Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 71 Longevity Fruit

Chapter Seventy-One Longevity Fruit

Golden light burst forth from all directions, and wherever it passed, thousands bowed in reverence.

This is divine wrath, even children know that unless someone is utterly wicked, there is absolutely no way such a celestial phenomenon as golden light filling the sky could occur.

Demons.

Wherever the golden light passed, demons and demon soldiers died screaming in agony, throwing the entire demon race into chaos.

"The Holy Academy actually used such a holy judgment to execute one of my demons. Do they really think my demon race is easy to bully?!"

"Lead the demon army to raze a human county to the ground, leaving not a single chicken or dog alive!"

The Demon Lord waved his hand and roared.

Monster clan.

"The demon race is in big trouble now; at least several thousand demons and demon soldiers will die."

A demon lord smiled slightly, then closed his eyes.

Dragon clan.

"The human race has produced another genius who is willing to lower his academic rank by one level and trigger the arbitration of the Three Saints."

"Investigate this human genius, but don't get into a conflict with the human race."

"Yes."

……

The golden light raged for several hours before gradually diminishing and finally disappearing completely, leaving the azure sky calm once more.

Just as Ye Rugang helped Chen Sijun back to the schoolhouse, Pang Jun and the others arrived.

This scene caused a look of surprise to cross the faces of the people at Wenxing Private School.

Five Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) gathered together in Ye Ru's schoolhouse, something that had never happened before.

Ye Ru's influence is a bit too much.

"Old Chen, how are you?"

"It's nothing. It just involved the Three Saints Arbitration, which demoted me by one rank. I'll be fine after a rest."

Chen Sijun waved his hand. His hair was all white, and his face was tired. He lay on the bed and said.

"How could you be so foolish as to lower yourself to kill Wang Bieqiu and the others? They are already traitors to the human race, hated by both gods and men, and despised by all people. When the time comes, just have the National Holy Academy issue a holy decree to exterminate the entire Wang family. Why bother?"

Song Feng had the most fiery temper, and he yelled as soon as he came in, but the concern in his eyes was genuine.

"I'm afraid it will be too late."

Ye Ru was filled with self-reproach. It was extremely difficult for a Juren to take the Jinshi exam, especially the palace examination, where questions were set by great Confucian scholars.

“Ye Tongsheng, you don’t need to blame yourself. I will recover in a few days.”

Chen Sijun said with a smile.

"Ye Tongsheng, come out here for a moment..."

Li Wenfeng gently tugged at Ye Ru, who, upon hearing this, bowed to Chen Sijun and then left.

But Chen Sijun's expression turned strange.

"Ye Tongsheng, Old Chen has demoted himself from his civil service position this time, which has also shortened his lifespan by ten years. Therefore, he needs to find a longevity fruit. He is a close friend of mine, despite our age difference, and I cannot stand by and watch him die. If you can find it, that would be best. If not..."

Li Wenfeng sighed, then said with concern.

"Old Scholar Chen sacrificed ten years of his life to save me. He is a truly benevolent and righteous man. If I achieve success in my studies, I will definitely seek out the fruit of longevity to help Scholar Chen prolong his life."

Ye Ru nodded solemnly, feeling even more saddened.

“Alright, we scholars cannot go to the demon realm or the secret realm, so we cannot help. Therefore, we will have to trouble Ye Tongsheng.”

"Don't worry, I'll go and print a copy of 'Investiture of the Gods' for Scholar Chen right away."

After Ye Ru finished speaking, he returned to the inner hall and began printing "Investiture of the Gods".

While Ye Ru was printing, Chen Sijun and the other four looked at each other, then sighed. After a while, Chen Jinshi asked:

"Wenfeng, what did you say to Ye Ru?"

"I want him to help me find the longevity fruit."

Li Wenfeng said.

"You're incredibly foolish! Besides the five Longevity Fruits in the Holy Academy, ten in the Demon Clan, ten in the Monster Clan, and twenty in the Dragon Clan, where else can you find them? Ye Ru is a grateful person, and your actions have put me in an unjust position!"

