Chapter 877
The Nationwide Cultivation Plan
"Father, Father."
Chen Li's voice could be heard from a great distance. He wasn't usually this impulsive, but today he just couldn't hold back anymore.
He rushed to Tianhe Hall, where there were already dozens of people, most of whom were from the palace, such as his mother, Empress Zhao Ya, his mother, Consort Huang Wan'er, and some younger brothers and sisters.
A group of people surrounded the emperor, showing concern and care. Civil and military officials who had received the news also rushed over.
For example, his cousin, Duke Chen Xiaohu of Chu, had already arrived at the palace, and many other dukes were on their way.
Chen Li then took a few steps to Chen Jie's side and said, "Father."
Looking at his increasingly thin son, Chen Jie nodded and said, "You've had a hard time these past few days."
Upon hearing this, Chen Li shook his head and said, "No, no, I am not distressed. I am only worried about Father..."
Chen Jie listened to Chen Li's words and said, "It's alright, Father is perfectly safe. He didn't brave any dangers, so what else could possibly harm him?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Li asked, "Where has Father Emperor been for the past year and a half?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Let's not talk about these things for now. I've been incredibly busy for the past year and a half, and I've also seen a bigger world. I'll talk about these things once everyone has arrived."
Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, Chen Li immediately nodded in agreement. Soon, heroes from all walks of life who had been living in seclusion in the capital arrived.
On the imperial side, many princes and nobles were summoned to the court, including generals such as Zhang Dingbian, Chen Xiaohu, and Xu Da.
Civil officials such as Hu Weiyong and Liu Bowen.
In addition, Ni Wenjun, Yuan Sanjia, Peng Yingyu, Fang Guozhen, and other reclusive masters were also summoned into the palace by Chen Jie.
Distinguished officials, both civil and military, gathered together, waiting for Chen Jie to announce the matter.
Chen Jie disappeared for a year and a half, and when he returned, he summoned these key figures in a grand manner. There must be something important to announce, so everyone's expression was very serious.
Moreover, some astute individuals have already guessed that what could make His Majesty the Emperor so anxious is probably not something from this world, especially considering the recent abduction of the Empress by immortals from another realm.
Everyone already had a guess in their hearts that His Majesty the Emperor was probably going to talk about the matter of the immortals.
Everyone fell silent, simply watching Chen Jie, who sat at the head of the table.
Chen Jie looked around. Those who had managed to get this far were all his core members, and he could now speak to them about certain things.
Thinking this, Chen Jie looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, it's been a year since we last met. I'm sure you're all wondering what I've been up to this past year, right?"
After Chen Jie finished speaking, everyone present nodded in agreement.
Given their current status, there are very few things that can concern them anymore, but these immortals from other realms are something that everyone is very curious about.
Chen Jie looked at everyone and said, "Just as you all thought, today I'm going to tell you about these immortals from other realms."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room widened their eyes. An immortal from another realm?
They are already top figures in this world, and nothing in this world can threaten them anymore.
In a world without threats, their lives would be quite boring. Now, upon hearing the title of "immortals from another realm," they all perked up.
Chen Xiaohu spoke first: "Immortals from other realms, Brother Jiu Si, where do immortals from other realms come from? Could they be from the legendary Immortal Realm?"
Chen Jie nodded slightly and said, "You are right. These immortals from other realms do come from the Immortal Realm, but not the one we are thinking of. The Immortal Realm has the Jade Emperor and the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King."
"It is a world of cultivators, which they call the Great Thousand World. It is also known as the Tianyuan Continent."
"The world we live in is called the Lesser Thousand Worlds, and it is an existence that depends on the Tianyuan Continent."
Chen Jie spoke slowly, and everyone in the room was stunned by his explanation.
The concept of "the vast world and the microcosm" broadened their worldview.
Even seasoned veterans like Yuan Sanjia and Peng Yingyu, who were usually very knowledgeable, were shocked. Faced with the concept of the Great Thousand World and the Small Thousand World, they were just like greenhorns.
Chen Xiaohu then looked at Chen Jie and said, "So, the person who kidnapped your sister-in-law is from Tianyuan Continent, right?"
Chen Jie nodded slightly, and Chen Xiaohu then spoke up, "So how do we rescue my sister-in-law?"
