Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Mohist School

The old man was none other than Wu Xiaobai's master.

"Do you think you would have had any chance of winning against hundreds of Xiong cavalry?" The old man sighed lightly at Wu Xiaobai's anger.

"Aren't you my master? How could you just stand by and watch my parents be killed like that? Can you still call yourself my master?" Wu Xiaobai knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I..." The old man was speechless. He thought Wu Xiaobai was a prodigy, so he took him to a distant place to collect some rare minerals. By the time he returned, it was too late. Perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, from the beginning, he had planned to take Wu Xiaobai away from the village. Xu Daoyan looked at the old man, suspicious but not speaking, because Wu Xiaobai still needed to train with his master, and this was just his own speculation.

"I want to join the army!"

Suddenly, Xu Daoyan said, his eyes red. If he had realized it earlier, Wu Xiaobai's parents wouldn't have died.

"Daoyan, what are you saying? Do you want to let your mother live or not?" Wu's mother was terrified, trembling all over.

"I want to find my father, and I want to avenge Xiaobai's parents!" Xu Daoyan was very determined, his gaze sharp as he looked at Wu's mother.

Wu's mother's lips moved, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

"Daoyan... Am I so useless that I can't even protect my own parents? Why am I even training?" Wu Xiaobai hugged Xu Daoyan and burst into tears.

"Xiaobai, your parents are my parents too. I will avenge them for you!" Xu Daoyan's tears fell, and he said firmly.

After a while, Wu Xiaobai calmed down a lot. He and Xu Daoyan buried their parents together.

The village was filled with blood and corpses. They also helped other villagers bury the dead.

After counting, 128 people were killed in this raid by the Xiong people, even though the young lord of the Xiong had ordered not to kill the elderly, women, and children.

But the art of command is not so easy. Some were still killed.

All the villagers' food was almost completely looted. Xu Daoyan could only distribute the food from his home and dig up many sweet potatoes from the back mountain to barely feed the villagers.

At night, Xu Daoyan would go deep into the mountains to train. Now he had only one thought: to join the army.

By joining the army, he could find out about his father's whereabouts and avenge Wu Xiaobai's parents.

Three days passed.

A thousand-strong elite cavalry from Shilong City arrived, well-equipped. Xu Daoyan used the Immortal Wood Appraisal to investigate, and every warrior was at the Third Rank level.

This was the Wind Cavalry Camp of Shilong City.

Pomegranate Village now seemed particularly desolate, the entire village giving off a sense of lifelessness. They all knew they had come too late. Every year at this time, the Xiong people would start raiding, and they had come to prevent such incidents.

The warriors of the Wind Cavalry Camp brought food, enough to help the villagers through the winter.

Xu Daoyan asked a leader of the Wind Cavalry Camp, "When can I join the army?"

"Spring!"

Xu Daoyan, having received the answer, said no more. The Wind Cavalry Camp later left, leaving a hundred elite soldiers to garrison Pomegranate Village, which was quite remarkable.

This had never happened before. In the past, when Pomegranate Village was raided, it was not by the Wind Cavalry Camp but by ordinary troops.

Some villagers asked the Wind Cavalry warriors why this time was different. It turned out that this was a special order from Shi Yun, the son of the general of Shilong City, after receiving the battle report.

Xu Daoyan, upon learning this, remembered it in his heart. It seemed that Shi Yun was thinking of him, which made Xu Daoyan even more determined to join the army in the spring.

A good man should fight on the battlefield, defend his country, and even die a glorious death. He could not stay in a village all his life, doing nothing!

The Mid-Autumn Festival, originally a time for family reunions, had been marred by the Xiong invasion, leaving the moon full but the people scattered. The moonlight was particularly cold, making many people shiver, feeling unprecedented loneliness and despair.

The three months of autumn passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Xu Daoyan trained desperately, day and night, rarely staying at home. Wu's mother knew of his sorrow and did not say much.

She understood that her son was destined for the battlefield. Besides praying for him, what else could she do?

In these forty-five days, Xu Daoyan finally reached the peak of the Fifth Rank, with a lifespan of 1,410 years. In terms of lung cultivation, he had entered the initial stage of the Thousand-Refined Copper Body. According to the old beggar, even a mid-grade human-grade magical weapon would find it hard to injure Xu Daoyan!

In the forest behind the mountain.

Xu Daoyan sat cross-legged, having just finished training. His chest swelled as he exhaled a breath like an arrow, leaving a shallow mark on the ground.

