Honghuang: Eat a Hunyuan Daluo

Not long after Confucius began his travels through various states, Zhuangzi also left his homeland.

In his youth, Zhuangzi read extensively. During his travels through various states, he put forward the idea of ​​"inner sage and outer king".

Inner sagehood, or inner enlightenment, is a requirement for personal ideals and self-cultivation, with the ultimate goal of achieving the state of benevolence and sagehood.

"External kingship" refers to being an emperor in external affairs, which means an individual's political ideals and social education, with the goal of achieving benevolent rule and virtuous governance.

In the state of Wei, there was a child named Li Kui. When he grew up, he traveled to various states, advocating for reforms. He proposed that law was the source of everything, that food should be given to those who worked hard and that rewards should be given to those who performed their duties, that those who were capable should be rewarded and punished appropriately. For a time, Li Kui's laws were praised by the ruler of Wei.

The State of Chen produced a brilliant strategist named Sun Tzu, who was well-versed in military affairs and put forward the military philosophy: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!"

In a remote and uncivilized place, Yu Ding, using the pseudonym Mo Di, founded the Mohist school based on his self-created principle of balance, proclaiming: "Universal love and non-aggression, valuing the virtuous and seeking harmony!"

One after another, powerful figures came to the human kingdoms to establish schools of thought, and the Hundred Schools of Thought officially emerged. They traveled around the countries, spreading their ideas and making further preparations for establishing a lineage of doctrines.

Before we knew it, more than a decade had passed. The various schools of thought emerged one after another, exchanging ideas and spreading their thoughts, which brought the chaotic Warring States period to its peak, creating a vibrant and diverse intellectual landscape.

At this time, Tian Wu, the third ruler of the State of Qi, was on the throne.

A minister submitted a memorial saying, "Your Majesty, among the various states, the various schools of thought spread their ideas among themselves, but there is no place for them to communicate and exchange ideas. Why not build a huge academy in the capital of Qi, so that all the schools of thought can come and exchange ideas, and gather all the people of the world together in Qi? Qi will surely prosper greatly."

King Qi thought the plan was excellent and immediately adopted it, ordering the construction of an academy in Linzi, the capital of Qi.

The academy covers an area of ​​nearly 10,000 acres, with pavilions, towers, and palaces standing in rows. The environment is fresh, beautiful, and magnificent.

The academy was finally completed after three years of construction.

After its completion, the King of Qi personally inscribed the name of the academy: Jixia Academy.

On the day the Jixia Academy was completed, the King of Qi officially issued an edict: "All people of the various schools of thought may come to the academy to discuss and exchange ideas. All expenses for food and lodging during this period shall be borne by the royal family of Qi."

The King of Qi's decree swept across the chaotic Warring States period like a gust of wind.

Countless feudal lords immediately realized the King of Qi's intentions, and their faces showed regret. They hurriedly ordered the construction of an academy in the capital.

However, the name of Jixia Academy had already spread throughout the Warring States period, and no matter how many new academies were built, they could no longer surpass Jixia Academy.

Within the Qin state, on a narrow, winding path, Li Er sat atop a blue ox, heading towards Linzi, the capital of the Qi state. His hair and beard were all white, his eyes were bright, and Taoist chants emanated from his mouth.

"The Tao that can be spoken of is not the Tao that can be spoken of; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. Nameless, it is the origin of all things; named, it is the mother of all things!"

Li Er has traveled to various states for decades and is now sixty years old. At this time, he has formed his own unique Taoist thought.

A few words of wisdom perfectly encapsulate the essence of Taoist thought.

Tongtian and Xuandu, on the other hand, always followed Li Er.

Qinglianzi left fifteen years ago, and Jinling left at the same time.

Tongtian didn't care about the whereabouts of Qinglianzi, but he did calculate Jinling's whereabouts.

After learning that Jin Ling had joined the military strategist, Tongtian casually calculated the origin of Sun Wu. He was stunned by what he found, because Sun Wu was actually the reincarnation of the innate Geng metal energy, which shared the same origin as Jin Ling.

"It seems Jinling had his own plans all along!" Tongtian exclaimed.

Then Tongtian calculated Wudang's whereabouts.

"Huh? Didn't Wudang go to Youqin Yueyue's place? Why is he founding a medical school with Guiling?"

This piqued Tongtian's interest, and he began to delve deeper into the calculations. Then he sensed that the secrets of heaven had been disrupted, and that it was two sages who had intervened.

Tongtian chuckled and didn't continue.

At this moment, within the territory of Jin, Gui Ling suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist Wudang, a sage just predicted our fate, but my junior brother helped us deflect it."

