Ming Fei's unexpected move caught Li Ming off guard.
But was the offer unreasonable? No actually.
Li Ming had the awareness that he had copied the homework of the best masters throughout the history of China in the world. So Scholars who wouldn't be impressed by these works are few.
There should already be a line of scholars who would want to be the apprentice of Li Ming. But then why didn't Li Ming accept apprentices and spread his prestige?
Because Li Ming had the awareness that he was copying the homework, he also had the awareness to know that he was just copying homework.
He didn't have their talents, knowledge, or world experience.
He is an actor imitating the special.
A fake wearing the mask of the real.
But that mask couldn't cover up his nature.
He is ordinary.
He could never be the talented scholar the world wanted.
He never was.
So Li Ming decided that instead of being something he is not, he would rather go into hiding from the world.
Even though Li Ming reflexively said no, Li Ming didn't regret it.
Because that was going to be his answer at the end of the day.
After that conversation, Li Ming sent Ming Fei off with the expectation of never seeing him again.
But the next day Ming Fei and insisted calling Li Ming "master". And no matter how Li Ming persuaded Ming Fei, even directly stating that he wouldn't teach Ming Fei anything, it didn't work.
In the end, Li Ming gave up.
4 months later, Beijing
Li Ming awkwardly looked at Ming Fei.
Li Ming thought that he would never see Ming Fei again in his life. Especially since Li Ming knew that Ming Fei was the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Fei would probably not have any time to visit Li Ming.
"Master, may I come in?"
"Sure, Your Highness."
Li Ming said those words with more decisiveness than he would like to. Li Ming would preferably never want to meet Ming Fei in his life. But Ming Fei was among the few people that Li Ming was acquainted with, who also had access to information about immortals. So Li Ming had to rely on Ming Fei to confirm information.
After inviting Ming Fei inside his humble residence, Li Ming went straight to the topic of discussion.
"Your Highness, can you give me some advice on...."
"Master, you don't need to use honorifics between us." Ming Fei interrupted.
"No, I insist, Your Highness." Li Ming said with a smile
At those words, Ming Fei showed a helpless expression.
So Karma does strike back in the most unexpected ways.
Li Ming wasn't a fool. In this world, where royalty reigned supreme, Li Ming could very well be chopped off his head for the slightest disrespect. Sure, Immortals might be an exception, but Li Ming isn't an immortal.
So, in short, Li Ming showed Ming Fei proper respect as if his life depended on it, since the day he found out that Ming Fei was the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty.
"So, Master, I was wondering what I could be of help with?"
Ming Fei's question broke Li Ming's Gaze.
"I was wondering if the information provided by the Yan Pavilion on Immortal sects is reliable."
To Li Ming's question, Ming Fei's eyes widened.
"Master, are you planning to pursue the Immortality?"
"Yes, Your Highness, I was planning to cultivate if I had the qualifications to"
Li Ming answered truthfully since it wasn't a secret.
"Well, Master, I hope you have a high spiritual root qualification."
At this moment, Li Ming was suddenly curious if Ming Fei was also a Cultivator.
Everything from his temperament and appearance, Ming Fei doesn't lose out to those immortal cultivators. Though he is the crown prince of a Dynasty, Li Ming has consumed enough cultivation novels to know that the mortal world isn't always separate from the immortal world. Therefore, Ming Fei does have a higher possibility of being a cultivator.
"Your highness, are you perhaps an immortal cultivator yourself?"
"No, Master." To this question, Ming Fei shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the qualifications to practice."
Qualifications. The book that the Yan Pavilion had given Li Ming mentioned about the qualifications for cultivation. Qualifications refer to the purity of the spiritual veins. The higher the purity of the spiritual veins is the faster a person cultivates.
Everyone in the world possesses Spiritual veins. But to cultivate immortality, a person's spiritual vein had to have a purity of at least 45%.
This precise requirement for cultivation is set because only at a purity level above 45% can a person's spiritual veins be able to absorb qi.
The Qualifications for cultivation are divided into 5 levels.
0%~44% -> No Qualifications
45%~59% -> Low Qualifications
60%~74% -> Medium Qualifications
75%~84% -> High Qualifications
85%~100% -> Special Physiques
This category for the qualification of spiritual vein purity doesn't accurately showcase the difficulty in actually having that qualification.
Since the spiritual vein purity can decrease if mortal materials enter the body, many people without a connection to the immortal world don't have the qualifications to cultivate.
Cultivators from the mortal world usually have lower qualifications, except for geniuses with special physiques.
Due to this condition, Cultivators with high qualifications are mostly from families with an immortal heritage.
At this moment, Li Ming's mind was filled with the foods that he had eaten over the year. Roasted Duck, Kung Pao Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Hot Pot, Dim Sum, Dumplings, Ma Po Tofu, Lamb Skewers, Chow Mein Noodles.
Huh...
Those were delicious regrets that have probably ruined my future chances to cultivate.
