Chapter 277

Chapter 277: Virtue Unworthy of Position!

Under Ye Tianming’s watchful gaze, Tazu followed Xiaobai and Erya and left.

Ye Tianming knew that after this parting, seeing each other again would be difficult.

Ye Tianming sighed inwardly, then turned and walked away.

Up in the void, the woman called Qingqiu was still watching him.

At that moment, Mu Niannian suddenly appeared beside Qingqiu, looking at her. “Not going to meet him?”

Qingqiu shook her head.

Mu Niannian nodded. She naturally understood why the woman before her chose not to see him.

Qingqiu gazed down below, and after a long while, she finally let out a deep sigh, then turned and left.

The powerhouses from the Divine Realm departed, the internal strife was quelled, and the Guanxuan Universe was now in a state of ruin waiting to be rebuilt.

Ye Tianming began to keep himself busy.

And his Guoshi Pavilion grew more and more crowded.

One day, Ye Tianming convened a Guoshi Pavilion meeting.

An Yan and the others were all present.

Miss Ding was there as well.

The Guoshi Pavilion now had thirty-six members, serving as his core think tank. Apart from An Yan, the rest had all been recruited from various parts of the universe — all people of exceptional talent.

During this period, these individuals had also taken up posts within the Guanxuan Academy, beginning to familiarize themselves with its affairs.

Of course, Ye Tianming had not assigned any of them to high-ranking positions.

At this moment, everyone in the hall looked at Ye Tianming with reverence and excitement. Now that both external threats and internal troubles had been resolved, they knew that the young lord would surely carry out sweeping reforms, and that they would be put to great use, able to display their talents.

Ye Tianming glanced around at everyone. “Tell me what thoughts you’ve had during this time.”

A man immediately stepped forward. “Young lord, I believe that the wealth gap in our Guanxuan Universe is growing ever wider, and the contradictions across all sectors of society are becoming increasingly sharp. Therefore, we must reform — immediately.”

The speaker was Zhou Ru, formerly the chief of the literary academy at the Guanxuan Academy in Muzhou.

Another man also stepped forward. “Brother Zhou Ru is absolutely right. Over the past thousand years, since the Guanxuan Sword Master departed, our academy has undergone earth-shattering changes. The internal institutions of our academy, from the cabinet down to the grassroots, have largely become thoroughly corrupt. Those at the top do nothing, those below dare not act, and there is no real accountability — so everyone just goes through the motions. The entire academy, from top to bottom, is lifeless. Reform — we must reform!”

Fazhen also said: “Both brothers are absolutely right. I study law, so let me speak to that. Our Guanxuan Divine Law itself is not actually flawed, but why do so many unlawful things still occur in the world? When you get to the root of it, there are only two points. First, the system is incomplete, and those who enforce the law have no constraints — they can enforce it however they please. Second, there are far too many people and forces within our Guanxuan Universe who place themselves above the law, and they even openly proclaim that the law exists to serve them!”

By the time he finished speaking, his fists were clenched and his face was filled with fury.

Another person stepped forward as well. “There is also the issue of education. I believe our Guanxuan Universe’s education system has serious problems. First, the unequal distribution of social resources — for example, two students both attending the Guanxuan Academy, but one has connections behind them and the other does not. The one with connections has been studying top-tier cultivation techniques and martial arts since childhood, while the one without connections — forget top-tier techniques, they may not even be able to afford the tuition……”

As he spoke, he paused, then continued: “After they enter the academy, the one with status and background will have a level of strength that ordinary people simply cannot match. In that situation, the academy will then allocate even more resources toward that person — so what about those below?”

The speaker was Li Fa, a truly ordinary person from the bottom rungs of society. All talent recruitment was handled by Miss Ding, and the fact that he had been selected naturally meant he had something exceptionally outstanding about him.

“Brother Li Fa, I actually have a different view.”

Another man stepped forward, speaking in a measured tone. “Brother Li Fa, I understand that life is hard for ordinary people at the bottom. But you must understand — those disciples from noble clans and sects are also members of our Guanxuan Universe. Their families have resources to give them, and I think that is perfectly normal. I cannot strip them of their right to enjoy the academy’s resources simply because their families have means.”

A number of people nodded in agreement.

Because among these talented individuals, quite a few were themselves from noble clans and sects.

Li Ru said: “Brother Gu Lan, I understand that reasoning. Let’s just talk about the problem it creates — the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and for those at the bottom who want to turn their fortunes around, they can only wait for a once-in-a-generation genius to appear.”

The one called Gu Lan pondered briefly, then said: “The academy ultimately cannot achieve true fairness. Forgive my bluntness — in this world, there will always be differences between people. Some are born with high intelligence, and those with high intelligence will naturally go further and further, while those with low intelligence…… Our world ultimately needs a group of intelligent people to lead it, does it not?”

Li Ru immediately objected. “Brother Gu Lan, people with lower intelligence also have rights.”

Gu Lan nodded. “I know they have rights, but Brother Li Ru, you cannot deny that in many cases, effort is simply meaningless in the face of talent. And furthermore, forgive my bluntness — for some people, it is not a matter of high or low intelligence. Some people are just plain foolish. For example……”

He paused here, then continued: “Many, many people at the bottom may have never even left their own province, yet they love to grandly discuss national affairs and pontificate about how things should be run…… Such a group of people, living at the very bottom of society, having barely read a few books, yet thinking so highly of themselves, believing the nation should do this or that — this is not a matter of intelligence, it is simply foolishness. If such a group of people were truly allowed to come out and run things, what would the nation become?”