"Fellow Daoist Guiling, even the Sage Shennong has bestowed upon you the medical tradition. Is he still watching over you?"

"That's right! My relationship with my junior brother Shennong is the best."

Upon hearing this, Wu Dang thought to himself, "No wonder Yueyue asked me to establish the Medical School with her, and even asked me to use my pharmacological knowledge to supplement the Medical School system. It turns out it was because of Shennong."

In the territory of the State of Lu, due to years of war, theft and robbery have become increasingly rampant.

On the wide official road, Confucius, a robust man over two meters tall and weighing over three hundred kilograms, rode on an elephant.

Behind Confucius followed dozens of disciples, walking and discussing various subjects as they went.

Suddenly, from ahead on the official road, a series of cries and screams accompanied by sinister laughter came.

Upon hearing this, Confucius's eldest disciple, Yan Hui, immediately went ahead to scout the way, then ran back and said, "Master, it seems there are bandits attacking from the mountains ahead."

The Warring States period was already chaotic, with wars already raging between the states. The State of Lu was weak and impoverished, and chaos had long been brewing within its borders. Robberies and plundering were frequent occurrences, and the government was powerless to stop them.

After pondering for a moment, Zai Yu said, "Teacher, the bandits are numerous, armed with sharp weapons, and ruthless. Moreover, we are still far from Qi. Teacher, let's take another route!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong You frowned and said in a serious tone, "Junior brother, what makes you say that? Our teacher taught us to help those in need when we see injustice on the road. I believe we should step forward and lend a helping hand."

The disciples chattered amongst themselves, but Confucius listened quietly without interrupting them.

After everyone had finished their discussion, Confucius said righteously, "We travel around the states to spread our ideas, isn't it all for the sake of lasting peace and stability in the world? A few bandits are nothing, just leave them to me."

After speaking, Confucius dismounted from the elephant. It was two meters tall, with a body full of muscles, and carrying a large sword on its back, making it extremely imposing.

Confucius, leading his disciples, walked forward for more than a hundred paces and saw that more than a hundred mountain bandits had surrounded a caravan.

The caravan manager stepped forward, a look of pain flashing across his face. He gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and immediately someone brought over a small box.

Inside the box were neatly stacked coins from various countries.

The steward forced a smile and said, "This is a token of our respect to you gentlemen. Please exchange it for some wine and meat. It's nothing but a small token of our appreciation."

The leader of the thugs raised an eyebrow and kicked over the box: "Is this all the money you've got? You think you can get rid of a beggar? Leave all the boxes behind and get out of here. If you wait a moment, my knife won't recognize you."

The manager's face immediately turned pleading: "Gentlemen, it's not easy for you to come out here."

"You're asking for it, aren't you!" With that, the ruthless bandit slapped his waist, and a long knife fell into his hand.

Not far away, Confucius rushed over and, seeing the commotion, shouted, "Stop!" The bandit seemed not to hear him, grinned maliciously, and casually swung his knife, slicing across the steward's neck. A hot blade flew out, and the steward's eyes went limp, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

The caravan members screamed in terror, huddled together, and dared not lift their heads.

The bandit then turned around and looked at Confucius and his group, his eyes full of excitement: "We've really hit the jackpot today, so many fat sheep have come again."

Confucius walked up to the ruthless bandit with a serious expression and questioned him directly: "Didn't you hear me tell you to stop?"

Before the bandit leader could speak, one of the bandits stepped forward and shouted, "Damn it, who do you think you are, daring to talk to our boss like that? Believe it or not!"

Before the bandit could finish speaking, Confucius kicked out without hesitation!
Kong Xuan, standing two meters tall and weighing over 300 kilograms, delivered a solid kick to the bandit's chest.

The bandit felt as if he had crashed into a mountain, and was sent flying backward, tracing a graceful arc in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

"Pfft~" Broken internal organs mixed with blood spurted from his mouth, and in less than a breath, his head tilted to the side and he died.

The ruthless bandit shuddered at the sight and immediately shouted, "Help!"

Suddenly, hundreds of ruthless bandits emerged from the surrounding bushes and surrounded Confucius.

Behind Confucius, his disciples wanted to step forward to help him, but Confucius stopped them.

"You don't need to take action. They're just petty thieves. I alone am enough." With that, Confucius took off his long robe, revealing his bulging muscles.

Confucius revealed two rows of snow-white teeth and said, "I am not good at fighting, but I am good at persuading people with reason. Would you all like to hear me explain my reasoning?"

Seeing Confucius in this state, the bandit's heart pounded. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Screw you, attack!"

Upon hearing this, the bandits swarmed forward, but they were like ants trying to shake a tree in front of Confucius, who was over two meters tall.

