dognovel Chapter 79 New Members
Chapter 79 New Members
Mountain and Sea Boundary...
"Brothers! This is our team's newest member, Kong Shizhang! The inheritor of the Azure Lotus!" Chen Yang put one arm around Kong Shizhang and walked towards Su Fan, Wang Jianguo, Jiang He, and the others.
Wang Jianguo was completely bewildered. He knew Chen Yang's personality; Chen Yang considered himself the protagonist of destiny and only treated those he approved of well!
For example, Chen Yang treated Su Fan, Jiang He, and Wang Jianguo with utmost sincerity!
As the number of people in the Mountain and Sea Realm grew, including people from various countries, ethnic groups, and races, the four of them joined forces to establish a simple organization of China in the Mountain and Sea Realm!
At the time, Jiang He suggested that others join the Mountain and Sea Realm group chat, but Chen Yang sternly refused, on the grounds that they were the main character team, while the others were just NPC passerby templates!
Finally, Jiang He had no choice but to create another group chat, and now basically everyone who has obtained the status of a Qingyu Island resident will be introduced to join.
This one hour also shows that Chen Yang is actually somewhat xenophobic. Wang Jianguo finds it hard to imagine that Chen Yang would take the initiative to pull other people into their small circle.
Furthermore, what is the Azure Lotus Inheritance? Wang Jianguo knows of only five people who have received the inheritance. Not only did Wang Jianguo himself receive the Bixi Inheritance, Jiang He received the Silverfish Inheritance, Su Fan received the Bai Ze Inheritance, Chen Yang received the Yazi Inheritance, and Li Bowen received the Medicinal Beast Inheritance.
The five of them were among the first to enter the Mountain and Sea Realm and obtained the inheritance by chance. As time went by, although more and more people entered the Mountain and Sea Realm, they only tried to obtain the status of Qingyu Island residents. No one obtained any divine beast inheritance!
Moreover, Wang Jianguo had never seen this person before, so it was clear that he was not one of the previous participants, but today's trial is still ongoing!
Wang Jianguo was full of confusion. Jiang He had similar thoughts to Wang Jianguo. Although Su Fan knew the ins and outs, he also pretended to be confused!
Chen Yang looked at his three companions without saying a word, then patted Kong Shizhang on the back of the head, "Call them out! I've already introduced them to you, remember?"
Kong Shizhang didn't make a fuss. Just like Chen Yang's younger brother, he spoke in a strange tone: "Uncle Wang, Brother Su, Sister Jiang, my name is Kong Shizhang, the inheritor of the Azure Lotus. Please give me your guidance!"
Su Fan was also a little curious; it seemed that Chen Yang had successfully recruited Kong Shizhang as his subordinate.
"What's going on?" Wang Jianguo asked Chen Yang. Although he knew that Chen Yang was a very reliable person who could bring the other party here, he still wanted to find out the details.
"Have you seen the news?! There's a miracle in Zhenwu City where I live! The Zhenwu Emperor has been resurrected, revealing his magnificent golden body, slaying demons and evil spirits, and spreading his teachings!" Chen Yang didn't answer, but instead asked the others a question.
"Huh?! When did this happen? I spent the whole day collecting emotional crystals and cultivating, I didn't know anything about this!" Wang Jianguo said.
"I don't know either. I've been perfecting my cultivation aids these past few days, and I'm almost there. This is a groundbreaking discovery, so of course I haven't had time to read the news!" Jiang He said.
"Huh?! I saw this on my phone, it's all over the internet!" Su Fan said.
"Hehe!" Chen Yang said with a hint of smugness, "My guess was right after all, the great era of mythological revival has arrived!"
"Let me tell you, yesterday I sensed something drawing me to Zhenwu Peak! Today I made a special trip there and happened to encounter the Zhenwu Emperor preaching and spreading the Dharma!"
"That guy was incredibly agitated. Back then, Zhenwu Peak was teeming with people, a veritable sea of humanity! But then trouble struck—a group of monsters appeared, incredibly formidable, practically immortal! Each one was the size of a mountain!"
"How could the True Martial Emperor's Daoist temple allow evil spirits to run rampant! Without much thought, I charged forward and fought them, the battle was so fierce it darkened the sky and blocked out the sun and moon! I directly suppressed the monsters' rampage!"
As Su Fan listened to Chen Yang's enthusiastic nonsense, he thought that if he didn't know the truth, he might have believed it. "As big as a mountain," he said. "I know how big that thing is!"
