Chapter 182: Confucian Sage

Across the Lands: Playing with Fire for the Lords

Computer Reading Link:

Link:

Main Post for Chapter Series:

Please wait patiently; no replies are allowed before the main content is posted.

Appendices: Baidu Tieba QQ Group Arbitration Team: 11043035; Monstrous Club YY Channel: 1655

Those who participate in discussions within the updated content section will be treated as "interrupters" and temporarily muted for one day. General interrupters will be muted for three days.

The group hastened towards the Grand Snow Peak. The closer they got, the more violent the wind and thunder became, like ten thousand horses galloping, causing a sharp pain in their eardrums. Qingniao held her 'Moment' in one hand and an umbrella in the other, her expression unchanged.

The old man in the sheepskin robe likely felt it wasn't his business and adopted a detached attitude, walking quite leisurely and letting the heavy rain pound on him. With the old Sword God's profound internal energy, it wouldn't be difficult to keep the wind and rain at bay. However, for Li Chungang, such flashy displays of a master's demeanor were unnecessary.

One umbrella couldn't keep out the wind and rain. Xu Fengnian's brocade robe was already soaked at the hem, and his boots were almost deep enough to house small fish. He raised his hand into the downpour and pushed the umbrella towards Qingniao. But after only a few steps, Qingniao quietly moved it back, leaving most of her body exposed to the deluge. Xu Fengnian, amused, simply took the umbrella, put his arm around Qingniao's slender shoulder, and they shared it.

Xuan-yuan Qingfeng was utterly distraught and unsteady throughout the journey. Her martial arts cultivation was already mediocre, and the large raindrops, like soybeans, splattered on her cold and beautiful face, making her look truly pitiable.

Xu Fengnian glanced back, feeling no particular pity. Truth be told, he didn't have any deep-seated grudge against this woman. It was just that during his travels back then, he encountered a minor conflict. Coupled with the fact that the Xuanyuan family was prominent and prone to attracting trouble, His Royal Highness wouldn't bother with petty disputes with common folk. Thus, through a series of events, he chose Xuanyuan Qingfeng and Huishan. Moreover, whenever Wen Hua mentioned this aristocratic family woman, he would grit his teeth. As a brother forged in adversity, Xu Fengnian felt obliged, both emotionally and logically, to exact some revenge.

The years spent wandering the Jianghu with Wen Hua were, in essence, a tearful history of two impoverished vagabonds finding joy amidst their suffering. Xu Fengnian recalled that whenever he played street chess for food money, Wen Hua would pretend to be a chess player, winning a few coppers to lure spectators into the game. When Xu Fengnian got into a dispute or fight, Wen Hua would feign mediating the fight, chanting, "Gentlemen use their words, not their fists!" while loudly yelling, "Don't hit, don't hit!" Yet, he would furiously kick those scoundrels who lost a bet but refused to pay up. Often, after a fight, others would inexplicably suffer countless "Monkey Steals the Peach" or "Black Tiger Steals the Heart" blows, their bodies covered in Wen Hua's footprints. By the time they finally regained their senses, they were already lying on the ground, too weak to retaliate.

Wen Hua, for his part, wholeheartedly admired Xu Fengnian's wild and inventive schemes. He recalled one time at the Lantern Festival in Liuzhou, the two noticed a young woman ahead with an incredibly slender waist, so delicate it seemed it might break with a single twist. Xu Fengnian bet Wen Hua that he could put his arm around the girl's waist without getting hit. Wen Hua scoffed at the idea. Yet, Xu Fengnian confidently approached the girl, put his arm around her slender waist, and whispered something intimately into her ear. What followed almost made Wen Hua's eyes pop out: the girl first glared furiously at Xu Fengnian, but after hearing his words, her gaze instantly softened like water. She merely shot Wen Hua a fierce look, didn't struggle, and Xu Fengnian promptly released her alluring waist, chatting and laughing with the young woman, all while subtly making a kneading gesture on her shapely behind for Wen Hua to see. To this day, Wen Hua still doesn't know how Xu Fengnian pulled it off. In truth, it was simple: Xu Fengnian told the young woman that Wen Hua behind them was a suspicious scoundrel with ill intentions, and that he was merely protecting her. Poor Wen Hua, back then, his eyes would glaze over with lust whenever he saw a woman. Let alone a petty scoundrel with lecherous intent, even if Xu Fengnian had claimed he was a major lecher intent on defiling women, the girl would have believed him implicitly.

