Chapter 57: Changes in Reality

In the past.
Sages would open altars to lecture on the Dao and widely recruit disciples, establishing their own lineages of Confucian scholars to cultivate their philosophies and spirits.
Nowadays.
Following the advent of the industrial era, sages disseminate brain-computer interface models, allowing people to purchase books directly from the cerebral cloud and cultivate their own lineages of Confucian disciples.
Yet the essence of scholars remains unchanged.
This world is still composed of the spheres of influence belonging to various Confucian schools!
And right now.
Xu Changsheng has an idea:
"The current structure of scholarship has changed, so of course I must change as well."
"Although I am an ancient soul reincarnated, I know that adaptability is the key to survival."
"Today, the foundation of any faction is the sage's brain... I will establish a sect of my own, and my foundation can be built upon the bio-computer model known as the Amber Phoenix Butterfly."
"The user base of this bio-computer is massive, allowing me to widely recruit disciples and open an altar to lecture on the Dao."
"By passing down a succession of books, I will naturally become a new school of thought."
Currently.
The memories stored in his mind are sufficient to compile several volumes of texts.
The Calamity of Wisdom, the birth of Simotuo, the Calamity of Water and Fire, the birth of Dementia, the emergence of the Sexes...
These stories are in themselves legends stepping into reality.
They carry the heavy, primordial flavor of ancient myths from the dawn of creation!
They even subvert conventional wisdom; if leaked to the outside world, the sensation they would cause is truly unimaginable.
He paced back and forth, continuously pondering the possibilities.
"However, how can I build a new school without money?"
"Only with money can one build factories to manufacture bio-computers, sell them, promote them to students so they can buy your mind, and thereby learn your knowledge."
"Without factories, no school can be established!"
"Wait, that Tree of Life itself possesses the ability to weave individual bio-computers!"
"That means I essentially have a bio-computer production line, giving me a solid foundation..."
"I must find the seed of that Tree of Life. It might still retain the memories of that era, from which I can craft bio-computers..."
His life after rebirth has been exceptionally difficult.
Those modern men carrying guns and artillery were practically pointing firearms at the nose of this ancient, pedantic scholar who excelled in flying swords, saying:
"Old timer, the times have changed!"
He simply could not find a way out.
He didn't even dare to seek out the various hidden backups and forces he had left behind in the past.
He feared that those ancient factions might betray him and toss him straight into a laboratory.
Now, however, he finally has a clear overarching objective and a chance to rise once again.
"Perhaps I should make some preparations and pull off something big."
He whispered.
The lingering sensation from last night—that profound, firsthand experience of great mythological history—still resonated within him, stirring ripples across the lake of his heart.
"Let this era witness the backbone and integrity of our Butterfly Clan."
"Read good books, read books well, and excel in reading, recognizing through history the greatness of this pursuit of a beautiful race."

...

In the rented apartment.
The sound of rain fell as usual today.
Liu Jun narrowed his eyes, pulling his gaze away from Xu Changsheng.
"This protagonist following the path of low-key endurance and immortality is truly restless as well; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to contact the Angel King."
Though, it makes sense.
In this day and age, not fighting and contending leads straight to a dead end.
Those major Confucian-Daoist corporations are utterly beastly, acting as financial conglomerates monopolizing all resources.
Endurance is only maintained because closed-door cultivation can increase one's strength, thus granting the qualification to just lie flat.
If you don't even have cultivation resources, how can you lie flat and endure? By sleeping on the streets under an overpass?
"Even I can't keep enduring like this."
Liu Jun looked at the mushroom broth with its agonizingly slow progress [Current Progress: 3%].
"I'm out of money, and I can't keep pushing forward without it. I have to see if Xu Changsheng can bring me a surprise and help me scrape together some cash."
"If even he fails, I'll have to take the risk and turn to banditry."
This era has strict surveillance.
Liu Jun is merely an ordinary high school student, and he has no idea what kind of monitoring methods those powerful beings possess.
Unless absolutely necessary, he has no desire to court danger.
Xu Changsheng, on the other hand, is a professional. Having survived across eras to reach the present day, he is a true immortal being, and the risks he takes when making a move are far lower!
What about himself?
He was merely a fake god of longevity.
At best, as a high school student, he could disguise his actions as gardening at home, procuring a bit of soil and fertilizer.
If truckload after truckload of soil were purchased and then mysteriously vanished in large quantities, it probably wouldn't be long before the authorities came knocking on his door!
Never underestimate the Skynet of a modern city.
"Whatever."
He withdrew his gaze, too lazy to think any further.
He began to focus on his own realm, honing his newly acquired metal-decomposition ability.
This could be considered his very first talent with true offensive capabilities!
After all, his previous ones were stealth and longevity.
It's just that the speed of metal dissolution wasn't very fast, requiring several hours to dissolve and reshape.
Liu Jun felt he was still some distance away from mastering it skillfully.
Crack!
Crack-crack!!
His bones popped and snapped.
He was reshaping the skeletal structure within his body, incorporating metallic materials.
"Moreover, regarding my skeletal framework, I should draw upon the wisdom of the online grandmasters."
He opened a beauty blogger's video online and happily began watching short videos.
After all,
a person cannot cultivate endlessly; there must be moments of relaxation and entertainment.

