unique spirit level that the public thinks is ‘being stuck at the upper limit’ is actually determined by the role positioning and has nothing to do with fame.”

"For example, the supreme god 'Tescatlipoca' in the Aztec mythology system is set as the first sun and the god of chaos. He has supreme divine power and can manipulate the fate of others at will. However, the indigenous civilization of the Americas has long been extinct. Not to mention that there are no believers, very few people in the world have even heard of Aztec mythology. Apart from experts and scholars, basically no one will delve into it."

"Therefore, if someone awakens the unique spirit 'Tescatlipoca', theoretically, he can still advance to the fifth level without encountering a bottleneck. However, the extra spiritual energy he gains when he advances to the fifth level is almost the same as the spiritual energy of the first and second levels of ordinary spirits."

"Furthermore, a low reputation can also affect the efficiency of spiritual interpretation. In legend, 'Tescatlipoca' once appeared in the city of Toran as a young warrior, beating a drum and singing a song. Those who heard it were all captivated and couldn't help but dance. People were mesmerized. However, for every song sung and every dance performed, someone fell from a precipice into a deep valley. If an awakened person were to imitate this, they would find that the feedback from interpretation is not as good as the feedback from steadily cultivating spiritual power."

"In contrast, those with low status but high reputation, such as the Black and White Impermanence, have a ceiling of three transformations. If the corresponding Awakened One advances to the third transformation, they will gain unparalleled and powerful spiritual energy."

After Uncle Jiang finished speaking, he made himself a cup of tea, drank it slowly, and moistened his throat.

Although it wasn't her own question, Tang Ping listened attentively and, after processing it, asked, "According to this theory, awakening a unique spiritual personality with a high position but low reputation is actually not a bad thing; it can be used as a general-purpose spiritual personality for cultivation."

Uncle Jiang nodded and said, "Theoretically, that's true. Most mythological systems are spindle-shaped, meaning they are narrow at both ends and wide in the middle. Characters with very low status generally don't even have names, so they are few in number. The same goes for top-tier characters. The vast majority of characters are mid-level characters with neither high nor low strength."

Tang Ping thought for a moment and suddenly came up with a surprising conclusion, saying, "The upper limit for mid-level characters is generally the fourth rank, while the highest level of psionicists in the world today is only the fourth rank. Doesn't this mean that awakening a unique spiritual personality is not as much of a gamble as the public imagines?"

Uncle Jiang said sincerely, "In my personal opinion, if you can awaken a unique spirit, it's better to choose to awaken it. As long as your luck isn't too bad, you won't lose to a general-purpose spirit. Of course, there is an element of gambling involved. The probability is relatively low. In a mythological system, low-ranking characters with names and surnames account for at least 20%. If you are really unlucky, it's best not to gamble."

Yu Shujiang asked in bewilderment, “A 20% probability isn’t high, and it’s definitely worth taking a gamble. But why do people avoid unique spirit types like the plague, as if the odds are even? When I was training at the spiritual energy training base, people always advised me to be very careful in making decisions. If the most suitable spirit type for me isn’t the immortal type, I’m afraid I’ll have to give it up.”

Tang Ping said, "It's very simple. Awakening a unique spiritual personality is equivalent to having another way of interpretation. As a result, the awakened person is stuck at the second or third stage, just like everyone else, and cannot break through for a long time. If they don't want to admit that this is because of their own incompetence, then where should they shift the responsibility to?"

"It can't be that bad, isn't this just deceiving yourself?" Yu Shujiang couldn't understand this way of thinking.

"Feeling like you've won no matter what you do is a skill that only a few people can master, but feeling like it's someone else's fault no matter what you do is a skill that everyone has."

Tang Ping paused for a moment, then continued, "It's easy to get a mediocre student to admit their incompetence, but it's extremely difficult to get a top student to admit their incompetence. The number of psychic is one in ten thousand. When they awaken, who doesn't think they are a chosen one? But getting a chosen one to admit that they are just a lucky mediocre person is a very painful process. If there happens to be a dumping ground for shirking responsibility right in front of them, very few people can resist using it."

"Don't imagine human nature to be so bad. What you said is only part of the internal factors. There are also external factors."

