"The demons are hateful! Zhongzi's bravery was praised by Confucius, but who would have thought that he would die in a sneak attack by the demons? What a great injustice!"
"Alas, the three of them were wrong, but their mistakes were not serious enough to warrant death. Moreover, Zilu the Half-Saint apologized with his own body. How could they do this? The demon race is going too far! If we don't kill them all, our human race will never be able to turn things around."
"The demons invaded my Shengyuan Continent and plundered my hundreds of millions of people without knowing their fault. I, the semi-saint of the human race, only destroyed the outer perimeter of their tombs, without even touching the tombs, yet they killed me, the semi-saint of the human race. This hatred is irreconcilable!"
A lieutenant general said, "Fang Banxiang, if you can enter the Holy Ruins this time, please kill all the monsters and avenge the death of the Half-Saint of our human race!"
Fang Yun nodded and said, "The demons treat us humans as food and slaves. As long as they are not dead, we humans will never be at peace. If I can enter the Holy Ruins, I will never show mercy!"
After a while, when everyone had vented their anger, Feng Yuanjun said, "The Holy Ruins is not only a place of revenge for our human race, but also contains many rare treasures. Originally, anyone could enter every ten years, but because of the Six Saints War, it became extremely strange. It is said to be related to the demon world. The more powerful a person or demon is, the more they will be excluded. It's like a fishing net. Small fish can come and go freely in the mesh, but big fish can't pass through the mesh."
"Is the Holy Ruins part of the demon world?" Fang Yun asked.
"No, but it is connected to the demon world. It is said to be one of the ancient places, similar to the dragon clan's Dragon Ascension Platform or some holy places." Feng Yuanjun said.
Fang Yun also knew that ancient land was a general term that included various mysterious places. There were many different opinions about what they were specifically. It was said that holy places such as the Mountain of Books and the Sea of Learning were actually transformed ancient lands.
"Oh, then if the obstacles in the Holy Ruins are too strong this year, then our scholars will not be able to enter?"
"Yes. Sometimes the power of the Holy Ruins is too strong, like a fishing net with too small mesh, so even a Juren can't get in, only a Xiucai can get in; sometimes the power is weak, like a fishing net with too large mesh, so both Jinshi and Hanlin can get in. If a Jinshi can get in, then the Monster General and the Barbarian General can also get in, which is too dangerous for a Xiucai, so the Holy Court will not allow a Xiucai to get in. If a Jinshi can't get in, but a Juren can, then the Holy Court can allow some Xiucai to get in."
"I see. Is it the same for the demon race?"
Feng Yuanjun looked solemn and said, "The monsters who went to the Holy Ruins are at least royal families, and some are saints. If they are the grandchildren of the Monster Saint, it's not a big deal. If they are the children of the Monster Saint, then their abilities are no less than the geniuses of our human race, and they may even be stronger. The current Monster King of the Monster Clan is the best example. It took the combined efforts of the four great talents of the previous generation to barely contend with him."
Everyone present changed color when they heard the name of the Demon King; even Li Wenying's expression changed slightly.
Although the human race has always prevented the name of the Demon King from spreading, Fang Yun has come into contact with many people and has long known the name of the Demon King.
The Demon King is a title given to the strongest demon below the Semi-Saint of the demon race. The terrifying thing about this generation of the Demon King is that when he was a demon king, he had already surpassed half of the great demon kings, which is equivalent to the human race's university scholar surpassing some great scholars, and the other great demon kings did not dare to offend him. They gave up the fight, and finally he was crowned the Demon King.
The reason why Feng Chengjue, the last of the four great talents of the previous generation, betrayed the human race was that he was conquered by the power of the Demon King and believed that the Demon King was the Confucius of the demon race. He would lead the demon race to razed the human race and rule the world.
Fang Yun once heard a terrible rumor that the current Demon King was only a Great Demon King, but he could hold out for a hundred breaths without being defeated by the Demon Saint.
However, the most terrifying rumor is that the Northern Saint who sneaked into the demon world tried to assassinate the Demon King three times. He severely injured the Demon King the first time, returned empty-handed the second time, and was ambushed the third time.
“He is the leader of the demon race’s revival. If he doesn’t die, the human race will perish.” This was the Northern Saint’s evaluation of the Demon King. After that, the Northern Saint never assassinated the Demon King again.
Fang Yun discovered that every time someone mentioned the name of the Demon King, everyone felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Feng Yuanjun said slowly: "I hope the Demon King will not target you. The Demon King once said that he would kill three people, two great scholars and one scholar, all of whom are dead."
The banquet was eerily quiet. Everyone looked at Fang Yun with expectations, sadness, and encouragement.
There is no one who is not worried.
Fang Yun drank a glass of wine silently. He naturally knew the terrible record of the Demon King. Two great Confucian scholars were killed by him personally, and that scholar was widely known because he was praised by the Dragon Saint as the Dragon of the Kong Family. He had the potential to be a sub-sage and was perfect in all aspects. The Kong family and the Saint Academy used all means to protect him, and even a great Confucian scholar and a university scholar protected him secretly, but he was still killed.
"I'm just a scholar, and I'm only good at poetry. I'm far inferior to the dragon of the Kong family in terms of classics and the way of the saints. Moreover, I started late. I'm afraid he grew up immersing himself in the talent of the Kong family. The Demon King will not pay attention to me." Fang Yun saw that the atmosphere was not right and hurried to ease it.
Li Wenying said in a deep voice: "The Demon King has dragon blood, likes poetry, and thinks that anyone who writes poetry better than him deserves to die."
"I really don't know. If the Demon King was a human, with his talent and knowledge, he would at least be a great scholar, right?" Fang Yun asked.
