“It's Dong Zhongshu…”

For what felt like the countless time, Qilin sighed. He and Xuanwu were trapped within the formation. Even with righteous energy like his, they couldn't completely alter or reverse the blood sacrifice array left behind by the Lord of Guixu. The patterns beneath their feet writhed like living things, exuding a nauseating malice. Staring at them for too long gave the illusion of their very souls scattering.

Xuanwu couldn't help but raise his eyes, his voice low and deep: "Dong Zhongshu, I know him. He advocated for the banishment of all schools of thought, and the sole reverence of Confucianism."

"It seems he was a pillar of your Confucian school."

"It's Confucianism, not the Confucian school," the rigid Qilin corrected.

The difference between "school" and "ism" was obvious, yet subtly and distinctly vast.

He valued and cared deeply about these terms.

He recalled the Lord of Guixu's last words, "Junior Brother Qilin," and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. The meaning of those words was that [Dong Zhongshu] was merely a later alias and identity. That wisp of the Lord of Guixu's remnant soul seemed to have been reincarnated, or perhaps had once seized a body. In any case, he had once been one of Confucius's three thousand disciples.

And then, over the long years, he hadn't died. He watched the chaotic world and chose to lie dormant. Then, when Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, appeared, he saw an opportunity. As for what kind of opportunity, Qilin couldn't think about it now, nor could he guess. Perhaps he had his eye on the dragon vein energy of the Yanhuang race at that time, or perhaps it was the destiny of the Divine Land. This might explain Emperor Wu of Han's madness and tyranny in his later years.

The vigor of his youth had been stripped away. The magnificent ruler had lost his destiny, like a person reduced to a crippled state, only able to walk with a cane.

But, one of the three thousand disciples of Confucius?

Who could it be?

Qilin sighed.

He suddenly understood why he could stay holed up in the core of Guixu for thousands of years without going out, why the Lord of Guixu could find him so easily, and why he could always find the heavenly treasures necessary to revive Confucius's remnant soul in the Guixu treasure trove.

Many of them were extremely precious, no less so than the treasures the Lord of Guixu had used this time to lure so many powerful figures to appear.

And he could always obtain these treasures at just the right time.

After the great upheaval, the foundation and heritage of the Guixu treasure trove could no longer compare to what it had been in ancient times. To take out so many rare and obscure treasures, once could be a coincidence, twice could be good luck, but what about three or four times? Too much coincidence was, in fact, inevitable.

"Is it still out of gratitude for Confucius's teachings back then?"

Qilin couldn't help but sigh.

His expression was extremely complicated.

Xuanwu frowned and said:

"Confucian school, Confucianism? It seems that you don't acknowledge Dong Zhongshu as one of yours?"

Qilin stretched his neck and retorted: "It's not a question of whether or not I acknowledge him."

"Dong Zhongshu was a capable minister who governed the country, but for Confucianism, he wasn't very good. Admittedly, he did make Confucianism more and more prestigious, but that wasn't a good thing for us. You were originally a towering tree growing in the forest, but someone wants to cut you down, chop off your branches and leaves, burn your leaves, and then sever the roots under the earth."

"To be used as a precious and interesting plaything, a tool to command the world and order the nine provinces."

"Able to be placed by the side of the most noble person, and thus able to enjoy the attention and respect of all the people in the world, then is this a good thing for the trees? But I think, if the trees themselves had a heart, they must be yearning for the days when they were in the forest, receiving the sunshine and the rain."

Xuanwu looked in surprise at the Qilin in front of him, who suddenly seemed to have changed, and said, "At least, that's still Confucianism."

The expression on Qilin's face became even more complicated, and he laughed:

"When the trees in the forest see others coming to cut them down, will they also comfort themselves with this?"

"Don't worry, at least the wooden handle of the axe is one of us?"

Xuanwu didn't know how to respond for a moment.

This seemingly handsome but somewhat dull scholar had become uncharacteristically sharp-tongued.

