Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Jian Buyan explained to everyone:

“With my art calculation techniques aiding it, I can recreate scenes from history within those dreams.”

“If that’s the case, why must it be him?” the Jade Capital Sect Leader asked in a heavy voice.

“Jade Capital Sect Leader,” Jian Buyan said with a faint smile, “art calculation is not omnipotent, nor can it perfectly recreate the past. To increase the accuracy of the dream’s results, ‘Dual Union’ is needed.”

“This ‘Dual Union’ refers to the union of bloodlines and the merging of hearts and minds.”

“Ouyang Zhao has no descendants in this realm,” the Guan Family’s elder said irritably. “Yin Xiaojing has gone to the Eastern Emperor Demon Realm, so a union of bloodlines is out of the question.”

“As for a merging of hearts and minds, apart from Ling Yunpo, who else among the disciples of Shushan who follow the Sentiment Inquiry Path? Would you, Jade Capital, care to recommend another?”

The Jade Capital Sect Leader was at a loss for words, falling silent.

Whether it was to seek clues through the Dream Pillow or to search for the Immortal Sword through the resonance of the Innate Sword Bone, Ling Yunpo was undoubtedly the best choice.

And the reason the elder of the Guan Family asked that question earlier was to have Ling Yunpo try to step into the shoes of Ouyang Zhao… Thinking this way, it made a lot more sense.

He decided to remain silent from then on, merely watching with a cold eye.

Ling Yunpo, under Jian Buyan’s guidance, attempted to lie on the Dream Pillow alongside Senior Sister An.

The Dream Pillow was not wide enough for two people to lie on it and enter dreams simultaneously; their bodies needed to be extremely close.

Not to mention the crowd of onlookers, let alone An Zhisu, even Ling Yunpo himself felt somewhat embarrassed.

But after all, he was someone of exceptional mental strength; he hypnotized himself with the thought “This is for the sake of finding the sword,” and slowly fell asleep.

……

Through blurry vision, indistinct figures could be made out.

Ling Yunpo vaguely remembered that he seemed to be called “Ouyang Zhao”?

Standing on the peak of Heavenly Gate Peak, facing him was his wife, Yin Xiaojing, pregnant with their child—her true identity was that of a Celestial Fox from the Qingqiu of the Eastern Emperor Demon Realm.

At that moment, suddenly learning of her true identity, his feelings were almost those of despair, as if the entire world had grown dim on this one day.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ouyang Zhao said in agony.

“I…” Yin Xiaojing, silent for a moment, said, “At first, I only wanted to take advantage of your feelings.”

“Is it still the same now?” Ouyang Zhao had a heavy feeling in his chest, at times even feeling as if he couldn’t breathe.

“If I had no affection for you now, I would have simply left. Why would I wait here for you?” Yin Xiaojing said miserably, coming forward to embrace Ouyang Zhao, “Let’s elope. Since the Human Race won’t accept us, let’s return to the Eastern Emperor Demon Realm.”

“The Sun True Obscure Sword and the Tai Yin Summoning Sword are the Human Race’s treasured swords; I can’t take them with me to the Demon Realm,” Ouyang Zhao said with a trembling voice, as if giving in to despair while pulling at his hair, “I can’t… I’ve already betrayed my sect; I cannot betray the Human Race again…”

“You suspect I’m after the twin swords?” Yin Xiaojing said with a tragic laugh. “Then what if we leave the swords behind? I only want you to come with me.”

These words struck Ouyang Zhao’s heart like an arrow, shattering all his lingering doubts.

After pondering for another moment, he gritted his teeth and said:

“Without the twin swords, how would we reach the Eastern Emperor Realm? First… First, let’s hide the Tai Yin Summoning Sword, to prevent the sect from using it against us.”

“I’ll exchange the location of the Summiting Sword to ensure the sect lets us go. As soon as we reach the Boundary Gate, I will inform them of its whereabouts and return the Sun True Obscure Sword.”

