Confucian and Taoist scholar

Confucius calmly observed the various expressions of the Kong family members below, his heart unmoved.

Such a family has long since deviated from true Confucianism and Taoism, and has no reason to exist.

Confucius turned to look at Lu Zheng and asked softly, "Where are you going next?"

Lu Zheng replied, "The Meng family."

Confucius nodded slightly, and with a thought, he and Lu Zheng disappeared into the sky.

When the crowd below saw Confucius and Lu Zheng leave, their hearts sank to the bottom.

Some people still hoped that Confucius would show them some leniency, but in the end, he severed ties with them.

Some people even tried to ask the Confucian and Taoist ancestors who had made Confucius a semi-sage, but they received no response. It seemed that those ancestors had also severed ties with them.

The patriarch of the Kong family knelt there, his eyes filled with utter confusion.

He was suddenly jolted, and belatedly realized that all the sacred artifacts passed down through his family were gone.

Suddenly, he felt a chill run through his body.

It's over, everything is over... The Kong family patriarch felt a sharp pain in his chest, and everything went dark before his eyes.

The patriarch of the Kong family clutched his chest. The Kong family, a prestigious clan, had lost everything it had to rely on as a noble family…

He wasn't the only one who thought so; many members of the Kong clan present shared this view, their minds filled with confusion and despair.

These scions of noble families, who have enjoyed the legacy of sages and saints their entire lives, still haven't figured out one thing.

What is the most valuable legacy that Confucius left to them?

It is not a sacred object for scholars, nor a name that will be passed down through the ages, nor a lofty status, nor countless riches...

Rather, it is the thought of the sage who advocates the right path for the world.

But these descendants, in pursuit of wealth, fame, and status, abandoned what was most precious.

……

With Confucius leading the way, Lu Zheng arrived outside the Meng family in the blink of an eye.

Before them lay another bustling place, showcasing the profound heritage of a prominent family.

Confucius looked into the depths of the Mencius family estate, where a magnificent temple stood.

His single thought triggered the Confucian and Taoist fortune of the entire Meng family.

The powerful spirit of Confucianism and Taoism surged forth from the Meng family like a great river, heading towards Lu Zheng and Confucius.

Within the Meng family, some powerful figures were alerted and came out to check the situation.

Confucius completely absorbed the Confucian and Taoist energy drawn from the Meng family, then glanced at Lu Zheng and smiled slightly.

In the next instant, Confucius transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky.

Immediately afterwards, another powerful sage's will descended upon the world, which was sensed by all the people in the surrounding area.

In less than a breath, Meng Sheng's tall figure appeared beside Lu Zheng.

Just now at the Kong family, Lu Zheng used his own power to more or less to ask Confucius to manifest his divine power.

Now, Confucius has actually helped him out, directly using the Confucian and Taoist fortune of the Meng family to recruit Meng Sheng.

This saved Lu Zheng a lot of trouble.

Meng Sheng looked at Lu Zheng with a friendly smile on his face.

Lu Zheng smiled respectfully and said, "Senior Meng Sheng, thank you for your trouble."

At this time, some important figures from the Meng family had already arrived.

Looking at the two figures in the sky ahead, everyone was surprised.

In particular, the presence of Meng Sheng created a deep connection between them.

"Holy Ancestor!"

Some people immediately bowed respectfully, their voices trembling with excitement.

The Meng Sheng before my eyes gives one an incomparably powerful feeling, clearly carrying the purest will of Meng Sheng.

"Holy Ancestor!"

"Holy Ancestor!"

"The sage ancestor has returned!"

……

Many members of the Meng clan were overjoyed to see Meng Sheng appear, and even ignored Lu Zheng standing next to him.

However, some people had a bad feeling after seeing Lu Zheng.

Meng Sheng looked at the group of Meng family members, his eyes turning indifferent, and said, "I'm here to clean house."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell into silence.

Some people's joyful expressions froze, thinking they had misheard.

Some people looked incredulous upon hearing this.

Among the crowd, some were already feeling guilty and wanting to back out, but under the invisible pressure of the sage, they really couldn't slip away.

An elder of the Meng family stepped forward and asked softly, "Holy Ancestor, what is the meaning of this?"

Meng Sheng was too lazy to explain anything and simply raised his hand slightly.

A righteous spirit instantly filled the world.

The entire Meng family was enveloped in an aura of righteousness.

"thump!"

"thump!"

……

Some people couldn't withstand the overwhelming righteous energy and immediately knelt down.

Meng Sheng spoke slowly, his voice like thunderclap.

"When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when prosperous, one should benefit all under heaven..."

