Chapter 105: Ancient Words Translation

It was evident that the Third Elder greatly admired Daoist Buyu, perhaps envying in others what he himself lacked.

After bidding farewell to the Third Elder, Lu Yang arrived at Junzi Peak.

Junzi Peak was the Fourth Elder's territory. The mountain was elegant, cool, and perpetually summery, with pavilions and streams visible everywhere. The verdant, towering bamboo clearly indicated it was a favorite spot for scholars and poets to linger and compose verses. Lu Yang wouldn't have been surprised even if the bamboo suddenly spoke a few words of wisdom from a sage.

Having witnessed all sorts of strange and peculiar things in Wendao Sect, Lu Yang's mental fortitude had been tempered to an extremely strong degree.

Lu Yang also saw black-and-white iron-eating beasts rolling around the mountain. Some senior disciples were drinking and enjoying themselves, freely expressing their artistic talent by splashing ink to create paintings. They then entered their paintings, reveling with the figures within, seemingly utterly at ease.

An iron-eating beast nudged Lu Yang, almost knocking him head over heels. It was playfully interacting with him, but Lu Yang had business to attend to. After much persuasion, the iron-eating beast finally let him go, even giving him a half-eaten bamboo stalk before he left.

"Hello, Senior Brother, may I ask where the Fourth Elder is?" Lu Yang asked respectfully, holding the half-eaten bamboo stalk and standing before a painting. This senior brother's mastery of painting was extremely high, almost reaching a terrifying level of lifelike realism.

The painting master heard Lu Yang's call. He extended half of his body from the painting and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Lu Yang."

Upon hearing Lu Yang's name, the painting master suddenly realized. "Oh, I know you. You're the new Lu Yang, Yunzhi's disciple."

"...No, it was the Senior Sister who took me in on behalf of our master. I am Daoist Buyu's disciple," Lu Yang earnestly corrected the senior brother.

"My name is Ji Hongwen. I entered Wendao Sect in the same generation as the Senior Sister, and I am the Fourth Elder's eldest disciple." This senior brother was unpretentious and showed no disdain due to Lu Yang's lower cultivation level.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Ji." Lu Yang was surprised, having not expected Ji Hongwen to be from the same generation as the Senior Sister.

He only knew that Dai Bufan was from the same generation as the Senior Sister, the most senior among all disciples. His cultivation was not much different from an Elder's, and the Grand Elder was already very confident in his handling of matters, giving him high prestige among the disciples. To his surprise, he had now met another.

By the same logic, Senior Brother Ji's cultivation level would also not be low.

Grand cultivators, rarely seen in any city or county outside, were commonplace in Wendao Sect.

"You wish to see Master? Come, Master should be teaching students right now," Ji Hongwen said, as he floated entirely out of the painting. With a flick of his finger, another figure appeared in the painting.

Only then did Lu Yang notice that Ji Hongwen was not the only one in the painting; there was also a stunningly beautiful woman.

The woman seemed to have stepped out of a Jiangnan water town. Her cheeks were tinged with a blush, and she was graceful and gentle, her smile as beautiful as a flower, her eyes conveying deep affection. Her beauty was unparalleled, and her attire was daringly revealing. Even a pure-hearted young man like Lu Yang blushed at the sight.

"Haha, isn't she beautiful? I painted her. Would you like me to paint one for you too? She can even keep you company at night," Ji Hongwen teased. Lu Yang shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this.

He needed to preserve his essence.

The beautiful woman entwined her arm with Ji Hongwen's and gazed at him with deep affection.

What Lu Yang didn't know was that more people wanted to learn Ji Hongwen's technique than the Third Elder's "Six Earth-Shaking Forms."

Led by Ji Hongwen, Lu Yang arrived at the depths of the bamboo forest. Surprisingly, there was a private school within, where the Fourth Elder taught. Inside were also Manggu, seemingly 'rotten wood that cannot be carved', and several diligent students.

