Sun Mo nodded, gesturing that Qin Yaoguang could ask her question.

  This girl had a great aptitude and was very intelligent, but her character was too unpredictable. If she were to work hard like Ying Baiwu, then the results she achieved, in the end, would definitely be higher than the iron-headed young girl.

  This didn’t mean that Ying Baiwu’s aptitude wasn’t comparable to the snack girl. It was just that the environment she grew up in had brought about her character, causing her perspective of seeing things to be a little problematic.

  “Teacher, although most wars are for land, slaves, and wealth that other people have accumulated—after all, snatching is faster than farming land to get rich fast—there are still some people in this world who fight for their beliefs.”

  Qin Yaoguang’s expression was very solemn.

  One mustn’t discuss such a topic with a joking attitude.

  “Your question is really sharp!”

  Tantai Yutang threw a glance at the snack girl.

  Due to his body’s condition, he was unable to cultivate for a prolonged duration. Therefore, he kept on reading books and amongst his martial siblings, the number of books he had read was second only to Li Ziqi.

  The reason he couldn’t beat her was because there were some books that he had no access to given his status.

  In the Nine Provinces’ history. A small portion of wars were a result of people having different religious beliefs.

  “Beliefs can be categorized as well. Some people fight strongly for internationalism [1], some people fight for Buddhism versus Taoism. Even within Buddhism, there are still further segregations into Mahayana and Hinayana.”

  Sun Mo thought. (Thank goodness I’ve read a lot. Otherwise, I’d be stumped by this question.)

  “What you’re asking here should be specifically referring to the wars between religions.”

  Qin Yaoguang nodded and then felt perplexed. What the hell was internationalism? She then looked toward Li Ziqi.

  The little sunny egg shook her head. She had no idea.

  Alright, seeing that even the most knowledgeable Eldest Martial Sister didn’t know about this, Lu Zhiruo gave up thinking.

  “Let’s ascertain a problem first. What’s the meaning for religions to exist? Or rather, why do people believe in religions?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  The disciples fell silent. Taoism and Buddhism were the most commonly seen religions in the Nine Provinces. There was also the White Lotus that was banned by all imperial courts. Their members would be killed when discovered. However, Sun Mo’s disciples had never considered the meaning behind their existence.

  “For people to entrust their mind and spirits in?”

  This was Qin Yaoguang’s recognition.

  “To live better lives?”

  Lu Zhiruo’s reply was down-to-earth and practical. This was the actual reason why ordinary people believed in religions.

  It was like the old men and ladies in the modern world. If they weren’t given things like eggs and rice, why would they go and listen to the teachings?

  “To better rule over the citizens?”

  Li Ziqi’s words sounded a little outrageous.

  Sun Mo couldn’t help but throw a glance at her. As expected of a princess who was pure in heart and spirit. At her level, the things she saw were different from what ordinary people had seen.

  Of course, if the people present weren’t her martial siblings, the little sunny egg wouldn’t say such things.

  “Various religions have different reasons behind their origins, but the means of recruiting believers are more or less the same. They give people a place to entrust their minds and spirits, telling them that things would be better if they were to believe in the religion.”

  Sun Mo explained seriously.

  “Wanting to lead better lives. This is the most fundamental requirement that most people want.”

  “The earliest teachings of religions might be good, but if they wish to develop further, they’ll definitely have conflicts with the royalty. There’ll then be compromise and eventually symbiosis.”

  “Don’t ask me why there’d be conflicts. Think about it for yourself!”

  Sun Mo didn’t dare to say it. This was the Nine Provinces, when the era of feudal society was at its peak and there were official persecutions of intellectuals for their writings. He was afraid that if he were to say too much, even his title as a great teacher wouldn’t be able to save him.

  Other than Li Ziqi and Qin Yaoguang seemingly deep in thought, the others were all baffled.

  “Therefore, the answers given by the three of you are all right.”

  Sun Mo laughed.

  “To many people, religion is a harbor for their minds and spirits. I’m already going through so many hardships in reality, but you aren’t allowing me to be richer mentally?

  “Have you guys noticed it? The greater the disasters and hardships in a dynasty, where people lived in sufferings, the more people turned to religions. On the contrary, the better the lives they led, the less time and effort they’d spend on chanting scriptures. They could just fork out more donations when they visited temples. Wouldn’t it still show their sincerity?

  “In history, the wars between religions are mostly led by people with strong ambitions who falsely used the names of religions to get more power and benefits for themselves. It’s to the extent that they’d come up with a righteous reason to explain their killings, plundering, and other evil acts.”

  Who said that the Crusades didn’t happen for money?

