In July of the last year of the reign of Emperor Yi, war broke out again between the states of Shao and Gao. Gao was defeated step by step and formed a large army using several conquered barbarian tribes that migrated south and was sent to the border to fight against the Shao army. These barbarian soldiers were unruly and difficult to tame. They burned, killed, looted and were difficult to suppress along the way. Due to the barbarians crossing the border and the constant wars, a large number of refugees on the border began to flee.
There was chaos and war along the way. Bandits occupied the deep mountains and wilderness, and even demons began to emerge in the chaos. The bandits killed and robbed people, and the demons ate human flesh and devoured human souls.
And if you encounter soldiers, that would be even worse. Soldiers these days are scarier than monsters and demons.
In the middle of Changdi and Tengdi is the territory of Gaoguo. On an unnamed mountain there is a temple. This temple does not look like a mountain temple or a land temple. It is built beside the mountain road, providing a place for passers-by to rest and leave a stick of incense.
In the ruined temple, there stood four statues of gods, the clay on which they were made had long since peeled off, their hands and feet were even cracked, leaving only their outlines.
The three children fled all the way up the mountain road and quickly hid in this dilapidated temple. Behind them, three blood-stained barbarian cavalrymen came on horses and holding long swords. When they saw that it was a temple, they immediately became frightened.
The three of them were peeking outside the door, and after looking for a long time, they did not dare to rush in. These barbarians had animal patterns on their faces, and they would drink human blood without changing color. They were brutal by nature, but they were particularly afraid of gods.
Who knows if there is some local god or mountain deity in this small temple? I sent someone to take a look, but he didn’t see anything, so he left with some fear.
The three children hid behind the statue. The man had clearly leaned over but did not see them. When they heard the sound of horse hooves fading away, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, Fu Hou, who looked the most timid among the three and whose face was covered with mud, began to sob softly. Tang Li, who was standing beside him, comforted him and broke off half of the few remaining bran cakes in his arms and gave them to him.
The three of them had previously fled with a refugee group, and on the way they encountered the barbarians who were burning, killing and looting. The method of Gao State using the barbarian army to fight against Shao State was very effective, but the harm it caused was also unimaginable.
Gai Cang was the most conspicuous one among the three. He looked as handsome as a girl. He was the son of a noble family. In other words, most of the people with this surname in this era were descendants of those who could trace their origins back to the Dahuan period. He was silent and did not like to talk. He just looked quietly outside the temple, indifferent to everything around him.
Fuhou bit the bran cake and looked at the gradually darkening night outside in despair.
"Can we still survive? They're all dead, Dad, Mom, Xiaobai, Zhongyan and... and more!"
Fuhou was so choked up that he could no longer say the rest of the names: "They are all dead... all dead!"
Tang Li looked like he had thick eyebrows and big eyes, his features were regular and full of vigor. At this moment, he was chewing the biscuit vigorously, as if there was a flame burning in his eyes: "One day, one day I will definitely change this world!"
Fu Hou's dirty little face looked at Tang Li: "Change? How to change?"
Tang Li stood up at once, rushed out of the temple gate, turned around, and roared at the sky, as if to shout out all the injustice, unwillingness, and anger in his chest: "Let there be no more wars in this world, let everyone have enough food, and let all children like us no longer lose their parents and live in poverty!"
Fuhou's eyes lit up, but immediately turned dim as he thought of his dead family and everything he had lost: "My mother told me that there has been war since my grandfather's grandfather's time. As long as there are people, this war will not stop. Even the dynasty that once ruled everything did not stop the war."
"There is always a way to change this situation, at least to allow most people to live happily!"
At this time, Gai Cang, who had been keeping his head down and not speaking, raised his head and looked at the two people who were in a mess. His eyes were calm and indifferent beyond his age: "So what? Life is only a hundred years long. Mortals are like ants and dust, and they will pass away in the blink of an eye."
"Just like a summer insect cannot talk about ice."
"Only monks, warriors, shaman priests, and gods can transcend the limits of their lifespans and reach the end of everything."
"Only they can control everything and manipulate everyone in the world at will."
The two men broke into a fierce quarrel again, and Fu Hou carefully pulled the two people who were about to fight apart.
Three people, one is as cold as ice, one is as fierce as the sun, and one is as ordinary as dust.
In this era, except for the county system that Shao State is currently slowly implementing to gradually replace the original feudal system, most of the other vassal states are still under the feudal system.
The same was true for the Gao State. Wherever they passed, most of the cities and towns and fiefdoms belonged to the nobles and officials, while the core areas belonged to the royal families of various countries.
Except for the territories of the royal offices of various countries, almost all the people in other places became serfs and domestic slaves of these nobles, and those workshops and caravans were private properties of various aristocratic classes.
Most of these noble families were warriors, monks, or those blessed by gods or deities, or they were descendants of these three.