They even said they would directly suppress him? What a load of bull! You, Chen Yang, were clearly beaten to a pulp. If it weren't for the special instructions given to Heaven, you would have been killed already!
Su Fan thought to himself that he had been saved by using the Zhenwu Sword as a pretense, but he remained outwardly calm.
"Can you beat Xiao Chen, who's so big? You're a fourth-level martial artist now! Fourth-level martial artist is that powerful!" Wang Jianguo asked honestly.
"Uncle Wang, don't interrupt me, let me finish! I admit I exaggerated a little, but it's basically the same as what I said, and I successfully broke through to the fifth level of martial arts in the battle! Now I'm a master of the fifth level of martial arts!" Chen Yang wasn't annoyed by Wang Jianguo's interruption and continued to describe it vividly.
"I broke through to the fifth level of martial arts and successfully suppressed the alien beast. At this moment, the True Martial Emperor revived and revealed his magnificent golden form. I said, 'I pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable,' and then the True Martial Emperor praised me in various ways!"
"They said my talent was unparalleled, and even wanted to take me as their disciple, but who am I? I am the destined protagonist, how can I be subordinate to anyone? The True Martial Emperor was also very disappointed that he couldn't take me as his disciple, saying that our world must be blessed with outstanding people and auspicious land to produce such a genius as me!"
"Since we've met, it's fate. Let's grant the world this opportunity! So I'm performing the Dharma for all beings, and what I'm passing on is the internal energy martial arts I've cultivated! Why? It's to take this opportunity to guide me!"
"Let me tell you, when the True Martial Emperor preached and spread the Dao, the spectacle was enormous! He dyed the sky purple, far more imposing than Lao Tzu's 'Purple Qi Comes from the East for Thirty Thousand Miles,' and there were countless wondrous phenomena such as heavenly flowers falling and golden lotuses springing from the ground!"
"When the True Martial Emperor departed, he emitted a magnificent light that spread his teachings, and all those present who were fortunate enough to witness it benefited greatly! Little Kong! That is, Kong Shizhang, received the Azure Lotus inheritance under these circumstances; I witnessed it with my own eyes!"
"And as you've all seen, Xiao Kong entered the Mountain and Sea Realm without participating in the trials! I could tell at a glance that Xiao Kong has great talent, and he's our destined partner!"
Chen Yang explained the story of Zhenwu's teachings using gestures and words! Of course, only Wang Jianguo truly believed it!
Su Fan and Kong Shizhang knew the inside story. Although Jiang He didn't know the specifics, she knew Chen Yang well enough. Even though she didn't know the specifics, she didn't think Chen Yang's words were very credible!
While the facts may be related to what he said, Chen Yang's words are definitely not guaranteed to be true, and there are certainly some embellishments and exaggerations involved.
After a bit of rambling, everyone had a general idea of what was going on, and they quickly became acquainted!
"Your surname is Kong? Are you from the Kong family? Why are you dressed like a Taoist priest?" Jiang He asked curiously.
It's no wonder Jiang He thought that way. China's main theme is that all the people in the world are from the same family. In any case, as long as you have the surname Kong, your roots are almost inseparable from the Kong family of Qi and Lu!
Even if they are not from Shandong, their family genealogy and clan records will still force them to be included!
"No! The Kong family has a generational naming system, and there is no such generation as 'Shi'. My family doesn't have a genealogy, so it's probably not the Kong family you're thinking of! Of course, it's not impossible that I have Kong family blood in my veins, but the Qilu Kong family doesn't recognize me!" Kong Shizhang said.
"Moreover, I am not a Taoist priest! I am merely experiencing Taoism. My ultimate dream is to master all three teachings (Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism), learn all the words of the sages and philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Thought, continue the lost learning of the past sages, and bring peace to all generations!"
"I want to become a master of the Three Teachings, like Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen School; Yao Guangxiao, the Black-Robed Prime Minister; and Wang Yangming, the sage of the Mind School! Right now, I'm just learning about Taoist teachings; I haven't been ordained yet, I'm just learning!"
Su Fan exclaimed, "Wow! No wonder he can get along with Chen Yang. Chen Yang considers himself a rare protagonist, but this guy is no ordinary person either. He must be well-versed in the teachings of the Three Schools and the wisdom of a hundred schools of thought!"
To be able to say it so openly, that's quite a target, and that's incredibly shameless!
"Oh!" Jiang He was also somewhat surprised by the young man's ambition; his aspirations were truly lofty! Curious, she asked, "How much do you know about the classics of the three religions and the teachings of the hundred schools of thought?"
