Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Canghan!

Ye Tianming led the little girl into the main hall. Inside， he glanced around— the entire hall was vast and desolate， with only a single statue inside. The statue had no head， and this headless statue was the effigy of the founder of the Buddha-Demon Sect.

Looking at the dilapidated state of the Buddha-Demon Sect， Ye Tianming felt a dull headache coming on.

He had expected things to be bad， but not this bad. What a complete mess!

The little girl beside him was an orphan named Cang Han. She had wandered here by chance， found the place empty， and simply moved in.

Cang Han stood to one side. The wariness she’d shown earlier was mostly gone， but she was still a little cautious— she had no sense of security， and if she got chased away， she’d have nowhere to go.

Ye Tianming looked away and turned toward Cang Han with a smile.“Can you cook?“

Cang Han nodded quickly.

Ye Tianming smiled.“I’m a little hungry.“

Cang Han said hurriedly，“I can do it， I can do it— I’ll make you something to eat!“

With that， she turned and ran off.

Watching her go， Ye Tianming smiled.

Before long， Cang Han came back carrying a bowl of food. The meal was simple— just rice and a few wild vegetables， no meat.

Ye Tianming took the bowl and dug in.

At his current level of cultivation， he could technically go without food entirely， but there was no need. For him， eating was just part of living.

Seeing Ye Tianming wolf down the food， a small smile spread across Cang Han’s face.

Ye Tianming said between bites，“It’s good.“

Cang Han’s smile grew even brighter.

When Ye Tianming finished， Cang Han quickly took the bowl from him.“I’ll go wash up.“

Evening.

Ye Tianming and Cang Han sat on the stone steps. In the sky above， a bright full moon hung in the distance.

By now， Cang Han had let her guard down around Ye Tianming and even felt a little warmth toward him， having found him easy to get along with. She was no longer worried about being sent away either， since Ye Tianming had already promised she could stay and cook.

Ye Tianming looked up at the moon on the horizon.“Xiao Han， you’re an orphan?“

Cang Han nodded， her expression dimming.“I grew up in a village at the foot of the mountain. Nobody knew who my parents were. All anyone knew was that an injured old man had brought me to the village— and he died right after dropping me off.“

She rested her chin in both hands and gazed at the sky.“I grew up eating at different families’ tables around the village. Later， one family wanted me to marry their simple-minded son. I refused， so I ran away.“

Ye Tianming turned to look at her.“Can you read or write?“

Cang Han shook her head.

Ye Tianming smiled.“Then I’ll teach you. How about it?“

Cang Han nodded eagerly.“Yes， yes!“

Ye Tianming walked to the side， picked up a twig， dipped it in some water， then came back to her with a smile.“Come on， I’ll teach you to write first.“

He began writing， and soon two characters appeared on the ground: Cang Han.

Ye Tianming handed the twig to Cang Han with a smile.“Your turn.“

Cang Han nodded.“Okay.“

She took the twig and started writing， but her first attempts weren’t great， so Ye Tianming held her hand and guided her stroke by stroke.

Before long， Cang Han had learned to write her own name， though it wasn’t very neat.

She looked at Ye Tianming with a hint of worry.“I…..wrote it really badly， I…….“

Ye Tianming smiled.“It’s already very， very good. The first time I learned to write， it looked like a chicken had scratched the ground— way worse than yours.“

Cang Han blinked.“Really?“

Ye Tianming nodded.“Of course. Come on， let’s practice a few more times…….“

Soon， Cang Han was writing away.

The night passed.

Early the next morning， as soon as Ye Tianming got up， Cang Han appeared before him carrying a basin of clean water.“Brother， wash your face.“

Ye Tianming smiled.“Thank you.“

He cupped his hands， splashed water over his face， and scrubbed it. He was about to say something when he sensed something— he looked toward the entrance of the hall， where hundreds of auras were surging in from outside.

Ye Tianming wiped his face with his sleeve and said，“Someone’s here. I’ll go meet them.“

With that， he got up and walked outside.

Cang Han set down the washbasin and hurried after him. When she saw that hundreds of people had appeared outside at some point， she was clearly frightened and quickly retreated behind the door， then peeked out with her head tilted to one side.

Ye Tianming looked at the man at the front— Zou Ru— who bowed respectfully.“Sect Master， everyone from our Wen Academy has arrived.“

Ye Tianming looked over the Wen Academy members. They were all staring at him with curiosity— some with genuine interest， some with provocation， and some with undisguised contempt.

He understood. It was because of his age and cultivation level.

