Master of Ten Thousand Foxes

The fox claw on Little Hua Bei is very nimble, able to dig out the walnut meat with a few swift moves.

The fox and the bird work happily together, splitting the rewards fifty-fifty, enjoying themselves immensely.

As for Su Yaoyao, she held a tablet, staring at the Immortal Beast Path documents that looked like gibberish, growing more and more frowning, increasingly frustrated.

"This... it’s definitely this damn window, clattering, making it impossible to concentrate...

"This damn document, what on earth is it even talking about, so annoying!"

With a "snap," she closed the tablet cover.

It was just then that Bai Mo turned his head to look over.

"What’s wrong, is it really difficult?

"What’s the document about?"

Su Yaoyao sighed.

"Bird Immortal Beast Surgery."

Bai Mo froze for a moment.

"Surgery... should be easy to follow, right? The hard part should be the actual work, why can’t you even understand the document... umm..."

Noticing Su Yaoyao’s face looking worse and worse, Bai Mo quickly stopped talking.

But Su Yaoyao was silent for a moment, her eyes getting redder and wetter!

"Is it strange to not understand?

"There are free quantum mechanics tutorials online, numerous condensed matter papers, you’d be a physicist if you learned them, why don’t you learn, because you don’t like it?

"There are plenty of machine learning, natural language processing, neural network tutorials online, you’d be an artificial intelligence engineer if you learned them, why don’t you learn, because you don’t like it?

"Everyone knows this knowledge is useful, and they can have it in their hands, so why not learn it? Isn’t it because we can’t learn it!"

Bai Mo frowned.

He hadn’t really studied what Su Yaoyao was talking about... On one hand, no time, on the other hand, no immediate use, not that he couldn’t learn it...

The room quieted down.

Bai Mo turned his head, seeing Red Treasure and Little Hua Bei shrinking in the corner, burying their heads, not looking over.

Looking at Su Yaoyao again, he saw large tears rolling down her face.

Since starting to defend Silver City, she rarely cried.

Pressure and grievances accumulated in her heart. But tonight, it all burst out due to a trivial matter.

In front of Bai Mo, she didn’t want to hold back these tears!

No trace of tears marked her face, she seemed to be without makeup, her skin naturally fair and soft.

"Umm... what am I thinking..."

Bai Mo let go of his odd thoughts, stood up, bent over to give her a gentle hug, patting her back.

"Don’t worry, take your time."

...

Phew...

After blowing the wind of West Ridge, Bai Mo returned to Fox Mountain, blowing the howling wind into the great hall.

He took a sip of the special fox mountain grape oolong tea, its aroma filling his mouth, lingering on his lips and teeth!

"Phew... Comfortable!"

He picked up the copper plate, continuing to read.

His two disciples, Small and Big Eyes and Butterfly Knot, sat by the master, left and right, both lifted tea cups, took a sip of grape oolong tea, swallowed it, then imitated the master’s way of exhaling.

"Phew... Hee-hee-hee!"

"Phew... Awo-awo-awo!"

The two foxes wore faces full of happiness, squinting their eyes.

Sure enough, after learning the master’s method, the tea tasted better!

Bai Mo grinned, patting his two disciples’ heads.

Then continued to look at the copper plate.

"Ah? This is... the Root System Domain Knowledge Overview left by Marquis Qing Yue?"

Bai Mo rubbed the copper plate he had just picked up, his eyes widening.

[I once studied at the Celestial Palace, listened to the Emperor’s teachings, learned the Emperor’s knowledge]

[Later in the Root System Domain, I gained insights, eventually condensing into this Shame Tripod]

...

In the Celestial Palace ruins.

Sun Jinsong sat on a cushion, staring blankly at the silk book in his hand.

The characters on the silk book were Sequence Six script, he knew each one individually!

But once these characters were combined, it was like deciphering a celestial book, he couldn’t comprehend!

The Ancient Immortal Master sat beside him.

"This scroll was left by Flowing Fire Emperor in the past, the Root System Domain Knowledge Overview.

"It contains his fundamental understanding of roots, his knowledge framework explored in this domain, his lifetime insights into the Root Domain."

Speaking of the Emperor, the Ancient Immortal’s eyes lit up!

"Back then, during his lecture at the Celestial Palace, many gathered to listen.

"He stood on high platform, his sleeves billowing and capampling to the clouds.

"When he spoke, his voice was like rolling spring thunder, accompanied by fragrant winds.

