Unfortunately, for Qiu Ling, Jing Yi was intrigued when he heard more about the Tower of Wisdom. "A copy of every single book?" It had to be a place that held a lot of knowledge then. If he had time, he really would've liked to go there and have a look. The things he would be able to learn there … he couldn't even imagine it. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but tilt his head. "Compared to humans, the gods must be quite a bit ahead in everything, right?"
Qiu Ling turned back, the direct question finally managing to make him focus. "What exactly do you mean?"
"Well, they have this kind of place, where they can just look at everything. I don't think something like that exists anywhere in the mortal realm. So they have quite the advantage, wouldn't you say so? I could imagine that over time, this kind of thing would lead to them being ahead in everything. Alchemy, formations, cultivation, just everything. Or is what I said wrong?"
Qiu Ling glanced from Jing Yi to the tower and back again and finally nodded faintly. "I guess you could say that you're right. The gods … or I guess you could say the immortal races in general are quite knowledgeable when it comes to a lot of things. It isn't that different in the dragon realm. But to a large degree, things are just different from the mortal realm.
"Cultivation plays a huge part in the mortal realm but for the immortal races, it actually isn't that important. You know we are born with what you need to reach through cultivation. Among the immortal races, not having spirit veins isn't the average but an anomaly. You will hardly find a handful of people in either of the realms that have this kind of condition. It would be regarded as some kind of illness. And quite a serious one at that.
"Also, our aptitude is usually high. An ascended deity or somebody that is on the brink of ascending is an extremely powerful person in the mortal realm but they don't count for much in the mortal realms."
Jing Yi slightly furrowed his brows. Somebody that had just ascended … so basically like him, right? He was precisely in that kind of situation. "Then what could such a person be compared to in the mortal realms? I mean if I wanted to have a fight with somebody, then who could I go up against?"
Qiu Ling's gaze immediately became complicated again when Jing Yi mentioned fighting. Even now, after a thousand years had passed, he still staunchly refused to teach Jing Yi anything about fighting. He had shown him willingly how to defend himself but not a single attack. So what was Jing Yi supposed to fight with? In any case, he hadn't learned that kind of knowledge from him.
Jing Yi also realized his mistake and smiled wryly. "I'm not talking about me personally. I just mean a person like me. After all, I just ascended. And with how I was ambushed … I just wonder if there is ever somebody who would be able to get through that kind of situation. Was there ever somebody strong enough?"
Qiu Ling could only look at him though. "That … that is a question only the gods would be able to answer. They are the ones who oversee the ascended deities and the trials. The dragons don't really know much about it. The bit that I know about the trials and the inner workings of the Nine Heavens are all from the fact that I've long been the dragon king and have witnessed quite a few things over the course of time."
Originally, he had wanted to say that this knowledge was from the ten years he had spent with Jing He when he really paid attention but finally, he changed his words like this. In any case, it wasn't like he hadn't learned quite a bit in his time on the throne. While he might not have interacted with the gods that much, it still couldn't be said that he hadn't known anything. At least the general things happening in the Nine Heavens had still been something he was aware of.
Jing Yi gave him a smile, pretending that he didn't know what was going through his head. "Well, you have been king for a long time. Of course, you would learn some things that others aren't aware of. The gods must be happy that the alliance has been going on for so long. That certainly makes things easier on both sides, doesn't it?"
It sounded quite normal when he said it but inside, he was actually calculating. Qiu Ling might have never mentioned anything in particular but he knew exactly that he was smitten with Jing He because of the kind of person he was. He was definitely knowledgeable about both the gods and the dragons. So if he wanted to be better than him, then he needed to make up for that gap in knowledge. Only like that would he stand even the slightest chance.
Thinking of that, Jing Yi couldn't help but put on a pensive expression. "Say, can the Tower of Wisdom be used by just anyone? Or do only certain people have access to it?"
Qiu Ling was confused at Jing Yi suddenly changing the subject but he was quite happy that he didn't need to answer the previous question. "Well, from what I know, everyone should be able to use it. After all, these palaces are usually for governing everything in a certain department. Just like the Fate's Scribe will write a fate for everyone who does a trial, and everybody is able to go to the Temple of Medicine to get help in case they were injured, everyone should also be able to go to the Tower of Wisdom to have a look at the books there.
"If you want to, we could always go over." He smiled at that, hoping that Jing Yi would say yes. He didn't mind showing him around but the more they walked, the more he remembered Jing He. If they could go to a specific place and spend more time there, he would really be happy. That way, he might think less of his beloved's original self.