Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

On the Xie family's side, the white-haired old man stood at the front, his body surging with literary energy, and a pale golden "shield" inscription hovering above his head.

His robes were stained with blood, and four or five people stood behind him, their aura fluctuating between sequence nine and sequence eight.

This was already considered a considerable force in Qingshan County, but at this moment, every one of them had a solemn expression on their face.

Because there are more people on the other side.

The leader of the Wang family was a middle-aged man dressed in black, with a sinister face.

He held a long sword imbued with literary energy, its blade adorned with dark red patterns, clearly a weapon stained with the blood of many.

Behind him stood two scholars, three martial arts instructors, and a row of warriors holding bows and crossbows.

More importantly, Chen Zhuo spotted Manager Wang, whose hair he had previously severed in the restaurant, among that group of people.

Manager Wang held a ghost-head knife in his hand, staring intently at a young man behind the white-haired elder of the Xie family, a cruel smile on his face.

Two corpses lay on the ground between the two sides. One was dressed in Xie family attire, its chest pierced by a magical artifact. The other was dressed in black, its throat slit by a sharp weapon.

People are already dead.

"Thank you, old man, why bother?" The middle-aged man from the Wang family twirled the long, elegant sword in his hand, speaking as if he were having a casual chat.

"Hand over the mine, and your Xie family can leave Qingshan County safely."

"The patriarch said that as long as you know what's good for you, the Wang family won't take a single penny of the Xie family's assets. You can start over somewhere else, and everyone will be better off."

The white-haired old man didn't speak, but simply enlarged the "shield" inscription above his head a few more times.

He knew the other party was lying. Everyone in Qingshan County knew the Wang family's style: they would eliminate any potential threats and leave no loose ends.

"Giving up the mine means death, not giving it up also means death; the only difference is whether you die quickly or slowly."

"But after holding on for so many years, he didn't want to let down the Xie family's ancestors at the last moment. At the very least, he wanted to send the seed out."

"Old man Xie, does not speaking mean there is nothing to talk about?" The middle-aged man from the Wang family put away his smile and raised his left hand.

All the crossbowmen behind him simultaneously raised their crossbows. The arrowheads glowed with an eerie green light, indicating they were poisoned.

Just then, an old but powerful voice came from the inner courtyard of the Xie residence.

"Wang Kui, you're just a peak-level scholar, bullying a few juniors, aren't you ashamed?"

Everyone turned around and saw an elderly man with white hair and beard slowly walking out of the inner courtyard.

He was wearing a faded gray robe and leaning on a bamboo cane.

He looked like an ordinary elderly neighbor, but with each step he took, the ground trembled slightly, as if something was awakening beneath his feet.

The patriarch of the Xie family was the eighth person to pass the imperial examinations (举人). He was also the only person in the Xie family to achieve this honor.

Wang Kui's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

He already knew that the Xie family had this scholar in charge, so there were more people here tonight than just these.

"Thank you, esteemed senior. I've heard so much about you." Wang Kui cupped his hands in greeting. "But are you sure you want to take action? At your age, no matter how profound your scholarship, you can't withstand such a beating, can you?"

The Xie family patriarch did not answer, but simply slammed his bamboo cane on the ground.

An invisible wave of energy emanated from him and spread outwards. The pebbles in the courtyard were lifted up by the wave and tumbled several times in the air before landing.

The archers behind Wang Kui were pushed back by the shockwave, and their formation was instantly broken in half.

But Wang Kui did not retreat. He held his sword horizontally in front of him, and the dark red sword energy collided head-on with the air wave, producing a piercing metallic scraping sound.

He knew he was no match for the Xie family patriarch, but his task was simply to stall the old man.

Behind the Xie family patriarch, several figures quietly withdrew.

This is the Xie family's last resort.

The backyard, the embroidered pavilion.

As Chen Zhuo crossed the courtyard wall, the sounds of fighting in the front yard were already clearly audible.

Instead of going through the main gate, he activated the Moon-character script to its fullest extent and used the covert state of the moonlight to scale the wall and enter the backyard.

The shadow of the old osmanthus tree was cast obliquely on the wall of the embroidered building. The windows on the second floor were wide open, and the building was empty.

The moment he landed, his senses expanded, and he saw three people.

One is downstairs, and two are behind the artificial hill.

Just as he was about to chase after them, the figure downstairs spoke first.

"Instructor Chen?"

Chen Zhuo paused, recognizing the voice.

He emerged from the shadow of the artificial hill, moonlight illuminating his face, and before him stood Xie Zhiwei.

Her moon-white dress was stained with dust, her hair was half-undone, and there was fear in her eyes. A small white and fluffy cat was crouching beside her.

"Miss Xie, where is Chen Tiansheng?"

"He went to the front yard." Xie Zhiwei walked quickly to him, speaking rapidly, "He heard a fight breaking out in the front yard and ran over there. I couldn't stop him."

"My father and my second uncle are still up ahead."

Chen Zhuo looked at her, took out a few pieces of silver from his waist and handed them to Xie Zhiwei.

"Go out the back door. Go to the College of Arts and find a girl named Gu Qing'e. She's Dean Song's daughter, and she'll take you in."

Now that he has found Xie Zhiwei and confirmed that she is not in danger, the safest course of action is to have her go to Gu Qing'e.

To confirm my own conjecture.

Xie Zhiwei did not accept the loose silver:

"I'm not leaving. My father is still up ahead."

Hearing this, Chen Zhuo frowned. How could this guy not see the situation clearly?

So he patiently explained.

"You can't help if you stay. You're just an ordinary person, with no literary talent or martial arts skills."

"Your presence here will only distract them. Go to the Faculty of Arts; I'll handle Chen Tiansheng's situation."

Xie Zhiwei's lips moved as if she wanted to refute, but in the end she didn't say anything.

Chen Zhuo is right. She really can't help at all by staying here.

Finally, she took the loose silver and whispered, "You must bring him back."

She didn't say who "he" was, but Chen Zhuo knew she was referring to Chen Tiansheng.

Chen Zhuo nodded, then turned and darted towards the front yard.

……

At this moment, the battle in the front yard has reached a fever pitch.

Each time the Xie family patriarch slammed his bamboo staff into the ground, it would unleash a shockwave of earthy yellow, scattering the Wang family's archers into disarray.

But Wang Kui was clearly prepared. The longsword in his hand, imbued with literary energy, continuously unleashed its dark red blade, which relentlessly drained the literary energy of the Xie family patriarch.

Clearly, that knife was no ordinary weapon; it was a writing implement commonly used by the Wang family's scholars.

Meanwhile, the two scholars behind him simultaneously unleashed their literary arts, one of them conjuring a giant ice mirror to reflect the Xie family patriarch's attack back.

The other one continuously applied the "slow" spell, making the Xie family patriarch's movements slower and slower.

Meanwhile, the other scholars and martial arts masters of the Xie family were also entangled in battle with the martial artists of the Wang family, and the battle was at a stalemate.

The more the Xie family patriarch fought, the more anxious he became.

He was actually blocked by a junior member of the Wang family wielding a high-level artifact.

Even though they can't do anything to me, I can't break through their defenses for a while either.

This is the source of the Wang family's confidence; not only do they have a patriarch who is a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations, but they also possess high-level literary artifacts.

Ordinary families would find it difficult to withstand his power.

Just then, he saw a figure rush out of the backyard.