My father is a Confucian sage, but the system forces me to be a crude warrior

Chapter 412 Two more days until breaking through to the third rank of combat power!
Zeng Anmin quickly walked to Master Hongji and pointed to the stone table and benches beside him:
"Master Hongji, please have a seat."

"Thank you, Benefactor Zeng." Hongji smiled and led the young monk Yingchen to sit down.

"Have some tea." Zeng Anmin knew that Master Hongji had a deep understanding of tea, so he catered to his taste by taking out top-quality tea leaves from his preparation space and brewing tea for him.

“Young Master Zeng has made great progress in his tea skills recently.”

"I learned it from my dad." Zeng Anmin chuckled, then asked while fiddling with the tea:
"I wonder what Master Hongji gained from this trip?"

Master Hongji had previously told Zeng Anmin the purpose of his visit to Xiliu.

One reason is to see why the Buddhist imprint he left in the Xiliu Grand Canyon disappeared.

Secondly, he wanted to take Yingchen on a trip with him.

"Besides going to the old site to investigate the lost Buddhist seal, this humble monk also took the opportunity, as Benefactor Zeng suggested, to investigate the two blocked passes."

"How so?" Zeng Anmin stared intently at Master Hongji.

"Just as you predicted, it was man-made."

Master Hongji's slightly cloudy eyes also revealed a hint of solemnity.

It was man-made!
Upon hearing Master Hongji's words, Zeng Anbian's heart sank.

really!

The whole journey has been incredibly strange.

Whether it was Xuanlun Manor's fleet deliberately drawing them away or not.

Whether someone else later stole his food or not, it all felt very absurd to him.

"Man-made..."

Zeng Anmin sat on the stone bench, softly murmuring these two words.

He now has the illusion that he is the protagonist of the world.

"Why do I feel like everything is revolving around me..."

Zeng Anmin gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“Young Master Zeng is indeed extraordinary.”

Upon hearing Zeng Anmin's words, Master Hongji's face broke into a kind smile, and his cloudy eyes lovingly gazed upon Zeng Anmin's face:
"The potential for future achievements is absolutely limitless."

"You overestimate me."

Zeng Anmin shook his head, then looked up at the starry sky, his thoughts constantly shifting.

The day the dragon in Xiliu turned over in the spring happened to be the same day I was taking the imperial examinations.

Based on everything that has happened before, I've deduced that Emperor Jianhong used the Imperial Examination, Ji Xuan, and that second-rank elder from the Daoist sect to try and kill me.

[Then this reversal of the dragon's power in Xiliu must have been prepared for me. Emperor Jianhong had already made preparations for this, thinking that if all that had happened before hadn't killed me, he would send me to Xiliu to provide disaster relief.]

[Then they joined forces with the people of Xuanlun Manor to obstruct my disaster relief efforts in every possible way.]

They even went so far as to use the earthquake as an excuse to have two large stones placed to block the only two narrow passes through which the Xiliu disaster victims could escape.

[Is their goal to make my disaster relief efforts fail so they can kill me openly?]

Zeng Anmin had this idea long before he entered Xiliu.

Therefore, he sent Master Hongji on a trip to investigate whether the two giant rocks were man-made.

If it were man-made, then the possibility of this idea would be greater.

but……

Zeng Anmin sensed that something was wrong.

Because this idea is just too absurd.

Emperor Jianhong wanted to kill him because he wanted to use his father to keep Xu Tianshi in check.

If he were to kill himself openly and honestly, given his father's personality, it would be a miracle if he didn't rebel, let alone help him restrain Master Xu?

Unless he can prove that I was killed by Master Xu... but the problem is that if that's the case, it contradicts the previous point about "openly and honestly" killing oneself...

chaos……

Too messy.

Zeng Anmin felt several thoughts racing through his mind...

“Young Master Zeng?” Seeing that Zeng Anmin remained silent for a long time, Master Hongji couldn’t help but speak up to help him come back to his senses.

“Master Hongji…” Zeng Anmin came back to his senses and pushed away the countless chaotic thoughts in his mind.

Then he frowned and said:

"The boulder that can block the pass is no ordinary boulder. If they want to take advantage of the day the dragon turns over to move those two boulders, the commotion they cause will definitely not be completely unnoticed..."

"Therefore, from those two huge rocks blocking the two passes of Xiliu, this humble monk can tell that there are at least two second-rank experts in this realm of Xiliu."

Master Hongji's voice rang out.

Hear this.

Zeng Anmin, who was deep in thought, looked up in surprise: "Why do you say that?"

"The boulders are so heavy and they cannot be moved by anyone less than a second-grade expert. In other words, if we want to move those two boulders to block the pass without anyone noticing, we must send two second-grade experts at the same time."