  “The conflicts between religions are just ideological conflicts. But when it goes down to it, it’s still a fight to see which is better, right? But who is the one to decide which is the better one? Is it a certain major character who is the reincarnation of the Gautama Buddha? Is it a certain saint? Or is it the pope?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  His disciples fell silent. This question was a little difficult.

  “It’s the people!”

  These were Sun Mo’s perspectives. “I feel that the prerequisite for all religions is to pursue better lives for people.

  “On the material level, everyone will have plenty of food, warm clothes, and a big house to live in, which will resolve the problems of hunger and lack of accommodations. It’s back to the saying of ‘people work for their interests’ and not that ‘their entire family will die of starvation if they don’t work.’

  “Being fulfilled and wealthy on the spiritual level, not living each day as it goes groggily. People will know what they like, what their pursuits are, and they will spend time on these things.”

  Everyone fell silent.

  Xianyu Wei opened her mouth. She didn’t manage to hold back and asked.

  “It’s impossible for everyone to have enough food and warm clothes, right?”

  The tribes on the plains were openly recognized as barbaric, poor, and lagging in development. On the other hand, the Great Tang was a great empire. However, after Xianyu Wei came to Jinling, she discovered that there were many beggars here too. Homeless kids were running along the streets everywhere.

  “That’s why knowledge is required!”

  “Can religions cause food to grow out of the land? Can it cause the fish and prawns in the ponds to grow? Can it let a child become an upright and reliable man?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  Everyone shook their heads. That was definitely impossible!

  Turning rocks into gold was just a trick to deceive people.

  “But knowledge can!”

  Sun Mo thought of Old Master Yuan. No one could compare to him. Without the results of his research, many people would have starved to death.

  “Helian, when society develops to this state, war will disappear. It’s because there’d be no meaning to initiate wars.”

  Of course, Sun Mo wasn’t going to tell Helian that the forms of wars weren’t just killings between two opposing armies. It’d also keep on changing.

  It was impossible to completely cut wars out, but this wouldn’t stop everyone from working hard toward this goal.

  “Therefore, just do your best in what you want to do. But I hope that you’ll also guide those people to become good role models.”

  Would there be no wars between the plains and the Central Plains if there wasn’t Helian Beifang?

  That’d be impossible!

  Rather than letting someone with a strong killing nature become king of the plains, it’d be better to let one’s personal disciple do it. At least, the disciple would be able to teach and guide people about what a righteous war was!

  He hoped that there’d no longer be things like cities getting massacred.

  “Teacher, I understand!”

  Helian Beifang nodded seriously.

  “Why do I feel that I’m listening to a heavenly book?”

  Xianyu Wei looked confused, but there was one thing she understood—knowledge was very important. It was the greatest power.

  “I feel the same!”

  Jiang Leng wasn’t interested in these things. It was too troublesome as he just wanted to live freely.

  Qin Yaoguang and the others thought about it seriously.

  Sun Mo looked at the papaya girl in surprise. “Did you understand what I said?”

  “Not really, but the ideology of letting the world become one and for there to be no wars is very grand. I want to accomplish this.”

  Lu Zhiruo’s expression was solemn, and she looked toward Sun Mo. “Teacher, can you teach me how to do it?”

  (In the past, I, Lu Zhiruo, only thought of becoming outstanding and receiving Father’s recognition. This pursuit is too insignificant and now, I have a new ideal. That’s right, even if it means that I have to pay the cost of it with my own life, I want to see the day where there’ll be no wars, grief, pain, hunger, or sufferings in this world!)

  Buzz!

  Golden light lit up on Lu Zhiruo, causing even her face that was shaped like a goose egg to look sacred.

  “This is…”

  Everyone was stunned.

  Li Ziqi paused for a while then smiled. “Junior Martial Sister, congratulations on comprehending the Self-Taught Halo!”

  “Huh?”

  The papaya girl was given a fright and then her expression turned into joy. “I… I can become a great teacher too?”

  “Yes!”

  Sun Mo hadn’t expected that the slow-witted papaya girl would gain enlightenment at a time like this.

  “Can someone so stupid like me do it too?”

  Lu Zhiruo was still uncertain.

  “You aren’t stupid, you’re a person with great wisdom even though you appear slow-witted!”

  Sun Mo cared about his lucky mascot a lot.

  “Although I know Teacher is consoling me, I’ll still accept this praise happily!”

  Lu Zhiruo grinned. “We’ll add a dish for dinner! I’ll pay for it!”

  “As expected, one can keep on growing non-stop when studying under Teacher!”

  Xianyu Wei felt a lot of emotions.