Ye Tianming said calmly，“I know most of you don’t think much of me as Sect Master. That’s fine. I’ll give everyone a chance— if you don’t accept me， or if you have a problem with me， step forward and challenge me right now. I’ll take you on any way you like， whether it’s a battle of words or fists.“

“I’ll go!“

A man stepped forward immediately， eyeing Ye Tianming.“I want to fight you— and I’ll say this upfront: I won’t hold back. If I kill you， that’s on you.“

Ye Tianming nodded.“Fine.“

The man laughed loudly. He suddenly stepped forward， and a terrifying aura erupted from within him， bearing down on Ye Tianming like a crushing mountain.

Circle-Breaking Realm!

He was one of the few Circle-Breaking Realm cultivators in the Wen Academy.

Ye Tianming had looked into this before— even in the real world， Circle-Breaking Realm experts weren’t exactly everywhere， they were still relatively rare. Of course， in the real world， Circle-Breaking Realm was no longer considered truly top-tier combat power.

Ye Tianming didn’t hold back. He flicked his sleeve， and in an instant， the man’s cultivation was forcibly suppressed down to the Immortal Realm. The next moment， a sword was already pressed against his brow.

Everyone was stunned.

What the hell?

He didn’t even get a chance to fight back?

Ye Tianming looked at the man， whose face was blank with shock.“You lose.“

The man’s throat bobbed， then he said，“This……what just happened?“

The crowd looked at Ye Tianming in disbelief.

Zou Ru stared at Ye Tianming for a long moment， his eyes filled with shock. This young Sect Master’s strength was truly unfathomable!

Ye Tianming offered no explanation. He looked at the crowd around him.“Anyone else want to challenge me?“

Everyone fell silent.

Even a Circle-Breaking Realm expert had been suppressed with a casual flick of the sleeve. This level of power……was simply beyond measure.

At that moment， a young man stepped forward. He bowed deeply to Ye Tianming and said，“Sect Master， I’d like to challenge you— but not in combat. I’d like a debate.“

Ye Tianming looked at him.“On what?“

The young man met his gaze.“A policy essay.“

Ye Tianming gave a slight nod.“Go ahead.“

The young man said in a measured tone，“Sect Master， the founding principle of our Buddha-Demon Sect is equality among all living beings. To achieve that equality， I believe we must first address the problem of how people think— we must enlighten them， help them understand the ‘truth’ of this world. But……“

He paused， then continued，“Most people are ignorant. Their world is black and white……“

“You’re wrong.“

Ye Tianming cut the young man off.“Most people are not ignorant. The majority of them actually do understand some of the ‘truths’ of this world— but they are powerless to do anything about it. And the more truth they come to know， the more it pains them， because they cannot change any of it.“

He paused， then added，“And another thing— even if some people are ignorant， you should ask yourself: who is keeping them ignorant， and who is afraid of them not being ignorant?“

The young man stared at Ye Tianming.“Sect Master， I know who is keeping them ignorant— but how do we solve that problem? Through force alone?“

Ye Tianming said slowly，“Force alone is not enough. As you said， we must enlighten the people. And enlightenment……is like a person who has lived in a cave since birth， unable to turn around， only able to stare at the cave wall. The shadows that appear on that wall— they believe those shadows are real people， that those shadows are the truth. What we must do is remove the ‘shackles’ that bind them， and help them understand what is a shadow， what is an illusion， and what the real ‘truth’ actually is.“

A strange light flickered in the young man’s eyes.“Does the Sect Master have a way to do this?“

Ye Tianming nodded.“Constrain power— and at the same time， give the people the right and the ability to do the constraining themselves.“

The young man pressed further.“Sect Master， if the people are given more rights and power， then who will constrain the people? Because any power， once left unchecked， can become corrupted.“

Ye Tianming looked at the young man， a flash of appreciation crossing his eyes.“The people’s power should naturally be subject to limits as well— but the right to impose those limits should be chosen by the people themselves……“

The young man seemed to grasp something. A burning light suddenly appeared in his eyes.“Sect Master， I understand.“

With that， he bowed deeply to Ye Tianming.

Ye Tianming looked at him.“What’s your name?“

The young man said，“I am Wen Xuan.“

Ye Tianming smiled.“To have such aspirations is rare. This path will not be easy— keep at it.“

Wen Xuan bowed again.“My abilities are limited. To accomplish this is no less than reaching for the sky. I am willing to follow the Sect Master and help realize this vision.“

Ye Tianming gave a slight nod.“Good.“

He glanced over the crowd and said，“Any more challengers?“

At that moment， a heavyset man stepped forward. Everyone’s eyes turned to him. He bowed respectfully to Ye Tianming.“Sect Master， according to custom， when a Sect Master takes the position， a proclamation must be issued to the Three Halls and Seventy-Two Academies. I had the proclamation written before I came……“

With that， he produced a document and presented it to Ye Tianming with both hands.

Everyone:“…….“