Uncle Jiang brewed another cup of tea for Tang Ping, and then, without keeping her in suspense, said directly: "The Guiling Sect has been fueling the threat theory of uniqueness, and has even used some kind of infected meme to make everyone who hears it subconsciously believe that awakening uniqueness is a very unreliable gamble, and without exploring the deeper reasons."

Seeing Yu Shujiang's blank expression, Tang Ping explained, "The Guiling Sect believes that all spirituality belongs to the Great Primordial Spirit. The awakening of a psychic is equivalent to stealing the authority of the Great Primordial Spirit. If the number of unique psychics can be reduced, the awakening of the Great Primordial Spirit can be accelerated."

Yu Shujiang said thoughtfully, "Could that instructor from the psionic training base who misled me be a member of the Guiling Cult?"

"It's very possible."

While answering, Tang Ping secretly observed Uncle Jiang and found that he was indifferent to the matter.

"Dad, since you know this, why don't you report it to the government?" Yu Shujiang asked, puzzled.

"How do you know I didn't report it? In fact, I mentioned it to the organization three years ago, but unfortunately, none of the fourth-level psionicists in our country are proficient in this skill, so we are powerless to help."

"Ah! Wasn't it said that China's psychic world is the strongest?"

“The strongest overall strength does not mean that we are strong in every aspect. If we let our own country’s psychics and the psychics of the Returning Spirit Cult set up their formations and compete head-on, even if we give them an advantage and send only the same number of people, we can annihilate them in less than an hour. But that does not mean that we can counter their meme infection. Right now, we can only hope that a psychic who is good at this can advance to the fourth level.”

Tang Ping sensed the helplessness in Uncle Jiang's tone and thought that this was probably the difference between psychics and cultivators.

Many powerful figures in cultivation novels are all-rounders, capable of refining weapons, drawing talismans, setting up formations, divination, fighting... They are almost omnipotent, but they may have different strengths depending on the mission setting and be more proficient in one particular skill.

But it's different for psionicists. Even someone like Uncle Jiang, who has awakened the unique spiritual personality of the Three Pure Ones, still won't know what he doesn't know.

Psionicists are gifted individuals, not all-rounders.

Yu Shujiang clearly had a strong sense of patriotism. Upon hearing this, she showed an indignant expression, just like the students who heard about the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia back then.

Seeing this, Tang Ping felt a pang of sympathy, but he didn't want to waste his time and energy venting his emotions, so he asked Uncle Jiang for advice on cultivation.

Uncle Jiang thought for a moment and said, "The Bhikkhu is a relatively common spiritual rank. The relevant essentials of the teachings have been summarized quite comprehensively on the internal network. They are all practical insights left by predecessors. Even if it were me, I wouldn't be able to give better advice in this regard. However, I have some inspiration recently regarding the spiritual power cultivation method. After I adjust the details, you might as well be my tester and see how the actual effect is."

Tang Ping understood; this meant he was going to create his own advanced internal martial arts technique.

Although testing internal strength inevitably carries risks, he believed in his martial arts talent and did not think Uncle Jiang would use unreliable methods to harm him, so he nodded in agreement.

Yu Shujiang quickly raised her hand and said, "Me? Me? I've awakened the unique spiritual personality 'Heng'e,' so I can't refer to other people's methods."

Then, she recounted all the acting methods she and Tang Ping had discussed.

After listening, Uncle Jiang shook his head slightly and said, "You're all overthinking it. The key to interpreting 'Heng'e' or 'Chang'e' is actually the answer to the riddle itself."

"What do you mean?" Yu Shujiang tilted her head.

"It's Chang'e flying to the moon, literally, or in other words, Chang'e landing on the moon, which is a term we often hear in the news."

Given his daughter's level of understanding, Uncle Jiang had to resort to a more straightforward explanation.

Yu Shujiang finally understood, and her mouth dropped open: "Dad, you mean you want me to become an astronaut?"

Tang Ping questioned, "With China's current aerospace technology, it's not yet possible to achieve a manned lunar landing, is it?"

Uncle Jiang said, "To be precise, it's not that we can safely send people to the moon. But if we don't consider the return journey and just focus on getting people to the moon, we can actually do it."

