I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

#231 - Enlightenment of Yang Shen

On the bustling street, Zhang Chen and Zhong Xiang walked one after the other.

“We’ve made it clear, if you can keep my grandfather from obsessing and resolve his doubts, I will help you once. If not, I won’t help you!” Zhong Xiang said as he opened the door and walked ahead.

Zhang Chen followed behind Zhong Xiang, patting his chest and guaranteeing, “Don’t worry, those two questions already have answers. Once I tell your grandfather, everything will return to normal.”

“It’s my grandfather!” Zhong Xiang felt like Zhang Chen was taking advantage of him, calling him 'our grandfather' repeatedly.

“We’re practically inseparable, why be so formal?” Zhang Chen chuckled behind Zhong Xiang, his eyes falling on Zhong Xiang’s buttocks. “I say, Brother Zhong, your buttocks are truly fair and round. I’ve never seen such perfect buttocks.”

Zhong Xiang’s face flushed with anger upon hearing this, his body swirling with fiery red energy, instantly melting the blue bricks under his feet into lava.

“You dare to talk nonsense in front of me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?” Zhong Xiang glared at Zhang Chen coldly.

“You can’t kill me!” Zhang Chen retorted.

“If you dare to spout nonsense again, I’ll tear your mouth apart.” Zhong Xiang was now somewhat enraged.

Zhang Chen stepped forward and casually slapped Zhong Xiang’s butt, “You kid, we’re both men, what’s there to be shy about?”

“Zhang Chen!!!” Zhong Xiang gritted his teeth in anger, “Believe it or not, I’ll tear you into eight pieces?”

“Of course, I believe it.” Zhang Chen replied seriously, “Then what?”

Zhong Xiang’s momentum faltered, all his words blocked, and he stomped his foot and walked away.

He and Zhang Chen were in the same boat now, what could he do?

He was also helpless.

Zhong Xiang now pinned his hopes on Zhang Chen to break the curse, after all, this kid was very strange. If anyone could break the curse, it would most likely be this kid.

Zhong Xiang was speechless with anger, glanced at the bustling crowd on the street, and walked towards his family’s temporary residence. Soon, he arrived at a manor outside the city. “Come with me.”

The two of them went all the way to a garden in the backyard, but the garden was already withered and yellow, with only a few old trees still standing tall and green. Fifth Master was sitting under a tree, looking at the leaves in despair.

Zhang Chen looked at Fifth Master’s pale and bloodless face, and didn’t mind resolving his doubts. Fifth Master only crippled Chen Sanliang; Han Suzhen’s death had nothing to do with Fifth Master.

“By the way, if I shatter your grandfather’s Dao heart, will your grandfather pick up a knife and kill me when he sees me?” Zhang Chen suddenly asked.

Zhong Xiang turned to look at Zhang Chen, too lazy to pay attention to this grandson, and walked straight to the tree.

“Grandfather, that dog thief Zhang Chen is here.” Zhong Xiang came to Fifth Master’s side and said in a low voice.

“That kid is here?” Fifth Master turned his head, looking at Zhang Chen with excitement, standing up directly. “Kid, I’ve been looking for you for a long time. Those two questions have troubled me so much. Come here, I have questions I want to ask you.”

“Greetings, Fifth Master.” Zhang Chen respectfully bowed to Zhong Wubai. This was one of the pillars of Confucianism, and he would have to go to the academy in the future. If he could resolve the grievances, he would be happy.

“Don’t be so polite, let me ask you, do you have answers to those two questions you asked that day?” Fifth Master walked forward excitedly, grabbed Zhang Chen’s shoulder, and looked at him expectantly.

“Which two questions did I ask you that day?” Zhang Chen couldn’t remember, after all, he had been very busy recently, his mind highly stressed. At that time, he was just talking nonsense, how could he care so much?

Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Fifth Master’s expectant expression froze on his face, his eyes full of disbelief. “You don’t care about such profound questions containing the Great Dao?”

“I was just making it up.” Zhang Chen said nonchalantly.

The real reason was that there were three such moral questions in later generations, and he was too anxious at the time to remember which two he had asked.

Fifth Master took a deep breath, his face flashing with helplessness, and then said, “The first question, if a stranger falls into a well, if you save him, you will die. Do you save him or not?”

Fifth Master’s eyes stared at Zhang Chen expectantly, “Should I save him or not? If I save others, I will die, but I don’t want to die. But if I don’t save him, it goes against the morality and righteousness in my heart. Pain and self-blame torment my heart day and night, so should I save him or not?”

