Eighth day of the first month.
Noon.
It had been a day and a night since the competition for the literary altar began and the fifty scholars from both sides had entered the small secret realm.
During this day and night, the sky of the Mountain River Academy was as bright as daylight as in the small secret realm, thanks to the qi shield in the sky that had been transformed into a long river of qi that enveloped the entire academy.
Those who were waiting there, like the students who had entered the small secret realm, had not closed their eyes for a day and a night, and had been waiting.
Suddenly, a crack in the air opened again, and out of the hazy chasm, those who were still alive leapt out of it.
Mountain River Academy, nine people. One and two were seriously injured, and three were being held up by the others, in a manner that looked, in any case, like the treatment of a prisoner in a takedown. There were also —— forced eyes of Lin Shenfeng and another scholar, these two, how to look like seriously injured and unconscious, but —— dead. The nine people who came out could actually be described as seven.
The two who were seriously injured were Qing Yu, and one of the two who were seriously injured when they fought with the people of the Great Qian in the small secret realm. Now, only one remained, and the other, who had been caught in the crossfire between Lin Shenfeng and the three Chen Yan, added to his injuries and died.
The three who were captured, needless to say, were the three Chen Yan’s guys who wanted to make a mess of things.
Great Qian Science, six people.
Wait, six people —— Mingrui and Luo Feng are frowning, look at the number of people, it is obvious that the Mountain River Academy has the upper hand, but it is not right, it should not be so ah.
And the four Wu brothers who came out together also felt wrong, how could there be six people.
Then, in the next instant, Luo Yan raised his voice and shouted, “My lord, the four of them are traitors, they killed the others and gave up the Heavenly Son Martial School to the Mountain River Academy.”
“My lord ———” The four Wu brothers were eager to defend themselves, if this matter was really disclosed, even if the principal power behind them was heavenly, they would not be able to protect them. After all, the biggest one in Great Qian was still the emperor after all, and it was not worthwhile to hard steel the emperor just to protect such four pawns.
“Shut up.” Ming Rui bellowed, and the aura that was like a substance pressed the five men so hard that they could barely even breathe.
The reason for success or failure was not important now, Ming Rui only knew that the Heavenly Son martial arts had not been obtained. The most important thing at the moment is ——
Ming Rui exhaled a breath of turbid air and smiled at Zhuge Long Su on the opposite side of the room, “President Zhuge, congratulations. Mountain River Academy, still remains the Confucian orthodoxy, this time the literary world is fighting for position, it is our science that has lost.”
“Science —— humph.” Zhuge Long Su laughed coldly, Luo Yan and the other five were no longer able to hide and divulge their martial arts in order to counter the aura that Ming Rui had exerted. In this situation, if he, Zhuge Long Su, still could not see the bottom of these five people, he would be blind to these two strokes.
“You are all Confucians, but you are all using dirty tricks. This is the last time that you will compete for a position in the literary world, and there will be no next time, because you are only pseudo-Confucians after all, and you are not worthy of being Confucians.”
Zhuge Long Su’s words were not dirty, but for a Confucian to say so, it was almost like pointing his finger at his opponent’s nose and cursing his mother, which showed his anger.
However, Ming Rui did not care about this, he still showed a smiling face, “No problem, the literary altar competition can be cancelled in the future, as long as, President Zhuge handed over the Heavenly Son martial arts ——”
The literary altar competition for the position failed, Ming Rui is already thinking about the explicit robbery.
“You ——” Ning Ling heard this, burst out in anger, “Ming Rui, you ——”
Zhuge Long Su stopped what Ning Ling was about to say and stared coldly at Ming Rui, saying, “Is this a complete lack of shame on the part of the Ming priest?”
“Dean Zhuge, don’t pull this unnecessary crap,” Ming Rui said, spreading his hands, “Just say it straight, give or take. Don’t threaten to die together, I think there’s still a good chance that Luo Shen Hou and I will escape if we want to, so if the others die, so be it.
The core students of the academy are basically in this area, right? If they all die, the Shanhe Academy will be gone.
So, cut it off, Zhuge Long Su, want the academy, or want the Heavenly Son Martial School.”
“Ming Rui, you really have read all these years of sage books for nothing, you beast of a man of your word!!!” Ning Ling cursed indignantly.
The indignant scolding was like a light breeze to Ming Rui’s ears, only to see him sneer, “Sage books, are they useful? Back then in the academy, I was at the top of the list in terms of talent and martial arts skills. But in the end, the position of dean still fell to Zhuge Longxu, who was inferior to me.
You have all been practising “Hao Ran Zheng Qi” for a long time. The kung fu is dead, but people are alive. If you follow the path set by the kung fu, you are merely puppets of the kung fu.
Zhuge Long Su, make a choice, the Heavenly Son Martial Arts, will you hand it over, or will you not?”
With these words, Ming Rui was explicitly pointing out that those who cultivated “Hao Ran Zheng Qi” did not have an autonomous mind, and the lecturers of the academy were all furious. The core students who had gathered around were similarly outraged, but there were still a few who were provoked to think deeply by Ming Rui’s words.
