Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Sword Tower City is currently home to tens of thousands of families and sects participating in the Heavenly Pride Tournament.

These families and sects are powerful clans and noble families in their own territories, so it is not difficult for them to learn about the details of the world competition.

Moreover, with the First Lady backing Zhou Qingfeng up, photos of him at the World Championships quickly spread among the elite.

These photographic stones precisely capture scenes of seventy-two prodigies killing their opponents. Among them, Zhou Qingfeng's kills are the most outstanding, while the kills of the other prodigies are merely supporting scenes.

The top local elites in Jianta—the Ma family, the Mao family, the Tang, Song, and Zhu families, as well as the first collateral branch—basically all have a copy. Local mid-level elites can also get secondhand information by pulling strings and putting in some effort.

The powerful and influential people from other places usually have to rely on connections, find acquaintances, and inquire through various channels to obtain third- or even fourth-hand information.

As for the lower-level cultivators and mortals, they could only listen to rumors circulating around them. These rumors were a mix of truth and falsehood, and no one could tell the difference. They could only wait ignorantly and bewilderedly for the final results of the Heavenly Ranking to be announced.

Inside the ancestral hall of the Ma family mansion, countless memorial tablets are arranged in a neat and orderly fashion.

Before the memorial tablet, a huge coffin stood prominently in the center, with a large number of terracotta figures standing on the left and right sides.

These terracotta figures are all members of the Ma clan. After dying in various accidents, they were turned into terracotta figures and placed here.

On the one hand, they receive sacrifices from the Ma clan, so that future generations will remember their contributions to the family.

On the one hand, they continued to protect the Ma clan by using the body of a corpse figurine.

These terracotta figures are not zombies.

Zombies follow their instincts and consciousness, hunting living people everywhere to replenish themselves, thus allowing their life level to leap forward.

Those who wish to control zombies in the long term must also face the constant threat of the zombies turning against them, making it extremely dangerous.

The terracotta warriors, however, are inanimate objects, devoid of instincts and consciousness; they are static and pose no danger whatsoever.

Unless manipulated by a spellcaster.

Therefore, manipulating the corpse puppet is safe and without any hidden dangers.

This is the fundamental difference between terracotta warriors and zombies.

However, the terracotta warriors also have a flaw that cannot be ignored.

That is, the terracotta warriors cannot continuously advance in rank like zombies.

The physical body remains in the same realm as the corpse puppet before death, retaining only its physical body and supernatural powers.

In terms of strength, it is only half of its peak.

If equipped with armor-type magical artifacts, sword-type magical artifacts, and other external objects of the same level, coupled with advantages such as fearlessness of life and death and imperviousness to pain, their combat power will not be much worse than in their prime.

Such a large number of terracotta warriors represents the foundation of the Ma clan.

Moreover, as time goes by and more members of the clan die, their foundation will become increasingly profound.

If the Ma family were to face extinction, the large number of terracotta figurines in the ancestral hall would immediately become a powerful trump card to protect the family.

Dressed in a golden brocade robe, Ma Dalang held three incense sticks and took turns offering incense to the deceased members of his clan.

"Tianci, come and offer incense."

"Yes, Father." Ma Tianci immediately bowed and clasped his hands in response. He quickly stepped forward, picked up three incense sticks, lit them in front of the candle, and respectfully performed the sacrificial ceremony before the ancestral tablet.

While holding incense sticks in both hands and praying, Ma Dalang said, "You did a good job. What reward do you want?"

Ma Tianci respectfully replied, "Your son hopes that your father can visit your mother more often. Other than that, he has no other requests."

Ma Dalang had one legal wife and thirteen concubines.

He had thirteen concubines, all of whom were previously other men's wives and were all exceptionally beautiful women.

These beautiful women were either given to him by his subordinates in exchange for promotion.

Alternatively, after killing the enemy, one could take the enemy's beautiful widow as a concubine.

With so many wives and concubines, Ma Dalang naturally had many children as well; he had twenty-five sons and seven daughters.

Among the twenty-five sons, most were mediocre and few were outstanding; Ma Tianci was the most outstanding among them.

Although Ma Tianci was born to a concubine, in Ma Dalang's eyes, the status of a legitimate son or a son born out of wedlock was not important.

The important thing is that the son must be both intelligent and brave, resourceful and strategic, and able to help him achieve great things; that is a good son.

Ma Tianci was ordered to participate in this competition of geniuses.

The main purpose is to collect the corpses of the prodigies.

They just happened to be trying to climb the Heavenly Ranking.

Ma Tianci secretly collected the corpses of eight hundred prodigies in the world competition and handed them all over to Ma Dalang after the competition.

As for what the purpose of collecting the corpses of the prodigies would be, Ma Tianci naturally knew: it was simply for human research.

Tianjiao's body is even more valuable for research.

"Good boy." Ma Dalang placed three incense sticks into the incense burner and patted Ma Tianci's arm with satisfaction.

His gaze towards Ma Tianci softened considerably.

After all, who wouldn't like a talented, gifted, and filial son?

