Chapter 798: From Always Like This, Is It Right?

“Inside information?”

Xu Xiaoshou keenly sensed that something was amiss. He had long suspected that Bazun'an, being so powerful, couldn’t have been defeated so easily by Hua Changdeng in just three sword strikes.

He had previously heard the legends but found them not entirely credible. Yet, Mei Siran also affirmed it, confirming the truth of the legend. However, Mei Siran skipped the intermediate steps and directly mentioned the final outcome: Yutu attacking Mount Guizhe to kill the previous Hall Master.

If Bazun'an and Hua Changdeng were fighting, what did old man Yutu have to do with it? Furthermore, even if Bazun'an was truly defeated, the target of revenge should have been Hua Changdeng, right? Why did they target the previous Hall Master of the Holy Spirit Hall instead?

Moreover, Xu Xiaoshou believed that if it were a fair duel, and Bazun'an was simply outmatched, then losing would be understandable. Yutu shouldn't have stooped to bullying someone weaker, should he?

So... "What did the previous Hall Master of the Holy Spirit Hall do during that decisive battle?" Xu Xiaoshou leaned forward and asked.

Mei Siran smiled but remained silent, avoiding the question. "You're quite familiar with him, aren't you? Why don't you ask him yourself? I'm just an irrelevant bystander."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. He naturally knew that the "him" Mei Siran referred to was Bazun'an. His identity as a Saint Servant was no longer a secret to the old sword immortal. From this, it seemed Mei Siran wasn't strongly against the Saint Servants' stance.

Or rather, judging by Mei Siran's attitude that night when he wanted to help but couldn't, he seemed quite sympathetic to the Saint Servants' cause.

"So, the Saint Servants' path is the right one?" Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but wonder.

But then he felt a headache coming on. On the surface, no matter how you looked at it, the Saint Servants were just a dark force, while the Holy Spirit Hall was the righteous organization. The latter had maintained peace on the continent for over a thousand years.

Yet, in his interactions, he had met too many people who harbored intentions of challenging the Holy Spirit Hall's authority. The specific reasons were hard to pinpoint. But surely, it couldn't be that everyone was just drawn in by Bazun'an's charisma, could it?

Pondering this, Xu Xiaoshou cautiously asked the question that had long lurked in his heart: "If it were you, Mr. Siran, how would you view the Holy Spirit Hall's stance?"

He believed that Mei Siran, an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years and witnessed countless historical events, would have a more profound understanding than any "old generation" of the current era. Therefore, to a large extent, Mei Siran's words could represent the truth of history.

"A stance, you say..." Mei Siran murmured, a mix of sighs and emotions in his voice. "You have to admit that for over a thousand years, the Holy Spirit Hall has been like the pillar of the world. It has borne the burden of darkness and cast light upon the vast majority of people."

"This continent has enjoyed a millennium of peace because of the Holy Spirit Hall's existence." "When injustice arises, the Holy Spirit Hall sends people to judge; when dark crimes occur, the White Guards are immediately dispatched; when signs of strange powers and chaos appear, the Red Guards resolutely step forward."

"Everyone widely acknowledges the Holy Spirit Hall." "If justice can be measured by 'quality' and 'quantity', then the Holy Spirit Hall is that scale. It has achieved what ordinary forces cannot, bringing a nearly perfect... fairness to most people in the world!"

Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself, "This official rhetoric isn't what I'm looking for. What I want isn't the opinion of the majority, but your personal view, Mr. Siran."

"What do *you* think?" he asked.

Mei Siran smiled. "Compared to the countless common people, do you think an old man's opinion is very important?"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. "You are also one of the common people."

Mei Siran seemed slightly surprised but said nothing more, offering his opinion: "I believe the Holy Spirit Hall has done its utmost; it can be considered... quite remarkable."

"Remarkable?" Xu Xiaoshou pressed on. "So, Mr. Siran, do you think entities like the Saint Servants and the Xuyue Gray Palace are actually wrong?"

Mei Siran nodded, then shook his head.

Xu Xiaoshou frowned, not understanding what that meant.

"They aren't necessarily right, but they aren't wrong either," Mei Siran explained.

Xu Xiaoshou was even more bewildered. What kind of explanation was that? It was more confusing than if he hadn't said anything at all.

Mei Siran smiled and shook his head. "Let's not discuss that for now. Let me tell you a story."

"Please, Sir," Xu Xiaoshou immediately sat up straight.

The old sword immortal slowly began to speak. "I have lived for several hundred years and have traveled through most of the five regions of the continent, including the Spirit Refining Realm and the secular world."

"In the secular world, there's a peculiar phenomenon. Merchants conduct trade, farmers till the land, and dynasties rise and fall over centuries as if by fate. During prosperity, there is peace; during decline, the common people suffer. Yet, at all times, people live by certain established rules."

