The old man opened and closed his mouth unable to reply to what just happened.
"I guess you don't have the courage or the ability to do what you speak, so tell me, old man, you've seen it with your own eyes," I said as I folded my hands into my own sleeves and walked down from the stage to stand in front of him.
"How does it feel, when you see things that you believed in your whole life crumble in front of you? How does it feel now that you know that there is another way to Sever Mortality?" I spoke.
The old man's gawking mouth finally closed as he began to actually 'listen' instead of speaking.
I took the hint not to aggravate him much since he was in the process of processing everything that his life has been through.
"Of the many people here, how many would of you would feel regret for having to discard your mortal lives now? You gave up your worldly life for what? You gave up your mortal spouses and children, you gave up your mortal belongings, and you gave up your mortal goals and beliefs for the chance to survive the Mortality Severing blade. But for what end?" I spoke.
"You never severed your mortality when you called upon the heavenly sword," I spoke, "What you severed was a part of you, the part that was wishing to remain mortal, you cut away a piece of your own self not to go through the tribulation of Mortality Severing, but to escape death, you all were nothing more than a lizard cutting away its tail to escape death. Where in fact the answer was oh so simple and in front of you," I spoke.
"you…" the old man spoke in a light tone, devoid of all anger he and hostility he harbored towards me earlier, "You know of a way to go through the mortality severing without having to relinquish one's mortal origin?" he asked.
"Yes, and it is the easiest way," I spoke.
Before I could even add more words, master rain waved his hand, and the entire area around the avenue of the Heavenly Academy was freed from his sound barrier. Allowing everyone to hear my words.
This was a clear indication from master rain to me, to tell the world of this news.
"To confront the mortality severing blade, one must not have mortal links," I said.
"Then how is it possible to not have mortal links without severing them?" the old man asked.
"Simply put, why severe your mortal links?" I asked.
The question seemed ambiguous, but a very smart few managed to understand the meaning behind my words, and Master Rain was the first to speak.
"Ah, by not serving them, but actually embracing them, you, Shen Bao did not wish to 'change' yourself by cutting away your mortal links, but instead you chose to amass them within you. Wishing to ascend along with your own Mortality, A Mortal Immortal. Seeking the end of the cultivation path without discarding what made you who you are…an impressive, brave, and pretty nonconventional way to face the Mortality Severing Blade," Master Rain said.
I turned to master rain and gave him a light bow, "No wonder Master Rain is one of the smartest people on the Vast Expanse," I said inflating Master Rain's pride. I mean flattery costs nothing.
"It is as Master Rain had said, by not relinquishing my own mortality and embracing it as a part of me, I have nothing to sever thus I am not someone that needs to fear the blade," I spoke.
"I ascend with my own Mortality to Immortality, and gain the ability to claim Ascension without being forced to have a fractured Dao, a Dao forced to be cracked and broken due to fear of death, thus why I cultivate, thus why I seek the end of the cultivation path, not because I wish to see the peak for what point is there to see this peak if I cannot see it with those who traveled this journey with me, for what point is it to be an immortal if you cannot share it with others? For what point is to be at the top when all the people who you knew, your family that brought you to this world, your elders that taught you, your teachers that showed you the way, your mentors that guided you, and your master that brought you up were not there to see it. It is utterly and completely pointless to see the end of this path when you're all alone. Thus, though Immortals don't live long, I'll not severe them from my heart, even if they're dead, I'll take them with me, in heart and in the soul, in memory and in remembrance I'll take them with me, to the end, for there is no point to sit in a throne where you rule over nothing…" I spoke.
And these words seemed to hit hard, so hard that many of the cultivators closed their eyes and were already in a meditative state, I couldn't understand why, but it seems that Master Rain's smile was proof that this Sermon was a great success.
Master Rain called me via Divine Sense and said, "Good job showing these geezers that they're wrong." He said.
"Yeah, but why do I have the feeling that I made a lot of enemies," I said.
"On the contrary, these old fools might be powerful and destructive, and they know they can end you in a single flick of a finger, but they are at the same time teachers and scholars of the Heavenly Academy, Besting them in words is far more lethal than besting them in battle, and once they are defeated, they'll acknowledge your existence, your stay in the Heavenly Academy is bound to be exemplary and interesting," Master Rain smiled.
