Many people owe Wang Wei’s karma, and he often goes out of his way to help people with the mindset of them owing a debt, which he plans to ask for repayment for one day. His mindset around this kind of thing is he’ll do it to prepare for the future, but it doesn’t matter if he never uses them.
He sipped his wine, savoring the taste. He calmly looked at the beautiful lake, including the rainbow in the distance. “By the way, why not change the Academy’s name to Empyrean Enlightening Academy? Do you want to keep the name forever? Or do you want to wait until you are qualified to call it Paragon Enlightening Academy?”
“Paragon Enlightening?” Emperor Kong muttered. “That’s a wonderful name, isn’t it?”
“Hmm?” Wang Wei glanced at him. “Why do you sound like you’re not satisfied enough?” Wang Wei squinted: “Could it be you’re ambitious enough to want to take the name [Dao Enlightening Academy]?”
Emperor Kong waved his hand, “I’m not that brave or stupid.” He knew if he used the word [Dao] without being worthy, his sect’s luck would instantly be ruined, leading to its eventual destruction. According to what Emperor Kong knows, only two factions have ever bore the title of [Dao] throughout the Eternal Ascension World’s history.
The first is from an era so long ago that it has been lost to history, and the other is the Dao Opening Sect. However, the Dao Opening Sect did not dare take this name before doing great, meritorious service to Heaven and Earth during the Devil Catastrophe. Before that, it was only called the [Myriad Origin Sect].
Despite the Dao Opening Sect being acknowledged by Heavenly Dao, many people felt they did not deserve such a grand title. It was not a problem in the lower dimension, but their virtue could not support that name even after what they did during the war. It wasn’t until after the Ultimate Taboo that people truly acknowledged that title.
Qiyuan “opened the Dao” to the entire Chaos Universe by making the way of transcendence more accessible so the whole universe can accept the Dao Opening Sect having such a title in their name.
“So, what is it then?” Wang Wei asked.
“Paragon is not the limit of cultivation, is it?” Emperor Kong responded.
“An academy that trains Transcendent?” Wang Wei chuckled. “Ambitious, indeed.”
“Oh, fellow Daoist, do you think I’m over my head?” Emperor Kong asked.
“I’ll be frank,” Wang Wei said after taking another sip. “I believe, without a doubt, you can build an academy on par with the [Thirteen Overlords]. However, I have not seen any signs that you have the potential to reach that realm.”
“Is that so?” Emperor Kong said calmly, showing no signs of being affected by Wang Wei’s words. He sipped his own wine: “I was under the impression you thought highly of that girl Xu Shi.”
“I do,” Wang Wei admitted. “However, I have divided Transcendent Potential into three levels.” He did not continue talking but instead waved his hand to isolate the surrounding sights from prying eyes and put the surrounding cause and effect in disarray to prevent divination or calculations.
“The first class consists of people who have established a Transcendent Foundation. These are the people with the highest possibilities of achieving transcendence — some can even be called Transcendent Seed,” Wang Wei boldly declared.
The Transcendent Foundation that Wang Wei is talking about is not just his Perfect Foundation and its effect. He’s talking about people who have at least achieved the Nine Extremity Foundation and entered the Taboo Realm in at least one of the three Immortal Realms or have some of the essence of transcendence, like Xun Junyao. These people have a much higher chance of achieving Half-Step Transcendence than everyone else.
In that category, Wang Wei considered himself the best because of all his achievements, like Mortal Emperor, Ten Supremacy Foundation, becoming a Heavenly Emperor, and linking an entire era to his [Existence] — all these things have contributed to his Transcendent Foundation.
“Transcendent Foundation?” Emperor Kong asked with a serious look. However, Wang Wei only smiled but did not answer.
“The second category is the people talented and intelligent enough to create a method of transcendence,” Wang Wei continued. “There is a vast difference in this level as well. Some people only have a vague idea, some are already working on turning this idea into a reality, and ultimately, only a few will succeed.”