Xu Fengnian tightened his arm around Qingniao's damp shoulder and chuckled softly, "Those few 'Young Master Wen's from you will really make Wen Hua remember your kindness for many years."

Qingniao uttered a puzzled "Hmm?"

Xu Fengnian turned his head to gaze at her face, which was merely delicate but never tiresome to look at. He smiled, "It's nothing, my mind just wandered for a moment."

Xuanyuan Jingyi walked at the forefront, his internal calculations loud and clear. How dare his eldest brother come to Gutoujiang Grand Snow Peak after causing the death of Xuan-yuan Jingxuan, a Grandmaster? Even if he came to apologize with a thorn-bearing petition, it wouldn't do him any good. The Old Ancestor's temperament was unpredictable, but his penchant for vindictiveness and extreme calculation of gains and losses were undeniable. Eldest Brother Xuan-yuan Jingcheng had clearly wasted himself with scholarly pursuits. It would have been fine if he had just quietly pursued his useless studies, but how did he manage to kill their highly anticipated third brother with some unknown scheme? How could the Old Ancestor possibly let him off lightly? As for that niece, whose loyalties were so clearly with outsiders, her behavior was abnormal, suggesting she had given up entirely. How could a woman ever make a name for herself in Huishan!

The chief guest minister, Huang Fangfo, appeared calm, while Hong Biao seemed somewhat distressed. Xuanyuan Jingyi paid no mind to these minor details. Stepping onto the Grand Snow Peak, Xuanyuan Jingyi immediately spotted the Old Ancestor's imposing figure. His qi surged outwards like a tide, as if protected by a large umbrella, with raindrops constantly repelled and sliding off three feet away.

Then he looked at his eldest brother, Xuan-yuan Jingcheng, standing in the center like a drowned chicken, coughing into his hand.

"You scholars, you adhere to the Northern Saint Zhang’s teachings of cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. But I ask you, Xuan-yuan Jingcheng, what self have you cultivated, what family have you regulated? You’ve lived a lifetime and can't even protect your wife and daughter. Others seek freedom through reincarnation, haha, you might as well not reincarnate at all!"

The wind howled on the mountaintop, but the Old Ancestor Xuanyuan's hearty, boisterous laughter was even more grating. Ordinarily, Xuan-yuan Jingcheng was far from fifty, so saying he'd lived half a life would be more accurate. Yet, Xuanyuan Dapan said he'd lived a lifetime, indicating he saw through Xuan-yuan Jingcheng's method of exchanging his life for a breakthrough in cultivation. Furthermore, the Old Ancestor had no intention of letting this pedantic scholar continue to live. One Land Immortal was enough for Huishan. What did "exclusive enjoyment of the blessings of a Land Immortal" even mean? If there were two, how would that maintain proper order? And where would the 'exclusive' enjoyment come from? If Xuan-yuan Jingcheng had been willing to practice martial arts according to his wishes back then, Xuanyuan Dapan wouldn't have minded him taking over Huishan after his ascension. But if Xuan-yuan Jingcheng could contend for the Land Immortal realm during his lifetime, Xuanyuan Dapan was determined to crush him!

It would be best if I could ascend. But if I toil for a hundred years seeking immortality with no result, after my death, why would I care about the family's rise or fall? My children and grandchildren will have their own fortunes. Whether it's glory or shame, I, Xuanyuan Dapan, won't concern myself with such trivial matters!