Only a son like this can help him achieve great things.

“I will visit your mother often. I have been busy with official duties these past few years and have not been able to visit her as often.”

"As for your reward, it cannot be waived either."

After a moment's thought, Ma Dalang said, "From today onwards, the Ma Family Clinic is in your care. Do a good job and don't disappoint your father."

Ma Tianci clasped his hands and bowed his head: "Thank you, Father."

Ma Dalang nodded, then said with concern, "Tell your father in detail about your fourth son's performance on the world stage."

Upon hearing this, Ma Tianci truthfully recounted what he had seen and heard.

Ma Dalang listened attentively, nodding frequently, and finally burst into laughter, clapping involuntarily: "Good, good, good..."

"As expected of my fourth brother, his skills are still extraordinary."

"The fact that they thought of seizing the initiative and sweeping away their opponents with it shows the breadth of vision and the brilliance of their strategy, which has broadened my horizons."

"Even Huangfu Yunzheng, the peerless genius of the Python Sparrow Royal Family, was defeated by you. It's truly... wonderful, wonderful, wonderful beyond words."

Ma Tianci secretly observed his father's discomfiture.

I felt a pang of jealousy and dejection.

What he envied was that, as his father's most outstanding child, he had never received such praise and attention from his father.

Disappointingly, he realized that his talent and abilities were far inferior to Zhou Silang's. Although the two were of similar age, their vision, thinking, wisdom, and overall perspective were vastly different.

Especially after experiencing this competition of geniuses, he became even more aware that there is a huge gap between geniuses.

Ma Dalang said, "Tianci, watch carefully, learn well, and avoid arrogance and impetuosity. You are still far behind your fourth uncle."

Ma Tianci pursed his lips, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and replied, "Yes."

Ma Dalang said, "I have important matters to attend to. You should reflect on why your fourth uncle was able to take the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking, and what shortcomings you have made."

"Stay in the ancestral hall today and write a reflection of no less than eight hundred words on the aftermath of the war. This is the homework your father is assigning you."

"When you have some free time, your father will test you."

Ma Tianci clasped his hands and said, "Yes, Father."

Before the results of the Heavenly Ranking were announced, many powerful and influential people like Ma Dalang already knew the final outcome.

There is no suspense as to who is number one on the Heavenly Ranking.

Announcing the rankings is just a formality.

Ma Dalang walked quickly away from the ancestral hall with his hands behind his back.

In the blink of an eye, Ma Dalang had quietly arrived at the secret human research base underground at the crematorium.

There is a large supply of experimental consumables here, and some human research results are stored in a secluded and secure location.

Furthermore, the Ma Family Medical Research Team, composed of hundreds of monks specializing in medicine, is responsible for conducting human research here.

Once a new discovery is made, a special research team will be established to study and tackle the relevant findings.

There are many secret research bases and medical teams conducting human research like these in Ma Dalang, scattered throughout various regions.

Ma Dalang walked into his personal research room, which was filled with petri dishes and dissection tables, with Ren Wuji silently following behind him.

"Ren Wuji."

"exist."

Ma Dalang casually tossed over a storage bag: "These are the corpses of eight hundred prodigies, all of whom are extremely rare and high-quality experimental materials. They are hard-won, so be sure to make good use of them."

Ren Wuji took the storage bag, examined it carefully, and then a smile appeared on his pale face: "Wuji understands."

Ma Dalang nodded slightly, offering no further instructions.

Ren Wuji possesses an extraordinary talent for human body research and is also a qualified research assistant. He learned a lot of taboo knowledge from Ma Dalang and can be considered half a disciple.

Some human research projects are useless for achieving immortality.

If Ma Dalang wasn't interested, he would pass the item to Ren Wuji.

Let Ren Wuji continue to lead the subsequent research.

In their eyes, people are divided into four classes.

The best are genius cultivators, followed by ordinary cultivators.

Those born with disabilities or physical defects, or those who are inherently different from ordinary people, are next in line, while ordinary mortals are the lowest-grade experimental consumables.

"Young Master, there has been progress on the immortality project."

Upon hearing the report, Ma Dalang showed no surprise, for he had anticipated it countless times, only to be disappointed countless times.

"Well, tell me about it," Ma Dalang said calmly.

Ren Wuji stood up, laughing heartily, and said respectfully, "Young Master, we have been studying human samples day and night, and we have discovered a kind of viral flesh that can proliferate indefinitely among a large number of human samples."

"These viral flesh and blood are very peculiar."

"It lies dormant in the bodies of mortals, and once it begins to proliferate, it will cause the mortal to die quickly."

"Moreover, after leaving the human body, the virus's flesh and blood can continue to proliferate indefinitely, without any signs of death or decay."

“We extracted the same flesh and blood tissue from patients who died from this disease and named the disease rock disease, and the flesh and blood tissue rock virus.”

Upon hearing this, Ma Dalang's eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if he had smelled the scent of immortality: "And then? Continue."