Hearing Ming Rui’s words, Zhuge Longjue was neither angry nor did he say whether or not to hand over the Heavenly Son Martial Arts, but said very calmly, “You’re right, merit methods are dead, people are alive.”
“Dean ——,” the lecturer beside Zhuge Longjue said with great alarm. Even the dean, agreed with Ming Rui’s words, denying the foundations of the Mountain River School?
“But ——” Zhuge Longjue took up the but, “We are in no way puppets of the ‘Hao Rang Zheng Qi’. When the realm reaches the Divine Origin realm, the cultivation of the Yuan Shen involved can already be free from the restrictions and influence of the “Hao Ran Zheng Qi”, but we still use the “Hao Ran Zheng Qi” to merge our essence and spirit to advance to the True Dan realm.
Why? Because it was we who chose the “Hao Ran Zheng Qi” and chose this path, not because the “Hao Ran Zheng Qi” forced us to practise it. The “Hao Ran Zheng Qi” did not force us to take this path, but rather we did not forget our original intention and still tread this path.”
Zhuge Longxu’s gaze turned to Lu Qingzhu, “Senior Brother Qingzhu, I will call you Senior Brother one last time. You have intermingled with Wang Jingyang’s true qi to the point where you can change your martial arts without any hindrance, which means that Wang Jingyang’s true qi has completely become yours. The reason why you have been dragged down by this true qi and have been unable to advance to the True Dan realm is all in your own hands.
Because your initial heart has completely changed, your spirit and your own true qi are mutually exclusive, so how can you unite the three elements and advance to True Dan?”
To Lu Qingzhu, these words were like thunderbolts from a clear sky, for all the years of self-hatred, it was all because his own heart had changed. With his heart in turmoil, Lu Qingzhu felt his true qi moving in a chaotic manner, and his realm, which had just advanced and had not yet stabilised, was in danger of regressing again.
“That’s enough,” a loud shout containing true qi woke Lu Qingzhu up, “Zhuge Longjue, stop talking about what’s going on, I only ask you, to hand over or not to hand over?”
The atmosphere at the scene was so deep that all the people present were staring at Zhuge Long Su with bated breath, his answer would have a bearing on the lives of ninety-nine percent of the people there.
“Dean Zhuge ——,” the representative from the Northern Zhou royal family, Feng Mingxiao, opened his mouth, but did not know what to say. To be fair, if she handed it over, the Emperor of the Great Qian would receive the Heavenly Son Martial Science, and her strength would grow secondarily, and in order to better cultivate the Heavenly Son Martial Science, the Great Qian would probably attack the Northern Zhou and pacify the world.
If she did not hand it over, she, Feng Mingxiao, would have a good chance of surviving, after all, a Tong Shen realm powerhouse was not that easy to kill. But the sixth prince, Feng Chaonan, and the eighth prince, Feng Qiwu, who are with her, plus the ninth prince, Feng Jiu, who has suddenly taken off recently, are probably not guaranteed to survive.
Now, Feng Chaonan and Feng Qiwu, who are sitting beside Feng Mingxiao, are also a bit panicked. Although their faces are still calm, judging from the cold sweat running down their foreheads, this is just a false calm.
In the square, Feng Jiu quietly tugged on Qing Yu’s sleeve and asked him in sign language what to do. Qing Yu returned a cool gesture.
Now, although Feng Jiu still had the white crystal containing the Heavenly Son’s martial arts, the situation was completely out of Feng Jiu’s and Qing Yu’s control. Whether they lived or died today might all depend on Zhuge Longjue’s word. At least, the distance between Qing Yu and the others and Zhuge Long Su allowed him to grab Qing Yu and the others in one hand.
This feeling of powerlessness, of being unable to control one’s own life and death, was once again experienced by Qing Yu. Even though he had been immersed in this feeling of powerlessness for a thousand days and nights, Qing Yu still could not get used to it. This powerlessness, no matter how many times it pa*sed, could never be called like.
The lives and deaths of all the people were all at once pressed upon Zhuge Longxu, and it was very daunting. But even under this daunting pressure, Zhuge Long Su still spread his face and laughed out, “Hahahaha ——”
The laughter was loud, in this situation, but not at all desperate and frustrated, but on the contrary, it gave a kind of relief and release of breaking free from the shackles and the dragon flying to the ninth heaven.
“I was, once, very confused about my actions,” Zhuge Longjue was still looking over his shoulder, “Being the youngest disciple of my teacher, yet I took over the deanship. At the time, I was at a loss as to how to take charge of this prestigious academy.
In order to give myself enough prestige as the first dean, I agreed to compete for the position in the literary world every three years. This move consolidated my prestige, but it left me worried for countless days and nights, fearing that the status of Confucian orthodoxy would be lost in my hands.
In order to gain the support of the great officials of the Northern Zhou court, I, as dean, personally opened the back door to admit the sons and daughters of officials whose talents and virtues were not sufficient.
