Chapter 249: 4 Sacred Paths! (Seeking Subscriptions)
Sending the teacher to Heaven — This has been the Third Master's long-held dream.
From the moment he began studying at the Kyoto Academy, from the first sight of the Great Master, only one thought remained in his mind.
"He can be replaced!"
The Third Master Yang Huan's background was not good.
A hundred and forty-three years ago, before he joined the Kyoto Academy, he was just the third son of an oil seller.
He had two elder brothers.
The eldest, Yang Yu, followed their father early on, traveling the streets selling oil from dawn till dusk.
The second, Yang Chen, enlisted in the army at thirteen, joining the Taishan Army under Marquis Taishan, and later died at Beixiong Pass.
It wasn't until Yang Huan showed his brilliance and talent in reading at the age of five and was admitted to the Kyoto Academy that life in the Yang Family began to improve.
Yang Huan, upon entering the academy, despite his outstanding talent, was actually just below middle rank in the talent-filled, aristocratic-heavy Kyoto Academy.
However, he worked very hard.
He passed various exams, mastering the six arts of the Junzi, the classics of the sages, and more. Through diligence and hard study, he gradually stood out in the academy and later became known with three other scholars as the "Four Talents of Kyoto."
After that, he was admitted into the tutelage of the Great Master, granting him access to more Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to nourish his Vast Energy, and later earned a recruitment qualification to enter the Taizhou Mountain Battlefield.
There, Yang Huan experienced some of the most brutal battles between the Human Race and the Demon Court, deeply realizing the gap between himself and the Great Master.
Thus, he sought every means to enhance his cultivation, using all necessary methods to acquire more Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to strengthen himself.
Until one day, he met that person, the mysterious and powerful being who called himself "General"...
"In this academy, you have no chance." The Great Master looked at Yang Huan, whose brow was raised and Vast Energy was soaring, sighed, and said:
"Just surrender peacefully."
"Ha," Yang Huan chuckled lightly, playing with the wine cup in his hand, his eyes full of coldness:
"Teacher, you are still so arrogant, just like back then... utterly detestable!"
"Back then," the Great Master appeared slightly melancholy, and said: "It seems that event made you disappointed in me."
"No, you are wrong." Yang Huan shook his head and said: "Even without that event, I would still be the same."
"The Kyoto Academy, though seemingly glorious for a millennium, has truly only existed for seven hundred years."
"Since you took over the academy, for nearly three hundred years, there has been a lack of a reforming spirit within the academy."
"Teacher, your existence has hindered too many people from emerging, and has led the Confucian path astray."
Yang Huan paused, the wine cup in his hand shattered instantly, he seemed to have lost the desire to continue debating, and said:
"It's said 'those in accord with the way gain much support, those against it gain little', Teacher, I will prove that you are wrong."
As his words fell, his figure slowly dissipated, as if he was never in the tea room, merging with the surrounding white-gold aura.
The Great Master's eyes showed slight regret, not at all changed by the disappearance of the Third Master Yang Huan.
He only slowly stood, turned his back to Li Qingzhou, and gestured: "Friend, just keep watch outside."
Li Qingzhou glanced at the corner of the tea room, nodded slightly, then flashed and appeared outside the academy building, hovering in midair, enveloping the surroundings of the school with the Demon Suppressing Sword Intent below the Divine Power Realm.
The battle of the two Confucian sages, unlike that of demons or other divine power techniques, seemed peaceful and serene, yet hidden danger lurked everywhere.
Even as a Sword Cultivator, Li Qingzhou knew if he rashly got involved, the ubiquitous Vast Energy would affect his Sword Intent.
However, Li Qingzhou still harbored doubts in his heart.
Third Master Yang Huan had also imprinted his divine aura on the "Heaven and Earth Bridge", how dared he act against the Great Master on this Tianyuan Continent?
The Great Master had the same doubts, but it did not prevent him from going all out.
"Saint's words: Draw a circle to confine!"
The calm, unaffected voice spread throughout the tea room, and strands of red-golden Vast Energy began at the tea room, following the pillars and beams of the academy building, dyeing the entire building in the color of red gold.
At that moment, the figure of Third Master Yang Huan revealed itself; his clothing was no longer that of the scholar robe, but a golden kasaya, with a black and white inner lining.
Moreover, his aura was more complex than ever; in addition to the magnificent Vast Energy, it surprisingly included Buddhist willpower and Taoist True Yuan.
"Cultivating three paths simultaneously?"
The Great Master was momentarily stunned, observing Yang Huan's aura, and his expression gradually grew solemn.
On the Tianyuan Continent, it's not unheard of for someone to cultivate Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist paths simultaneously, but as far as he knew, no one had ever managed to cultivate the three paths effectively.
The first reason is that people's talents and bloodlines tend to have a focus: some are suitable for the Confucian Vast Energy, some for the Taoist True Yuan, and others have a talent for Buddhist merit and willpower.
The cultivation progress of the favored path is naturally faster, while the effort required for the other two non-favored paths often yields diminishing returns.
The second reason is the cultivation techniques themselves; very few can harmonize the three paths, at least the Great Master had never heard of any in all these years.
In most cases, many Great Powers, after their cultivation techniques reach the Divine Power Realm, determine the second or even third divine power skill powers based on their own situation to make up for their shortcomings.
"Teacher, besides being surprised, you probably want to scold me right now, don't you?"
Yang Huan smiled as he spoke, "Let me guess," while raising his palm, three orbs of light slowly emerged: gold, red gold, and gloomy orbs intertwined, gradually melding together.
"Let me guess, you would say, 'The sea of learning has no bounds, the single path of Confucian sages alone is vast as the sea, it is too rash to bite off more than you can chew', right?"