Simultaneous travel: City, infinite evolution

Chapter 290 Little Sage Village [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Even Chen Hong was somewhat surprised by this strange reaction and situation.

"No, I only cleaned out the parasites and scourges in a few cities, and the results were so good?"

"Since it's working so well, should I clear out a few more cities?"

Madam Hu and the others were startled and quickly tried to dissuade them, saying, "Too much of a good thing is bad, too little of a good thing is bad."

Dongjun Yanfei scoffed, "They were frightened by your ruthless methods and are just trying to avoid the limelight."

Once you sheathe your sword, they'll stretch out their claws and devour you again.

"You're killing with such gusto; they're probably already plotting against you in secret."

Chen Hong smiled, not caring at all.

"No matter how fiercely ants bar their fangs and claws, a single fire is enough to burn down their nest."

Dongjun Yanfei did not refute, because Chen Hong was telling the truth.

In the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are useless.

Chen Hong led the women to Sanghai City and arrived at the gate of Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

Xunzi had already sensed Chen Hong's undisguised arrival and came to greet him with Fu Nian and his Confucian disciples.

Seeing Chen Hong descend from the clouds and land on the ground.

Xunzi led everyone in bowing: "Greetings, Sage!"

Hearing the crowd bow in unison, Chen Hong smiled and helped him up, saying, "Xunzi is the sage, why do you call me a sage? Please rise quickly."

Everyone was lifted up by a force.

Fu Nian and the others were secretly shocked by Chen Hong's strength.

Xunzi, however, did not care at all and replied with a smile: "Xunzi's virtue is meager, and I dare not call myself a sage."

Confucius said: "When three people walk together, there must be one who can teach me."

"Those who achieve greatness come first, and you, sir, have performed great deeds for the world; you are naturally worthy of being called a saint."

Chen Hong smiled and didn't argue. "Whatever you say, it doesn't matter."

"I have heard that Xiaoshengxianzhuang is a sacred place that Confucian scholars all over the world yearn for, so I came here to study and seek knowledge."

“I dare not accept such praise. It is an honor for the sage to be willing to learn from our Confucian classics. We Confucians are deeply honored and dare not accept the word ‘asking for guidance’.”

Then Fu Nian led his disciples in the welcoming ceremony.

Holding feathers, they danced and sang, welcoming the sage with the highest honors according to ritual.

Watching the Confucian scholars dance, Chen Hong always had a strange feeling.

“Sage, please come with me.”

Xunzi and the others led Chen Hong and the others toward Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

The towering, solemn vermilion gate, with a golden plaque reading "Xiaoshengxianzhuang" hanging above it, is flanked by silver-white walls, symbolizing the Confucian core concept of "uprightness and adherence to propriety."

The entrance features nine tiers of bluestone steps, subtly reflecting the hierarchical order of "the supreme ruler," highlighting the lofty status of this academic sanctuary.

After climbing nine steps and passing through the vermilion gate, one enters Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

There were long corridors, ponds, pavilions, towers, flowers, trees, birdsong, and fragrant flowers—a beautiful landscape.

After walking through the long wooden corridor, you arrive at the building in front, with a tiled roof and wooden windows, exuding an antique charm.

"This is Wendao Academy, used for teaching disciples."

Xunzi took the initiative to introduce himself as Chen Hong's tour guide.

The group entered Wendao Academy, which was somewhat like an ancient version of a school building.

Inside, there were classrooms with wooden floors.

The classroom was furnished with low desks, and students could kneel or sit on mats on the wooden floor, heads down, writing furiously.

At the very front, naturally, is the low desk for teaching, an identical arrangement.

The master lectured from above, while his disciples listened attentively below, occasionally scribbling notes or asking questions.

The classroom was small, and there were not many students; a teacher would only teach a dozen or so students.

In Chen Hong's view, it already has the characteristics of large-scale elite education.

This is merely a lecture model; in reality, only two or three outstanding disciples will truly accept him as a disciple and impart all their knowledge to him, thus inheriting his mantle.

After observing for a while, Chen Hong and the others left Wendao Academy.

"That's the Six Arts Hall over there. Our Confucian school has six arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics."

The Six Arts, which embody the principles of heaven and earth and emulate nature, are skills that every Confucian disciple must master.

The Six Arts Hall has ample space for training in the Six Arts.

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong's interest was greatly piqued. The Confucian scholars of this time were clearly completely different from those of later generations who had degenerated into weak and feeble-minded scholars who only knew how to talk big.

Even within Confucianism, there are almost two completely different schools of thought.

At this time, most Confucian scholars were skilled in both literature and martial arts, possessing great strength and prowess, capable of conquering the world on horseback and governing it on foot.

