We bear people have power

By the time Guan Bo arrived in the capital of Wuji Kingdom, the tragedy had already occurred.

The demon-slaying alliance members were leaving, and the Buddhists celebrated wildly. They had only intended to make a few sarcastic remarks, expressing their superiority over these lost souls drowning in suffering.

But for some reason, it quickly escalated into an argument. It wasn't just one or two people arguing, but a quarrel involving dozens or even hundreds of people.

They were hurling insults at each other across a street, less than ten pages apart, with clear distinctions between them.

The violent emotions continued to spread, and eventually it became unclear who started it. In any case, the scene turned into a brawl, which eventually spiraled out of control and became a massacre.

Guan Bo looked at the dozen or so corpses in front of him; they were all elderly, weak, women, and children from the Demon Extermination Alliance.

The youngest is only about seven years old, and the oldest is sixty.

They died in the flames; in the chaos, someone used magic to burn them to a crisp.

The current king of Wuji Kingdom knelt directly in front of Guan Bo, accompanied by his civil and military officials and concubines, numbering in the thousands, all kneeling before Guan Bo without daring to utter a single word.

Anyone who isn't a fool can sense Guan Bo's anger. With just a thought, Guan Bo could destroy the Wuji Kingdom.

Looking at the mass of people kneeling on the ground, Guan Bo simply asked, "Where is the murderer?"

The young King of Wuji hurriedly said, "The murderer committed suicide on the spot. It has been determined that he was a member of the Zoroastrian cult. They were very well hidden. We investigated overnight and managed to wipe out all these remnants."

There were seven heads of the murderer, piled up in front of Guan Bo. Guan Bo did not investigate whether these heads belonged to the real murderer or were scapegoats.

He spoke to the King of Wuji in a cold tone: "In order to thoroughly investigate, you blocked the news and did not inform me immediately, probably because you were afraid that I would destroy your country in my anger. I understand your thoughts; only by finding the murderer can you alleviate your guilt. However, if you had informed me immediately, I might have been able to save them."

Guan Bo was referring to these elderly, weak, women, and children who had died.

If there had been time, Guan Bo would have had many ways to revive them before the ghost messengers came to collect their souls. But now, their souls had already entered the cycle of reincarnation. In this situation, even if Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva intervened, he would not be able to bring them back to life.

Upon hearing Guan Bo's words, King Wuji broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that he would be met with thunderous wrath at any moment.

However, Guan Bo only sighed: "I finally understand what the patriarch told me. In this world, once you reach a certain realm, you will see a unique landscape. If you don't reach the summit, whatever others say is just hearsay, and you can't see the truth. How can a mortal's eyes guess the methods of immortals?"

In a single moment of folly, these dozen or so innocent people perished.

Guan Bo did not retaliate against Wuji Kingdom; he merely collected the corpses and left with the last remaining members of the Demon Extermination Alliance.

King Wuji stared at the direction the demonic wind had gone, then collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. In just a few words, he felt utterly drained, as if he were running on the edge of a cliff, one wrong step and he would be shattered to pieces.

When Guan Bo returned to Sicklehammer City, the once bustling city of miracles fell silent. Those who had lost loved ones were filled with grief and anger. Knowing that their enemies were dead, they felt no pleasure in revenge. Instead, their inner turmoil, unable to be released, only intensified their sorrow.

Guan Bo watched the scene before him quietly, lost in thought.

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable for all mortals; you don't need to worry about them," the little white dragon, who had come from afar, advised Guan Bo.

Lingxiu was just a child and could only shed tears along with him. The others weren't familiar with Guan Bo and didn't dare to speak up. Now, the only one who could comfort Guan Bo like this was the little white dragon Ao Lie.

“I’ve seen their wounds. If they knew magic, or if there was a doctor who knew how to treat burns present, they should be able to save a few,” Guan Bo said in a deep voice.

"So what? If one cannot attain immortality, one will only sink into the sea of ​​suffering for a few more days, and in the end, one cannot escape death. Who will care about the withered bones in the tomb?" Ao Lie also sighed.

Why would Ao Lie continue his journey to the West knowing it would be fraught with difficulties and even death? Ao Lie was not the kind of saint who wholeheartedly saved all under heaven; ultimately, it was all about immortality.

True dragons have extremely long lifespans, but even the divine tortoise, though long-lived, has its end; and the flying serpent riding the mist ultimately turns to dust. Only by completing the great journey to the West and attaining enlightenment can one truly escape the cycle of reincarnation and achieve true freedom.

As for these mortals who live no more than a hundred years, Ao Lie, though not a wicked dragon who disregards human life, didn't take them to heart.

But Guan Bo looked at the grieving and weeping family members and retorted, "Mortals have short lifespans. You and I may not care, but they do."

“But what can you do? Can you take them all to immortality? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural cycle. If immortality were so easy, Lingxiu and my Tang Monk master wouldn’t have attracted so many demons. The Journey to the West is about using Mahayana Buddhism to enlighten people. If they could all achieve enlightenment, such a tragedy wouldn’t have happened,” the White Dragon said to Guan Bo.

