Chapter 240: A New Daoist is Born! Rivaling the Ancient Sages
Chapter 240: Chapter 240: A New Daoist is Born! Rivaling the Ancient Sages
True Monarch Minmian and the True Monarch of the Lantern!
The two of them stood high in the sky, as if invisible to all.
Though Hongmi Immortal’s face was a mask of fury and shock, he could not see the figures of True Monarch Minmian and the True Monarch of the Lantern.
But Zhu Ge, despite seeing them—even seeing True Monarch Minmian winking at him—did not stop. He continued his solemn and dignified recitation of the Book of Changes.
The winds and clouds surged, a cataclysmic transformation that could nearly overturn heaven and earth.
However, for Zhu Ge, this change was a good thing.
The papers in his grass bowl flew out on their own, forming a paper book in midair. Two words were written on its cover: Human Sutra.
And after the foreword, a single word slowly took shape... Yi!
Yi. The sun and moon form Yi, symbolizing yin and yang.
Its core meaning is the unity of change, yin and yang, simplicity, and constancy.
In his past life, the Book of Changes, also known as the Zhouyi, was one of China’s most ancient classics, hailed as the "First among the Classics, the Source of the Great Dao"!
It was not merely a book of divination but a complete philosophical system that revealed the laws of change governing the cosmos, nature, and human life.
It was said not to be the work of a single person in a single era, but the product of a long process involving "Fu Xi drawing the Eight Trigrams, King Wen expanding them to sixty-four hexagrams, and Confucius writing the Ten Wings."
It was a common ideological source for both Confucianism and Daoism, shaping the holistic, dialectical, and dynamic worldview of many people in his past life.
At the same time, its influence could be seen in traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, architectural feng shui, the calendar, and even common idioms.
It could be said that the Book of Changes was a civilizational classic of paramount importance.
As Zhu Ge recited the Book of Changes now, heaven and earth naturally responded.
One must understand that while this world also had a Confucius among the ancient sages, this Confucius was not the same one.
Much of their histories did not align.
Therefore, to heaven and earth, Zhu Ge’s Book of Changes could be fully understood as a new Confucian Dao.
Just like the branches of the Martial Dao, the Confucian Family also had all sorts of different branches.
And now, Zhu Ge was pioneering a new branch... the Yi Dao!
It must be known that those who pioneer a Dao are all on the level of the "Sages."
Not even True Monarch Minmian and the True Monarch of the Lantern had reached that level.
For this very reason, although Zhu Ge could not yet fully wield the power of the Book of Changes and the Yi Dao, nor did he possess the strength of the ancient sages, he was blessed with the support and protection of the Power of Heaven and Earth during his Dao’s formation.
’Heaven and earth are giving birth to a new Dao. Perhaps heaven and earth are cheering, too?’ Zhu Ge guessed inwardly.
At this moment, the speed of his recitation of the Book of Changes grew faster and faster. On the book forming and dancing before him, densely packed characters appeared in ever-increasing numbers.
Line by line, entry by entry, the contents of the Book of Changes were written upon it.
Just by looking, one could see the calligraphy was completely identical to Zhu Ge’s own handwriting.
Meanwhile, a righteous aura surged mightily through the sky. Limitless Literary Energy cheered and danced, instantly obliterating all wicked miasmas, plagues, and pests within a radius of millions of li.
The entire Yunjiang was cleansed in an instant!
At the same time, the jubilant Literary Energy allowed countless people who walked the Confucian Dao to feel it... a New Confucian Dao had been born!
However, most of them were still bewildered, only able to sense that something momentous was happening.
Only those who had condensed a Confucian Dao Heart could faintly hear the deafening, world-shaking words.
As heaven’s movement is ever vigorous, so must the noble person ever strive to strengthen themselves!
Below Zhu Ge, Yan Liyuan and the others broke free from the silk threads and were met with this shocking scene.
"This... this power..."
Yan Liyuan wore an expression of utter shock.
As a Third Realm prodigy of the Confucian Dao, how could he not perceive the violent surge of Literary Energy within his body?