  At this moment, she was suddenly very thankful to her previous teacher. If it wasn’t because he had canceled their teacher-student relationship, she wouldn’t have been able to meet Sun Mo.

  The others also gave their congratulations, with Tantai Yutang being the only one to wear a bitter look on his face.

  To think that he couldn’t compare with Helian Beifang and Lu Zhiruo?

  Wasn’t this too funny?

  “Alright, today’s lessons are a little too much. You guys are still young and shouldn’t be listening to these things. Let me just say this, this is just my thoughts, so you shouldn’t be spreading it recklessly outside.”

  Sun Mo warned.

  He didn’t wish to be lashed out by those old-fashioned major characters.

  After all, some of the words he said were heinous.

  “Let me give you one more line at the very end. Learn more, look more, and think more. With knowledge, you’ll be able to substantiate your ideals, and you might not be restrained by this piece of land in front of you anymore.”

  Sun Mo looked at his disciples, feeling hopeful. “Don’t you guys wish to see what beautiful sceneries there are beyond the Nine Provinces?”

  “Beyond the Nine Provinces?”

  Lu Zhiruo blinked. “Are you referring to the Darkness Continent?”

  “Stupid. What Teacher means is the world after shattering the void!”

  Tantai Yutang knocked the papaya girl hard on the head. (I’m definitely not going to admit that I’m jealous.)

  “Beyond the NinePprovinces?”

  Qin Yaoguang mumbled these words, and suddenly, golden light emitted from her body.

  “…”

  Tantai Yutang felt like cursing. (Why is there another Self-Taught Halo? Can you not toy around with me like that? I proclaim to be a genius, but today, I’ve been given such great blows that I’m going to become autistic.)

  Sun Mo was surprised too. Another one?

  Wasn’t this an additional bonus?

  “To have two students gaining enlightenment in one lesson… Teacher, if news of this were to spread, you’d become the number one great teacher in Jinling.”

  Li Ziqi broke into a grin, putting up a thumb. “That’s for sure.”

  [1] Sun Mo said this word in an adaptation of the English word and not in the Nine Provinces’ language in which they were using.

  Chapter 1031: Does Your Mom Know That You Are So Outstanding?

  Translator: Lordbluefire

  Xianyu Wei looked at Qin Yaoguang and Lu Zhiruo. Both her eyes were filled with envy and worship.

  These two senior martial sisters of hers were super impressive!

  Although everyone felt that Lu Zhiruo was stupid, Xianyu Wei felt that it was because Lu Zhiruo was too pure and kind. She had seen her second senior sister bitterly cultivating until very late at night.

  Honestly speaking, the effort Lu Zhiruo put in her training made Xianyu Wei unable to look Lu Zhiruo in the eye directly. In the past, Xianyu Wei felt that she herself was trash, but under the guidance of their teacher, she now had vastly improved from before.

  In the practical combat test among those in her same year, she had managed to get into the top 20, flaunting her prowess.

  This meant that her teacher’s teaching capabilities were truly exceptional.

  But her second senior sister didn’t seem capable of living up to their teacher’s guidance.

  Lu Zhiruo felt remorse and also disappointment. In fact, Xianyu Wei had even seen Lu Zhiruo crying in secret many times. But after wiping her tears away, she would continue to cultivate.

  “Yeah, I’ve been too proud. Ever since I became the champion of the autumn hunt festival, my ego surged and I started looking down on others. I should start learning more from Second Martial Sister, her spirit of keeping on fighting despite continual setbacks.”

  Xianyu Wei reflected on herself.

  “Xianyu, Tantai. Things like this can’t be rushed. You all have to relax your mentality. Your lives are still long, so there’s no need to be hasty about temporary gains and losses.”

  Sun Mo encouraged.

  He could see that these two also wished to become great teachers. But for something like the Self-Taught Halo, no one knew what was necessary to be done to comprehend it.

  “Alright, you guys can just be busy with your own stuff. I’m heading out.”

  Breaking through to the Longevity Realm could be considered a major incident. However, Sun Mo was very calm.

  Li Ziqi took out her pocket watch and glanced at it. She then suggested. “The time isn’t early anymore, why don’t we go and eat a meal together to celebrate?”

  “I want to treat you all!” Lu Zhiruo raised her hand. “Don’t snatch the bills from me!”

  Sun Mo smiled and didn’t reject. Sharing meals with his disciples was a good method to improve their relationship.

  The group of them walked out of the teleportation gate and headed down. After that, they saw An Xinhui, Mei Ziyu, Gu Xiuxun, and Jin Mujie waiting for them here.

