Chapter 522: A Saint Monopolizes Luck for Eight Hundred Years

The three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism have long histories.

Compared to Buddhism, which has grown increasingly withered under the dual suppression of Beimang and Liyang, and Daoism, which has always been lukewarm, Confucianism has been the mainstay of every major dynasty since its inception.

The old Confucian scholar before them has a great background, a very great one.

When the Da Feng Dynasty was founded, the status of Confucianism rose with the tide, and in all the dynasties that followed, this person was revered by monarchs as the Most Holy Master.

Countless civil officials, regardless of whether they left their names in history, considered it the supreme honor to be buried alongside him during their lifetimes.

The Zhang Family Saint Mansion and the Longhu Mountain Celestial Master Mansion have been called holy in the north and south for eight hundred years, reflecting each other's brilliance.

But no one truly felt that the Zhao Family could compare to the Zhang Family; especially in the hearts of the scholars of the world, the Zhao Family of the Feathered Minister and Prime Minister was likely not even fit to carry the Zhang Family's shoes.

And this inconspicuous old Confucian scholar before them is none other than the first Saint of Confucianism, Zhang Fuyao, who should have been dead for eight hundred years.

But he is still alive.

And he has lived for eight hundred years.

Among the Saints of the three teachings in the world, the Confucian Saints are the fewest; even if they do appear, figures like Xuanyuan Jingcheng and Huang Longshi are merely flashes in the pan.

It is precisely because Confucianism has the Saint Zhang Fuyao, who has monopolized Luck for eight hundred years.

The Zhang Family Saint looked at Gou Youfang and said with a chuckle: "You rarely drink; finish this bowl of wine and go out for a walk to sober up, lest you get drunk and require an old man like me to take care of you."

"Understood, Sir." Gou Youfang was startled, then gulped down the bowl of wine in his hand, and walked out of the tavern with a somewhat staggering gait.

"I have been in the human world for eight hundred years, and I have seen those who carry blades, those who wear swords, and those who study. I have also seen the filthy and despicable, and those who sacrifice their lives for righteousness; that Spring and Autumn chaotic war, in particular, was truly magnificent. The eras that followed, both in the imperial court and the pugilistic world, did not disappoint either; there is Zhang Julu who paved the way for the common people, and Wang Xianzhi, the second in the East Sea."

The Zhang Family Saint turned his gaze back to Murong Tonghuang, his tone as calm as ever.

Or rather, for this Saint who has stayed in the human world for eight hundred years, he has seen too much, and thus very few people or things can stir ripples in his Xinhu.

"Those who can surprise me can be counted on one hand. You are one of them, and also the hardest for me to fathom. Huang Longshi has told me many things about later generations, and he has also told me about many people, but there was no mention of you; perhaps you are also a Book Flipper who has fallen into the book."

Yu Liancheng smiled slightly: "What of a Book Flipper, and what of a character in a book? Since I am already in the book, I should wield the brush and splash ink to write a magnificent scroll, letting later generations see the demeanor of their predecessors, and it would be best to write a few more obscure yet profound articles to make the scholars of later generations study until they are half-dead."

The Zhang Family Saint looked up at the sky: "Difficult, difficult."

"Why is it difficult?"

The Zhang Family Saint looked up at the sky: "I have guarded the human world for eight hundred years, and I have watched the immortals in heaven point fingers and dictate for eight hundred years; now they are becoming increasingly overbearing. They want the people of this world to follow their rules; perhaps you have the ability to leave your name in history, but in their plans, you are to bear countless infamies."

Yu Liancheng also looked up and said something that did not fit his temperament at all: "Then let's screw them."

The Zhang Family Saint held his belly and laughed.

Other guests in the tavern cast their gazes over, their eyes filled with astonishment and ecstasy.

The commotion caused by the clinking of bowls between Yu Liancheng and the Zhang Family Saint was simply too great; it would have been difficult for them not to notice.

Now that Yu Liancheng had dispersed the divine sense lingering around his body and restored his original appearance, that handsome face was truly peerless, and every movement revealed a graceful and elegant bearing; even his fluttering black sleeves were like black clouds pouring down, blotting out the sky and sun.

Most people were extremely excited, their minds a blank, with only one thought.

"I am actually drinking in the same tavern as Alliance Leader Murong!?"

The proprietress, who had been peeking secretly, was also infinitely happy; although the wine table had somehow turned into powder, that was the bench Alliance Leader Murong had sat on—she wouldn't sell it for any amount of money, she would keep it as a treasure of the shop, an heirloom.

The Zhang Family Saint gradually restrained his laughter: "I came this time because I wanted to see that Beiliang King Xu Weixiong. Huang Longshi is, after all, my disciple; although many of his philosophies have gone against mine, the successor he chose can be considered my grand-disciple."

Yu Liancheng said calmly: "Rest assured, when you see her, you will know that she is truly a woman who does not yield to men; the talent and depth in her heart are second to none."