The lungs are the canopy of the body, covering the five organs and six腑 (fu) organs, hence the term "lungs and fu organs." The lungs are at the top, and the six fu organs are below. The lungs and fu organs, from top to bottom, are the general term for the internal organs.

By cultivating the lungs to a certain level, Xu Daoyan's skin became tough and radiant, a manifestation of the power of the lungs.

"Master, what is Xiaobai cultivating? I can now sense a ten-mile radius, but I can't feel Xiaobai's presence at all. It seems he's not in Pomegranate Village, as if he's gone far away!" Xu Daoyan was very puzzled, thinking that his master might have been truly unaware that day.

"Xiaobai is cultivating the Mohist School's mystic arts, which are quite special. There's no place for him to practice here, so he needs to go far away to collect minerals!" The old beggar nodded, seemingly understanding Xu Daoyan's thoughts but not revealing them, speaking briefly.

"The Mohist School? Are they very powerful?" Xu Daoyan was taken aback.

"Of course, let me tell you about the Mohist School," the old beggar began.

"The Mohist School has ten major principles: universal love, non-aggression, respect for the virtuous, uniformity, the will of heaven, the clarity of ghosts, non-fate, non-music, frugality, and simple burials."

"In terms of methods, they are divided into two schools: the School of Tools and the School of Heroes. The School of Tools can turn waste into treasure, refining and inventing things to integrate into every aspect of life, from the small things like the yokes, hoes, water wheels, plows, and millstones used in your village, maximizing labor efficiency and reducing unnecessary human and material resources. This is called frugality. The Mohist School's contribution to the human race is significant."

"On a larger scale, they refine magical weapons, build cities, construct city defenses, crossbows, cloud ladders, and stone-throwing machines, all of which belong to the School of Tools. However, they never initiate attacks on others, which is non-aggression. Wu Xiaobai has entered the School of Tools."

Since Xu Daoyan had always lived in a small village and knew nothing, the old beggar patiently educated him, speaking concisely and clearly, always making Xu Daoyan understand immediately.

"That's amazing! Xiaobai's future is bound to be bright! What about the other school?" Xu Daoyan was very happy for Wu Xiaobai, thinking that the Mohist School was no less impressive than the Confucian or Daoist schools.

"The School of Heroes, known as the Mohist Heroes, protect all the weak in the world and defend the common people. This is universal love!" The old beggar chuckled.

Hearing this, Xu Daoyan felt a strong resonance: "Universal love! The Mohist School is so powerful!"

"Anyone with ability can join the Mohist School, regardless of their lineage, which is respect for the virtuous."

"The Mohist Heroes are scattered throughout the world, upholding justice and benefiting the people, which is uniformity."

"Communicating with the will of heaven to punish evil and promote good, this is the will of heaven."

"Communicating with ghosts and summoning spirits, this is the clarity of ghosts."

"Besides, they have techniques to prevent being predicted, keeping their fate in their own hands, which is non-fate."

"Resisting the invasion of musical arts, not being affected by their sounds, maintaining mental clarity, and preserving oneself, this is non-music."

"When they fight enemies, they use secret techniques to die with the enemy, or they may transform into the great way of heaven and earth, or be buried in a simple grave after a natural death, which is simple burial. This is different from the Confucian tradition of mourning for three years, and in a sense, the Mohist and Confucian schools have many opposing views!"

Xu Daoyan frowned, puzzled, and asked, "But their actions are not bad. As long as they don't do evil, why be opposed?"

"Ha ha, they also have common ground, both for the benefit of the people. The methods and thoughts are different, which is a conflict of ideas, not a blood feud. You need to understand this. Everyone exists for the people, but the methods and opinions differ, leading to disagreements, which is inevitable. It's like you wanting to join the army to protect her, while your mother doesn't want you to join, thinking it will protect you. Can you say she is wrong?" The old beggar smiled.

Xu Daoyan nodded, deeply agreeing, and asked no more. After all, the old man with the hammer had his reasons for letting Wu Xiaobai enter the School of Tools.

"It's the three months of winter. What should I cultivate?" Now, cultivation was the priority. Only by becoming stronger could he protect his country and fight on the battlefield. He had been to Shilong City before, and even a patrol soldier there was so powerful. Xu Daoyan wanted to go to the battlefield and knew he needed greater strength!

"Kidneys!" The old beggar said word by word.

"What are the benefits of cultivating the kidneys?" Xu Daoyan was puzzled. He felt that the five-element cycle in his body was almost complete. Each time the old beggar taught him, he always gained a lot. At such times, he was always humble, hoping to learn more from the old beggar, focusing intently.