"Wealth and honor cannot corrupt me, poverty and hardship cannot sway me, and power and force cannot subdue me..."

The words of the sages resonate throughout the land.

Those members of the Meng clan who harbored wicked intentions turned pale upon hearing this, as they endured the suppression of the righteous spirit.

One by one, they lost control of themselves, and their cultivation levels plummeted.

Some people even died suddenly, but the scene was so chaotic that no one paid attention.

Some people instinctively wanted to stop it, but they were practicing Confucianism and Taoism, and they were facing their own ancestors. They were restrained and suppressed, so how could they resist?

Even the great Confucian scholars of the Meng family could not stop their literary talent from overflowing.

Someone asked in a trembling voice, "Holy Ancestor, what have we done wrong? Why is this happening to us..."

Lu Zheng stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Such pure and righteous energy is something that many scholars cultivate but cannot attain. Isn't this a blessing? You have not received this blessing, so do you really not understand what you have done and where you went wrong?"

Lu Zheng looked at the Meng family and sighed, "In such a large family as the Meng family, there are very few people who can still stand firm. It is indeed time to clean house."

Within the entire Meng family, only a handful of people have received positive improvements under this righteous spirit.

On the contrary, many people die without ever knowing how many sins they committed in their lives.

Seeing this, Meng Sheng's eyes grew even colder.

He was merely a will, and when he was worshipped in the world, he didn't have much power to expend to supervise and control the descendants of the Meng family.

Ultimately, it was a case of having the will but not the ability.

It's good to take this opportunity to clean house and sever all ties completely.

Lu Zheng's words caused everyone's expressions to change.

However, faced with the pressure from Meng Sheng, they could only endure it and dared not act rashly.

They could sense that if anyone made any unusual moves now, they would face even more terrifying and ruthless punishment.

Some people had no choice but to speak up, hoping to obtain Meng Sheng's forgiveness. Meng Sheng remained unmoved and, following the example of Confucius, personally destroyed the ancestral temples and incense offerings of the Meng family, completely severing ties with the descendants of the Meng family.

The Meng family members were all filled with fear and unease upon seeing this situation.

They had just thought their heaven had returned, but they never expected that the heaven that had protected the Meng family had completely collapsed.

Some people couldn't withstand such a blow and fainted on the spot.

"No, no, no, this isn't real..."

Some people looked slightly crazy, unwilling to face reality.

Lu Zheng declared in a loud voice, "From this day forward, the Meng family will cease to exist in the world. No one with the surname Meng shall use the name of a descendant of Meng Sheng to commit any perverse acts! Anyone who disobeys this order will be condemned by Heaven and Earth!"

These words struck the hearts of the Meng clan members with even greater force.

With a thought, Meng Sheng withdrew all the righteous energy of the surrounding area, and also took away the things that the Meng family did not deserve.

Lu Zheng said softly, "The Zeng family."

Meng Sheng smiled and nodded, "Okay."

The two disappeared from the spot in an instant, coming and going as quickly as they had come, as if they had never been there at all.

The saint's oppressive aura completely disappeared, and many members of the Meng family were still in shock.

It wasn't until after a while that the entire family began to cry out in panic.

……

"What! Lu Zheng has come to Qi! We beg Your Majesty to clean house!"

Upon hearing the news, Tian Jiu was immediately startled. Every piece of information about Lu Zheng always gave him a fright.

Tian Jiu didn't even have time to tidy herself up before asking, "Where is he now?"

The subordinate who came to report said, "He has already gone to the Kong family, the Meng family, the Zeng family... He has been on too many trips, and we do not know where he is now."

Even though the Tian family's intelligence channels were fast enough, they couldn't match Lu Zheng's efficiency.

The news was delayed, and the person who came did not know where Lu Zheng had gone.

Tian Jiu's mind raced, and then she vanished from the spot in a flash.

The State of Qi only has a few Confucian and Taoist families. At worst, he can hurry up and go find them one by one. Who knows, he might even witness a good show.

Around the same time, some powerful figures in the State of Qi also learned of the matter, and they were all astonished and curious to investigate.

Some people went to the Kong and Meng families first and were secretly shocked by the miserable state of both families.

When officials from the Qi court witnessed this scene, they rushed to the Qi capital to report it to the Qi emperor.

At this moment, in the royal palace of the State of Qi.

Emperor Qi sat in a grand hall with a grim expression. Just now, someone from the Imperial Observatory had reported to him that the fortunes of Confucianism and Taoism had undergone a major change, and he wondered what had happened to them.

The State of Qi was founded on Confucianism and Taoism, and was the birthplace of many Confucian sages, making it the place where Confucianism and Taoism flourished most.

