Demon Sword Immortal

"The tech faction?" Xiang Xian was taken aback, then nodded. "That's right... The new affairs faction has many names. Some people call it the tech faction, some call it the Westernization faction, but in the higher circles, it's basically called the 'new affairs faction,' which is a more moderate name."

Moderate.

Do we really need to be so particular about how to pronounce things?

Bai Xiang's eyes flickered, and he suddenly realized that the situation facing Dayu might be much worse than he had imagined.

“Our Great Yu is the Heavenly Blessed Holy Dynasty, with numerous scriptures, Taoist canons, pathways, and etiquette.” Xiang Xian gently touched her chin. “But you must know that this is no longer ancient times. The proliferation of firearms and the spread of science have led to a leapfrog development of our great civilization.”

"While some of us are still sticking to the old ways, the foreign teachers haven't stopped."

"Even because their ancient methods are not as comprehensive as swordsmanship, and not as effective as swordsmanship in controlling external appearances, they simply chose to devote all their efforts to the path of science."

"Such a difference doesn't need to be much; it may only take a few decades for the two sides to accumulate significant technological expertise."

Xiang Xian had tried to be as tactful as possible. Her words, roughly translated, meant that some people in the Great Yu Kingdom were complacent and thought that having numerous religious scriptures and sword paths would allow them to continue dominating the new world, neglecting the development of science and technology. This had led to a significant gap between the Great Yu Kingdom and other countries in the field of science and technology.

Bai Xiang suddenly remembered his old Nokia brick phone, the slow internet speed, and the search results that kept saying "not showing up".

It wouldn't be accurate to call it a closed-door policy, but describing it as stagnant and closed-minded wouldn't be an exaggeration.

“Let me give you an example.” Xiang Xian took a deep breath. “In our southern region, Luo Hou has reached agreements with many countries to cooperate in ‘reclamation’.”

Land reclamation.

Bai subconsciously recalled what he had read in his compulsory history textbook: this reclamation did not refer to clearing land for farming, but rather to large-scale clearing and even eliminating the bushes and forests in the wild, connecting scattered villages into towns, and then expanding towns and cities into large cities.

This is an extremely dangerous task, because the wild jungle is teeming with monsters and monstrous creatures, and without a sufficient mechanized force, it would be impossible to achieve the cross-border objective.

It was precisely because Bai Xiang understood this that he immediately realized the current predicament of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Because Rahu was not a great power.

The ancient Rahu, also known as Shinu, reveals their lowly status from their very name. This country was one of the many vassal states of the Great Yu, and even today, the Great Yu still has a 'Shinu Protectorate' located at the edge of the southern mountain range of the Red Dragon Road; beyond that lies Rahu.

“There’s a movement going on in Rahu, demanding that we change the prefix of the Protectorate General’s name from ‘Shinu’ to ‘Rahu’, saying that using the former is disrespectful to them.”

Xiang Xian pursed her lips: "The imperial court has been discussing this matter for two whole months."

“Some say that changing it would violate ancestral laws and be against etiquette.”

"Some say that changing it will only make people more arrogant and that the Shi slaves will want even more."

"In the end, there were more opponents than opponents, because the public officials who supported the name change also proposed that 'this should be used to befriend Luohou Institute of Technology so that its scholars can be seconded to Yujing to preach.'"

Wouldn't that be an indirect admission that the other party is more advanced than oneself, and that one is the one who is lagging behind?

Bai Xiang's lips twitched slightly.

Nonsense! Which high-ranking official in a feudal dynasty could tolerate such humiliation? Of course they would oppose it.

"Did you change it?" Bai asked, curious about the final result.

"It's been changed." Xiang Xian smiled kindly. "The reason is that Luo Hou waited too long and got impatient, so he directly provoked the Protectorate to hold a land reclamation competition. The Protectorate lost, and when the news came back, they had to change it to save face."

"What about scholar exchanges?" Bai Xiang asked again.

