Chapter 401: Torch Festival

At this moment.

Liangshan.

Wangbei Academy.

"Heh, it really is getting more and more interesting..."

A tall building, one could not tell how many clouds high it reached.

At this moment.

A woman in plain clothes, covered in grime, was climbing up the stairs, panting heavily; she looked exhausted. Tucked between her arms were several thick books.

"Fourth Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother has been coming quite frequently these past few days!"

Several disciples guarding the tall building said with fawning smiles.

The woman kept a straight face and said earnestly: "When it comes to being a person or speaking, one must be rigorous. What do you mean 'these past few days'? It is every day! Qingfeng, you look haggard today; did you stay up late again yesterday? And Mingyue, your complexion is slightly sallow; did you not follow the recipe Senior Brother gave you?"

The two juniors gave sheepish smiles and dared not speak further.

Because this woman before them, who looked plain and did things by the book, was none other than the famous Fourth Senior Brother of this Wangbei Academy!

The contemporary World-Explainer of Wangbei Academy!

What does World-Explainer mean?

"Explanatory Words for the World," "Warning Words for the World." This person's status in the Academy was self-evident.

Therefore, even though she was a woman, she was respectfully addressed as Fourth Senior Brother.

"Senior Brother, we won't dare to do it again next time..."

These Qingfeng and Mingyue hurriedly admitted their faults, fearing that if this Senior Brother got angry, she would lecture them here for an hour.

The woman gave a simple, honest smile: "Rest assured, time is tight today; Senior Brother has no time to lecture you. Recently, this Liangshan chess game has become quite chaotic; Senior Brother must go and see what exactly is going on."

The two hurriedly stepped aside.

Zhaixing Pavilion.

This was the most unique place in Wangbei Academy. If that vast white marble Square was a large chessboard, then this Zhaixing Pavilion corresponded to the myriad living beings on the board.

Of course.

To this contemporary World-Explainer, Fourth Senior Brother Xie Yu, rather than saying this place was full of stars and myriad living beings, it was better to say that in her eyes, these stars and chess pieces were all just the evolution of a pile of data.

Since she was small, she had been obsessed with the evolution of this data.

Obsessed to the point of being possessed.

In the words of those seniors, when Xie Yu was four years old, she would stare at these stars in a daze every day, sitting for a whole day and night without eating or drinking.

Xie Yu spoke late, only opening her mouth at five years old; who would have thought that as soon as she spoke, it would be astonishingly brilliant.

When she opened her mouth, it was to speak of Investigation of Things and Mathematics...

The contemporary Dean exclaimed that a genius had descended and took her by his side, cultivating her bit by bit into the Academy's World-Explainer.

Mathematics, naturally, goes without saying.

The Great Dao of Mathematics.

Investigation of Things, in ancient times, meant exploring the laws of all things.

To put it more colloquially.

Investigation of things to extend knowledge is an important concept in ancient Zhongguo Confucian thought. It is a discipline specifically for the Confucian study of the "principles of things."

Simpler still.

It is Physics!

However, as the long river of history flowed on, the discipline of Investigation of Things was later lost.

Who could have imagined that a little child at this Wangbei Academy could realize Physics from Mathematics?

If Liu Zheng were here, he would surely be shocked by this.

From then on, this Zhaixing Pavilion became Xie Yu's private territory—no one could come up except her, not even the Dean.

Huff, puff, she climbed up thirty floors.

Perhaps because it was too high, Xie Yu even felt a bit chilly.

Climbing to the top floor, she opened her small eyes and looked at the "stars" she had arranged, surrounded by clouds. She was stunned for a moment before saying: "Good heavens, has it become this chaotic?"

"This, it seems Old Seven is going to lose..."

"Strange, strange..."

Torch Festival.

This is a traditional festival of the Yi and other ethnic minorities, possessing profound folk cultural connotations and known as the "Carnival of the East." In Liangshan, the Torch Festival is on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth lunar month. It can be said that the Torch Festival is as grand as the Spring Festival in Liangshan.

Liu Zheng knew this from his knowledge of later generations.

But he still asked Huobu Quli: "Will there be any variables during the Torch Festival?"

Huobu Quli laughed heartily: "My Lord, you don't understand! In Liangshan, the Torch Festival is also called the Ancestor Festival; it is used to pay homage to the great Yi god, King Samei. King Samei represents the courage of the Yi warriors and the determination to resist other tribes! My Lord, if the Son of the Black Dragon wants to gain the recognition of the people, he must pass the test of the Torch Festival."

"What?"

Liu Zheng was stunned for a moment: "No, I remember the Torch Festival has things like bullfighting, sheep fighting, cockfighting, horse racing, and wrestling... You want Aluba to do these things?"

Are you crazy?

He is only eight years old!

Huobu Quli laughed: "Naturally not. The Torch Festival is a competition between tribes for the water source of Lugu Lake. Naturally, our entire Inuo tribe must participate. However..."

A look of embarrassment flashed across his face, and he coughed: "For more than ten years in a row, both of our tribes have lost to these Zhongkujiao."

"They are that strong?"

Liu Zheng knew that for tribes in this kind of slave society, water sources were often the fuse for war.

Huobu Quli nodded: "The warriors of the Middle Trouser-Legs are indeed very fierce. And, most importantly, it is their Bimo who gives them the Divine Blessing!"

"Under the Divine Blessing, these warriors seem to have inexhaustible strength, and in battle, they are as if forged from iron!"

Watching the gleam flashing in Huobu Quli's eyes.

Liu Zheng understood.

To put it plainly...

It still depends on Aluba! If Aluba is truly the Son of the Black Dragon, he can likewise give these people the "Divine Blessing"! Conversely, if at this year's Torch Festival, the Small Trouser-Legs lose again, then it would mean that this so-called Son of the Black Dragon is merely a fraud deceiving the world!

Fake!

Simple and brutal!

One Torch Festival, and the winner is decided!

Exciting!

But Liu Zheng still did not believe it: "Over the years, the Big Trouser-Legs and the Small Trouser-Legs have never been able to defeat the Middle Trouser-Legs; could it really be some Divine Blessing?"

Huobu Quli was just about to speak.

At this moment, a servant suddenly ran in: "Headman, Headman, they are fighting, they are fighting again!"

"Who is fighting?"

Huobu Quli had a cold expression on his face.

"The Middle Trouser-Legs have come to seize our water source again!"

That person cursed.

"Damn it! These animals, is Lugu Lake not enough for them to use? Forcing our Inuo again and again, this is too much! Let's go, fight them!"

Upon hearing this, Huobu Quli was furious.

Liu Zheng's eyes also lit up; he really wanted to see what kind of Divine Blessing these Middle Trouser-Legs had that made them invincible in Liangshan.

He called for Qin Zhangfeng, mounted his horse, and followed these warriors of the Small Trouser-Legs as they galloped out.