While refining and streamlining his spells, Zhou Ming did not forget to use his Divine Sense to monitor the movements both inside and outside the Imperial Palace and within Yuyang Commandery.

Su Mingli had been in office at the Prefectural Governors Mansion for a few days, patrolling the streets daily in his dark red official robes.

If he saw a lantern hanging crookedly at someone's shop, he would go up and offer his "guidance."

Emperor Yongchang had been quiet these past few days, likely still reeling from the "pointing at a deer and calling it a horse" incident. He spent his days in the Qianyuan Hall fighting crickets, not even summoning Su Mingli.

In the Wenhua Hall, Grand Duke Su played several games of chess against himself, reviewing every move for hours on end.

When the carrier eagle arrived with a letter from Empress Su Mingyue, Zhou Ming was sitting cross-legged on a low couch, attempting to compress the water snake of his Water Dragon Technique from three feet long down to the thickness of a finger, then stretching it out to a length of one zhang.

The captain handed over the letter cylinder. Zhou Ming broke the wax seal and pulled out the letter. It contained Empress Su Mingyue's characteristically concise handwriting: "Promote the Dushi Sutra throughout Youzhou."

Zhou Ming set down the letter and tapped his fingers on his knee, contemplating the matter.

The reputation of the Dushi Sutra had been completely ruined by the Zongsheng Sect.

Currently, from the top of the Great Xia dynasty to the bottom, any mention of the Dushi Sutra was synonymous with "evil art," "wicked cultivation," or "the source of chaos in the world."

Although the great aristocratic families were secretly cultivating it in private.

This Cultivation Technique was effective, had a low entry barrier, and did not depend on Aptitude; anyone who practiced it knew its value.

Yet, not a single family dared to openly admit they were cultivating the Dushi Sutra.

"What if," he thought, "I change the name?"

If the name were changed, it would no longer be the Dushi Sutra, no longer an evil art, and no longer the source of chaos.

"What should I call it?"

"How about…"

"Let's call it the Pingan Sutra."

The implication was peace and safety; reciting it would bring protection. This would make it much easier for the common people to accept.

As for the actual content of the Cultivation Technique, not a single character needed to be changed; only the title on the cover needed to be swapped.

He would also add a few lines at the end of the text, such as: "Those who recite this sutra shall have peace in their household, be free from evil spirits, and enjoy long life and good fortune."

This would make the commoners feel that reading the text was a way to seek blessings and safety, rather than cultivating some obscure technique.

Once they had recited it a hundred times and developed Qi in their Dantian, they would naturally discover the extraordinary nature of the scripture.

Zhou Ming summoned the captain and ordered him to gather all the literate soldiers in the army.

Each of them was to copy out the scripture they had been reciting, but change the title on the cover to "Pingan Sutra."

The captain received his orders and left. The army scribes and literate soldiers were urgently pulled from their duties, setting up long tables in the military camp and working through the night.

In a single day, the soldiers had copied and bound the Pingan Sutra into neat stacks, numbering over ten thousand copies at a rough count.

Early the next morning, Zhou Ming took the captain and several carriages loaded with the books and headed straight for the Prefectural Governors Mansion.

Su Mingli was patrolling the street in his dark red official robes, followed by a group of attendants.

While it was called a patrol, it was really just a way to draw attention to himself.

He walked extremely slowly, stopping at every shop he passed. If the shopkeeper recognized him and came out to bow and shout, "Greetings, Prefectural Governor," he would nod with satisfaction and straighten his posture even further.

Zhou Ming glanced at him from afar but did not step forward to talk. Instead, he went straight into the Prefectural Governors Mansion to find Physician Chen.

Old Physician Chen was behind his desk reviewing official documents and did not stand up when he saw Zhou Ming enter.

He merely set down his brush and waited to hear what instructions Zhou Ming had.

Zhou Ming explained the plan to promote the Pingan Sutra in a few short sentences. Physician Chen took a copy and flipped through it. The old man's eyes narrowed, then slowly widened.

He closed the book, asked no questions, and simply nodded, saying, "This subordinate will see to it immediately."

Zhou Ming turned over all ten thousand copies of the Pingan Sutra for him to distribute, then turned and returned to the Wuying Hall.

Upon returning to the Wuying Hall, Zhou Ming immediately summoned his officials.

The civil and military officials hurried to the side hall of the Taihe Hall and stood in their ranks. Many cast quick, furtive glances at the brand-new cover of the Pingan Sutra in Zhou Ming's hand before looking away with feigned indifference.

Zhou Ming had the guards distribute the scriptures to everyone and announced in a clear voice.

"This book is to be distributed to every commandery, every county, every township, and every village in all of Youzhou. It must be ensured that everyone recites it a hundred times."

The previous night, he had used a red brush to mark out zones of distribution on a map of Youzhou.

Each aristocratic family was assigned a region, and they were required to regularly report when they finished and how many people had completed a hundred recitations.

If they failed to perform their duties, he would hold them accountable.

The hall fell into silence.

The officials held the scriptures in their hands, their expressions varied.

Everyone standing in this hall came from aristocratic backgrounds; who didn't know that the book in their hands was just the Dushi Sutra in a Pingan Sutra disguise?

The reason aristocratic families had been able to stand above ordinary people for hundreds of years was their monopoly.

Martial arts techniques, educational opportunities, and land resources were all firmly in their grasp; commoners couldn't even reach the threshold.

The Dushi Sutra had finally emerged—it allowed for fast cultivation and didn't require Aptitude.

The aristocratic families were cultivating it in secret precisely to widen the gap in martial power between themselves and the commoners in these chaotic times.

Now, Zhou Ming was forcing them to tear down that gate and let everyone in.

Several gray-haired officials exchanged glances, the gloom and resistance in their eyes almost spilling over.

Yet, in front of Zhou Ming, not a single person dared to speak out in opposition.

The scene from a few days ago in the Taihe Hall, where he pointed at a deer and called it a horse, was still fresh in their minds. Not a single court official dared to stand against Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming took in everyone's expressions but said nothing more, waving his hand to dismiss them.

Once the last set of footsteps disappeared outside the hall door, he leaned back in his chair and spread out his Divine Sense.

Just as he expected, those aristocratic families who had just sworn to "devote the entire strength of our clans to promote the true Pingan Sutra" in front of Zhou Ming were, in private, all plotting how to listen to his edicts without actually following them.

Vice Minister Liu of the Ministry of Works pulled Minister Zhao of the Ministry of War to the base of the palace wall and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Old Zhao, what do you think we should do? Isn't this trying to take the lives of us aristocratic families?"

Upon hearing the words of Vice Minister Liu, Minister Zhao looked left and right.

"What can we do? Sigh… let's just wait and see for now. This Zhou Ming is too powerful; he is not someone we can contend with at the moment. There's no telling what other underhanded tricks he might have up his sleeve. Let's just watch and see."

"Sigh… that scoundrel… ugh…"

Vice Minister Liu wanted to say more, but Minister Zhao clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Do you have a death wish? Is this a place to talk? You might want to die, but I certainly don't."

After saying this, he flicked his sleeve and walked away.

He left Vice Minister Liu standing there, stunned. Liu then realized the situation, looked left and right, and hurriedly followed in Minister Zhao's footsteps.

Similar scenes were playing out among the group of people who had been discussing matters in the hall just moments before. None dared to openly defy Zhou Ming's words, and all were prepared to watch from the sidelines to see how things developed before making further plans.

Zhou Ming leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest rhythmically.

He knew it was difficult to force these aristocratic families to cut off their own arm to promote the Dushi Sutra, but he had plenty of ways to discipline them.