108 Chapter 108
Although Ning Shu really wanted to make a documentary that truthfully reflected reality, it was obviously unrealistic to interview each person on such a long list. So, after the unanimous agreement of the main creative team, Ning Shu and Elder Xu Hengzi came forward and transferred 15 disciples from the Hehuan Sect and the Tianyan Sect to form a survey team to conduct a preliminary survey of the current situation of the disciples on the list.
"After a month of hard work by the members of the investigation team, we mobilized over a thousand disciples from the Hehuan Sect and Tianyan Sect across the five continents and four realms to search for the individuals on the list and conduct a brief follow-up. The results are as follows."
At the second meeting of the creative team, Ning Shu presented the findings to the others while playing her carefully crafted PPT on the screen behind her. For this documentary, she even put in the same desperate effort as she had in her thesis defense in her previous life. The various graphics behind her made the complex and complicated data appear simple and clear.
"Over the past thousand years, a total of 5,315 disciples of the Tianyan Sect have gone against the sect's rules to pursue romantic relationships. On average, there are 5.3 similar incidents each year.
Among these disciples, there were 1,231 who would rather regress in their cultivation, endure the pressure from the sect, and withstand all kinds of punishments, and finally break free from their shackles and insist on being with their loved ones. This accounts for about 23% of the total number of disciples. In other words, about four-fifths of the disciples were separated by the Tianyan Sect.
Of the 1,231 disciples who persevered, 351 have tragically perished or disappeared long ago, 521 had relationships that lasted less than ten years, 267 had relationships between ten and fifty years, 61 had relationships between fifty and a hundred years, 26 had relationships between a hundred and five hundred years, and only five have been together for over five hundred years.
"That is to say, even if we don't intervene, half of the disciples who are in love will go their separate ways within ten years?" Xu Hengzi's expression couldn't help but twist when he said this.
In the eyes of cultivators, ten years is just a blink of an eye. For many cultivators, dozens or even hundreds of years have passed since they entered into meditation and seclusion. In the eyes of many cultivators with long lives, there is not much difference between ten years and ten days.
What then are the consequences of all our years of rigorous defense? We are simply being evildoers in vain!
Ning Shu gave him a sympathetic look, shook her head, and added, "No, if it weren't for your interference, many relationships would have ended in a few months or even years. It's your interference that has injected new life into this relationship."
Xu Hengzi:......
Ignoring the Tianyan Sect elder who was already drooping, Ning Shu cleared his throat and continued to summarize:
"Next, we conducted follow-up visits with those disciples whose relationships had ended and those whose relationships had been broken up. By comparing their cultivation levels before and after the relationship began, the duration of the relationship, their subsequent cultivation speed, and their lifestyles, we came to the following conclusions."
Ning Shu tapped the screen with the pointer in his hand, and the pie chart PPT page turned into a scatter plot:
"Let's first look at those disciples who broke up naturally. The horizontal axis is their cultivation level before the relationship, and the vertical axis is their cultivation level three years after the breakup. The color of the scattered points represents the duration of the relationship. From this chart, we can clearly see a conclusion:
After the breakup, the Wuqing Dao disciples' lost ground in cultivation and could recover within a short period of time, and their realms would be improved to varying degrees."
"Huh? It's true! And the longer the relationship, the greater the level of advancement when they break up!" Zi Qiu looked at the scatter plot in front of her, showing an upward trend, with a look of surprise on her face. She seemed to have made some new discovery. She pointed to a small orange dot on the edge and said:
"Young Sect Master, that person who has been dating for over a hundred years actually advanced from the Foundation Establishment stage all the way to the Nascent Soul stage in just three years! This is too amazing!"
Even geniuses with extraordinary talents or special opportunities can rarely achieve such speed. Her advancement from the early stage of foundation building to the late stage in just one year is already a miraculous speed.
"Well, I remember this case too. This disciple and that female cultivator experienced more than four hundred years of separation and reunion before finally breaking up completely. Such a long-term relationship is very exhausting. I guess this disciple must have been tired of love in the end." Ning Shu looked at the case in his hand, shook his head and sighed:
"After experiencing such a relationship, I feel that this disciple will never be easily moved again. Perhaps his state of mind just meets the conditions for practicing the ruthless way, which is why he has made such rapid progress.
In any case, this is a typical case, and I suggest that he be included as one of our interviewees.”
"Well, four hundred years is considered a long time among all the cases. I also agree to include this senior as one of the interview cases." Ji Chuanbai nodded in agreement with Ning Shu's suggestion, and also put forward his own opinion:
"I think those seniors who have persisted until now are also worth visiting. Maybe we can choose one of them to interview."
Xu Hengzi's focus was completely different: "I'm more concerned about those disciples who broke up at the sect's request. What happened to them afterwards? How was it different from those disciples who broke up naturally?"
Ning Shu nodded when he heard his words, tapped the blackboard and changed another scatter plot. This time the picture was different from the previous one. Most of the scattered points stagnated below the Spiritual Transformation Stage. Ning Shu pointed at the scatter plot and introduced:
"These disciples who were separated by the sect rules and the elders did not show any obvious changes in their cultivation within a short period of time. They neither declined nor increased. They looked no different from ordinary disciples.
