Chapter 15: The Birth of the Garment

“Thanks be to the gods.”
“Wuwuwu, great divine beings.”

Liu Jun soared over the vast seas of flowers in the grand gardens aboard the butterfly-cage carriage, witnessing thousands upon thousands of colorful butterflies emerging from the lush flora.

Whoosh—
The wind swept through the blossoms.

Golden pollen drifted alongside the delicate silk butterfly bows released by the fluttering swarms, swirling together in graceful vortices.

The insignia of the bows resembled dandelion seeds drifting on the breeze—a scene straight out of a dreamlike fairy tale.

By the end of the procession, the carriage behind him had gathered a large collection of butterfly bows—gifts woven with sincere devotion by the people.

Filled with their heartfelt blessings and prayers, they reminded Liu Jun of the thousand paper cranes made for wishes.

“Butterfly bows, butterfly bows...”

Back on the ancient Wutong tree, Amber Swallowtail fluttered joyfully around the courtyard, while the mind energy it wielded gathered a trail of butterfly bows, forming a long, shimmering tail like a streaking meteor.

“It’s time for you to begin your cultivation.”

Lying nestled inside a giant flower bud, Liu Jun gently rocked in the soft cradle of the floral chair, gazing out at the distant sea of blossoms.

“I’m cerebral palsied,” Amber Swallowtail shook its head. Just back from spring outing and play, every cell was still alive with excitement; its heart could not calm—it had no desire to cultivate.

It simply did not want to study. There were so many delicious treats, so many games, and the city below buzzed with lively activity every day.

But things were different now.

The tribe had recently grown wiser.

They sang together, danced together, played together.

This brought immense joy to the Amber Swallowtail, who every day marveled at these new diversions, admiring their intelligence and wisdom.

Seeing its playful childlike nature, Liu Jun furrowed his brow slightly.

Wisdom middling, neither soaring nor sinking.

If it possessed “high wisdom,” perhaps it could understand the feelings of a top scholar—the joy of learning.

Top students love reading because of positive feedback; they feel the pleasure within.

But those less gifted endure grueling study, unable to solve problems no matter how hard they try.

That, of course, is torment.

For the Amber Swallowtail, studying equated to torture, a cruel punishment, a lullaby.

Yet...

This era was indeed far more interesting.

In the past, low intelligence meant only dull-witted butterflies who ate endlessly alongside Amber Swallowtail.

But now they had become cleverer, forming streets, embracing propriety and honor, joyfully playing together.

This was the most beautiful age.

Because Liu Jun, as a prophet, taught and nurtured these children, patiently instilling correct values.

Back then, in that eat-and-eat era, they were no different from Amber Swallowtail.

To educate them, he would hang under the tree, spinning them around, forcing them to stand as punishment on the wall, causing many humorous mishaps.

Though today only five remained, with moderate wisdom, the knowledge Liu Jun imparted had been fully absorbed; they had become wise and virtuous, helping one another to build the nation—without any succession disputes.

Liu Jun always believed that “raising without teaching” was a grave error—an especially foolish mistake for a scholar like himself.

As a prophet, he naturally fulfilled his duty.

He hoped his five great dukes under his banner would be united like the trio who grew up together, rather than fractured like the school beauty, Xu Changsheng, and the chubby boy.

The education in the Butterfly Kingdom was filled with the beautiful ideals of his own youth as a bookish scholar.

Of course, he was still young now.

“Now, I no longer need to teach the five dukes; they have all graduated and become masters in their respective fields. But this one swallowtail remains the thorny problem of the education world.”

This troubled Liu Jun.

She was the worst student he had taught, yet also the most gifted.

Many things required the Amber Swallowtail’s effort.

Civilization was only just beginning here.

Having escaped the immediate crises of food and survival, with city-states, trade, writing, and communication established, some manpower and resources could now be devoted to advancing the supernatural system, allowing the flowers of civilization to bloom!

This was merely the prologue of civilization!

And Amber Swallowtail, as the tribe’s sole born saint, held an unchallengeable status.

“A born saint is truly the mainstay of civilization.”

“Those of us who cultivate through the saint’s power, the five dukes, even the entire butterfly tribe, will always be their vassals—mere bystanders chanting amidst the sweeping heroic epics.”

“Perhaps in the future, I will acquire a saint from the ancient ape’s intellect core to advance their supernatural system, or even that of other species...”

“But for now, focus must be maintained on one path.”