“Of course not.” Xiang Xian’s smile grew even more amiable. “If we had brought it up in the first place, that would have been fine. But with this outcome…”

The rest is self-explanatory.

The imperial family values ​​its reputation.

Bai Xiang could only sigh inwardly at the standard ending.

That's how it was in feudal dynasties. The soldiers at the front just needed to obey military orders, while the ministers in the rear and the court had many other things to think about.

"In short, the imperial family must have been spurred on by this matter." Xiang Xian nodded again. "The New Affairs faction is starting to gain momentum. Of course, this does not mean that they will give up the way of the sword. It just means that some people want to see some new possibilities."

After mentioning this, Xiang Xian specifically greeted Bai Shengju outside, but received no response.

She didn't care, waved to Bai Xiang, and left.

After she left, Bai Shengju immediately came out of the house and said to Bai Xiang somewhat nervously, "Should I go tomorrow?"

Xiang Xian didn't spell it out clearly, but both of them could tell that she was hinting to the Bai family that tomorrow's sword fight involved some conflict between the New Affairs faction and the Traditional faction, which was why it was attracting so much attention.

The question then arises: both Chengfeng Sword Dao and Shenming Sword Dao belong to the traditional school, so this competition should theoretically have nothing to do with the Xinwu school.

The Bai family is definitely not from the New Affairs faction, so the answer must be the remaining ones.

Liu Mengqing, the leader of the Wind Riding Sword Sect, may have joined the Xinwu Sect long ago.

Her strength cannot be simply attributed to the Divine Harmony Realm; she may have undergone biochemical modifications long ago.

If Bai Xiang doesn't reveal his strength and suddenly goes on stage, he might catch them off guard.

But after the commotion during the day, anyone could guess that the 17-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator would most likely take the stage tomorrow. So, would the Xinwu faction, which values ​​the outcome of the sword competition so much, have no remedial measures?

They built such a huge arena and made such an exaggerated publicity campaign, not to make the Bai family famous.

In Bai Shengju's mind, once such a major situation and conflict were involved, that person's power was really too insignificant.

The best outcome might be that Liu Mengqing's strength would surge dramatically after temporarily taking a prohibited drug.

As for bad results... they might come from outside the ring.

"Grandpa, don't worry."

Bai Xiang naturally wouldn't let Bai Shengju show up.

"That's not my full strength."

"Really? Ugh...is that true?"

Bai Shengju, suspicious, began to bend over and cough again.

Why isn't my illness getting better?

Bai frowned and quickly helped him back to rest.

Meanwhile, in the most authoritative office of the Inspection and Supervision Department building, shrouded in night, came Zhang Daoming's furious roar.

"Given...?"

"How can you give it to me?"

"Worn out? Can you guarantee there won't be any noticeable wear and tear in the footage?"

"Bullshit! That's no excuse!"

"I told you guys I'd send someone to buy tapes this afternoon, huh? You wouldn't listen! Do you know how many people are watching this area right now?"

"If I weren't inconvenient, would I be sitting here talking to you?"

"A bunch of losers!"

Slamming the microphone back onto its stand, Zhang Daoming, still seething with anger, began pacing around the room.

This behavior is no different from that of an ant on a hot pan.

What should have been a somewhat comical scene turned into something else entirely; the other person present, however, was not in the mood to laugh.

"Supervisor, don't be in such a hurry."

This man, dressed in a black inspector's uniform and with a square face, was none other than Inspector Han Li, who had been caught up in the chaos at No. 1 Middle School.

“We’ve already delayed them by at least four hours. Even if they get the complete tape, they don’t have much time left.”

“You don’t understand those lunatics…” Zhang Daoming’s expression did not improve at all.

"To put it bluntly, compared to them, I think the Demon Immortal Path is more like a human."

"Supervisors, be careful what you say!"

Han Li's expression changed.

"You think I'm joking?" Zhang Daoming laughed.

"If you trust me, go back and tell your family not to buy any more of those headache, fever, or cough medicines lately."