  Actually, An Xinhui also wanted to go to the Wind King Divine Hall, but she had to remain here to act as the host to these guests. Hence, she could only forget about it.

  “Congratulations, Teacher Sun!”

  Jin Mujie stood up, feeling so envious that she wanted to drool.

  Having reached the Longevity Realm at 22 years old, Sun Mo would possess at least 300 years of youth.

  “Congratulations!”

  Mei Ziyu and Gu Xiuxun both sent their congratulations. The moment they saw the expressions of the students, they knew that Sun Mo had succeeded.

  (My childhood sweetheart is really so impressive!)

  An Xinhui surveyed Sun Mo. Her eyes were glowing brightly.

  “The one you guys ought to congratulate isn’t merely Teacher. You all should congratulate Zhiruo and Yaoguang too!”

  Li Ziqi took the chance to help Sun Mo gain some favorable impression points.

  Speaking of which, Mei Ziyu used the excuse of needing God Hands for her sickness to stay in the Central Province Academy. However, everyone wasn’t blind. They could tell she was fond of Sun Mo.

  As for Gu Xiuxun, she was a close female confidante, but their teacher probably treated her like a good brother?

  The hope wasn’t great!

  Besides, the most important thing was……she was too flat!

  (Pui! Pui! Pui! What nonsense am I thinking about? So what even if she’s flat? Flat people could bring world peace!*)

  Li Ziqi absolutely wouldn’t admit that she was Princess Taiping*. This was why she said this.

  There was also Jin Mujie.

  In the past, Jin Mujie was like a veteran teacher looking after a talented junior. However, because Sun Mo was so outstanding, how could Jin Mujie ever look up to another guy now?

  After all, in this world, her teacher was the best husband.

  Once Jin Mujie acted, her teacher would ‘lose’ for sure.

  There was no solution, Jin Mujie was truly too huge and too white!

  That peach……even eunuchs would wish to have a bite!

  Li Ziqi’s original intention was to establish prestige for Sun Mo. But after she finished speaking, she regretted it.

  (No, it’s enough for Teacher to have Mistress An. Since there are me, Zhiruo, Baiwu, and the rest, there’s no need for him to have too many women. Why? Warming your bed in winter? I can do so too!)

  (Also, [The Analects of Confucius] said that it’s a disciple’s responsibility to do things for their master. So, there’s no problem for me to make Teacher’s bed.)

  “What’s the good news?”

  Jin Mujie asked, “Also, there’s no need for you to use terms of respect when speaking with us in the future. You are now also a great teacher and have the same identity as us.”

  After saying this, Jin Mujie felt incomparably envious.

  This student of Sun Mo was truly too outstanding.

  “Zhiruo and Yaoguang have just comprehended the Self-Taught Halo.”

  Li Ziqi smiled and replied. After that, the atmosphere turned cold.

  Mainly, it was because this matter was too shocking.

  “.……”

  If it wasn’t for Jin Mujie’s self-control, she would have spewed some vulgarities.

  (Does your mother know you are so outstanding? My heavens, you have more disciples who have the qualifications to become great teachers? And this time around, it’s two at once? Why don’t you rise to the heavens? Could it be that you are the reincarnation of a saint?)

  Jin Mujie’s gaze was like looking at a freak when she looked at Sun Mo.

  “This…”

  For a time, Gu Xiuxun didn’t know what to say.

  (You are really constantly refreshing my understanding of you. When I felt that you were already sufficiently outstanding, you will use facts to tell me that this isn’t your final form yet!)

  “Congratulations!”

  Mei Ziyu didn’t think too much and was purely happy for the two students.

  There was no solution to this. After all, she was from the Jixia Academy and the number of geniuses Mei Ziyu had seen before was simply too many. It wasn’t rare for students to comprehend the Self-Taught Halo at this age.

  What’s rare was Sun Mo.

  (How did you teach them?)

  An Xinhui didn’t say anything and directly contributed over 10,000 favorable impression points. Naturally, the favorable impression points contributed by the others weren’t small either.

  Ding!

  “Congratulations. Under your influence, two more of your personal students have entered the ranks of great teachers. Reward: 3x diamond treasure chests. Please continue to work hard.”

  Ding!

  “Congratulations on obtaining the achievement: Double Egg Yolk. Allowing two students to comprehend the Self-Taught Halo in one go. Your talent even causes me to feel glorious. Reward: 2x diamond treasure chests. Please continue to work hard.”

  Ding!

  “Congratulations on obtaining 100,000 favorable impression points in one go. Reward: 1x diamond treasure chest.”

