"The Bi Xie Empire just like ours is filled with countless spots filled generously with the dao from spirit veins to treasured grounds and natural treasures. While most were in the control of the royal family and the other aristocratic families, some remained without owners and grew into uncharted areas filled with all manner of wild and rare resources that thrived in that solitude where a system of its own was established.

I managed to sneak into one, though it was rude of me I admit, but I couldn't believe my eyes at the wealth of resources I saw just laying there unclaimed. Resources that would drive the majority of the world to greedy madness just lay there. I couldn't believe it. There was radiant star fruit, an ascendant-grade fruit that can help a cultivator establish firm foundations and directly leap from a mortal to the peak of the core formation realm in a single day,

The dao enlightenment midnight rose which just the leaves can help a cultivator touch on the mysteries of the dao irrespective of their talent or their comprehension levels. A flower like this would definitely make those at the peak of the palace realm go mad with envy as it could deepen their foundations in preparation for a breakthrough to the domain realm.

Hundreds of profound purple sky metal lodes whose quality would make the hands of any gold-grade blacksmith itch with great anticipation, green jade fires, and amber earth flames that would be the delight of any alchemist and herbalist worth their salt.I could not believe how such a place remained occupied, up until I went to several more unclaimed areas, and found out they were just as rich. I was even half tempted to claim one for myself. I came to realize how grossly I had underestimated its wealth, it was to the point that it even moved my heart, me, a person who once thought himself unmoved by anything other than the profundities of the dao. Even ascetic monks would feel their hearts waver from such a sight of absurd opulence.

Filled with the question, why, just why weren't there sects established here, when they could use the wealth here to establish foundations that would last a lifetime, roaming around, I finally found the answer.

Bi Xie Empire, an Empire beloved so much by its citizens, that not even a single one in over 100,000 years ever considered joining a sect, all opting to either join something in service of the empire or take care of their families.

The sects never had a chance as no one would join them. The foundation of a sect, fundamentally to its core, was the inheritance of wills. Finding those who would inherit your teachings and identity. When there was no one to pass the torch to, would you still call yourself a sect, or were you just some massive cultivation abode, belonging to a party of one?

Despite the royal family trying to speak on behalf of some of the sects that wanted to start up, no one joined. With so much territory not being used, the empire ended up starting thousands of academies all over its territory that taught all manner of subjects from things related to cultivation to the mundane, and those who wished to open up sects were employed within those academies. It was a clever idea, as the citizens were much more receptive to the academies. Anyone from commoners to aristocrats could attend them and with the wealth of the Empire, they need not pay anything, not that the citizens struggled. In my whole time there, I don't think I ever saw a beggar within its territory.

On a whim, I ended up joining one academy, albeit temporarily, and I have to say I enjoyed it more than I expected. Imparting wisdom and my insights into diamonds in the rough, and seeing what would come of it was a feeling to me, the same as when I started traveling or delved into the mysteries of the dao. With my insights, it wasn't long before I caught the sights of the higher-ups of the royal family, who offered me a post in one of their most prestigious academies in which the Emperor's brother was the head. Ordinarily, I would have refused, as Uncle Wang had warned me to be careful of getting entangled in nobles' schemes wherever I traveled, but my curiosity about whether the Empire had any association with the Bi Xie got the best of me.

As an outsider, I thought it would be hard for me to find out, and my cultivation base, though profound was nothing in the eyes of the empire that had thousands and thousands of peak-stage domain experts. The only way of finding the answers I needed was to join the Bi Xie Empyreal Chronicles Academy and maybe befriend some of the nobles, and royals who taught and learned there, in the hopes that they would share such information.

With my deep understanding of the dao and accumulations, I managed to join as one of the deans. Joining the academy, I got a clear look at the foundations of the empire, which gave me three saint-grade treasures for just accepting the post, and countless other resources..."

"T.hreee...three? he said three?" muttered Yang Qing in shock as he reread the scroll over and over to confirm he wasn't hallucinating.

"It's three.." he added in disbelief after confirming what he read was indeed so.

"What golden luck did this empire have to be able to casually give out three saint-grade treasures to someone who isn't even from there.." Yang Qing said as he gritted his teeth in envy.

He stayed dazed for a short while before his look turned bitter and resentful as he looked around them.

"Why can't they be like them?" he softly said before he continued with some sense of apprehension, afraid that the author would mention other outlandish things he received during his tenure as dean in that academy.

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