NOVEL NEXT Chapter 452
Chapter 452: Master Xun Bows in Gratitude! Thank You on Behalf of the Confucian Ancestors and Disciples!
What shocked Master Xun even more than this was actually the death of Donghuang Taiyi.
Donghuang Taiyi’s true strength was at least equal, if not superior, to his own. And yet, Li Mo managed to kill him! This was something that Master Xun could never have fathomed!
Li Mo was still young, yet his strength could be compared to several of their ranks. He had basically transformed from a prodigy into an absolute freak of nature! However, even that wasn’t enough!
The formidable Donghuang Taiyi had been killed by him! This meant that Li Mo’s strength had surely surpassed theirs!
“National Advisor, there’s a question I’d like to ask,” Master Xun pondered for a long time before he finally couldn’t help but inquire.
Li Mo chuckled, “No need for pleasantries, Master. Please speak!”
Master Xun pursed his lips and slowly said, “Has your strength surpassed that of the Spirit Realm?”
Upon mentioning this, Li Mo himself couldn’t help but feel a tinge of uncertainty. Although Donghuang Taiyi didn’t fall by his hands, he had indeed forced him to the bronze door. At that moment, he had held back and hadn’t gone all out. Yet, Donghuang Taiyi had also been injured.
Although he had killed the Chiyou Demon Spirit, a significant part of it was due to his technique being able to restrain the opponent.
After reflecting, he said, “I suppose… not really.”
“Suppose?” Master Xun raised an eyebrow, as if to say, Are you trying to trick me?
Donghuang Taiyi had nearly reached the pinnacle of the Spirit Realm; if you could kill him, even if you hadn’t taken that final step, you must have at least grazed the threshold!
Li Mo laughed aloud, “Master, you and I share a deep bond. How could I deceive you? I truly don’t know.”
Just then, a lightbulb went off in his head. “How about this: let’s have a spar! Then you’ll know for sure!”
Master Xun twitched his mustache, shaking his head repeatedly. “Forget it, forget it! This old bone of mine isn’t cut out for roughhousing. Whatever you say is fine!”
Li Mo could easily pick up on the evasiveness in his words. Not wishing to prolong the topic, he shifted gears: “Master, do you know who Donghuang Taiyi really is?”
Master Xun caught the hidden meaning in his words. “You’re asking about his true identity?”
Li Mo nodded, “Exactly.”
Master Xun shook his head slowly, “Donghuang Taiyi never reveals his true appearance. I honestly have no idea. It seems, however, that the National Advisor does?”
Li Mo candidly stated, “Zou Yan.”
Master Xun’s pupils slightly constricted, stunned by this answer. “The Zou Yan who left the Daoist sect and founded the Yin-Yang School?”
Li Mo calmly nodded. “Exactly.”
Beside them, Hong Liang’s eyes widened in surprise as she began counting on her fingers. Yan Lingji, curious, asked, “What are you counting?”
“One, two, three, four, five, wow!” After finishing her count, Hong Liang couldn’t help but exclaim, “Master! This guy has lived for five hundred years!”
As a princess, Hong Liang certainly knew more of Zou Yan’s background than Yan Lingji, a resident of Ba Yue.
“Five hundred years?” Yan Lingji extended a hand. “Has he been living for five hundred years? Is he a turtle?”
Master Xun shared in the confusion, murmuring, “This shouldn’t be the case.”
Li Mo voiced his doubt: “A common person’s lifespan is only a few decades. The Spirit Realm extends that significantly, but even reaching five hundred years is impossible.”
Master Xun nodded in agreement.
Li Mo continued, “But he is indeed the same Zou Yan from five hundred years ago; it’s just that he’s living differently now.”
Then, he roughly recounted Donghuang Taiyi’s story.
After listening, Master Xun fell silent for a long while before finally chuckling softly, “Living like this, it’d be better to be dead.”
Li Mo didn’t rush to reply, instead watching him thoughtfully.
Master Xun felt somewhat uneasy under Li Mo’s gaze: “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Li Mo maintained his gaze and said slowly, “If I’m not mistaken, Master, isn’t your lifespan nearing its end?”
When Li Mo spoke of “nearing the end,” he wasn’t suggesting that Master Xun would die in the near future. As a Spirit Realm expert, his lifespan exceeded that of ordinary people. Saying he was ‘nearing’ it might imply he had about ten years left.
Master Xun responded candidly, “Yes, it should be coming soon.”
For them, ten years was hardly a long period. It might just be a few moments spent in seclusion.
“Then, have you not thought about continuing to live?”
Master Xun looked at him and said, “If it were before, perhaps I would have thought about it. But now… I no longer wish to.”
“Why?”
“Because of you.”
“Because of me?”
“Exactly.” Master Xun nodded. “Because you helped me fulfill my long-held wish. As long as I can see the teachings of Confucianism spread across the world before I die, that will be enough. And now, that time is approaching.”
His demeanor gradually turned serious. Without giving Li Mo a chance to speak, he continued: “National Advisor, you’re opening schools, building universities, allowing people to have books to read, enabling them to afford books.”
“Your actions, National Advisor, will benefit the present and carry great merit into the future.”
“My only wish in life has been this, and it’s about to be realized. What is there to cling to regarding life and death?”
“If my life can be exchanged for this outcome, then I will do it without hesitation.”
“Life and death are a part of existence.”
“Since my heart’s wish has been fulfilled, what’s wrong with dying?”
“So I wish to die—die smoothly and without regret.”
Li Mo fell into silence.
Yan Lingji and Hong Liang in the courtyard also ceased their judgmental glances towards Master Xun.
They hadn’t expected that this seemingly fierce old man had such a profound obsession with spreading the teachings of Confucianism.
Master Xun smiled, but his smile carried a tinge of sorrow.
“Among the eight schools of Confucianism, only my branch stands apart from the others. Do you know why, National Advisor?”
Li Mo already had an answer in mind, but he hesitated to say it aloud. It was, however, Hong Liang who blurted out, “Because you’re too fierce?”
Master Xun was caught off guard by her comment, then burst out laughing. “That’s one way to say it.”
It was not just because of his fierceness, but also due to his theories differing from others. His thoughts and methods were much more extreme.
His demands of his disciples were particularly stringent.
It was no wonder many people were dissatisfied with him. However, he had a high status and was a top-notch expert.
Those who wished to attack him dared not, and those who wanted to criticize him couldn’t find the courage.
He critiqued all schools of thought, but revered Confucius’s ideology, believing it to be the best governance philosophy.
Thus, he had always wanted countries to adopt Confucian scholarship as their national studies.
Yet, in these chaotic times of war, Confucianism was utterly impractical.
While Confucianism is a great way to govern, it isn’t a path to save a nation!
As a result, his wishes remained unfulfilled.
But now, with the world unified, the opportunity has come!
And Li Mo has given him this chance.
Master Xun stood up and adjusted his clothing.
With a serious expression, he looked intently at Li Mo, clasping his hands together and bowing deeply.
“Disciple Xun Kuang, on behalf of Confucian ancestors, present-day Confucians, and future disciples, thank you, sir.”