Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 460 - 418: Twenty-Five Years of Time

"Still alright?"

Jiang Ding was taken aback.

He had never learned flying sword swordsmanship.

"Forget it, I understand what you mean."

Without waiting for his answer, Immortal Dinghai waved his hand, "You've seen my swordsmanship, it's just like that."

"But even so, it's considered good among the Nascent Soul monks of the Xianmen Sect. Many people haven't touched skill-based cold weapons at all after the high exam; they all use power-based treasures like stone seals and Little Mountains."

"I estimate that even if you turned the entire Xianmen Sect upside down, you might not find someone qualified to be your swordsmanship teacher."

"Don't you have a Yin Mist Pearl?"

He seemed to recall something and asked, "You can practice inside it. Immortal Yinwu is a true master of the Sword Dao. Flying swords and swordsmanship form her foundation; they should still be quite good."

"That won't do,"

Jiang Ding shook his head, "Simple combat would be okay, but I need to systematically study swordsmanship and then fight. Only in this way can I make progress; I can't conjure it out of nothing."

"That makes sense,"

Immortal Dinghai fell into deep thought.

"Do I need to kidnap a Golden Pill Sword Cultivator to come back?"

"No, a Golden Pill Sword Cultivator won't suffice; it has to be at least a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator. But that's too dangerous, plus there are issues with teaching. An enemy can't do it; what if they deliberately lead you astray?"

"The sword cultivators from the Five Elements Heavenly Sect might be able to do it. Ideally, you should be sent to study in the lineage of sword cultivators of the Five Elements Heavenly Sect, but that's too risky. They might sell you out after an immensely costly trade..."

"I'll figure something out."

After a few moments of contemplation, Immortal Dinghai sighed, not expecting that one day the Xianmen Sect would worry about teaching resources, "I will invite a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator from the Five Elements Heavenly Sect to come and teach you. Additionally, I'll cobble together a framework for the Xianmen Sect's sword Dao heritage. The Great Sun Sword Pavilion's legacy is also too good to waste."

"It just takes time."

"This kind of exchange at the level of Immortal Sects is very troublesome; it must first go through the application, approval, and consent process of the Xianmen Sect. Then the Five Elements Heavenly Sect has to follow their protocols, which are much slower than ours. Finally, we have to ensure that the Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator who understands Sword Intent is available..."

"The whole process could take a hundred years; you must be mentally prepared."

"Understood!"

Jiang Ding was overjoyed, scratching his head and feigning politeness, "It's so much trouble; I'm really embarrassed."

"Nonsense!"

Immortal Dinghai laughed and scolded.

"Class dismissed!"

…

"...Family, the foundation of a person, without family, there would be no multitude of cultivators in the Immortal Sects."

"Therefore, it's not appropriate to refer to the many Xianmen Sect legacies that have lasted for hundreds or thousands of years as private companies or clans. It is more fitting to call them inheritance families."

"The difference between the inheritance families and the clans of the Nine Great Immortal Sects lies mainly in their scale. With no more than a few dozens or hundreds of people living together spanning three generations, they are entirely different from the Immortal Sect clans that could easily amass tens of thousands of members. Families are held together by affection rather than clan law to maintain harmony within."

"Supplemented by inheritance tax and the law of splitting after reaching a certain scale, it's difficult for families to develop into clans."

"The clans of the Nine Great Immortal Sects have actually become political entities, with clan laws and enforcement forces of cultivator soldiers, taxation systems for clan members to support the top echelons, and a set of clan values that are wholly distinct from those of other organizations.

Essentially, each clan is a small feudal state within the Immortal Sect, with cultivators often subject to both the clan law and the Immortal Sect law."

"Clans are undesirable and should be prohibited,"

"Whereas families should be encouraged. One cannot expect someone who does not love their own family to love the Immortal Sects..."

The Bluegold Large Tree swayed, gathering Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi and Great Sun Essence. Nearby, the television broadcasted news while Jiang Ding sat at his desk, writing words on paper with a ballpoint pen.