Yu Shujiang immediately wilted and said, "Dad, I'm your own daughter! How can you just send someone to the moon without considering bringing them back? I don't want to actually become Chang'e. Besides, Chang'e can live in the moon palace, has rabbits as pets, and Wu Gang as her companion. The real moon is nothing but craters."

Uncle Jiang explained helplessly, "Problems that technology can't solve can be solved with psionic energy. Although psionic energy such as spatial teleportation is very rare, it does exist."

"But psionic energy cannot be used in the present world."

"You can take a Breaking Illusion Stone with you and fly into space. After landing on the moon, you can use the Breaking Illusion Stone to enter the Realm of Illusion. After all, there is also a moon in the Realm of Illusion. Then we can teleport you to Earth in the Realm of Illusion, and you can come back."

"Dad, although your tone was very calm, every sentence you said was quite magical."

“Psionic energy is inherently magical; you can’t just think about it with common sense. You have to learn to change your mindset and adapt to the new environment.”

After listening, Tang Ping echoed, "I think Uncle Jiang's method is particularly good. It's simple, direct, and effective. The physical fitness requirement for astronauts is a difficult problem for others, but it's really nothing for psionicists. Even if we're being cautious, a second-stage astronaut is more than enough. If you're determined to make this your goal, why not make a space program your major in college?"

"How come even you..."

Uncle Jiang added, "If you want to maximize the performance effect, landing on the moon in your physical body is the best solution. If you can achieve this, you can advance directly from the third rank to the fourth rank."

"Physical ascent to the moon..." Yu Shujiang was utterly powerless. "Even for psionicists, this goal is far too unrealistic!"

Uncle Jiang maintained his usual calm expression: "Actually, it is still possible. When a psionicist advances to the third level, their strength will undergo a complete transformation, enough to make the impossible possible. Of course, the specifics depend on the psionic energy you gain during your advancement to the third level."

Tang Ping also said, "Even if we don't consider landing on the moon in person, even if we were to land on the moon by rocket in a normal way, wouldn't you think it would be a romantic and magnificent feat? Imagine stepping off the spaceship, setting foot on the lunar land, looking around at the universe, planting the national flag, and standing next to the flag looking at the Earth. Wouldn't you want to experience that yourself?"

"...Stop talking, I'll choose aerospace engineering as my major, okay?!"

Yu Shujiang was indeed persuaded, and a wistful expression appeared on her face.

Tang Ping and Uncle Jiang exchanged a smile.

……

That evening, Tang Ping found an opportunity to talk to Uncle Jiang alone again, and the other man seemed to have guessed that he would come and had prepared tea in advance.

Tang Ping took a sip of the perfectly warm tea, feeling no surprise whatsoever. If a dignified Taoist priest like Lingbao didn't even possess this basic divination skill, it would be a disgrace to the name of the Three Pure Ones.

"Uncle Jiang, since you know about Yu Shujiang's situation, why don't you guide her or even remind her to choose the right spirit?"

"What is the correct spirit type? Is awakening 'Heng'e' now the best choice? Is it possible that if she had chosen a spirit type that was not suitable for her, her future achievements would have been limited, and she would have been limited to doing logistical work in the rear and living a peaceful life? But now that she has awakened 'Heng'e', her future is bright, so she is competitive and repeatedly takes risks, and finally sacrifices herself to protect her companions in a mission."

"Your statement is somewhat nihilistic. We cannot foresee the future, but we can seize the present. As long as we make the most correct choice in the present, we can have a clear conscience."

"Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise. If we do not consider the final result, how can we talk about what is right or wrong? We must know that only answers can be right or wrong. If we only talk about having a clear conscience, then I have a clear conscience now."

Uncle Jiang slowly walked to the window, looked up at the moon in the night sky, and said slowly, "Whether it's prosperity or decline, it's all her fate."

Tang Ping walked to the other person's side and said, "If that's the case, why did you tell her about the lunar landing scenario today?"

“As a father, how can I stop my daughter from being ambitious?”

Uncle Jiang chuckled, as if mocking himself for his inconsistent words and actions, then withdrew his gaze from admiring the moon and turned to leave the room.

