Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 35 Confucius Deletes Books

Chapter Thirty-Five: Confucius Edits Books

A sharp shout came from behind Ye Ru, causing him to stiffen for a moment before he suddenly wrote "Together We Are Brothers".

The next moment, a melody from a zither transformed into a blade, striking Ye Ru and sending him crashing to the ground.

However, Zhang Wenying did not give Ye Ru a chance. She pressed her advantage and played another note on the zither.

The sound of the zither burst forth, and Ye Ru narrowly dodged it. His three exquisite writing brushes flew as he swiftly penned "Ode to the Wind":

The king said, “The wind is the energy of heaven and earth, which flows widely and reaches everywhere, without discriminating against the noble or the lowly, the high or the lowly, and applies itself to all things…”

As the characters coalesced, small wind blades suddenly appeared around Ye Ru, eventually colliding fiercely with the zither music.

"It's only been a short time, yet Ye Ru has already learned to apply what he's learned. This adaptability is something even military strategists can't match."

Fang Zifeng was somewhat surprised and looked at it carefully.

"But even if you can apply what you've learned, it doesn't necessarily mean you can defeat Wen Yin."

Magistrate Zhang shook his head and said.

"Ye Ru, this is the zither score 'Falling Flowers' that I learned when I reached the first realm of zither playing, the stage of 'Sword Courage and Zither Heart'. Although it is only a beginner's piece, its power is immense. Take it!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Wenying casually plucked a string, and suddenly the energy of heaven and earth began to surge into the instrument.

"This is... 'The Falling Flowers' by the great scholar Hua Hanyan?"

Fang Zifeng, being well-informed, immediately sensed a somber autumn atmosphere from Zhang Wenying's finger techniques.

This flower, shrouded in mist, is a great Confucian scholar of the Liang Kingdom and a master of the zither. She is currently stationed on the border of the Liang Kingdom.

Back then, she used this "Falling Flowers" to kill a demon king of the demon race; it was a typical battle song.

The art of the qin (a seven-stringed zither) is also divided into literary pieces and battle pieces; this is a typical battle piece.

"Ye Ru is probably in grave danger now."

Magistrate Zhang nodded solemnly; he did not believe that Ye Ru could withstand the musical score created by the great Confucian scholar.

As soon as "The Fallen Flowers" was played, the surrounding world suddenly turned cold, and a thin layer of frost appeared on the ground.

Countless petals appeared around Zhang Wenying's body, each carrying an extremely dangerous fluctuation of talent energy.

Ye Ru did not dodge, but his writing speed increased. Only now did he realize that his writing speed could not keep up with the speed at which the other person played the piano.

"If only I had the inspiration to write a book in one go."

Ye Ru's face grew even more solemn. From the beginning, he had been suppressed and beaten. The only thing that could resist this war music was the war poem!

"On the banks of the Yangtze and Han rivers, the king ordered Zhao Hu to open up the four directions and thoroughly explore our territory."

As more and more petals surrounded Zhang Wenyin, Ye Ru also began to write.

This is a war poem from the "Xiaoya" section of the Book of Songs, titled "Chuche".

The Book of Songs is divided into Feng, Ya, and Song, and its expressive techniques are Fu, Bi, and Xing. These six elements are collectively known as the Six Principles.

Because the Book of Songs was tainted by demonic energy during the time of Confucius, Confucius had no choice but to delete parts of the book in order to protect humanity from being corrupted by the forces within it.

This is how the story of Confucius editing books came about.

After writing the poem "Going Out," the talent suddenly appeared on the Xuan paper, reaching a height of two and a half feet!

call out!

"The calligraphy skill is a great asset, but it doesn't seem to be enough."

Fang Zifeng frowned deeply. If it were only the enhancement of calligraphy, it would be no match for the falling flowers.

"Roar!"

However, just as he finished speaking, a white tiger roared out instantly, and a white tiger carrying a stream of energy, with a fierce and malevolent power, spread out.

"Is this a realm of war poetry, where clouds and smoke fall from the paper?"

The two were greatly surprised. As the saying goes, greed leads to loss. An ordinary student who can reach one of the two levels is already considered an outstanding individual.

However, Ye Ru actually possessed the dual enhancements of the first realm of calligraphy and the first realm of battle poetry!

"Zheng~"

A melody from a piano rang out, and the petals instantly swept away at a spinning speed.

These petals of talent, like sharp blades, leave a thin mark on the ground wherever they go.

"brush!"

With a single stroke, two realms were amplified, and the white tiger roared as it collided heavily with the flower petals.

"Humph……"

Two muffled groans rang out, and both men took two steps back.

Magistrate Zhang and Fang Zifeng stared at Ye Ru in shock, never expecting that he could fight Zhang Wenyin to a draw based solely on his calligraphy and poetry skills.

The brilliance of his talent continued unabated. Magistrate Zhang and Fang Zifeng's expressions changed, and they immediately began to recite:

"Only when the year grows cold do we know that the pine and cypress are the last to wither."

Instantly, dozens of cypress trees, glowing with green light, burst forth from the ground, absorbing all the rampant talent energy.

"Concession."

After taking two steps back, Ye Ru stood as straight as a javelin, then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Wenying.

At the same time, his yearning for books intensified.

If he had the will to write, he could compose a poem in an instant to kill the enemy.

"Although you were able to fight me to a draw, I did not use my second realm. Therefore, the people from Ningfeng County will not hold back like I did."

Zhang Wenying frowned slightly, also shocked by Ye Ru's talent, but then shook her head.

Even if Ye Ru's calligraphy and poetry have reached a high level, and he can evoke poetic sentiment and scholarly spirit, it's still a bit uncertain.

"Don't worry, this matter concerns the reputation of Qingyun County, and I will do my best."

Ye Ru said firmly.

Confucius said, “It is like building a mountain; if you stop before completing the last basket of earth, you stop. It is like leveling ground; even if you only add one basket of earth, you keep going. As long as you persevere, even if you lose, you will still have honor.”

Fang Zifeng said.

Ye Ru was well aware of the meaning of this sentence: It means that it is like piling up soil to form a mountain. Just add one more basket of soil and it will become a mountain. If you are too lazy to continue, this is my own decision to stop.

It's like piling up soil on flat ground to form a mountain. Even if you've just dumped a basket of soil, if you're determined to move forward, you still have to persevere.

"Alright, Wenyin, take Ye Ru around this literary arena and show him around. Let him get acquainted with the four pavilions and three bright halls. Be careful of the people from Ningfeng County; I'm afraid they might cause trouble."

Magistrate Zhang waved his hand, seemingly having something to discuss with Fang Zifeng, and the two of them left.

The two walked along the path of the Wendou Terrace, surrounded by bustling crowds, the sounds of reading and Go playing filling the air.

"This county's Wendou Academy was built by the Academy of Saints and is protected by the Holy Temple. In order to make the best use of everyone's talents, it specially sets the eight arts of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers and tea as the basic teaching, while the six arts of a gentleman, namely rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics, are extra elective courses."

"Of course, only those with a literary rank of at least Tongsheng are allowed to enter here."

As they passed the very center, Zhang Wenying spoke up.

Ye Ru nodded. The tuition here is probably more expensive than in a private school, since what you learn in a private school is just basic early childhood education.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see the Literary Competition Platform."

Zhang Wenyin moved gracefully, and after walking for several minutes, she arrived at a huge square.

There were dozens of people here, all crowding around each other. To Ye Ru's surprise, almost all of them were students who had passed the preliminary examination or were above the preliminary examination level.