From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 252 Sword God, Nothing More Than This

Three large boats sailed downstream along the Yanzi River, entering the lake from the river.

The Spring God Lake stretches for eight hundred miles, its waters vast and misty.

This great lake, which has been a strategic location fought over by the Central Plains for thousands of years, has long since changed its appearance.

Tourist boats thronged the waterways, fishing boats shuttled back and forth, and cargo ships lined up in rows, creating a lively scene of hundreds of boats racing and thousands of sails competing.

Xu Fengnian stood at the bow of the boat, gazing at Spring God Lake before him with a deep and unfathomable look in his eyes.

It's different now, completely different.

Four years is a long time; many things can change, including him, Beiliang, Qingzhou, and the entire world...

He still can't understand how the纨绔子弟 (playboy) who fought with him at Fenglingdu and burned down the most important ferry crossing of the imperial court has suddenly transformed into a Confucian sage.

He even shouted the slogan that made his heart tremble: "Suppress all other schools of thought and exclusively honor Confucianism!"
On the surface, he was a playboy, but that was just a facade. From a young age, he studied under the great Confucian scholar Li Yishan. While he wasn't an expert in all the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections, his knowledge was still quite extensive. After Confucianism spread, he felt curious and couldn't resist trying it out. Then, he became increasingly unstoppable. Although he didn't achieve enlightenment like his second sister who only listened to Zhao Xun's lecture once at the Shangyin Academy, he still reached the eighth rank of the Self-Cultivation Realm in just three days. Ten days later, he had already entered the seventh rank. A month later, he entered the sixth rank. A year later, he entered the fifth rank of the Moral Realm. Another year later, he entered the fourth rank of the Gentleman Realm...

It was precisely because of his rapid progress in Confucianism that his plan to conceal his talents was completely shattered. A year ago, he stepped into the third-grade life-establishing realm, while his genius sister, Xu Weixiong, remained at the sixth-grade Confucian scholar realm, unable to make any further progress.

After reaching the Life-Establishing Realm, Old Huang left him and went to Wudi City. Under Xu Xiao's arrangement, he went to Wudang and received the cultivation of the Great Yellow Court from the Wudang Sect Leader, finally stepping into the martial world.

To be honest, even now, he is still dumbfounded and can't understand why he is making such a fast progress in Confucianism, a speed that even his teacher can't match.

Don't be fooled by the fact that anyone can practice Confucianism and that the entry threshold is low. Once you reach the sixth rank, it is extremely difficult to advance further.

This requires a great deal of knowledge accumulation, an understanding of one's true nature, and so on...

He felt he lacked all of these qualities, yet his progress was astonishing; even he himself was afraid of the speed at which he cultivated.

This time, after leaving Wudang and entering the martial world, my first stop was Xiangfan in Qingzhou. The reason was simply to find Zhao Xun and ask him what was going on.

"Zhao Xun, a new sage of Confucianism?!"

On the bow of the ship, Xu Fengnian's feelings were very complicated.

He suspected that Zhao Xun was not human at all.

"We're almost there. Do you think we can get into Kirishima?"

At this moment, the one-armed old sword slave slowly walked out, looking at the desolate island shrouded in mist in the distance with a puzzled expression.

What the hell? After living in seclusion in the Northern Liang royal palace for over a decade, the world has changed the moment I emerge.

Even the mighty Sword God Li Chungang was finding it difficult to deal with this teenage boy next to him.

The Confucian ideal is that one's words become law, one's speech becomes law, one can command the wind and rain, and one's methods are no different from those of immortals.

He used to be a genius, reaching the first rank before he was even twenty. But looking at the Prince of Beiliang beside him, he felt that he had wasted all these years.

"The prerequisite for entering Fog Island is the third-grade Life Establishment Realm. There's no reason why others can enter but I can't," Xu Fengnian said with a smile.

"You offended him."

“I didn’t,” Xu Fengnian said with a smile. “Over the past few years, I’ve figured it out. He set the fire at Fenglingdu. He must have used Confucian methods to influence my mind, which is why I ordered the rockets to be launched. He then took advantage of the situation to set the fire and made Huang Sanjia take the blame.”

"Then what do you think his purpose is?" "How would I know? This person is too mysterious, a new sage of Confucianism. If I knew what he was thinking, wouldn't I be a Confucian sage myself?"

