“Hua Chunqiu, oh, Hua Chunqiu, who gave you the audacity to demand divine stones as compensation from the Great Palace Master?”
Gongyang Mu stepped forward, his pace leisurely, his tone scornful, a faint smile on his face.
As he reached Lan Xi’s side, he gave a slight bow, “Great Palace Master, let me handle these insignificant cultivators from the Book and Painting Realms. You, with your noble status, need not stoop to their level.”
“Gongyang Mu!”
Shu Yong and Hua Chunqiu’s expressions darkened upon seeing the newcomer.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the cultivator named Gongyang Mu, who also appeared to be a Confucian scholar, dressed in pristine green robes, looking about thirty years old, with a two-inch-long beard, narrow eyes, and thin lips.
Without needing to deduce, it was clear he was from the Confucian Realm.
However, Gongyang Mu’s cultivation far surpassed that of Shu Yong and Hua Chunqiu, having reached the demigod level.
Gongyang Mu looked at the mutilated remains of Tigu and Mo Yang, his face showing sorrow as he sighed, “Confucianism prioritises benevolence above all, followed by virtue. Even if they were assassins, as Confucian scholars, you should not treat their remains this way. Where is your benevolence? Where is your virtue? You are truly the scum of Confucianism, a disgrace to the literary world.”
Shu Yong, already feeling that selling corpses on the street was ungentlemanly, was overcome with shame, his face flushing red.
Hua Chunqiu snorted, “You speak of benevolence and virtue, yet your actions, Gongyang Mu, fall short of those words. You’re nothing but a dog of the Heavenly Realm. To join the demigod project, you offered your own wife to a god of the Heavenly Realm. Need I say more?”
Gongyang Mu’s eyes turned icy, then shifted to anger, “Slandering without evidence. Words have consequences. Insult me if you must, but insult a god of the Heavenly Realm, and you risk divine punishment.”
Seeing Gongyang Mu’s hypocritical demeanour, Hua Chunqiu felt disgusted and refused to engage further.
Gongyang Mu, knowing Hua Chunqiu wouldn’t dare name the god, smirked inwardly, feeling he had the upper hand, “Shu Yong, how about I trade a painting for these two remains?”
“Your paintings aren’t worth a single finger of Tigu’s,” Shu Yong said coldly.
“Don’t say that until you’ve seen it.”
Gongyang Mu gave a meaningful smile, pulling a light purple scroll from his sleeve and slowly unfurling it.
The scroll depicted four stunningly beautiful women, each vivid and lifelike.
Shu Yong recognised them as the “Four Beauties of the Blue Sea” from the Book Realm, his junior nieces, renowned in the Heavenly Court for their beauty.
Shu Yong flicked his sleeve, sneering, “Painting my Book Realm juniors, you grow more shameless with age.”
“Look closer,” Gongyang Mu smiled.
Shu Yong’s expression shifted as a thought struck him. He channelled spiritual energy into his eyes, examining the scroll closely, his robes billowing without wind, his anger surging.
“You’re courting death.”
Righteous energy erupted from him, forming a white celestial river, surging powerfully.
Standing at the centre of the righteous river, Shu Yong reached out, grabbing for the scroll in Gongyang Mu’s hand from a distance.
Gongyang Mu’s lips curled as he held the scroll in one hand and struck with the other.
His palm produced countless characters, interwoven with threads of heavenly rules.
*Boom!*
The righteous river was struck back by the characters and palm force, crashing into Shu Yong.
Shu Yong retreated, sliding dozens of zhang, half-kneeling, his long hair dishevelled. But in an instant, he charged forward again, roaring, “Release them.”
His roar carried powerful spiritual force.
Gongyang Mu’s eyes mocked as he stepped forward, dense patterns forming under his foot, repelling Shu Yong once more.
“Shu Yong, it’s not five hundred years ago. With your current cultivation, you think you can fight me?” Gongyang Mu said.
Hua Chunqiu stared at the lines surrounding Gongyang Mu, “You’ve cultivated the power of reason to the level of Heavenly Reason.”
Gongyang Mu, smug, said, “Indeed, with Heavenly Reason achieved, divinity is within reach. You two haven’t even reached demigod status, lacking the foundation to pursue divinity.”
Heavenly Reason was the pinnacle of reason.
“Preserve Heavenly Reason, extinguish human desires” was the founding principle and core philosophy of the Confucian Realm.
Legend held that cultivating the power of reason to Heavenly Reason guaranteed divinity, becoming a true Confucian god. This was Gongyang Mu’s source of pride.
Shu Yong approached Zhang Ruochen, urgently saying, “Brother Shu, my four junior nieces have been captured by Gongyang Mu, sealed in that scroll. I must save them.”