It seemed that only when he met Confucius, as well as his senior brothers Zilu and Yan Yuan, would he turn into a junior who only knew how to wave the flag and cheer loudly, shouting "Confucius is awesome!" and "Senior Brother Yan is awesome!" When he was on his own, he would become a sharp-tongued, knife-mouthed Confucian disciple. He sat upright, closed his eyes, and said:

"After all, Dong Zhongshu's Confucianism first wiped out and quelled the Gongyang Confucianism, which held that even a nine-generation vendetta must be avenged."

"In the time of the Qin Dynasty, Confucius's teachings, and the principles accumulated by so many people, 'If the ruler is unprincipled, abandon him,' 'The people are the most important, the state comes next, and the ruler is the least important,' the uprightness of the man of the hour, but in the end it became a slavishness dominated by 'Study literature and martial arts, and sell them to the emperor's family.' The bloodiness of a true man was dissipated. At first, it didn't seem obvious, but gradually it would become more and more serious."

"First, the concept of great revenge was abandoned, and then the unruly spirit of the literati was thrown down, because of heaven, earth, ruler, parents, and teacher."

"Finally, Confucianism wanted to be refined, a graceful young master, so even the techniques of driving chariots and archery, and swordsmanship were thrown away."

"The collapse started from here. In the Han Dynasty more than two thousand years ago, Confucianism was like an ancient and majestic bronze chariot, and there were two paths ahead. One was to follow the Gongyang Confucianism, which had the spirit of 'Even a nine-generation vendetta must be avenged,' and the other was Dong Zhongshu, who advocated 'The unity of heaven and man, to be driven by the emperor,' or rather, to be inclusive, just like the Confucianism of that time."

"How many of those who were banished were Confucian disciples?"

"Sole reverence of Confucianism, the magnificent ideal of cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world, is only a technique in the hands of the emperor."

"What is solely revered is only the weapon that the emperor needs."

The grief on Qilin's face was strong. "A glimpse of the whole leopard, when a leaf falls, one knows that autumn is coming to the world."

"From that day on, the roots of Confucianism had already been severed. No matter how many people later praised how tall and magnificent this tree was, and decorated it with all kinds of flowers, this tree of Confucianism was destined to take the path of collapse, decay, and rot."

"People today are far more accepting of 'think thrice before acting' than the original 'think twice is enough.'"

"Confucius's ideal is to repay grievances with straightforwardness; but too many people are thinking of settling things peacefully."

"No wonder the Lord of Guixu discovered me back then, he also knew that if I was still in the human world, I would definitely smash his head with a hammer."

Xuanwu looked at the grieving Qilin who suddenly gnashed his teeth again, shook his head with a helpless smile, and said, "But, are your senior brothers gentlemen?"

"Of course!"

When his senior brother was mentioned, Qilin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he puffed out his chest.

"My senior brother, the bamboo of Nanshan, is a super great gentleman!"

"Two words, awesome!"

"Three words, super awesome!"

"If it's five words, then it's, awesome to the point of exploding!"

Xuanwu couldn't help but laugh, recalling that person's style, he couldn't help but sigh, "Did Confucius really say that?"

"Of course!"

Qilin puffed out his chest and raised his head, with a solemn expression, "Confucius said, a gentleman is slow to speak but quick to act!"

"He also said, practice what you preach before you speak!"

"What it means is that a gentleman is the kind of person who doesn't talk much and just starts doing it!" "He also said, a gentleman is the kind of person who strikes first, and then talks after the fight!"

Xuanwu was dumbfounded, speechless.

Such a steady and quiet temperament, and in such a situation, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Qilin sighed, seemingly regretting that the guy in front of him didn't understand humor, and then whispered, "This is not a lie, you can definitely find it if you open the Analects, what are you saying? Too colloquial? Confucius wouldn't care about this."

"He had so many disciples, he could make something that the noble families could understand, and also make something that people who feed pigs and kill chickens could understand, that's what Confucius is."

"It's a pity, if senior brother was still here."

"He definitely wouldn't talk much, he would definitely chop that guy up first, and then talk."

Qilin raised his head and looked at the sky, thinking.

Gentleman!

The bamboo of Nanshan, slow to speak but quick to act!

Chop him up!