Confucius brandished his long sword, and wherever the blade passed, a person would fall.

In just a quarter of an hour, all the bandits had fallen, and the official road was stained red with blood. Confucius, however, remained untouched by blood, calm and composed.

Yan Hui couldn't help but swallow hard, and stammered, "Teacher, you're as fierce as ever."

He single-handedly slaughtered a hundred men; there is no other general in the world as fierce as him. If you, teacher, were to join the army, you would surely become a supreme general of a nation, an invincible commander.

The other disciples who became his disciples later, unaware of Confucius's prowess, gaped wide enough to fit a large bowl, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"You...you're not human!" The thug was terrified and retreated, while Confucius remained calm and pressed forward step by step.

Soon, the bandit reached the cliff edge, where Confucius planted his sword heavily in the ground and stared at him coldly.

The ruthless bandit trembled with fear, his face drained of color. He fell to his knees with a thud, pleading, "Great hero, great hero, spare my life! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support, and children to raise."

"Enough! I don't want to hear your nonsense. I'm no great hero, I'm just a scholar."

"Reading, a scholar?" The bandit looked at Confucius's tall and burly figure, and couldn't connect it with the slender scholar he remembered.

Confucius saw the suspicion in the bandit's eyes and asked coldly, "What, do I not look like a scholar?"

The ruthless bandit swallowed hard and said quickly, "You look just like him, so much like him. No one looks more like a scholar than you. If scholars don't look like you, then it must be their problem."

Confucius glanced calmly at the bandit and continued, "I have a few questions for you. If you can answer them clearly, I will spare your life."

The thug stammered, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace, "Please, ask away!"

Behind Confucius, his disciples stood solemnly, with the new disciples even taking out their notebooks, ready to take notes at any moment.

Confucius said, “What does it mean when you say, ‘To learn something and at due times to practice it is a pleasure’?”

The bandit opened his eyes wide, racking his brains to recall what he had learned in school when he was young. After a moment, he tentatively asked, "Isn't it great to learn something and review it often?"

Confucius shook his head: "Wrong answer."

"Wrong?" The bandit's pupils widened suddenly. The next second, a sword flashed before his eyes, and his left arm was severed. Blood gushed out, and he screamed in pain.

Confucius said in a serious tone, "What I mean is that fighting techniques must be practiced frequently in order to bring joy."

The ruthless bandit was writhing on the ground in pain, unable to hear what Confucius was saying.

Confucius instructed one of his disciples who knew medicine to bandage the bandit's wounds. After the disciple had stopped the bandit's bleeding, he continued to ask, "If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening. What does that mean?"

The newly initiated disciple secretly guessed that, according to the teacher's words, "This sentence means that if he knows the way to your house in the morning, you will die in the evening?"

The ruthless bandit clearly thought the same thing, stammering, "If I know the way to your house this morning, you'll be dead tonight?"

Confucius was furious upon hearing this: "Nonsense! I am a scholar, how can I talk about fighting and killing all the time? You have answered wrong again this time. The meaning of this sentence is clearly: If you understand the truth in the morning, you will be willing to die in the evening."

After saying this, Confucius did not hesitate. With a swing of his greatsword, he cut off the bandit's other arm. The arm was severed at the root, and hot blood spurted out, splashing onto the ground.

"Ah!" A heart-wrenching scream rang out, and the bandit immediately fainted.

"Teacher, let's not delay any longer. We're still a long way from Qi!" a disciple said, feeling sorry for him.

Confucius said nothing more upon hearing this, but directly beheaded the bandit leader with his sword, dressed himself, and led his disciples away.

Zhuang Zhou, dressed in plain clothes and weary from his journey, was heading towards the capital of Qi from the State of Song!

In the State of Wei, Li Kui had become a distinguished guest of the King of Wei. When he traveled, he was drawn by six pure white horses, without a single stray hair on his carriage.

Following the carriage were hundreds of attendants, making for a grand procession comparable to that of some small kingdom rulers.

Inside the carriage, Li Kui, dressed in brocade, looked calmly into the distance: "In chaotic times, the country should be governed by law. The law does not tolerate sentimentality; this is the way of Heaven."

Mozi led dozens of Mohist disciples toward Linzi. Along the way, the Mohist disciples performed many good deeds, practicing their own way.

In the State of Chen, Sun Tzu, his face weathered and radiating a sharp aura, was like a sword drawn from its sheath: "War is a matter of vital importance to the State; a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."

Jin Ling, standing beside him, looked at her work with satisfaction in her eyes.

Time flies, and three months have passed. Today, all the philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Thought have gathered at the Jixia Academy.

(End of this chapter)