Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 295 Beyond the Rules
When Lu Zheng saw the golden chain coming at him in an instant, he did not avoid it but raised his hand to grab it.

The golden chain instantly wrapped around Lu Zheng's right arm, like a coiled long snake.

However, the righteous energy in Lu Zheng's body was released, resisting the divine power on the chains, making the chains unable to restrain him at all.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Zheng suddenly exerted force and pulled the golden chain forcefully.

Zhao Ming felt the huge force coming, and his eyes showed a strange color, and he increased his strength all of a sudden.

He never expected that Lu Zheng would respond in this way and actually pull the chain directly.

Fortunately, his reaction was not slow, otherwise he would have been pulled away by Lu Zheng, which would have been very embarrassing.

In just a moment, the golden chain was stretched straight.

The two of them stood there, neither moving.

Zhao Ming couldn't help but ask, "You're quite strong. Have you practiced martial arts? Have you reached the fourth level of martial arts?"

Zhao Ming did not get much information about Lu Zheng's true strength, and could only infer a few things from the information he knew.

After just one move, he felt that Lu Zheng was much more powerful than he had expected.

"you guess."

Lu Zheng looked calm and continued to hold the chain tightly, causing it to creak.

Zhao Ming raised his eyebrows and said, "Let go. This chain can't withstand your brute force..."

This golden chain is a third-level magic weapon, usually used to restrain demons and ghosts.

Zhao Ming didn't expect Lu Zheng to be so strong, and he didn't want to break the chain.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng loosened his grip slightly, and the golden chain was instantly retracted and disappeared into Zhao Ming's long sleeves.

Zhao Ming said with a click of his tongue, "I underestimated you. If it weren't for your righteous spirit, I would have thought I had found the wrong person."

As he spoke, Zhao Ming raised his hand again, holding a brush.

Golden light flowed from the tip of the pen, and a large golden character a foot long was written out of thin air: Kill!

The golden word "斩" contained the majestic power of Shintoism, and it blasted towards Lu Zheng with a fierce momentum.

Lu Zheng's eyes moved slightly, and he found that his own energy was locked, and he couldn't avoid it.

He had no intention of dodging and just raised his hand and punched out.

The righteous energy collided with the large golden characters, shattering them into pieces in an instant.

The golden divine power was instantly annihilated by the righteous energy, and not a trace of it remained.

Zhao Mingdao said, "You can't just rely on your strength to spar with me. Can't you use some more refined tactics?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I, Lu, have the integrity of a scholar, so how can I not consider this a scholar's method?"

Zhao Ming was speechless when he heard this.

Lu Zheng then said, "I have many tricks up my sleeve, but this is just a sparring match. Just stop when you're ready. Otherwise, if you injure or kill the judge, that would be terrible..."

"Young man, you're so arrogant!" Zhao Ming's eyes flashed, "If that's the case..."

Zhao Ming's eyes shone with golden light, and a golden aura emanated from his body, forming a layer of golden armor on his body.

Then, a golden sword appeared in his hand, releasing a strong murderous aura. It was unknown how many evil spirits and ghosts this sword had slain.

Zhao Ming took a big step forward with a knife in hand, his momentum as strong as a rainbow.

A powerful aura instantly enveloped Lu Zheng, and an invisible divine power suppressed him.

Lu Zheng stood tall and straight, and said leisurely, "Heaven moves with vigor, and a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement!"

A vast aura surged out from Lu Zheng's body, forming a barrier that completely eliminated the pressure in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Ming's eyes were blazing as he recited classics to gather his strength. It seemed this boy also had some good skills in Confucianism and Taoism!
Zhao Ming said quietly, "The earth is in a low position, and a gentleman should carry all things with great virtue."

As he spoke, Zhao Ming's aura fluctuated, a sense of righteousness filled the air, and his overall momentum rose to a higher level again.

Lu Zheng blinked his eyes. It turned out that Judge Zhao Yixiu also had a righteous spirit, but it was obviously not as pure as his.

The two men stood there without moving, and directly suppressed each other with their momentum.

Qing Wan, who was at a distance, felt an inexplicable pressure and couldn't help but take a few steps back.

As the two sides confronted each other, their auras constantly collided and strong winds blew past.

Zhao Ming was surprised to see that he couldn't suppress Lu Zheng for the time being, and shouted, "Watch out for the knife!"

As soon as he said this, Zhao Ming strode forward and swung his sword towards Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng waved his right hand, and Zhang Liangchui appeared out of thin air, smashing towards Zhao Ming with a hammer.

A terrifying pressure instantly swept towards Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming heard that Lu Zheng had a sledgehammer as a weapon. Now that he was there in person, he deeply felt the power contained in the sledgehammer.

He hurriedly raised his sword to meet the attack and used his divine power to protect himself.

In an instant, Lu Zheng struck with a hammer, and a golden light shone brightly.

Zhao Ming resisted the enormous force and retreated a distance. Zhao Ming only felt the big knife in his hand trembling continuously, and for a moment he was unable to keep it steady.

"Forget it, I won't fight you anymore. You young man, you're quite capable..."

Zhao Ming raised his hand to signal, then restrained his breath.