Although these actions secured my position as dean, and the Shanhe Academy became more and more prosperous. But when I dreamt of it, I often asked myself if this was what my teacher wanted.
That is why, even though I had the help of the Long River of Qi and reached the peak of the True Dan realm early on, I still have not been able to cross that hurdle and have been borrowing the power of the Long River of Qi to be a false Tong Shen in name only.”
“But now ——” Zhuge Longjue’s body violently erupted with an overwhelming aura, an aura that covered the sky and overwhelmed the crowd.
“Not good, he’s going to break through.” Zhuge Long Su’s aura, for others, was no different from before, it was all at a level that could crush them. But to Ming Rui and the other Tong Shen Realm, they could feel the huge difference, it was the aura of someone who was about to break through the Tong Shen Realm, without the help of the Long River of Vast Qi, Zhuge Long Su still exploded with an aura comparable to that of the Tong Shen Realm.
“As long as I don’t forget my original heart and have no shame in my heart, what is there to worry about, I Zhuge Long Su ask myself if I can stand up to my teacher, to the academy, and to myself ——”
The golden locks were released and the dragon walked away, Zhuge Longjue was free from the barriers of his heart for many years and his aura grew higher and higher. And the long river of vast qi in the sky, which had transformed into a qi shield, sensing this qi, once again gathered into a river-like form and poured downwards, pouring an unending stream into the top of Zhuge Long Su’s head.
“D*mn.” Ming Rui crushed the ground beneath his feet with one foot.
With the help of the long river of Hao Qi, Zhuge Long Su’s breakthrough could be made in an instant, and Ming Rui and the others would not be able to stop it. With the power of Zhuge Long Su, who had once again manipulated the Long River of Qi, Ming Rui and the others did not dare to turn the other cheek, even if they wanted to.
Previously, they dared to turn the other cheek because they were confident that they could save their lives while their enemies could not. Now, if they really want to fight, it is not yet known who will die, but it is very likely that they will die together.
Moreover, without the air shield made of the long river of Qi, the outside world would be able to detect the changes in the academy, and if we were to delay for a while, Ming Rui and Luo Feng would definitely be the ones to die.
“Sacrificial Scholar Ming, now, please leave the Mountain and River Academy, may I ask you to leave, or not to leave?” Zhuge Long Su gathered his aura that had just surged from his breakthrough and looked at Ming Rui indifferently.
“Dean Zhuge, the Science first broke the rules and sent non-Science people to participate in the fight for the position in the literary world, my concubine would like to help Dean Zhuge and capture Ming Rui and Luo Feng.” Feng Mingxiao spoke up and proposed.
As long as the situation was reversed, the situation could be reversed in an instant. If we waited for some time until others from the outside world found out what was going on here and came to help, it would be difficult for Ming Rui and Luo Feng to leave this place today. What’s more, there is still a pillar of the Northern Zhou at the top of the mountain in seclusion. With such a huge advantage, it was impossible for Feng Mingxiao to remain unmoved.
The tables were turned, and now it was the Great Qian side that was sitting on the wax.
“Heh, woman, believe it or not, this marquis can behead you first.” Luo Feng waved his halberd, and beneath his black ghostly face was the merciless gaze of the forest, piercing Feng Mingxiao, a fellow Tong Shen realm powerhouse, with a slight palpitation.
Of the two Tong Shen realm powerhouses coming from the Great Qian this time, although Luo Feng was silent, no one dared to ignore his threat. The Great Qian War God was not something that was spoken about, but killed. Under this title, there were countless white bones that laid the foundation for it.
“Leave, Ming Rui. This is your teacher’s wish.” Instead of agreeing to the offer, Zhuge Longjue said something that stunned all those present.
“Enshu ——,” murmured Mingrui.
“Teacher has been watching here,” Zhuge Long Su pointed to the sky, “The person who has the greatest control over this long river of Hao Qi is not me, but Teacher. The reason for not stepping out earlier was just to allow me to break the heart barrier and advance to the Tong Shen stage. This, too, I only learned when I received the help of the Long River of Vast Qi to break through.”
“Is that so? So, I’ve lost from the start?” Ming Rui said in dismay.
The intense frustration of having gone to all the trouble of plotting, only to have it caved in in the eyes of others right from the start, was something that even Ming Rui, with his state of mind, could not bear.
“Teacher ——” beside Ming Rui, Lu Qingzhu is even more unbearable, his face seems to be crying or laughing, extremely complicated, he still has a very deep love for Meng Shanhe after all.
“Disperse.” In the snowy night, the words that Meng Shanhe had transmitted through the air were now coming out of Zhuge Longjue’s mouth again. It was as if it was another reincarnation, the same as that snowy night, the same unprepared beginning, the same ending with the words “Disperse”.
“Yes, Master!” Ming Rui bowed deeply to the sky and left with Luo Feng and the others.
This was the end of a special and final battle for position in the literary world.