"Hardworking farmers might lose their entire harvest due to a natural disaster, enduring years of hardship, yet they must still pay tribute to the dynasty that guarantees their safety, even if they are already very poor."

"Merchants might accumulate wealth through original accumulation, or they might turn from illicit activities to legitimate ones. Many people make a certain effort and fight hard for success."

"Those who lose vanish into the dust of history, while those who win earn immense wealth, begin to establish commercial monopolies, and reach the pinnacle of their lives, even if their wisdom, status, methods, and strength... are not actually equivalent to their wealth."

"And these people only need to pay a negligible tribute to the dynasty that established these rules."

"The rich discriminate against the poor, and the poor resent the rich, yet within these rules, there are rarely disputes."

"The dynasty, as the rule-maker, has in fact achieved a certain degree of fairness." Mei Siran paused here.

Xu Xiaoshou seemed to understand something, yet also felt somewhat confused. "So what then?"

Mei Siran continued, "A very small number of people realized that the rule-makers had, in fact, only achieved a limited form of fairness."

"A minority who still felt injustice gathered like-minded individuals, raised their banners, and called for uprisings, which either succeeded or failed."

"Failures might cause the dynasty to be vigilant and refine its rules, or they might be forcefully suppressed, vanishing like fleeting illusions, their efforts coming to naught."

"Successes might adhere to their original intentions and achieve a greater sense of fairness, or they might become tyrannical rulers, indulging in extravagance and debauchery, only to be overthrown by the next wave of people."

"Who do you think is right and who is wrong?" Mei Siran suddenly asked back, like a sudden blow to the head, catching him off guard.

Xu Xiaoshou felt he couldn't answer. The old sword immortal's words had, in fact, laid out all the answers.

By then, he roughly understood what dark forces like the Saint Servants and Xuyue Gray Palace represented in Mei Siran's story, and what role the Holy Spirit Hall played.

"So, the successful ones are the right ones?" Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow.

"You're quite clever!" Mei Siran chuckled. "Indeed, history is written by the victors. But when a dynasty establishes rules that are nearly perfect, capable of lasting for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, who can guarantee that the next person who wants to overthrow it can do better?"

Xu Xiaoshou was startled.

"That's why, in everything I've told you, there are only 'perhaps not right' and 'perhaps not wrong,' but never a definitive 'right' answer." Mei Siran picked up his teacup, allowing the young man in front of him time to ponder.

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. Indeed, Mei Siran, unlike Bazun'an, wouldn't give a black-and-white answer.

He was like an observer of history, an outsider who had witnessed centuries of the continent's history, no longer making hasty judgments. Bazun'an, on the other hand, was an active participant; from his perspective, his answer was the right one.

Xu Xiaoshou tapped the teacup and said, "It is precisely because of injustice that people rebel. They might not necessarily be able to do better, but bravely trying isn't wrong either... So, from this perspective, the Saint Servants and Ghost Beasts are striving for a more perfect answer they believe in. They are right, aren't they!?"

His final words, initially an exclamation, turned into a question.

Mei Siran took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then set down the cup and calmly said, "What if I told you that above the dynasty, there is an empire, and for thousands of years, all rebel armies have faced only annihilation? Those who are destroyed, besides being labeled as dark forces, have also disrupted the continent's stability. They indeed broke the rules and caused more chaos. Do you still think they are right?"

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. "So the Saint Servants are wrong? Bazun'an is just a troublemaker, doomed to die!?"

Mei Siran smiled. "I never said that."

Xu Xiaoshou felt a toothache. "So, that means the Holy Spirit Hall is right? According to what you've said, they have indeed achieved a great degree of fairness, and someone else might not necessarily do better than them, so... I should actually join the Holy Spirit Hall and uphold the righteous order they have established for thousands of years?"

Mei Siran smiled faintly again and retorted, "But just because it has always been this way, does that make it right?"

Xu Xiaoshou's mind went blank with a buzz. He felt as if thunder had struck his thoughts, enlightening him completely.

Just because it has always been this way, does that make it right? Indeed!

Perhaps this was what Bazun'an, the Ghost Beasts, and others believed? Putting aside other matters, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't agree with the Red Guards' practice of implicating nine generations of Ghost Beasts' families.

Perhaps most Ghost Beasts were indeed like those rebels, disrupting the world and causing turmoil. But surely, among them were some who genuinely yearned for greater fairness, for themselves, their kin, or even for the entire continent, right?

Family implication... was it appropriate? Xu Xiaoshou remained silent for a long time.

He thought of the Ghost Beasts' plight. He thought of Bazun'an's battle with Hua Changdeng, and how Yutu had, instead, slain the previous Hall Master of the Holy Spirit Hall.

He thought of the forces still surviving in the shadows, even under the thousand-year-long shining light of what was supposedly the sole righteous power.

If it were truly "justice," perhaps there would be no injustice, and no dark elements would fester, right?

