Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 287 The Twin Heroes of Zhuge

Zhu Ge remained expressionless: "I have come here to exchange skills with Young Master Zhuge and make friends through martial arts."

"A friendly spar?" Zhuge Cong laughed as if he had heard a joke: "You, a second-realm cultivator, want to spar with me, a third-realm cultivator?"

Are you out of your mind?

"Whether someone is sick or not, we'll only know after the test," Zhu Ge said calmly.

Zhuge Cong's laughter stopped abruptly.

He stared at Zhu Ge, the cynicism in his eyes gradually disappearing, replaced by a hint of coldness.

"Do you know that anyone who has fought me has either died or been seriously injured?" Zhuge Cong said.

"I know," Zhu Ge nodded.

"You knew that, so why did you come?"

"Because I want to become stronger."

Zhuge Cong paused for a moment, then laughed: "Interesting. You're quite interesting."

He turned and walked back into the mansion, saying without looking back, "Come in. I want to see what you're capable of."

Zhu Ge followed him into Zhuge Mansion.

The interior of the mansion was even more magnificent than the exterior, with artificial hills and flowing water, pavilions and towers, and carved beams and painted rafters.

There was an open space in the courtyard, paved with bluestone slabs, and surrounded by peonies, which were in full bloom at the moment, their vibrant colors symbolizing wealth and prosperity.

"Let's fight here." Zhuge Cong stood in the center of the open space, turned around, and looked at Zhu Ge.

His demeanor changed; he was no longer a spoiled brat, but a prodigy.

A sharp aura surged from his body, causing the surrounding peonies to sway wildly.

The three realms are: the realm of Confucian and Taoist scholars.

Moreover, these are not ordinary three realms; they are the kind of three realms where one foot is on the threshold of "momentum," and one could cross it at any moment.

"No wonder he's ranked seventeenth," Zhu Ge thought to herself.

He drew the Purgatory Star Staff from his waist and held it in his hand.

"You're using a stick?" Zhuge Cong raised an eyebrow and took out a calligraphy brush from his sleeve.

The brush is made entirely of white jade, with the characters "Spring and Autumn" engraved on the handle. The tip is gold, and there is a subtle flow of literary energy.

A superior-grade Yuan-level writing implement.

"I use a pen," Zhuge Cong smiled. "My pen has written poems, essays, and even recorded human lives. Would you like to be my pen pal?"

"No," Zhu Ge smiled. "I only want to be your opponent."

"Then let's go." Zhuge Cong pointed his pen, and a golden stream of literary energy transformed into a sharp arrow, shooting towards Zhu Ge.

Zhu Ge dodged to the side, then swept his Purgatory Star Staff horizontally, aiming for Zhuge Cong's waist and ribs.

Zhuge Cong neither dodged nor avoided, and with the tip of his pen, he wrote the character "shield" in the air.

A golden shield appeared out of thin air, blocking Zhu Ge's staff.

"clang!!"

The shield shattered, but Zhu Ge's staff attack remained undiminished.

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhuge Cong's eyes. He quickly retreated, while his pen flew through the air, writing one word after another.

“囚”, “困”, “锁”, “缚”.

The four words transformed into four chains, binding the morning prayer song.

Zhu Ge lit incense and activated his movement technique, his figure moving like smoke and mist, weaving through the chains, and smashed a stick towards Zhuge Cong's face.

With a flick of his pen, Zhuge Cong created the character "破" (broken), which collided with Zhu Ge's staff.

"boom!!!"

The shockwave spread outwards, and Zhu Ge was forced back several steps, while Zhuge Cong also took half a step back.

Their first encounter was evenly matched.

"Interesting." Zhuge Cong's eyes lit up: "You, a mere second-realm cultivator, actually managed to fight me to a draw?"

"It's not over yet." Zhu Ge gripped the Purgatory Star Staff tightly and charged forward again.

This time, he used the meaning of dawn.

His phantom appeared in the sky, his hands tearing through the darkness, and he brought down a staff with the force of dawn.

Zhuge Cong's expression finally turned serious.

His pen flew across the air, writing rapidly, one word after another appearing.

"Spring", "Summer", "Autumn", "Winter".

The four characters transformed into the power of the four seasons: spring brings life, summer fosters growth, autumn brings harvest, and winter stores away. These four forces intertwined to form a barrier, blocking the stick of the blessing song.

"boom!!!!"

