Chapter 1197: Chapter 44: Imparting the Righteous Method (4/4)

“Righteous Method.”

An Jing lowered his gaze slightly, repeating the words softly, then spoke in a nuanced tone, “Sea people, indeed, I am a Nature Master, and I know you seek an outcome, an answer, an entity known as the ‘Righteous Method.’

“But, sea people, you are unwilling to even pose a question, so how am I to address your confusion?”

“A question?”

The prostrated sea people paused in their thoughts. The reason they were willing to risk their lives and possibly offend a Nature Master, a True Person, was because their sea people had countless troubles.

They were lost and troubled, like a complex ball of yarn without even the initial thread to start with, making it impossible to solve anything. Although Jin Yanhua ruled them, giving them labor, tribes, homes, and duties, life is not something that can be satisfied with just these.

Therefore, they were eager to know, to know the answer to an unknown question, as if obtaining this answer could solve all their woes.

“Yes, a question.”

But the Nature Master, the Martial Artist who wiped out the Heavenly Tribulation with a mere wave, who easily stirred Heaven and Earth Phenomena, calmly asked them back, “What exactly is the Righteous Method you speak of?”

“Is it the correct laws and rules, methods to kill those who deserve death and bring peace to society?”

“Or is it the correct transmission of Dao arts, just like Martial Arts, wielding skills to cultivate techniques, holding the law to refine the Dao, ultimately obtaining the Dao through martial prowess and attaining True Person status?”

“Or perhaps, is it the righteous method of eliminating evil, eradicating demons and dispelling spirits? Such as various Evil Exorcism Arrays or the Five Thunders Righteous Skill?”

The sea people did not reply, seemingly still contemplating, still confused.

“I think, you should think it through and come find me again.”

Having said that, An Jing started to leave—not as a test, nor as a threat, if the sea people before him could not figure out what they truly wanted, could not even have the courage to give a wrong answer, he would indeed leave.

Because if they lacked even the courage to articulate, to ask a wrong question, then the Heavenly Mandate could teach them nothing.

“Lord, Lord!”

But the sea person spoke up.

Recognizing An Jing’s intention to leave, a fear of ‘never encountering this person again,’ ‘never having the chance to solve issues beyond their wisdom’ propelled him to speak.

Not only him, but many sea people around also began to speak.

In an instant, dozens of different voices, from different sea people, eagerly voiced their confusions, the problems they encountered, and the causes and consequences they could not comprehend to An Jing.

——The first generation wet-born, egg-born demon spirits, unable to ensure their offspring become demon spirits, and thus advance into live-born demon spirits.

——Even if becoming demons, many demon spirits lack reason and are always influenced by beastly instincts. Despite practicing Martial Arts, their ferocity only increases, endangering the tribe and drawing Dragon Court’s punishment.

——The East Sea environment is perilous, with both ferocious beasts preying on demon spirits and the Blood Sea Demon Sect who plunder experimental subjects, leaving no tribe at peace.

——Their lives were humble, not valued, and always replaceable. Tribes that once achieved glory quickly weakened and disappeared when a few core demon spirits were promoted and left, never to return. Those promoted demon spirits forgot their homeland.

——They couldn’t grow sea grass, couldn’t nurture spiritual shells, even though the Dragon Clan taught them methods, they couldn’t learn, their pure intellectual and comprehension deficiencies kept them stuck in this region forever.

This insecurity, being ignored, being unable to change the predicament no matter how hard they try, even having no hope for their children, with no future or hope… where should they begin?

The intelligence of the sea people simply could not touch this level.

So every single one of them spoke, thousands of voices, as if they had finally encountered a deity, praying, crying, and releasing—

Releasing a kind of resentment that was both unwilling yet helpless.

An Jing listened.

He heard the voice of ‘demons.’

This voice spread throughout the universe, existing everywhere.

An Jing knew that not only him, but the Dragon Court had also heard such voices and questions in the past, but they could not resolve them because these were the {essence of why demon spirits are demon spirits}, inherent nature, natural flaws, just as humans only have one set of teeth; once lost, they can only fill them, unable to grow another second tooth.

Thus, the Dragon Clan chose silence, letting nature temper, allowing those who were not adaptable, not qualified, not up to standard sea demon spirits to be naturally worn away.

In this way, the remaining ones would be the qualified demon spirits.

After all, {with so many lives, emergence is inevitable}, so there was no need to overly treasure any of them.

Thus, there was a kind of demon, hidden within the order, beneath the Heaven Sea Dragon Court, among the ten seas.

If the problem remained unsolved, the answer undetermined, the demon would exist eternally.

Then it gestates into a tribulation, scourging the world.

“I have heard all of your questions.”

As An Jing spoke, the sea people, who were previously like waves, expressing their questions one after another, instinctively fell silent, and a sense of calm unknowingly arose in their hearts.

