60: He's practically become a vegetable.

"Three or five strokes on the inkstone, ink falls as a partridge cries."

"Who understands the meaning in the song? A broken string waits for you to tie it."

The BGM played appropriately.

Zhou Yan was currently outside Jiangzhou Prefecture.

As soon as he stepped onto the flying boat, he saw a wooden box instantly appear in the cockpit.

This was neither a Storage Pouch nor a Storage Ring, so when he first saw it, Zhou Yan thought there weren't many things inside.

When the box opened, inside was a set of green, round-collared, wide-sleeved robes, a spread-wing futou hat, and a Fish Tally made of special material.

Good heavens!

There weren't many things inside, but once put on, everything would increase; he had finally become a 'vegetable'!

Zhou Yan stroked the Fish Tally; his official title and name were carved upon it.

Supervising Censor Zhou Yan, Junior Seventh Rank.

At this moment, he was like the Wheel King seeing the Remains of Rama, filled with a desire that made it impossible to look away.

"Ding."

"Are you there? Are you there?"

"It's your Master!"

Another harassment call.

But stroking the soft material of the official uniform and that identity token, which felt cold to the touch yet warmed his heart...

Even the Fourth Elder's words sounded incredibly pleasant to Zhou Yan right now.

"Oh, it's Master. It's been so long, I've missed you dearly."

"Mhm~!"

"What was that weird sound?"

"Uh, no... nothing."

Since they gained the status of master and Disciple, the Fourth Elder had never actually heard Zhou Yan call him 'Master'.

Although Zhou Yan had left on a small boat before he could perform the formal apprenticeship ceremony, once they reconnected, the Elder had many cordial conversations with him.

But even then, it was mostly the Elder talking, and Zhou Yan would usually just respond.

Now that Zhou Yan had called him 'Master' of his own accord, it was truly refreshing.

The Fourth Elder now wished he could rush into the Monster Realm, catch two lucky Demon Kings, and give them a harsh lesson to vent his joy.

"Did you receive the surprise?"

"How does it feel, little Zhou Yan?"

At the mention of this, the corners of Zhou Yan's mouth curled up even more.

For some reason, he hadn't felt much when he became a Reserve Holy Son.

But the moment he saw this Rank 7 official post, a feeling arose spontaneously, as if some gene rooted in his Bloodline had awakened.

"Master, you've really given me a massive surprise."

"I really, really want to make progress."

Good, good. As expected of Li Wenbo, the official; he understands the human heart so well. If I'd known little Zhou Yan liked this, I would have arranged it for him long ago.

His heart was blooming with joy, but the Fourth Elder still had to control his emotions.

"Look at you, getting impatient again."

"This Rank 7 post isn't high, but it's just the beginning. As long as you want it, you'll have everything."

"Don't worry if you run into trouble. You just need to remember that your Senior Brother is the Censor-in-Chief."

"Of course, if you encounter something even the Censor-in-Chief can't solve, don't worry, because your Master is me."

The Fourth Elder's words were filled with boundless confidence; this was how a normal Master should act.

The two exchanged pleasantries, full of master-Disciple affection. Just as Zhou Yan was about to hang up to try on the uniform, the Fourth Elder specifically mentioned something.

"You left the sect early before, and there's something I forgot to tell you."

"For ordinary Cultivators with average Aptitude or poor talent, we usually teach them later."

"But for Disciples with outstanding talent like you, we often explain some precautions in advance."

"I originally thought a hundred years wasn't long, and by the time you returned, your cultivation would have reached the Nascent Soul stage, which would be the perfect time to talk."

"But now, I am a bit worried that you might inexplicably choose the Law of Time as your primary focus before the Soul Transformation stage. It will be too late to say anything then."

Seeing the Fourth Elder's serious expression, Zhou Yan realized the following words were extraordinary and quickly suppressed his joy.

"Please speak, Master. Your Disciple will surely keep it in mind."

"Mhm~!"

"What was that weird sound again?"

"Cough. What I am about to say next is vital; you must remember it well."

"This world is divided into four Realms: Heaven, Earth, Human, and Yao."

"Except for the Heaven Realm, the other Three Realms are connected to each other."

