NCCnovel #160 - The reason of that year
#160 - The reason of that year
Chapter 159: The Reason of That Year
Regarding the events of the past, he had heard the fox spirit mention it once. The fox spirit had said that Chen Sanliang's denouncement of the Old Master's teachings as useless had immediately angered everyone and led to his ostracization by the entire Confucian world.
"The local magistrate was once a member of the academy and had studied under Zhu Xun, a junior scholar of the Old Master's lineage, with the responsibility of monitoring us. That day, he searched the courtyard and inadvertently saw some of Chen Sanliang's Xin Xue manuscripts. He then rushed them to the Jixia Academy overnight, and a storm began," Han Suzhen sighed softly, her voice full of helplessness.
The following events were simple. The battle over the orthodoxy of learning was a true fight to the death, with no possibility of showing mercy. When Zhu Xun saw Chen Sanliang's manuscripts and the rudiments of his scholarship, he was greatly alarmed. If Chen Sanliang were allowed to perfect his learning, would the Old Master's lineage have any chance of survival?
Therefore, the academy issued a decree that day, denouncing Chen Sanliang's learning as heretical and ordering him to burn his books and apologize to all the scholars in the world at a conference, vowing to never again dabble in learning. Chen Sanliang, with his stubborn temper, of course refused to agree and directly retorted. The academy was then angered and wanted to engage in a debate and wager with Chen Sanliang in front of all the scholars in the world. If Chen Sanliang won, he could return to the capital and spread his learning throughout the world.
Of course, if Chen Sanliang lost, he had two choices: first, abandon his learning; second, leave the human race and never set foot on human territory again.
After recounting all the events, Han Suzhen said, "The Jixia Academy has immense power. If Chen Sanliang's family didn't have some strength behind them, he wouldn't even have the chance to debate, and his path would have been broken directly. Now, the Jixia Academy is pressing him hard, and even Chen Sanliang's family is finding it difficult to hold on, and they have had to agree to this debate."
Zhang Chen felt guilty upon hearing this, never imagining that his unintentional actions would cause such a big trouble for his teacher.
"You should leave and find a place to hide, never to show your face again," Han Suzhen said here, sighing helplessly, "I'm afraid I have to go to the White Bone Great Wall and never return. You will have to walk the path of learning on your own in the future."
"Is there no hope at all for this debate?" Zhang Chen asked somewhat unwillingly.
"Chen Sanliang's learning has only just taken shape, and it is full of loopholes that cannot withstand attacks," Han Suzhen said, "If he were given another twenty years to perfect his learning, it would certainly be possible to defeat the Old Master's lineage, but now... his learning is too immature."
Han Suzhen stopped there, unable to continue, and could only shake her head with a wry smile.
Hearing Han Suzhen's words, Zhang Chen scratched his head, realizing that it was all his fault.
At this moment, Han Suzhen took out a memorial from her sleeve and handed it to Zhang Chen, "This is the last gift I leave for you. If you want to continue your studies in the future, you can use this memorial to attend lectures at the academy. The dean of the academy was once my suitor, and we studied together for eight years. We have a close relationship. As long as you take this note, you will definitely be able to attend the lectures smoothly."
Han Suzhen threw the memorial into Zhang Chen's arms and then said lazily, "Did you come today with some questions about learning that you don't understand?"
Zhang Chen hurriedly took the memorial and carefully put it into his arms. Just as he was about to speak, the door suddenly opened, and Chen Sanliang appeared at the door, looking at Zhang Chen with a livid face, "You still have the face to come and study? It doesn't matter if a person's status is low, but as long as they are honest and upright, they are still a good person and can still be saved. But you, a petty thief, are beyond redemption!"
Chen Sanliang glared at Han Suzhen, "Your recruitment of such a degenerate as a disciple has already made me a laughingstock among the scholars of the world, making me unable to raise my head in front of the scholars of the world. I can tolerate you breaking the rules to teach commoner disciples to read for a living, but I will never allow you to teach a person of depraved character as a disciple."
"A person of depraved character who learns knowledge will only bring disaster to the world and do great evil. I will never allow such a situation," Chen Sanliang's voice was full of seriousness, his chest rising and falling constantly.
Zhang Chen looked at Chen Sanliang with a bitter smile on his lips, unable to refute him despite his eloquence.