The barrier of the four seasons shattered, and the power of the blessing song's staff was neutralized.

The two separated again, each taking a few steps back.

"Your martial arts are very strong." Zhuge Cong put down his pen and stood up. "But you can't beat me."

"How would you know if you've never fought one?" Zhu Ge smiled.

"I said you can't win, and you can't win." Zhuge Cong's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mocking smile: "Because I am a member of the Zhuge family, and you are nothing more than a peasant from a barbaric land."

Zhu Ge's smile faded.

"A peasant?" He looked at Zhuge Cong, his eyes showing no anger, only calm: "You're right, I am a peasant."

I came from the mud, and I know I'll go back to the mud. But I don't think there's anything shameful about it.

He had seen many arrogant people, but very few could reach the level of Zhuge Cong before him.

He gripped the Purgatory Star Staff tightly: "Without peasants farming, what would you noble families eat? What would you wear? What would you use?"

"You call me a peasant, and I'm not angry. Because you're not just insulting me, you're insulting all farmers in the world. Without them, you are nothing."

Zhuge Cong's expression changed.

He never expected Zhu Ge to say such a thing.

"You—" He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Zhu Ge didn't give him the chance.

"you----"

Zhuge Cong opened his mouth as if to say something, but Zhu Ge didn't give him the chance.

The silver-red light on the Purgatory Star Staff shone brightly, and the four forces flowed through the staff. Although they were not yet completely unified, they were already more integrated than before.

With the incense-lighting technique activated, Zhu Ge's figure moved like smoke and mist around Zhuge Cong.

One blow after another, without end.

Each strike carried the force of dawn, each blow striking Zhuge Cong's weakest point in his defense.

This is the wondrous application of the Heavenly Secrets Dao.

In battle, Zhu Ge can perceive the opponent's weaknesses through divination and then strike with precision.

"Clang clang clang clang"

The sound of pens clashing together was as dense as rain, and sparks flew everywhere.

Zhuge Cong's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

He discovered that Zhu Ge could avoid every word he wrote in advance, and that Zhu Ge could accurately strike the most vulnerable spot with every defensive word he wrote.

This feeling is very frustrating.

It's like playing chess; your opponent can always predict your next move, and you can only react passively.

"Your Heavenly Secrets Dao—" Zhuge Cong gritted his teeth: "Indeed impressive."

"You flatter me." Zhu Ge swung his staff, striking the weakest point of the character "御" on Zhuge Cong's brush tip.

"Click" 6

The gold lettering shattered, and Zhuge Cong was forced back several steps, his tiger's mouth split open, and blood dripped down his wrist.

He looked down at his hands, then looked up at Zhu Ge, the contempt in his eyes completely gone.

"I underestimated you." He took a deep breath and gripped the white jade pen tightly. "But from now on, I won't hold back anymore."

He closed his eyes, and Wenxin's heart pounded.

A phantom image of a scroll appeared above my head.

On the scroll, the four seasons change: spring brings forth life, summer fosters growth, autumn brings harvest, and winter brings rest.

Flowers bloom and fade, leaves turn green and yellow, time flows on, life goes on and on.

This is precisely the true meaning of Zhuge Cong's Four Seasons.

Moreover, it's not just ordinary true meaning; it's true meaning that has already stepped halfway into the threshold of "power".

As soon as the phantom of the scroll appeared, the surrounding air became heavy.

The peonies in the courtyard withered and faded at a visible rate, then bloomed again, their cycle repeating endlessly.

"This is the true meaning of my Four Seasons." Zhuge Cong opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming: "Spring brings forth life, summer fosters growth, autumn harvests, winter stores away. The four seasons cycle endlessly, life goes on and on—can you break through it?"

The changing of the seasons? Interesting — Zhu Ge looked at the painting, a strange feeling welling up in her heart.

This is not the true meaning of aggression, but the true meaning of rules.

The cycle of the four seasons is not used to kill, but to trap people.

Being enveloped by the true meaning of the four seasons is like being trapped in the cycle of time. Spring comes and autumn goes, years pass by, and you can never get out.

"What a profound meaning of the four seasons!" Zhu Ge exclaimed sincerely.

"Take this!" Zhuge Cong pointed his brush, and the illusory image of the scroll enveloped Zhu Ge: "This is the profound truth of life that I gleaned from my beloved wives and concubines!"

With the power of spring's birth, all things revive. Zhu Ge felt the blood and energy within her body begin to stir, as if they were about to burst forth.