However, according to the investigation team's follow-up investigation, a strange phenomenon was discovered:
Among these more than 4,000 disciples, about 500 disciples cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage in this thousand years, but only a few successfully broke through the Nascent Soul stage and advanced to the Spirit Transformation stage.
For the sake of rigor, we specifically calculated the success rate of ordinary Tianyan Sect disciples advancing from Nascent Soul to Spiritual Transformation—it was approximately 25%. However, among the more than 500 disciples, the rate of advancement to Spiritual Transformation was only 3%.
"Why? This data is clearly illogical!" Xu Hengzi frowned as he looked at the scatter plot that formed a straight line at the late Nascent Soul stage. "He can safely survive the thunder tribulations of Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, and Golden Core to Nascent Soul, yet he's stuck at the Spiritual Transformation stage... Could it be..."
"Yes, that's right." Ning Shu sighed and nodded helplessly: "They have no way to survive the inner demon tribulation of the Spiritual Transformation Stage."
Xu Hengzi gritted his teeth and looked at the picture on the screen, his heart suddenly sinking.
Before this, it’s not that no one cared about the disciples whose relationships were broken up, but firstly, most of these disciples were in the Foundation Establishment Stage when they felt the beginnings of love. Even if they could successfully cultivate to the late Nascent Soul Stage, hundreds of years would have passed, and no one would have remembered the previous debts of love.
Secondly, it is difficult to advance to the Spirit Transformation Stage, and failure is quite normal. Even Xu Hengzi himself failed once, and only succeeded in advancing at the critical moment during the second tribulation. Those disciples who had been brooding over it were scattered among the vast army of disciples who failed in the Spirit Transformation Stage and were inconspicuous, so no one ever noticed the problem.
No one had ever used such a concise and clear picture before, and no one had ever thought of specifically investigating those disciples who were trapped in love. The elders only saw that romance would cause the disciples of the ruthless way to decline in their cultivation. No one had expected that if not properly handled, the harm caused by a love affair hundreds of years ago would continue to this day.
"Love is like a needle stuck in your heart. You think that by cutting off the exposed part, your mind will return to normal. But in fact, the part inside that wraps around the needle tip has long been rotten and festered. It will become a wound in the hearts of disciples that will never heal in their lifetime."
Ning Shu couldn't help but sigh as she looked at the scatter plot that was firmly confined by the ceiling. She took the pen in her hand and made another note: "Let's select one of these disciples to interview. We must thoroughly understand where the problem lies."
No one in the room spoke anymore, and everyone felt a heavy weight in their hearts, as if a huge stone was blocking their way.
Finally, due to the length of the documentary, Ning Shu and several others decided to select one person from each of the three categories of disciples to interview. The first person they were going to interview was Qiao Shuda, the disciple who was forced to break up with his lover due to pressure from the sect seven hundred years ago.
"This Senior Brother Qiao has been stuck in the late Nascent Soul stage for three hundred years. He's currently cultivating diligently within the sect, but unfortunately, he's seen no results. After receiving the program's invitation, he thought about it for a few days and finally decided to agree to our interview."
On the flying boat to Tianyan Sect, Ji Chuanbai held up the information in his hand and introduced the basic information of the interviewee in front of the camera. Xu Hengzi stood behind the camera and shook his head and sighed. Since the program was launched, he sighed more than in the past few hundred years:
"Three hundred years ago, I was still in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul. Now, even though I failed once, I have successfully achieved the Divine Transformation..."
In terms of seniority, that disciple might also be Xu Hengzi's senior brother.
"This matter is also related to each person's aptitude and understanding. Besides, what happened seven hundred years ago is not something you can decide. You should not blame yourself too much..." Zi Qiu on the side comforted him and poured him a cup of tea.
"...Thank you." Xu Hengzi and Zi Qiu have been getting along particularly awkwardly since he let Ji Chuanbai out. He took the teacup stiffly and thanked her, then immediately looked away.
No, I have never dealt with such a relationship before. I have no experience in how to get along with my apprentice’s wife!
It would be better to let that little vixen Ning Shu come over and make fun of me. That would be more comfortable than this mediocre situation! Xu Hengzi held the teacup in his hand stiffly. He wanted to leave but was afraid that the atmosphere would become more awkward. In his unconscious state, he actually began to miss the time when he was tortured by Ning Shu.
I don't know if God really heard Xu Hengzi's thoughts, but almost instantly, Ning Shu's sarcastic and mocking voice came from outside the door:
"Zi Qiu has a point! Qiao Shuda's mental toughness really needs to be improved. Look at Taoist Master Xu Hengzi. He was beaten and scolded by cultivators all over the internet for half a year, but he still managed to survive. If he had that kind of mental toughness, there wouldn't be any inner tribulation he couldn't overcome."
Xu Hengzi:......
Isn't it true that you, the Hehuan Sect, cultivate through romance? With such a sharp tongue, what deaf man could possibly be interested in you?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