It is also because of this information that Li Ming had developed a mentality of trying to become a cultivator if possible, and if not, then return to the safe house built by gold.
Li Ming didn't know how to comfort this poor 18-year-old. Especially when he might be in the same situation as him within a few days.
"Apologies for my careless remark, Your Highness."
"It's fine, Master."
Ming Fei changed the topic of the conversation.
"So, Master, you wanted to know whether the information from the Yan Pavilion was credible."
"Indeed, Your Highness." Li Ming nodded
"As far as I know, Master, the Yan Pavilion should be quite credible, especially when it comes to information related to the immortal world."
At those words, Li Ming was quite confused by Ming Fei's answer. But deciding that Ming Fei thought that Yan Pavilion was credible, Li Ming expressed his doubts.
"Your highness, not to doubt your judgment, but according to line 16 on page 26 of the book given by the Yan Pavilion, Immortal sects are present in every life planet in the universe."
"Doesn't this seem like a contradiction, especially when the Yan Pavilion doesn't elaborate or provide any piece of evidence to attest to this claim throughout the manual?"
Perhaps from listening to Li Ming's doubts, Ming Fei knew that his master didn't understand the correlation of his words.
So Ming Fei elaborated on his words.
"The Yan Pavilion is created by the Yan Family, which possesses a considerable amount of immortal heritage, so the information from the Yan Pavilion should be true to a certain extent, even if they exaggerate some information."
Li Ming listened to Ming Fei's explanation and understood. The exaggerations made throughout the information manual from Yan Pavilion were typical exaggerations seen in history before the popularization of the scientific revolution in his past life.
Li Ming knew that he had messed up. But the Yan Pavilion was related to immortals.
No wonder they had figured out his identity. It turns out that they had relied on immortal magic. No wonder all my methods failed against Yan Pavilion.
But isn't using magic against a mortal against the rules?
Though Li Ming felt the possible use of immortal magic by the Yan Pavilion was a mockery of his efforts, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.
He was weak. So he could only hope to live in ignorance again.
Maybe that is why Ignorance is bliss.
Just as Li Ming was digging a rabbit hole into the correlation between the weak and ignorance, Ming Fei asked Li Ming a question.
"Have you decided what sect to go to, Master?"
That question snapped Li Ming back to reality. Now that was something Li Ming hadn't thought about yet. In his defense, Li Ming thought that the information provided by Yan Pavilion was false.
"I haven't decided yet, your highness."
At those words, Ming Fei decided to give his recommendation on which immortal sects to join.
"If you do have the qualifications for cultivation, master, I'd recommend joining the Qinglian sect. Though the competition is fierce, the sect does provide an abundance of resources."
Qinglian Sect is one of the top immortal sects in the immortal world.
Top Immortal Sects refer to immortal sects with Tribulation cultivators. Out of the 1,000 immortal sects, only 10 immortal sects are considered top-level.
Out of the ten top-level immortal sects, Qinglian is unique.
Qinglian sect offers the most resources for cultivation.
Indeed, Qinglian sect is the most suitable sect to join if I had the qualifications. It's not like Qinglian has a strict requirement to join, and the only downside would be that there would be more competition, but the abundant cultivation resources certainly make Qinglian sect a suitable sect to join.
Immortal sects accept anyone with qualifications into the sect, including Top-level immortal sects. This is due to the scarcity of people who can cultivate. For example, out of a million people, only 100 may have the ability to cultivate.
Therefore, most people with qualifications join one of the top immortal sects according to the Dao they want to practice. And after reaching a bottleneck they can't overcome in their cultivation, Cultivators either leave the sect to become a sect elder or sect leader in a weaker immortal sect, or continue their cultivation lineage.
In this manner, 1,000 immortal sects are present within the Immortal world.
Li Ming decided to stop dwelling on this matter.
Since Li Ming hadn't even checked his qualifications yet, dwelling further into the matters of immortality would only get his hopes up in vain.
"Your highness, the future is still uncertain, and nothing has been set in stone yet."
"You're right, Master."
Crown Prince Ming Fei agreed with Li Ming. The immortal world is an opportunity that depends on luck and cannot be sought after. But mortals, like him, are still seeking the immortal world. Maybe the immortal world is the obsession and longing of the mortal world.
But why?
Ming Fei had never been able to figure it out.
So Ming Fei did the only thing he could do: he voiced his question.
"Master... what makes the Immortal World so special?"
Li Ming paused, surprised by Ming Fei's question. But after a brief moment of thought, he replied honestly:
"I don't know."
He looked to the horizon, then continued.
"The mortal world and the Immortal World... they're more alike than most care to admit. Both have people who laugh and cry. Both build homes from wood and stone. Both speak the same tongue. Both suffer bandits, beasts, and the burden of coin, whatever form it may take."
"But the difference?" Li Ming's gaze lowered to his tea. "It can be anything. It can be longevity. It can be the illusory Tao. It can be power. The difference is something you decide on. "