The Zhang Family Saint's topic changed quickly and abruptly: "What do you think of the people in heaven?"

Yu Liancheng said: "Pointing fingers and dictating; they overreach."

The Zhang Family Saint was silent for a long while, then said: "Earlier you asked me to have a drink, now I ask you to have a drink."

Yu Liancheng tossed a piece of broken silver to the proprietress, offering an apologetic smile for the destroyed wine table. He then picked up a wine cup, not needing a flagon, and tilted his head back to gulp down two mouthfuls, saying heroically.

"Fine, let's have a drink."

The Zhang Family Saint gave a clear shout: "Zhang Fuyao, Murong Tonghuang, one hundred miles away."

His words carried the mandate of heaven, a Word of Truth, and his utterance became prophecy.

This is a Confucian Saint.

The next moment.

The figures of Murong Tonghuang and the Zhang Family Saint flashed and vanished; where they had stood, only ripples remained, and everything that had happened before seemed like a reflection in a mirror or the moon in the water.

After a long silence in the tavern, a sky-high clamor of discussion erupted. Some were excited, others sighed in frustration. That old man was clearly no ordinary person, capable of the Word of Truth.

The "have a drink" between the two was clearly not just about having another cup of wine, but a contest; otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to go a hundred miles away.

"Proprietress, sell me the broken silver that Murong Wudi threw to you earlier."

"Sell me the bench Alliance Leader Murong sat on earlier; I'll pay one hundred—no! Three hundred taels of silver."

A group of martial artists swarmed toward the proprietress, with the female warriors and fairies being the most excited.

"Not for sale, not for sale." The proprietress grinned from ear to ear; this was to be kept as an heirloom, and even if she were to sell it, she would have to find a good buyer.

Suddenly, the proprietress's eyes widened as she looked at a female warrior who had grabbed a bench and was running away, and she chased after her with a broom: "That woman, put down my bench!"

……

This group of martial artists had not guessed wrong.

The "have a drink" between the Zhang Family Saint and Yu Liancheng was indeed an extremely magnificent contest.

Yu Liancheng held the Wuming Broken Sword, with Jinguang flowing on the blade, filled with a sharp aura.

As Yu Liancheng swung his sword, a brilliant sword light suddenly appeared in the world; wherever the sword light reached, rocks, grass, and trees all disintegrated and shattered, turning into powder, heading straight for the Zhang Family Saint.

The Zhang Family Saint raised his arm, extended a finger, and smiled: "The benevolent person enjoys mountains."

Boom—!

The world trembled incessantly, as if rolling mountains were rising from the ground, blocking the path of Murong Tonghuang's sword light.

The speed of the sword light slowed down abruptly, far from being unstoppable.

It needed to break through mountain after mountain to reach the Zhang Family Saint, but it remained unwavering.

The Zhang Family Saint, with one hand behind his back, saw the sword light getting closer and closer, frowned, and said in a deep voice: "The wise person enjoys water."

He flicked his wrist with his hand behind his back in a casual, understated manner, and the pool of water several dozen zhang away seemed to perform a Green Dragon Draws Water; a magnificent water pillar as thick as a wellhead surged upward, resembling a water dragon, wildly and uncontrollably smashing through the sword light as it lunged toward Yu Liancheng.

Yu Liancheng raised his palm and pressed down casually, yet it carried a vast, unimaginable, and surging palm force, effortlessly shattering the water dragon.

"Truly an unparalleled martial artist unseen in a thousand years, but my Confucian methods are not merely about wagging one's tongue," Zhang Shengren chuckled and said, "I should let you, Murong Wudi, know what my Confucianism means by cultivating one's nature and nourishing one's spirit, and what it means to resonate with heaven and earth through the Haoran Qi."

This old Confucian scholar gently stomped his foot; there was no grand momentum of a martial arts Grandmaster, but rather it looked like a rural farmer casually stamping his foot in his own crop field.

Rumble!

However, the ensuing commotion was not small.

Behind Zhang Shengren, the Qi mechanism condensed, and a clay statue slowly appeared, sitting majestically, reaching several dozen zhang in height, roughly level with the Lotus Peak of Wudang Mountain.

This clay statue holding a scroll could be said to enjoy more incense, have a wider distribution, and be more familiar to the world than any other statue.

The Zhang family ancestral hall, the Imperial Palace in the Capital, Fuzi temples, academies, and the Academy...

Wherever there is the sound of loud reading, it can be seen everywhere.

Not to mention the Central Plains, even in Beiliang it is a common sight.

This is the statue of Zhang Shengren.

Zhang Shengren flipped his palm lightly and laughed, "The vicissitudes of life, all in a single thought."

The clay statue of the Saint behind him unfolded the scroll in its hand; the scroll was named "Spring and Autumn," and Spring and Autumn wither and flourish. Haoran radiance spilled from the scroll, a condensation of countless years of Spring and Autumn.