This was not only Fifth Master’s question, but also the question in the hearts of all scholars in the world. Even Zhong Xiang next to him was staring at Zhang Chen with his eyes, full of exploration and thirst for knowledge.

Zhang Chen pondered for a moment before saying, “As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, a gentleman will not put himself in danger. But a sage will not shirk responsibility!”

“We are just ordinary people, calling ourselves gentlemen is already a great virtue, how can we compare to sages?” Zhang Chen said with a smile.

Upon hearing these words, Zhong Xiang and Fifth Master were struck by lightning, standing there blankly, as if enlightened, their eyes full of brilliance.

Fifth Master’s body was trembling at this time, his eyes full of shock: “So that’s it! So that’s it! A gentleman does not save, but a sage will not shirk responsibility. I am not even a gentleman, let alone a sage?”

“As the saying goes, it must be fate, accept its correctness, therefore those who know fate do not stand under a dangerous wall. Those who die exhausting their Dao are righteous fate; those who die in shackles are not righteous fate.”

Zhang Chen said with a smile, the meaning of this passage is that nothing is not determined by fate, obeying fate and accepting a normal destiny; therefore, those who understand fate will not stand under a dangerous wall. Those who die exhausting their Dao are righteous fate; those who die committing crimes and being punished are not righteous fate.

Fifth Master was struck by lightning upon hearing this, standing there blankly, constantly repeating Zhang Chen’s words: “As the saying goes, it must be fate, accept its correctness, therefore those who know fate do not stand under a dangerous wall. Those who die exhausting their Dao are righteous fate; those who die committing crimes and being punished are not righteous fate.”

At this time, Fifth Master was completely crazy, his body constantly trembling, and two lines of tears fell from the corners of his eyes:

“Everything is fate!”

“What you say is the supreme truth, the true knowledge of reason. Hearing the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening! What you say is profound, I am not as good as you!”

At this time, Zhong Wubai’s address to Zhang Chen changed, directly calling him teacher.

Then Fifth Master laughed wildly, and mysterious auras gathered around him. The dissipated luck was now gathering crazily, and in an instant, it had recovered its previous prosperous momentum, and his whole body was enveloped in that righteous aura.

“There's a second question.” Mister Five's eyes were fixed intently on Zhang Chen at this moment. He had a premonition that if he could gain an answer from the second question, he would surely break through his shackles, ascend to a higher level, shatter the barriers of the Yin God, and give birth to a spark of pure Yang within the utmost Yin.

“If there is a runaway carriage speeding along, and you are the coachman. Ahead, seven people are blocking the road. If you crash into them, they will certainly die. If you swerve the carriage, there is one person in the path of the swerve. Do you save them?”

Mister Five was very respectful to Zhang Chen at this moment. The aura of righteousness around him swayed, appearing extremely active, clearly indicating that he had reached the cusp of a breakthrough.

“I won’t!” Zhang Chen said without hesitation, decisively.

“What if one death could save ten million?” Mister Five asked.

This was the extension and crux of the entire question, and also the most unsolvable part.

“Still, I won’t! Even if one death could save the world, I still wouldn’t!” Zhang Chen answered decisively.

Hearing this resolute answer, Mister Five tentatively offered his own answer, “Is it because fate is so?”

“No!” Zhang Chen shook his head.

Beside him, Zhong Xiang looked at Zhang Chen and tentatively asked, “Is it because you don't know the good or evil of the seven people? If seven wicked people die, and one good person is mistakenly killed, the sin would be immense.”

“That’s not it either,” Zhang Chen shook his head.

“Please enlighten me, sir.” Hearing this, Mister Five bowed deeply to Zhang Chen, paying his respects with utmost reverence.

“Actually, the principle is very simple, because I'm afraid of becoming the one who is crushed to death.” Although Zhang Chen's voice was very soft, it sounded like thunder in the ears of Zhong Xiang and Mister Five. Zhong Xiang collapsed to the ground, his face pale, while Mister Five felt as if he had been struck by a club, enlightened by an immortal in the dark.

“Hahaha! Hahaha! So that's it! So that's it!”

Mister Five looked up to the sky and roared, his voice filled with excitement and elation. The originally turbulent aura of righteousness boiled even more, and wisps of pure Yang energy were born in his divine soul, forming a heaven-shattering pillar of righteous light that soared into the sky.

With the appearance of the pillar of light, a magnificent and vast wave emanated from it, spreading to all directions, the four seas, and the eight wastelands.

