The Path of the Sage

Many people were walking slowly, so they ran towards the second floor since the windows on the first floor were blocked.

Fang Yun didn't know what these people were looking at, so he followed them to the window, but those people didn't give him any way.

"Magistrate Dong, let me take a look." Fang Yun said.

Magistrate Dong glanced at Fang Yun, pretending not to see him, and continued to stretch his neck to look outside.

"Brother Zhao." Fang Yun looked at Zhao Hongzhuang.

"Don't come over!" Zhao Hongzhuang grabbed the window edge with both hands, and then four guards stood in front of Fang Yun, even Yang Yuhuan couldn't give him any space.

"These guys..." Fang Yun looked at the crowd rushing upstairs and knew that there was no place on the second floor, so he simply walked outside.

Passing by Jinghai Tower, it was the bank of the Jade Belt River, and many people were shouting randomly.

"The Dragon God has appeared!"

"The river is boiling."

"The fish demon is coming!"

Some people rushed to the riverside, while others fled from the riverbank.

Magistrate Dong was afraid of trampling and had to use his talent to persuade them, his words were like thunder, saying, "There are no fish demons in Yuhai City. No one is allowed to shout randomly. Those who violate the order will be severely punished!"

Within a few miles, it quickly became quiet.

When Fang Yun walked to the riverside and took a look, he saw the river bubbling like boiling water, and in the place where the bubbles were most concentrated, a layer of pale golden light slowly rose, finally forming a pale golden light gate that was ten zhang long and one zhang high.

The river water on both sides gathered like a fishing net, and countless fish of various colors jumped around. Most of the fish passed through the light gate without gaining anything, only a few fish were able to jump over the lintel above the gate.

Every fish that jumped to the front of the golden light gate would leap with all its strength. Most of the fish would pass through the gate without gaining anything, only a few fish could jump over the lintel above the gate.

All the fish that jumped over the gate would undergo certain changes. There would be a gleam of intelligence in their eyes, and their scales would be particularly bright. Especially the carp, which was closest to the Dragon Clan, its scales would quickly turn pale gold. Once these fish returned to the water, they would immediately dive to the deepest part and then swim desperately towards the distance.

As time went by, more and more fish jumped over the golden light gate. The golden light also quickly faded.

"Fish leap over the Dragon Gate!" Many people had already shouted out.

Fang Yun had already guessed that although this was not a complete Fish leap over the Dragon Gate, it could be said to be the prototype of the Dragon Gate.

In the mythical legends of the Holy Origin Continent, the Dragon Clan was born after bathing in the power of the Path of the Saints. Therefore, the Dragon Clan was different from other demon races. Although they were opposed to the human race, they never indiscriminately killed or ate humans. They treated talented human beings very well.

Fang Yun had read many books in a hurry, and the books recorded that people near the Holy Academy would occasionally hear the sound of dragons. Some people speculated that the elites of the human race and the Dragon Clan communicated in secret, allowing young dragons to go to the Holy Academy and young humans to go to the Dragon Palace. Bolder people speculated that the reason why the Demon Realm could not invade the Holy Origin Continent on a large scale before King Wen of Zhou was because the Dragon Clan was obstructing them.

"I really didn't expect that a sentence that almost everyone knows in the future would become the voice of the Path of the Saints here. Although this power is still shallow and not profound enough, the phenomenon it has formed is too strange." Fang Yun thought to himself. He saw that the pale golden light finally dissipated.

Fang Yun felt that there was something more in his Wen Palace, but there was no trace left, so he didn't continue to explore.

Fang Yun thought that the river would return to calm, and was about to leave, but he saw that the fish that had not leaped over the Dragon Gate were even more intense than before. They repeatedly flew into the sky, then fell and landed on the water, making a popping sound.

It was not just one or two fish, but tens of thousands of fish doing the same thing, leaping out of the water. Falling on the water, then leaping up again, and falling again... so on and so forth, without stopping.

As time went by, the scales on these fish quickly fell off, and wounds appeared on their bodies. Fish blood flowed out, and they jumped lower and lower, lower and lower, not even a quarter of an hour. A large number of dead fish with all their scales fallen floated on the water.

