‘Future human world?’

Chu Xiaolian stared blankly at Li Hanguang.

He felt that Senior Brother’s eyes today were unusually bright.

Within them seemed to shine the light of cosmic stars, dazzling and proud, stirring longing in one’s heart.

He vaguely felt that he had brushed against something profound.

Li Hanguang cradled that rice ear and slowly walked to the edge of the field.

He looked up at the sky.

“How might there be fertile fields stretching thousands of miles, to greatly comfort all the common folk so that all may rejoice. Resting beneath the stalks, grain piled like mountains. Alas! If the masses could one day behold such a sight, then even if my own belly remained empty and I starved to death, it would still be worth it.”

‘How might there be fertile fields stretching thousands of miles? To greatly comfort all the common folk so that all may rejoice! Resting beneath the stalks, grain piled like mountains. Even if my own belly were empty and I starved to death, it would still be worth it!’

Listening to the verses recited by Li Hanguang, Chu Xiaolian’s spirit trembled violently.

Without realizing it, his eyes seemed to grow moist.

Through the hazy mist, it was as if he could see many things beyond that single mu of rice field.

He saw golden rice fields stretching tens of millions of miles, every stalk bent low, golden grain piled into mountains.

He saw trillions upon trillions of people harvesting rice, every face filled with happy smiles, children playing and laughing along the field ridges.

He saw border soldiers laying down their armor, no longer separated from parents, wives, and children, but reunited as complete families.

He saw the elderly cared for until the end of their days, the young properly nurtured, lost items left untouched, doors left unbolted at night.

That was a flourishing human world of Great Harmony under Heaven.

Those scenes were so beautiful that they made the heart quiver.

Li Hanguang’s eyes were also reddening, misted with moisture.

He said sincerely, “Junior Brother Chu, you were born with a peak-grade Fire Spiritual Root and are a top-tier prodigy of Taicang Prefecture. If you are to cultivate and pursue the Dao, I hope you will not cultivate merely for yourself. We youths of this generation have benefited from an age of prosperity and should harbor soaring ambitions. We should establish the heart for Heaven and Earth, establish destiny for the common people, inherit lost teachings for the sages of the past, and open lasting peace for ten thousand generations. Only then will we not fail the immortal fortune bestowed upon us by Heaven.”

Li Hanguang smiled and extended his hand.

“Junior Brother Chu, are you willing to join hands with me and fight side by side? To create a perfect world that belongs to us, and to humankind!”

To establish the heart for Heaven and Earth!

To establish destiny for the common people!

To inherit lost teachings for the sages of the past!

To open lasting peace for ten thousand generations!

To create a perfect world that belongs to humankind!

Every word Li Hanguang spoke seemed to carry the weight of a thousand jun.

Chu Xiaolian felt his heart grow heavy, filled with the feeling of being valued and acknowledged.

It was different from their first meeting.

At their first encounter, Li Hanguang’s approval had been sincere, yet Chu Xiaolian had only felt slightly closer to him, not truly subdued.

He had even thought of surpassing Li Hanguang.

But this time, Li Hanguang’s recognition shook Chu Xiaolian to the core, even giving rise to a sense of shared glory and overwhelming honor.

He even felt that being qualified to follow Senior Brother was an achievement worth boasting about for an entire lifetime.

After all, which youth does not harbor a hero’s dream?

Entrusting the task of saving all living beings to teenagers.

Out of ten people, eleven would be willing to devote themselves fully to it.

Steel-boned youths, their fervor yet uncooled.

If it is to seek blessings for all beings, what fear is there in blood spilling seven feet?

Chu Xiaolian took a deep breath and said seriously, “Senior Brother, what do you need me to do? Just say the word.”

‘I need to borrow a bit of your fire.’

Li Hanguang looked at Chu Xiaolian with satisfaction.

“Youth, become stronger. To create a perfect human world, one must inevitably face arduous challenges. You are not strong enough yet and must become even stronger. I will fight on the path ahead, and perhaps one day, enemies will come from all ten directions.”

