Chapter 196: The Martial Power of the Confucian Dao
Chapter 196: Chapter 196: The Martial Power of the Confucian Dao
Zhu Ge turned and watched as Yu the Scholar, Duan Lei, and Ji Fuhui approached from the other end of the corridor.
Morning light spilled down from the ventilation shaft overhead, landing on Yu the Scholar’s white hair and coating it in a layer of frost.
"Scholar, you’ve come at the perfect time."
"Finish your breakfast, then you’ll set out with me."
Zhu Ge waved his hand.
"We are at the Palace Master’s command," Yu the Scholar said seriously, bowing deeply.
Zhu Ge sighed helplessly. "Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll introduce you to my Confucian legion."
"Little Black Egg, Big Belly Dog, let’s go. Time for you to meet the men under my command. They’re all good men, not afraid of hardship or exhaustion, and incredibly brave on the battlefield."
He slung an arm over Yu the Scholar’s shoulder and started walking. Duan Lei and Ji Fuhui exchanged a look, then followed with a smile.
On the training grounds, the soldiers had already formed their squares and were making final adjustments to their ranks.
Zhao Tieshan stood at the very front, his hand on the hilt of his saber, his gaze sweeping over the troops like a hawk.
His phalanx of Martial Artists was positioned in the center. All were dressed in identical black short coats, with steel sabers at their waists. Each man was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, exuding an air of fierce toughness.
"Zhao Tieshan!" Zhu Ge shouted.
Zhao Tieshan turned his head. Seeing three strangers behind Zhu Ge, he walked over quickly.
"Palace Master Zhu, who are these three?"
"Brothers from my hometown." Zhu Ge clapped Yu the Scholar’s shoulder. "This is Yu Wanqian, a scholar of the Confucian Second Realm. When I’m not around, he can issue commands in my stead."
Zhao Tieshan’s eyes lit up. He cupped his fist and said, "Mr. Yu!"
Yu the Scholar returned the salute, his expression calm. "You’re too kind."
"This is Duan Lei, a First Realm Anger Realm Martial Artist." Zhu Ge then pointed to Duan Lei. "Don’t be fooled by how dark and grimy he looks now. Back in the village, he was quite fair-skinned. People gave him the nickname ’Big Belly Dog.’ He can eat and he can fight."
Duan Lei scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Hello, Hall Master Zhao."
Zhao Tieshan looked him up and down, then nodded. "A solid build. Good material for a Martial Artist."
"And this is Ji Fuhui, First Realm of the Mo Family’s Mechanical Dao." Zhu Ge finally gestured to Ji Fuhui. "He used to be called ’Little Black Egg’ in the village, but now he’s a genius Mechanism Master praised by City Lord Ding himself."
Ji Fuhui smiled faintly and pulled a small Mechanical Bird from his waist, holding it in his palm.
The Mechanical Bird was silver-white. Its wings flapped gently, and it actually let out a crisp, clear birdsong.
"A Mechanical Puppet," Ji Fuhui said. "It’s used for scouting. It can fly, see, and transmit sound."
"Good stuff!" Zhao Tieshan gave him a thumbs-up.
After that, Zhu Ge led Yu the Scholar on a walk through the phalanxes.
In Li Qingquan’s Confucian Scholar phalanx, eighty scholars sat cross-legged on the ground, holding scrolls and conducting their morning reading.
The sound of their reading was sonorous, and Literary Energy surged, forming a faint golden halo in the air.
"These Confucian Scholars are all students from the Jianshui City academy," Zhu Ge said with a smile. "Don’t be fooled by their frail, scholarly appearance. When a fight breaks out, they don’t hesitate. Their Literary Energy can bolster our defenses, which helps us suffer fewer casualties."
This was also how most First Realm Confucian Scholars were utilized on the battlefield.
Buffs and debuffs!
The Confucian Dao has the Six Arts of a gentleman: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics.
But most people still drew their power from books.
Gaining power from poetry, songs, odes, and classic literature was much faster than through the Six Arts.
It was like the difference between Body Refinement and Qi Refining in the Martial Dao; they were two different paths.