Master Hongji's gaze fell on Zeng Anmin's face:
"Moreover, I have specifically asked the disaster victims, and they said that the two giant rocks appeared at the same time on the day the earth dragon turned over."

"A second-grade expert can only move one piece; it's impossible for him to move two pieces on the same day."

"That day, at least two second-rank experts took advantage of the earth's upheaval to move huge rocks to block the pass, thus blocking the escape route of the disaster victims from the west."

Although Master Hongji's voice was still slow, his tone was extremely firm.

"Two second-rank officials..."

Zeng Anmin took a deep breath.

His unprecedented feeling was somewhat comical.

Two individuals of the second rank.

Besides Xi Liu, the patriarch of Xuanlun Manor, there's actually another second-rank expert in Xi Liu??
"But the key point is that our Great Holy Dynasty only has two second-rank martial artists, isn't it?" Zeng Anmin's brows furrowed deeply.
"What I can say for sure is that the second-rank ancestor Wang Dong in the capital was in the capital on the day the earth dragon turned over, not here."

"If only Xi Liu, the patriarch of Xuanlun Manor, is left... how could he possibly move these two giant rocks by himself?"

"This old monk does not know," Master Hongji shook his head.

indeed.

A second-rank expert couldn't possibly have achieved this through secret cultivation.

Throughout history, regardless of the system, every powerful individual who has reached the second rank has left their mark on history books!

There aren't many second-rank individuals alive in this world, so when something like this happens, we can subtract and eliminate possibilities one by one.

The problem is that none of the second-rank experts in the entire world today have the motivation or the time to help the one from Xiliu Xuanlun Manor move these two giant rocks...

Zeng Anmin felt somewhat powerless.

With this clue...

He completely overturned his previous ideas.

"The act of blocking the pass with two huge rocks was definitely not for my benefit."

"Because if it were to kill me, doing this would be going to great lengths."

"Two second-rank martial artists!"

"Don't even mention two people, even if you send just one to kill me, I won't even make it to Xiliu. The entire relief fleet will be wiped out."

Zeng Anmin's gaze turned deep and unfathomable.

"Therefore, those two huge rocks were used to block the pass and prevent the westward flow of disaster victims... for another purpose."

"But what exactly is the purpose of this?"

"What is their purpose in treating the lives of these disaster victims with such indifference?"

"But it's not exactly indifference..."

"But when I came to Xiliu, I could still see the people from Xuanlun Manor distributing porridge to these disaster victims."

"So what exactly are they after?"

Zeng Anmin felt that his brain was simply not enough.

So weird.

From the day he was ordered to provide disaster relief until now, everything along the entire journey westward has been extremely strange.

It was so strange that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure anything out.

"Right now, we can only hope that Sima Nan can extract something from him."

“Young benefactor Zeng, if there is nothing else, this humble monk will go and teach Yingchen his lessons.” Elder Hongji’s voice rang out.

“Okay.” Zeng Anmin waved his hand, his gaze somewhat dazed.

He kept thinking.

All the clues in my mind came together.

But no matter how he rearranged and combined them, he simply couldn't piece these clues together.

"Emperor Jianhong..."

"Xuanlun Manor..."

"Two huge rocks..."

"Block the disaster victims..."

The moonlight gradually deepened. Zeng Anmin remained seated on the stone bench.

Yingchen and Master Hongji had already taken their leave nearly two hours ago.

He was all alone in the courtyard.

But he remained motionless.

As he sat blankly on the stone bench, lost in thought...

A barely perceptible sound came from within his body.

"wave~"

"Ok?"

Zeng Anmin looked down and saw a high bulge at his ankle.

Upon seeing this, he instantly cleared his mind of all thoughts, and a look of surprise appeared on his face:
"It's already reached the Zusanli acupoint?!"

For a fifth-rank martial artist to break through to the fourth rank, the Heavenly Dao Diagram drawn with Divine Condensation Ink must pass through all the acupoints and eight extraordinary meridians of the body, and finally flow into the sea of ​​consciousness, thus allowing for a natural breakthrough.

These days, his martial arts skills have been slowly increasing.

What bothered him was that every time the Heavenly Dao Diagram passed through an acupoint or meridian, it would cause some changes in the corresponding part of his body.

Fortunately, his official robes were loose enough that even if there were any changes, outsiders wouldn't be able to tell.

"Only five key acupoints remain..."

A sharp glint flashed in Zeng Anmin's eyes:

"Five days."

"Within five days, he will become a fourth-rank martial artist."

"With the boost from [High-End Martial Arts], my combat strength will also reach... Rank Three!"

"Bang bang bang~" His heart was pounding violently.

With the added power of the Ancestral Dragon Diagram and the divine weapon Short Axe, his combat strength will be an absolutely outrageous existence.

"It's not impossible that we might even have a showdown with a second-rank martial artist."