And his solid foundation and profound knowledge allowed him to understand in an instant what Zhu Ge was doing.
"Pioneering a Dao?!" Wen Mo cried out involuntarily.
Guan Julan and the others hadn’t known what was happening, but hearing this, they looked up at the sky and instantly understood as well.
"Holy shit, that idiot Zhu Ge is actually some ancient sage monster in disguise? No wonder he’s so monstrously intelligent!"
"You’re the fucking idiot! Zhu Ge isn’t some ancient sage monster in disguise, he’s a prodigy!"
"What are you two talking about? Zhu Ge should be in the top ten of the prodigy rankings now!"
Su Feibai, Guan Julan, and Hong Xiu conversed in low voices.
But Yan Liyuan coughed lightly and added, "He might not make it onto the Sheji Chart. He seems to only be at the Second Realm."
When these words were spoken, everyone except Yan Liyuan looked as if they had been struck by lightning.
The Second Realm!
They had actually overlooked Zhu Ge’s cultivation realm!
To pioneer a new Dao for the Confucian Family at the Second Realm... one could say he was founding his own school and sect?!
The group felt they must have accidentally injured their souls in the Upper Yuan Palace when they were heavily wounded; otherwise, it was impossible to arrive at such a conclusion.
The conclusion was too incredible!
However, reality was often more incredible than imagination.
The Zhu Ge before their eyes had well and truly pioneered a new branch, a new school of the Confucian Family.
If his Confucian Dao Cultivation was sufficient, Zhu Ge would face no bottlenecks at all and could directly break through to the realm of the ancient sages.
Of course, this was limited to the Confucian Dao.
But this alone was terrifying enough.
What was even more terrifying was that they all knew how formidable Zhu Ge’s talent and strength in the Martial Dao actually were.
With just the strength of the Second Realm, he could fight on even terms with prodigies like them from the Sheji Chart without even using his full power.
"I have a feeling that Zhu Ge can definitely make the top ten, maybe even the top three," Yan Liyuan said firmly. "Lin Zhi and Mingxing are strong, but they might not be able to defeat Zhu Ge. Hmm, I’m talking about a Third Realm Zhu Ge, of course."
Number one on the Sheji Chart—Lin Zhi!
Number two on the Sheji Chart—Mingxing!
"What about Yuan Shentong?" Su Feibai asked curiously.
"Hard to say." Yan Liyuan shook his head.
When it came to something like strength, they were merely people on the list; it was hard for them to see the full picture clearly.
However, they knew that people from the Shi Family of the Historical Dao could definitely tell.
Because they didn’t rely on themselves, but on history, on time.
Using some secret technique of the Historical Dao, they could manifest the auras imprinted within the river of time.
That was why both the secret Spring Rain List and Raccoon Fur List of the Sheji Chart were so widely recognized.
"Look, Hongmi Immortal can’t move!"
Suddenly, Wen Mo said in amazement, "I was just thinking I should hurry and summon the elders from my sect for backup, but who knew this bastard would just..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly realized something and turned to look at Yan Liyuan warily.
To his surprise, Yan Liyuan was already calmly holding a piece of letter paper, his brush flying across the page.
Wen Mo’s eyes widened. He hastily took out his own stationery and immediately began to write a message to be sent.
He didn’t hesitate, even though this letter paper was equivalent to a Spirit Level treasure.
He had to quickly notify his sect elders to come.
Because of Zhu Ge! Because of Zhu Ge’s Dao!
If they could recruit Zhu Ge into their sect, wouldn’t they all be able to learn an additional Confucian Dao before breaking through to the Great Realm?
It was just like with the Martial Dao, where Blood Qi could be used in the Thief Dao and the Military Dao.
It was the same for Literary Energy.
If the Dao created by Zhu Ge was powerful, wouldn’t they have the chance to be among the first to learn it?
There was no harm in having one more method, one more technique.
"Come quickly! This concerns a matter of our academy’s rise or fall for the next millennium!"
"A New Confucian Dao is being born before my very eyes! Come quickly!"