“The Demon Clan is detestable! The bravery of Zhongzi was even praised by Sage Confucius, yet he was killed by a sneak attack from the Demon Clan. What a great injustice!”
“Alas, the three of them made mistakes, but they didn’t deserve to die. And Semi-Saint Zilu even apologized personally. How could they do this! The Demon Clan is too oppressive! If we don’t exterminate them, our human race will never see the light of day.”
“The Demon Clan invaded our Holy Origin Mainland, plundered our billions of people, and they don’t even realize their wrongs. Our human Semi-Saint merely destroyed the outer part of their graves, without even touching the graves themselves, yet they killed our human Semi-Saint. This is a grudge that cannot be reconciled!”
A lieutenant said, “Semi-Saint Fang, if you can enter The Holy Land this time, please make sure to exterminate the Demon Barbarians and avenge our human Semi-Saint!”
Fang Yun nodded and said, “The Demon Clan treats our human race as food and slaves. If they don’t perish, our human race will never have peace. If I can enter The Holy Land, I will show no mercy!”
After a while, when everyone had vented their anger, Feng Yuanjun said, “The Holy Land is not only a place for our human race to seek revenge, but it also contains many rare and exotic treasures. Originally, anyone could enter every ten years, but due to the Great War of the Six Saints, it has become very peculiar. It is said to be related to the Demon Realm. The stronger the person or Demon Barbarian, the more they are repelled. It’s like a fishing net, small fish can freely come and go through the holes, but big fish can’t get through.”
“Is The Holy Land a part of the Demon Realm?” Fang Yun asked.
“No, but it is connected to the Demon Realm. It is said to be one of the ancient lands, similar to the Dragon Clan’s Ascension Platform or some other sacred places,” Feng Yuanjun said.
Fang Yun also knew that the term “ancient land” was a general term that included various mysterious places. It was said that places like Book Mountain and the Sea of Learning were actually transformed ancient lands.
“Oh, so if the obstructive force in The Holy Land is too strong this year, we Accomplished Scholars won’t be able to enter?”
“That’s right. Sometimes the power of The Holy Land is too strong, like the holes in a fishing net being too small, even Presented Scholars can’t get in, only Accomplished Scholars can. Sometimes the power is weak, like the holes in the net being too large, even Imperial Scholars and Hanlin Scholars can enter. If Imperial Scholars can enter, then Demon Generals and Barbarian Generals can also enter, which would be too dangerous for Accomplished Scholars. The Holy Academy won’t allow Accomplished Scholars to enter. If Imperial Scholars can’t enter but Presented Scholars can, then the Holy Academy may allow some Accomplished Scholars to enter.”
“I see, the Demon Clan is the same, right?”
Feng Yuanjun’s expression became serious. “The Demons that go to The Holy Land are at least of the royal bloodline, and there are also some from the saintly bloodline. If they are the descendants of the Demon Saint, it’s not too bad. But if they are the children of the Demon Saint, then their abilities are not inferior to our human geniuses, and they might even be a bit stronger. The current Demon Emperor is the best example. The previous generation’s Four Great Geniuses had to join forces to barely compete with him.”
Everyone present changed color at the mention of the Demon Emperor’s name, even Li Wenying’s expression showed a slight change.
Although the human race has always tried to prevent the name of the Demon Emperor from spreading, Fang Yun, who has been in contact with a diverse group of people, has long known the name of the Demon Emperor.
The Demon Emperor is a title, a canonization of the strongest Demon below the Semi-Saint. The terrifying thing about the current Demon Emperor is that he was able to suppress more than half of the Great Demon Kings when he was a Demon King himself. This is equivalent to a Grand Academician of the human race suppressing some of the Great Scholars, and the remaining Great Demon Kings did not dare to offend him, giving up the competition, and he was eventually crowned Demon Emperor.
The reason why Feng Chengjue, the last of the previous generation’s Four Great Geniuses, betrayed the human race was because he was conquered by the power of the Demon Emperor. He believed that the Demon Emperor was the Sage Confucius of the Demon Clan and would lead the Demon Clan to annihilate the human race and rule over the Myriad Realms.