Then write a denunciation in front of his grave and scold him until he's covered in dog blood! Would that be a gentleman?

A gentleman indeed!

.....……

Yao Ji stretched out her hand, controlling the operation of the entire Tianji great formation. Countless blue streamers swirled up, like a galaxy reflected into the human world. Everything was in progress, but for some reason, Yao Ji faintly felt a sense of crisis coming, a sense of oppression like a storm was about to break.

Her heart was always uneasy. She seemed a little tired, and she closed her eyes drowsily and fell asleep just like that. In her dream, she saw the terrifying scene of the collapse of the heavens and the earth, the annihilation of all things, and then she saw a huge wave, one higher than the other, crashing down on her head.

Then a dagger directly pierced her heart.

Yao Ji cried out in a low voice, and then suddenly opened her eyes, her face pale, and she gasped for breath. What she dreamed of was the scene of her fall back then, and Canglong heard the movement and looked at her: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…………"

"I just, had a strange dream."

Yao Ji replied, and then scratched her head, with the expression of a ditsy anime beauty senior: "Ah, I didn't expect that after so long I could still experience a dream, ehe!"

Canglong was silent for a moment, then stretched out his hand and held Yao Ji's hand.

The warm touch made Yao Ji's expression freeze, and a blush appeared on her face, and Canglong was silent for a moment, his dragon-like pupils were quiet and solemn: "No matter what we are facing this time, don't worry, I will be with you."

Yao Ji's expression also softened, and she held Canglong's hand back: "Mmm…………"

The gentle atmosphere, even the surrounding light seemed to reveal a dreamlike taste. The two were silent for a while, and Canglong said: "By the way, what did you dream about?"

Yao Ji smiled: "A lewd dream."

Canglong: "…………"

He retaliated with a chop to the forehead of the woman in front of him, the sound crisp!

A beautiful sound is a good forehead.

Canglong didn't know whether to be angry or annoyed, or whether to be exasperated, or helpless. Looking at the girl next to him, he always felt that from the beginning, this guy was like this, always unreliable, and always made it impossible to figure out what she was thinking in her heart.

It's like a mystery.

Canglong said sternly: "What time is it, and you're still like this?!"

Yao Ji stuck out her tongue and continued to push the formation. The huge Tianji formation successfully detected this place, and then one by one the light spots lit up. In each of these light spots, each one represents a Guixu walker who has entered here.

Yao Ji focused on this work, wanting to find the ring as soon as possible.

And Canglong sat beside him with his sword, closed his eyes and meditated, seemingly waiting for the destined great battle to come, and then he was silent for a moment, without looking sideways, his lips opened and closed: "Lewd dream…………"

"Who was it with?"

Yao Ji raised her eyes, her eyes shining with light, her face full of smiles, and she leaned in Canglong's ear.

Her warm lips gently bit Canglong's ear, her voice seemed to be hiding honey:

"Guess?"

Canglong turned his eyes and saw that her eyes were full of smiles, and his face was slightly hot for some reason. He was about to speak, when suddenly his pupils shrank, and the aura of the only one among the four spirits who was at the top of the first tier under the Dao Fruit suddenly rose, sharp and piercing.

"Retreat!"

Yao Ji reacted instantly.

Without hesitation, she immediately retreated, and at the same time, the huge Tianji formation suddenly lit up, and then suddenly, it began to dim down at an even faster speed, one by one, each representing a strong man who was qualified to participate in this battle, all strong men who were able to move mountains and fill seas.

At this moment, they fell down and disappeared as quickly as wheat.

It was as if a strong man hidden in the darkness was harvesting their lives at a ruthless speed, and from the trajectory of the annihilation of these strong men, the one who killed me was approaching here at an extremely terrifying speed!

Suddenly, a cold and stern light fell down.

The sword in Canglong's hand suddenly rose and slashed out!

And then collided with that cold light.

The killing intent has arrived. The final stage of this so-called advancement ceremony has been set up here.

And here, there are only Yao Ji and Canglong.

ps: Today's second update……

Chapter 1200 The Bamboo of Nanshan, A True Gentleman!