"Haha, let's go check out the Six Arts Museum then."

When the group arrived at the Six Arts Hall, Chen Hong saw the spacious and bright shooting range that his disciples could use freely.

Passing through the wooden building, I saw a meadow, and across the meadow were targets.

Under the shade of the floorboards, students could pick up bows and arrows and draw quivers from the ground to practice their archery skills.

The crowd laughed and cheered when someone hit the bullseye.

If you miss, give a word of encouragement.

They compete to see who hits the target the most times and who shoots more accurately.

It's practically a shooting range!

Chen Hong watched with great interest and couldn't resist the urge to touch it.

"Hahaha, I'll take a shot too."

Chen Hong picked up the bow and arrow, and easily drew the bow and shot the arrow, as if he were pulling a child's slingshot.

With a bang, it hit the bullseye.

"color!"

The students cheered immediately, their expressions filled with excitement.

"This gentleman is truly skilled at archery."

But that wasn't all. Chen Hong shot another arrow, hitting the previous one directly and splitting the shaft in two, with the arrowhead stuck in the original arrowhead.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they cheered.

"color!"

"Good aim."

"Absolutely."

"Sir, you are truly an excellent archer."

But that wasn't all; Chen Hong kept firing one after another.

There were ten in total, with arrowheads nailed together, strung in a row.

Seeing this exaggerated scene, everyone was stunned and speechless for a long time. Even the usually stern sect leader, Fu Nian, couldn't help but sigh:
"That's truly amazing!"

But that wasn't all. Chen Hong spread his five fingers, drew five arrows, nocked them, and fired all five arrows at once.

It hit the bullseye of all five targets simultaneously.

Five arrows were fired simultaneously, and every single one hit the target.

This exaggerated scene left everyone speechless.

The human hand has only four palmar recesses, but only three of them are usable for shooting arrows.

I've only ever heard of firing three arrows at once, how did you manage to fire five at once?

Xunzi exclaimed in amazement: "I only heard that three arrows were fired at the same time and hit the target. This is a divine archer who is one in ten thousand."

Only today did I learn of the legendary archer who could fire five arrows simultaneously.

Hu Meiren, Madam Hu, Yan Lingji, Yan Fei, Ehuang Nüying, and Xue Nu all looked at Chen Hong with sparkling eyes.

Archery is such a fun activity, it's still very appealing.

Everyone went down to play a few rounds before leaving the shooting range, still feeling quite excited.

The group walked down a long corridor and arrived at the horse farm.

This is a circular running track, with shady trees and towering buildings on both sides.

The spare horses here don't even require scanning a code; disciples can ride them freely and gallop wildly on the racetrack.

Chen Hong also selected a strong horse with great interest and competed with the others in a horse race.

With a disciple's referee giving the order.

"start!"

Chen Hong, Fu Nian, and the others galloped on their horses, running wildly across the sand and circling the track.

Unsurprisingly, Chen Hong took the lead by a wide margin and won first place.

It has to be said, Xiaoshengxianzhuang is truly luxurious.

They can afford to hold such an extravagant event as horse racing.

You should know that there aren't many horses in the Central Plains.

A horse can cost so much that only nobles and wealthy merchants can afford it.

They are also very precious, and their usual feed and care require a lot of money.

Chen Hong and his group also witnessed the ancient techniques of racing cars.

It's called "御" (yù), driving a horse-drawn carriage is a skill.

At that time, horse-drawn carriages generally only had two wooden wheels and no shock absorption technology.

It means putting on the reins and letting the horse gallop wildly, shaking violently.

Driving a horse-drawn carriage for an extended period of time can cause enough shocks to kill the elderly and infirm.

The more horses there are, the more difficult it is to drive.

Because it is necessary to ensure that two, four, or six horses all obey and move forward in unison, without one being fast and the other slow, or even one walking and the other stopping.

This is a technical skill, and wielding a horsewhip is an art of management.

Therefore, charioteers who know how to drive generally have a high status and live a relatively comfortable life.

Those who know how to drive armored vehicles and charge into battle are rare talents.

Among the more famous charioteers are a certain Wheel King who wishes to remain anonymous, and another certain Child-Picking King who also wishes to remain anonymous.

After enjoying the fun of driving for a while...

Chen Hong and the others then went to see the places where they practiced calligraphy, studied mathematics, and learned etiquette and music.

Xunzi and the others then led Chen Hong and the others to the Lotus Pavilion.

There is a large viewing platform here. You can sit at the table, enjoy tea, and watch the vast ocean view. The sea breeze is very pleasant.

Here one can see the waves of the East China Sea, and cultivate one's character and broaden one's mind by "observing the sea and understanding the Tao".

