Chapter 291: Military Saint Lectures on Wu Gong

The three-day period arrived.

The vast convoy set off from Qinghe, straight to the Qinghe hunting ground.

Autumn Hunt.

It was not simply hunting, but would last for a full month.

The great affairs of the state lie in sacrifice and war.

The biggest thing about the Autumn Hunt was naturally the sacrifice; like the Tiannan hunting ground, it first started with a three-day Great Sacrifice.

Only after that would it enter the formal Autumn Hunt link.

But it was still not hunting

Receiving a single word of guidance from one of the top ten in the world is worth ten years of burying one's head in cultivation.

Otherwise, why would the elders of these great sects be so eager to drag their families along and follow so obsequiously?

It is precisely to hear Marquis Yuan lecture on martial arts.

The altar was opened for another three days.

Only then did they reach the main event: the martial debate.

Given Marquis Yuan's status, he naturally would not take action himself, and because his heirs were still young, he simply let the young talents of Yunzhou take the stage to compete.

If this were at the Tiannan Enclosure, the scene would be even grander.

All the imperial princes would participate in the competition; it was truly spectacular.

The top three would receive rewards from Marquis Yuan.

Finally, it was the turn of the autumn hunt's theme—hunting.

It lasted for ten days.

It wasn't really about sending these wealthy disciples into the Ten Thousand Mountains to fight demonic beasts; an enclosure is an enclosure, so naturally, it means surrounding beasts for the hunt. At that time, they would catch some demonic beasts and release them into the Qinghe Enclosure for people to hunt.

Likewise, the top three performers could receive rewards from the Marquis.

Going through the entire process would surely take a full month.

It is precisely because of this long duration that they can express their respect for the gods to ensure the longevity of the Yu Kingdom; upon arriving in Qinghe, it also served to show loyalty to the Holy Lord.

"Brother Li, who do you think will take the crown in this autumn hunt?"

Wang Li and Li Rui rode their horses side by side.

There is almost no scholar in the Yu Kingdom who is completely powerless; if they don't know martial arts, they must at least be skilled in archery and horsemanship.

Li Rui smiled and shook his head: "The talents in Yunzhou are as numerous as crucian carp crossing the river; how would I know?"

Those who came this time.

While they are called Yunzhou talents, in reality, many geniuses from other provinces have also rushed over.

But this doesn't break the rules; they are all great sects that have established branches in Yunzhou, so Marquis Yuan just turns a blind eye.

"I think Brother Yang should be able to make it into the top three."

Wang Li looked at Yang Heng, who was also a guest retainer not far away, and said.

"That is indeed possible."

Li Rui echoed.

Yang Heng was valued by Marquis Yuan and brought in as a guest retainer, so his talent and foundation are naturally extraordinary; it is said that a few days ago, he stepped into the Rising Moon Realm in one go, and one more step would lead to the Primordial Realm.

To be near the Primordial Realm at the age of just over forty is quite remarkable; he can be said to be riding high.

Look, even when riding a horse, he holds his head high and his chest out.

Just as Li Rui and Wang Li were chatting idly.

Suddenly.

They heard a burst of rapid hoofbeats.

Turning their heads.

They saw a burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist riding a blood-red demonic horse, flashing past them like red lightning.

Wang Li smiled bitterly and said:

"That is the Marquis's sixth foster son, Hu Yan Ku."

Li Rui took a few extra looks.

The world knows that Marquis Yuan adopted a total of eight foster sons, each of them highly skilled in martial arts and fierce generals who lead troops in charges.

This time.

A total of three foster sons followed Marquis Yuan to Qinghe.

The Hu Yan Ku they just saw was one of them.

None of Marquis Yuan's foster sons were pampered; they all followed him into battle and crawled out of piles of dead bodies.

They are all ruthless men.

Wang Li continued: "General Hu Yan is indeed a fierce general, but his temper is rather irritable; he is known as the Iron-Headed Leopard, so Brother Li must be careful not to provoke him."

"Of course."

Li Rui isn't bored, so why would he go and provoke the Marquis's foster son?

Don't look at them as guest retainers invited by Marquis Yuan.

That is Marquis Yuan giving face to Yunzhou; in reality, the status of the four of them in the Marquis's Prefecture is really not high. Marquis Yuan has been a Viceroy for so many years, and naturally, his subordinates are full of talent; even though he voluntarily let go of most of them when he retired from the military, the few he kept by his side are already dragons and phoenixes among men.

The eight foster sons are all brave and fierce, ruthless men who followed Marquis Yuan through ten thousand miles of battle.

The previously terrifying Black and White Duo were picked off by the eighth-ranked Yuan Xiong, alone with a single spear.

The gold content needs no further explanation.

At dusk.

