The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

Han Li was also incredulous at Yang Qingyuan's easy victory. He looked at Wan Xiaoshan beside him and asked, "Senior Brother Yang, what's going on? How can you control so many flying swords at the same time?"

"These three flying swords have different shapes, so they are definitely not a set of magical artifacts."

Wan Xiaoshan was unaware of the existence of Confucian cultivators. He shrugged and explained, "I don't know either, but after Brother Yang finishes reciting the poem, he will definitely be able to defeat the enemy."

"Huh?" Uncle Wang beside him looked thoughtful, vaguely remembering seeing this fighting style in a classic text. He then exclaimed, "Confucian cultivators!"

"They're actually Confucian scholars, a practice that has disappeared in the Yue Kingdom!"

Wan Xiaoshan and Han Li exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

"Uncle-Master Wang, I've only ever heard of sword cultivators. What is a Confucian cultivator?" asked Wu Feng, a disciple of Huangfeng Valley, who was standing nearby.

After pondering for a moment, Uncle Wang introduced, "This is also the first time I have seen a Confucian cultivator in person. I had only seen scattered records of him in some ancient books of various sects before."

"Confucian cultivators are different from ordinary cultivators; they are extremely special beings."

"They take classic books as their foundation, use literature to convey the Way, cultivate themselves with virtue, and nurture a strong sense of righteousness."

"Those who are not of good character and upright virtue shall not enter his gate."

"The supernatural powers and magical treasures of Confucian scholars are also quite different from ours. It is said that they involve the Six Arts of a Gentleman: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics, enabling them to control things with literature and move mountains and fill seas."

"And it is rumored that the very few Confucian cultivators who have cultivated to the level of sages are even more powerful. Their words carry the law of heaven, and their words and actions can change the weather, shift mountains and rivers, and make all things grow. They can even reshape the rules of heaven and earth."

The nearby rogue cultivators and scions of powerful families exchanged bewildered glances.

"That strong?"

"Then what's the point of fighting? Let's just admit defeat."

Meanwhile, the contest on stage had already come to an end.

The three top-grade flying swords, Changhong Sword, Ziyun Sword, and Qingguang Sword, returned to their scabbards like swallows returning to their nests.

Yang Qingyuan put away the Green Wood True Cover, stepped forward, and took Yan Nanfei's storage bag and the Bone-Melting Treasure Fan.

As for the two-headed geese, they did not die with Yan Nanfei. They were only seriously injured by the three flying swords and stubbornly crawled on the ground, trying to attack Yang Qingyuan with their sharp beaks.

"As expected of a demon beast, if a cultivator were pierced in the chest by three flying swords, he would have died long ago." Yang Qingyuan was also surprised to see that the two-headed duck was still alive.

Generally speaking, when cultivators raise spirit beasts, they will place restrictions on the spirit beasts' bodies.

Once its master dies, the spirit beast will also die.

Since the two-headed geese in front of us are not dead, it means that the owner who kept it was not Yan Nanfei. It was probably a shared mount of the Yan family, and was only temporarily lent to Yan Nanfei.

With a thought, Yang Qingyuan sent out two golden rings from his wrists, which were the Locking Golden Rings.

The golden lock rings were used to secure the two heads of the double-headed duck, imprisoning them tightly.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Qingyuan took the spirit pet pouch from Yan Nanfei's waist and put the double-headed duck into it.

"stop!"

Suddenly, a delicate shout rang out.

Everyone looked closely and saw that it was Yan Nanjiao, the younger sister of the Yan siblings, who had rushed over.

There was intense magical energy emanating from him, indicating that he had just finished a duel in the arena.

"How dare you kill my brother! And you even tried to steal our Yan family's magical artifacts and spirit beasts!" Yan Nanjiao shouted angrily, "Do you really not take our Yan Family Fortress seriously?"

Yang Qingyuan stood on the high platform, about to reply, when he saw his Uncle Wang below respond first.

An extremely powerful spiritual pressure erupted from his body, sweeping across the surrounding area and causing the Qi Refining stage cultivators nearby to suddenly change color.

Uncle Wang, though not angry, spoke coldly, "The rules of the Ascension Conference were set by our seven major sects."

"Once you step into the ring, you are responsible for your own life and death."

"It is reasonable and legal for the winner to take the loser's storage bag."

"If you dare break the rules again, believe me, this manager will cripple you!"

Clearly, Uncle Wang was very displeased with Yan Nanjiao's interference in the arena.

Yan Nanjiao was also intimidated by the spiritual pressure of the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. She immediately broke out in a cold sweat and retreated repeatedly. She dared not make a sound, but could only grit her teeth, glare fiercely at Yang Qingyuan, and then walk into the crowd.