“What, you want to trade these remains for them?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Shu Yong, knowing the request was difficult, showed a pained expression, gritted his teeth, and bowed deeply, “From now on, I, Shu Yong, will be your servant to repay the divine stones.”
The remains of Tigu and Mo Yang were too valuable for him to afford, so he could only make this plea.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze turned to Gongyang Mu.
Lan Xi, fearing he might seize the scroll, stepped beside Gongyang Mu, holding the Sword of Judgment.
A sword domain naturally formed, protecting them both.
Seeing Shu Yong submit, Gongyang Mu was delighted, “You refused to trade earlier. Now, I’ve changed my mind! To get this painting, you must give me both remains and kneel to apologise to the Great Palace Master. I mean both of you.”
He pointed at Shu Yong and Hua Chunqiu.
Xiang Chunan’s eyes widened like bells, glaring, “I’ve never seen such a shameless person. Take my fist if you dare.”
Gongyang Mu showed caution, “Young Master Xiang, with the Truth Temple Master’s teachings, your combat power is unmatched. I’m no match for you. But I’m confident I can tear this scroll before your fist reaches me.”
“You…”
Xiang Chunan held back, as Lan Xi stood in front of Gongyang Mu. Even if he acted, he likely couldn’t touch him.
Gongyang Mu stared at Shu Yong, “What’s your decision? Honestly, I have no interest in these remains or the lives of the four Book Realm disciples in this scroll. My patience is limited.”
Shu Yong looked to Zhang Ruochen, as the remains belonged to him, and he had no authority to decide.
Zhang Ruochen raised a hand, lifting the still-bowing Shu Yong, and walked toward Gongyang Mu, “These remains are priceless. I can’t part with them.”
“One must learn to let go and compromise in the face of reality,” Gongyang Mu said.
Lan Xi’s sword intent remained locked on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, “How about this? You and Shu Yong fight again. If you win, the remains are yours, and kneeling to apologise to the Great Palace Master should be done by all four of us.”
Hua Chunqiu and Shu Yong were stunned.
Xiang Chunan, however, was bold, “Exactly, share the blessings and the burdens. If we kneel, we kneel together.”
Gongyang Mu was overjoyed, “Is that true?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Of course, but don’t celebrate yet. If you lose, you not only give me the scroll but also kneel and kowtow three times to us.”
Fearing Zhang Ruochen might back out, Gongyang Mu agreed, “Deal!”
Lan Xi looked at Zhang Ruochen, puzzled, but considering the vast gap between Gongyang Mu and Shu Yong, she deemed defeat impossible, and her doubts faded.
She said, “I’ll hold the scroll.”
Gongyang Mu, wary of mishaps, handed it to her.
Shu Yong bowed to Zhang Ruochen again, resolute, “Thank you, Brother Shu, for this chance. Even if I can’t defeat Gongyang Mu, I’ll take him down with me.”
Hua Chunqiu, worried, said, “Gongyang Mu is cunning. He’ll guard against mutual destruction. Don’t resort to death unless absolutely necessary.”
Zhang Ruochen, the most relaxed, patted Shu Yong’s shoulder, “No need to be so tense. Fight with all you’ve got. I have faith in you. Defeating him shouldn’t be hard.”
The Tianbin General of the Red Dust Sea Market used divine power to create a thousand-mile-diameter spatial bubble over the sea.
Shu Yong and Gongyang Mu turned into two streaks of light, entering the bubble.
Shu Yong seized the initiative, using the divine fox purple brush to write a “Fight” character dozens of zhang long, pressing it toward Gongyang Mu.
“A hundred-character war script, don’t embarrass yourself with such a technique!”
Gongyang Mu dismissed Shu Yong, pointing a finger, condensing Heavenly Reason patterns into a straight line, striking the “Fight” character.
He expected the character to shatter easily.
But the Heavenly Reason patterns failed to stop it. For some reason, the “Fight” character’s momentum and power surged, ultimately crashing into him.
As a demigod, Gongyang Mu reacted swiftly despite the surprise, activating his dao domain and Heavenly Reason scroll to deflect most of the attack, though he was still sent flying.
Shu Yong, not expecting Gongyang Mu to be so vulnerable, gained confidence and wrote a second character, then a third…
It was Zhang Ruochen aiding him.
Zhang Ruochen’s Infinite Holy Intent wasn’t within his body but spread throughout the universe, in every corner.
Thus, when Shu Yong used his holy technique, Zhang Ruochen channelled the Infinite Holy Intent in that space into it, greatly amplifying its power.
As a result, the cultivators in the Red Dust Sea Market witnessed a bizarre scene: Shu Yong, with only eight trillion holy dao rules, was overpowering the demigod-level Gongyang Mu.
Even the pseudo-god Tianbin General in the sky couldn’t discern the trick.
He could only sense that Shu Yong’s every move drew vast heavenly power, bridging the gap in their realms.
