Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1416 - 1409: Strong on the Outside but Weak on the Inside

Chapter 1416: Chapter 1409: Strong on the Outside but Weak on the Inside

"Listen well, Yichuan Ying, as a friend, I hope you live a good life, a spectacular one, not give up on yourself just because you can’t cultivate. The world doesn’t revolve solely around cultivation," Cheng Ziang said patiently.

"But that’s just how Kyushu works; everyone and everything revolves around cultivation. If you’d seen those cultivators strut about with their noses in the air, you might understand how I feel," Yichuan Ying said lowly, a note of grievance in her voice.

"Have you ever considered the Nine Streams?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"You guys actually know about the Nine Streams?" Yichuan Ying looked at him in surprise.

"Is it that surprising?" Cheng Ziang asked with a shrug.

"No, how should I put it," Yichuan Ying took a deep breath before responding, "People like us, unless it’s really necessary, our families wouldn’t allow us to join the Nine Streams. Joining them would be a disgrace to our family’s name."

"What would your family do if they needed someone from the Nine Streams?" Cheng Ziang asked curiously.

"They can hire from outside, those from humbler backgrounds, those commoners, most of whom join the Nine Streams hoping to be employed by aristocratic families like ours," Yichuan Ying answered.

"Can they be relied upon?" Cheng Ziang asked with a slight frown.

"If they can’t be depended on, we wouldn’t hire them. Actually, the aristocratic families’ need for the Nine Streams isn’t that great. If the situation really became desperate for the great noble houses, it’s very possible that they would elevate someone from the first rank of the Nine Streams into the Dual Dao," Yichuan Ying explained.

"They can be promoted..." Cheng Ziang said, scratching his head.

After a pause, something else occurred to him, and he tilted his head to ask, "Despite not recognizing a single character, you seem pretty knowledgeable about this, able to discuss it at length."

"I simply don’t like studying those dead texts, but as a member of the nobility, mastering the basic knowledge of cultivation is essential," Yichuan Ying explained.

"Got it," Cheng Ziang nodded his understanding.

They were more than familiar with the concept of mastering basic knowledge; they had learned foundational knowledge from elementary through high school, and then at university, at Haiya Academy. Those who possessed knowledge had an entirely different demeanor from others.

Take Hu Daoke, for example: you could say he was belligerent, but you couldn’t call him barbaric because he had, after all, graduated from a formal university, clearly a cut above the ignorant.

Yichuan Ying mustered her courage to look at Cheng Ziang again, and though she had begun to blush, she didn’t look away, instead, Cheng Ziang was the one who became somewhat uneasy under her gaze.

"You’re not of the Demon Clan, nor are you a commoner of Kyushu..." Yichuan Ying narrowed her eyes, studying him for a long while, before reaching a conclusion.

"How did you figure that out?" Cheng Ziang asked, feigning confusion.

"First off, you don’t have the ears of a Demon Clan member; secondly, your Kyushu dialect is very poor, definitely something you learned halfway," Yichuan Ying analyzed.

"Actually, with your smarts, if only you would read more and learn more, your achievements could be greater than anyone else’s," Cheng Ziang said sincerely.

Faced with Cheng Ziang’s words, Yichuan Ying had nothing to say, only lowering her head in silence.

"We come from a distant place," Cheng Ziang looked up at the night sky, volunteering, "We traveled through great hardship to arrive at West Outer Heaven, and now, unexpectedly, we can’t go back."

"Did you come to help the Demon Clan?" Yichuan Ying asked.

"No, we just happened to become the enemies of the Dongsheng Empire," Cheng Ziang shrugged his shoulders, displaying an innocent expression.

"The Heavenly Dynasty may be arrogant, but you shouldn’t become their enemy..." Yichuan Ying said, lowering her long eyelashes.

"The Demon Clan’s rebellion against the Dongsheng Empire is a great war of righteous resistance to invasion. Even if we were not enemies of the Dongsheng Empire, we would stand by the Demon Clan without hesitation," Cheng Ziang said earnestly.