“The mind cultivators of this world mainly practice spiritual arts because humans, by nature, have delicate skin and ample flesh. Though in ancient times there was martial cultivation, how could a flesh-and-blood body withstand mechanical firearms?”

“Who still uses flying swords? Scholars who do not wield mental firearms are unworthy of the title Confucian Dao masters.”

“Humans, due to species traits, possess high intelligence but weak bodies, whereas other species might cultivate their physical forms.”

Liu Jun, feeling his own mushroom-like body with remarkable regenerative powers, thought perhaps he could pursue the physical path after all.

For a mushroom to rapidly grow flesh and not take this route would be a colossal waste.

No matter what, it was worth a try.

In Liu Jun’s mind, a grand plan began to form: the Butterfly Tribe Civilization Advancement Project.

Thus, Liu Jun began his patient guidance.

“You are a god.”

“You are a revered spiritual totem, a symbol of wisdom. Maintain mystery and the unknown—for the unknown breeds reverence, and mystery sparks imagination.”

“If you wander about foolishly, letting the people see your silly antics—digging in the dirt, playing with mud, molding castles—they won’t worship you, won’t offer you garlands or butterfly bows. They will dislike you and look upon you with pity.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” Liu Jun suddenly asked.

Amber Swallowtail shuddered, “Th-then what should I do?”

Liu Jun smiled, “Then I won’t teach you to read. Do you want to become more popular, more beautiful?”

“Yes!” the swallowtail quickly responded.

Liu Jun shook the soft flower bud sofa beneath him, “If you want to be beautiful, try growing a long tail.”

“See those butterfly bows?”

“You can transform them into a bird-like tail trailing behind you, swaying with your body, forging a phoenix’s tail.”

Amber Swallowtail tried, using mind power to make the bows flutter behind it, but lacking finesse, they quickly scattered.

Still...

It soon realized it looked very beautiful.

The butterfly sprouted a long, bird-like colorful tail, lovingly adorned with the bows gifted by its people, bearing the national emblem—it just felt incredibly cool!

“You must move your mind energy this way—yes, exactly like that!”

“Yes, by channeling your consciousness in this manner through your mind, you will generate such power with less effort...”

Every creature has its unique way of channeling mind energy.

How could a butterfly’s brain be the same as a human’s?

Previously, Liu Jun taught a universal method of mental cultivation.

Now he taught a refined Butterfly Tribe cultivation method, optimized by a top expert he found browsing the [Amber Swallowtail] book.

This book was truly a human classic for children, packed with all sorts of strategies!

The Butterfly Tribe’s mind cultivation method greatly improved efficiency!

“Cultivate like this?”

“Like this?”

“Yes!”

So the swallowtail, like a free-range puppy, chased a pile of butterfly bows, playing everywhere.

Watching Amber Swallowtail enter training, Liu Jun chuckled inwardly: nailed it.

“Butterflies and humans are different; we must discover our own methods.”

“The intellect core I use is a third-tier swallowtail brain—this is not a human brain. The mind power cultivated belongs to the Butterfly Tribe.”

“Before this world, there was no butterfly of this caliber.”

“So, we must rely on Amber Swallowtail to deduce the third-tier Butterfly Tribe cultivation method herself, building upon this introductory mind cultivation method I provided and delving deeper.”

For mind cultivators, permanent circulating flying blades are the most common combat style.

Starting her training with orbiting ‘butterfly bows’ was a clever idea.

Six months later.

Amber Swallowtail transformed into a colorful phoenix.

Trailing behind her were small, delicate butterfly bows woven from transparent silk threads, interlocking like a fine veil. She wore a light, airy phoenix robe like a bubble, resembling a small butterfly encased in a translucent, elegant phoenix shell as she flew gracefully.

“Beautiful, truly beautiful.”

“On your next patrol, dressed in splendid attire, you will surely astonish the whole world.”

“You are not only the god of wisdom but also a breathtaking goddess of beauty!”

Amber Swallowtail blushed, “I am a goddess of beauty?”

Then, Liu Jun coaxed Amber Swallowtail into a dress-up performance.

If she could don a silk veil, why not try adding other adornments onto the phoenix base model?

Thus, three days later, on her giant butterfly wings appeared a beautiful little girl’s shell: alabaster skin, delicate features, bare dainty feet, fluttering wildly around the room.

Like a butterfly fairy resting among the flowers.

“Ah, this looks strange?”

Amber Swallowtail found this form odd, for the world had never known humans.

But Liu Jun had opened the door to a new world!

Suddenly, he knew what he could do, and what he wanted to do.