This incident has forced Emperor Qi to take it seriously, and he has ordered people to investigate the situation thoroughly.

"There's no peace and quiet every single day..."

Emperor Qi rubbed his temples and sighed inwardly.

Before the people sent out returned, another official came to report the matter.

"What? It's Lu Zheng..."

When Emperor Qi learned the gist of the matter, his expression became quite interesting.

Having been emperor for so long, he considered himself to have seen a lot of the world, but he had never heard of anything like this before.

What does it mean that Lu Zheng asked Confucius to clean up the Kong family, then asked Mencius to clean up the Meng family, and also went to other Confucian and Taoist families...?

Emperor Qi put a hand to his forehead, feeling that he had never dreamed of such an outrageous scene.

He sat there in silence for a long time before he could process the news.

"How can there be such a young person in this world? He's really gone mad..."

Emperor Qi looked puzzled. "He's a madman, and the Confucian sages have gone mad with him."

Upon learning of this, Emperor Qi felt not anger, but rather helplessness, bewilderment, and a bit of a headache...

Even he didn't know how to handle such a situation.

What can we do? Stop Lu Zheng, or stop the Confucian sages?
It's probably too late to stop it now.

Feeling exhausted... Even the emperor of a nation suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

He could roughly guess why Lu Zheng had acted this way; someone had probably provoked the other party, and Lu Zheng was retaliating.

He had previously thought that those old Confucian scholars couldn't deal with Lu Zheng, but not only could they not deal with him, they also caused this situation.

It's unimaginable that the most powerful Confucian and Taoist families were successively eliminated.

Emperor Qi couldn't help but touch his nose. The court had tried to limit the power of those sage families in the past, but the effect was not obvious.

Even after the passing of Confucian sages, some government decrees were able to restrict those aristocratic families and reclaim some of the benefits that originally belonged to the government and the people, but the effect was limited.

But now, Lu Zheng has invited the Confucian sages to completely destroy those aristocratic families...

This was something that no emperor of Qi in previous dynasties had dared to do, and it was done even more ruthlessly and thoroughly.

Emperor Qi felt that even if he had such an opportunity, he would not have done things so ruthlessly. This was simply showing no mercy, and the consequences were unpredictable.

Wait, this seems to be the State of Qi...

A headache... Emperor Qi rubbed his temples. If there were any serious consequences, Qi would be the most affected.

Emperor Qi said quietly, "Where has he gone now?"

The visitor said, "I do not know..."

Emperor Qi thought for a moment, then summoned a palace servant and sent someone with an imperial edict to invite Lu Zheng.

The court officials were mostly Confucian and Taoist scholars, so sending them to find Lu Zheng would likely backfire.

He simply sent someone to invite an elder from his own family to come forward, as it would be more appropriate for someone from the royal family to go.

Perhaps it's too late to send someone to stop the destruction of certain powerful families, but at least we should try to negotiate with Lu Zheng.

Emperor Qi added, "Report any new developments immediately."

Then, Emperor Qi waved his hand to dismiss everyone, wanting to have some time alone.

Not long after, a sound came from outside; someone had come to see them.

After Emperor Qi granted his permission, a beautiful woman with tears streaming down her face entered the hall, her voice mournful: "Your Majesty, please do justice for the Kong family..."

The visitor was a concubine from the palace, a woman from the Kong family.

This concubine had been feeling unwell before, as if she had lost something important.

News just came from outside the palace, and she learned of the changes in the Kong family. She was flustered and frightened, so she came to find Emperor Qi.

Emperor Qi looked at the concubine with a slightly complicated expression.

The reason this woman surnamed Kong was brought into the palace was mostly for political reasons.

Among the concubines favored by Emperor Qi, this one was not particularly favored.

Upon hearing the woman's lament, Emperor Qi showed no pity; instead, he frowned.

Taking charge? What kind of charge? Even Confucius himself was cleaning up the house; what could he possibly do?
Are you suggesting we go and seek justice from Confucius? Reason with him? He doesn't have that kind of ability…

The Qi state was in such turmoil that the Qi emperor was already having a headache and couldn't think of any way to restore the major aristocratic families.

"Alright, alright..."

Emperor Qi spoke calmly, "With such a major incident, how could I not be worried? I have already sent envoys to find Lu Zheng..."

The concubine noticed the emperor's displeasure and dared not say anything more, so she quietly took her leave.

When the emperor saw his concubine leave, his eyes seemed a little dazed.

This woman, who had always been more arrogant than the other concubines in the harem because of her family background, is now completely a different person.

Emperor Qi said sadly, "Even virtuous and noble families have fallen to such a state due to moral decay. What about the imperial family...?" (End of Chapter)