First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2585 – The Good Must Be Rewarded

Bai Yulou, a disciple of Fortuitous Sword Mountain.

He was different from the other disciples. He was their founder’s seniormost disciple!

Going by seniority, he could have taken on his master’s mantle and become their second-generation sect leader.

But he’d never been interested in status or authority, and he’d always called himself just another disciple.

Strangest of all, he forbade others from speaking of seniority with him. All disciples were to address him as they would a member of the same situation.

At first, his sectmates thought Bai Yulou was kidding around.

However, countless years had passed, and Bai Yulou was still happy being a humble disciple. If anyone dared honor him as their senior, he’d correct and chastise them.

By now, no one dared get hung up on seniority around him.

Still, no matter what, he was their senior apprentice brother, and he’d been there since the earliest days of the sect. Everyone in the sect, no matter who they were, treated him with respect. None of them dared to be negligent.

That was why they were all so surprised when they saw Bai Yulou bow to Su Yi with such respect.

That was also why they were flummoxed when Bai Yulou appraised Su Yi so highly. Was that man in blue robes really so impressive?

“Senior Apprentice Brother, forgive our ignorance, but… what exactly was so impressive about that person?” someone asked humbly.

“If someone saved your lives, would you want to express your gratitude and repay them?” asked Bai Yulou.

“Of course,” the crowd said without even pausing to think.

“But what if they said they saved you in passing, in accordance with their nature, and refused to accept any rewards?” asked Bai Yulou.

“Err…” The crowd hesitated.

“Go ahead and speak freely. No need to hold back,” Bai Yulou said gently.

“Even so, I’d be sure to carve their benevolence into my heart and think of a way to repay them another day,” said the colorfully dressed woman.

Many of the others agreed with her, but someone said, “If he refused to accept my gratitude, I’m…. I’m afraid I would find it hard to take. I hate owing people favors.”

Many of the others agreed with his opinion, too.

Cultivators put great stock in fortuitous encounters, but they feared nothing more than letting favors entangle their hearts.

Bai Yulou laughed. “Now do you understand why that man said he’d accept a reward?”

The others were briefly stunned, but they quickly understood. One of them slapped his thigh and said, “I get it! It’s not that he’s greedy for rewards, but that he wants the people he saved to feel at ease. He doesn’t want them to owe anything!”

“I wouldn’t have guessed that man had thought about favors in such detail,” someone sighed with approval.

The colorfully dressed woman said softly, “Senior Apprentice Brother, even so… that doesn’t seem all that impressive. I don’t see what’s so special about that guy.”

“No, there’s a second reason he accepts others’ gratitude,” said Bai Yulou. “Doing so means that those who do good are rewarded for it.

“If everyone refuses others’ gratitude and receives no rewards, who will be willing to do good in the future? Who will be willing to save other people?” He pointed to himself. “After all, in the path of cultivation, people like us, who save others in accordance with our hearts, are ultimately few in number.

“If we want more people to help others, we must ensure that they’re rewarded for it in some way. It could be with fame, or with material benefits.

“Either way, the good will receive rewards, and those they save will receive a new chance at life. That’s what that Fellow Daoist is truly after.”

Bai Yulou sighed. “In this regard, I’m lacking compared to him. I just wanted to follow my heart, but I failed to consider the bigger picture.”

The crowd exchanged glances. They were finally starting to understand. So, there were two layers of meaning to what he said. Accepting a reward is for the benefit of those offering it, as that way, they don’t have to owe him a favor.

But more than that, it’s about setting a standard and ensuring that the good are rewarded for their efforts.

If that rule became the standard throughout the world, far more people would be willing to do good!

“In the past, Confucian sages tried to do the same thing. They wanted to enlighten the masses. Unfortunately, Confucianism’s footing in the River of Destiny is far too feeble. It’s nowhere near capable of competing with other schools of thought. Naturally, they couldn’t really change anything,” Bai Yulou said softly. “I wouldn’t have thought that someone in these dark, turbulent times would have such an advanced perspective.”

All of them were sword cultivators. They understood what Bai Yulou was getting at, but it didn’t particularly move them. On the contrary, they were a bit dismissive.

Doing good and saving others was just a way of handling worldly affairs. What did that have to do with cultivating the Grand Dao?

“Senior Apprentice Brother, forgive me if this crosses the line, but…” A middle-aged man with a willowy beard clasped his fist and lowered his head. “Generations of our leaders told us that, simply put, we sword cultivators need only to strive for clean consciences. Only that, and nothing more. Forgive me, but in my heart of hearts, I cannot adhere to the principles you’ve described.”

