From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 227 Huang Longshi, you don't even deserve the surname Zhao!
late at night

The grand banquet in the palace had long since ended.

Inside the deep palace walls, in a somewhat deserted palace...

Emperor Zhao Dun of the Liyang Dynasty sat by the window, gazing blankly at the moonlight outside.

A cool breeze blew by, dispelling the last trace of alcohol from his body, leaving only calmness and rationality.

Nan Huaiyu stood to one side, gazing at the twinkling starry sky, and sighed softly.

"Your Majesty, the situation is not optimistic!" Nan Huaiyu sighed softly. "Those sons of the vassal kings are one thing, but among the scions of various aristocratic families, there are also many with extraordinary potential. Although they pretend to be very ordinary on the surface, they can't hide it from my eyes!"

"Hmm, which ones match the prophecy from last time?"

"That's uncertain, but Zhao Biao, the son of the King of Guangling, has the Greedy Wolf star in his destiny, yet he has always disguised himself as a fat, sickly boy. He's very cunning. And then there's Zhao Dun, the heir apparent of the King of Yan. His destiny seems unremarkable, just an ordinary prince's fate. But if he were truly that ordinary, would the King of Yan have made him his heir?"

"Heh, it seems my brothers are no pushovers. Where's Zhao Xun?"

“He’s different.” As if knowing what he was going to ask, Nan Huaiyu shook his head and sighed, “He’s the least threatening one.”

“The least threatening?!” Zhao Dun turned around in surprise, looking at Nan Huaiyu with a puzzled expression. “Zhao Xun is exceptionally talented. At such a young age, he has already paved a new path in the art of painting and defeated Huang Longshi head-on. After today, he will surely become famous and his prestige will be unparalleled, both in the court and in the martial arts world. He is also far ahead of the other sons of these princes. He should be the most threatening.”

“It’s different, Your Majesty,” Nan Huaiyu shook his head. “He is an unparalleled genius, perhaps one in hundreds or even thousands of years. But what he pursues is different from what others pursue. He pursues the fortune of Confucianism and Taoism, not the fortune of the court!” “If I had some doubts about him at the beginning, judging from his performance at the banquet, his goal is indeed the fortune of Confucianism and Taoism, to open up a new school of painting, and to enter the Shangyin Academy and become a Shangyin scholar. He wants to monopolize the fortune of Confucianism. He provoked Huang Longshi and defeated Huang Longshi in order to weaken the fortune of Confucianism and Taoism in Huang Longshi, so that Huang Longshi’s fortune would become the resources for his own fortune to rise. A hereditary throne is not even in his eyes.”

"So, from what you're saying, he wants to become a Confucian sage?!" Zhao Dun chuckled and joked.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing!” Nan Huaiyu said. “To my shame, at first I only focused on his chess skills, but now I realize that the real focus wasn’t on that, but on what he said!”

"What he said?!" Zhao Dun chuckled, recalling Zhao Xun's trash talk during the chess game. "Those words were quite interesting. This Zhao Xun appears to be a gentleman on the surface, but I never expected him to be so sarcastic and mean. You're right, Huang Longshi didn't kill him on the spot, so even if he gained something, my younger brother isn't like that. I wonder where he learned that from."

"His words were not pleasant to hear, but Your Majesty, didn't you hear the dissatisfaction with the current state of Confucianism and Taoism in his words? From the very beginning of his dialogue with Your Majesty, he clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with the academic atmosphere of Shangyin Academy and the Imperial Academy, and bluntly stated that the trend of flattery is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world. Although the words he said when playing chess with Huang Longshi were not pleasant and seemed to be intended to provoke Huang Longshi, there was another layer of meaning behind his words!"

"What do you mean?"

“Huang Longshi is old and can’t keep up with the times. It’s time for him to step down. On the surface, he’s talking about chess skills, but he’s actually referring to the older generation of scholars like Huang Longshi,” Nan Huaiyu said with a smile. “Your Majesty, Zhao Xun is indeed rebellious and has the ambition to overthrow the Heavenly Gang, but he’s not targeting Your Majesty!”

"Ha, now I understand." Zhao Dun suddenly realized, but he still couldn't quite believe it. "Are all young people these days so audacious? He's only twelve years old, yet he has such ambitions? This is much more difficult than pointing a spear at me!" Nan Huaiyu also looked helpless and sighed, "He has already proven himself to be an extraordinary genius. Extraordinary people will do extraordinary things. Their world is beyond my comprehension!"

※※※

Tai'an City, Jing'an Prince's Mansion
After being carried back to the Prince's Mansion by Yu Xuanji, Zhao Xun became somewhat sober. He first practiced his boxing to expel all the alcohol from his body, and then had his servants serve him a nice bath and change into comfortable clothes. Only then did he wave his hand to dismiss everyone.

Today's harvest was huge, surprisingly huge.

The most important takeaway was that he realized his actions were in accordance with the will of this world, whether it was the will of Little Meng Heavenly Venerable or the will of this world itself. In short, he was not going against the will of Heaven, but acting on behalf of Heaven.

He also realized that his biggest goal in coming to this world was Huang Longshi. Huang Longshi, just like himself in the previous world, was a cancer in this world. The only difference was that in the Joy of Life world, he could act according to the will of Heaven, but in this world, Huang Longshi could not.

Perhaps, in the original world, he fulfilled his dream with his own life and reached the realm of a terrestrial immortal, but now that he has come here, he is destined to be imperfect; this is fate.

“You, a senior who has been famous for many years, are really not befitting your status to break into my empty door in the middle of the night!” Zhao Xun seemed to sense something, raised his hand to pick up the lamp wick hook on the table, and gently adjusted the lamp wick. A figure flashed in and out of the lamplight.

"You are indeed a genius, but you are just an ordinary person. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you now?" The cold voice was filled with a chilling murderous intent, and the air in the room instantly turned icy cold.

Zhao Xun looked up at him and said, "You pooped in someone else's house, and you don't even allow them to clean it up?"

"What do you mean?" Huang Longshi's expression changed, and he stared intently at Zhao Xun, as if trying to see through him.

"What I mean, don't you understand?" Zhao Xun sneered. "You're so capable of stirring up wars between the Spring and Autumn Period states, diverting the imperial court's fortunes into the martial world, and accelerating the unification of the world. If you're so capable, why don't you understand what I mean?"

"Yes, I did all of this, so what's it to you?"

"What does this have to do with me? Huang Longshi, who do you think you are? Do you know how much trouble you've caused me? Every world has its own cause and effect. You completely ignore cause and effect, thinking your divination skills are unparalleled. You interfere with the world's processes based on your superficial understanding, causing the cause and effect of this world to become disordered. You seem to have unified the world, but in fact, you've sown the seeds of future chaos. Huang Longshi, who do you think you are? Exchanging decades of chaos for a hundred generations of peace, carrying Mount Tai to cross the North Sea—do you really think you can do it? Before you did it, did you even think about lifting your brain out from behind your heels and asking yourself if you even have the ability? You don't even deserve the surname...?"

For a moment, Zhao Xun spoke without thinking, even uttering the famous saying of Old Master Zhao.

Wait, it seems like in this life, I really am a member of the Zhao family!
Faced with such an unorthodox time traveler, this sense of superiority immediately arose.

(End of this chapter)