Chapter 949: Initial Confucian Sage

"Isn't it a joy to have guests come from afar?"

Xu Fengnian was anything but joyful at this moment; he was deeply unhappy, struggling to suppress a surge of anger.

Unlike his previous encounter with the eunuch at Youzhou Prefecture, a mere contest of qi, Xu Fengnian had never truly been angry from beginning to end and even regarded the eunuch as a true gentleman.

However, this unfamiliar figure ascending the steps brought an inexplicable sense of vexation to Xu Fengnian as soon as he appeared at the mountain's foot. At Xu Fengnian's level, he possessed a degree of foresight, allowing him to conclude that this climber was certainly not someone like Deng Tai'a, who offered timely help. The danger was highly likely to be no less than Qi Jiajie's "ten-thousand-mile sword" that originated from Dongyue, or even comparable to Wang Xianzhi's solo journey to Liang. Yet, Xu Fengnian had been mentally prepared for Wang Xianzhi and Qi Jiajie's appearances; one sought personal martial arts advancement, and the other served his lord diligently, which Xu Fengnian could relatively understand.

But the old man, growing clearer in his sight, was like an unavoidable calamity, infuriating Xu Fengnian, who had originally planned to depart for the fortified city of Ju Beicheng beyond the pass the very next morning.

This was akin to someone sunbathing peacefully at their own doorstep, bothering no one, when a passerby inexplicably threw a basket of excrement and urine straight at their face.

Tao Shu-shen, clearly sensing Xu Fengnian's turbulent state of mind, frowned and asked, "Are you preparing to surrender without a fight?"

Xu Fengnian took a deep breath and said gravely, "Let the anger burn; I'll fight him to the death!"

Deng Tai'a lightly pressed the Tai'a sword between his knees, instantly filling his sleeves with sword qi. He emphasized, "That man brooks no disrespect. Even Cao Changqing after his shift to the overbearing path was no match. If you plan to face him with such a mindset, go cool off!"

Xu Fengnian's face turned ashen. He closed his eyes, pressing his palm against the hilt of the Liang Blade. His fluctuating state of mind finally began to stabilize.

With just over a hundred stone steps remaining, the two parties were about to meet.

The stooped scholar paused, ruffled the head of the young boy Gou Youfang, and asked with a smile, "Is that uncle the benefactor who gave you the white wooden sword box?"

The boy's eyes widened as he looked. Sure enough, at the top of the steps stood the uncle he had met once before. However, the uncle who had eaten wontons in Wudi City then had been unkempt and carried no sword, far from the dignified master he appeared to be now.

The aged scholar, exuding an aura of decay from his body to his very essence, patted the boy's head and softly said, "Go say hello."

The boy, carrying a bamboo box, smiled at this and lightly ascended the steps.

Deng Tai'a was at the very top of the steps. The boy, Gou Youfang, ran towards him, while the elderly scholar remained standing still.

Just then, the old scholar let out three successive shouts: "Deng Tai'a's sword! Wu Family Sword Mound!"

His words carried the weight of divine law, speaking things into existence, a prophecy fulfilled.

Simultaneously, Deng Tai'a vanished in a flash, his whereabouts unknown. Only ripples remained where he had stood.

A sudden gust of wind rose around Xu Fengnian, making his sleeves snap and billow.

The boy, who had watched his benefactor uncle disappear, stood stunned. Unbeknownst to him, the old man had already appeared beside him and said with a smile, "You can thank him later, Youfang. After you reach the peak, just wander around. There's a curved-eaved building near Zixu Temple that once housed Patriarch Lü's ancient sword for centuries. Go and admire it."

The excited boy murmured, "Oh," and carefully continued forward, passing the young man with the saber before moving away.

The old scholar stood his ground, looking up at the young Northern Liang King. "Facing a powerful enemy, what are you still hesitating for? Do your Northern Liang border troops cower like this when they encounter the Beiman cavalry outside Liangzhou Pass? The Northern Liang Iron Cavalry is renowned throughout the land; surely it's not just your Xu family boasting?"

Xu Fengnian remained silent, his internal qi flowing ceaselessly, traversing eight hundred *li* in an instant.

The old scholar's taunting provocation did not disturb Xu Fengnian's state of mind.

It wasn't that Xu Fengnian deliberately adopted an unmoving, mountain-like defensive stance; rather, he simply could not detect the old man's presence. A person standing between heaven and earth cannot truly remain completely still.

The reason the blind zither player Xue Songguan could kill was due to her wondrous Finger-Insight ability; she could detect the slightest ripples and fluctuations without needing to see. Even a seemingly still wind chime under the eaves in calm air, she could clearly sense its vibrations. A Confucian sage once described this realm as "the power of the heart's marrow reaching the subtlest details." After successively fighting three Grandmasters—Hong Jingyan, Tuoba Pusa, and Chen Zhibao—although his celestial physique was far from recovered to its peak, his cultivation realm had not declined. In the current world, regarding the depth of insight into the Finger-Insight realm, he was still second only to Deng Tai'a and Xue Songguan.