Billions of scales floated on the bloody water, making the people on both sides of the Jade Belt River feel an indescribable sense of tragedy.

Magistrate Dong's voice once again spread across both sides of the Jade Belt River.

"The government has ordered that dead fish contain resentment and are harmful to humans. No one is allowed to fish for dead fish. For the golden bright fish, catch two and release one, catch one and don't eat it."

Fang Yun guessed that the so-called resentment contained in the fish was fake, and it was true to help those fish.

Fang Yun saw a few ragged people fishing for dead fish by the river, but each person only caught a few, and no one caught too many. Those who didn't fish for fish didn't blame those who did.

Afterwards, many people started to act and began to catch those extremely difficult-to-catch golden bright fish, and some people were buying them along the bank.

Fang Yun knew that these fish were suitable for raising on a boat. Once encountering strong winds or fish demons attacking, as long as these fish were released, the wind and waves would be reduced, and the fish demons would rarely continue to attack.

Fang Yun walked back to Jinghai Tower and found that everyone had gathered on the first floor, discussing in a flurry.

"Even these fish are striving to leap over the Dragon Gate with all their might. After the Dragon Gate disappears, they are willing to die rather than return to their original habitat, as if they want to call the Dragon Gate with their lives. How can humans not strive!"

"Good. If the blessings of heaven and earth are in front of you and you don't take them, it's better to be a dead fish."

"If a golden bright fish enters the Dragon Palace, Fang Yun will definitely be rewarded."

"Fish leap over the Dragon Gate, just like walking on the Path of the Saints. Sacrificing oneself may not necessarily achieve righteousness, but if one doesn't sacrifice, there won't be even a glimmer of opportunity."

Fang Yun returned to his original seat and sat down, while the previously arrogant Tong Li lowered his head and remained silent.

Shi Dehong, the disciple of the poet, had been staring at Fang Yun, his gaze somewhat confused. He had originally believed that Fang Yun would have a hard time climbing the Book Mountain, but after hearing and seeing all this, his confidence wavered.

A presented scholar from the Qing Nation advised Shi Dehong in a low voice when he saw his strange expression, "Although the voice of the Path of the Saints is rare, this self-reflecting phrase doesn't have much effect. In fact, the influence of the talented scholar before the Holy Academy is greater."Another person said, "Yes, but it's just a commentary on the words of a Semi-Saint. If he could interpret the words of Sage Confucius, then he would truly grasp the Path of the Saints."

Shi Dehong remained silent. He could tell that even the speaker himself didn't believe in his words, and was merely trying to comfort him.

Shi Dehong lowered his head, his teeth grinding together. He thought to himself that the sound of the Path of the Saints was still above reciting from memory. If he had known earlier that Fang Yun could interpret the words of a Semi-Saint and touch the edge of the Path of the Saints, he should not have gambled on the destruction of the Palace of Literature.

This thought flashed through Shi Dehong's mind, but was quickly suppressed by his firm Courage to Write. All his fears were overwhelmed by the will to surpass Fang Yun.

Yan Yukong remained silent for a long time, then sighed deeply and said, "Take care of yourself."

With that, Yan Yukong stood up and walked out, not even looking at Fang Yun. He said to himself, "No wonder you can recite from memory. I never thought you could annotate the 'Analects'. You can join our ranks. If you defeat the Dragon Boat Literary Meeting, I have nothing to say."

As Yan Yukong spoke, an invisible force emanated from his body, shooting straight into the sky. The surrounding wind was fierce, forcing those below the Presented Scholars to cover their faces with their sleeves, but his own clothes and hair remained undisturbed.

The nearby flowers and leaves were shattered by the wind.

Except for the flowers and plants near the Presented Scholars and Imperial Scholars, almost all the plants in the Jinghai Tower were shattered.

Everyone present was shocked.

"His Courage to Write has reached the level of 'Resilient as Grass and Wood'. He is only one step away from 'Solid as a Stubborn Stone'. What a terrifying talent, no wonder he has been personally taught by a Half-Sage for several years."

