Chapter 901: The Gods' Gathering's Dazzling Technology (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"To cut off a person's hand just because it's deformed is truly despicable." Lin Feng was quite indignant. He already had a low impression of the Gods Society, and knowing that its members treated human life so lightly, he felt even more disgusted. "...But how can human bones be silver?"
It doesn't resemble human bones, but rather bronze and iron?
These waiters, however, have many secrets.
Qi Shan said, "I was curious too, so I looked into it. However, the documents piled up by the Gods Society are vast, and most of them record interesting stories from various places. The truly valuable content is either in the inner circle or requires extremely high privileges to access. I didn't have much hope at first, but I didn't expect to find a few answers in a pile of miscellaneous books that were almost moldy."
Since there are several answers, some are true and some are false.
Or, all the answers are false.
What secrets these attendants of the Pantheon might have didn't affect the overall situation. Qi Shan simply treated it as a bizarre tale and spoke eloquently: "One version of the story is that in ancient times, a natural disaster suddenly struck. At that time, the ancient people suffered from plague and cholera. Men, women, and children alike frequently contracted strange diseases, some of which involved brittle bones. The Pantheon sent down divine messengers to remove the rotten bones and replace them with steel."
These waiters may have contracted this strange illness.
The Council of Gods used this kind of supernatural means.
Lin Feng listened intently: "It can be like that?"
Qi Shan added, "The second explanation is that natural disasters were rampant, and many ancient people suffered from limb diseases. In order to save their lives, they had no choice but to have their limbs amputated. The gods took pity on these people and made new limbs out of steel so that they could continue to work and live a normal life."
Lin Feng shook his head: "That's just a bluff."
Even assuming, hypothetically, that the Pantheon truly possesses a god with the ability to regenerate severed limbs, why would they conceal it? With wars so frequent these days, countless soldiers are left crippled for life after a single battle. The Pantheon wouldn't need to do anything; this very ability would be enough to win over all these wounded soldiers, turning them into their most devout followers. But the Pantheon hasn't done that; they maintain their so-called neutrality, only stirring up trouble behind the scenes.
What does this prove?
This proves that the Pantheon is all bark and no bite.
They may indeed have extraordinary background, but this background is far from enough for them to confront secular royal power head-on. They can only rely on these bizarre and absurd stories to fool those with weak wills and incidentally gild their own image.
"Is there a third one?" Qin Li asked.
He wondered why Qi Yuanliang knew so much. Besides his extensive travels and wide-ranging knowledge, it seemed he had also spent a lot of time in the library of the Gods' Society. Relying on his ability to record information in the Danfu (a system of books for scholars), he read all kinds of books, which had completely fooled him back then.
“The third one is even more bizarre, but it’s also the one I find most believable so far.” Qi Shan’s gaze lingered on his lord for a moment. “Members of the Council of Gods, who can transform the energy of heaven and earth into a stable entity to replace human bones.”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Shen Tang.
"Why are you all staring at me? It wasn't me who did it!" Shen Tang was stuffing pastries into her mouth when their stares made her lose her appetite instantly. She brushed away the crumbs. "And I have another question. Why are you all so fixated on replacing human bones with steel? With the current level of medical technology, even if the wound gets stained with gold, it can't be saved. I don't even need to complain. What's the difference between such a major surgery and murder? Haven't you ever considered that the person's bones are the original bones they were born with?"
Lin Feng felt like his mind was going to get all jumbled up.
"How can human bones be silvery-white?"
"Why can't it be silvery-white?" Shen Tang asked, looking bewildered. "Have you ever thought about why Martial Warriors are so durable... ah, I mean, resilient? When Martial Warriors reach a certain level, they can cover their entire body with martial energy, possessing the ability to have skin of copper and bones of iron, impervious to swords and spears. Is it possible that this word isn't just a description? Or that martial energy transforms flesh and bones into a metallic-like state? Pure flesh and blood, how could it be so impervious to a knife?"
Everyone: "..."
Now it was Qi Shan's turn to have her head tied in knots.
He blinked, seemingly not expecting this possibility.
"Is...is this even possible?"
Apart from Shen Tang, who was skilled in both literature and martial arts, everyone else present was a pure scholar, and no one could answer him.
Seeing his unusual confusion, Shen Tang felt much better: "I can't possibly chop off a hand for you right now, but based on my daily internal observation practice, when martial energy flows, a faint glow will appear all over my body..."
Everyone: "..."