Fang Yun had heard a terrifying rumor that the current Demon Emperor, who is clearly just a Great Demon King, could hold his own against a Demon Saint for a hundred breaths without losing.
However, the most terrifying rumor is that the Northern Saint, who infiltrated the Demon Realm, tried to assassinate the Demon Emperor three times. The first time he severely injured the Demon Emperor, the second time he returned without success, and the third time he was ambushed.
“If the Demon Emperor does not die, then the human race will perish.” This was the Northern Saint’s evaluation of the Demon Emperor, and after that, the Northern Saint never attempted to assassinate the Demon Emperor again.
Fang Yun found that every time someone mentioned the name of the Demon Emperor, everyone felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Feng Yuanjun slowly said, “I hope the Demon Emperor won’t set his sights on you. The Demon Emperor once said that he wanted to kill three people. Two Great Scholars and one Presented Scholar, all of them are dead.”
The banquet became eerily quiet, everyone was looking at Fang Yun, with anticipation, sorrow, and encouragement.
Everyone was worried.
Fang Yun silently drank a cup of wine. He naturally knew about the terrifying record of the Demon Emperor. Two Great Scholars were killed by him personally, and that Presented Scholar, who was widely known as the Dragon of the Kong Family because he was personally praised by the Dragon Saint, had the potential to become a Semi-Saint. He was perfect in every way, not like a human at all. The Kong Family and the Holy Academy used all means to protect him, even a Great Scholar and a Grand Academician secretly protected him, but he was still killed.
“I’m just an Accomplished Scholar, and besides, I’m only excellent in poetry, far inferior to that Dragon of the Kong Family in terms of classics and The Path of the Saints. Moreover, I started late. He was probably raised in the Kong Prefecture with talent, the Demon Emperor won’t notice me.” Fang Yun saw the atmosphere was not right and hurriedly tried to lighten the mood.
Li Wenying said in a low voice, “The Demon Emperor has Dragon Clan blood, likes poetry, and believes that anyone who writes better poetry than him should die.”
“I didn’t know that. If the Demon Emperor were a human, with his talent, he would at least be a Great Scholar, right?” Fang Yun asked.
“He couldn’t even pass the Child Scholar exam.”
Fang Yun was taken aback and said, “Doesn’t that mean he has no talent at all and wants to kill all literati?”
“That’s right.” Li Wenying’s tone was quite helpless.
“Does he really like poetry?” Fang Yun couldn’t help but ask.
“To be precise, he likes everything that has power, including the heads of human geniuses.” Li Wenying’s voice became even lower.
“Ah? But my head isn’t worthy of being collected by him yet, right?”
Li Wenying stared at Fang Yun for a while, then slowly said, “It is now.”
Fang Yun was silent for a moment, then said, “That’s okay, I’m not worthy of being personally mentioned by him as someone he wants to kill.””Almost there.”
Fang Yun said helplessly, “Lord Feng, could you please not speak the truth so bluntly? Your words put a lot of pressure on me!”
Li Wenying suddenly smiled slightly, his mouth filled with murderous intent, his eyes flashing with blood, he asked, “What would you do if he announced he wanted to kill you?”
The room fell silent.
Many people were stunned, thinking that Li Wenying’s words were too frightening. Only Fang Yun remained calm. If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, knowing that even the Northern Saint couldn’t handle the Demon Emperor.
Fang Yun was also taken aback for a moment, thought about it, looked into Li Wenying’s eyes, and seriously replied, “I would also announce that I want to kill him, then find a place to hide. Can the Holy Academy shelter me?”
“Good! This is the role model for scholars!” Li Wenying laughed heartily.
Everyone else laughed along, treating it as a joke.
Fang Yun then asked, “Lord Feng, could you briefly describe the environment of The Holy Land?”
