Chapter 1751: Vow, Merit, & Loan
Chapter 1751: Vow, Merit, & Loan
Order Virtue Pavilion:
Emperor Kong stood in his primary room, staring at the window. His eyes saw the countless cultivators lining up to comprehend his [Analect of the Golden Society]. He did not blame them, as he understood the significance of this item; it was the physical manifestation of this new school of thought. It’s the item used to condense their luck.
The advantages the scroll will bring to their faction are innumerable. The blessing of luck means countless people under Great Sage Qi will finally meet the requirement to enter the next realm. Additionally, there is the benefit to a cultivator’s [Dao and Purpose Harmony]. There are many stages that are fundamental to every cultivator, no matter what cultivation technique or paths they use, one of which is the fusion of their goal, dream, or purpose with their Dao.
Wang Wei wants to be free and unfettered, so he chose the Dao of Fate to control his destiny. Wu Hong wished to show all sentient beings she was worthy, so she chose a Dao that would allow her to suppress or nullify every concept between Heaven and Earth. Emperor Kong wished to change the world, so he chose the Dao of Transformation. Qiyuan was curious by nature and wanted to understand the source of every wonder in the world, so he chose the Dao of Origin.
With this scroll, Emperor Kong believes many of his followers will have the opportunity to strengthen or change their [Dao and Purpose Harmony], which can be immensely beneficial to Empyreans, increasing their chances of passing the immemorial tribulation. And the benefits are not only for those followers.
The [Analect] was not something Emperor Kong just created because of this plan. It was the result of years of his thoughts and understanding. The scroll is the condensation of Kong’s Literary Path, his pursuit and ambition, which he has hidden deep in his heart for many years. And even such an achievement is the tip of the iceberg in terms of benefit.
’The Sanctification of Merit Through Vow,’ Emperor Kong thought. ’As long as I make that vow and achieve it, Grand Dao or Heavenly Dao will either shower me with enough merit to directly push my soul or flesh to transcendence, or they will lower a Transcendent Heaven Will for my Sanctification.
’However, how easy is this vow to accomplish? Forget how Buddhism and Taoism wouldn’t just allow me to do as I please, even if I could get them on board with the Golden Society, how much benefit would I have to sacrifice before coming to an agreement with those people? By the time I’ve achieved my objective, I doubt the Golden Society would resemble anything that I’ve pictured.’
Emperor Kong shook his head. ’The best approach is to become a Saint first, then, achieve the Golden Society in either a limited area in the Eternal Ascension World, or go to other weaker worlds without a Saint. Then, I will use the vast merit to deduce the Path to Flesh and Dao Quintessence.’
The situation of the Eternal Ascension World is too complex, making it virtually impossible to create a golden society. Even someone like Wang Wei would have to constantly compromise to amass the support of other factions. Unfortunately, doing so would have the opposite effect on a project such as the Golden Society.
’As for immediate benefit?’ Kong continued. ’I might be able to use this for one Transcendent Foundation.’ The Golden Society Philosophy might be the ideal subject for one of the three Transcendent Foundations, and Kong began mulling the possibility. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it felt.
’This world is truly my holy ground,’ Emperor Kong smiled. ’Everything has cause and effect. I risked my life to become the Destiny Chosen One of the Eternal Ascension World’s tribulation, and now, I’m reaping the benefit.’ Kong was about to smirk when an idea suddenly struck him.
’Cause and effect — what if I reverse the cause and effect? What if I use a vow and ask Grand Dao to give me the merit in advance, become a Saint, then establish the Golden Society to repay the merit?’
Emperor Kong immediately calculated the feasibility of this Saint Path, and the result was feasible. Cultivators should be able to borrow merit through vows to sanctify and then repay it later by fulfilling their debts. Of course, the downside of such a method is obvious:
’Until the debt is repaid, I would essentially be a slave to Grand Dao’s whims,’ Emperor Kong analyzed. Karma, favors, and debts are the hardest things for cultivators to repay. Most cultivators prefer fair exchange over owning someone’s karma. In many extreme cases, they would rather kill their debtor than repay them. Simple karma is already an issue, let alone for a higher being such as the Grand Dao.