"He spoke with enthusiasm, arousing the winds and clouds in the sky!

"He looked down and golden lotuses emerged from the ground!

"This time, if one could understand ten percent of his teachings, it would be enough to condense a Knowledge Container.

"Those who grasped thirty percent of it were exceptional, capable of forming a Shame Tripod with the bearing of a Marquis!

"Those who comprehended fifty percent were rare through the ages, capable of forging a Rising Tripod, possessing the demeanor of a Prince!"

Sun Jinsong listened, enraptured.

"And those who fully understand it?"

The Ancient Immortal chuckled.

"The learning on the Immortal Path is too complex, too profound, and even... quite idealistic. Heh heh. So, knowledge invariably suffers attrition in the process of teaching and learning; an Immortal cannot fully grasp the knowledge of another Immortal.

"If someone truly could completely comprehend the Emperor’s knowledge, then... he... um... might, in certain aspects, have already surpassed the Emperor? It’s not impossible."

Sun Jinsong nodded.

"Master, I... I can’t understand this document..."

The Ancient Immortal took out the second volume of the Silk Book.

"This is a summary of the Root System Domain I wrote after understanding forty percent of the Emperor’s knowledge.

"You can start with mine, as a stepping stone.

"Study this volume for three years. Once you comprehend it, then read the Emperor’s, for another three years.

"After six years, you should, at the very least, be able to form a Shame Tripod! If you’re diligent and clever enough, forging a Rising Tripod isn’t out of the question!"

Sun Jinsong was stunned for a moment.

Did Master mean... he is a Prince?

...

[I only grasped thirty percent of the content, and indeed only formed a Shame Tripod later]

[Today, I’ll commit everything I realized that day and everything I’ve learned in this life to writing, for future generations to study]

[Root Domain...]

Bai Mo held the Copper Plate, frowning.

"Does this mean that the content recorded on this plate belongs to something Marquis Qing Yue learned from studying the Emperor’s knowledge, chewed over once, and improperly digested?"

Such a notion was slightly nauseating.

But Bai Mo truly felt that way!

Upon looking at the Copper Plate again, he clearly liked it less.

Why didn’t the Marquis leave the original lecture notes from the Flowing Fire Emperor?

After pondering for a moment, Bai Mo felt something was amiss.

"Ah, how could I be so greedy?

"For the Marquis to leave this for me is already quite generous!"

Bai Mo corrected his errant thoughts and began to study the Copper Plate earnestly.

Having finished one plate, drinking two cups of tea, and jotting down some notes, Bai Mo remained silent.

The Marquis’ scholarship was generally sound.

Except for some overly assertive parts, some forced applications, some seeming yet ambiguous, some places unclear, some hidden errors... aside from these minor issues, it was pretty good. A near-perfect piece, slightly flawed.

He sifted through the heap of Copper Plates beside the table and discovered this general outline by the Marquis was composed on a full thirteen Copper Plates.

He picked up the second plate and began reading again.

At that moment, the sound of a car braking came from outside.

Swish...

Then, he saw White Belt and White Necklace, two apprentices, carrying a pillar and eagerly running into the great hall.

"Ying ying ying!"

"Awoo awoo awoo!"

This was a pillar they dug up from the ground, with characters on it! Being within the realm of documents, they brought it to Master immediately!

Bai Mo glanced at the pillar’s top, noticing it was engraved with a roll of the Celestial Silk Book and an Honor Guard Magic Sword.

"Ah? Is this... a pillar from the Celestial Law Immortal Court?"

Bai Mo had seen such pillars before. They were just decorative, the inscriptions were mostly admonitions or exhortations, of little value.

Clang!

The pillar was set down in front of the Bronze Table by the two apprentices.

"Ying ying ying!"

"Awoo awoo awoo!"

The two foxes leaped over the table into Master’s arms, rubbing their heads against his chest.

Bai Mo smiled, patted their bellies, fed them some snacks, and glanced at the inscriptions on the decorative pillar.

[Qing Fu Emperor Lectures on the Root System Domain]

[Root exists in...]

Indeed a decorative item.

Bai Mo lowered his head, about to tease the two apprentices, suddenly lifted his head sharply, and looked at the stone pillar, doubting his eyes!

Qing Fu Emperor?

Cyan Emperor?

His lecture on the Root System Domain?

How could such a precious thing be carved onto a decorative pillar?

Am I not mistaken?