"I don’t understand why you are so supportive of the Demon Clan; what’s so good about them, they are just..." Yichuan Ying halted mid-sentence, worried she had angered Cheng Ziang, and bit her lip as she looked at him.

"You’re still in your teens, very young. Both your Cultivation and your understanding can be further improved. But I still intend to tell you some truths that you’ll understand when you’re older. As a qualified adult entering this world, you should understand at least two principles. First, to have self-awareness; second, to learn to treat others as human beings. If you can’t do these two things, no matter your age, your perception will seem very childish."

Cheng Ziang said patiently, "No one can arbitrarily define the value of a person or a species. The Demon Clan are people too, West Outer Heaven is their West Outer Heaven, not anyone else’s. The Dongsheng Empire’s attack on West Outer Heaven is an outright war of aggression, with no room for justification."

"Perhaps in your eyes, such things are normal. But I believe that the Imperial Court of the Dongsheng Empire definitely doesn’t think so; they must know it’s a war of aggression, yet they still proceed. That’s how they are, that’s how adults are. They never believe they’re on the side of justice, but they will deceive you youths into thinking you’re doing a great good."

"I don’t understand what you’re talking about..." Yichuan Ying said, shaking her head in confusion.

"Go back and ask your father; I don’t believe he knows nothing about the decisions of the Dongsheng Court. Otherwise, how could the Yichuan Clan have taken the opportunity of the Dongsheng Empire’s invasion of West Outer Heaven to successfully take control of it?" said Cheng Ziang.

"I don’t want to go back, going back would mean..." Hearing Cheng Ziang’s words, Yichuan Ying hastily shook her head.

"Going back would spoil your father’s plan," Cheng Ziang shrugged his shoulders, pinpointing her concerns, "but is it really appropriate for you to give up your life like this? Should one really sacrifice themselves for a cause lacking any sense of justice?"

"If we go back to Kyushu, our Yichuan Clan will never have a chance to turn things around," said Yichuan Ying with a sad expression.

"Why don’t you return to your family in Yin State?" Cheng Ziang asked tentatively.

"Because... because..." Yichuan Ying seemed hesitant, stammering over the subject.

"Because of what?" Cheng Ziang didn’t intend to evade the issue and asked directly.

"Because..." Yichuan Ying bit her lip, as if resigning herself to revealing the truth, took a deep breath, and her face conveyed grief and anger, "because the elders of the family look down on the Yichuan Clan of Yin State."

"Why look down on them? That is the foremost aristocratic family of Yin State." Cheng Ziang was surprised by her response.

"The Yichuan Clan of Yin State became the number one aristocratic family in Yin State because their Patriarch is one of the Hundred Chiefs of the Cabinet, who is also a son-in-law to the royal family and has a very close relationship with the royal family. That’s why they became the number one," Yichuan Ying said, her expression revealing a hint of disdain.

The so-called Hundred Chiefs are actually equivalent to the Prime Minister of the Empire’s Cabinet. However, considering Dongsheng’s constitutional monarchy to some extent, the more accurate term would be Prime Minister.

The Hundred Chiefs, meaning the leader among all officials, is actually a transliteration. The Imperial Court also refers to them as the Chancellor, but whether it’s the Hundred Chiefs or the Chancellor, it refers to the same person, who is the true leader of the civil official group within the Dongsheng Court.

Ever since its founding, Dongsheng Empire had been governed through civil governance for over two hundred years. Despite this duration, the internal divergence between civil and military officials within the Court was still severe, and the civil official group hadn’t completely controlled the entire Court.

From Yichuan Ying’s conversation, Cheng Ziang learned that the Patriarch of the Yichuan Clan of Yin State was one of the Hundred Chiefs of the Dongsheng Court, which for the martially esteemed nobility of Kyushu, wasn’t something to be lauded.

"That just means they are close to the Court," Cheng Ziang didn’t explicitly take a stance but continued gently.

"My father said that the Yichuan Clan of Yin State, has already become rotten at the core. Instead of focusing on Cultivation, they study those worthless books and become civil officials, controlling the entire Imperial Court. What’s the use of that? They take pride in what should be shameful, not only does my father disdain them, but I also look down on them," Yichuan Ying said indignantly.

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