No hope for eternal life

Two hundred and four thousand years of the Tiansheng calendar, Tianshuang Realm, Shenfeng Country, Nansha County, Qihua County, Qingliu Town.

It was September, and in the center of the town, I could hear the sound of reading aloud: "He who does not plan for eternity is not qualified to plan for the present; he who does not plan for the overall situation is not qualified to plan for a region..."

In the classroom, dozens of boys and girls were studying hard. Among them, only a handsome young man in white was absent-minded. He only recited a few words occasionally, seeming a little perfunctory.

After the students finished reciting, the teacher, who had his back to the crowd, slowly turned around and faced the dozens of students below the stage. The teacher was dressed in a blue shirt, had a handsome face, was gentle and elegant, and had a very good temperament.

Then, the master called my name softly and said, "Mu Changsheng, please explain the meaning of 'Those who do not plan for the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a specific area'."

Mu Changsheng was the absent-minded young man in white before. When he heard the gentleman's question, he had to stand up and answer.

"Yes, sir." Mu Changsheng stood up, bowed respectfully, and then replied: "I think what this sentence means is that if you want to do something well, you have to consider the overall situation of the matter, otherwise it will be difficult to succeed."

"You are right." The gentleman nodded slightly, and then asked with some doubt on his face: "Since you understand the profound truth, why are you often absent-minded when reading?"

Mu Changsheng felt helpless after hearing this, and could only explain: "Sir, firstly, I have memorized all these contents; secondly, I feel that the principles in these books are too empty and can hardly be put to good use."

"Tell me, how can all this be so empty?" the gentleman asked patiently.

Mu Changsheng replied respectfully: "The book says that if you don't plan for eternity, you can't plan for the moment, but who can really plan for eternity? The book also says that if you don't plan for the overall situation, you can't plan for a region, but there are many countries outside Qingliu Town, and outside the countries there are nine realms, and outside the nine realms there is endless void. What kind of situation can be considered the overall situation?"

"It's good that you can consider this level." The gentleman nodded slightly and shook his head and said: "But what you said is already worrying about nothing. These principles are just to warn future generations like me to consider things as comprehensively as possible. Instead of counting all the possibilities and trying to take all the variables into consideration."

"Besides," the gentleman suddenly changed the subject and said, "You think it's impossible for someone to have a plan that will last forever. That's just what you think, it doesn't mean it really doesn't exist."

"Sir, have you ever seen someone who can plan for eternity?" Mu Changsheng asked in surprise. He was only seventeen years old and he really couldn't believe it. Could there really be someone who could plan so deeply?

Mu Changsheng's question also aroused the curiosity of other students. The teacher has always only taught theories from books and never talked about spiritual practice, which made them look forward to the teacher telling them a story.

The master just shook his head slightly, obviously not intending to tell a story to everyone. He just said lightly: "If you go far enough on the path of cultivation in the future, you will naturally be able to see it."

Mu Changsheng was silent for a moment, but he couldn't ask any more questions, so he could only bow his head and say, "I am grateful for your advice."

The gentleman pressed his palm softly and said gently, "Sit down."

After Mu Changsheng sat down, the teacher began to explain other classic interpretations. Even though Mu Changsheng tried to be alert, he still felt uninterested.

The gentleman's surname is Yang and his given name is Wuque. According to rumors in the town, he is an important figure. However, no one knows why he suddenly came to their small town to teach. As of this year, Mr. Yang has been teaching here for a full seventy-three years!

Although the Kamikaze Kingdom also has civil examinations and imperial examinations, no one would choose to take the civil examination unless they are a very small number of people who are not born suitable for cultivation. The martial examination and imperial examination are the truly popular path to promotion.

Now, here comes the interesting part. If the written test is not popular, why do so many men and women come here to study? The answer is actually very simple, because there is Yang Wuque here.

Since Yang Wuque only taught teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, every household in the town actively sent their teenagers of the right age here. For this reason, including Mu Changsheng, no one present came here to truly learn those ancient classics, and all of them hoped that their performance would be favored by Yang Wuque.

Mu Changsheng's indifference just now was not to attract attention, but he really didn't like what Mr. Yang taught. After all, in the world of cultivators, fists are more important than reason.

Mu Changsheng's parents were both ordinary cultivators in the town. They sent Mu Changsheng to attend classes, naturally hoping that their son would be favored by Yang Wuque. However, Mu Changsheng himself had long given up that idea. For more than seventy years, he had changed students every four years, and had changed more than ten times. He had never heard of anyone being favored by Yang Wuque. Mu Changsheng did not think that he was any different from others.

Even so, the teenagers in the town thought that Yang Wuque was testing their patience, and they continued to perform hard. Mu Changsheng had to cooperate with the performance, but he could not help but often absent-minded, thinking about the training after class.

Mu Changsheng's family conditions are ordinary, and his aptitude for cultivation is equally ordinary. Many of his peers around him have already established their foundation, but he is still in the late stage of Qi Refining, which really makes him anxious. If his parents hadn't forced him to come to school every day, he really wouldn't want to come. Wouldn't it be better to use the two hours of class every day to practice?

In this way, time passed in Mu Changsheng's agonizing wait, and finally Yang Wuque announced his resignation.

"Goodbye, sir." Dozens of boys and girls bowed respectfully and said goodbye. Mu Changsheng couldn't wait any longer. After bowing, he was the first to leave the classroom.

"Mu Changsheng." Mu Changsheng had not taken a few steps when he was stopped by a classmate behind him.

Mu Changsheng looked back and saw a sturdy young man in black walking towards him. He frowned and asked, "Mu Xun, what can I do for you?"

The visitor was named Mu Xun, an orphan picked up by Mu Changsheng's neighbor's uncle. Although the two had similar surnames, they had never gotten along since childhood and could not play together.

Mu Xun was handsome, but at this moment he said to Mu Changsheng with a mocking look on his face: "You don't take classes seriously every day, you want to attract Mr. Yang's attention, but unfortunately, Mr. Yang will never fall for it."

Mu Changsheng immediately understood Mu Xun's twisted thoughts after hearing what he said. He was a little speechless and immediately rolled his eyes and said, "You can say whatever you want. If there is nothing else, I will leave first."

After saying that, Mu Changsheng turned around and left. Although Mu Xun's cultivation had reached the initial stage of foundation building, which was much higher than his, with Yang Wuque in charge here, Mu Changsheng was not worried at all that Mu Xun would dare to use violence against him.

Mu Xun was very angry when he saw Mu Changsheng neglecting him like this, but he did not dare to take action.