Regardless of flowers, trees, birds, or beasts, once touched by a trace of the radiance, they would instantly seem to have experienced an unknown number of years; branches and leaves withered, and beasts grew old.

Yu Liancheng raised a finger.

Hum!

An invisible force field expanded.

This was the Heavenly Demon Force Field mixed with the self-contained world of the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm.

That radiance was blocked outside this force field.

"Interesting," Zhang Shengren smiled faintly, "Confucian First Grade is Heavenly Phenomenon, yet I have some insights into the Finger Profound Secret Technique that I wish to share with the people of the world."

The clay statue of the Saint raised an arm, its finger pointing into the void.

Hum, hum, hum!

The heaven and earth trembled.

Where the Saint's clay statue pointed, snowy-white, thick Gang Qi the size of palace pillars appeared one after another.

This was Zhang Shengren's Finger Profound Secret Technique.

The Gang Qi bombarded the invisible force field continuously, causing it to shake incessantly, giving the impression that it was about to collapse.

The Saint's clay statue dropped the scroll, brought its palms together, and then spread them; amidst the violent trembling of the air, an unprecedented snowy-white Gang Qi appeared and slammed violently into the force field.

Clatter!

A sound like a mirror shattering rang out.

The invisible force field finally collapsed.

The snowy-white Gang Qi surged forward, bombarding Yu Liancheng wildly.

Yu Liancheng's brows furrowed slightly, and he swung his fist; the fist was like the high heavens, shattering the snowy-white Gang Qi with a single blow.

The next moment, Yu Liancheng's figure flickered and suddenly appeared behind the statue of Zhang Shengren; he casually swung the Wuming Broken Sword in his hand, and the statue split in two, with large swathes of mud collapsing all around.

"You say you're a Confucian Saint, why do you talk so much when fighting?" Only then did Yu Liancheng speak.

"There are so many 'Master Says' in the world, can't you listen to this old man ramble for a bit?"

Zhang Shengren raised his arm and wiped the air, and a three-foot green Gang Qi instantly appeared. A look of reminiscence appeared on his face as he sighed, "Perhaps later generations only know of my scholarship, but they do not know that traveling with books and wielding a sword in Confucian robes all originated from me."

Zhang Shengren pointed the three-foot green Gang Qi at Murong Tonghuang: "The world says that Alliance Leader Murong's sword technique is peerless, not inferior to the two Sword Gods; please enlighten me."

"Fine, I will enlighten you, Zhang Shengren."

Yu Liancheng chuckled, and illusory shadows walked out from his body, identical to him. In the blink of an eye, it was as if there were hundreds of Murong Tonghuang before Zhang Shengren, all holding Wuming Broken Swords. A moment later, the Wuming Broken Swords swung in unison, spreading out an endless sword net.

"It is somewhat similar to that guy from the Moral Sect's One Qi Transforms into Three Purities," Zhang Shengren muttered to himself, the three-foot green Qi in his hand surging, and countless green Sword Qi met the sword net.

Rumble!

In an instant, the force exploded in succession, as if hundreds or thousands of clashes had occurred in a single moment. The soil within a hundred-zhang radius was blown away by layers of Sword Qi.

It is unknown how much time had passed when two figures rolled out from the dissipating smoke and dust, suddenly landing several hundred zhang away.

Zhang Shengren's clothes and hair showed signs of being scorched, and his clothes were torn, making him look somewhat disheveled. He sighed, "The waves of the Changjiang push the waves ahead; I have guarded this human world for eight hundred years. With such a stunning junior as you this time, perhaps we can truly sever the connection between heaven and earth and return freedom to the human world."

"During the second great war between Beiliang and Mang, immortals fell like rain. Before the barrier between Heavenly Human and man can be severed, let this old man bear the pressure of the Heavenly Dao."

Boom!

The Confucian Luck that Zhang Shengren had accumulated for eight hundred years surged into the firmament.

There are two immortal people in the world: one is the young eunuch in Taian City, and the other is the first-generation Confucian Saint. But unlike the young eunuch, the Confucian Saint Zhang Fuyao did it for the sake of the human world's vitality, wanting to return true freedom to the world.

"I have watched the mountains and rivers of the human world for eight hundred years, and I still haven't seen enough. Having monopolized Confucian Luck for eight hundred years, it is time to return it to the scholars of the world."

Just then, a hand pressed onto Zhang Shengren's shoulder.

Zhang Shengren turned his head and saw Murong Tonghuang, only to hear the other party laugh and scold: "Less nonsense; if you bear the pressure from heaven and make it difficult for Heavenly Humans to descend, wouldn't I be very bored? You haven't met the Beiliang King yet; she still wants to see the blind zither player from the Gongdelin of Shangyin Academy."

"However, you are right about one thing: it is time for you to return the Confucian Luck to the scholars of the world."