northernbook Chapter 516 The Youth in Black
Chapter 516 The Youth in Black
Chapter 516 The Youth in Black
Early in the morning, a sliver of sunlight shone into the sky, and Ye Ru woke up from his sleep.
After washing his face, Ye Ru opened the door and took a deep breath of fresh air. Suddenly, he heard a commotion coming from somewhere, which made him frown and look in that direction.
There, three men dressed as scholars walked toward Ye Ru, which startled him slightly, because, judging from their appearance, they seemed to be looking for him.
Ye Ru stood still, simply watching them. After a while, they came over, bowed to Ye Ru, and said:
"You must be Mr. Ye Ru, who won first place in the Xiucai Literary Gathering a few days ago?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ru shook his head and returned the greeting:
"Sir, you flatter me. I am Ye Ru. May I ask what brings you all here?"
"Sir, we admire your talent and would like you to accept us as your students. What do you think?"
The leading scholar pondered for a moment, then spoke respectfully.
"Taking in students?"
Ye Ru's eye twitched slightly, and then he said awkwardly:
"Your academic rank seems to be higher than mine, aren't you afraid of being criticized?"
He never expected that three successful candidates in the imperial examinations would ask him, a mere novice, to be their teacher. Wasn't that utterly ridiculous?
“I have read your articles before. In one of them you wrote that there is a sequence to learning and each profession has its own expertise. We don’t think there’s anything wrong with what we’re doing. As long as we can learn knowledge, that’s good.”
After a moment's hesitation, the leading scholar shook his head and said...
"What do you want to learn?"
"The teachings of Confucius and Mencius".
Ye Ru was silent for a moment, then said:
Do you understand the true teachings of Confucius and Mencius?
To be honest, even he didn't fully understand the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Throughout history, various schools of thought flourished, and while the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius were widely accepted, other doctrines were not without merit.
If we blindly venerate Confucius and Mencius, other sage families and lineages will likely be buried and weakened as a result.
This is absolutely unbalanced for the development of the Confucian and Taoist continent.
"The teachings of Confucius and Mencius..."
The leading scholar pondered these words for a moment, then raised his head and said:
"The teachings of Confucius and Mencius should be about treating people with benevolence and equality."
"No, since you have also said that the teachings of Confucius and Mencius are about benevolence, which means loving all things, what do you expect the other sage families to think when you say that? If everyone were like you, only studying the teachings of Confucius and Mencius and ignoring the doctrines of other sage families, you probably know the consequences."
Ye Ru said with a serious expression, "If he had comprehended the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, he would probably be a sage by now, instead of just a minor scholar."
These words caused the three scholars to momentarily lose their composure and begin to ponder. At this moment, Zhang Dong, Zhang Zhi, and others also came over. When they saw the three scholars deep in thought, they merely gave Ye Ru a slight lowered glance.
The latter understood and nodded. After a moment, the eyes of the three scholars gleamed, and a sense of enlightenment appeared on their faces.
"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Ye."
The leading scholar nodded, as if he had thought of something, and then took out a jade pendant and handed it to Ye Ru.
“What is this? I have done nothing for you, and I cannot accept ill-gotten gains.”
Ye Ru immediately recognized the extraordinary nature of the jade pendant and quickly declined to accept it.
"No, sir, we have benefited greatly from this. I found this jade pendant by accident and still can't see anything strange about it. Please accept it as a gift."
Seeing that the scholar insisted on giving it to him, Ye Ru had no choice but to accept it, and then said:
"Alright, then I'll accept it."
"In that case, we won't bother Mr. Ye any longer, so we'll take our leave now."
"Good going."
After seeing off the scholars, Ye Ru picked up the jade pendant in his hand and slowly examined it.
The jade pendant has a rich, vibrant green color, clearly indicating that it is not an ordinary item, and the patterns on it are also extremely strange.
It seems to be the symbol of a certain family.
"Gentlemen, have you ever seen this before?"
After searching through the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, Ye Ru still couldn't find the answer. He then handed the jade pendant to Zhang Dong and the other man, saying...
"I don't know, this doesn't seem to be made by humans."
Zhang Dong pondered for a moment before stating his opinion, and upon seeing the jade pendant, the Star Ape King suddenly said in a deep voice:
"I might know the origin of this jade pendant. Judging from its appearance, it seems to be a jade pendant belonging to the dragon clan."
"Because only the dragon race can create this type of jade pendant."
These words made all three of them shudder, and Ye Ru asked first:
Is there anything strange about this jade pendant?