It was precisely because of this that Xu Fengnian remained motionless, his hand always on the hilt, without drawing his saber.

The stooped old man laughed, "If you're waiting for Deng Tai'a, I advise you to forget it. That Tao Shu-shen is already on the Sword Mountain of the Wu Family Sword Mound, hmm? He's currently riding his sword westward in a hurry and won't be able to return to Wudang Mountain for about three hours. There's no helping it; Deng Tai'a's sword art, now at its peak, is unmatched for a millennium, and I wouldn't dare take it lightly."

Xu Fengnian opened his mouth and asked, "Are you trying to exhaust my destiny?"

The old scholar smiled faintly, "You're only half right."

Xu Fengnian's face darkened.

The old man continued to speak to himself, "I also need to find Li Yufu, the Sect Leader of Wudang."

Xu Fengnian seemed to make up his mind. He suddenly unfastened the Liang Blade from his waist and stood, propping himself on the saber with both hands. "Then, as you wish. Just because I can't find you, doesn't mean no one else can!"

The old man narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh? Then I shall wait and see."

At Zixu Temple on Dalianhua Peak, the main peak of Wudang Mountain, dust suddenly billowed from the statue of Emperor Zhenwu, which had enjoyed centuries of human incense offerings in the hall!

The seemingly inanimate statue came alive, stepping down from its divine throne, making the grand hall rumble.

The boy Gou Youfang, carrying his satchel, had just reached the plaza outside Zixu Palace when he froze in astonishment. A majestic, ten-meter-tall statue crashed out of the temple as fast as thunder, each step possessing immense power, then ran past him, seemingly heading down the mountain.

The boy blinked, still somewhat in a daze.

Gou Youfang raised a hand and slapped himself hard; it truly hurt.

On the stone steps, the old man tsk-tsked, "How interesting."

A series of thunderous roars echoed throughout Wudang Mountain.

Behind Xu Fengnian, a Zhenwu statue, shrouded in purple-gold qi, leaped high, wielding a massive peach wood sword, and powerfully struck downwards towards the elderly scholar on the steps below.

The old man, his robes neat, folded his hands over his abdomen and calmly stated, "A gentleman does not speak of strange powers or chaotic spirits!"

The sword strike from the golden-armored Zhenwu statue descended with overwhelming momentum, like a rainbow.

But just as the sword was about to cleave the elderly scholar's head, it suddenly stopped motionless, suspended in mid-air.

Xu Fengnian finally moved, without hesitation, directly unleashing the "Two Sleeves Green Snakes" technique of the old man in the sheepskin fur coat.

Though executed with the Liang Blade, it was uncannily similar to Li Chungang wielding his wooden "Wooden Ox."

On the stone steps between them, a thick, brilliant blue torrent flowed rapidly like a river.

The old man chuckled freely, "A gentleman walks the righteous path!"

As the scholar lifted his foot and stepped upward, the previously stationary Zhenwu statue seemed to break free, and its peach wood sword struck down before the blue torrent.

The old man raised his left hand, lightly propping up the peach wood sword, while simultaneously extending his right palm to meet the surging sword qi of the "Two Sleeves Green Snakes."

His leisurely manner, as natural and unhindered as a scholar who had studied diligently for years spontaneously picking up a brush to write, was astonishing.

The aura of a sage!

The stooped scholar, unbeknownst to anyone, had straightened his back and was ascending the steps one by one, his left hand propping up the Zhenwu statue, his right hand deflecting the "Two Sleeves Green Snakes."

The peach wood sword of the Zhenwu statue.

Li Chungang's majestic sword qi.

Under their combined pressure, the old man's ascent of the steps, though slowed, never ceased.

The old man even had enough strength to speak, saying, "I want to see how long you can sustain this qi."

The purple qi around the Zhenwu Emperor statue vibrated slightly, and the wooden sword, almost as tall as a man, began to show visible cracks. From these fissures, countless dazzling rays of light burst forth.

This Zhenwu statue from the main hall of Wudang's Zixu Temple was, of course, not the earthly manifestation of Emperor Zhenwu himself. Xu Fengnian had long since abandoned that portion of his destiny and had no further connection to it.

But for some unknown reason, after this ascent, Xu Fengnian had quietly gathered his own destiny within it. Previously, the young Northern Liang King had jokingly asked Deng Tai'a how he should manage his destiny after death, and Tao Shu-shen's answer was as carefree as ever: "Don't worry about things after death while you're alive." But Xu Fengnian could not achieve such unburdened magnanimity; he had too many people and matters to consider. This was true when he sent Fan Xiaochai to find the wooden sword knight-errant, and it was true for many other seemingly casual actions.

The old scholar's weathered face, illuminated by the purple qi and the blue torrent, shone brightly as he sneered, "King of Northern Liang, relying only on your own destiny seems insufficient!"

At the origin of the magnificent blue torrent, the young Northern Liang King said in a deep voice, "Li Yufu, continue your seclusion!"