"I wouldn't dare say I'm an expert, but I've skimmed through the Confucian Four Books and Five Classics, briefly read the Thirteen Classics of Buddhism, and roughly grasped the writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi of Taoism! I've read less of the works of other schools of thought, only Mozi and Han Fei!" Kong Shi Zhang said humbly yet with a sharp edge.
"Reading is a good thing! Being able to read so much must be amazing!" Wang Jianguo chimed in.
Su Fan was also somewhat curious. Was this person really that fierce? So he asked, "The Heavenly Mandate Black Bird descended and gave birth to Shang! What is the meaning of the Black Bird?"
"The phrase comes from the Book of Songs, Shang Song. The black bird is a bird. At the Spring Equinox, the black bird descended upon the ancestors of Tang. Jian Di, a woman of the You Song clan, married Emperor Gao Xin. The emperor led her to pray to the Goddess Gao Mei, and they gave birth to Qi. Therefore, it is said that he was ordained by Heaven and was born because of the arrival of the black bird," Kong Shi said.
Su Fan was taken aback. This young man was quite something! His citations of Mao's commentary, Zheng's annotations, and the Annals of Yin in the Records of the Grand Historian were all spotless. It seemed that saying he'd read the Four Books and Five Classics was a bit of an understatement; this was clearly the result of long-term immersion in their knowledge!
This piqued Su Fan's interest. While he might not be knowledgeable in classical texts and commentaries, he was confident in his ability to handle supernatural and ghost stories, so he took it seriously!
"You mentioned that the black bird is '鳦,' which means swallow. However, the *Classic of Mountains and Seas, Classic of the Seas Within* says: 'Within the Northern Sea, there is a mountain called Youdu Mountain... There are black birds, black snakes, black leopards, black tigers, and black foxes with bushy tails.' Here, the black bird is listed alongside various black-colored strange beasts. How could it be an ordinary spring swallow?" Su Fan said calmly. "The *Classic of the Great Wilderness, Eastern Section* also records: 'There is an official in the country of You... He thinks of men but not wives, he thinks of women but not husbands, they eat millet and beasts, and they use four birds.' Guo Pu's commentary says: 'The four birds are tiger, leopard, bear, and brown bear.' Here, 'bird' is actually a general term for beasts. It can be seen that the ancient word 'bird' had a broad meaning and did not necessarily refer specifically to birds."
Kong Shizhang's eyes lit up, clearly intrigued. He bowed slightly and said, "Brother Su, I admire your extensive knowledge and remarkable memory. However, the Classic of Mountains and Seas is a book of geographical and strange tales, containing many fantastical imaginings. I study Confucianism, taking the Book of Poetry and the Book of Documents as my foundation. The story of the black bird giving birth to the Shang dynasty is interpreted in commentaries and interpretations as an auspicious omen, signifying that the arrival of the swallow heralded the birth of Qi, a sign of divine mandate!"
Su Fan laughed. This kid was indeed confident, but Su Fan wasn't intimidated by questions about ghosts and spirits. He calmly continued, "The *Chu Ci* (Songs of Chu) also says in the 'Heavenly Questions': 'Jian Di was on the platform, what was Ku doing? A black bird presented a gift, what was the woman happy about?' Wang Yi's commentary says: 'The black bird is a swallow.' It can be seen that the legends of Chu also say the same thing. However," he changed his tone, "The *Lüshi Chunqiu* (Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals) records: 'The You Song clan had two beautiful women, for whom they built a nine-tiered platform. They always ate and drank with drums. The emperor sent a swallow to see it, and it cried out like a swallow. The two women loved it and fought over it, covering it with a jade basket. After a while, they opened it and saw that the swallow had left two eggs, which flew north and never returned.' This is a good story. The swallow left eggs, which Jian Di swallowed and gave birth to Qi. This egg-born birth is closer to the bird totem worship of the Dongyi tribes. Why must the black bird refer to a specific creature, even a swallow?"
Chen Yang, who was standing to the side, was a little confused and nudged Jiang He: "Sister Jiang, what are they saying? What about swallows laying eggs?"
Jiang He explained in a low voice, "It seems like they're debating what the 'Black Bird' really is in ancient books and what its meaning is. Little Su is quoting extensively from classical texts, and Little Kong isn't far behind!"
Jiang He looked on with admiration. She knew of Su Fan's extensive knowledge, but she didn't expect that this newcomer, Kong Shizhang, could fight Su Fan to a standstill at such a young age!