  The system notification rang out thrice, giving him generous rewards.

  Sun Mo frowned slightly. “Why are there so many favorable impression points?”

  “Because your lesson this time around caused an enhancement to the mental states of your students. It is like opening a door for them, allowing them to view a vaster world.”

  The system explained.

  When great teachers gave a lecture, their level would depend on the content and effect.

  “Understood, you can rest now!”

  With so many people present, Sun Mo also had no way to open the treasure chests. He could only bear it and go for a meal first.

  The dinner ended at 9 p.m. Everyone finally left after another hour.

  After returning to the villa, Sun Mo called Lu Zhiruo into the bedroom after he was done showering.

  Luckily, Sun Mo’s personality was good enough or others might misunderstand that he wanted to do something unspeakable to the papaya girl.

  “Sit down!”

  Sun Mo poured a cup of tea for her.

  “Oh!”

  Lu Zhiruo sat in a kneeling posture before Sun Mo. She placed her hands on her thighs and had an obedient look on her face as she waited for her teacher to speak.

  “There’s no need to feel restrained!”

  Sun Mo patted the papaya girl’s head and indicated for the system to start opening treasure chests.

  (This time around, let’s go big! Opening six in one go!)

  He wanted to take the chance to catch the treasure chests off guard and who knew, this might lead to him opening a top-tier item.

  As a series of ‘dings’ rang out, a bright light faded as the rewards appeared, floating before his eyes.

  [100 types of high-tier puppet manufacturing techniques!]

  This was good, extremely practical.

  If Sun Mo learned it, he would be able to construct realistic action figures that could be put to good use.

  (Speaking of which, among my disciples, other than Ziqi who can learn everything, the others have completely no interest in puppetry. Even if I became a grandmaster, it would be useless! Ai! Should I go and recruit a personal student who likes this subject?)

  Sun Mo then glanced at the second skill book. After that, he felt his scalp turning numb.

  [Human Body Modification Techniques]!

  Even without the note from the system, Sun Mo also knew that this was definitely a forbidden technique.

  Its content was to change and replace organs to increase the survival rate, or how to embed spirit runes into one’s body to allow the spirit qi reserves to remain full, not drying up…

  There were also grotesque pictures as examples……

  Sun Mo wanted to puke. It was truly too disgusting.

  This was simply mind-pollution.

  Naturally, to cripples or people who were going to die, these modifications might save their lives.

  (I’ll temporarily keep it with me first!)

  Sun Mo didn’t intend to learn it as he was afraid of having nightmares.

  As for the third reward, it was 10x peerless-grade heaven-tier cultivation arts.

  Extremely excellent!

  Sun Mo involuntarily whistled.

  No matter if he sold these cultivation arts or used them himself, they were all considered battle resources. After all, a single peerless heaven-tier cultivation art was already sufficient to cause a bloody storm in the world.

  The fourth, a Longevity Fruit!

  This was a nature fruit. After eating it, one’s lifespan would be extended and their body’s potential would be stimulated. If one ate this during the early phase of the Longevity Realm, it would be able to make the consumer level up.

  Sun Mo revealed a smile.

  Very good, he would be able to level up easily.

  After that, it was [100 types of high-tier alchemy pill concoction techniques] and [100 types of exotic planting techniques]!

  The former one was as its name implied. As for the latter one, it was planting techniques targeted for special plants.

  For example, if one wanted to nurture a mermaid lotus. This plant didn’t grow in soil and only grew on fresh corpses. After the corpse rotted completely, the plant had to find a new corpse to continue growing.

  Sun Mo’s repertoire of strange knowledge had increased again, and then he had a good rest.

  On the second morning, he met up with An Xinhui before they headed to the Greenhaze Forest.

  If those aboriginals refused to compromise, Sun Mo was prepared to use tough measures.

  “If we depend solely on ourselves, we won’t be able to kill all the aboriginals. But if we find helpers, the teleportation gate will be exposed.”

  An Xinhui felt a headache.

  It was so difficult to want to monopolize it.

  “It will be exposed sooner or later.”

  Sun Mo sighed.

  When the plantation developed, he and his students couldn’t possibly be working here all day, right?

  Wouldn’t they die from fatigue?

  “We can find a bunch of trustworthy students to work the land and set three years as the maximum period. After they finish the duration, there will be a huge reward for them.”

  Honestly speaking, Sun Mo was thinking too much.

  After the Chieftain and Elder passed away, the aboriginal tribe needed to appoint new leaders. As a result, Lian Fangcao became the new chieftain.

  One couldn’t help but say that this green-skinned female did have some capabilities.