Chen Xiaohu asked the crucial question, and Chen Jie replied, "With your current strength, it's impossible to save your sister-in-law. However, I came back this time to inform everyone that Master Zhang, Master Phagpa, and I discovered a divine cave in the Hidden Dragon Abyss of the South China Sea. Inside is an ascension passage. So after this matter is over, I will undergo the Heavenly Tribulation with Master Phagpa and Master Zhang and ascend to the Upper Realm."
"Ascension?!"
Upon hearing these two words, everyone present widened their eyes; ascension was a legendary event.
Legend has it that immortals used to ascend to heaven, but no one has ascended to heaven in this world for a thousand years. Is this law about to be broken today?
Upon hearing this, especially Yuan Sanjia and Peng Yingyu, both of whom were once at the fourth level of the Fusion God realm, were most close to the fifth level of the Land Immortal realm.
Therefore, the two of them are the most likely among these people to ascend to immortality.
Especially after Peng Yingyu dispersed her power back then, she switched to Mahayana Buddhism, and her power grew stronger day by day. In forty years, she not only recovered her power at its peak, but now she has made further progress and is only one step away from the fifth level of the Fusion God Realm.
Upon hearing that there was even a path to ascension, they were filled with excitement. After all, what a cultivator fears most is having their path blocked. If there is still a path ahead, they have a goal. If there is no path ahead, it means they have nowhere to go.
At this moment, Peng Yingyu spoke up: "Immortal's Cave, Jiu Si, you and Zhang Zhenren have really done something remarkable!"
“No one in this world has ascended to the upper realm for a thousand years. You and the True Man opened up this ascension channel, which is truly a great deed.” Chen Jie replied, “Second Brother, you flatter us. We only did what we were supposed to do. It’s not as great as you make it sound.”
"The reason why the ascension passage has been blocked for thousands of years is because an immortal from the upper realm fled to this world to avoid disaster. After arriving in the world of death, he used his magic power to blow up the ascension passage."
"This prevents people from the upper realm from freely coming to the lower realm and causing havoc on humankind,"
"This has also led to the fact that for thousands of years, countless outstanding talents in our lower realm have been unable to ascend, wasting their lives and dying in this lower realm."
At this point, Chen looked around and then said, "This is why the ascension passage cannot be opened."
"Here's the situation: I've found a way to open the ascension passage, as you all know. My wife, Su Yunjin, has been captured by people from the upper realm, so I must ascend to the upper realm to rescue her."
"Zhang Sanfeng and Phagpa are also nearing the end of their lifespans, so they are preparing to ascend to the upper realm to gain some experience."
"Therefore, six months from now, we will ascend to the Immortal Abode in the Hidden Dragon Abyss of the South China Sea."
"There is still a small problem. After I ascend, I have the power to close the ascension passage again. Once it is closed, people from the upper realm will not be able to come to this mortal realm through the ascension passage."
"However, those from the lower realms can no longer ascend to the upper realms, so I would like to ask for your opinions on whether the flight path should be closed or not after my ascension?"
Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, everyone in the room was stunned, then exchanged glances. Among them, Peng Yingyu and Yuan Sanjia, who were the strongest, spoke up: "Your Majesty, if it is as you say, if the ascension passage is opened, then people from the upper realm may come down to wreak havoc on the human world. If it is not opened, then people from the upper realm cannot continue to wreak havoc on the human world?"
"I don't think so, Your Majesty."
Yuan Sanjia paused for a moment and said, "Last year, when the commotion was at its peak, the descent of the immortals to the mortal realm proved that, besides the ascension passage, there are many other ways for people from the upper realm to come to our small world."
"In other words, if we block the ascension passage, we are only deceiving ourselves. People from the upper realm still have ways to come to the lower realm and cause trouble. Therefore, I think that not only should we not block the ascension passage, but we should also vigorously develop it."
As Yuan Sanjia spoke, Chen Jie grinned and looked at him, saying, "Master Yuan, please explain in detail."
Yuan Sanjia's idea coincided with Chen Jiusi's idea.
Chen Jiu Si also wanted to vigorously develop this ascension channel, but it was a different story when he said it than when someone else said it.
Now that Yuan Sanjia has brought up this idea, it's a good opportunity for Chen Jiusi to express his own thoughts.
Chen Jie looked at Yuan Sanjia and then at everyone present, saying, "Master Yuan is absolutely right. There is no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days if you can only catch them for one day. Our world is right here, we can't hide or escape, so we can't just passively defend, we have to take the initiative to attack."