"Are you sure that practicing Confucianism has no effect on your mind?" Li Chungang asked thoughtfully. "This Confucianism is too evil. I always feel that something is wrong with it."

"When I discussed this matter with my teacher, we learned that Confucianism will not change our minds, but it will strengthen the practitioner's beliefs. The higher the level of cultivation, the stronger the belief."

At this point, he seemed to have thought of something, and turned to look at Xiangfan City, saying, "If Wang Yangming had cultivated Confucianism back then, he would definitely have been able to reach the level of a first-grade quasi-sage. Perhaps Xu Xiao would not have been able to conquer Xiangfan City."

“Wang Yangming.” Li Chungang frowned. He didn’t want to comment on this person, but considering the characteristics of Confucianism, what Xu Fengnian said was not impossible. Wang Yangming was the kind of person whose beliefs were as firm as a rock. For such a person, practicing Confucianism would naturally be twice as effective.

As they spoke, the boat approached the island.

This deserted island has now become a legendary place.

Because it is shrouded in dense fog all year round, it is called Kirishima (Fog Island) by the locals.

For most Confucian scholars, this place has become the second sacred site after the Shangyin Academy. Many people come to visit every day, but the so-called visit is actually just taking a boat ride around to admire it.

Ordinary people can't even get onto the island.

Until two years ago, Fog Island began to open to the public, but only to Confucian cultivators at the third rank of the Life Establishment Realm. Once one's Confucian cultivation reached the third rank, one was qualified to enter Fog Island and consult Zhao Xun on matters of Confucian cultivation. Everyone who entered Fog Island gained a great deal and soon broke through their realm, advancing to the second rank of Great Confucian. Among them was Zhang Julu, the current Grand Secretary.

As the ship sailed beyond the island of Wudao, there were already many other ships around. On board were scholars dressed in Confucian robes. Their Confucian knowledge was not very advanced, but they did not intend to enter the island to seek an audience. They simply paid their respects on the ship and then circled the island to pay their respects, just like worshipping at a mausoleum.

Not to mention Xu Fengnian, even Zhao Xun on the island was twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Damn it, I'm not dead. I come here every day, every day. Believe me or not, I'll strike you all dead with a bolt of lightning.

On the bow of the ship, Xu Fengnian was about to speak when he saw the old sword slave suddenly step forward, raise his hand and point, and a sharp sword light shot out, piercing the thick fog of Lock Island.

The sword light was incredibly sharp, piercing into the thick fog. The point of contact between the fog and the sword light caused a sudden surge, which then swallowed the fog, and everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

Xu Fengnian glanced at the old swordsman and laughed, "How much skill did you put into that sword strike?"

"Eighty percent!" The old swordsman's expression turned solemn. He had expected that his sword strike would be ineffective, but the fact that his sword strike, with eighty percent of its power, could not even probe the depth of the fog on the locked island made him feel a sense of powerlessness.

Xu Fengnian shook his head, about to speak, when his expression suddenly changed. The old sword slave beside him also suddenly looked up, leaped up, and with a wave of his sleeve, a dense barrage of qi swords shot out.

A sword light broke free from the mist, its radiance illuminating dozens of miles, stinging the eyes of the entire lake, and destroying all the sword energy. The old sword slave in the air changed his expression drastically, retreating rapidly. He exhaled and spoke in the air, and a sword light shot out from his mouth to meet the attack.

Whoosh!

The clear, sharp sound of the sword echoed between heaven and earth. The sword light that Li Chungang had unleashed was instantly extinguished. The dazzling sword light was unimpeded and was about to pierce through Li Chungang's chest.

"Certainly!"

Xu Fengnian's voice rang out, and the power of heaven and earth surged wildly. At the same time, his figure shot into the air like lightning, grabbed the old sword slave, and the blinding sword light that was about to pierce his chest stopped for a moment.

In an instant, life and death were separated.

The blinding sword light suddenly intensified, transforming into a stream of light that shot straight into the sky. The sword light illuminated the eight-hundred-mile Spring God Lake, then dissipated as endless sword energy.

As the fog dissipated, a woman walked on the water, her beautiful eyes glancing at the pale-faced Li Chungang, and she laughed, "Sword God Li Chungang, is nothing special!"

(End of this chapter)