"Yes, this jade pendant is called the Dragon Heart Pendant. It is made from the precious material of the dragon race, the dragon heart. Even among the dragon race, it is a rare treasure. It is very likely that a dragon of high status dropped it while wandering outside."
"Star Ape King said in a deep voice, then handed it to Ye Ru:"
"Keep this safe; it might come in handy someday."
Ye Ru nodded and put the items away before returning to his room to study diligently.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day before the Holy Road was to open.
Just as Ye Ru was preparing to enter the sacred path, a scholar from the Shi family also arrived.
"You came."
Shi Tianze sat in the main seat, looking at the young man in black in the distance, whose brows were filled with a hint of ruthlessness.
"What? Is there something you need my help with, you esteemed patriarch of the Shi family?"
The young man in black smirked and said.
Upon hearing this, Shi Tianze's face showed displeasure. If it were anyone else, he would have killed them long ago, but he couldn't muster any anger towards this person.
"There really is something. How about it? In exchange, how about we give you one of our Shi Sheng family's spots to enter the Holy Road this time?"
"I'm afraid it's not as simple as just giving it to me for free. My asking price is not low, and besides, I don't care to participate in this Holy Path."
The young man in black spoke slowly, his smile carrying a hint of coldness.
"Well, I want you to kill someone for me."
"Could it be that the first place winner of the literary competition?"
“Exactly. Apart from the quota for the Holy Path, you can choose any other requirements.”
Shi Tianze nodded and said.
Upon hearing this, the young man in black nodded:
"Alright, I need to read your family's Records of the Grand Historian for half a month. This request shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"
"Alright, but this kid is really too strange. He has a semi-saint's scroll in his hand. You should know that, right?"
Shi Tianze nodded; it wasn't too much of a problem for the other party to borrow the "Records of the Grand Historian".
"The Semi-Saint's Scroll, that's not something you can just get easily. Didn't he use it with you a few days ago?"
Upon hearing this, a solemn expression appeared on the face of the young man in black. No matter how arrogant he was, he knew the power of the Semi-Saint's Scroll.
"Yes, I think he has no other tricks up his sleeve now. As long as you help me kill him, I can lend you three months' worth of money, let alone half a month."
Shi Tianze nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and then said.
"Since that's the case, then it's decided. I also want to see just how much talent those who will win this year's Xiucai Literary Competition really have."
After saying that, the young man in black left.
……
As everyone eagerly awaited its opening, the day that the sacred path would begin finally arrived.
Today, the Wenrentai (Literati Terrace) has been completely renovated, and the new Wenrentai is much grander and more imposing than before.
This level of skill might take an ordinary person several years to achieve, but with the skills of a great Confucian scholar, it can be accomplished in three days.
Accompanied by the sound of wind breaking through the air, Ye Ru and the others arrived at the Literati Terrace.
"The Jin state really gets things done very quickly."
Zhang Dong looked at the scholar's platform, which had once again revealed its luxurious appearance, and clicked his tongue in admiration.
"That's right, it's probably either a great Confucian scholar or a semi-saint who made the move."
Zhang Zhi said meaningfully.
Ye Ru's expression was somewhat solemn. For some reason, when he stepped into this place, he suddenly felt as if he were being targeted by a venomous snake, making him feel uneasy all over.
As time went by, more and more scholars gathered here, and the bustling crowds added a new layer of vitality to the place.
shhhhh!
Finally, as everyone was speaking, several whooshing sounds came from afar, followed by Xie Ming and the others rushing over from a distance and finally standing on the scholar's platform.
"Today is the day the Holy Road opens, and it is also the third day after the Scholars' Gathering ended."
"This Holy Road is extremely dangerous, and even we cannot save you. So participants should be prepared that life and death will be left to fate."
After a moment of contemplation, Xie Ming said with a solemn expression.
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed a hint of vigilance and wariness.
"Without further ado, the Holy Road is a place for treasure hunting, so no one will be eliminated, but killing will not be stopped either. In other words, the Holy Road is a no-man's-land. The National Holy Academy doesn't care, the Imperial Court doesn't care, and the various Holy Families don't care either."
"Do you all understand?"
Smiling at the group of scholars, Xie Ming's words carried a murderous intent.
"understood."
"Alright, in that case, let the Holy Path begin."
Xie Ming exchanged glances with the other scholars around him. After they all nodded, he produced a book of classic texts and began to read it aloud.
As Xie Ming recited, the others also began to recite the sacred scriptures in their hands.
Beams of light continuously emerged from their mouths, and a powerful force suddenly shot into the sky, forming a huge vortex. An illusion slowly appeared before everyone's eyes.
However, after the vortex appeared, Ye Ru's heart became increasingly uneasy.