At this moment, golden light suddenly flowed automatically in Zhang Chen's eyes, and then he opened his Dharma Eye, only to see a pure white light flowing on Chen Sanliang's body.
The white light was very weak, like a candle flame in the wind. Zhang Chen even heard bursts of reading coming from the white light.
Zhang Chen was stunned, "Chen Sanliang has gained Qi Luck? He was just an ordinary person last time, how did he suddenly gain Qi Luck? Is this guy going to transform into a mystery?"
Zhang Chen gasped inwardly. How did Chen Sanliang gain Qi Luck?
The Qi seemed to be the Haoran Righteousness in novels, which looked very unusual.
"Strange! What exactly is Qi Luck? How did Chen Sanliang, an ordinary person, gain Qi Luck?" Zhang Chen had a million questions in his mind.
"Chen Sanliang! This is my disciple, you better be polite. I don't need you to tell me how to teach my disciples!" Han Suzhen was immediately angry and retorted to Chen Sanliang.
"Today I give you a choice, him or me. If you continue to act willfully and accept him as a disciple, then we will divorce. You and I will have nothing to do with each other in the future! If you expel him from your tutelage, you and I can still return to the way we were," Chen Sanliang's voice was solemn and resolute.
Han Suzhen was stunned when she heard this. The movement of shaking the reclining chair stopped, the expression on her face solidified, and she looked at Chen Sanliang with disbelief in her eyes, "What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly?"
Then, the next moment, Han Suzhen suddenly sat up, raised her voice, and said, "Chen Sanliang! You've grown some guts, haven't you?"
"I followed you when I was fourteen! I ran away from home for you, accompanied you to the academy to debate and challenge the great Confucians of the world, accompanied you to the bitter cold land, eating unsatisfactorily and dressing inadequately every day, and haven't worn a new piece of clothing for more than ten years. What are you talking to me about now? You want to divorce me? I've given you face, haven't I!"
After saying that, Han Suzhen directly pounced on him and grabbed Chen Sanliang's face, "You want to divorce me? You want to abandon me after using me?"
Han Suzhen's voice was full of disbelief, and she instantly tore into Chen Sanliang.
"If you don't clear out that degenerate who ruins my reputation, we're not done! I want to completely draw a line with you," Chen Sanliang covered his head with his hands and kept dodging, but his words were still tough.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen took a slow breath, took out the manuscript paper that Han Suzhen had given him from his sleeve, very gently placed it on the table, then stood up and quietly walked away.
Walking in the crowd, looking at the faces of all living beings, a question suddenly arose in Zhang Chen's heart: "In this world, do ordinary people really have a way out?"
"Should commoners always be commoners, should they always die?" Zhang Chen took a deep breath, his eyes full of indignation.
He was unwilling!
Just because he was an ordinary person, did he have to suffer such treatment?
Zhang Chen walked to a remote corner and directly turned into mist, disappearing into the crowd.
When he reappeared, he had already arrived at the cave. The bumblebee was still living well, but the falcon was very thin, so thin that it was skin and bones, but it still hadn't left.
Zhang Chen caught a large snake from underground to feed the bumblebee and falcon, then summoned the fox spirit. The fox spirit looked at the familiar scenery in the mountains and couldn't help but show a hint of emotion: "This scenery is really memorable."
"I have something to ask you." Zhang Chen interrupted the fox spirit's emotions.
"What is it?" Fox Fairy Nannan tilted her head to look at Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen told the story of Chen Sanliang. Fox Fairy Nannan was stunned when she heard this, her eyes full of surprise: "I didn't expect that another seed for reading has emerged in the human race."
Facing Zhang Chen's puzzled expression, Fox Fairy Nannan explained: "He didn't get luck, but he has his own principles. His thoughts are clear and his spirit is vast, he can reflect on his heart, and his spiritual power is growing. As long as he continues to improve his knowledge, his spiritual power will become stronger and stronger, until his theory is completely perfected without any flaws, and then he will definitely be able to step into the twelfth level."
"In fact, his reading and creating theories is essentially the same as cultivating the soul and stepping into the mysterious world, but one relies on visualization diagrams, and the other relies on creating his own theories and constantly strengthening his beliefs. And as his theory spreads throughout the world, the more people who recognize it, the faster his cultivation speed will be. This guy is amazing! Even Mr. Wu Liu is not worthy of carrying his shoes in front of him." Fox Fairy Nannan's voice was full of surprise.