Therefore, the Holy Spirit Hall's so-called justice was merely partial justice! It was what Mei Siran implied: something that one couldn't fully endorse, couldn't deny, but had to accept because it had existed for too long, becoming a system that regulated people's lives... a so-called "correct" system!

"I think I understand," Xu Xiaoshou murmured to himself.

Before this night, he hadn't fully understood the clashing stances of the major factions. But after his conversation with Mr. Siran, he had a sudden realization.

Perhaps what everyone was fighting for was the other side's concession. It wasn't necessarily about "I am justice."

But as a Spirit Refiner, the biggest difference in choice when facing injustice, compared to secular farmers, merchants, or idle people, perhaps lay in... I know. I act. I can!

To fight an entire world alone—this was an impossible myth in the secular world. But in the Spirit Refining Realm, some people truly could achieve it, overpowering an entire era by themselves.

For example... Bazun'an! Xu Xiaoshou's heart pounded, feeling a surge of excitement.

He suddenly understood Bazun'an's intentions. Perhaps Bazun'an, with his innate triple-element affinity and three years as a sword immortal, truly had the power to challenge an entire dynasty.

But in the end, he was suppressed by the "empire." However, a genius who had overwhelmed an entire era was still a genius.

As long as he didn't die and still wished to fight, he could always rise again and make a comeback.

Thus, on Void Island, the legend of "both black and white factions bowing to my supremacy" emerged. And after four or five decades of dormancy on the continent, rumors of the Saint Servants' resurgence and the Eighth Sword Immortal's return to the world spread.

This time, he understood who the true opponent was. What Bazun'an intended to fight was no longer limited to a dynasty.

All his schemes and plans were aimed at the true mastermind behind the dynasty, the one named "Empire"!

"I understand..." Xu Xiaoshou repeated, his eyes gleaming.

He understood the Saint Servants' stance and the ultimate meaning of his presence here as a pawn in their ranks.

Even a genius like Bazun'an had to remain dormant for decades for some reason. How could Xu Xiaoshou, merely a Grandmaster, manage to overthrow rules that had been in place for thousands of years and were nearly perfect, in just a few months, years, or even a mere decade or so?

But, there was no need for further dormancy. Too many people had already undertaken and succeeded in "lying low."

The Saint Servants, Xuyue Gray Palace... Or rather, all the forces that didn't belong to the Holy Spirit Hall's lineage!

Whether they had declared war or not, these matters... were not his concern!

Before becoming the chess master who controlled these forces, his only real task was to honestly stir things up, create more chaos, and then develop himself amidst the turmoil.

Finally, before anyone else could react. "Old man, I think I understand what you mean, and I understand your path now..." Xu Xiaoshou thought of Elder Sang.

Every time he thought of Elder Sang, he gained a new interpretation of Elder Sang's "cage theory."

What kind of person must Elder Sang have been to formulate such a "cage theory" where "the lake surface is the sky, but there's a sky beyond the sky"?

And what kind of setbacks must he have endured to tell his disciple something that seemed nonsensical but was actually full of life philosophy...

"Before you have absolute strength, be a diligent pawn!"

Across the tea table, Mei Siran suddenly stood up. "It seems you've understood something..."

He gave Xu Xiaoshou a deep look, not caring what thoughts his words had stirred in the other party. Perhaps it was abandonment. Perhaps it was greater persistence. But regardless, none of it concerned him anymore.

Mei Siran turned and walked to the windowsill, gazing out at Void Island under the moonlight, murmuring softly, "I must be going now..."

Xu Xiaoshou quickly stood up. Tonight's conversation had primarily involved him asking questions.

But at the very beginning, Mr. Siran had sought him out. So, had the old man come specifically to answer all the doubts he had accumulated along the way, and was now here to bid farewell?

"Where are you going?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't think Mei Siran was merely returning to his cultivation room to sleep.

Rao Yaoyao had already set her sights on Mr. Siran, and even if she had been dissuaded for a while, for the stability of the First Heavenly Tower, Mr. Siran should not continue to stay.

"To the next stop, to find the next person, to pursue yet another possibility that can shake my resolve," Mei Siran said, turning, refined and smiling.

"What possibility?" Xu Xiaoshou was startled.

"Perhaps Yutu, perhaps Bazun'an, perhaps you, perhaps not..." Mei Siran said, and his figure suddenly became transparent and faint.

Only when his entire body shattered into points of light and dispersed with the wind did Xu Xiaoshou realize what the old sword immortal's words truly meant.

"You don't believe me, still searching..." He sat back down at the tea table, somewhat dejected, poured himself a cup of tea, and carried it to the windowsill, standing where Mei Siran had been just before he vanished.

He too looked out at Void Island, his gaze traveling further, as if he could see Mount Guizhe far away in the Central Region.

"Actually, there's no need to search anymore..."

"Bazun'an might fail once, but I, Xu Xiaoshou, won't."

"What Bazun'an couldn't achieve, in due time, I will surely accomplish!"