"He is still just a Presented Scholar. Not to mention an Imperial Scholar, even a Hanlin Scholar may not be able to reach this level! The War of Words of those newly promoted Imperial Scholars may be shattered before they reach him, and ordinary demon generals have no way to gather their Qi and blood in front of him."

"In terms of the strength of his Courage to Write, Yan Yukong has already surpassed Yi Zhishi at the age of eighteen, achieving far above the average Four Great Talents!"

People gradually understood that Yan Yukong was warning or asking everyone to give him face and try not to embarrass Shi Dehong.

Yan Yukong continued to walk out.

"Hmm? Look!" Prefect Dong suddenly pointed at the iris next to Fang Yun.

Only Yang Yuhuan and Zhao Hongzhuang were sitting next to Fang Yun. There were only Child Scholar guards nearby, no Presented Scholars or Imperial Scholars. The iris, which should have been shattered, stood upright, like a green sword inserted upside down in the flower pot as usual.

"What's going on? Does the Talented Scholar in front of the Saint have an unknown power that can resist Yan Yukong's Courage to Write?"

"There are no Presented Scholars, no Imperial Scholars, no Courage to Write, so how did that pot of iris survive?"

Everyone was puzzled.

Yan Yukong stopped and stood outside the door for a dozen breaths before stepping forward again.

"I'll wait for you in the Sea of Learning."

After saying that, Yan Yukong waved his sleeve, put his hands behind his back, and walked away like a casual wanderer, looking like a casual tourist no matter how you looked at him.

Half of the people took a deep breath of cold air. Shi Dehong's face changed drastically.

Those people gasped because Yan Yukong had almost pointed out that Fang Yun was sure to win this bet.

Shi Dehong's face changed because Yan Yukong had completely given up on him.

Shi Dehong suddenly remembered what Yan Yukong had said, not to care about the gains and losses of a city or a country, but to focus on the human race.

In Yan Yukong's eyes, Fang Yun was more important than an old friend.

More people continued to ponder over Yan Yukong's words "You can join our ranks". In the end, they figured out that if Yan Yukong were to say it now, it would probably be "You have joined our ranks".

Afterwards, many people were guessing who was included in "our ranks".

Shi Dehong stood up, his face dark, and walked out. The other people from the Qing Nation also followed him out.

Away from the Jinghai Tower, in a deserted place, Shi Dehong said in a low voice to a person, "I can't leave. You go back and tell my father right away that Fang Yun intends to ally with the Mencius Prominent Family against the Hsun Tzu Prominent Family. The Mencius Prominent Family will vigorously promote the 'Three Character Classic', which is extremely unfavorable to our Qing Nation. We must use the power of the Holy Academy's imperial examination patrol to hinder Fang Yun from becoming a Talented Scholar, or hinder him from becoming a promising talent, and shake his Palace of Literature. Once his Palace of Literature is lost, even if he has the talent to reach the sky, he will regret it in the Book Mountain. There is no room for loss in the struggle for the Path of the Saints."

"Yes!"

A Talented Scholar said in a low voice, "Brother Dehong, why don't you try to resolve your grudges with Fang Yun?"

A flash of regret flickered in Shi Dehong's eyes, but he didn't explain.

Another Presented Scholar explained helplessly, "Dehong used 'Repay Hatred with Straightforwardness' to provoke Tong Li. Now if he wants to repay hatred with virtue to resolve it, it will inevitably lead to the rupture of his own Courage to Write. Fang Yun's 'Correct if there is, strive if there is not' has become the sound of the Path of the Saints. Dehong resisted it at first. If he admits his mistake and corrects it, the disaster will be deeper. If he is not careful, his Palace of Literature will be destroyed."

The Talented Scholar understood that if Shi Dehong sincerely admitted defeat, even if his Courage to Write and Palace of Literature were shaken, they could recover in a few years. But he was stubbornly insincere, so if he was not careful, something would definitely go wrong.

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

"This is not a contest of strength between the two. Who wins and who loses will be clear on the day the prefectural examination results are announced! Let's go!" (To be continued.)