——Since they have asked questions, naturally the Lord Nature Master must be able to answer them, right?

But An Jing’s second sentence made all the sea people stunned for a moment, subconsciously raising their heads to look at the Lord they didn’t dare to gaze at before: “But why do you think I will answer you?”

His voice was like thunder, his eyes shining brightly, and spiritual light flowed along the edges of his robe. As his words fell, concentric circular ripples reverberated, “The law cannot be lightly transmitted, the skills cannot be lightly taught. How can the righteous method and true path be so easily obtained?”

“To be honest with you, if you were to inquire about these questions at any Martial Dao Sect on the North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent, begging for the solution of these ‘righteous methods’, the lightest result would be a beating and being thrown out.”

“I don’t want to answer you, I refuse to answer you, I disdain to answer you.”

“I might even, out of dislike for your persistence, wipe you out with a wave of the hand, turning you into dust.”

“Haven’t you ever considered this possibility?”

Silence descended.

Perhaps because of An Jing’s previously gentler tone compared to other martial artists, and his approachable attitude gave too much hope to the sea people, when he questioned them severely, the majority of sea people instantly lost the courage to respond.

In fact, even low, sorrowful cries could be heard.

On one side, You Ruhui gently shook his head, not out of sympathy, but a kind of disappointment.

An Jing never listened to crying; the world of martial artists never believed in crying due to powerlessness—this is the limit for children and those who consider themselves ordinary; a life seeking change should not behave in this way.

Tears of powerlessness without the courage to defend or act have already gathered into a sea, a little more wouldn’t matter.

He was waiting.

Waiting for an act of stubbornness to occur.

And perhaps it was Heaven’s Will, or maybe every group has those hard-headed enough, able to bite down their fear and speak.

“I am indeed afraid.”

The leader of the sea people at first raised his head, meeting An Jing’s gaze as the one closest to him, that half-human, half-arthropod face bearing a grotesque expression, but the eyes within the chitin seams conveyed a certain calmness: “Lord, we are truly afraid, scared to death, engraved into our very marrow.”

“Under General Jin’s banner, our lives are considered good, but outside the Dragon Court, we, the mayfly-like sea tribe vassals, can be replaced or killed at any time, treated as garbage, or even… food.”

He started to laugh, his mouthparts, mimicking a human mouth, opened and closed, releasing a few bubbles: “We are lowly, weak, and numerous. We know ourselves that if you killed us, General Jin would, at most, be curious as to why you acted personally—to order us to commit suicide, we would have to obey.”

“Then the next day, ten times our number of sea people would come to take our place, with Dragon Court’s protection, naval composition, things so many sea tribes can only dream of.”

“That is what we are, mere sand and mud.”

“So this is our last chance.”

With that, this sea person that was like a shrimp or crab, but more like a ‘human’, lowered his head: “Sea people Pi Yi.”

“We beseech the Nature Master… to enlighten us humble and ignorant folks!”

“Pi Yi… good. Very good.”

An Jing’s eyes sharpened, then he revealed a smile: “It is good that you know you are lowly, weak, foolish, and humble, very good.”

He stood with his hands behind his back, calmly saying: “My path does not fear a lowly origin. My path does not fear being inherently weak. My path does not care if you lack innate spiritual wisdom, nor does it care whether your wisdom can be passed down to the next generation.”

“My path only fears a lack of self-awareness, an inability to recognize oneself. Clearly weak but seeking excuses that it’s due to lack of talent; clearly a racial defect, yet insisting it’s a naturally perfect physique unwilling to change.”

“My path only fears shirking responsibility, blaming everything on bloodline, on origin, on the tribe, without even a little courage to transform oneself into another form.”

“Without even admitting wrongs, one can achieve nothing.”

At this point, under the bewildered gaze of the sea leader Pi Yi, An Jing raised his hand and began etching characters in the air: “This path is named Feather Transformation, a method to shed the mundane body and refine falsehood into truth. Those who can enter are all wise and intelligent, versed in mathematics and artifact refining.”

“You sea people are naturally ignorant, lacking civilization, hence I first pass a skill, refining the god into a sword, honing the soul and spirit, enhancing numeracy abilities, and thereby with the mind as the sword, sharpening the divine sense, increasing wisdom, named ‘Enlightenment Heart Sword’.”

“Once this skill is achieved, the mind becomes clear, the intellect nimble, and although it doesn’t change the thinking pattern, it allows for rapid calculation of large numbers, maintaining a calm mind, and not being captured by the beast within, thus stepping on the first path to enter my Dharma Gate.”

With these words, the characters floating in the air shimmered and were then gently plucked by the wind and water vapor, transforming into an incredibly thin yet immensely tough Water Cloud Dharma Scroll.