The old scholar strode forward, declaring loudly, "Xu Xiao led his army to crush the Six Kingdoms, breaking the spine of the Spring and Autumn Period, leaving the Central Plains riddled with new graves! Do you truly believe your Xu family won't have to pay for this?!"

The boundless blue torrent continuously exploded and shattered in the old man's palm.

The old man also showed a hint of anger, shouting, "Does Xu Fengnian truly believe no one in this world can kill him? That he can do as he pleases?! As long as that thought of yours doesn't die, if Xie Guanying dies, there will be Tantai Pingjing. If Tantai Pingjing dies, there will still be another!"

A purple-gold date-shaped mark appeared on Xu Fengnian's brow. He slowly said, "A gentleman walks the righteous path? My Northern Liang Iron Cavalry guards the border passes—Hutou City, Wogong City, Luanhe City, Qingcang City—there are only those who die facing north, not south!"

The elderly scholar abruptly pushed his right palm forward, while subtly flicking his left wrist.

The entire blue torrent was pushed back dozens of meters, and the Zhenwu statue, its peach wood sword turned to dust, was flung horizontally a hundred meters away.

Even against Xu Fengnian, who was not at his peak combat strength, the old man's ability to maintain a clear upper hand from start to finish demonstrated a profound cultivation that could truly shock heaven and make ghosts weep.

The old man finally reached the top of the steps. In his sight, the young Northern Liang King stood some distance away, holding his Liang Blade askew, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The old man smiled and asked, "Reduced to this state, are you still unwilling to unleash the entire destiny of Northern Liang to fight me?"

Xu Fengnian spat out the clotted blood and took a fresh breath.

If he hadn't taken Tuoba Pusa's full-force blow, even if the old man's cultivation was profound and he could block the "Two Sleeves Green Snakes" (a supreme human sword qi), he would certainly not have been able to push back the blue torrent with a single palm.

Xu Fengnian quirked his lips and chuckled, "My destiny is indeed limited, but I still have a chance to keep you on Wudang Mountain."

The old man's eyes filled with pity, and he spoke, revealing a secret, "I thought you would say, 'Even if I die here, there will still be another King of Northern Liang on Qingliang Mountain, identical in appearance and stature.' How is this your confidence to fight me to the death? When did the co-master of a formidable three hundred thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry, a truly deserving Grandmaster of martial arts, become so unambitious?"

Xu Fengnian tightened his grip on the saber hilt.

The old man seemed in no hurry to strike, perhaps concerned about mutual destruction or complete annihilation, and asked, "Aren't you curious about who I am?"

Xu Fengnian scoffed, "A homeless dog!"

The old man paused, then burst into laughter. "That's quite accurate, indeed."

At the archway at the foot of Wudang Mountain, purple qi ascended.

It was the very Zhenwu statue that the old scholar had casually thrown down the mountain. Although its body was badly damaged, the purple qi swirling around it had become even denser.

Xu Fengnian sneered, "I'm only curious why you aren't still pretending to be that blind old zither player in the Moral Forest of Shangyin Academy."

The old scholar nodded gently, as if realizing something. "No wonder you were prepared; it turns out Xu Weixiong leaked the secret to you. You are indeed cautious enough. Given my care for that woman with the surname Yu at Shangyin Academy, you shouldn't have considered me an enemy. It's a pity now that Tantai Pingjing won't help you. No matter how many tricks you deploy, in the end, everything will be for naught, and all will cease."

Xu Fengnian held the Liang Blade in his left hand, horizontally in front of him.

He brought the index and middle fingers of his right hand together and lightly ran them along the back of the blade.

The old man laughed, "An ant trying to shake a great tree."

Xu Fengnian replied, "One of your Confucian disciples, however, said it's respectable, not self-overestimating."

The old man waved his sleeve. "Wouldn't that mean I misled my own disciple, then?"

Xu Fengnian's conjoined fingers stopped at the tip of the blade.

Silently, the Liang Blade seemed to have a talisman affixed to it.

Gao Shulu had once been "sealed off" by this very technique.

The old scholar remained calm and composed, glancing at the previously unremarkable Northern Liang Blade. Now, it seemed to contain endless daoist meaning, with a faint, dark flood dragon swimming with outstretched whiskers upon its gleaming surface.

Yet, the old man even had the presence of mind to praise it: "Most interesting."

The person before Xu Fengnian should have been dead for eight hundred years.

Especially when the Great Feng Dynasty was founded, and the status of Confucianism rose significantly, through subsequent dynasties, this person had been revered by monarchs as the Supreme Sage and Forefather!

Countless civil officials, whether historically renowned or not, considered it the highest honor to be able to assist in the sacrificial rites beside him during their lifetime!

The Zhang Family Sage's Mansion and the Dragon-Tiger Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion were revered as sacred in the north and south for eight hundred years.

But no one truly believed the Zhao family could compare to the Zhang family, especially in the hearts of scholars across the land; the Zhao family, despite their "Feather-Robed Chancellor" title, probably wasn't even fit to carry shoes for the Zhang family.

This inconspicuous old scholar was none other than the First Sage of the Zhang Family!