"We can begin the next match now." Upon seeing this, Wu Feng called out to the two who would be fighting next.

Yang Qingyuan also stepped down from the stage and walked towards his Uncle Wang.

Upon seeing this, the Qi Refining stage cultivators around the arena quickly made way for them and kept their distance.

"Truly remarkable." Uncle Wang smiled kindly and praised, "I underestimated you before."

"I never imagined you could control so many flying swords using only poetry."

"The second Foundation Establishment Pill is already yours."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingyuan understood that Uncle Wang probably knew about Confucian cultivation, and replied, "Uncle Wang, you flatter me."

"May I ask, Uncle-Master, does our Yellow Maple Valley have any Confucian cultivation traditions?"

Uncle Wang shook his head and explained, "As far as I know, the sect's Transmission Hall definitely does not have Confucian or Taoist cultivation methods."

"I'm afraid only elders at the Core Formation stage would have the knowledge of Confucian cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingyuan couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

"By the way," Uncle Wang instructed, "you absolutely mustn't waste your energy trying to treat that two-headed duck."

"It has a divine sense restriction placed on its body by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Yan family. You cannot break it; only a Core Formation stage cultivator can break it."

"You should kill it as soon as possible, take its essence, blood, feathers, and other materials, and sell them for spirit stones."

"Alright, step back and watch the fight."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingyuan silently walked to stand in front of Han Li and Wan Xiaoshan, while simultaneously examining the "True Word Manual" within his dantian.

His earlier poem, "With a three-foot sword in its sheath on my back, I show Heaven and the injustice to the people," was taken from the poem "Quatrain No. 32" by the Taoist master Lü Yan.

This Lü Yan also had another name, Lü Dongbin.

As expected, the mantra for the word "sword" changed once again.

The "Sword" mantra has two effects: firstly, it amplifies the power of flying swords and magical artifacts, while also increasing the power of sword-based divine abilities and reducing the mana and spiritual energy consumption of sword-based spells and artifacts. Currently, it can unleash 140% of its power.

Secondly, it can help cultivators comprehend sword techniques and refine flying sword-type magical artifacts and treasures.

Now, the "Sword" mantra has not only increased in power, but it can also reduce the mental energy consumption when Yang Qingyuan drives the flying swords, allowing him to control about five flying swords at the same time as if they were his own arms.

The most valuable treasures Yan Nanfei possessed were the Bone-Melting Fan and the double-headed duck.

The two-headed pheasant cannot be tamed by others until the restrictions are lifted.

However, the Bone-Melting Fan can be used against enemies.

As for Yan Nanfei's storage bag, there were sixty-four low-grade spirit stones, two bottles of Purple Marrow Pills totaling twenty pills, and some high-quality healing pills.

This Purple Marrow Pill can enhance a cultivator's cultivation level and is suitable for cultivators below the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

Next, the battles at the Ascension Tournament became increasingly fierce, with more and more powerful opponents emerging.

Yang Qingyuan displayed formidable strength in his battle against Yan Nanfei, causing subsequent cultivators to hesitate to challenge him and instead forfeit their matches.

Yang Qingyuan successfully secured one of the ten spots, which meant he received the second Foundation Establishment Pill.

Soon, the final victories of the other six major factions were also decided in their respective arenas.

Surprisingly, Yan Nanjiao actually secured a spot in the Hidden Moon Sect, and before leaving, she didn't forget to give Yang Qingyuan a resentful look.

This made Wan Xiaoshan genuinely worried about Yang Qingyuan.

"Brother Xiaoshan, don't worry about it. My cultivation level will only get higher and higher in the future, so I don't need to care about Yan Nanjiao at all." Yang Qingyuan took out a white porcelain bottle from Yan Nanfei's storage bag, handed it to Wan Xiaoshan, and introduced it, "There are ten Purple Marrow Pills here. Please keep them as a parting gift."

"The Yan family's Purple Marrow Pill!" Upon seeing this, Wan Xiaoshan rubbed his hands together and said, "How could I possibly accept this?"

Yang Qingyuan insisted, "Brother Xiaoshan has worked hard to escort me along the way using the golden-crowned eagle, so please accept this."

Wan Xiaoshan beamed with joy, clasped his hands in a salute to Yang Qingyuan and Han Li, and said, "I wish Brother Yang and Brother Han a speedy Foundation Establishment. May we meet again someday."

Meanwhile, Uncle Wang flicked his sleeve, releasing a yellow spirit boat that carried ten winners, including Yang Qingyuan, and Han Li, straight towards Yellow Maple Valley...