  Since the new leader was someone from the peace faction, things could be negotiated then.

  The conditions Sun Mo gave were very generous.

  In fact, they even encouraged the aboriginals to build a city and develop from a tribal civilization toward an agricultural civilization. As long as the aboriginals settled in the city, everything else would belong to Sun Mo in the end.

  Because this was unilateral trade!

  Other than Sun Mo, who else could ‘digest’ the produce of an entire race cleanly?

  Since Lian Fangcao was the leader now, he naturally had to do his utmost to support her, increasing her prestige and letting the aboriginals see the benefits their new leader would bring them.

  “I want you to make a vow before the totem of my ancestors, stating that you will never betray my Greenhaze Tribe forever!”

  Lian Fangcao felt worried in her heart.

  If it wasn’t for Sun Mo having saved her before, she definitely wouldn’t have agreed so easily. After all, this concerned the future of over thousands of people in her tribe.

  “Sure!”

  Sun Mo smiled. “However, I will also only give you guys three chances. If your people betray me beyond three times, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

  “Don’t worry, only others will betray us, we will never betray our allies!”

  The green-skinned female felt proud because of her tribe’s loyalty and dedication to keeping promises.

  An Xinhui silently sighed. She mentally mused that as long as they wanted to do something, they had over a hundred methods to make the Greenhaze Tribe choose ‘betrayal’ and make the humans seem like the victims. Hence, making such a vow would prove to be of no deterrence at all.

  “Alright, the contract is already settled. Let me bring you guys to see something good!”

  After finishing a simple meal, Lian Fangcao issued an invitation.

  It was time to repay Sun Mo for saving her life.

  [1] The word for ‘flat’ and ‘peace’ in chinese are the same character

  [2] The characters for Taiping (super peace) can also be translated as super flat

  Chapter 1032: Thousand-Year Foundation, the Path of a Famous School!

  Translator: Lordbluefire

  Sun Mo and An Xinhui followed Lian Fangcao. After twisting and turning in a cave resembling a spider web, they finally arrived at a deep crater.

  Under the illumination of the spirit diamond, a bronze-green colored mine appeared before Sun Mo.

  “It’s a copper mine!”

  An Xinhui grabbed Sun Mo’s hands tightly.

  What was called ‘gigolo money’?

  This was it!

  The Nine Provinces dealt in precious metals. However, gold and silver were very expensive and few in quantity too. It was not convenient to carry them. Hence, the most commonly used currency was still copper coins.

  If one found a copper mine, it would mean that one found money.

  However, if a copper mine was found in any location on the Nine Provinces, that would belong to the empire whose territory it was found in. It was forbidden for people to try and mine things. After all, the mine could be considered the emperor’s money bag.

  But this rule didn’t exist for mines found in the Darkness Continent.

  Although everyone publicly acknowledged that the mines would belong to whoever found them, in reality, the mines still belonged to the person with the largest fist.

  However, the Greenhaze Forest was a secret realm that was constantly on the move. Other than Sun Mo who could reach this place through a teleportation gate, no one from the Nine Provinces could come here.

  So, Sun Mo could enjoy the benefits of this independently!

  Perfect.

  “Have you guys checked the remaining quantity?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  “We don’t have such technology. However, I did a preliminary check. There’s an extremely large amount of this type of green stones, and it can be found throughout this mountain range.”

  Because Lian Fangcao had read the memories of human invaders before, she understood that this was something good. But for a primitive tribe that hadn’t developed the barter system, they didn’t need copper coins.

  “Sun Mo, this is one of my gifts of gratitude for you!”

  Lian Fangcao smiled, filled with sincerity.

  “This gift is extremely valuable. As reciprocation, I will give you a saint-tier cultivation art and three peerless-grade heaven-tier cultivation art.”

  Sun Mo wasn’t someone stingy.

  After fully excavating this copper mine, even if Sun Mo wasn’t the richest man in Great Tang, he would be considered in the top ten.

  “Now, we will have enough financial ability to invest in various professions and extend the reach of our school to various places.”

  An Xinhui had no objections to Sun Mo’s generosity.

  To An Xinhui, money had no meaning because everyone was a cultivator. The currency they used was spirit stones. However, money was something indispensable to the Central Province Academy.

  Only with the Central Province Academy at the core would it be able to lead Jinling and the surrounding cities to become wealthier. As time passed, it would become a city circle and produce a ‘siphoning effect’ for the school.

  Human talent, resources, policies……

  Who wouldn’t dream of living in a big city?

  When the population increased, the Central Province Academy would naturally be able to select more students with good aptitudes from the increased student supply.

  They would then soon be able to become a national school.