From top to bottom, the world can almost be summed up in one sentence.
"This is a world that belongs to practitioners!"
Everyone dreams of joining the army and becoming a disciple of a noble family. Through marriage or meritorious service, their descendants will also possess the blood of gods and demons and embark on the path of martial arts training. Even though this opportunity is almost impossible, there are always one or two lucky people whose stories make people yearn for it.
Or they yearn to be accepted as disciples by the immortal sects in the famous mountains and rivers. Every time the cultivation institutions of various countries recruit children of the right age, such as the Imperial Observatory of Shao, the Zhuyou Division of Gao, the Sacrifice Palace of Pan, the Sacrifice Platform of Bai and Zheng, the streets will be deserted, and thousands of families are eager to send their children to them.
Fortunately, paper is widely available in this world, and there are academies, otherwise ordinary people would probably not even have the last chance.
As night fell, the three of them finally stopped quarreling and fighting. After a while, the three of them seemed to have released the huge pressure in their hearts. Fu Hou then noticed the four tall statues behind them.
"What kind of temple is this? Do you think there are gods watching us?"
Tang Li patted Fu Hou's shoulder and said, "This is called the Confucian Temple. It is said that the saints of the Imperial Academy are enshrined here. I once heard from the teacher in the academy that there are four saints in the Imperial Academy."
Tang Li pointed to the fourth position: "This should be Yi Sheng. It is said that when Dahuan was at its peak, he was more powerful than the gods."
Fuhou looked bewildered: "More powerful than gods? How powerful would that be!"
Tang Li said proudly: "I heard that many gods of mountains and rivers were appointed by this Saint Yi, and some are even disciples of this Saint Yi."
Tang Li pointed to the front and said, "The third one is Saint Yi. I have read "Wu Ya", which was written by this saint. The second one is Saint Zhuang, who wrote "Wen Dao". Unfortunately, I have not read it."
Fuhou looked at the first statue in the front row: "This statue looks the youngest, why is it ranked first!"
Tang Li showed a different expression on his face: "This one is extraordinary, it's Feng Sheng. It is said that when the human race just appeared, Feng Sheng walked on this land. He is a figure even earlier than the myths and legends we know."
"The words we have written, the articles we know, and the principles we understand are all passed down by this saint!"
"He seems to be holding something in his hand!"
"It seems to be a letter!"
Tang Li showed a mysterious smile on his face: "Do you know? I also heard that this Feng Sheng is still alive..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw the statue they were facing suddenly burst out with white light. At this time, Gai Cang, who had been sitting and dozing off, suddenly stood up and looked at the statue that was emitting light in surprise.
"Alive... alive!" Tang Li started to stutter halfway through his words.
"Is it the gods who have appeared?" Fuhou bowed down in worship.
"There seems to be... something in the light!"
Gai Cang looked directly at the statue, and in the light he saw an eternal and immortal existence standing in the long river of time. For some reason, Gai Cang was so excited that he couldn't control himself.
Tang Li, on the other hand, saw a scene of universal peace in the light, while Fu Hou saw a warm thatched cottage where he and his family lived happily together.
Finally, the light condensed and dispersed, turning into four large characters, which were imprinted in their hearts: "Shangxian Academy!"
In an instant, the three of them seemed to have a goal.
In Gaoyang, the capital of the State of Gao, there was a dilapidated academy located in a side alley in the outer city, which was the Shangxian Academy. A small river flowed around the back wall of the academy. It was remote but quite elegant.
There were less than a dozen students left in the academy. It was already nighttime in the Shangxian Academy with five or six disciples. The teacher seemed to hear someone calling his name while he was sleeping. The voice was very familiar, so familiar that it made people follow the voice instinctively.
"Ping Shang! Ping Shang!"
The old man was nearly sixty years old, which was considered a long life for ordinary people. He became drowsy and walked towards the door, but he did not notice that behind him, he was still sleeping with his eyes closed on the bed.
I walked through the courtyard in a daze and pushed open the gate of the academy.
The door was opened, and although it was clearly night, it was filled with brilliant light.
Groups of musicians in loose robes appeared in the sky and played the instruments in their hands. Divine horses riding flaming horses ran down from the sky, carrying a carriage, as majestic as fairies descending from heaven.
The team arrived in front of the dilapidated academy, and a familiar face in the crowd waved to Master Ping Shang.
"teacher!"
The teacher was horrified, for he suddenly saw that the person who called him was actually his teacher. But before he could say anything, the person naturally floated onto the frame and fell into the carriage.
A large group of people followed suit, and accompanied by music, they came and went in a mighty manner, and together turned into a ray of light.
Accompanied by bursts of flower rain, we headed under the earth. At the end, there was a fairy palace floating in the sky. At the foot of the mountain stood a stone tablet with the words "Xundu Academy" inscribed on it.