Bai Yulou just smiled and inclined his head. “Understandable. If the day came that good deeds were always rewarded, you might well understand the weight of what I just said.”

“Senior Apprentice Brother, how high do you think that guy’s cultivation base was?” someone couldn’t help but ask.

Bai Yulou paused, then said, “Someone with such high-level understanding cannot possibly be weak, but… I couldn’t tell his exact cultivation.”

His companions were unwittingly stunned.

Bai Yulou was their founder’s first disciple. He’d lived for countless years. Even though he was just here as a clone, he was still far beyond the God Domain’s Master Gods.

Yet not even Bai Yulou could see through that blue-robed man’s cultivation base. Who wouldn’t have been shocked?

“But I have a premonition that he’s no nameless figure. I’d even go so far as to say that he’s sure to participate in the Battle for Order,” Bai Yulou said calmly, as if simply stating a fact.

None of the others understood how he’d reached this conclusion.

“Come on, we ought to return to the sect. The Jiuhua Dharma Assembly will begin soon.” Bai Yulou turned and walked into the distance. His companions followed hot on his heels.

“Senior Apprentice Brother, what will Fortuitous Sword Mountain do if the Heavenly Court of the Five Sovereigns declares themselves the leader of the alliance?” someone asked.

“Then we’ll just let them lead the alliance. The greater your strength, the greater your responsibility, and the more attention you’ll bring to yourself. Leading the alliance will make them the target of countless arrows. That’s why they say that those who covet the imperial crown must first be willing to bear its weight.”

“But Senior Apprentice Brother, what if they make rules or arrangements disadvantageous to us?”

“That’s exactly why we need rules. These dark, turbulent days are turbulent because they lack rules, right? An alliance ought to have rules everyone can accept and follow. The Heavenly Court of the Five Sovereigns won’t dare to try any funny business.”

“Senior Apprentice Brother…”

Along the way, others asked Bai Yulou various questions. He answered all of them seriously, showing no sign of impatience.

Before long, the whole group had faded into the distance.

……

“Quite an impressive guy.” Su Yi stood beneath the light of dusk atop a little flat boat, recalling what he’d seen of Bai Yulou. He couldn’t help but feel a wondrous resonance with his heart.

He had a strong premonition that sooner or later, he and the man he’d met today would fight to see whose grasp of the Grand Dao was superior!

This was a sort of intuition. It was powerful, too.

A moment later, Su Yi laughed, took out a jug of wine, and drank with relish.

The Dark Days of Legend had far too much bloodshed and upheaval, but at the same time, no small number of extraordinary figures had entered the world.

Bai Yulou of Fortuitous Sword Mountain was unquestionably one of them.

Fortuitous Sword Mountain, huh…? Zhen Yang of Five Lightning Temple mentioned them. They’re a faction from another spacetime, and their foundations run incomparably deep. They’re apparently almost comparable to the Heavenly Court of the Five Sovereigns, thought Su Yi.

But if Fortuitous Sword Mountain has someone like Bai Yulou, it stands to reason that the Heavenly Court of the Five Sovereigns has a few extraordinary experts, too.

Su Yi’s heart suddenly filled with incomparable eagerness. I just hope that when the Battle for Order begins, more and more interesting people enter the world, whether they’re friends or foes!

…

Three months passed in a flash.

Su Yi spent this time wandering aimlessly, passing through bloodshed, upheaval, and fierce battles.

He saw abundant upheaval and brutality, and he saw countless living souls meet their end.

No place was left untouched.

The territories of top factions were still home to a few flourishing cities, but these were ultimately few in number.

Su Yi walked through it all, seeing and experiencing it.

Deep within his heart, his perception of worldly affairs, his view of the heavens, and his understanding of rules and order deepened.

It was only after experiencing darkness and upheaval that he understood how precious peace was, and how difficult it was to maintain.

It was only after experiencing bloodshed that he understood on a deeper level just what kind of new epoch civilization he wished to create.

If the world was wrong, he’d just overturn it, break it, and build a new one!

Before, Su Yi seldom considered such things, but things had changed since the Epoch Spark sprouted. He’d grasped the trajectory of new epoch civilizations’ development, and he’d determined what kind of path he wanted to walk.

Now, Su Yi discovered that his view of the Grand Dao and worldly affairs had shifted.

His heart now held grand ambitions!

He wanted to do something to prove the worth of the new path he strived for!