Chapter 126: Spring Rain List! Raccoon Fur List
Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Spring Rain List! Raccoon Fur List
TAP.
Zhu Ge stepped into a place called the "Zhu Family Bookstore".
There weren’t many people in the bookstore. Only a Shopkeeper sat at the counter, chuckling as he read a book in his hands, as if completely oblivious to the atmosphere of war outside.
Seeing Zhu Ge enter, the Shopkeeper looked up and said with a cheerful smile, "You may read the first two pages of any book. If you wish to purchase one after reading, just bring it to me to pay, and I will remove the restriction."
’Every book has a restriction?’
Zhu Ge was slightly surprised to hear this.
Restrictions and Arrays were similar things, both requiring the consumption of energy like Literary Energy or Blood Qi to set up.
However, Zhu Ge couldn’t sense any Cultivation from the Shopkeeper before him. He figured there was either another Cultivator in the store, or this Shopkeeper was stronger than him and could conceal his aura.
Of course, that didn’t matter. Zhu Ge was here to buy things, not to pick a fight.
So, Zhu Ge walked toward the rows of bookshelves.
The tops of the shelves had labels indicating categories like "Miscellaneous Records," "Literary Classics," and "Cultivation Techniques."
Seeing these rows of shelves, a fire ignited in Zhu Ge’s heart.
Knowledge!
This world had no internet, so naturally, it lacked cheap and readily available information.
And information was the best way to understand the world.
In the past, Zhu Ge had lived in the isolated Jianshan Village. Now, he could finally access a greater wealth of knowledge!
After all, neither the inheritance from the Raincoat Fisherman nor the old man had been complete.
The Raincoat Fisherman was cunning by nature and had only given Zhu Ge bits and pieces of knowledge. He hadn’t even provided the complete ’Furious-Eyed Vajra Palm’.
The old man’s inheritance was even more so, being merely the instincts and experiences a powerhouse from many years ago had left behind in his bones.
Both of these left him unable to comprehend the current state of the world—its major events, its grand trends.
Moreover, that was all from a macroscopic perspective—a so-called worldview.
From a microscopic perspective, Zhu Ge didn’t even know the properties and uses of the various medicinal herbs the Raincoat Fisherman had left in the grass bowl.
He was also still desperate for more Martial Arts Secret Manuals.
After all, for him, any number of martial arts would eventually be simplified from the complex, becoming his own techniques, a part of his Heart of Origin.
Therefore, he needed all kinds of knowledge!
He walked to the first row of shelves.
There was no one in this row. It was filled with miscellaneous records, short biographies, and even novels.
Unless one wanted to walk the path of a "Novelist," this row of bookshelves held little appeal for most people.
But for Zhu Ge, this row was actually very attractive.
_Yuan Chu’s Notes_, _The Rise and Fall of the Great Zhou_, the _Sheji Chart_, _Annals of Yunjiang_...
There were so many!
Seeing so many books, Zhu Ge’s eyes lit up.
He picked up the first book without hesitation and began to read.
These books were exceptionally well-preserved.
Some books had a thin film on their surface, seemingly some kind of power attached to them to protect the paper.
The first book Zhu Ge picked up was titled the _Sheji Chart_!
He hadn’t picked it for any particular reason, other than the fact that this book, the _Sheji Chart_, occupied an entire shelf by itself.
After picking it up, he discovered that the _Sheji Chart_ was, just as he’d expected, basically something akin to a newspaper.
Zhu Ge casually picked up a copy and opened it to the first page. A large title was written upon it: Spring Rain List!
Below that was an introduction to the _Sheji Chart_.
To put it simply, the _Sheji Chart_ was divided into four seasons, with a new list published each season.
Spring had the Spring Rain List, summer the Cicada Chart, autumn the Li Su List, and winter the Raccoon Fur List!
This list recorded notable people and events across the land, from farmers and foot soldiers to generals and nobles—all were documented.
However, it only recorded those below the Great Realm.