"He couldn't even pass the exam to become a Tongsheng."
Fang Yun was stunned and said, "Doesn't this mean that he has no talent at all and wants to kill all the literati?"
"Yes." Li Wenying's tone was quite helpless.
"Does he really like poetry?" Fang Yun couldn't help but ask.
"To be precise, he likes everything that has power, including the heads of human geniuses." Li Wenying's voice became even deeper.
"Ah? Then my head is not worthy of being collected by him, right?"
Li Wenying stared at Fang Yun for a while, then said slowly, "Got it."
Fang Yun was silent for a moment, then said, "That doesn't matter. I'm not qualified to be killed by him."
"Soon."
Fang Yun said helplessly: "Master Yuanjun, could you please not speak nonsense? You put a lot of pressure on me when you say that!"
Li Wenying suddenly smiled slightly, with murderous intent on his lips and bloodshot eyes, and asked: "If he announced that he wanted to kill you, what would you do?"
The whole audience was silent.
Many people were stunned, thinking that what Jianmei Gong said was too scary. Only Fang Yun remained calm. If it were anyone else, they would not be able to sleep tonight, as that was the Demon King who even Bei Sheng could not do anything about.
Fang Yun was also stunned for a moment, thought about it, looked into Li Wenying's eyes, and answered seriously: "I also declare to kill him, and then find a place to hide. Can the Holy Court take me in?"
"Good! This is the role model of a scholar!" Li Wenying laughed.
Everyone laughed, thinking it was just a joke.
Fang Yun then said, "Master Feng, can you briefly describe the environment of the Holy Ruins?"
Feng Yuanjun nodded and said, "The Holy Ruins are about 500 miles long and wide. It was originally a flat land, but after the battle of the six saints, it became a mess. The entrance to the Holy Ruins appears every ten years. There is only one entrance in the human race, but there are hundreds of them in the demon world. So demons and barbarians have entered it one after another. They are trapped for at least ten years, or after ten years they can't even find the exit and have to stay there for the rest of their lives. So there are a certain number of demons and barbarians living there."
"We went in just to kill the demon barbarians?"
Feng Yuanjun said: "The disciples of the Confucius family went there to kill monsters, or more precisely, to kill the monsters of the royal family and the saint family, while the other disciples went there to look for natural treasures. The blood of a semi-saint will not decay for a thousand years, and the flesh and bones of a semi-saint can be transformed into holy jade, both of which are good things. There are seven bodies of semi-saints buried there, which is definitely a huge treasure. What's more, it is an ancient land, and magical fruits such as the fruit of life and the fruit of longevity may appear there."
"Since there are monsters in there, will they all be found?"
"The Holy Ruins are extremely dangerous! There are weak waters, strange winds, exotic trees, and weird grasses. It will be even more terrifying if someone swallows the holy blood and holy jade. Even Jinshi and Hanlin can be killed, not to mention scholars and juren. But don't worry, before you enter the Holy Ruins, the Holy Academy will send someone to give you a book that introduces the Holy Ruins in detail. I'm just going to give you a brief introduction now so that you can be prepared." said Feng Yuanjun.
"So that's the case. Then I feel relieved." Fang Yun said.
Because they were talking about the Demon King, the atmosphere at the banquet became rather depressing. Everyone stopped talking and laughing and just drank and ate in silence. It took a long time for the atmosphere to return to normal, but it was no longer as lively as before.
Not long after, Li Wenying whispered to Feng Yuanjun that he was leaving.
Seeing Li Wenying getting up and leaving, Fang Yun asked, "Master Yuanjun, when will you return to Dayuan Mansion?"
"Three days later." Li Wenying said.
Fang Yun said solemnly, "I once said that if I become a scholar, I will avenge Liu Zicheng for killing me twice! Liu Zicheng tarnished my reputation as a writer, I can forgive him, but he tried to kill me twice, this matter must be investigated thoroughly! If I slander him, then I am not worthy of being a role model for scholars; if he kills me twice and is not brought to justice, then the law has collapsed! This matter must have a result."
Many people were shocked. Was Fang Yun going to start to attack the left prime minister? If Liu Zicheng was accused of killing Fang Yun, no matter whether Fang Yun was a student at that time, he would be drowned in the spit of the people of Jingguo. He would be unable to move forward. It was estimated that there would be passionate students going to the gate of the government office every day to petition for severe punishment of Liu Zicheng.
He almost killed Jingguo's number one genius and possible future semi-saint. The crime is too serious. Someone might even try to assassinate Liu Zicheng and then commit suicide to prevent such a thing from happening again.
"Let me give you a ride? Okay, I'll pick you up at your doorstep in three days." Li Wenying said.
Everyone was envious. Although Li Wenying was not an arrogant person, he certainly paid attention to hierarchy. Even if a Hanlin wanted to take his car, Li Wenying would never say so. He actually said that he was going to pick up Fang Yun, which meant that he treated Fang Yun as a person of close status to him.
Fang Yun said hurriedly: "You can't do that. I will go to the adults' door and wait for them in three days."
"Okay, you can have lunch with me, and then go back to Dayuan Mansion."
"Thank you, Lord Yuanjun."
Li Wenying stood up and everyone saw him off.
After seeing Li Wenying off, everyone continued to eat. At night, everyone left one after another, and finally Fang Yun also said goodbye.
After leaving Feng's house, a man went straight to the Academy of Literature to send a letter to the capital via a wild goose, and the letter was sent using a secret code that only both parties knew.
Not long after, the new secret letter from the capital arrived at Dayuan Prefecture and was delivered to the hands of an eighth-rank civil servant.
The eighth-rank civil servant deciphered the secret message and walked towards Liu Mansion. (To be continued...)