This was his practical summary for his moral education class.

"Under the influence of Xu's, my approach might have been too decisive previously, overcompensating..."

Jiang Ding's pen paused.

He remembered Immortal Dinghai's true intention and the words of his internal demon, silently reflecting on his past experiences with friends and foes, where he had always tried to be above reproach.

The only exception was his treatment of his two nieces and nephews, which might have been too indifferent.

"Family is maintained by affection, not by clan law."

"Affection."

Jiang Ding murmured to himself, "We didn't have a shared childhood experience, so our feelings aren't deep. But some emotions brought by our blood ties still exist."

"Perhaps, we should provide support to those of average ability, and then whether they succeed or not depends on their own efforts and fate?"

One word after another emerged, the paper stretching out from time to time, always maintaining the size of a single sheet.

Several days later,

a report on thought and morality practice over one hundred thousand words long was completed.

Jiang Ding's Divine Sense swept over it, the words on the paper were recorded into an email, which he reviewed and then clicked send to the thought and morality teacher, Ouyang Hui.

Closing his eyes, he continued to enter a state of cultivation, polishing and augmenting his mana.

The television was turned off.

Quietness settled in here, only the rustling of the wind over the leaves remained.

He attended classes every day, occasionally visiting his family at home, and dealing with some miscellaneous affairs of Tushan Immortal City from time to time.

The days went by, one after another.

Time flew by swiftly.

Twenty-five years.

"Another many years have passed."

"Birth, aging, sickness, death."

One day, Jiang Ding woke up from his cultivation with a trace of sorrow.

"Uncle..."

Having cultivated to this day, his former classmates were now nearly a hundred years old, and the elder generation was reaching the time to gradually wither and say goodbye.

Between heaven and earth,

the number of people who cared for and concerned about me had diminished yet again.

The Bluegold Large Tree's branches and trunk contracted and flew into the center of his forehead, his entire being rising into the sky where he merged with a silver-white Air-Space Warplane. With a sonic boom, he broke through the troposphere, flew out of the stratosphere, and disappeared from sight.

Several minutes later, a figure appeared above Rongcheng City, slowly descending.

"Dingding."

"Brother..."

Many people greeted him at his uncle's home.

Jiang Ding looked on in silence.

Lin Wanqiu was now one hundred and twenty-one years old. Having cultivated the decisive-level "Ancient Tree Samsara Technique," she extended her life by thirty years and was not yet at the end of her lifespan.

Jiang Yuan was also eighty-six years old now, with silvery hair and a face full of wrinkles, at the ninth layer of Qi cultivation.

"Jiang Ding."

Lin Yuanwang's eyes were red and swollen as he croakily greeted him.

Jiang Ding said nothing in vain consolation, merely nodded slightly and looked towards the bed.

Uncle Lin Yong lay in bed, covered by a blanket, having reached the limit of his age at one hundred and twenty years old, his body gaunt, hair dry and yellow, skin gray, and consciousness somewhat unclear.

Jiang Ding felt a twinge in his nose.

He remembered many years ago, when his uncle came to his home carrying a treasured Qinghua Yunji Elixir for him like a precious gift, so that his work and life could go more smoothly in the future, without the need to suffer as the older generation did.

"Dingding!"

Uncle Lin Yong suddenly regained consciousness, his eyes opening, chest heaving violently as he cracked a smile: "Do you think, if there is reincarnation in this world, could I still see my nephew who is still alive after thousands, tens of thousands of years?"

"You definitely will, Uncle,"

Jiang Ding said softly.

"That's good."

"That's really good..."

Lin Yong let out a long sigh, his voice getting softer and softer, his spirit visibly collapsing, his chest heaving faintly, until at last, he looked at his only son with an incredibly fond gaze.

"Don't worry, Uncle."

Jiang Ding said softly, "If he is worthy of being shaped, I will provide the necessary help."

Lin Yong's eyes closed, and he became silent forever.