Lin Yi said, "Quickly light the fire in the furnace, and then bring out that sealed item from Warehouse A."
Zhang Jitong responded with "Yes," and immediately directed everyone to get busy.
Seeing this, Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction.
After the magic array around the furnace was rearranged, the rootless fire reignited, and the solidified liquid in the furnace slowly melted, eventually boiling again as time passed.
This time, it didn't have to wait until midnight.
At noon, Lin Yi took action, using the power of the magic array to condense the true fire of the sun, and then sacrificed Wu Tian's body with his blood, thus forging a divine sword.
This sword was entirely golden, sacred and solemn. It formed a stark contrast with the dark, ominous Longyuan Sword at Lin Yi's waist.
"What a fine sword," Zhang Jitong exclaimed.
Lin Yi smiled slightly and said, "I will go to the palace now. His Majesty must be getting impatient."
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Chapter Eighteen: The Gears of Fate, The Steam Age
Lin Yi walked through the Forbidden City with a eunuch.
He felt somewhat uneasy not having the Dragon Abyss Sword with him.
Without the protection of this Holy Sword of Humanity, facing the suppression of the Emperor's Dragon Aura directly made Lin Yi's originally long breaths seem slightly heavy.
What is the fundamental and what is the superficial?
Lin Yi had always believed that he could distinguish things clearly and had a good grasp of the situation. But it wasn't until the moment the Dragon Abyss Sword left his hand that he suddenly woke up to the truth.
Sometimes, getting more isn't necessarily a good thing.
On the contrary, loss can help us see further and more clearly.
The Star River Scripture within the ancestral aperture at the center of the forehead shimmered with points of light, like a cluster of brilliant stars in the night sky.
The true energy of the Milky Way flowed through his entire body, perfectly harmonious and flawless. A feeling of having everything under control arose spontaneously, and the pressure brought by the human dragon energy immediately lessened by several points.
If we set aside those mystical aspects, dragon energy represents power, authority, and status.
Lin Yi chuckled. He once thought he was pursuing truth and transcending the mundane, and he once thought he could slay demons and monsters with a sword in hand. But now, looking back, he realized that he was still just an ordinary person.
In a pavilion in the Imperial Garden, Lin Yi met Emperor Zhaode.
Lin Yi bowed and said, "May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."
"Please excuse the formalities, Master Qingxuan, and have a seat," Emperor Zhaode said, his face beaming.
Lin Yi didn't refuse and sat down directly.
Traditional Chinese etiquette does not include kneeling.
During the pre-Qin period, because there were no tables and chairs, the practice of "kneeling" arose. However, this was not a formal etiquette, but rather a sitting posture of "kneeling on both knees".
In that era, subjects knelt before their rulers, and rulers knelt before their subjects.
After tables and chairs were introduced, kneeling became very rare. Kneeling was only required on very formal occasions, such as large court assemblies held only a few times a year.
What changed was the Yuan Dynasty.
Before the Song Dynasty, when the emperor and his ministers met, both were seated. During the Song Dynasty, the emperor sat while the ministers stood. By the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor was seated while the ministers knelt.
The Ming Dynasty inherited this outdated custom, but it was still rare for commoners to kneel before officials. This was because the act of kneeling was too grand a gesture, something most officials could not bear. If such a thing happened, it signified a grave injustice, something every official would strive to avoid.
The Qing Dynasty truly brought the kneeling ceremony to its peak.
This dynasty had no ruler and subjects, only masters and servants. And after Qing dynasty officials knelt before the emperor, they felt resentful and transferred this resentment onto the common people.
From then on, kneeling became a common social phenomenon.
The evolution of kneeling etiquette from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty reflects the changing spirit of the times.
From "the emperor and the scholar-officials ruling the world together" to "master" and "slave," what the Yuan Mongol and Manchu Qing dynasties brought to China was not just war and slaughter.
As Emperor Zhaode admired the "Emperor's Sword" presented by a young eunuch, Lin Yi's thoughts wandered, contemplating many other things.
Emperor Zhaode gripped the hilt of the "Son of Heaven's Sword" and casually swung it a few times, and the long-lost vitality returned to his body.
"The elixir of immortality is truly extraordinary," praised Emperor Zhaode, whose face was radiant and who was full of energy.
Lin Yi's mind returned from beyond the heavens, and upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "This is also due to His Majesty's boundless blessings. This pill was made primarily from a human-shaped spiritual ginseng that I accidentally picked deep in Changbai Mountain, and there are very few left. Finding another human-shaped spiritual ginseng in this world is as difficult as ascending to heaven."
Emperor Zhaode looked regretful. Having personally experienced the miraculous effects of the elixir, he wished he could obtain a few more.
Fortunately, while Lin Yi closed one door, he opened a window.
"Now that the Emperor's Sword has been forged, when may I begin its cultivation?" Emperor Zhaode asked rather impatiently.
Lin Yi smiled and said, “Your Majesty, please do not be anxious. Zhuangzi once said that the emperor’s sword is made with Yanxi Stone City as its tip, Qi Dai as its edge, Jin Wei as its spine, Zhou Song as its guard, and Han Wei as its hilt; it is surrounded by the four barbarians, wrapped by the four seasons, encircled by the Bohai Sea, and belted by Changshan; it is governed by the five elements, and judged by the principles of punishment and virtue; it is opened by yin and yang, held by the spring and autumn, and used in autumn and winter.”
"This sword is unparalleled in its straightness, unmatched in its height, unmatched in its depth, and unhindered in its movement. It can cleave through the clouds above and sever the boundaries of the earth below. Once this sword is used, it will bring order to the feudal lords, and the world will submit. This is the sword of the Son of Heaven."
"The way of cultivation for the emperor lies within this."
"Please enlighten me, Master," Emperor Zhaode said.
Lin Yi said, "Lao Tzu said, 'The way of Heaven is to take from those who have more than enough and give to those who have less than enough. The way of man is not so; he takes from those who have less than enough to give to those who have more than enough. Who can have more than enough to give to the world? Only the one who follows the Way.'"
"Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, receives the support of all people, which is the way of humanity. If you can embody the Way of Heaven, reducing the excess and supplementing the deficiency, then the Great Way can be achieved."