“But after all, the Sun True Obscure Sword is in your hands,” Yin Xiaojing said softly. “The sect will never allow the True Obscure Sword to be lost, nor will they trust your verbal assurance.”

“There’s no other way,” Ouyang Zhao said with difficulty, “The Dual Swords have already become unresponsive. If we return them to the sect now, we’ll only die faster.”

There was something he kept to himself, that so long as he could prevent the Tai Yin Sunming Swords from falling into the hands of the Demon Race, his own death here would not matter.

But Yin Xiaojing and the child in her womb… they must survive…

Once again he tried to communicate with the Sun True Obscure Sword, and he was met with feelings of anger and resistance from the Sword Spirit.

Ouyang Zhao knew that the Sun True Obscure Sword was resisting him. The Dual Swords were originally created to suppress the Demon Race, yet now he was about to betray his sect for the sake of a demon. How could the swords still recognize him as their master?

Overwhelmed by despair, he simply took the Sun True Obscure Sword in hand and etched two lines of large characters onto the stele.

“Why must it be this way…” Yin Xiaojing silently wept, “If only I hadn’t been born into the Demon Race…”

“At this point, there’s no turning back.” Ouyang Zhao said through clenched teeth, “It has to be this way!”

He grabbed Yin Xiaojing’s hand, and just as the two of them were about to ascend with sword control, they saw countless streaks of light suddenly flying towards them from a distance.

Ouyang Zhao didn’t react in time and was directly pierced through the chest by the radiance, and the entire world seemed to shatter like a broken mirror in an instant.

…

Consciousness rapidly sank, returning to his body.

Ling Yunpo slowly woke up, steadied his mind for a moment, and then had time to sort through Ouyang Zhao’s memories from the dream.

Although not self-aware in the dream, upon waking, it became clear:

That Ouyang Zhao did not die unjustly—his mistake was thinking he could play both sides!

He could have either thrown in his lot completely with the demons, taking the Dual Swords and boldly fighting his way out, or he could have chosen to negotiate with the Human Race, trying to resolve the differences between them.

Whichever way he chose, he needed steadfastness and unwavering resolve from the start… What was he thinking, always trying to keep a way out?

Ling Yunpo even speculated disdainfully that there were surely divisions within the Human Race at that time. If there was a Martial Annihilation Faction, there must also have been a faction advocating negotiation and appeasement.

You, Ouyang Zhao, served as the Sword Master for so many years, did you not have any connections within the sect? Were there truly no senior members willing to protect you, to plead on your behalf?

Offer the peaceful surrender of the swords in exchange for your kin’s protection. Even if it was only temporary, later on you could have Yin Xiaojing reveal some Demon Race intelligence, proving her critical value, wouldn’t that allow both of you to survive?

In the era before I transmigrated, how many nobles depended on peacefully yielding power to withdraw from intense political struggles in time? It’s all clearly documented in the history books.

The key points boiled down to three:

The first: everyone hadn’t reached the point of no return and were still willing to play by political rules (after all, politics is the art of compromise);

The second: you must possess sufficient value to protect yourself, making the cost of your political enemies utterly destroying you greater than the benefits of letting you live;

The third, and most critical: you must have a keen political sense to timely display your willingness to negotiate.

Ouyang Zhao had the first two points but he did not grasp the most crucial third point, which led to his ultimate downfall. On the Human Race’s side, they also lost a treasure of their lineage. It was a pyrrhic defeat, with everyone ending up as the losers.

A pity! A lament! A tragedy!

Ling Yunpo silently gripped his wrists while An Zhisu, looking completely distressed, seemed yet to recover from Yin Xiaojing’s emotions.

But the Guan Family ancestor couldn’t wait for them to regain their senses, and urgently asked Jian Buyan:

“How did it go?”

“Their hearts are lined up,” Jian Buyan said somberly, “The process of Art Calculation went without any issues.”

“Let’s first ask them what exactly they saw in the dream.”