"Huh?" Han Li was stunned, somewhat confused as to how the topic had jumped to this point.

"Oh, never mind." Zhang Daoming quickly waved his hand.

"forget it."

"forget it."

Chapter Ten: Reversing the Heavenly Gang

After taking good care of Bai Shengju, Bai Xiang encountered two people outside the door.

The other party was shrouded in the night. Only after they came out could her face be seen. It turned out to be her uncle Bai Guanshan and her second uncle Bai Lianzhou.

"You're overthinking it."

Bai Guanshan spoke first, his words slightly stammering, "It's just... the medicine you gave Grandpa worked well, I need to thank you."

"Also, my previous attitude wasn't directed at you. If you felt uncomfortable about anything, I want to apologize to you here."

Bai Guanshan runs a small company and is its leader. He's used to giving orders, so he couldn't adapt to speaking to a junior like this. He quickly said a few words and left, practically running away.

Don't blame him.

Bai Lianzhou looked in the direction his elder brother had fled and said softly.

"I kept it from you before because I didn't want you to know about the conflicts of the previous generation, but now that I think about it, Grandpa has told you, so I can talk to you openly. Back then, my eldest brother was indeed the one who doted on his little sister the most among us."

Tonight, Bai Lianzhou was unusually talkative. He talked a lot with Bai Xiang, reminiscing about how Bai Shengju had poured his life's hopes into these three children, naming them 'Guanshan,' 'Lianzhou,' and 'Qingmin' in succession.

First Guanshan, then Lianzhou, and finally the Qing dynasty.

Is this for land reclamation?

Only then did Bai Xiang learn about the naming tradition of the second generation of the Bai family. It turned out that Bai Shengju had such expectations in his heart; he had hoped that these children could achieve great things.

The Great Yu Dynasty comprises nine provinces and thirty-six circuits, plus villages and towns scattered across the wilderness, and hundreds of protectorates established in the surrounding areas. This constitutes the current actual territory under the control of the entire country.

These controlled areas and residential areas certainly didn't naturally have this outline. Compared to the past, there are definitely more outlines in some areas and fewer in others.

If there are too many, then it is considered territorial expansion.

If it is less, then the lost territory must be recovered.

How can this not be considered a form of making achievements and establishing a career?

This is the most standard and orthodox way to achieve success and establish a career.

pity.

Bai Nianchan's death caused the second generation of the Bai family to become completely depressed.

Bai Guanshan completely abandoned his original ideals, believing that there was no hope in practicing swordsmanship. Instead, he went into business and started a company, becoming much more worldly and shrewd.

Bai Lianzhou, who had the opportunity to study in Yujing, stayed in Daozhong because of this. He was greatly impacted and, for the sake of the dojo and his family, married a woman he didn't dislike but who had no interest in swordsmanship.

As for his third uncle, Bai Qingmin, Bai Xiang had never even met him. He had run off to start his own household long ago, seemingly severing all ties with his family.

Life is unpredictable, which is truly lamentable.

"But thankfully... I have you again."

Bai Lianzhou looked deeply at Bai Xiang and said, "I also need to thank you sincerely."

In the shadows, he seemed to bow deeply to Bai Xiang. Then he simply turned and left.

Bai Lianzhou knew that she would be competing in swordplay tomorrow, and he didn't want to cause any more trouble. He hoped that she could find peace and quiet as soon as possible and get a good rest tonight.

"But I've actually had three nights of rest..."

Bai thought to himself.

It was still early, and she wasn't sleepy at all.

Back in his own courtyard, he immediately saw Bai Zhuqing dozing off at the door of the side room.

correct.

Bai Xiang squinted.

The commotion during the day was quite loud; they were probably all watching the news and didn't have a chance to take a nap.

He walked over quietly, stood on it, and gazed at his sister's face.

Bai Shengju attached great importance to welcoming Bai Xiang, so the Bai family members were all dressed in formal attire today.