Emperor Kong swallowed the wine. “The third level?” He did not ask Wang Wei to elaborate further since he knew he wouldn’t get much of an answer.
“The final level is where I placed you, Xu Shi, and Lin Fan,” Wang Wei explained. “This level belongs to people who have the talent to achieve transcendence only if they receive an already made and completed technique.” Wang Wei can already predict how brutal the Path of Transcendence will be. Countless geniuses who used to be the shining stars of the Chaos Universe will realize their incompetence and insignificance before that barrier called [Transcendence].
“To be fair, you three masters and disciples have the potential to establish a Transcendent Foundation — if you know the requirements,” Wang Wei continued. “Additionally, I don’t know enough about you to determine whether you can be classified in the second category.”
Emperor Kong calmly refilled his cup. Although he looked calm on the surface, his mind was experiencing great turmoil. Was Wang Wei lying? This was Emperor Kong’s thought after hearing these words. He had his reasons for thinking such a thing. Firstly, this is something that Wang Wei would do — lie to further his goal. And what would those goals be? It’s evident to Emperor Kong based on how he dangled information about transcendence over him like a hunter using a carrot to lure a rabbit from their hiding hole.
However, certain things made him doubt his judgment. As soon as Wang Wei uttered the words [Transcendent Foundation], the first thing he thought of was Xun Junyao. Perfection has always been a taboo in the world, and most people who pursue this path usually end up miserable. But what was it a taboo? Emperor Kong was wise enough to link Grand Dao’s ban on Perfection to its connection to the [Transcendent Path]. So, he immediately thought that Xun Junyao might belong to a unique individual in Wang Wei’s first category.
Numerous thoughts flashed in Emperor Kong’s mind. He analyzed all the information he knew about transcendence and re-evaluated them based on Wang Wei’s words. Sadly, he realized he knew too little.
Emperor Kong sighed deeply. ‘Our foundation is too shallow.’ He suddenly realized how much weaker his academy’s foundation was compared to these top lineages who have cultivated countless peak Paragons who have already started their journey toward the next realm. He instantly removed all his pride in building the academy to such a level. Although he always reminded himself that he had a long way to go, today’s events showed how true these words were.
Emperor Kong decided to take Wang Wei’s bait. He knew he might have to pay a steep price, but getting his hands on such a valuable piece of information would be worth it. “Fellow Daoist–” He stopped as he realized Wang Wei was looking into the sky, and he finally sensed a mysterious aura, so he also raised his head.
“It seems I’ve said too much, and you’re too weak to get involved in matters of this level,” Wang Wei said calmly. Even with his preventive measures, he could only say so much. It’s also possible that he could say so much because he took the previous measures.
“It seems so,” Emperor Kong said, again feeling his insignificance. He sipped his wine and closed his eyes for a few minutes. Once he opened them, he had already adjusted his mindset. Wang Wei secretly nodded in acknowledgment. Although he purposely suppressed Emperor Kong’s arrogance to control the rhythm of their conversation and ensure things favored him during later negotiations, he still appreciated how fast the latter readjusted and controlled his emotions.
“Fellow Daoist, is this the main reason you’ve visited?”
“Of course not,” Wang Wei replied. “My main goal is to ask you whether you’re interested or plan on killing one of those parasites. If so, we can work together, or at the very least, come to an agreement so we don’t target the same person.”
“Killing a Paragon?” Emperor Kong uttered with squinted eyes. “This is not something that anyone can do.”
Wang Wei looked at him and shook his head internally. He had many praises for Emperor Kong, but he also had one criticism: he talked like a scholar. He was never direct, his words were always ambiguous with any interpretations, and he stated his thoughts in a roundabout manner.
Wang Wei did not know whether he talked like this with everyone or a tactic he used to deal with him. Regardless, it did not matter; he was now bored with it.
“Be direct and tell me what you’re thinking,” he said.