Li Ru was momentarily stunned, then said with some anger: “Gu Lan, how can you say such things?”

Gu Lan calmly replied: “I am speaking the truth, am I not? If you feel it is not the truth, then refute it.”

Li Ru was furious but did not know how to refute it, because deep down, he actually acknowledged that such a group of people could not be allowed to run things.

Just then, Ye Tianming suddenly said: “Gu Lan, you are wrong.”

Everyone turned to look at Ye Tianming, who had been silent all along. Gu Lan gave a respectful bow. “Then please enlighten me, young lord.”

There was a hint of defiance in his manner.

In truth, everyone in the hall was somewhat defiant — and Gu Lan naturally had the credentials for it. In his province, he had placed first in the literary academy’s written examinations five years in a row, and was also the top scholar of his province. At fourteen, he had been admitted to the academy’s cabinet as a special exception, participating in the deliberation of state affairs in his province, becoming the youngest cabinet member in their province’s history.

In debate, he had never lost.

Ye Tianming looked at him calmly. “Why do poor people love to discuss national affairs? Have you ever thought about that?”

Gu Lan immediately replied: “Life is hard, so they vent freely in private, letting out their emotions.”

Everyone: “……”

“You are wrong.”

Ye Tianming shook his head. “Why do poor people love to discuss national affairs? Why do most people at the grassroots level care about politics? Because whenever the winds shift, they may not be the ones who benefit — but they will certainly be the ones who suffer. Take when we investigate a corrupt official: when a corrupt official falls from power and the hundreds of millions of spirit crystals they embezzled are recovered — whose money is that? Is it not the taxpayers’ money?”

He paused briefly, then continued: “In times of peace, those who speak loudly and passionately are not necessarily patriots. When the nation faces peril, it is the common people at the bottom who throw themselves into saving it without a second thought — because noble clans and sects can flee, but they have nowhere to run. They have only the land beneath their feet. Just like when my father fought his way to the heavens back then — he raised his arm and called out, and how many living beings responded? Without the support and response of all living beings, could my father have established the Great Dao of Order?”

He glanced around at everyone in the hall. “And we who hold power should treat them well, rather than thinking they are unimportant, thinking they can be exploited again and again.”

“Well said!”

Li Ru was somewhat moved. He looked at Ye Tianming, his gaze growing a little fervent.

Gu Lan was clearly still not fully convinced. He said in a measured tone: “But such a group of people simply cannot hold power. They……”

Ye Tianming cut him off directly. “Have they ever thought about holding power? They have actually never thought about holding power at all. People at the bottom are not as tight-lipped as those in the upper echelons of society. They have fewer inhibitions and are closest to the realities of society. But their lives are hard — while scrambling to make ends meet, they worry about the days ahead, and in their spare moments over tea and meals, they casually share their views on the world……”

He smiled slightly. “In these casual conversations, they find spiritual satisfaction, and without even intending to, they both hold forth on the affairs of the world and, through this very means, foster harmony among neighbors. Although the idle talk on street corners may seem absurd, common people at the bottom have their own kind of shrewdness.”

He glanced around at everyone and continued: “Some of their views and ideas are, in my opinion, far, far better than those of certain so-called ‘experts’ who don’t know what they’re talking about. Moreover, after we implement our policies, who has the most right to say whether they are good or not? It is precisely these people at the very bottom. When they say it is good, then it is truly good — not when we say it ourselves and sing our own praises. Do you understand?”

Li Ru immediately said: “The young lord is right. We should not mock these people at the bottom. On the contrary, as the young lord said, for any policy we implement, whether it is ultimately good or not still depends on their response. If we compare the great undertaking of improving people’s livelihoods to a massive construction project, then these common people are the site itself.”

Ye Tianming gave a slight nod. “Previously I established the Assembly of All Beings, but that is not enough. I also want to set a rule: going forward, I will restore democratic rights across the Guanxuan Universe. Every academy head and province head must be chosen by vote. Power cannot flow only from the top down — it must also flow from the bottom up. Furthermore, we will encourage the public to discuss the academy’s politics and encourage them to participate in the reforms……”

“Young lord!”

Gu Lan was immediately alarmed. “That absolutely cannot be done. If we do this, it will surely cause unrest. It absolutely cannot be done……”

Ye Tianming looked at him and asked: “Why should we fear the people taking to the streets? Why should we fear the people speaking the truth?”

With those words spoken.

Suddenly, countless wisps of pale golden energy appeared around Ye Tianming.

The power of faith!

In that instant, his aura surged wildly.

Ye Tianming glanced at the pale golden energy surrounding him and gave a light wave of his right hand.

All the power of faith dissipated.

His aura returned to normal.

No.

In the universe below.

Yang Jia, who had been in the middle of cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes, because countless wisps of pale golden energy had appeared around him.

Pure, genuine power of faith!

He was stunned.

The power of faith grew more and more abundant, and his aura surged wildly in an instant — but very quickly, that power of faith seemed to sense something, and suddenly receded like a tide.

It withdrew on its own!

Yang Jia’s aura returned to normal!

Virtue insufficient for the position.

The self unworthy to bear such great fortune!