Chapter 603: Recruitment and Tong Gang

In the prison, the old scholar Mo Chi held a branding iron.The front half of the branding iron was in a charcoal furnace, roasted red all over, and the very tip was carved with a character.Ning Que looked carefully and discovered that it was the character "Ren".The old scholar Mo Chi held the branding iron with the "Ren" character and walked up to the Silent Ghost General.The Silent Ghost General was tied up and unable to move, only staring at the old scholar Mo Chi with a calm gaze.The old scholar Mo Chi didn't hesitate; he directly pressed the branding iron onto the Silent Ghost General's forehead between his eyebrows.Zhi...The red-hot branding iron in the center of the Ghost General's eyebrows burned out a series of black smoke.For a moment, a scorched smell filled the air.The old scholar Mo Chi pressed for a full five breaths before slowly withdrawing the "Ren" character branding iron and putting it back into the charcoal furnace.The Silent Ghost General weakly hung his head, and his breathing became very rough.Seeing Ning Que's slight surprise, Wen Ruan Yu timely explained, "Our Confucian cultivation has five constants: Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, and Xin.""'Ren' means loving people and is the foundation of Confucianism.""To establish oneself and others, to reach oneself and others.""A person of Ren has a good heart, and virtue is like a mountain. They can bestow kindness, tolerate others, accumulate goodness as a foundation, and hold their heart to treat things..."Ning Que listened attentively.Whether it was the old scholar Mo Chi, Zheng Shou Mo, or the true transmission of Wan Xiang, Wen Ruan Yu, they were all Confucian cultivators.Ning Que was not familiar with Confucian cultivation. Hearing an expert explain at this time, he naturally perked up his ears and actively learned.The old scholar Mo Chi saw that the Silent Ghost General was only panting roughly, so he took out another branding iron from the charcoal furnace.This time, the branding iron was different from before; the front section was the character "Yi".Pu chi.Zheng Shou Mo pressed the branding iron onto the Silent Ghost General's left shoulder, emitting another scorched smell.Intense pain made the Silent Ghost General suddenly throw his head back, looking at the ceiling, but his demeanor was still calm, and his eyes were always tranquil.Seeing his performance, the old scholar Mo Chi also had thoughts, "Good, this gaze is not bad. I hope you have such spirit energy next."Ning Que: ...Wen Ruan Yu again explained, "'Yi' means appropriateness, the bond of the right path.""A gentleman takes 'Yi' as the highest, establishing the body and acting in the path.""'Yi' is not in force, 'Yi' is in the heart. Even when encountering hardship, one should guard its uprightness and not change one's initial will...""'Yi' is acting with public justice as the standard, not moved by private interest; righteous spirit is stern, and the heart is without distractions."Ning Que secretly memorized these in his heart.The old scholar Mo Chi put down the "Yi" character branding iron and took out the third one, which was the character "Li".As before, he also branded the "Li" character on the top of the Silent Ghost General's left shoulder. The Silent Ghost General tightly closed his lips, bit his teeth,Still not uttering a sound.The old scholar Mo Chi sized him up from head to toe, praising from his heart, "Indeed a tough man!"Wen Ruan Yu again explained to Ning Que, "'Li' means respect, the norm of people's behavior.""It also says: 'Li' means principle, the warp and weft of heaven and earth, a great matter of the country.""It also says: ''Li' means the heart of respecting people, the method of treating things. Acting with 'Li' is like the wind, the heart holds respect, demeanor is dignified, and matters are all in order...'"Wen Ruan Yu had studied deeply in this aspect.He also specially added some of his own understanding, "Etiquette is not false, but the inner respect and outer expression are unified, following heavenly principle and human way, knowing when to advance and retreat, discerning what is important and what is not, distinguishing right from wrong..."Ning Que greatly benefited and hurriedly cupped his hands in thanks.He thought of the time he saw Wen Ruan Yu fight at Ming Jiao River. His attainment of 'Li' was indeed profound and incomparable. At that time, he made many water ghosts and yin soldiers put down their butcher knives and spoke of etiquette, thereby allowing people to slaughter."Ren Yi Li Zhi Xin... Ren Yi Li are already out, next only Zhi and Xin are left."Ning Que saw the pattern and had also discovered early on that many branding irons were inserted into the charcoal furnace, with only the tips inserted deep, so the specific characters were not visible.The old scholar Mo Chi inserted the branding iron back but did not immediately take out the fourth one.He turned to Wen Ruan Yu and said, "Master Wen, this enemy general is indeed the toughest man I have ever seen in my life. I applied three characters in a row and did not make him frown or groan in pain. Probably the next two characters won't easily pry his mouth open.""It's shameful.""Just now I boasted, now I've been slapped in the face.""The old man underestimated the heroes of the world."Wen Ruan Yu frowned, "So how do we handle it?"The old scholar Mo Chi said, "I still have a method that can borrow this person's toughness to torture out more information."After a moment, the Qing Mian Ghost General, Gu Bang Ghost General, Hua Sheng Ghost General, and Liao Ya Ghost General were all brought to this prison cell.The old scholar Mo Chi said, "Your leader is indeed a tough man. I added three characters, and he still didn't