“Thank you, Chief. From this day forward, I have a name. My name is Feng Chen, Feng Chen...”
“Hehe... My name is Di Kun, Di Kun!”
“My name is Huo Lie...”
The tribespeople who once had no names, or whose names were repeated, rejoiced at receiving their new names.
Looking at them, Xuan Xiao couldn’t help but feel emotional. The human race at this moment was so pure and simple; just a name would bring them such joy.
With a heavy heart, Xuan Xiao became even more determined to unite the human race and lead them to rise: “My people, you now have names. But you must also understand the meaning of your names and learn how to write them. Therefore, in addition to your daily cultivation, you must also start learning the human language.”
“All the races of the primordial world have their own languages. And we, the human race, should also have our own language. With language, we can record our heritage, our history, and our civilization, allowing the human civilization to be passed down.”
“I have compiled the ‘Thousand Character Classic’ and the ‘Human Dictionary.’ You must all study them diligently. Especially the children in the tribe; they must study even harder. They are the flowers of the human race, the future of the human race...”
“Let us read together... Heaven and Earth are profound and yellow, the universe is primordial...”
Xuan Xiao roared, using Daoist sound to manifest the characters, which floated through the sky above the Tian Xing Tribe.
The tribespeople were all excited, their eyes sharp as they observed each character, determined to memorize them deeply. This was the language of the human race, the future of the human race. They must remember it, for the good of the human race and for their children and grandchildren.
…
Over the next few years, Xuan Xiao disseminated the nine classics he was familiar with to the entire tribe. The tribe also began to change with the dissemination of these classics.
First, the layout of the tribal buildings changed. Previously, there were many tribespeople and they built their dwellings haphazardly, making the interior of the tribe chaotic. Now, relying on Xuan Xiao’s compiled ‘Tribal System’ and ‘Exploitation of the Works of Nature,’ they built palaces using wood and stone. This made the entire tribe orderly; the dwelling place was for dwelling, and the hunting team and the guard team also had their own dedicated spaces. Secondly, something resembling a city wall was built outside the tribe.
Second, each member of the tribe had their own name, and they were divided into eighteen surnames for better distinction.
Third, the tribe members studied the ‘Thousand Character Classic’ daily and consulted the ‘Human Dictionary’ to learn the characters, expanding their own wisdom, which also provided considerable assistance to their cultivation.
Fourth, there were specialized schools for the children of the tribe, with dedicated instructors.
…
These changes, together, made the Tian Xing Tribe increasingly perfect, increasingly powerful.
After many years of continuous change, the entire tribe gradually became accustomed to, and recognized, the changes within the tribe and the classics written by Xuan Xiao.
Above the Tian Xing Tribe, auspicious clouds faintly appeared, accompanied by streaks of rainbow and the sound of many celestial instruments.
These strange phenomena aroused the curiosity of many tribespeople.
But at that moment, golden light emanated from the strange phenomena, cleaving through the sky and falling into the core palace of the tribe, the Tian Xing Palace. This was also where Xuan Xiao resided.
The sudden golden light startled Xuan Zhou, who was guarding the palace. He rushed into the hall: “Chief, Chief, you...”
But upon entering the hall, Xuan Zhou saw that Xuan Xiao was not in the least affected by the sudden attack. Instead, he was dumbfounded, his eyes filled with ecstasy as he looked at the scriptures, the ink, paper, and brush, and the tables, chairs, and benches that were emitting golden light.
“Chief, you...” Xuan Zhou asked softly.
Xuan Xiao laughed, his voice booming: “Haha, haha... Never would I have imagined, never would I have imagined. The merit I had been striving for all these years has finally arrived. Truly, ‘If you try to cultivate a flower, it will not bloom, but if you plant a willow branch, it will thrive.’ Haha...”
When Xuan Xiao was studying the animal skin scroll and the Golden Core system, the merit from heaven had confused him. He hadn’t done anything worthy of merit; how could merit come to him? Xuan Xiao even suspected that the heavens had made a mistake.
But then he saw that the merit was also falling upon the ink, paper, and brush, and the nine classics, and his heart was enlightened.
So it was that he had compiled books, created characters, made ink, paper, and brush, and improved the human race. This was not something that could not receive merit; it was that it needed to be spread, to be recognized and used by the human race, before it could receive merit.
Just as the ancestor of the You Feng clan had said, the reason why the Taiqing Saint could establish the Human Dao back then was not because of his powerful cultivation. It was because he had gained the recognition of all the human race, and thus was able to establish the Human Dao, rooted in the human race, and ultimately become a Saint.
Xuan Xiao was the same now. If he created the human language, but it was not spread and recognized by the human race, why would he call it the human language, and how could he receive merit?
The same was true of ink, paper, and brush. As tools for writing and spreading civilization, if they were not used for their intended purpose, just placed in a warehouse, how could they receive merit?
It could be said that Xuan Xiao’s idea of restraining merit was correct, but his execution was flawed, which caused the merit to be delayed. Only now, by relying on the ink, paper, and brush, and the classics, to change the Tian Xing Tribe, had he received merit.
At the same time, Xuan Xiao also realized that the more widely something like the classics and the ink, paper, and brush were spread, the more recognition they received, the more merit they could receive. Thus, this merit was only the first, and there would be more in the future.
Secondly, if only a few people recognized it, it could not receive merit. Only when it was recognized by the majority of the human race could it receive merit.
Clearly, the Tian Xing Tribe of the past was too small, with too few members. No matter how much it was spread, it could not receive merit. Now, with tens of millions of tribespeople, it naturally met this condition.
Xuan Xiao was overjoyed, excited as he looked at the nine classics: “Of the nine classics, ‘Hundred Family Names,’ ‘Thousand Character Classic,’ ‘Human Dictionary,’ and ‘Exploitation of the Works of Nature’ are all mid-grade innate meritorious spirit treasures. The others are all low-grade innate meritorious spirit treasures. It seems that the impact and merit brought by the nine classics are different.”
“The ink, paper, and brush have become high-grade innate meritorious spirit treasures. The tables, chairs, and benches, various tea sets, chessboards... because they were not made with special divine materials, they are currently only mid-grade innate meritorious spirit treasures.”
“However, this is only temporary. As the Tian Xing Tribe develops, as more and more of the human race recognize them, there will be a continuous stream of merit. Perhaps one day, these will all become high-grade innate meritorious spirit treasures.”
“Just like the Suiren Fire of the ancestor Suiren, the Meritorious Beast Skin of the ancestor Ziyi...”
Xuan Xiao was ecstatic, seeing that he had acquired so many meritorious spirit treasures in such a short time. His heart was filled with joy and excitement.
Of course, Xuan Xiao did not forget to experience the merit he had received himself. As the creator, Xuan Xiao received half of the merit for each item. One half of the merit went to the meritorious spirit treasure, and the other half went into Xuan Xiao’s body.
With so many meritorious spirit treasures, Xuan Xiao was naturally full of joy.
Now, Xuan Xiao’s stern face was radiating a mysterious light of merit, making him look holy and untouchable.
In his excitement, he finally noticed the anxious Xuan Zhou: “Haha... Xuan Zhou, go tell the tribespeople that today is the Merit Day. Every year on this day, the tribespeople shall hold a bonfire feast to celebrate Merit Day.”
“Yes, Chief!” Xuan Zhou realized something as well, and immediately went to arrange the Merit Feast.
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