"Xu Gongming, this is the essence of my life's cultivation. I'm entrusting it to you. But you must promise me one condition: you must not use this knowledge against the grassland people." Fu Xuan's deep gaze fell upon Xu Qing.

Faced with the invaluable insights of a Martial Saint, Xu Qing showed no greed or desire. He calmly said, "Teacher Fu, forgive me, but I cannot agree."

Fu Xuan let out a bitter laugh, "I'm about to die, you can deceive me, or endure for a few years, and I wouldn't even know."

Xu Qing shook his head with a smile, "Teacher Fu, you underestimate the heritage of our Central Plains Heavenly Dynasty. The insights of a Martial Saint, though a treasure of the world, are not something I entirely lack."

He casually tossed out Yu Yangzi's notebook.

Fu Xuan took a quick look, then closed it swiftly, saying, "Each era has its own laws. My insights are more suited for this time."

Xu Qing smiled, "With me here, this era no longer belongs to your generation, Teacher."

Fu Xuan replied angrily, "Even if you, Xu Gongming, are exceptionally talented, why must you belittle me?"

As a Martial Saint, he too had his pride.

Xu Qing laughed heartily, "That's because Teacher still can't let go; otherwise, anything I say wouldn't matter."

"On the brink of death, what is it that I can't let go of?"

Xu Qing said, "With your current mindset, Teacher, becoming a demon after death is inevitable, which is not the ending you desire. You are troubled, weary, and lost, no longer possessing the grandeur of a Martial Saint from the past. If I were to deceive you now, it would be disrespectful to both the extraordinary achievements of the past century and to myself, Xu Qing."

Fu Xuan sighed, "If fate dictates so, what can I do? You are not me; how could you understand my current mindset?"

Xu Qing smiled, "I know that Murong Grandmaster's actions dealt you a heavy blow, and with little time remaining, Teacher Fu cannot break then rebuild; you merely resign to fate but can't discard your past. I want to ask Teacher Fu, those grassland people you speak of, who are they really? The grassland Great Khan who stabbed you in the back, the Murong Grandmaster who is both grateful and resentful, your disciples who obey the Golden Tent's orders, or perhaps the grassland tribes who are no different from cattle and sheep?"

"This?" Fu Xuan fell into deep thought.

He had truly never considered this before.

He prided himself on being a grasslander, yet also mastered Central Earth's culture, a rare talent of the grasslands. But in his eyes, who truly were the grasslanders?

Was it the Great Khan he protected, his disciples, Murong Grandmaster, those self-serving grassland nobles, or the herdsmen?

Perhaps all these constituted the grasslanders.

Yet, it was certainly not everything.

He remembered killing many nobles who opposed the Great Khan to protect the latter's position.

He recalled silently allowing the Great Khan to annex and slaughter other grassland tribes to secure his rule.

He didn't care about the deaths of ordinary grassland herdsmen.

In his eyes, these herdsmen were akin to livestock.

Even over the past decades, though Fu Xuan was a Grassland Martial Saint, he also served as the grassland's High Priest, representing Longevity Heaven on earth, thus receiving deep-seated faith from most herdsmen.

He had many disciples, effectively training bodyguards for the Great Khan, whose families, livestock, and various properties were gifts from the Khan, under his control and distribution.

Fu Xuan previously didn't mind these because he believed individual energy is limited.

Focusing too much on external matters would have prevented him from achieving Martial Saint stature.

Heaven is fair; one must relinquish something to receive fate's gifts.

Yet, it was precisely those he cared for, protected, and enlightened for decades that betrayed him, dealing a fatal blow.

This threw Fu Xuan into deep self-doubt.

But he still couldn't abandon his identity as a grasslander; otherwise, even as a Martial Saint, he would be but a joke in this life.

Now, Xu Qing had viciously torn open Fu Xuan's cover of shame.

In this, Xu Qing was more ruthless than Murong Grandmaster and more domineering than the Black Mountain Demon Elder.

Xu Qing continued, "Putting other matters aside, if the grasslands no longer need to invade the South to have enough to eat and wear in the future, this must be what Teacher Fu desires."

Fu Xuan was momentarily stunned, then nodded, "Beyond Zhangjiakou lies the grassland's territory. You born in the Central Plains live in fertile lands, able to farm, but farming on the grasslands is extraordinarily extravagant and almost impossible."

Xu Qing nodded.

This was a natural law, altering which required immense power and considerable time.

Central Earth's scholars might admire the grasslanders' wildness, their bravery, but if you ask any grassland herdsmen or minor nobles, they would be willing to forsake everything now to be reborn in Central Earth, as a commoner.

Especially as colder and more terrifying weather became frequent, their yearning for Central Earth grew daily.

To farm, then reap the harvest.

For grasslanders, it was a luxurious happiness and an indescribable sense of security.

Of course, if they could come here as a lord, it would be an enjoyment akin to a Heavenly Person's.

Xu Qing continued, "If I could ensure the grasslanders are fed and clothed, at the cost of first defeating them, conquering them, would Teacher Fu agree?"

Fu Xuan said, "Whether I am willing or not isn't the point; at least the herdsmen would absolutely agree. But you Central Plains folk wishing to conquer the grassland is an impossibility."

Xu Qing smiled, "Conquering the grassland is difficult due to the supply issue. The Empire's Twin Pillars of the Former Han were only able to defeat the Xiongnu because they had minimal reliance on supply, especially Champion Marquis, who could precisely locate the main forces of grassland tribes and swiftly annihilate them, allowing him to break the massive Xiongnu Empire and avenge a century of the Han's humiliation. Yet, that person is gone, and in the present Great Yu Dynasty, indeed, there is no one like him now. However, if the supply issue could be resolved, the grassland problem would eventually be of little concern."

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