As summer grew stronger and his vitality surged, his muscles began to expand uncontrollably.

With the autumn harvest, all things wither and his power begins to dissipate.

The power of winter's dormancy brings all things into stillness, and his thinking becomes sluggish.

As the seasons cycled, Zhu Ge felt as if she had been swept into the torrent of time, unable to control her own destiny.

"Wow, amazing! They actually figured this out from a woman's belly!" Zhu Ge thought to himself.

But he didn't panic.

With eyes closed, a surge of literary energy coursed through him, and three copper coins spun in his palm.

The hexagram appears.

Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui.

The eight trigrams circulate endlessly.

The four seasons are cyclical, and so are the eight trigrams.

Cycles are the "principle".

"I've found you." Zhu Ge opened her eyes.

The Purgatory Star Staff was raised high, its silver-red light shining brightly.

The dawn is breaking!

It's not an aggressive dawn, but a groundbreaking dawn.

Tear through the darkness, break the cycle, and escape the torrent of time.

The stick struck down, hitting the very center of the illusory image on the scroll.

"boom"

The illusory image of the scroll trembled violently, and the power of the four seasons began to become disordered.

Spring's birth clashes with autumn's harvest, summer's growth intertwines with winter's dormancy, disrupting the cycle of the four seasons.

"Impossible!" Zhuge Cong exclaimed. "This is something I've gleaned from the fundamental principles of male-female ethics—"

"You may have gone down the wrong path." Zhu Ge struck again and again with his staff, each blow hitting the weak point of the illusory scroll: "And your Four Seasons True Meaning is indeed exquisite, but it has a fatal weakness."

"What weakness?" Zhuge Cong gritted his teeth and persevered.

"It's a cycle, but not an infinite one." Zhu Ge's eyes shone brightly: "After spring comes summer, after summer comes autumn, after autumn comes winter, and after winter comes spring again."

"But it only has four seasons, only four nodes. As long as you break it at a node, the cycle is broken."

He found the point between the autumn harvest and winter storage, and struck it down with a single blow.

"Click"

The illusory image of the painting shattered, turning into specks of golden light that dissipated.

Zhuge Cong was knocked back several steps, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He looked down at the white jade pen in his hand, where a small crack had appeared on the handle.

"My pen—" His voice trembled slightly.

With Zhu Ge's current strength and the hardness of the Purgatory Star Staff, a mere Yuan-level superior item is truly no match for ordinary Yuan-level items.

Zhu Ge put away her stick and stood up, looking at him: "You lost."

Zhuge Cong remained silent for a long time.

Then he looked up at Zhu Ge.

There was no longer any contempt or hostility in his eyes, only a complex expression.

"I lost." His voice calmed down.

He put away the white jade pen, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhu Ge, and said, "Mr. Zhu Ge, I concede defeat."

Zhu Ge clasped his hands in return, saying, "You flatter me."

The courtyard was completely silent.

Zhuge Cong's concubines stood at a distance, covering their mouths, their eyes filled with shock.

They had never seen Zhuge Cong admit defeat.

Just as Zhu Ge was about to turn and leave, she suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

That was murderous intent.

It wasn't aimed at his murderous intent, but at Zhuge Cong.

He turned around abruptly and saw a young man walking out of the mansion.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties, and his face bore a resemblance to Zhuge Cong, but he was even more aloof.

He was dressed in a long black robe, with a long sword hanging at his waist, the scabbard engraved with the character "Fool".

His aura was as deep as an abyss. Zhu Ge could not sense his specific level of cultivation, but she could feel that he was much stronger than Zhuge Cong.

"Big brother—" Zhuge Cong's expression changed.

Zhuge Yu? Zhu Ge's heart stirred.

"Second Brother, you've lost." Zhuge Yu walked up to Zhuge Cong, his voice flat, revealing no emotion.

"I—" Zhuge Cong lowered his head, not daring to look him in the eye.

"You lost to someone at the second realm and you still have the nerve to call my name?" Zhuge Yu's voice remained calm, but the chill emanating from it made the surrounding temperature drop several degrees.

Zhuge Cong's body trembled slightly, but he remained silent.

Zhuge Yu turned his head and looked at Zhu Ge.

That gaze held neither hostility nor goodwill, only one thing—scrutiny.

It's like looking at an object and judging its value.

"Are you Zhu Ge?" he asked.