He found that Lu Zheng's strength was really not weak. If he continued to compete with him like this, it would consume too much of his spiritual energy and it was really not worth it.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng immediately put away Zhang Liang's club.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "I feel like I haven't warmed up yet."

"Uh..." Zhao Ming couldn't help but say, "Zhao is not the real one. This spiritual power of mine is not even half as strong as the real one. I will spar with you later."

Zhao Ming thought that his split soul was enough to test Lu Zheng's strength, but it turned out that he thought too much. If the fight continued like this, his split soul would be destroyed here.

He originally came with a mission and didn't want to get into a fight with Lu Zheng.

"I see." Lu Zheng nodded. "If Judge Zhao isn't here to spar with me, then what's the reason?"

Zhao Ming said with a smile, "I won't beat around the bush. The Yongzhou City God values you very much and asked me to win you over. As long as you are willing, the City God will fully train you."

"Your Excellency knows that the Duke Ding of Anguo calls you sir. Even the sage of Anguo has endowed you with literary grace and knows your character..."

"Whatever Anguo can give you, our Chu can give you. What Anguo cannot give you, Chu can also give you!"

Lu Zheng's face was calm, but he asked curiously: "For example?"

Zhao Ming said, "The Lord knows that you are willing to offend the powerful for the sake of the people, and he praises you highly. If you wish, he can recommend you to be an official or a god..."

"You should know that the An Kingdom values scholars, but Confucian and Taoist scholars don't live long. But as long as you come to the Chu Kingdom, you can serve as an official while you are alive, and after your death, you will be guaranteed to become a god, or you can become a god directly, and you can live as long as the country..."

"You care about the people and want to do things for them, so naturally you'll live a long life, right?"

"Zhao was once a scholar with a righteous character. He held an official position, later becoming the City God, and was later promoted to the position of Judge under the City God of Yongzhou..."

Mi Gu sent Zhao Ming to win over Lu Zheng because he thought that the two had something in common and he might be able to play a role.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "The lifespan of Confucian and Taoist scholars is indeed shorter than that of other practitioners."

Zhao Ming's eyes were blazing as he said, "With your virtue, if you were a god, you would surely live a long life. You don't have to worry about anything."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's just lifespan. I don't care. Scholars may not live long, but they are just ordinary scholars. I am still young. When I become a great scholar, my lifespan will not be shorter than that of a god."

Zhao Ming: ...

He didn't expect Lu Zheng to be so arrogant. At such a young age, he wanted to become a great scholar. Why didn't he want to become a saint?

Zhao Ming said, "Mr. Lu has great ambitions, and our Chu State is not short of great scholars. If you stay in Chu State, you will have many more options than in An State. What do you think?"

Lu Zheng shook his head and refused: "I'm sorry, Lu doesn't have that idea."

Zhao Ming felt puzzled. He had clearly offered generous conditions, but Lu Zheng didn't care at all, which he couldn't understand.

Zhao Ming asked, "But what benefits did An Guo promise you? Why not tell us? We can discuss any conditions."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "They didn't do me any good."

Zhao Ming frowned when he heard this, unable to understand Lu Zheng's thoughts for a moment.

Lu Zheng said slowly, "I appreciate your appreciation, but I don't care about any of this, whether it's Anguo, Chuguo, or any other country. I don't care about these benefits. I just want to follow my own path and not be bound by anything."

Zhao Ming became increasingly confused and asked, "I don't understand. If you're willing to offend the powerful for the sake of the people, why don't you elevate your status so you can do more for the people?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "In ancient times, many sages emerged to help the people of the world find a way out. Hundreds of schools of thought contended with each other, and the world flourished..."

"The world is in turmoil right now, and the people are suffering. I, Lu, am not talented enough, so I want to follow the example of my predecessors and find another way, rather than succumbing to your rules."

"You give me a high position and generous salary, but within your rules, even if I serve the people, to what extent can I do it?"

"For example, Judge Zhao, he's clearly righteous, but has he really done well enough?"

Zhao Ming stared at Lu Zheng with disbelief on his face.

He didn't expect that Lu Zheng had such thoughts in his heart.

As Lu Zheng said, as a judge, Zhao is restricted in what he can do within the rules, but there is nothing he can do about it.

"You..." Zhao Ming's expression was complicated, "You have great ambitions, but..."

Zhao Ming hesitated and didn't finish what he was saying.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Judge Zhao, do you mean to say that I am naive, or that I don't know how high the heavens are, or that I don't know how to live or die?"

Zhao Ming remained silent. This was roughly what he wanted to say. Lu Zheng's idea was good, but the reality was cruel.

Breaking the rules? That's not what those in power want to see.

Lu Zheng paused, then added, "Perhaps Judge Zhao is right, but no matter what, someone has to give it a try. I suspect Lu Zheng isn't the only one in the world who has this idea."

"History is a mirror that reveals the rise and fall of nations. If we do not make changes, what will become of the An Kingdom, what will become of the Chu Kingdom, and what will become of the same age as the other nations? In the end, we will all perish."

Zhao Ming was shocked. He originally wanted to win over Lu Zheng.

However, Lu Zheng's words made him feel shaken and began to doubt his life.

(End of this chapter)