"A true scholar? Has his own life creed?" Zhang Chen fell silent after hearing this.
"Let me tell you, this kind of scholar is the most difficult to deal with. He only recognizes his own stubborn principles and can't hear any other people's voices at all. He is simply impossible to persuade." Fox Fairy Nannan said, "Even eight cows can't pull back the principles they recognize. Now that you are disliked by that Chen Sanliang, don't think about pleasing him in the hope of changing his opinion of you. Let me tell you, this is completely impossible."
Zhang Chen smiled bitterly after hearing this: "I have already decided to try to appear less in front of that old guy in the future, so as not to ruin his relationship with his wife."
However, Zhang Chen stroked the invitation in front of his chest and couldn't help but sigh softly: "It's difficult!"
Let's talk about Chen Sanliang's courtyard. The husband and wife had a big fight and sat silently in the courtyard. Chen Sanliang took the wine and dipped the rag to gently wipe the wound.
"Why do you have to despise him? Zhang Chen is no ordinary person. He can steal so much wealth from wealthy families overnight. This is not something ordinary people can do. If you want to build a school and teach in the future, it will cost a lot of money, and you will also face the suppression of the academy. If he helps you, it will be much easier for you." Han Suzhen said, her voice full of helplessness.
"A gentleman does something and does not do something. I, Chen Sanliang, have always acted upright and have a clear conscience. How can I use money from unknown sources? This is simply insulting me!" Chen Sanliang said righteously.
"Then don't eat the food bought with that money either." Han Suzhen was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
Chen Sanliang was struck by lightning when he heard this. After a long silence, he said, "Where is my manuscript?"
"What are you going to do?" Han Suzhen was stunned when she heard this.
"Sell my manuscript to exchange for food and return all his money to him." Chen Sanliang said with a firm face.
As his heart settled, the white airflow around him actually grew by another three points.
"No! You will create a theory in the future. This manuscript is the existence that suppresses luck. How can it be sold?" Han Suzhen suddenly became anxious.
"I said sell it, so sell it. Don't be so long-winded." Chen Sanliang scolded impatiently.
"The debate is imminent, don't mess with my Dao heart." Chen Sanliang shouted angrily, turned around and walked into the house, leaving Han Suzhen standing blankly in the courtyard, two lines of clear tears slowly flowing out.
Huangli Temple
Zhang Chen was in a bad mood after returning to the Taoist temple. He continued to meditate and practice Qi, exploring the spiritual world. Standing in front of the Yellow Springs, he thought about new uses for the Yellow Springs water.
"The Yellow Springs water has the effect of eliminating souls. If I put the Great自在Heavenly Demon in the Yellow Springs water, will it completely erase the Great自在Heavenly Demon?" Zhang Chen stood in front of the pool, looking at the mighty Yellow Springs water, and a thought arose in his mind.
Keeping that Great自在Heavenly Demon will always be a disaster. What if it runs out someday and seizes Xie Lingyun, it will also be a trouble.
"But how can I get the Great自在Heavenly Demon into the spiritual world?" Zhang Chen pondered for a long time but still had no ideas, so he turned his attention to the cultivating Fox Fairy Nannan. Fox Fairy Nannan was progressing rapidly in the spiritual world, and at the same time was strengthening Zhang Chen's dragon energy: "Say, do we have any way to bring the Great自在Heavenly Demon to the first heaven? Then soak the Great自在Heavenly Demon in the Yellow Springs water and completely erase it."
Fox Fairy Nannan stopped her cultivation technique when she heard this: "It's as difficult as climbing to the sky, it's simply impossible. You must know that this is your spiritual world, how can outsiders come in? And the two worlds are also different, one is the material world, and the other is the spiritual world, there is simply no way to cross over. Unless you refine it into the spiritual world, or let it exist in your heart, then you can bring it in."
"Let it exist in my heart? I dare not! What if I overturn and am seized by the Great自在Heavenly Demon, wouldn't it be a joke?" Zhang Chen wasn't stupid and didn't dare to take risks casually.
The land of the heart is the most important, Zhang Chen didn't dare to mess around.
"I don't know if there is any way to refine Heavenly Demons in this world. If I can refine the Heavenly Demon into a magic weapon, it will be easy to handle then." Zhang Chen looked at the ruins:
"The ancient gods can bring objects from the outside world in, there's no reason why I can't. There must be a way, but I just haven't found it yet."