"Right, but what's going on, why is everyone meditating?" I asked.
"You really don't get it, do you?" he said.
"Not really," I said.
"Sometimes you can be smarter than a sly fox, and other times your dumber than a bag of rocks, your words, the implications of them, you literally shattered the belief that has been ingrained in every one of these cultivators since the day they have been born, the belief that to ascend with mortal ties is death, and now they are either thinking of how to ascend using your method, or regretting having cut ties with their mortal lives, you gave them a lot to think about so this meditation is probably going to last for a while until they come to the term of what had happened and what they should do. So sit tight, for now, this whole sermon was a great success and a good achievement in your favor, even I didn't expect it to go this well," He said
I sat back down next to Liang Yu who also seemed to be thinking hard about what I just said and waited until everyone seemed to be regaining their disposition, many looked my way and clasped their hands my way and this caused the others to do the same.
The old man in black stood up and looked my way and then clasped his hands saying, "I have been proven wrong by a junior, it isn't something that happens often and this proves that I have yet more to learn, this has broadened my own perspective, and now I can honestly have my passion to cultivate ignited again since I'm able to question beliefs that have been ingrained within us since the dawn of time. I have been stuck and unable to cultivate to the next realm due to how hard-headed and my inability to think outside of the box, yet with junior Shen Bao's logic, I believe that now I have the ability to break through my current Realm, I cannot thank you enough!" he said.
"Your words are thanks enough, I'll also apologize for coming at you in such a rude manner, it is unbefitting of a student to talk so haughtily at a teacher but it was needed to prove a point, I hope you accept my apology," I said as I clasped my hands back to him.
The old man waved his hands, "Words don't hurt, it was thanks to you that I may be able to reignite my passion, Master Rain, I'll be entering Secluded Cultivation, I wish to capitalize on the new thoughts I have just gained, would you excuse this old man?" he asked.
"Of course, one must not let inspiration escape, go old Man Lou." Master Rain replied.
"Oh, before I leave, Junior," the old man said toward me.
"Yes?"
"Who was the scholar you spoke to, he seemed to be a good person to have in our academy, even as a mortal," he said.
"Oh, he isn't a mortal, he is actually a cultivator… and a pretty strong one, I wish not to invoke his name, it'll only cause trouble," I said.
The old man thought for a moment then his eyes opened up wide, "Wait…you're telling me, that you had a seat with that person? And not only that, you were the one who taught him this?!" he said then looked at master rain in disbelief.
"Stranger things happened in life," Master Rain grinned.
Of course, Old Man Lou would know which scholar it was, especially since Master Rain confirmed it by speaking, After all, there was only One Immortal Scholar in the Vast Expanse that is related to Master Rain… and it was the same person who Master Rain imprisoned for a thousand years.
"My god… I best go lest I'm too shocked to even remember my inspiration," Old Man Lou disappeared from the avenue.
"Master Rain," another person in black robes too asked politely to excuse himself to meditate then more followed suit.
Suddenly, one man in black robes rose up and said, "Shen Bao, I'm Yang Fei Song, I'm one of the Grand Elders of the Heavenly Academy, and I wish to install you within one of my classes, do you wish to study under me?" he asked.
"Wait, you old snake, he should study under me, I'm proficient in Dao study, and his presence in my class would be great for his future development!" Another man in black robes interjected.
"Stop squabbling didn't the two of you already retire, Shen Bao come under my wing I'll teach you the best cultivation techniques, and I'll have you obtain the greatest benefits the Heavenly Academy has to offer!" another man in black robes added and I was starting to feel suffocated.
Even the Purple Robes jumped in, and one of them was the same person who offered me aid in the race, "I'm sorry grand elders, but aren't you all bullying us like this, students will think lightly of us if they see you scampering over a white robe, after all, your position is too high to teach a newcomer," he said.
"Aw shut up, you just want him for yourself," another man in purple said.
"Guess I'll have an even harder time trying to get you for myself with all this competition," Liang Yu spoke through divine sense and I could even feel the snickering in her words.
"God damn it…"