Chapter Eighty-Two: I Am Filled with Righteous Spirit!

Donglin City, located in the central-western part of Wutongzhou, is an independent city, much like Xuanwu City. However, there is a difference: Xuanwu City is a gathering place for cultivators, renowned as the hub for gossiping reporters across Wutongzhou. There are countless cultivators in the world, and innumerable ways to ascend.

The most common paths are Confucian cultivators who seek enlightenment through scholarship, Buddhist cultivators who pursue truth through meditation, and Daoist cultivators who wander aimlessly with a yellow ox, stumbling upon enlightenment along the way. Of course, there are also myriad eccentric methods among other schools—such as a farmer cultivator who tasted a hundred herbs, was poisoned to death, and upon awakening, ascended; or a Yin-Yang cultivator from a millennium ago who took a unique path, becoming an oddity among cultivators, finally ascending after nauseating the ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth cultivator with his bizarre demeanor.

The “reporters” in Xuanwu City, though they seem to do nothing but gossip, are in fact practicing a form of cultivation themselves. Some are passionate about rumors, others pursue truth; all follow the path of their own hearts without doubt.

Donglin City, unlike Xuanwu, is a typical mortal town, one of the most common types in the mundane world, but it stands apart in that it does not rely on any nation, having developed naturally. Most inhabitants are ordinary people, though there are cultivators as well, but generally, the two coexist peacefully, with none of that “if you look at me, I’ll slaughter your entire family” nonsense.

Such things rarely happen, for the three main schools—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—have established rules to protect mortals, such as forbidding cultivators from becoming emperors and punishing wanton slaughter of innocents with thorough investigation and severe penalties.

Naturally, there are those who oppose the orthodox schools, enjoying bullying children, snatching their sweets, taking offense at a glance and seeking vengeance, declaring, “You insulted me, so I’ll wipe out your family.” These are known collectively as members of the Demonic Sect.

Yet, the term “Demonic Sect” covers a broad spectrum: one can be an independent demonic cultivator or part of an organized sect, like the Solitary Demon Sect or the Sun and Moon Sect. The Sun and Moon Sect, aside from indulging in vice and gambling, mostly engages in trickery and fraud, thus earning the “demonic” label. Jiang Lin believed, at heart, this world simply wasn’t open-minded enough.

Why is manipulating people’s hearts considered demonic? Isn’t it psychological gamesmanship?

For cultivators, worldly entanglements are many and complex. Who can know whether someone’s family has a relative who’s the leader of a sect? Or whether an eight-year-old child is actually a formidable qi practitioner? What if someone has an illegitimate child who one day cultivates diligently and avenges their parents? Or like the protagonist in the cultivator novel “The Chronicle of Xiao Huohuo,” who loves to play the fool, hiding his strength—how does one judge such cases?

Thus, no cultivator would idly provoke worldly karma. They are here to temper themselves, not to become the next great villain.

Besides, those cultivators who respond to insults with massacres surely have poor cultivation of the heart and shallow realms. More likely, they’d be killed along the way by a little girl, an old monk, a beautiful nun or Daoist priestess, or even a humble sweeping monk.

However, when it comes to the struggles and even slaughters among cultivators themselves, the hundred schools led by Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism generally do not interfere. If your strength suffices, you can even provoke all the female disciples of the Falling Flower Sect without consequence.

...

After lying on his Ferrari for five days and nights, Jiang Lin finally arrived at the outskirts of Donglin City from the western part of Wutongzhou. He could have flown straight to Donglin City, but upon reflection, walking allowed him to investigate the city’s surroundings as well.

Now, Jiang Lin only hoped his system wouldn’t malfunction—such as forcing him to help the Solitary Demon Sect turn people into zombies. On second thought, it probably wouldn’t. The system, though lacking in morals, had never made him kill anyone all this time; most tasks aligned with the Sun and Moon Sect’s creed:

“No wanton killing, only targeting the heart.”

He had to admit the system was quite useful: blood potions, mana potions, all sorts of mysterious materials—it was practically a department store, even offering resurrection coins. The only catch was that one resurrection coin cost forty thousand infamy points… a bit much.

Holding the mask rewarded by the system, Jiang Lin hesitated, deciding not to wear it for now, since the portraits in the newspapers hardly resembled him anyway. Like Sanji’s wanted posters in “One Piece”—was he really that lecherous?

He wandered the outskirts of Donglin City for an afternoon, discovering no trace of any formation. Yet Aunt Lin had warned that a formation might be turning the city’s citizens into zombies—what was going on?

Unable to figure it out, he decided to stop worrying. As night fell, Jiang Lin found shelter in a dilapidated temple. Dressed in a Confucian blue robe and holding a paper fan, he looked every bit the learned scholar.

After all, it was said that fox spirits most often appear in such ruins.

Fox spirits cultivate mostly by absorbing male essence, but only a portion, never harming the root. They especially favor scholars; tales abound of scholars en route to the capital for exams who encounter beautiful women in ruined temples. These encounters weren’t mere stories—fox spirits would help scholars relax before exams, and scholars would help them advance their cultivation. It was nothing short of mutual benefit—a quintessential win-win!

Sometimes, a fox spirit would truly fall for a talented scholar; their love would blossom. After the scholar succeeded in his exams, he would return to the temple to meet her, eventually bringing her home as his bride—such stories were not rare.

At this moment, Jiang Lin, in his scholar’s guise, sensed a monster in the temple! Though he couldn’t discern its exact nature, he was certain it was a fox spirit. Jiang Lin resolved to help them improve their cultivation!

He bounced in merrily, tidying his hair, and gently pushed open the temple door.

No sooner had he opened it than two figures barreled into him, leaving his mind blank with shock.

My goodness, such things actually happen! And with two enchantresses?!

I approve!

“Ladies, as the ancients say, men and women should keep their distance. I am a proper scholar, and I believe we should…”

“Sir, hurry! There’s a monster inside!”

Before Jiang Lin could finish, the two fox-eared girls called out in fear, grabbing him and trying to drag him away.

“Huh? A monster? Is this the fox tribe’s latest trick? Are they no longer satisfied with temples?”

“Sir, are you leaving or not? If you don’t, we will!”

“I…”

Just as Jiang Lin was about to speak, the door slammed shut.

From the darkness, two eyes began to glow.

“Don’t be afraid, ladies! I possess boundless righteous energy—I will protect you!”

Jiang Lin shielded the two cat-eared—no, fox-eared—girls behind him, channeling spiritual power into his eyes, shooting twin beams like Ultraman.

Their gazes met.

“Huh?

A husky?”