With his metallic talent, he was now quite interested in the metallic garments, armor, and various metallic apparatuses shown online.
In the video,
a beautiful woman opened a wardrobe filled with exquisite garments made of human skin.
"Unlike the heavy military equipment used by the armed forces, these are the lightweight armor series from [Black Rabbit Apparel], which possess the effect of amplifying psychotronic energy, and their defensive capabilities are by no means low..."
Black Rabbit Apparel, one of the top ten corporations.
Its ranking was even slightly higher than Rehe Heavy Industries.
Specializing in the research and development of psychotronic armor and leading fashion trends, its business spans new material research, metallic knitting, and military defense.
"First, let's look at this model."
On screen, the woman continuously tried on various garments.
Those clothes were made of a skin-friendly material that gradually merged into her body, transforming her into a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty.
She then took off the outfit and picked up another piece of clothing.
Transforming into an elegant classical beauty in traditional attire.
"Change into a new outfit when you go out, transform into whatever you want. A versatile woman is the most beautiful," the woman continued introducing.
"This is the modern-day White Bone Demon; a woman's love for beauty is innate, the new era's cosmetic sorcery."
Liu Jun scrolled through the videos while drinking a beverage. Having spent so much time immersed in the mushroom broth world recently, he had almost forgotten how surreal this world truly was.
"The border between our Black Rabbit Apparel and Rehe Heavy Industries has not been very peaceful lately. Do you know about the Angels? Friction between the two sides is immense, and for the sake of safety, lightweight armor is our best choice."
"Speaking of Angels, I must recommend this garment infused with the Angelic Bio-computer, which I call [Angel Feathers]. Look at this gorgeous luster..."
Right at this moment,
a news broadcast played.
[We at Rehe Heavy Industries will cooperate with the Angel King and assist him in establishing a new Confucian-Daoist lineage!]
[This year, all universities under Rehe Heavy Industries are open for enrollment in this major.]
Liu Jun was stunned.
The Angel King had been on the run for over a week, and it seemed he hadn't wasted those days in vain.
That made sense, too.
This era is very peculiar.
Insect Thirteen had entered secluded cultivation, beginning to read, experiencing decades in a single dream each night.
As long as one is still in the period of explosive cultivation growth, new changes emerge every single day.
Furthermore, with several decades of time to skillfully utilize the two major divine artifacts in his possession, escaping would likely become even easier.
"I'm afraid that although he is still at the Third Tier, Fourth-Tier powerhouses can no longer block him. He has become a digital deity on the network, coming and going freely, completely immune to offline investigations."
"Is it because they couldn't capture him that they chose cooperation instead?"
Liu Jun felt a sense of novelty.
He wondered what kind of changes the emergence of the "Angel King" and the establishment of a new school of learning would bring to Rehe City.
However,
the impact shouldn't be too massive.
Since high school graduates in Rehe City do not go to university locally, the main impact would fall upon the college entrance examination preference selections of students in other cities.