"My idea is to establish the Great Han Imperial Academy, select all talented children within the Great Han territory to go to the Imperial Academy to study martial arts."
"To become the backbone of my great Han Dynasty, and I will leave behind the best cultivation techniques at the Great Han Imperial Academy, including several top-level cultivation techniques from the upper realm that I know of, all of which will remain in the Imperial Academy."
At this point, Chen Jiu Si looked at Yuan San Jia, Peng Ying Yu, Ni Wen Jun, and Fang Guo Zhen and said, "At that time, I would like to ask the four of you to become instructors of the Imperial Academy and teach these children to quickly learn martial arts and cultivation methods."
What do you think?
Chen Jie looked at the four and asked, and the four nodded in unison, saying, "We have no problem with that. It is our duty to help cultivate talent in this world."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie nodded slightly and said, "Then it's settled. His Majesty the Emperor will entrust the construction of this academy to you. You will be in charge and become the dean of this academy."
Upon hearing this, Chen Li immediately nodded. As the emperor, how could he not understand that you were paving the way for him?
If this Imperial Academy is properly established, it will be the most central entity in the entire world, because this is a martial arts world. Although the power of the dynasty is great, it still needs to be in the hands of powerful martial artists.
Therefore, this place, which can train super martial artists and enable them to ascend to the immortal realm in the future, must be firmly held in our hands. At the same time, Chen Li has planned to do a good job of ideological work for these children who are cultivating immortality, so that they know why they are cultivating immortality and who they should serve after they have cultivated immortality.
The way of a ruler begins with grasping the mind. These children must first recognize the existence of the Han Dynasty, so that when they ascend to heaven in the future, they can become their father's help, instead of a bunch of ungrateful wretches.
It's important to understand that the entire empire pours enormous resources into this Imperial Academy. If it breeds a bunch of ungrateful wretches, it's not just a loss for the empire, but a disaster.
Therefore, neither Chen Jie nor Chen Li should use this power to cultivate people who are of no help to them.
Chen Jie even had an idea: no matter how talented a person is, if he is not loyal to the empire and to himself, resources should not be poured into him.
With this in mind, Chen Jie sketched out the structure of the Imperial Academy with the others.
Chen Jie said, "The path of martial arts is never something that can be achieved overnight, nor is it a castle in the air. To master martial arts, one must lay a solid foundation from a young age. Therefore, although the Imperial Academy is the highest hall of martial arts in the Great Han Empire, its training should start from childhood."
"Therefore, the path of martial arts should be the same as that of liberal arts, with martial arts academies set up in county, government and provincial units across the country. The selection process for martial arts academies should not be like that of liberal arts colleges, which teach indiscriminately, but should be based on selecting the best of the best. Therefore, martial arts academies should have teachers who are specifically responsible for examining talent."
"In other words, the martial arts academy is actually a replacement for the old martial arts schools. In the past, martial arts schools generally didn't have money and wouldn't let you learn. But our martial arts academy is different. If you have good talent, you can get a tuition waiver. Of course, if you don't have good talent, but your family is rich and willing to support you, we will also accept you."
"In short, those with good talent receive full tuition waivers and are trained by the state. Those without good talent receive training at home if their families have the means."
"At the same time, military examinations were set up in various places. To take the imperial examinations, one had to take the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and the palace examination. The selection process was carried out layer by layer. The number of students admitted to the Imperial Academy each year was no more than fifty. From these fifty students, twenty were selected and trained by four teachers."
"In addition, the Imperial Academy will set up a Scripture Pavilion. I will join forces with many martial arts masters, including Zhang Sanfeng and Phagpa, to leave behind the true teachings of martial arts and place them in the pavilion. Each year, outstanding students will receive points, which can be exchanged for our martial arts insights to encourage students to strive for excellence and study hard."
Chen Jie had considered this point. People often don't cherish things that are easily obtained, so Chen Jie wanted to make these things scarcer. Only in this way would people strive to improve themselves instead of just being complacent and idle.
People need some kind of motivation to strive for progress.
Chen Jie worked with the others to compile the various rules and regulations of the Imperial Academy and the admission standards.
Soon, everything was ready. Chen Jie then told everyone that he, Zhang Sanfeng, and Phagpa had agreed to ascend to immortality at the Hidden Dragon Abyss in the South China Sea three months later. (End of Chapter)