“Yang God! That old fellow Zhong Wubai actually attained the Yang God!”

In an inconspicuous courtyard in the city, Xie Lingyun was talking to Xie Xuan when Xie Xuan suddenly looked up at the pillar of light rising from outside the city, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“Didn’t Xie Xuan’s Dao heart get shattered by Zhang Chen? How did he break through and establish the Yang God?” Xie Lingyun's expression immediately darkened upon hearing this. The appearance of a Yang God True Person would have a critical impact on the situation in the Northern Territory.

Xie Xuan's expression turned grave as he stared at the pillar of righteous light. After a long while, he said, “Prepare congratulatory gifts and pay a visit to the Zhong family estate.”

“Yes!” Xie Lingyun took a breath and turned to prepare.

In the mountains where the Feng Shui tomb was located, flames soared into the sky. Mister Five-Six was standing in the firelight, carefully watching the mountains, searching for Zhang Chen's trail. He believed that under the mountain fire, Zhang Chen would definitely reveal his location.

Those nine flying swords were related to the foundation of his life, and he had to find a way to get them back.

Just as he was focusing his attention on the mountains, suddenly, a righteous aura soared into the sky outside the city. Mister Five-Six turned his head to look in the direction of the pillar of righteous light, his eyes filled with disbelief: “Someone has attained the Dao! They actually directly attained the Yang God.”

His eyes were filled with envy. The Yang God and Yin God seemed to be only one realm apart, but they were as different as heaven and earth, simply like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

Achieving the Yang God allows one to control various energies between heaven and earth, such as wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, unlike the Yin God, who can only control matter.

“That direction is the Zhong family's estate. That dog Zhong Wubai actually broke through and achieved the Yang God? Damn it, how did he get ahead of me?” Mister Five-Six’s eyes were filled with resentment, but he quickly calmed down: “Your Highness, quickly prepare congratulatory gifts and personally visit Zhong Wubai's estate. Another Yang God has appeared in the Northern Territory, which will inevitably rewrite the overall situation in the Northern Territory. Our Pingbian Royal Mansion must win this person over. Even if this person is just a passerby, it’s still worth trying to win them over.”

The foundation of the Zhong family is in the capital. Zhong Wubai came to the Northern Territory just as a passerby, but it is still possible to win him over. Zhong Wubai's advancement to Yang God will definitely make him the number one person in the Zhong family. In the future, the entire Zhong family will be under his control. If Zhong Wubai can be won over, wouldn't the entire Zhong family be at his disposal?

Outside the wasteland, in front of a solitary grave, Chen Sanliang felt the vast fluctuations and suddenly raised his head to look in the direction of the Zhong family estate, his eyes turning red: “Impossible! How could this despicable and shameless villain attain the Yang God! How could he attain the Yang God!”

“I am not convinced! Why does this despicable and shameless villain deserve it? The heavens are blind! The heavens are blind!” Chen Sanliang cursed angrily, feeling a burst of suffocation in his chest, and directly vomited blood.

At this time, countless scholars and celebrities in the Northern Territory looked at the soaring righteous aura, revealing a hint of excitement in their eyes. Another pillar has appeared in Confucianism, how could they not be excited?

Countless scholars simply stopped searching for mysteries and went straight to the Zhong family estate, wanting to be the first to visit and make friends.

In the small courtyard, the aura of the Yang God burst out, forcing Zhang Chen and Zhong Xiang to retreat. Zhong Wubai quickly restrained his aura. At this time, Zhong Xiang quickly stepped forward, looking at his little granduncle with disbelief: “Little Granduncle, you… you… attained the Yang God?”

This is the Yang God!

A top expert in the world!

“Just lucky.” Zhong Wubai laughed, his voice full of joy.

The corners of Zhong Xiang's mouth turned up, revealing an exaggerated arc. With his little granduncle's attainment of the Yang God, the pressure brought about by the curse that had plagued everyone before was instantly swept away.

From today onwards, his Zhong family will not only be a family that exists by relying on the prestige of the Great Victory Dynasty's royal family, but his Zhong family will be a Yang God family!

Zhong Wubai restrained his aura, revealing no abnormality, just standing there like an ordinary middle-aged man, then looked at Zhang Chen and bowed to him: “I will never forget your guidance today, and I will definitely repay you in the future.”

Zhang Chen glanced at Zhong Wubai. He would just listen to this guy's words. If he really believed it, he would be a fool.