Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 281 One-on-One Duel! Shu Mountain Sword Sect!

"You are—" Zhu Ge asked.

"I am Li Mubai, a student of Zigong City Academy." The young Confucian scholar clasped his hands in a salute: "I just heard your brilliant thoughts resounding in the restaurant, and I also heard that you are the same Mr. Zhu Ge who created a new Confucian path, so I took the liberty of coming here."

"Sir, I—I would like to ask you to inscribe my name."

"Write a name?" Zhu Ge was taken aback.

It took me a moment to realize that there seemed to be something similar to fans and autographs here.

So he took the book, took out a pen from his sleeve, wrote the words "As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement" on the title page, and then signed his name.

Li Mubai took the book, his eyes welling up with tears, his cheeks flushed with emotion, "Thank you, Mr. Zhu Ge! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Zhu Ge smiled. "Study hard and serve the people."

"Yes!" Li Mubai nodded vigorously, "I will definitely study hard and, in the future, I will also create my own path, just like you, sir!"

Zhu Ge looked at him and suddenly remembered herself back in Jianshan Village.

At that time, he had not yet cultivated and was not even at the first realm.

But he has an indomitable spirit and a desire to become stronger.

It is this heart that has sustained him all the way to where he is today.

"Let's encourage each other." Zhu Ge patted Li Mubai on the shoulder.

Li Mubai nodded vigorously, then turned and ran away.

Looking at his retreating figure, Liu Jianjian couldn't help but sigh, "A being at the first level of cultivation is nothing more than someone who can be eaten as a snack at any time in the wild."

"But among humans, for such a being to come before you, Master, to ask for your name is truly, truly—"

Liu Jianjian thought for a long time but couldn't come up with an adjective.

"This is what inheritance is all about." Zhu Ge smiled, unconcerned.

As night deepens, the lanterns remain brightly lit.

Zhu Ge led everyone on a fresh start.

The Annihilation True Lord has moved to his own realm and no longer travels by carriage.

Because he ate spicy food, he started coughing again after recovering from a cold.

Everyone else was fine as usual.

Zhu Ge also entered her own realm, closed her eyes, and reviewed everything that had happened that day in her mind.

Lin Zhi's "momentum," Lin Fu's fist, Qingmei Shusheng's forbearance, Zhang Gongzi's arrogance, Li Mubai's passion—everyone has their own path, and everyone is walking on their own path.

His journey is still long, but he's not in a hurry.

Sitting cross-legged beside the spirit rice field in his own realm, moonlight streamed down from the array in the dome, casting a silvery-white glow on the water's surface.

The air above that powerful rice plant was still slightly distorted, like an invisible flame burning.

He has read it many times, and each time he feels that he understands a little more, but he still can't see through it.

The Blood Armor Immortal lay at the bottom of the wooden box, its six claws gripping the thousand-year-old peach wood tightly, its single horn trembling slightly.

Its carapace changed from deep red to dark red, and the golden patterns on the carapace became denser than before, with a faint aura of spiritual energy flowing through it.

Zhu Ge infused a wisp of witch power into its body, and the Blood Armor Immortal's body glowed slightly, with a thin, light blue stream of air shooting out from the tip of its horn.

The air current swirled in the air before landing in Zhu Ge's palm, like an invisible tongue gently licking it.

"It's the twenty-third day." Zhu Ge silently counted in his mind, put the Blood Armor Immortal back into the wooden box, and put it into his sleeve.

He stood up and walked slowly through his own world.

The rice in the spirit rice field has already sprouted ears of grain, which are so heavy that they bend the stalks.

The rice ears of that superior rice plant were larger than the others, with plump grains and a faint golden sheen on their surface.

Zhu Ge reached out and gently stroked the leaves of the high-yield rice plant. The leaves trembled slightly, as if responding to his touch.

Zhu Ge smiled, turned around and left the self-bound realm, returning to the carriage.

The carriage had already left Zigong City and was traveling north along the official road.

The wheels crunched over the gravel, making a squeaking sound.

Liu Jianjian rode her horse beside her, carrying the rabbit lantern in her hand. The candle inside the lantern had been replaced with a new one, and the flame flickered in the night wind, casting her face in alternating light and shadow.

Zhu Sisi was lying on her shoulder, already awake, chewing on mulberry leaves, her eyes half-open and half-closed, as if she was thinking about something.

"Master, where are we going next?" Liu Jianjian asked.

"The Shu Mountain Sword Sect." Zhu Ge thought for a moment and said, "It wouldn't be right to pass through Shu territory without visiting the Shu Mountain Sword Sect."

Liu Jianjian's eyes lit up: "The Shu Mountain Sword Sect? It seems they have people in the top twenty of the 'National Ranking'?"

Zhu Ge is about to be listed on the Imperial Ranking, so Liu Jianjian is naturally also paying attention to the Imperial Ranking.

"It should be." Zhu Ge nodded, a glint in his eyes: "From now on, I will choose each sect, city, and family one by one until I comprehend 'momentum'."

challenge!

After this period of cultivation, Zhu Ge realized that it would be very difficult for him to make any breakthroughs in the paths of immortality and witchcraft.

Breakthroughs in martial arts come from trials of life and death, while breakthroughs in Confucianism and Taoism come from writing the Book of Changes.

Since that's the case, Zhu Ge will choose all the talented individuals from here to Shengjing for him.

There's no need to wait for a prodigy to come to us.

Those who did not go to the Southern Yue and Myanmar wilderness, or those who were strong in the middle or late stages of the third realm.

Zhu Ge will challenge anything he encounters on his journey!

It should be noted that Zhu Ge had previously studied a great deal of books and knew countless sects, powerful families, and influential clans.

We traveled along the way until we arrived in Shengjing!

"You picked them one by one?" Liu Jianjian's eyes widened. "Master, didn't you say we should keep a low profile?"

"Keeping a low profile is for survival." Zhu Ge smiled. "Being high-profile is for becoming stronger. Now I need to become stronger, so I'm being high-profile."

.

Liu Jianjian nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Ma Zhu snorted: "Master, what if you get beaten to death?"

"Then you don't have to pull the cart anymore, you're free." Zhu Ge glanced at it.

Ma Zhu chuckled: "Then let's not kill him. I don't want freedom."

Zhu Ge said helplessly, "That's for the best."

The carriage continued northward, the moonlight as clear as water, spilling over the mountains and rivers of Sichuan.

In the distance, the mountains stretched endlessly, resembling sleeping giants in the night. Clouds and mist swirled around the mountaintops, their origins unclear—whether it was natural fog or the sword energy of cultivators.

Zhu Ge closed her eyes and planned out the next route in her mind.

Heading north from Zigong City, the first stop is the Shushan Sword Sect.

The Shu Mountain Sword Sect is the largest sword sect in the Shu region, with thousands of disciples and dozens of elders at or above the third realm. Its sect leader, Jian Wuxin, is a powerful expert at the Fusion Realm.

It is said that the Sword Pavilion of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect contains stone carvings of sword intent left by the sect leaders of all generations, and each sword intent contains a trace of the rudimentary form of "momentum".

If he could grasp even a fraction of it, it would greatly benefit his martial arts.

Maybe I can even learn some kendo for fun?

Of course, this process will not be easy.

This kind of treasure, undoubtedly of the highest level and the greatest inheritance, how could it be shown to others so casually?

If Zhu Ge wants to see it, he might have to go through some trouble.