"The Three Realms share the same set of Laws, which are the fundamental forces that construct the world."

"And above the Heaven Realm, there exists the legendary power of the Great Dao."

"However, for some reason, all history regarding the Heaven Realm has been annihilated."

At this point, the Fourth Elder paused slightly, as if he had thought of something, swallowed his original words, and changed his tune.

"The Heaven Realm itself has also disappeared."

"Therefore, in the world today, the Great Dao no longer exists."

"The Great Dao was originally one of the Foundations for Immortal Ascension."

"Without the Great Dao, people can no longer become immortals."

"In the past cultivation system, there were no Realms such as Body Integration, Undergoing Tribulation, or Mahayana."

"These were all new paths opened up by later powerhouses who were unwilling to stop at the Void Refining stage."

"They no longer took cultivating themselves as the Foundation, but instead turned to rely on Laws, treating them as the new Great Dao, and finally merging their bodies with the Laws to achieve the Mahayana stage."

“Therefore, before Void Refining, a new 'Body Integration' stage was added for mastering Laws."

"After Void Refining, 'Undergoing Tribulation' and 'Mahayana' were added for merging with Laws."

Why did he suddenly start explaining the world setting? Is this going to trigger some ultimate quest?

"Of course, what I just said was only to help you understand the background and the content that follows. You can just listen to this history for fun."

"Huh?"

"The next part is the key!"

"In the long history of cultivation and exploration, Cultivators have discovered many Laws and developed many branches."

"Among them, three Laws are the most special and require extra attention."

"The first is Space."

"The threshold for the Law of Space is extremely low, and anyone can learn it. Therefore, before breaking through to Mahayana, one will face countless competitors of the same generation; it shouldn't be chosen unless one is a peerless Genius."

"The second is Karma."

"Karma is hard to find and elusive. To this day, I have never heard of anyone achieving Mahayana through Karma."

"The third is Time."

"The Law of Time is the most bizarre. Although the difficulty of comprehending it isn't as simple as Space, it isn't extremely difficult either."

"But so far, no one has ever been able to rely on the Law of Time to break through to the Body Integration Stage."

"Even the strongest Prodigy in history, Feng Xu, only managed to push the Law of Time to the Soul Transformation Perfection before his Lifespan was nearly exhausted, ultimately letting out a mournful cry that the path of time was severed."

"So, although these three major Laws can make you unrivaled among those of the same rank and stand at the top of the cultivation world..."

"...they each have their own difficulties and limitations."

"Especially Time. You possess a Time Divine Ability, likely because you touched upon the Great Dao of Time when you were in the Heaven Realm in your past life."

"But this doesn't mean it's equally applicable in the Mortal Realm. Remember, you must not blindly choose these three Laws and ruin your own future."

"If you have spare energy, you can take them as minor subjects, but never as your primary focus."

"Otherwise, you'll be stuck as a minor Soul Transformation Cultivator for the rest of your life, and your life will be over!"

"Remember this well!"

"As for more details, it's inconvenient for me to say more given my status."

"If you want to learn more, you can ask the Old Ancestors after you become the Saint."

Hearing the Fourth Elder say this, Zhou Yan couldn't help but feel some emotion. Although his Time Divine Ability was more like a peripheral than hardware and didn't entirely belong to him...

"Sigh, Senior Feng Xu was too pitiful. With such high talent, did he eventually die for the sake of seeking the Dao?"

"Who told you Feng Xu died then?"

"But... wasn't his Lifespan nearly exhausted?"

"That's why he is the strongest Prodigy in history."

"Just as he was about to die of old age, he created the Law of Wind, broke through in one go, and later became the number one Mahayana in the Human Realm."

Having said that, the Fourth Elder's face returned to that grinning, unserious look.

"Alright, everything that needed to be said has been said. I wish you a pleasant time in Great Yu~ Chumi!"

The light screen vanished, leaving only Zhou Yan, whose worldview had been severely shaken.

"Is this... really stuff a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator like me should be hearing?"

Originally, having become a Rank 7 Censor and holding an official post,

Zhou Yan thought he could live quite comfortably in Great Yu.

But after hearing the Fourth Elder's words,

He didn't feel good at all.

This world is simply terrifyingly ridiculous!