In other words, those in the First Realm, Second Realm, and Third Realm could all potentially be recorded on the list, provided they were under the age of thirty.
This didn’t sound like a true chart of the state, but rather a list more concerned with the future of the state.
After all, a dynasty’s future strength depended not only on the people of the current era but, more importantly, on its youth.
Furthermore, what got one recorded on the list wasn’t just anything, but one’s contribution—contribution to the state!
These contributions were also of many kinds, and the Sheji Chart would adjust its criteria based on the circumstances of the year.
For example, during a famine, there might be rankings for planting or increasing yields. After an earthquake, there might be rankings for construction or disaster relief, and so on.
The purpose of this was to commend the young people throughout the land who had made contributions.
And right now, the most relevant matter for the Sheji Chart was simply survival.
The Da Sheng Dynasty was like an old man with a failing heart, already with one foot in the grave.
At a time like this, the most important thing was, of course, warfare.
Only by first slaughtering their way to a clear world could they then slowly begin to rebuild.
So when he turned to the second page, one word met his eyes: Warfare.
And under this "Warfare" category, the top ten were listed.
"Lin Zhi, a native of Yanjiang, Military Dao Commander Talent Realm. A prodigy of our Human Race. Took lead credit for slaughtering three million members of the Demon Race across six lands in Yanjiang, saving countless people from dire straits. Also contributed thirty-three Military Dao battle formations and twenty-six group attack techniques to our Human Race..."
"Mingxing, a native of Minjiang, Immortal Dao Nascent Soul Realm. A prodigy of our Human Race. Slew the Great Demon Purple-faced Flood Dragon and defeated the Great Demon Celestial Light Horned Toad. Additionally killed over ten thousand other Third Realm Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters..."
"Yuan Shentong, a native of Chujiang, Confucian Scholar Realm. A prodigy of our Human Race..."
Line by line, the rankings documented the most outstanding young talents in all of Da Sheng.
The top ten were all existences of the Third Realm!
The one at the top, Lin Zhi, had commanded soldiers to slaughter millions of the Demon Race.
Three million from the Demon Race!
Zhu Ge couldn’t imagine what a river of blood that battlefield must have been. And what a brilliant commander that Lin Zhi must be, truly worthy of the title of prodigy.
You have to understand, that was three million members of the Demon Race. Even if it were three million pigs standing there, it would take a great deal of time to slaughter them one by one, to say nothing of the Demon Race.
Of course, Zhu Ge understood the meaning of "took lead credit" in Lin Zhi’s entry.
This slaughter wasn’t Lin Zhi’s achievement alone; other soldiers and commanders certainly contributed as well.
But at the very least, Lin Zhi must have been able to command respect, and to be recorded in the _Sheji Chart_, his contribution must have been truly immense.
After all, who were the recorders?
Historians!
Historians were known to be stubborn. Forget Lin Zhi; they wouldn’t necessarily even give face to the emperor.
For a Historian to willingly record it, that Lin Zhi must be truly formidable.
The person in second place was also incredibly strong. This person named "Mingxing" had, as a Third Realm cultivator, directly slain a Great Demon of the Great Realm!
Back then, the Raincoat Fisherman, who had been hailed as a genius, had his Spiritual Artifact Flying Boat shattered just because a great entity like the Plague God Sparrow passed by.
Zhu Ge himself had nearly had his soul infected by the Plague God, leading to a violent death, just from a single distant glance at the Plague God Sparrow.
Yet this Mingxing was able to slay one Great Demon and defeat another. They were absolutely, immensely powerful.
Never mind the first and second place; the next eight were also extremely powerful, fully deserving of the title "prodigies of the Human Race."
A list like this could provide Zhu Ge with a great deal of information about the powerful experts of the current young generation, and also help him understand the situation in the various territories across the land.
So Zhu Ge really wanted to buy it.
But when he saw the price, he hesitated.
"This single ’newspaper’ actually costs one gold coin?"