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Jingyi finally felt relieved. The situation was unfolding as expected; the Old Ancestor would definitely not tolerate his eldest brother's antics this time. He was curious how his eldest brother could have killed Xuan-yuan Jingxuan, who had already reached the Finger Profound realm. Even Xuan-yuan Jingcheng, who considered himself to possess the favorable timing, geographical advantage, and human relations to manage Huishan, couldn't achieve such a feat.

Xuan-yuan Jingcheng inadvertently saw his father Xuan-yuan Guoqi's expression and was startled. Why was his father so solemn?

Immediately after, Xuan-yuan Jingcheng uttered words that stunned Xuanyuan Jingcheng: "Misfortunes sent by Heaven may be avoided, but from those one brings upon oneself, there is no escape. Today, Xuan-yuan Jingcheng is merely acting on behalf of Heaven, sweeping away five centuries of accumulated dust from Huishan. As for how much can be swept away, that depends on Heaven's will. In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, I, at the Celestial Phenomenon realm, exchanged two hundred and sixteen moves with the Old Ancestor. Did the Old Ancestor have even a sliver of a chance to win? Why the need for brave words?"

Xuanyuan Dapan, who had established his power in Huishan for sixty years, was remarkably calm. He retorted, "You used your full strength, disregarding your life, yet did you manage to harm me?"

Xuan-yuan Jingcheng, dressed as a middle-aged scholar, smiled faintly, "Old Ancestor, you have walked the martial path for nearly a century, contributing greatly to Huishan. If Xuan-yuan Jingcheng were to easily win after twenty years of extensive study and focused practice, the Old Ancestor would die feeling unjustly defeated."

Xuanyuan Jingyi could only think his eldest brother had gone mad.

But soon, a chilling wave of fear permeated Xuanyuan Jingyi's bones. Over two hundred moves with the Old Ancestor?

Xuan-yuan Jingcheng suddenly turned and said, "When third brother Jingxuan bent to flatter, second brother Jingyi, you used cunning to gain fame. Neither path is righteous. Misfortunes sent by Heaven may be avoided, but from those one brings upon oneself, there is no escape."

Xuanyuan Dapan's face contorted menacingly. "Let's see what other tricks you have up your sleeve!"

Xuan-yuan Jingcheng calmly stated, "Jingcheng has spent twenty years studying extensively and distilling the essence, culminating in today's culmination of efforts. I will certainly not disappoint the Old Ancestor. Since everyone is here, Jingcheng shall take the first step. If the Old Ancestor still wishes to hold back and suppress his cultivation to the Mid-Celestial Phenomenon realm, be careful, for you might lose the chance for the Grand Celestial Phenomenon realm forever!"

Xuanyuan Dapan sneered, "Oh? You've caused such a commotion, and even that 'broken shoe' woman hasn't come to watch the battle, yet you're already impatient to go to the Yellow Springs? Could it be that you can't hold on until then? Your method is indeed profound, but it's far more unorthodox than mine..."

Before the Old Ancestor Xuanyuan could finish, Xuan-yuan Jingcheng unceremoniously stopped listening. Instead, he turned and looked towards his daughter in the distance, a look of profound, open-hearted amusement on his scholarly face.

Cultivating oneself means rectifying one's heart.

Do not say scholars lack courage; they dare to command heaven and earth to sink into the sea.

Those who achieve great things not only possess extraordinary talent but also indomitable willpower.

A rapid succession of thoughts flashed through Xuanyuan Qingfeng's mind; those poems and essays appeared one by one.

"I have entered the Land Immortal realm."

Xuan-yuan Jingcheng closed his eyes. Blood flowed from his seven facial orifices, yet he calmly spread his hands, as if intending to embrace the entire world.

With him as the center, the accumulated water on the Grand Snow Peak exploded outwards in layers.

In that instant, nine bolts of lightning descended from the Heavenly Court.

Li Chungang, who had been silent all this time, sighed, "This young man is no mere scholar; he is clearly a Confucian Saint."