Chu Xiaolian said solemnly, “If that day truly comes, the sword in my hand and the fire in my heart are willing to sweep away all obstacles for Senior Brother.”

At this moment, the hearts of two hot-blooded youths seemed to resonate together.

At this very moment, Chu Xiaolian’s Faith Value was skyrocketing at extreme speed.

And not only Chu Xiaolian.

Even Yan Chixiao’s Faith Value was rapidly increasing as well, at a speed even faster than Chu Xiaolian’s.

He had once carried a sword in chivalrous travels, traversing more than half of the Eastern Wilderness and the Five Regions.

Precisely because of this, Yan Chixiao understood even more clearly than Chu Xiaolian how bitter the suffering of the common people truly was.

He knew very well that Li Hanguang’s words just now contained not the slightest exaggeration and were, in fact, already conservative.

The Proud Sword Immortal Sect governs a territory spanning eighty thousand li, covering several hundred mundane nations and over ten billion mortals.

And the Taicang Sacred Land governs the entirety of Taicang Prefecture.

Several thousand nations and over a hundred billion common folk, all living beings among them.

Each year, the number of people who die from war, famine, and chaos is absolutely no less than tens of billions.

This is only a single prefecture of Taicang.

If the entire Eastern Wilderness’s eighteen prefectures are counted, the number would increase by more than tenfold.

And if the populations of the Western Desert, Southern Frontier, Northern Sea, and Central Continent are added, multiplying by another three or four times would not be an exaggeration.

By such reckoning, each year easily sees the deaths of over a hundred billion common folk.

What kind of madness is this?

One must know that Yan Chixiao, since his youth, had traveled as a sword-wielding hero slaying demons and monsters, and in his entire lifetime had saved no more than tens of millions of people.

On one side, centuries of chivalrous travel saving tens of millions.

On the other, rice spreading across the world, sparing tens of trillions of people from famine and war.

Compared to the latter, the former is truly but a drop in the ocean.

Using one’s own power to reverse Heaven’s mandate, creating miraculous rice capable of feeding trillions upon trillions, saving countless living beings.

What kind of merit is this?

This is immeasurable merit beyond measure.

Benefiting the present age and earning merit for ten thousand generations.

“What virtue or ability do I have to be mentioned alongside a figure like the Rice Ancestor? The notion of ‘two and a half people’ is truly laughable.”

Yan Chixiao mocked himself.

“If the Rice Ancestor is likened to the blazing sun high in the nine heavens, then I, Yan, at best can only be considered a candle. Of course, Jiang Xuanyu can only be considered half a candle, and one whose oil is already exhausted.”

Listening to Yan Lao’s muttering, Chu Xiaolian did not know whether to laugh or cry.

What kind of grudge existed between his teacher and Taicang Holy Lord Jiang Xuanyu?

Even when being modest, he did not forget to press Jiang Xuanyu even lower, resentment seeping through.

These two men clearly had a story.

He silently thought, <Teacher, do I still have a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with Senior Brother?>

Yan Chixiao said helplessly, “Cultivation is still manageable, but his realm is too high. He harbors the ambition of the Rice Ancestor and takes all living beings under Heaven as his responsibility. Not to mention you—even I must admit that in this regard, I can only gaze up at him as one would at a towering mountain. And frankly speaking. If I had been born seven hundred years later, I might also have been unable to resist following this kid. Some people are born with unique leadership charisma. Li brat holds all living beings in his heart, and following him may not be a bad thing. If one day he truly achieves ‘resting beneath the stalks and distributing grain across the world’. You will, together with him, be remembered through the ages.”

Listening to Yan Lao’s praise of Li Hanguang, Chu Xiaolian’s emotions were complex.

There was envy, pride, and anticipation.

And also a faint trace of bitterness.

‘I am willing to fight alongside Senior Brother for all living beings, but in terms of cultivation, I will not concede defeat.’

Chu Xiaolian clenched his fist.

‘Although I follow Senior Brother, I will prove with facts that I merely acknowledge his ideals. I follow him to save all living beings under Heaven, not because… Not because I can’t beat him.’