"That's right," Zhu Ge replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"That celebratory song that created a new Confucian path?"

"By sheer luck."

"A lucky break?" Zhuge Yu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a half-smile. "Your Heavenly Secrets Dao is indeed quite good. But your cultivation level is too low."

"I know," Zhu Ge nodded.

"You know this, yet you still dare to challenge my Zhuge family?"

"I'm here to challenge Zhuge Cong, not the Zhuge family," Zhu Ge said calmly. "Zhuge Cong is ranked seventeenth on the 'Ranking of the State.' I'm here for friendly competition, not to cause trouble."

"A friendly spar?" Zhuge Yu scoffed. "You, a mere second-realm cultivator, defeated the seventeenth-ranked person on the 'Ranking of the State'? If word got out, where would that leave the Zhuge family's reputation?"

Zhu Ge remained silent.

These two brothers—they truly are brothers.

"Alright then." Zhuge Yu drew a longsword from his waist. The blade was entirely black, with a faint starlight shimmering on its edge. "You fight me. If you win, you leave. If you lose, you stay and serve as a guest retainer for the Zhuge family for three years."

"Big brother!" Zhuge Cong exclaimed.

"Shut up." Zhuge Yu didn't even glance at him.

Zhu Ge looked at Zhuge Yu, quickly calculating in his mind.

If someone could inspire someone like Zhuge Cong, then Zhuge Yu's abilities must be quite remarkable.

But he wasn't actually afraid.

"Let's fight."

Zhu Ge's expression was indifferent.

He still has many tricks up his sleeve.

He wouldn't believe it if I just activated all three traits.

"Great!" Zhuge Yu pointed his sword tip and a black sword aura shot towards Zhu Ge.

The sword energy was not fast, even slow, but it carried an irresistible force.

Just like when night falls, you have nowhere to escape.

But this was just a probing attack.

Zhu Ge did not take the sword energy head-on, but instead dodged it with a swift movement.

The sword energy struck the artificial hill behind him, which silently turned into dust, as if crushed by an invisible hand.

Zhu Ge gripped the Purgatory Star Staff tightly, and four forces flowed through the staff.

"Your speed is not bad." Zhuge Yu's lips curled into a slight smile. "But how many times can you dodge?"

He tapped his sword tip repeatedly, sending streaks of black sword energy towards Zhu Ge.

It is not as dense as rain, but as sparse as stars.

But each sword aura carried an irresistible force, and each sword aura blocked Zhu Ge's retreat.

Zhu Ge dodged left and right, weaving through the sword energy.

His Heavenly Secrets Dao allows him to predict the trajectory of sword energy and dodge it.

This is a good opportunity to practice the Dao of Heavenly Secrets before we talk about anything else.

"Using me as a whetstone?" Zhuge Yu sneered, his sword energy becoming even denser.

Sword energy instantly rained down like stars.

"Pfft"

A sword aura grazed Zhu Ge's shoulder, tearing his robes and revealing pale golden dragon scale patterns on his skin.

He glanced down at his shoulder; the dragon scale pattern had blocked most of the force, but a faint bloodstain was still left on his skin.

"Interesting." Zhuge Yu walked over, sword in hand, unhurried.

His steps were steady, each one perfectly timed to match Zhu Ge's heartbeat, causing her rhythm to become disordered.

This is----

势！

Zhu Ge felt a chill run down his spine.

It is not the prototype of the true meaning, but the real "momentum"!

The Zhuge family had actually kept such a third-realm prodigy hidden away?

Zhu Ge was secretly alarmed.

"I secluded myself at home, never venturing out, never revealing my abilities," Zhuge Yu said with a hint of relief. "Yet I unexpectedly grasped the essence of power; it truly is the will of Heaven!"

As he spoke, the surroundings were enveloped in endless darkness.

A dark force?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ge took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

A surge of literary energy flowed, and the copper coin spun in the palm of the hand, revealing a divination symbol.

It's not about predicting the trajectory of the sword energy, but about predicting the "reason" within Zhuge Yu's power.

"The dawn is breaking!"

At the same time, Zhu Ge raised the Purgatory Star Staff high, and his phantom image appeared in the sky.

This time, he will tear through the darkness and illuminate the night.

The light of dawn is not for destruction, but for guidance!

He smashed it down with a stick.

"clang!!!!"

The sword energy collided with the staff, and Zhu Ge was blasted away, spitting out a mouthful of blood.