Chen Sijun got up, supporting herself on the headboard, and said loudly.

"I can't just stand by and watch you die. If you die, wouldn't we also be people who didn't help you in your time of need!"

Li Wenfeng was also furious, his usually refined face flushed red.

"Ye Ru is a rising star of the human race. He has composed four poems and essays that have astonished the nation, and one of his articles has caused a paper shortage in Luoyang. He has also invented a new printing technique and helped Qingyun County defeat Ningfeng County. Can't you see it now? No one but Ye Ru can truly make our country rise!"

Chen Sijun suddenly calmed down and said softly.

"No, if we had the ability to go, we certainly wouldn't have let Ye Tong go before she passed away."

Liu Yan shook his head and said that they were all too old to be anything more than scholars, and that secret realms and such were out of their reach.

"Little White, do you know where to find longevity fruits?"

While printing copies of "Investiture of the Gods," Ye Ru spoke to Xiao Bai, hoping to glean some information from him.

"All four races have them, but they are extremely rare, so don't even think about it."

Xiao Bai shook his head.

"No matter how precious it is, I will take it."

Ye Rudao.

"Now I finally understand why your human race, though weak, has not been wiped out yet."

Little White licked its little paws and clicked its tongue in amazement.

"why?"

"A heart of unwavering loyalty and righteous spirit."

Xiao Bai said in a deep voice, then slipped into Ye Ru's sleeve:

"Now it all comes down to luck. What you need to do is quickly improve your literary rank."

"Ah."

After finishing printing "Investiture of the Gods", Ye Ru took it to Chen Sijun's side and gently placed it on the bedside table.

"well."

Chen Sijun picked up the book and then smiled:

"These past few days I've finally had time to read some of Yip Tong-sheng's works."

No one laughed; their mood grew even heavier.

"Old Chen, we're going back now. We'll come see you again tomorrow."

Pang Jun couldn't bear to see Chen Sijun's aged face, so he covered his face and left.

"We'll come see you tomorrow, and we'll ask your sister-in-law to make you some chicken soup while we're at it."

Li Wenfeng sighed. Chen Sijun never married and had only one adopted son, Chen Xuezhi, who had been transferred to another post and would probably be back in a few days.

"Great, it's a good opportunity to try your sister-in-law's cooking."

Chen Sijun said.

After everyone left, Su Tongyao thoughtfully helped Chen Sijun wipe her forehead and then bowed to her.

“Old Master Chen, you should rest well first. I’ll go find Mr. Fang Zifeng and see if he has any ideas. Tong Yao, take good care of Old Master Chen.”

Ye Ru thought that perhaps Fang Zifeng had some information about the longevity fruit.

"Mr. Fang."

"You've come to ask me about the longevity fruit, haven't you?"

Fang Zifeng saw Ye Ru standing at the door and sighed as well. The matter of Chen Sijun's arbitration with the Three Saints was really too big, and it was likely that even the National Saint Academy had been shaken.

"Actually, apart from the Holy Academy and a few other races that possess them, ordinary people can't find them, so I don't know either..."

"Does that mean we can only watch helplessly as Scholar Chen's lifespan expires and he passes away?"

"This longevity fruit is extremely valuable and is controlled by various powerful families. It will never be granted unless someone makes an exceptionally great contribution."

Fang Zifeng gave a bitter smile. How could he not want such a loyal and righteous person to be well?

However, the National Academy would not grant a position to an old scholar who had triggered the arbitration of the Three Saints.

As for the demon, monster, and dragon races, forget about it.

Clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, Ye Ru's body trembled uncontrollably. He would never let Chen Sijun die of old age.

Just as Ye Ru was determined to go to the National Saint Academy to ask for a longevity fruit, a voice came, quietly raising a glimmer of hope in his heart...

"I know where the longevity fruit is... but I wonder if Ye Tongsheng has the courage to participate in the Children's Kingdom Competition?"