’Since there is debt, there must be interest,’ Emperor Kong analyzed. Would Grand Dao be benevolent in establishing its interest? It’s hard to say. With the limited information he has, Kong believed Grand Dao should be lenient to encourage more people to try this path. However, if it were someone truly valuable who was forced into the situation, maybe Grand Dao would turn into the harshest usurer between Heaven and Earth to ensure eternal servitude.
’Furthermore, there is also the issue of eligibility,’ Emperor Kong pondered. ’Can anyone make a vow and some promise and receive a loan of merit? Of course not. Grand Dao would probably have a system to determine whether someone can repay the merit and the interest.’
Emperor Kong’s smile widened. The more he analyzed this idea, the more feasible it seemed to him. Although the dean would never use such a method, he can use it as leverage or to make deals with others. In this vast universe, even an idea for a transcendent path is valuable, let alone a clear, step-by-step plan.
’This world is truly the gift that keeps on giving,’ Emperor Kong smiled as he turned around.
"What has gotten you so excited?" the avatar asked.
"What has gotten you so down?"
The avatar rolled his eyes at the main body’s poor attempt at avoiding the question. "What can I say? I miss Zhang Ji’s persona. He was so young, charismatic, and outspoken. Unlike us, who have to behave all professional and with virtue, he would tell people to their face that they were unpleasant — I miss those days."
Emperor Kong looked at this spitting image of his face and became speechless. After so many years, he finally realized a new aspect of his personality: he had a flair for the dramatic. "Enough of that. What’s the current situation?"
"Our plan was more successful than we anticipated," the avatar explained. ’According to the latest calculation, we are now in the top 3 candidates."
"Who are our two other adversaries?"
The avatar flipped the pages: "Let me see. The first one is Li Yuan."
"From the Heavenly Poem Domain Li Clan?" Kong asked with a furrowed brow.
"Those rich lineages felt the threat coming from your ideology, so they banded together and chose the most powerful of them to support."
"A clan with four Literary Lords," Emperor Kong muttered. Such a clan would be on par with the Dao Opening Sect back home. "Who is the other one?"
"The Martial Scholar, Zhu Zhong."
"Hmm?" Emperor Kong looked at him. Scholars who combined ideologies from these different paths are relatively common in this world, but most are not popular, except for a brief period in ancient history.
"I was surprised too, but after verifying the information, everything made sense," the avatar explained. "The world is in turmoil, and many people crave a strong, military-esque leader. Zhu Zhong has had a few successes in hunting down our kind, and he used it to rally a lot of people behind him."
"He must be quite capable."
"What are you thinking? Do you want to copy him? A few successful attacks should reduce his prestige."
Emperor Kong shook his head. "Although the chances of the Tribunal Lords making us accountable for killing our own are slim as long as the mission succeeds, there is no point in taking the risk — especially since there is a better way."
"Oh? What are you thinking?"
"Zhu Zhong’s success is entirely due to his, well, successful attacks. We just need to orchestrate a few failures, and he will lose the people’s confidence and morale."
"This may not be as easy as you think. About 300 years ago, more than 3 Primals attacked Zhu Zhong in a well-orchestrated attack."
"And he’s still alive?"
"Yes, and he revealed a pair of three — maybe five — Pinnacle Supreme Chaos Treasure, which allowed him to escape."
Emperor Kong frowned. Supreme Innate and Supreme Chaos Treasures have little value to [Immortals] because they are not as effective as Proving Dao Weapons or Acquired Emperor Weapons, and they also no longer offer the benefit of low-energy drainage of Innate and Chaos Treasures. However, what goes up must also go down.
Unlike Primal Weapons, Pinnacle Supreme Chaos Treasures have all the advantages: strength and stamina-saving. Their only flaw is their rarity.