Looking at the other person's back, Tang Ping couldn't help but compare them to the psionic experts she had encountered.

Zhou Canglan, Ling Chong, and Fu Zhengyi, regardless of their character, all gave Tang Ping the impression of being ambitious and proactive. Only Uncle Jiang was easygoing, never forcing anything, seemingly indifferent to everything, happy when he gained something and unconcerned when he lost it.

Is Uncle Jiang unique, or do Taoists who cultivate their spiritual power to a high level all become inactive and detached from competition?

After pondering for a long time, he suddenly chuckled and said, "Give me a Three Pure Ones Spiritual Rank, and I too can be indifferent to power and contention."

After saying that, he left the room.

Chapter 200: Machine King Fist

Despite having a powerful sage as a godfather, Tang Ping's life didn't change much. After all, psychics are different from cultivators; they can't achieve enlightenment and have their entire family and friends ascend to immortality. Instead, they are closer to the Buddhist principle that "every hair, every drop of water, every grain of sand, every speck of dust—such benefits are all obtained by oneself."

Even though Uncle Jiang was the most mysterious top expert in the country, he still couldn't give Tang Ping any guidance. He could only let Tang Ping learn from the experiences summarized by other Buddhist spiritualists.

However, while I cannot offer guidance on spiritual practice, I can provide assistance in other areas.

Uncle Jiang's spiritual prefix is ​​"Engraving Master," which means that he does not possess formidable combat power, but it makes him the world's top blacksmith, without exception.

Nearly one-eighth of all kinds of magical artifacts, large and small, in the country were made by Uncle Jiang. As for those powerful magical artifacts, he was responsible for almost all of them.

This is precisely why the Psionic Department went to great lengths to conceal his identity, even though everyone knew that Psionicists below the fourth rank could not possibly threaten him.

No matter how bad Lingge is at fighting, the dignified Lingbao Daoist is not someone anyone can mess with, but he must show his respect and not give anyone a reason to object.

Uncle Jiang himself didn't like fighting with people and had no interest in showing off in front of others, so he was happy to accept the organization's arrangements.

Therefore, Tang Ping took the initiative to approach Uncle Jiang, hoping that the other party could help him refine the Ruyi Iron and improve the quality of the magic weapon. Uncle Jiang readily agreed.

To be honest, as a junior, it was neither dignified nor in line with Tang Ping's way of dealing with people to ask an elder with whom he was not particularly close for help. However, after the conversation in the study that night, he was absolutely certain of one thing: if he did not take the initiative to ask Uncle Jiang for help, this man would really "stand idly by".

Jiang Zhenhua didn't care about elders taking care of younger generations or expressing gratitude for the other party's care for his daughter. He didn't even offer Yu Shujiang a protective magic item. In the end, it was Tang Ping who suggested that Yu Shujiang ask for a protective seven-colored robe from her father.

If Jiang Zhenhua were to be considered sentimental, he would appear exceptionally indifferent, never taking the initiative, as if nothing in the world was worthy of his attention.

To say that Jiang Zhenhua is heartless is an understatement; however, he is never stingy with his help or perfunctory when asked, and he is definitely sincere in his dealings with people.

Faced with such a contradictory attitude, Tang Ping thought it over and over and could only conclude that this was probably what was meant by "the sage is not benevolent, and treats the people like straw dogs."

When Yu Shujiang first became a psionicist, she found it very novel and would occasionally enter the Illusionary Realm to experience psionic energy and magic, but she soon lost interest in it.

Previously, as a high school student, her academic talent was only barely enough to keep her at the top of the class. She could only maintain her title as a top student through hard work. Once she relaxed, her true colors would be revealed, and her golden status would be in jeopardy.

Of course, after advancing to become a psionicist, her memory and thinking speed improved, so it didn't matter much if she devoted some energy to other things.

However, the spiritual cultivation method was really tedious and required patience. Memorizing prescriptions and identifying medicinal herbs to activate the "toad pounding medicine" effect was as boring and tedious as memorizing a textbook. As for going to the moon, it was an unattainable goal. Therefore, Yu Shujiang quickly shifted her focus back to her studies.