  “Fangcao, did you guys discover any other metallic mines or spirit stone mines?”

  Sun Mo recalled the weapon used by that monkey of Lu Zhiruo. The material was not bad, and it was a better weapon than normal metal.

  “Yes!”

  Lian Fangcao felt somewhat awkward because her tribe had already discussed this, and the result was that the tribe should monopolize it. The green-skinned female felt that by doing so, Sun Mo might feel that they were too greedy.

  This was also the reason why everyone agreed to give this copper mine to Sun Mo. It was to stop him from complaining temporarily.

  “Sun Mo, I’ve something I wish to talk to you about!”

  But as the tribe chieftain, she also had to think of the tribe’s future.

  “We are friends, there’s no need for you to be so cautious!”

  Sun Mo consoled.

  “These two types of mines are our private property. We wish to sell them to you based on the price in the Nine Provinces.”

  It was impossible for her tribesmen to live by farming the land forever, right?

  How much money could that earn?

  Selling mines would earn more money quicker!

  “For these mines, the prices for purchasing them differ as well. For example, the plains lack metal so metal products would be very expensive there. But in Great Tang, the prices of metal products are very normal.”

  Sun Mo explained.

  “I can understand this. You can simply pay us 80% of the price in Great Tang.”

  Liang Fangcao was giving extremely favorable terms to Sun Mo.

  An Xinhui wanted to agree on behalf of Sun Mo.

  This condition was too advantageous to them. However, Lian Fangcao had the impression that her tribe had benefited.

  As expected of aboriginals that had not seen the wider world, they were all very foolish.

  “Mn!”

  Sun Mo nodded, feeling very grateful in his heart.

  (Don’t you guys know that selling resources is the most foolish survival method? Although you will have quick money now, what about the later generations of your tribe?)

  Upon thinking of this, Sun Mo felt heartache about his country in the modern era. Their land was such a valuable resource. But in the end, foreigners managed to purchase it at cheap prices.

  “Oh right. In the future, if new mines are discovered, who do the ownership rights belong to?”

  An Xinhui was worried.

  “The mines will belong to whoever found them!”

  Lian Fangcao had a bewildered look on her face as she glanced at An Xinhui. (Was there a need to ask this?) “Don’t worry, even if you guys find a large mine, we won’t take it.”

  They had also discussed this problem before, and the conclusion they had was that how could Sun Mo and these people from the Nine Provinces understand their mother forest as well as the generations of their tribe who had been living here?

  Just these few days, several elderly tribesmen with mining experience had led teams to search the whole forest for mines.

  “Do you need me to arrange for some mine slaves to be sent over?”

  Just as Sun Mo’s voice rang out, he was rejected.

  “No need!”

  Lian Fangcao was the most afraid that there would be too many humans entering her homeland’s garden. What if she couldn’t chase them away in the future? What should she do then?

  “Alright.”

  Sun Mo didn’t mind it. He mentally mused that when their supplies and harvests became abundant, they would sink into a bottomless pit of desire, and different classes of living would be born. At that time, they would surely be vying with each other for mine slaves.

  This was something that would happen for sure. Because who would be willing to work in underground mines all day?!

  Wasn’t it pleasant to drink tea and eat pastries while counting money?

  And as for whether there would be a lack of mine slaves?

  Sun Mo wasn’t worried.

  Several people in the Nine Provinces were willing to sell themselves into slavery.

  (Speaking of which, would it be too shameless if a good guy like me who believes in socialism uses slaves?)

  “But we hope that the produce from the mines wouldn’t decrease, and it would be for the best if you guys can hand over the produce once every month.

  An Xinhui suggested.

  “No problem.”

  Seeing that Sun Mo had no objections and even agreed to her requests, Lian Fangcao also became very easy to talk to.

  “Everyone must have proficiency in a particular field at the very least. I will take some time out every month to teach you guys how to plant herbs.”

  Sun Mo originally intended to treat this place as a herb garden.

  Using this as a pretext, he would be able to recruit more alchemists, doctors and even ultimately dominate the entire herb market in the Nine Provinces, becoming a herb tycoon.

  This business would definitely generate insane profits.

  “Mn!”

  Lian Fangcao led the way. “Let me bring you guys to another good place.”

  An Xinhui felt very agitated. From today onward, the Central Province Academy would have established a foundation of 1,000 years. As long as they didn’t court disaster, it was impossible for them even if they wanted to decline.

  In the future, they could focus on developing their expertise in the study of spirit runes, alchemy, and botany.

  However, Sun Mo also seemed to be very good in the art of spiritual control and puppetry?