A sharp glint flashed in Zeng Anmin's eyes.

"Back when we were choosing the keywords in Liangjiang County, the role of [High-end Combat Power] is now being perfectly demonstrated."

“In just three years…” Zeng Anmin took a deep breath: “I have gone from an ordinary person to where I am today.”

"Once I break through to the second rank and possess the combat power of a first-rank cultivator, coupled with the assistance of the Ancestral Dragon Diagram and the divine artifact..."

He's just making empty promises to himself.

Zeng Anmin has always been a professional.

"What kind of Emperor Jianhong will it be then?"

"What Master Xu?"

"What Taoist leader?"

"Get out of my way, all of you!"

"Bang!" Thinking of this, Zeng Anmin even slammed his fist on the table in excitement.

"I don't eat beef!"

"What? You don't eat beef? What are you doing?"

A disdainful voice rang out.

Zeng Anmin's body stiffened slightly, then he turned around and looked at the source of the sound.

Then two figures came in from outside the courtyard.

Liu Shishi, surpassing even the first snow.

"It's nothing," Zeng Anmin said, a little embarrassed.

When someone sees you acting out your chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), the chances of you getting socially embarrassed are actually quite high.

He touched his nose, a look of confusion on his face, and stood up from the stone bench to look at the two women:
"Sister Liu Shi, Junior Sister Sai..."

"It's so late and you haven't slept yet?"

He acted as if nothing had happened, smiling as he looked at the two women.

"Junior Sister Sai's health has improved a bit, so she thought she'd go out for a walk, and then she saw you say you don't eat beef..."

Liu Shishi blinked curiously and looked at Zeng Anmin, asking:

"What's wrong? Why don't you want to eat beef?"

"Well... well, the disaster victims, no, they're suffering so much. As their relief adjutant, I'm powerless to help them in the short term. Sigh." Zeng Anmin sighed deeply.
How can you possibly eat anything?

"Really?" Liu Shishi looked at Zeng Anmin suspiciously.

“Yes.” Zeng Anmin nodded seriously, then looked at Sai Chuxue next to Liu Shishi:

"Junior Sister Sai, how are you feeling?"

……

Sai Chuxue remained silent, her gaze still indifferent.

"Better."

"That's good." Zeng Anmin sensed that the atmosphere was a little awkward.

He didn't really know how to face Sai Chuxue.

Actually, he didn't know what was going on, but before heading down to Nanjiang, he reached out and pinched Sai Chuxue's little face.

Then Sai Chuxue fell for him.

They even gave him a compass, claiming it could catch a fourth-rank martial artist in a full-force attack...

Then he went to Jiangnan, where he had some unspeakable things happen with the Empress.

Soon after his return, news spread that he and Qin Wanyue were getting engaged.

This is how the first snow of the season turned.

He really wanted to explain things to Sai Chuxue.

But he didn't know exactly how to say it...

So their relationship remained stuck there, neither progressing nor regressing.

"Even though it's better, we still need to be careful and take precautions. It's so late, and the wind is chilly in Xiliu..."

Zeng Anmin couldn't help but ask a couple of questions.

"None of your business." Sai Chuxue looked at Zeng Anmin expressionlessly: "You just need to mind your own business."

……

Zeng Anmin choked for a moment, then gave a wry smile: "Junior Sister Sai, why are you still angry with me?"

When he brought this up, Sai Chuxue's face became even colder.

She glanced away, not wanting to see Zeng Anmin.

"Tsk, tsk."

Liu Shishi stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching the two with an expression of anticipation.

"It's pitiful that those who have a heart for each other cannot be like birds flying wing to wing, branches intertwined..."

"Why is Sister Liu reciting poetry now..." Zeng Anmin was at his wit's end.

They're already hard to appease here.

There was another person standing nearby, eager to watch the drama unfold.

"I'm just expressing my feelings, what's it to you?" Liu Shishi rolled her eyes.

"wave~"

Another voice rang out from Zeng Anmin's body.

Zeng Anmin's expression froze.

Then came another pleasant surprise!
Awesome!!
Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Dao Diagram circulated faster and faster within my body as time went on!

Another acupoint has been broken through, now there are only four left!

So, the breakthrough isn't the expected five days, but... two days?

Shall I wipe it? !
Cool! !

Zeng Anmin was already quite impatient.

But... why are they looking at me so strangely?

Zeng Anmin blinked blankly and looked at Liu Shishi and Sai Chuxue.

Under the moonlight, he could see that the faces of Liu Shishi and Sai Chuxue had visibly become rosy.

He followed the two women's gaze downwards.

Zeng Anmin's expression changed dramatically.

"No, how could it be the perineum this time?!"

Sai Chuxue's fair face was filled with anger!

But Zeng Anmin could faintly detect a hint of... shyness in that voice?

(End of this chapter)