The Fourth Elder was explaining ancient texts: "...Looking southwest from the pond, the path twists and turns like a snake, visible and then hidden. The banks are uneven and jagged like dog's teeth, their source unknown... Come, Manggu, translate this: 'The banks are uneven and jagged like dog's teeth, their source unknown.' What does this mean?"

Manggu lowered his head and thought carefully. He then said with a confident tone, "There are two dogs fighting by the shore, and I don't know why."

The Fourth Elder silently closed the ancient book. He rolled up his sleeves and took out a ruler.

Just as he was about to hit Manggu's hand, he recalled the sage's earnest teachings: to teach without discrimination and to teach according to a student's aptitude.

He had seen Manggu's diligence in studying and knew he was a good child. This translation must have been an accident. "If I ask a simpler question and he answers it correctly," he thought, "I won't have to hit him, giving him a way out."

"Princes, nobles, generals, ministers, are they born to be so? What does this phrase mean?"

According to historical records, when the Great Yu Dynasty fell apart a hundred thousand years ago, its princes and nobles stepped forward, raising their banners high, aiming to reunite the land and restore the Great Yu Dynasty's rule.

People strongly believed in the concept of bloodline, thinking that the Great Yu Dynasty's bloodline was inherently noble. The claims of the princes and nobles won over many hearts.

But the ancestor of Emperor Xia, who had deeply suffered under the tyranny of the princes and nobles, knew how rotten they were at their core. They were high and mighty, indulged in pleasure, unaware of the common people's suffering or the difficulties of cultivation. Each of them had been nurtured with rare treasures since childhood, causing their cultivation to skyrocket; they were practically rare treasures themselves. Such people, even if they could establish a new Great Yu Dynasty, would quickly lead it to ruin.

The ancestor of Emperor Xia, as an enlightened individual, raised his arms and cried out, "Princes, nobles, generals, ministers, are they born to be so?" This became an immortal phrase, passed down through the ages.

Even Manggu, who came from a barbarian tribe, had heard this saying and greatly admired the courage of Emperor Xia's ancestor.

"This phrase means, 'Princes, nobles, generals, ministers, do you have the guts?'"

The room erupted in laughter.

The Fourth Elder no longer hesitated. He picked up the ruler and struck Manggu's hand, making him wince in pain.

Manggu couldn't for the life of him understand where he had gone wrong. For Emperor Xia's ancestor to provoke the princes and nobles to their faces, that required immense courage.

"Wasn't that what the phrase meant?"

Lu Yang stood by the door, silently listening to the lesson, and silently mourned for Manggu for three seconds.

Ji Hongwen shook his head and chuckled at this scene. "I don't know what Junior Brother Manggu was thinking. As an ancient barbarian, he chose not to learn the Third Elder's unique skills and instead became Master's disciple. He's certainly received plenty of beatings this past year."

"However, I've noticed that his mind is sharper than before since he returned from his last mission. Do you know why?"

Lu Yang shook his head. How could he know?

"By the way, it seems like there's a certain pattern to the Fourth Elder's hand-slapping. Is that just my imagination?" Facing Senior Brother Ji's suspicious gaze, Lu Yang quickly changed the subject.

Senior Brother Ji looked at Lu Yang with a slight surprise. "You're not wrong. This is actually a method to stimulate one's bloodline, but it's too painful for most people to endure. Master is using this method to activate Junior Brother Manggu's ancient barbarian bloodline. Oh, and don't tell Junior Brother Manggu about this."

Lu Yang nodded.

"You can find Master once his class is over."

With that said, Senior Brother Ji took the beautiful woman's hand and left.

Class time always felt incredibly long. Lu Yang listened from the doorway; the Fourth Elder spoke for a quarter of an hour, but Lu Yang felt as if several hours had passed.

Finally, the Fourth Elder concluded his class. He then met Lu Yang, who was full of questions.

"You're asking about the Ninth Elder, that morally corrupt, good-for-nothing, wicked individual?"

Lu Yang: "..."

"Thank you. I think I already know what kind of person my master is."