say a word.""Watch closely, and I hope you can maintain such toughness next!"Saying this, the old scholar Mo Chi took out the "Zhi" character branding iron and gave the Silent Ghost General a hard one on the thigh.The Silent Ghost General's body trembled in pain, yet he still did not emit a sound.And the other four Ghost Generals who saw this scene all had their faces suddenly change. Some struggled hard, making muffled sounds, but were still bound and unable to free themselves.Wen Ruan Yu again introduced to Ning Que, but this time, he used divine sense transmission: "'Zhi' means knowing and being able to act, the wisdom of understanding.""Knowing it is not as good as liking it, and liking it is not as good as enjoying it...""A person of 'Zhi' has a bright heart and sharp eyes, knows the changes of current affairs, sees the subtle and knows the obvious, considers matters in detail, and acts clearly..."Ning Que secretly nodded, joyful in his heart, "I've learned, I've learned."The old scholar Mo Chi also involuntarily gave the Silent Ghost General a thumbs up, "Good, you are the prisoner with the hardest bones I have ever seen.""I have never seen anyone who can endure five characters in a row. I hope you can break this record."Pu chi.The next moment, the "Xin" character branding iron was also pressed onto the Silent Ghost General's right thigh, branding a "Xin" character on it.Wen Ruan Yu said, "'Xin' means speaking and having faith, the virtue of loyalty and keeping promises.""Speaking must lead to action, and action must yield results. Guarding promises and fulfilling agreements, loyalty unchanging, the return of the crowd, only then does its virtue show.""A gentleman attends to the fundamentals; when the fundamentals are established, the way is born. Virtue is not isolated; it must have neighbors. Faith makes people's hearts peaceful, and when the country has faith, people's hearts return. Both are the high standard of virtue and the great instrument for establishing the body."He had just finished explaining when the Silent Ghost General finally could not hold on. His eyes closed, and he fainted on the spot."Pity, pity," the old scholar Mo Chi said with regret and sorrow.He turned and untied the Qing Mian Ghost General's binding, allowing the latter to speak.The old scholar Mo Chi said gently and refinedly, "I remember, you also suffered one character, but fainted halfway. I hope you can perform better this time."That Qing Mian Ghost General was a battlefield veteran, a ghostly creature that licked blood on the edge of a knife. Hearing Zheng Shou Mo's words, he immediately struggled more fiercely, shouting, "I'll say everything, I'll tell you all I know!"The old scholar Mo Chi nodded with a smile, "Please wait for the city lord's Su Wen Heart Dissection Scroll. I hope what you say is not false."The old scholar again sealed the Qing Mian Ghost General and successively untied the restrictions of the other three generals, allowing them to speak.The three generals had personally witnessed how the Silent Ghost General fainted, and they had also tasted the pain of the branding iron punishment. This pain was absolutely not flesh pain, but deep to the bottom of the soul, truly pain to the heart, pain to the point of not wanting to live!This time, when the old scholar interrogated them one by one, they all revealed the military intelligence they had not revealed before, and their attitude became quite proper.Only when it came to the Hua Sheng Ghost General did this Ghost General tremble and say, "Various masters, please allow me to report. Silent master did not stubbornly resist to the end; he wanted to abandon darkness and turn to the light early on. Only his talent and technique made him always appear calm and unable to speak."The old scholar Mo Chi: ...Ning Que, Wen Ruan Yu: ...The scene was somewhat awkward for a moment.The old scholar Mo Chi waved his hand and again had others take the other four generals back.He cupped his hands to Wen Ruan Yu, asking for permission to cast a spell.Wen Ruan Yu nodded in agreement without hesitation.Thus, the next moment, the old scholar Mo Chi cast a Confucian technique—Recruit and Unify Outline.The old scholar stirred his law power, which was rapidly consumed, while simultaneously reciting, like reciting a fine work.Body seal, mouth seal, heart seal, this is the main technique for casting spells.Confucian cultivation especially emphasizes the mouth seal when casting spells.Accompanying the old scholar Mo Chi's recitation, small silver-white characters condensed out of thin air one by one, gathering together to form a fine literary work.These silver-white characters surged towards the Silent Ghost General like flowing water.The Silent Ghost General's body, marked with five brands, began to emit warm white light as the silver-white characters injected into them.These white lights rapidly spread from the five main sources, converging on the Ghost General's body surface, forming paths of vertical and horizontal lines.If these silver-white lines were examined carefully, it would be discovered that they were composed of extremely tiny characters. And from an overall view, these lines were like a five-flower tie, completely binding the Silent Ghost General.The silver lines' glory gradually converged until none was left.After another ten-plus breaths, the silver lines themselves also disappeared without a trace.Finally, the large "Ren Yi Li Zhi Xin" characters branded on the Silent Ghost General's body also converged to none. Observing with the naked eye, there was no difference from before."Good, successful at once, not bad," Wen Ruan Yu clapped once, verbally praising, "Brother Zheng's insight into 'Recruit and Unify Outline' is deeper than mine. If I cast it, I absolutely