The massive procession arrived at the Qinghe Enclosure.

Ning Zhongtian and the officials from the Qinghe and Yunzhou Rites Office were already waiting here.

"Li Laoge."

Ning Zhongtian saw Li Rui and walked over.

He looked at Yuan Dingting, who was surrounded by the crowd as he walked into the Qinghe Enclosure, and clicked his tongue: "What a grand display."

This time.

Just the accompanying officials and sect elders and disciples numbered in the hundreds.

These people are all elites and talents from various places.

Qinghe is truly honored by their presence.

Li Rui smiled: "By the way, have all the things prepared for the Grand Sacrifice been gathered?"

Mentioning the Grand Sacrifice.

Ning Zhongtian just felt a headache.

During this period, those old dogmatists from the Rites Office were pointing fingers one by one, saying the sacrificial animals weren't enough, the stone altar only had eight levels, and so on and so forth; it was truly annoying.

He was originally from the Jianghu, and he hated these tedious rituals the most.

"Rest assured, everything has been done according to the wishes of those old fogeys."

Li Rui nodded: "Fourth Brother, you've worked hard."

If it weren't for his big brother holding things down, Ning Zhongtian would have thrown those old officials from the Rites Office out of the Qinghe Enclosure one by one.

There's no help for it; the Grand Sacrifice isn't really for communicating with that ethereal and elusive Immortal Court.

It is more to display the majesty of the Imperial House.

The numerous processes invisibly deepen people's awe.

That is all.

But this process cannot have the slightest bit of carelessness; this is what is called ritual.

If one dares to ignore ritual and law and is caught by others, that is a major crime.

Autumn of the 87th year of Tianwu.

At the Qinghe Enclosure, an altar was set up for a Grand Sacrifice to pray for the prosperity of Yunzhou's martial path and the continuation of talent.

The main autumn hunt sacrifice is at the Tiannan Enclosure, presided over by the Holy Lord of the Yu Kingdom himself.

Qinghe serves as a proxy sacrifice.

The specifications naturally don't need to be as high as the Tiannan Enclosure, and the sacrificial animals used are also pigs, cattle, and sheep; of course, they are all high-ranking demonic beasts, not comparable to those of ordinary wealthy families.

Ning Zhongtian spent half a month in the Ten Thousand Mountains just to find the sacrificial animals. Today.

Yuan Dingting, dressed in a bright red python robe, stood alone on the nine-level stone altar, looking down at the crowd in the enclosure.

The Marquis of Annan is originally a Marquis; according to ritual, wearing this bright red python robe is definitely overstepping, but the old scholars from the Rites Office below all had faces full of respect. It wasn't just because Marquis Yuan's status made them dare not speak, but because this bright red python robe was bestowed by the Holy Lord himself.

In the entire Yu Kingdom, only two people have this honor.

One is the Marquis Yuan before them, and the other is the current Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Lord Zhang.

The two, one civil and one martial, are the pillars of the empire.

With the bright red python robe, no one dared to have any objections.

Since it is a proxy sacrifice, everything is simplified, without those tedious welcoming of gods, offering of jade and silk, presentation of food, and the initial, secondary, and final offerings...

Otherwise, people would suspect them of overstepping.

It went straight to the ritual official chanting the sacrificial prayer.

"Heaven and Earth are in harmony, only I have longing; here I brighten the purple altar, thinking to seek the path. Respectfully accepting the sacrifice, the clouds and mist are tangled; the embroidered robes are spread out, honoring the supreme gods..."

The words were ethereal, like immortal music.

Not a single word, not a single line, not a single error, not a single content missed!

One by one, the Yu Kingdom officials and sect elders and disciples knelt on the ground, their faces solemn.

Suddenly—

A phantom of a long spear surged, piercing straight into the nine heavens, over ten thousand feet high, spanning the sky.

The aura of a Martial Saint!

Seeing such a spectacular scene, everyone looked up in unison, their mouths wide open, unable to close them; how could this be a feat a mere martial artist could achieve?!

Top ten in the world, terrifying indeed.

No wonder they are called land immortals; what difference is there between this move and that of a true immortal??

The sacrificial prayer paused, and the ritual official looked at the giant spear screen, shocked to the point of being unable to speak.

Yuan Dingting reminded him at the right time: "Ritual Official Wang, continue the prayer."

"Uh, uh."

Ritual Official Wang nodded blankly, and only then continued to chant the prayer, though it was no longer as steady as before, and even carried a bit of a tremor.

Qinghe, tens of miles away.

Whether they were high officials and nobles or commoners in the city, as soon as they looked up, they saw the magnificent scene at the Qinghe Enclosure.

"The Spear Immortal, it must be the Spear Immortal."

"Short-sighted, that is the Marquis's own feat!"