Feng Yuanjun nodded and said, “The Holy Land is about five hundred miles long and wide. It was originally a flat land, but after the Six Saints fought, it became chaotic. The entrance to The Holy Land appears once every ten years. There is only one entrance in the human realm, but there are over a hundred in the Demon Realm. Therefore, Demon Barbarians keep entering it, trapped for at least ten years, or they can’t find the exit after ten years and have to stay there for their entire lives. So, there is a certain number of Demon Barbarians living inside.”
“So, we go in to kill the Demon Barbarians?”
Feng Yuanjun said, “The descendants of the Confucian Prominent Family go there to kill the Demon Barbarians, specifically the royal and saintly Demon Barbarians. Other descendants go in to find treasures. The blood of a Semi-Saint does not rot for a thousand years, and the flesh and bones of a Semi-Saint can turn into saintly jade, which are all valuable. There are seven Semi-Saints buried inside, which is an enormous treasure. Moreover, it is an ancient land, where divine fruits like the Life Fruit and Longevity Fruit may appear.”
“Since there are Demon Barbarians inside, wouldn’t all the treasures have been found?”
“The Holy Land is extremely dangerous! The Weak Water, strange winds, peculiar trees, and weird grasses, especially if they ingest saintly blood or jade, are even more terrifying. Even Imperial Scholars and Hanlin Scholars can be killed, let alone Accomplished Scholars and Presented Scholars. But don’t worry, before you enter The Holy Land, the Holy Academy will send someone to give you a book detailing The Holy Land. I’m just giving you a brief overview now, so you can be prepared,” Feng Yuanjun said.
“I see, then I can rest assured,” Fang Yun said.
Because the Demon Emperor was mentioned, the atmosphere at the banquet became somewhat oppressive. Everyone silently ate and drank, and it took a while for the atmosphere to return to normal, but it was not as lively as before.
Before long, Li Wenying whispered to Feng Yuanjun that he wanted to leave.
Seeing Li Wenying about to get up and leave, Fang Yun asked, “Lord Feng, when will you return to Dayuan Prefecture?”
“In three days,” Li Wenying said.
Fang Yun said seriously, “I once said that if I become an Accomplished Scholar, I must avenge the two attempts on my life by Liu Zicheng! I can forgive Liu Zicheng for tarnishing my reputation, but he tried to kill me twice. This matter must be thoroughly investigated! If I am slandering him, then I am not worthy of being a role model for scholars; if he tried to kill me twice and is not brought to justice, then it is a collapse of the law! This matter must be resolved.”
Many people were shocked. Was Fang Yun about to take action against the Left Chancellor? If Liu Zicheng was charged with attempting to kill Fang Yun, no matter whether Fang Yun was a Child Scholar at the time, he would certainly be drowned by the spit of the people of Jing Kingdom. He would have difficulty moving anywhere, and it was estimated that there would be passionate students petitioning for severe punishment of Liu Zicheng at the government office every day.
The crime of almost killing the number one genius of Jing Kingdom, a potential future Semi-Saint, was too great. Some people might even assassinate Liu Zicheng and then commit suicide to protest, to prevent such incidents from happening again.
“Shall I accompany you on your journey? Alright, I’ll pick you up at your house in three days,” Li Wenying said.
Everyone was envious. Although Li Wenying was not the arrogant type, he certainly respected hierarchy. Even if a Hanlin Scholar wanted to ride in his carriage, Li Wenying would not have said it like this. He actually said he would pick up Fang Yun, which meant he regarded Fang Yun as someone of similar status.
Fang Yun quickly said, “Absolutely not, I will wait at your house in three days.”
“Alright, you can have lunch with me, and then we’ll return to Dayuan Prefecture.”
“Thank you, Lord Feng.”
Li Wenying stood up, and everyone saw him off.
After seeing off Li Wenying, everyone continued to eat. By evening, people began to leave one after another, and finally, Fang Yun also excused himself.
After leaving Feng’s house alone, he went straight to the Wen Academy to send a message to the capital using a secret code that only the two of them knew.
Before long, a new coded message from the capital arrived in Dayuan Prefecture and was delivered to an eighth-grade civil official.
After the official decoded the message, he headed towards Liu’s house. (To be continued.)