The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 262 Emulating the Sages
These demonic auras were actually quite distinct, but Du Yuan had been dazzled by the sharp, piercing light of those immortal swords, so she only noticed the faint "fluorescence" under the bright moonlight now.

Du Yuan rubbed her slightly sore eyes and thought to herself: I'll deal with these little demons first.

After identifying these demonic auras, Du Yuan initially wanted to find and eliminate them one by one, but then she thought that doing so would be too wasteful.

The demons must be eliminated, and action must be taken as soon as possible to prevent them from harming the surrounding people again.

Why bother searching for them one by one yourself?

Du Yuan glanced around: hearing of her arrival, the crowd was growing larger and larger, and with the hidden deities all around, there must be quite a few of them. Such a favorable situation shouldn't be wasted.

But how exactly should it be done?
Du Yuan then began to ponder how to make the most of the current favorable situation.

In no time, he had an idea.

So Du Yuan addressed the crowd of people and said loudly, "Let me tell you one or two stories!"

Although the crowd was puzzled as to why the young master wanted to tell stories again, many of them had heard his stories before and knew how wonderful they were. Upon hearing this, they were all excited and thought to themselves that they would be able to enjoy a feast for their ears again today.

Those who hadn't heard of him before were even more excited—they had long heard that this young gentleman was not only kind-hearted and highly skilled, but also an exceptional storyteller!
In an instant, everyone couldn't help but push forward.

Fortunately, before Du Yuan could speak, Wang Chengye had already sensed the situation and immediately called to Magistrate Han beside him: "Magistrate Han, quickly, make the arrangements!"

Magistrate Han immediately understood: "I will arrange tables and chairs for you right away."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengye immediately put his hand to his forehead and couldn't help but sigh to the heavens: Are all the officials in our dynasty such fools?
At that moment, even someone as noble as him couldn't help but begin to doubt whether the Nine-Rank System was truly a great harm to the country.

But he suppressed his emotions and said in a deep voice, "What's the point of preparing tables and chairs? Can't you see that the people are almost out of control? Why don't you quickly arrange for the yamen runners to maintain order? Do you have to wait for the young master to speak before you understand?"

Magistrate Han then realized what was happening and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I understand, I understand!"

Seeing his behavior, Wang Chengye couldn't help but scold him again:

"You, if you weren't born into a noble family, with your abilities, how could you possibly have come to Hexi to take up your post?"

He used to think that the imperial examination system was just a gimmick created by the pharmacist. How many ordinary people could afford to study? Even if they knew a few words, what could they possibly know about the art of governing the people or the way to rule the world?
In the end, those sitting in the imperial court were none other than the scions of noble families who had accumulated power over generations.

If that's the case, why waste the national treasury's funds to maintain that damned imperial examination? If it could actually select talents to save the world, that would be fine, but you keep avoiding us noble families, what kind of people can you possibly select?

At that time, he was convinced that the pharmacist's strong push for the imperial examination was not for selecting virtuous and capable officials, but rather to use this as an excuse to win over those scholars from poor families and cultivate a new force that would only listen to his orders, so as to rival the powerful families that had been entrenched for centuries.

But at this moment, watching Magistrate Han hurriedly run off to dispatch the yamen runners, Wang Chengye had a thought he had never had before: perhaps he had been wrong before.

Before he could think about it further, he touched the warm jade and gave a self-deprecating smile.

Enough. I just met a stupid county magistrate. Why did I have such an inappropriate thought? Yao Shiyuan's thoughts are unpredictable. As a member of the Langya Wang clan, it is only right for me to uphold the family's position.

For some reason, when Wang Chengye looked at the crowd surrounding Du Yuan again, the melancholy in his eyes deepened.

The young master is popular and possesses magical powers. If he truly sides with the Pharmacist, the future path of the aristocratic families will likely become even more difficult.
He couldn't imagine what would happen if an emperor, who could already control all the powerful families, were to encounter an immortal. He could only suppress this thought and try his best to seize this opportunity with the immortals.

Even at its worst, it must be someone who doesn't seek good results but strives not to be bad!

So he went along to maintain order and dissuade the people.

After everything was over, Du Yuan spoke slowly:

Do you all think my voice was a little too soft?

Upon hearing this, both the people standing in front and the people standing behind nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Du Yuan's eyebrows curved into a smile, her tone carrying a hint of confident laughter:
"It's alright, it's alright, it'll be quick, everyone will be able to hear it clearly."

For the last person, Du Yuan deliberately bit a little harder.

When the young master spoke, everyone naturally believed him, so when Du Yuan spoke again...

They could all hear the clear, resounding heavens and earth!
And it's not just them!
Those various immortals and gods scattered in the mountains and forests—some hiding in the clouds overlooking the world, some resting by the stream, and some dozing on the branches of ancient trees.

They all suddenly caught the sound. Unlike ordinary words that would be blocked by mountains and rivers, it seemed to surge from all directions, as clear as a whisper in their ears.

“In the past, the world was in turmoil, and evil spirits abounded. Even the sages could not bear to see this.”

When these words reached the ears of the common people, they simply took it as the beginning of a new story. Someone quietly tugged at the sleeve of the person next to them, their eyes full of anticipation: "It sounds like a story, maybe it's about a sage exorcising a demon!"

But to the ears of immortals and gods, it was a completely different kind of shock.

"Who is this person? The Emperor still reigns; why is he showing off like this?"

A man in a straw raincoat standing in the field suddenly looked up and said this.

He then listened intently, and after a moment, he exclaimed in horror:
"Such a large scope? Just for saying a few words?"

The old beggar, who had been drinking incessantly from his gourd, looked up upon hearing this and asked in surprise:
"What's this kid up to now? He just accumulated two huge amounts of merit, isn't that enough for him to have some peace and quiet? Why does he have to make such a fuss?"

At that moment, a huge python suddenly burst through the ground and emerged from the soil, staring intently at the confluence of the rivers from which the sound came.

The five members of the Shaking Mountain Sect who had been fleeing in disarray felt their hearts tighten upon hearing this voice. They quickened their pace, and the magical artifacts at their waists began to glow faintly.

Just then, Du Yuan's voice softened slightly, as if she were depicting a distant ancient painting, and she continued slowly:
"Therefore, the sage sat on the ground and recited Confucian classics. With his righteous spirit, he suppressed all evil spirits."

"Today, I see demons roaming the land, and I wish to emulate the sages of old!"

(End of this chapter)