Shen Tang continued, "Of course, my guess is not entirely correct; there is still a flaw. I have killed thousands of martial artists on the battlefield, and there have been many severed limbs and remains flying everywhere. I have never seen any bones with a strange color. After all, once a limb is separated from the body, the flow of martial energy will be interrupted, and the separated limb will revert to normal flesh and blood."
Her words gave everyone some inspiration.
For example, Xun Zhen.
His illegitimate son, Xun Ding, had reached a breakthrough in his cultivation, but his mind wasn't very sharp. As his father, he also had a deep understanding of this matter: "...It's not difficult to do this. There are different schools of martial arts practitioners. Most martial arts practitioners store their martial energy in their dantian and martial arts, but some martial arts practitioners take a different approach and store their martial energy in their meridians to temper their meridians and bones, so that they can withstand greater impact."
If it is the latter, as long as the stored martial energy is sufficient and condensed enough, the martial energy will not immediately replenish the world after the limbs are cut off, but will gradually dissipate: "Martial courage warriors must temper their limits in order to break through the last three realms."
Lin Feng murmured, "The final three realms..."
How could a high-ranking commoner of the eighteenth rank have his hand cut off so easily?
Xun Zhen: "It just means that there is such a cultivation path, not that only the last three realms can be cultivated in this way."
Even those lacking the aptitude to open their dantian and cultivate martial spirit will still choose the path of tempering their flesh and blood; essentially, they all lead to the same goal. The greater one's strength and the stronger one's physical body, the greater one's chances of survival on the battlefield. These attendants are very likely doing the same.
Lin Feng has a strong thirst for knowledge and always wants to understand things clearly.
"Those waiters don't seem to have any martial aura about them..."
At least she didn't detect any fluctuations in her aura.
Shen Tang stroked his chin and guessed, "Perhaps the initial guess was the closest to the truth. These servants really do have something like Gu worms on them. The Gods Society has existed for hundreds of years, so it's normal for them to have some extraordinary methods."
A game of strategy with the gods?
It can be difficult, but it can also be simple.
Even if Yuan Liang weren't now on her side, without his help to buy time, it wouldn't be easy for the Gods to eliminate her. Unable to intervene personally, she could only support other forces to challenge her, or resort to petty schemes and tricks. As long as her power was strong enough, she could overcome any obstacle; all schemes and tricks would be nothing but paper tigers.
It's not urgent at the moment.
but--
"...This matter has given me some inspiration." Shen Tang tapped the table with her finger, her eyes shining brightly. "Do you remember the Mohists' 'Non-Aggression' from Zhoukou? Both 'Non-Aggression' and 'Excavator' have a characteristic: their strength can vary. The more ink energy is poured in, the greater the strength. So—could the Mohists' abilities be used in building materials?"
Everyone: "..."
They couldn't quite keep up with their lord's unpredictable thought process.
Shen Tang said urgently, "Hey, you guys shouldn't just think about fighting all day long. Words of power are such a useful thing, it's such a waste to only use them to kill people. Follow my line of thought, purely wooden buildings are too afraid of fire. If the key structures use materials from the Mohists, wouldn't the buildings be more stable and durable? At the same time, it can save wood. If a tree grows to the size of a building without external intervention, the time cost is too high. Large-scale deforestation for building cities can easily cause soil erosion."
Everyone: "..."
What my lord said seems to make some sense. Should we give it a try later? But the materials needed for city construction are countless; how can we possibly supply them all? Even if we squeezed every last drop out of the Northern Crows, we still couldn't manage it. But my lord is already lost in his own world and can't worry about these things anymore.
But soon, Shen Tang's attention was diverted.
Everyone looked up at the top of their heads.
The house was shrouded in an unfamiliar aura.
When it touched his skin, it felt cool and chilly, making every hair on his body stand on end, exuding an indescribable sinister aura. Lin Feng even raised his hand to cover his lower abdomen: "My dantian feels a bit uncomfortable."
Since he was able to cultivate to this point, the spiritual energy in his dantian has never shown such a tendency to become restless and dissipate as it does today.
That chill was more intense than a ghost's breath.
This is bizarre, extremely bizarre!
Others also reacted to varying degrees; the discomfort wasn't so intense as to be unbearable, and it only lasted a few breaths. Shen Tang looked at everyone with concern and immediately noticed Luan Xin's unusual expression, as if he had seen something terrifying.
"Justice, what's wrong?"
Luan Xin said: "It's filthy."
Shen Tang looked at him, puzzled: "What filth?"
Luan Xin looked in the direction of his lord, but he could no longer see Shen Tang because the air was filled with a lot of polluted light particles: "There are countless colors in the world, which usually maintain a relative balance, but now the balance is broken."