"Do you believe in saving and transforming people?" Guan Bo asked with a smile.

"Whether you believe it or not, you have to try it anyway." This time, the White Dragon did not refute. In his heart, he was also unwilling to believe the Buddhist saying that all people in the world could be saved.

Look at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's great vow: "I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty." Over all these years, has hell ever been empty?

"I don't ask them to become immortals or Buddhas, I only ask that they have the power to resist when threatened."

“I told you, you can’t make everyone become an immortal or a Buddha. Putting aside everything else, talent alone is one in ten thousand. Even if you gave some people ginseng fruit to eat, they still wouldn’t become immortals,” Ao Lie tried to persuade him again.

“In this world, magic is not the only power.”

"You're not talking about mortal martial arts, are you? I admit that the so-called divine skills of the Demon Extermination Alliance are quite interesting, but that's all. Any Foundation Establishment stage demon can slaughter them, let alone a Golden Core stage demon king." Ao Lie didn't believe it at all. Mortals are like ants. Although they can talk, they can be crushed with no effort at all.

If the Heavenly Court weren't a court for humans, mortals would have long since become food for monsters.

"The Bodhi Patriarch told me that only by cultivating to a certain level can one see different scenery. For most people, this is true. But for me, even the Buddha and the Taoist patriarch have not seen the scenery I have seen. And within these scenery lies the power that allows mortals to take control of their own destiny."

After saying this, Guan Bo straightened up, looked at the hammer and sickle emblem on the city wall, and finally made up his mind.

"I want to see if this Journey to the West world can ignite a spark."

The construction of Sicklehammer City was not delayed; in fact, with Guan Bo's proactive assistance, the pace was accelerated considerably.

Once everyone had their own new homes, Guan Bo issued an order in the city—learn to read.

Regardless of age or gender, unless they are infants or have disabilities such as blindness, anyone who is illiterate must begin learning. Within six months, they must learn at least three hundred Chinese characters and be able to read and write them. Otherwise, they will be expelled from Sicklehammer City.

This order drew complaints from many people.

These days, literate people are a minority. Even in Chang'an, more than half the population doesn't even know their own names. Especially since most members of the Demon Extermination Alliance are江湖人士 (jianghu figures), if they were literate, who would choose to walk the path of the jianghu?

Therefore, many people approached several elders of the Demon Extermination Alliance, hoping they could plead with Guan Bo on his behalf. Even risking their lives against monsters was better than learning to read.

However, Guan Bo, who was usually easy to talk to, did not budge an inch. He reiterated his stance: either learn to read or get out of Sickle Hammer City. To this end, Guan Bo put a lot of effort into printing tens of thousands of copies of primers such as the Thousand Character Classic, the Three Character Classic, and the Hundred Family Surnames, ensuring that at least one copy was available in every family.

Then, a vigorous study movement began in Sicklehammer City.

Early in the morning, when going to clear the wasteland, one must recite a few lines about the mystery of heaven and earth and the vastness of the universe; when going out of the city to hunt and chop firewood, one must also carry a few bamboo strips inscribed with the words "At the beginning of life, man is inherently good"; in the evening, one must go early to the teachers who are literate, listen attentively to their lectures, and try to learn as many words as possible so that one can teach them to one's family later.

Not everyone is willing to study, but living in Sicklehammer City means no exorbitant taxes, no corrupt officials to lord it over, and daily access to spiritual spring water, all of which prolong life. Finally, there's a True Immortal guarding the city.

The Panda Immortal Venerable said that anyone who can recognize more than a thousand characters within six months will receive his personal instruction in immortal techniques and have the opportunity to become an immortal. However, if someone cannot even recognize three hundred characters within six months, their entire family will be expelled from Sickle Hammer City.

The carrot and stick approach was adopted, and no one dared to slack off.

Guan Bo ignored the enthusiastic movement; he had more important things to attend to. Literacy? This was just the prelude. Only with a sufficient number of qualified individuals could he achieve his goal—a revolution, a revolution in the name of technology, with ordinary people as the protagonists.

How can ordinary people take control of their own destiny? Guan Bo is not the kind of great man who can turn the tide and save the world from dire straits.

But he knew that there had once been a time when China had fallen to the lowest, most ignorant and backward civilization, and that they had risen again from the ruins. There was no need to fear losing his way, because someone had already shown Guan Bo the way; nor was there any need to fear the brevity of life and the constant changes in government policies, Guan Bo was confident that he could live to see that day.

Therefore, the conditions in Sickle Hammer City at this time are much better than those in China back then. As long as we keep working hard, we will surely be able to bring about a society where mortals can change the world ahead of schedule.

Before that, Guan Bo needed to organize the basic knowledge of mathematics, physics, and chemistry that he had learned from his memory. Although Guan Bo had a photographic memory after achieving the Golden Core stage, recalling memories from so long ago was not so easy.

Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang had been preaching in Wuji Kingdom for a full year, and it was time to continue his journey to the West.