Ren Wuji touched the bridge of his nose and said, "The Rock Virus only exists in mortals and ordinary creatures such as cats, dogs, cattle, and horses."

"In theory, with the ability of the rock virus to proliferate indefinitely and never decay, mortals could also live forever. However, the problem is that once the rock virus proliferates, mortals will also die from the disease."

"Moreover, during our research, we discovered that the cultivators did not have the rock virus in their bodies."

"Further research has revealed that during the turbid environment stage, where the body is polluted by turbid air and a turbid mind is refined, the rock virus has been completely contaminated and has lost its characteristics of unlimited proliferation and never decaying."

After hearing the full report, Ma Dalang narrowed his eyes and said, "Very good. Starting today, a rock breaking research project team will be established."

“I will be the team leader, and you will be the deputy team leader. We will immediately allocate manpower to conduct in-depth research and decipher the rock virus.”

Ren Wuji bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "Yes, young master."

After agreeing, Ren Wuji said, "Young Master, if we want to conduct in-depth research, we still lack living samples."

Ma Dalang said indifferently, "I understand. I'll send you a batch of dying servants when I have time. If that's not enough, we'll talk about it later."

Seeing this, Ren Wuji said no more.

Actually, obtaining live animal consumables isn't difficult; the difficulty lies in obtaining them discreetly and without anyone noticing.

The laws of the Sword Tower offer strong protection for citizens with legal status, and also have a strong binding force on cultivators.

The status of ordinary city dwellers is no less than that of cultivators.

Even if a monk kills a mortal city dweller, he will still be judged.

Those who deserve imprisonment should go to jail, and those who deserve execution should be executed.

Whether one is a cultivator, a mortal, or an official with a position, none of them have the privilege of being innocent of murder.

This is a rule that has been established for thousands of years.

Because every citizen is the private property of the city lord.

Apart from the city lord, no one can be killed at will.

If this rule is broken, the consequences will be extremely terrible.

If mortals are not protected by the law, they are like ants in front of cultivators, easily crushed.

Today they use mortals to refine elixirs, tomorrow they use mortals to forge weapons.

In a short time, all the ordinary people in the city would be wiped out.

Cultivators of the Food Realm cannot cultivate without mortals.

The prosperity and development of a city are inseparable from ordinary people.

Even in every aspect of life, we cannot do without ordinary people.

Mortals are the foundation and basis for cultivators of the Food Turbidity.

Slaughtering mortals is destroying one's own foundation.

Back then, Ma Dalang was a simple-minded fool who captured ordinary people for live research, breaking the rules and causing damage to the core interests of major forces, almost getting himself killed.

If it weren't for the city lord's first wife protecting his life...

The grass on Ma Dalang's grave has grown three feet tall.

This became a stain on Ma Dalang's life.

It's almost impossible to wipe off or wash clean.

And it can never represent the Tower of Swords in front of the world.

learn from mistakes.

Having suffered such a great loss, Ma Dalang would certainly not capture any more citizens with legal identities for live research.

Even if he needed live human consumables, Ma Dalang would secretly collect them from other channels, such as unregistered residents in the city and people from other places.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Inside the Mao residence, Mao Yuling, the eldest granddaughter, was giving Mao Erlang a detailed report.

Mao Yuling bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "Patriarch, I am not destined to be number one on the Heavenly Ranking this time. I have disappointed you."

Mao Erlang smiled slightly: "Just do your best. You are still young and have a long road ahead. Why be concerned about temporary success or failure?"

He was merely acting as the host of the Heavenly Pride Tournament.

However, they did not know the details of the situation on the world stage.

The so-called world arena is nothing more than a breeding ground for the world.

The Heavenly Dao of the world-raising system is merely a high-level tool to assist Mother in managing the world-raising system.

Therefore, besides the participants themselves, only their mothers know exactly how many points each participant received.

Hearing this, Mao Yuling felt relieved and his mood improved considerably. He clasped his hands and said, "Patriarch, Zhou Qingfeng's killing of Huangfu Yunzheng will likely cause considerable trouble."

Mao Erlang smiled faintly: "The royal family still has a sense of honor. In a competition, if someone is outmatched and dies, it would be against the rules and would damage the royal family's reputation and prestige."

"I am certain that the royal family will not publicly pursue the matter."

"Besides, the emperor is far away and Zhou Qingfeng is not in the capital. Even if the royal family wanted to make things difficult for Zhou Qingfeng, they wouldn't have the chance."

"but……"

Mao Yuling asked curiously, "Patriarch, but what?"

Mao Erlang pondered for a moment: "However, I'm afraid that the people below might think they're clever and want to avenge Huangfu Yunzheng."

"Zhou Qingfeng might actually be in some danger."

"Here's what we'll do: you send a congratulatory letter to Zhou Qingfeng for me, prepare some gifts, and congratulate him in advance on reaching the top of the Heavenly Ranking. Also, you can secretly give him a heads-up."

At this point, Mao Erlang chuckled and said, "He is my fourth brother, and we're all family. It's good to take this opportunity to show some goodwill so that we can get closer in the future."