Some Qinghe people even knelt directly on the ground, kowtowing incessantly.

Those sect elders and disciples who knew the situation also couldn't help but kneel and prostrate.

This is the effect the sacrifice wanted to achieve.

Displaying strength.

To the common people, it is a god descending to earth, following metaphysics; to the sect people, it is a Martial Saint appearing, following mechanics.

In short, a sacrifice works for everyone.

The Grand Sacrifice lasted for a full half-day.

Only then did it end.

Afterward, there was a day of fasting to show respect for the ancestors and gods.

The ritual official would hang fasting plaques on the left side of tents and houses; those fasting must wear the plaques at their waists when going out, so that everyone could supervise each other.

Besides not being able to eat meat, fasting also forbade drinking alcohol and playing music; all extravagant activities were strictly prohibited, and violators would be severely punished, with no exceptions for imperial relatives and nobles.

"Tasteless to eat, truly tasteless as hell."

Attendants delivered meals into each tent.

A bowl of rice, a dish of plain stir-fried vegetables, and that was it.

Tan Hu found it unbearable; he was used to being happy only with wine and meat, so how could he get used to such bland food?

Ning Zhongtian chuckled and looked at Tan Hu:

"Tiger, you've made progress; after following Li Laoge, you can even use four-character idioms."

Tan Hu rolled his eyes.

Li Rui chewed the vegetable stems carefully and said to Tan Hu: "Tiger, if you don't want to eat today, go to sleep; don't cause trouble, otherwise if the Marquis blames you, even I won't be able to save you."

It's no big deal for a martial artist to go a day without eating, but if one breaks the fast, that's a big deal.

Exile at every turn is possible.

"Yes, yes, listening to Li Laoge."

After saying this, he put down his bowl and chopsticks and prepared to get up.

But he was stopped by Li Rui: "Today, you will stay in my tent."

Upon hearing this.

Tan Hu's face immediately turned mournful.

The next morning.

Everyone was awakened by crying and shouting, and they all walked out of their doors to watch.

They saw Marquis Yuan's three foster sons leading soldiers to drag four people to the center of the camp.

"Gathering to drink and playing with women, they broke the fast and were caught on the spot."

Some people who knew the inside story said with a laugh.

In the past, Yunzhou didn't hold sacrifices, and whether they were officials or sect elders, they were all loose in nature, especially those with Jianghu habits, but now that Marquis Yuan has come, it's different.

If you are a dragon, you coil; if you are a tiger, you lie down.

Whoever dares to break the fast will be dealt with according to ritual and law.

Those four people had their dantian broken, and their martial arts were completely abolished.

Next is exile to the bitter cold north; without martial arts, it's hard to survive.

Everyone who saw this was terrified.

They were glad they hadn't done anything to overstep the ritual, otherwise, the four people before them would be their future fate.

After a small interlude.

Resting for a day.

It was time for the main event of the autumn hunt: Marquis Yuan lecturing on martial arts.

Originally, it wouldn't have been inappropriate for those Grandmasters in the Marquis's Prefecture to do this on his behalf; at the Tiannan Enclosure, the Marquis of Dingyuan lectured on behalf of the Holy Lord.

It was only because this was the first autumn hunt in Yunzhou that Yuan Dingting opened the altar himself.

There won't be such an opportunity in the future.

It is a lecture on martial arts.

Naturally, there is no need for the cleansing, inviting gods, and three-origin absolution like in Daoist preaching... Yuan Dingting was originally from the military, valuing rules and taking rituals lightly; once the Grand Sacrifice passed, he simplified things.

He simply spread a blanket in the center of the camp.

Everyone sat in a circle around it.

It looked casual, but in reality, there was great mystery.

The Marquis didn't care, but the listeners cared; the seating order was naturally arranged according to status and rank.

Li Rui was undoubtedly in the first row.

His strength wasn't enough, but he occupied the geographical advantage of Qinghe, so he could occupy a seat.

Yuan Dingting's voice slowly rang out.

It wasn't loud.

Yet it could clearly reach everyone's ears; just this feat alone was surprising.

Transmitting sound with Qi!

Li Rui's heart shook.

"For a martial artist, the first priority is ambition, with bones and sinews as the foundation, internal breath as the essential, and technique as the application. Those without firm ambition are hard to make into great vessels. Like a tree without roots or water without a source, even with a fierce posture, it is hard to last. Therefore, a martial artist should stand firm like a mountain, act like water, and not be moved by external things..."

"..."

"Martial artists: lower grade imitates beasts, middle grade imitates demons, upper grade imitates immortals."

"Cultivation of the martial path is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you retreat. A Martial Saint can move mountains, cross seas, and slay immortals!"

(End of chapter)