He hesitated, unsure whether he should tell the truth.
Luan Xin sees the world differently than others.
He could see the various colors of the heaven and earth's energy permeating the air.
Some airs are languid, some lively, some friendly, and some wicked. The so-called wickedness is simply filth.
Whether scholar, warrior, or ordinary person, everyone possesses their own unique aura. This aura is mostly non-aggressive. When scholars and warriors cultivate, they absorb the relatively impure aura of heaven and earth, purifying and refining it into literary or martial aura, which then circulates with the outside world. The more scholars and warriors there are, the purer the aura of heaven and earth becomes. But now, this balance has been broken.
Luan Xin's words left everyone looking at each other in bewilderment.
Before they could discuss what "filth" meant, Qi Shan suddenly spoke up: "Hold your breath, concentrate your mind, and guard your oneness."
Although the crowd did not understand what he meant, they did as he said.
Thump thump thump—
Suddenly, the sound of bells, growing louder as they approached, rang out.
A blinding white light exploded before her eyes. Shen Tang raised her hand to shield them, and when she opened them again, she was surrounded by darkness. Looking around, everyone was still there, but she didn't know when she had been transported to another world, with candles lit at her feet. The candles formed a sea of stars, stretching to the horizon. Qi Shan said softly, "The meeting begins..."
Puff puff puff puff—
Shen Tang could clearly hear the faint sound of the candle burning.
The candle flame shot skyward and gathered into a ball.
It rang twelve times in total.
With each sound, a crimson veil, resembling a burning flame, appeared in the dark sky, with flames soaring into the heavens. Behind the veil sat enormous human figures. The backs of the chairs behind them were extremely large, with grotesque shadows swirling around them—the creatures of unknown origin.
Besides Shen Tang and his group, there were other people nearby.
They all seem to be attendees.
Shen Tang craned her neck to look at the flames high above.
He squinted slightly, trying to make out the figures behind the veil of flames. Judging from their figures, they all seemed to be men wearing crowns, some with extremely long beards, suggesting they were elderly. Could these people be members of the inner circle of the Gods' Guild?
Knock knock knock!
Three bells rang in succession.
A voice, indistinctly gendered, emanated from the flame on the far left. Shen Tang couldn't quite make it out, but she knew that after the person finished speaking, the other attendees chanted the slogan "The Mandate of Heaven is not constant." Shen Tang and her group were no exception, blending in seamlessly without seeming out of place.
Six fingers?
Shen Tang focused on observing the flames.
Behind one of the flames, a figure raised a hand; judging from the shadow, the hand had an abnormal number of fingers—six. It seems the gods' use of deformed messengers isn't just due to a reverence for "ancient customs," but also because of the members themselves?
After the first person finished speaking, the second person continued.
This time she managed to understand it, and then she realized that she hadn't understood it before because the other person's accent was too strong.
They don't even learn proper etiquette, thumbs down!
Shen Tang multitasked, observing his surroundings while listening to their ramblings. He had expected the meetings of the gods to be filled with lofty conspiracy theories and discussions about how to destroy a country or a power, but instead, they turned out to be long and tedious summaries.
Roughly speaking—
Let's summarize the membership growth last year, the GDP growth rate of each branch, the business performance of the Gods' Association's businesses, and recognize the outstanding members of each branch last year...
The prestige of the Pantheon instantly vanished in Shen Tang's presence.
The more I look at it, the more it resembles a pyramid scheme or cult.
It also incorporates some self-help tropes.
For example, an enemy who was audacious enough to oppose the Gods' Society, when he was desperate, wanted to make a comeback with the help of the Gods' Society. The Gods' Society accepted him, and now he has expanded his territory by a great deal with the Gods' Society. What if he had joined the Gods' Society in the first place?
All that's missing is the phrase "Applause for understanding."
Each of the flames above took a turn to speak.
Shen Tang's mind wandered again shortly afterward.
She was very curious—
How do the gods hold remote online meetings?
If she had this thing, she could hold court whenever and wherever she wanted. She could have officials rotate through different posts regularly, plus her, as the ruler, traveling around on inspection tours…
The Central Royal Court has been moving around a lot.
It's unknown how much corruption it can prevent.
She rubbed her chin.
He was pondering how to get a set from the pantheon.
|ω`)
Wow, your wildest guesses in the last chapter were amazing! I even wanted to use them myself while I was reading them... If a special edition of DingTalk were to be released... Emmm, how happy the masters of involution would be!
(End of this chapter)
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