would not have the effect you achieved, old brother."Ning Que was slightly surprised, "Old mister Zheng is in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and Senior Wen is at Golden Core cultivation, is it still like this?"Wen Ruan Yu nodded, "Naturally. Looking through the long river of history, our Confucian cultivation is a late bloomer. The reason we can surpass later and occupy a significant position is because our cultivation methods are mixed with the hundred arts of cultivation.""For example, the traditional four arts of scholars—qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting—and also the six arts of gentlemen—ritual, music, archery, driving, calligraphy, and numbers. These can all cross boundaries and pry into more power.""Precisely because these cultivation arts are combined, Confucian cultivation is not judged solely by cultivation level. Sometimes, some Confucian cultivators who have deep knowledge in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and various literary works, can also do things that Confucian cultivators with high cultivation cannot."Ning Que thought of his own experience of using military strategy on the battlefield, which directly caused his combat power to soar, and suddenly comprehended deeper.The Silent Ghost General slowly woke up, still with an indifferent face.The old scholar Mo Chi directly unbound him, allowing him to regain his freedom.This action was quite bold, but Wen Ruan Yu did not obstruct it in any way.The Silent Ghost General stared at the three who were sizing him up, and then a silver-white glory reflected on his body. He half-kneeled on the ground, kowtowed to the three, expressing his submission attitude with the most direct action.Sun Ling Tong saw this scene and could not help but exclaim, "This 'Recruit and Unify Outline' is too useful, right? It's almost the same as your life-threatening divine ability, Xiao Que.""But controlling divine abilities is too difficult. While 'Recruit and Unify Outline' is just a Confucian cultivation technique, this old man can learn it!"Ning Que, however, had a different view and communicated secretly, "There is still a difference.""My divine ability, regardless of whether the enemy is willing, as long as it's planted, can forcibly control their body actions and can be achieved instantly.""But 'Recruit and Unify Outline' requires a lot of prior arrangements. Cultivating this method probably also has other difficulties. Otherwise, Wen Ruan Yu, a true transmission of Golden Core, would not yield his position and let Zheng Shou Mo, a Foundation Establishment, act.""I am indeed very interested in Confucian cultivation. I truly hope to have time in the future to gain more understanding."Sun Ling Tong then laughed, "Xiao Que, what school, what art are you not interested in?"Ning Que was slightly stunned, "Learning more is always beneficial."The two of them witnessed Confucian cultivation this time, broadening their horizons and also discovering differences from what they had imagined.The Silent Ghost General was recruited, but the other four generals could not endure the branding iron. They could only be branded with another character after some time. Therefore, although the Hua Sheng Ghost General had already expressed surrender, he was still imprisoned.Wen Ruan Yu and the others questioned the Silent Ghost General but did not get any clues.Regarding this, the old scholar Mo Chi analyzed, "He was sent to the inner city to fight to the death, so Wang Chuan Fu Jun would not inform him of important intelligence.""But from this point of view, the Golden Core Ghost Generals sent here are also not valued.""Precisely because of this, there are more possibilities for recruiting them."Ning Que secretly felt pity for the Silent Ghost General in his heart.He still hoped to burn him and extract the possessed talent and spirituality.However, since he had already surrendered, he was naturally of more value to White Paper Immortal City at present."Now, the ghost tide is continuously impacting the city; there must be a great war.""Just let the Silent Ghost General continue to contribute, and in the future, when he dies on the battlefield, I can take over. There is no rush at this moment."Without any clues, Ning Que decisively suspended the investigation and stayed in Zang Yang Separate Manor all day to cultivate.He had used the four treasures of soul cultivation consecutively, causing his soul foundation to increase violently again.From a soul of ten thousand people, he broke through to a soul of one hundred thousand people, and then continued to advance from a soul of one hundred thousand people, the speed not slowing down in the slightest.On the other hand, Ning Que also maintained the cultivation of the upper methods of the three sects. Unfortunately, in terms of the 'Magic Dye Blood Sinew Skill,' his progress was still not fast.Ning Que's comprehension was there, and he had the support of his early wisdom talent. In fact, his comprehension of the 'Magic Dye Blood Sinew Skill' already greatly exceeded that of ordinary people.But everything fears comparison.From his perspective, the progress in comprehending the 'Magic Dye Blood Sinew Skill' was truly too slow! It fundamentally could not compare with flesh body cultivation, and flesh body cultivation could not even catch up with soul cultivation."Jiao Ma, Jiao Ma, your family has come to visit you." When Ning Que's soul foundation reached three hundred thousand people, he received a report from the paper man puppet.The visitor was the head of the Jiao family, who saw Ning Que and immediately scolded him, "Ma'er, how did you mess up? You didn't even enter Zhuang Yang Court and are still in Zang Yang Separate Manor?""Speak!""Do you still miss Qing Yan's daughter?"