  Ai!

  Her childhood sweetheart was too capable in all aspects. This was also a type of vexation.

  After the three of them traveled for an hour, they finally arrived underneath a huge withered tree.

  Its branches and leaves were originally pulsing with vitality, covering the sky. But now, they had long turned yellow. When the wind gusted, the leaves would fall off like flakes falling off the skin.

  “Do you know the name of this tree?”

  Lian Fangcao asked.

  Sun Mo fell silent. He knew the answer.

  In the Record of Darkness Continent’s Phenomena that the system had given him, he had seen this plant before.

  The mature period of the fruit it produced was 64 years. The fruit wasn’t tasty or nutritious. However, the juice from the fruit would secrete a type of enzyme.

  This enzyme contained an extremely strong positive simulation effect on the cells of humans and animals. It could allow the sensitivity of the consumer toward spirit qi to heighten.

  Simply speaking, even if the consumer was someone who couldn’t sense spirit qi, they would be able to sense it after eating a few of these fruits.

  An Xinhui had also read about such a plant before in the diary of her grandfather. Hence, she was completely stunned when she saw this. After that, she revealed an extremely disappointed expression.

  “It’s a pity that it has withered and died!”

  If this tree was still alive, it would definitely become the most important battle resource. It was able to make ordinary people into cultivators and also let cultivators sharpen their sensitivity toward spirit qi. Wasn’t this already strong enough?

  “The warriors of our tribe would be able to get one of this fruit every year. It has greatly increased our combat strength, but ten years ago, the tree started to wither and our reserves also dwindled.”

  Lian Fangcao sighed.

  After that, she took out a wooden box and passed it to Sun Mo.

  “These ten spirit fruits are our gift to you.”

  Sun Mo didn’t accept it.

  “Just accept it!”

  Lian Fangcao pushed it to Sun Mo. “Don’t feel that it is too little because we also don’t have many left for ourselves.”

  “If I can revive this tree, can you give me half of the produce during every harvesting season?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  “What? You can revive it?”

  Lian Fangcao was badly shocked and grabbed Sun Mo’s arms. After that, wild joy appeared on her face. “How?”

  “This tree withered because you guys use the smoke produced by some medicinal herbs to fumigate it!”

  Sun Mo activated Divine Sight and glanced at the data. As expected, it was the same as his diagnosis.

  “Ah? Isn’t it infested by worms?”

  Lian Fangcao didn’t understand.

  “If it was merely a case of worms, this tree would still be able to live for 100 years. Evidently, for the sake of getting rid of the worms, the smoke that you guys used actually contained poison.”

  Sun Mo explained.

  “Yes! Yes! That’s the case!”

  Lian Fangcao hurriedly nodded.

  “The trunk has rotted away, and this caused its circulatory system to collapse. Spirit qi and moisture couldn’t be supplied in and out. Hence, I have to use spirit runes to rebuild a new circulatory system for it.

  “After that, since the leaves on the tree are already very few, I will carve spirit gathering runes on them to assist it in absorbing spirit qi… And I also have to concoct something that can dispel the poison and kill the worms, settling the bacterial spots.”

  “Right, those bacterial spots are caused by the excrement of the worms.”

  By counting like this, the tree had a total of six symptoms.

  Lian Fangcao couldn’t understand, but her instinct told her that this was very troublesome.

  If Sun Mo could cure the tree, it would mean he was extremely impressive.

  “Sun Mo, we will depend on you then.”

  Lian Fangcao hugged Sun Mo. “As long as you can save it, I will convince those elders to give you half of the fruits every harvest.”

  An Xinhui was also looking at Sun Mo with shock in her eyes.

  (You can even accomplish something like this?)

  She was someone who understood how incredible the methods mentioned by Sun Mo were. Other than him, no one in the Nine Provinces would be able to do this.

  …

  They stayed for a total of three days in the Greenhaze Tribe. Sun Mo and An Xinhui went to the ecology garden and inspected the various storehouses before they returned to the Nine Provinces.

  “It is better for us not to bring this equipment back to the Nine Provinces, or we would surely cause a great disturbance.”

  An Xinhui felt some fear in her heart.

  “You are suffering from groundless fears, we won’t be able to use them either.”

  Sun Mo shrugged. These things were high-tech stuff. Even though he had learned the language, he still had a headache when he looked at them.

  For the remaining matters, Sun Mo no longer concerned himself with it and handed all of them to An Xinhui. He was preparing to calm himself down and continue studying to improve himself while also teaching and guiding his students.

  But at this moment, a mysterious letter was placed on Sun Mo’s desk and disrupted his plan.