The Little Sage Village also has the Three Reflections Room, which has beds and a bright low desk by the window for reading and writing. It is a favorite place for top students to reflect on themselves three times a day.

The Xiaoshengxianzhuang architectural complex is backed by cliffs and faces Sanghai Lake, forming a "mountain-backed and water-facing" feng shui pattern, implying "great virtue carries all things, and the sea embraces all rivers".

In Chen Hong's view, Xiaoshengxianzhuang was a high-end academy with a beautiful environment, and its buildings, facilities and teaching staff were among the best in the Qin Dynasty.

No wonder scholars from all over the world wanted to come here to study.

Due to the principle of "a gentleman keeps away from the kitchen", there is no kitchen in the manor, and meals are provided by the "Youjian Inn" in Sanghai City.

Chen Hong settled down in Xiaoshengxianzhuang and spent his days reading in the library.

At this point in time, even Yan Lu was just a little kid.

Zhang Liang, Han Fei, and Li Si hadn't even come to Xiaoshengxianzhuang to study yet.

Therefore, the library has not yet experienced a major fire, and many ancient books are still well preserved.

The library is a three-story wooden structure that houses Confucian classics and documents from various schools of thought, with a vast collection of books.

The top-level forbidden area also houses Zhou royal secret scrolls.

Chen Hong was naturally delighted to see the towering books filling the building, and he spent all his time reading voraciously in the library.

He would occasionally discuss the Dao with Xunzi.

Xunzi truly deserves to be revered as a "Sage of the Later Generations" by later generations. He was extremely knowledgeable and could talk about anything with Chen Hong. They also discussed Confucian academic concepts, from which Chen Hong also benefited greatly.

Besides reading and understanding the countless classic texts in the library every day, Chen Hong also studied Confucian swordsmanship, using Confucian classics to cultivate his mind and improve his mental state.

Confucian swordsmanship is upright and honorable. A swordsman's sword reflects his character; a gentleman is open and honest, and his swordsmanship is upright and just; a petty person is anxious and his swordsmanship is crooked and unorthodox.

The purpose of practicing swordsmanship is not to be violent and aggressive. The key is that practicing swordsmanship is like training the body, and cultivating the sword is like cultivating the mind. Only when the mind is upright can one cultivate oneself, manage one's family, and eventually govern the country and bring peace to the world.

The Confucian sword style has three key principles: "faithfulness, elegance, and mastery." Faithfulness means that the sword strike is accurate and unbiased; elegance means that one is composed and not vicious; and mastery means that the sword moves with one's will, with a speed and force that leaves no room for the opponent to maneuver.

Confucian basic sword techniques include "not yielding to what is right," "reciprocity," and "it is disrespectful to refuse."

There is also the [Saint King Sword Technique] created by Fu Nian. This sword technique was created by Fu Nian by integrating Confucian concepts. It emphasizes the martial arts realm of inner sainthood and outer kingship and is the ultimate in etiquette.

Its sword techniques are elegant in appearance, exuding an air of arrogance, and possess both offensive and defensive characteristics.

The "Sitting in Oblivion" method, which states "A gentleman does not contend, his light is contained and formless, and he sits in oblivion without a mind," embodies three realms: not striving for victory or defeat, having formless techniques, and having a mind as still as water.

Conceal your physical form, hide your wisdom, transcend form and knowledge, and hide among the masses.

When facing a weak opponent, the opponent becomes weak; offense and defense are like a wad of cotton wool, leaving no ground for even the strongest attacks.

Its martial arts are characterized by the circulation of internal energy, and the trajectories of its moves are difficult to track, reflecting the philosophical idea that there is no winning or losing without competition.

After mastering all the martial arts and classic texts of Xiaoshengxianzhuang and discussing the Dao with Xunzi hundreds of times, Chen Hong achieved a state of clarity of mind, a tranquil heart, uprightness and integrity, and the ability to do as he pleased without overstepping the bounds of propriety.

His state of mind has reached a new level, and even his soul has begun to faintly glow with spiritual light.

The power of the mind, this mysterious and profound power, was being nurtured within Chen Hong.

Furthermore, Chen Hong's wisdom has reached a new level, his wisdom shines brightly, and the halo of wisdom behind his mind has grown even larger.

With the continuous influx of faith from all over the world, the halo of faith continues to expand.

With the combined power of the Wisdom Wheel and the Faith Wheel, burning with the power of faith, Chen Hong's sea of ​​consciousness expanded from a diameter of 100 meters to 150 meters, becoming much larger.

Having exhausted the benefits of Confucianism, Chen Hong felt that the current Confucian school was not yet full of wise men and therefore not very interesting, so he took his leave.

(End of this chapter)