As a result, many Confucian Scholars gave up on strengthening their bodies to focus solely on their studies.
Of course, upon reaching the Second Realm, a Scholar could use abilities like "War of Words" and "Jade Shatters."
At that point, these Confucian Scholars would become mobile artillery platforms.
Unfortunately, they were all still in the First Realm, so they could only provide buffs and debuffs for now.
Yu the Scholar stopped and studied the scholars closely. A complex look flickered in his eyes.
’He, too, was once just a First Realm Confucian Scholar.’
’But in just a few short months, he’d already reached the Second Realm.’
He glanced at Zhu Ge beside him.
’His own transformation had been immense, but Zhu Ge’s was even greater.’
’Not only has his own power grown, but he’s also amassed an incredibly strong force under his command.’
’The change could only be described as world-altering!’
"Master!"
Just then, Liu Jianjian arrived.
"And this is?" Yu the Scholar raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhu Ge. "The Palace Master Liu, Liu Jianjian, that you mentioned?"
Ji Fuhui and Duan Lei held their breath.
After all, a little hedgehog’s transformed appearance was quite lovely, like a spirited and youthful girl of seventeen or eighteen.
When had Ji Fuhui and Duan Lei ever seen a girl like this?
Zhu Ge, however, simply smiled and introduced her. "This is Liu Jianjian. Her true form is a Second Realm Transformed Demon Beast..."
He gave a brief introduction, not treating Liu Jianjian like a servant or slave in the slightest. Instead, it was as if he were introducing his own little sister.
After greeting the three men with a bow, Liu Jianjian blinked with curiosity and asked, "So you’re the brothers from Jianshan Village that Master was talking about? Where’s Sui Niang? Isn’t Sui Niang here?"
"Also, also, is it true that Sister Liusha was almost engaged to my master?"
"Oh, and do you guys know who my master’s first love was...?"
Seeing Liu Jianjian’s questions grow more and more audacious, Zhu Ge quickly cut her off. "Stop! This isn’t the time for such nonsense. Be careful, or Hua Liusha will give you a beating!"
Then he turned back to Yu the Scholar. "Time is of the essence. Let’s talk as we travel. Mengzi City is in grave peril, so we’ll skip the idle chatter."
Yu the Scholar nodded. "Alright!"
With that, Zhu Ge bid farewell to City Lord Ding Ding. They emerged from Eagle City, the Underground City, and headed toward Mengzi City.
There weren’t many Demon Beasts along the way; most of them sensed the aura of Zhu Ge’s army and scattered.
This was an army of six thousand people. Lined up in the jungle, you couldn’t see from one end to the other.
Moving so many people through a forest would have been difficult.
But fortunately, the roads between the various cities hadn’t been destroyed yet.
So Zhu Ge and his forces followed the dirt road.
It made him rather nostalgic for concrete roads and railways.
"Zhu Ge, I’m not very familiar with the ways of war."
Yu the Scholar was riding a horse condensed from black-ink-colored Literary Energy. It was formed from his own energy, connected to his will, and moved as an extension of his own body, like a well-wielded tool.
"However, during my exchanges with some other Confucian Scholars from the academies, I happened to learn a few methods for both ranged and close-quarters combat. Would you like me to teach them to your Confucian Dao legion?"
’Close-quarters combat methods?’
’For the Confucian Dao?’
Zhu Ge’s eyes lit up. "That’s perfect. The Martial Dao is mostly close-quarters combat. It would be great if we could make up for our lack of ranged capabilities."
After all, archers and the like consumed a huge amount of arrows.
His army couldn’t afford that at the moment.
So the best solution really was the Confucian Dao.
The killing power of the Confucian Dao was no weaker than that of the Immortal or Martial Daos. It was the perfect opportunity to test it!
Zhu Ge immediately called Li Qingquan over and explained the situation.
Li Qingquan asked, "Is this for real?!"
He looked at Yu the Scholar, his face a mask of shock.
Yu the Scholar nodded slightly and smiled.
"The main credit doesn’t belong to me, but to the Gongyang School of Confucianism that your Palace Master once taught me!"