Chapter 239: The Book of Changes Emerges! The Reactions of All Parties

Chapter 239: Chapter 239: The Book of Changes Emerges! The Reactions of All Parties

Lujiang. Qufu City. The Academy Palace.

Five men of varying ages were seated primly before a small table, upon which sat an exquisite tea set and meal.

One can never be too particular about the refinement of their food or the delicacy of their cuts. This was the rule here.

An old man, a middle-aged man, a young man, a teenager, and a child—each one’s hair, coronet, and robes were all impeccably arranged.

Even the motion of their chopsticks picking up food and the extent to which they opened their mouths to chew were stiff and deliberate.

Suddenly, however, the old man froze. He shot to his feet, whipped his head around to look into the distance, his eyes filled with shock.

Seeing this, the others didn’t know what had happened and cast curious gazes in the same direction.

But in the very next moment, they too, almost simultaneously, felt a supremely powerful fluctuation.

"Is a Prosperity-Level supreme treasure of our Confucian Dao being born?!" the middle-aged man frowned.

Prosperity Level!

Spirit Level represents an abundance of Spiritual Qi.

Elemental Level, then, is when the power of Spiritual Qi condenses to a single point, similar to the condensation of a Martial Arts Heart.

The next level is Power Level. Just as a Third Realm being possesses Divine Sense, Power-Level artifacts often carry a force that can influence one’s spirit.

And as for Prosperity Level?

Its name signifies prosperity, the ability to contain a great accomplishment!

It represents a supreme treasure that can allow a faction to prosper for a long time! A vessel that can carry the legacy of a great power!

Factions that possess a Prosperity-Level supreme treasure are, by and large, great powers, and they can use the treasure’s effects to ensure their everlasting prosperity!

You could say that a Prosperity-Level supreme treasure is something that can rattle the nerves of every great power; it is a part of their very foundation.

And at this moment, the intensity of the Literary Energy fluctuation that these five beings sensed was unprecedented.

It was remarkably similar to the birth of an innate Prosperity-Level supreme treasure.

"Or perhaps..." The child’s lips twitched, but he didn’t say it out loud.

But the old man spoke up. "Or perhaps, it is not a Prosperity-Level supreme treasure, but someone writing a classic."

A classic!

Whether a ’sutra’ or a ’canon,’ they are both supremely powerful Cultivation Techniques.

To the Confucian Dao, even something like Yu the Scholar’s *Notes on the Jianshan Terraces* is extremely precious.

After all, those are the insights and observations of a grassroots Confucian Dao Cultivator deeply rooted in a village. Even as a mere Spirit-Level Cultivation Technique, it is very important.

But now, a Prosperity-Level Cultivation Technique had appeared?

"It seems to be coming from the southwest." The old man looked at the young man. "You cultivate the Way of Righteousness. Your killing power is formidable. You should make the trip."

The young man nodded, then reached out and grasped. A carving knife that hadn’t existed before materialized out of thin air.

In the Ancient Era, paper did not yet exist. The great sages of the past carved their records onto bamboo slips.

"I am off." The young man casually swiped his hand in front of him, and his figure slowly vanished.

At the same time, all across the Da Sheng Dynasty, anyone whose Cultivation had reached a certain realm felt the disturbance.

At the peak of Taishan, a giant boulder stirred, and a figure of light emerged from it, gazing toward the southwest.

By the banks of the Yellow River, a giant tortoise appeared and disappeared amidst the surging waves. An old man seemed to be sitting cross-legged on its back, suppressing a flood.

In various secret realms and blessed lands, in major cities and strategic towns, among the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, across great rivers and vast seas—all had different reactions.

But the most intense and direct reactions naturally came from the various Confucian Dao factions.

However, Zhu Ge was unaware of all this at the moment.

When he uttered the first word, "Heaven," of the first sentence, the two faint wisps of Literary Energy inside him were completely drained.

This was something he had anticipated.

All he wanted to do was finish reciting the first sentence, trigger a worldly phenomenon, and thus attract the attention of various parties.

He didn’t actually intend to write out the entire *Book of Changes* right then and there.

However, after reciting the first sentence, he realized something was wrong.

’This Literary Energy...’ Zhu Ge was shaken to his core.

Although his wisp of Literary Energy had been instantly drained, he didn’t feel like he had used it up at all.

Endless Spiritual Qi from between heaven and earth surged violently into his body.

A normal body would have probably been blown apart in an instant.

However, Zhu Ge practiced Body Refinement.

His body became like a humanoid converter. An endless stream of Spiritual Qi gathered from all directions, then passed through his body and was directly converted into Literary Energy.

Mid-Confucian Realm!

Late-Confucian Realm!

It even allowed him to directly condense a Confucian Dao Heart!

BOOM... BOOM... BOOM...

The Confucian Dao Heart began to beat, just like Zhu Ge’s Martial Arts Heart. It throbbed for a while, the sound growing louder and louder, like the roaring of rivers and seas, like the rumbling of Celestial Thunder.

But after a moment, the sound vanished completely.

The greatest sound is silence!

Zhu Ge’s Confucian Dao Heart had condensed in an instant, even pushing his cultivation to the Late-Second Realm, putting it on par with his Martial Arts Heart.

’This is... the Human Heart?’

A thought stirred in Zhu Ge’s mind.

The Heart of Martial Arts Origin, and the Confucian Dao’s Human Heart.

This was Zhu Ge’s Dao.

He had previously condensed the Heart of Martial Arts Origin, and later obtained his first wisp of Literary Energy by gifting a poem to True Monarch Minmian and the others.

Afterward, while speaking with Yu the Scholar, he was inspired to write the foreword to the *Human Classic*.

So, if one had to be precise, what he was writing now was not the *Book of Changes*, but a *Human Classic* suited for this world.

"Heaven moves with vigor; the noble man strengthens himself unceasingly."

"The Earth’s nature is receptive; the noble man, with great virtue, supports all things."

"Thunder repeats, shaking all; the noble man, in fear, cultivates himself and reflects upon his faults."

"The winds follow one another; the noble man spreads his commands and carries out his affairs."

...

"Mountains stand side-by-side; the noble man’s thoughts do not go beyond his station."

Zhu Ge recited these famous lines from the *Book of Changes* one by one.

These famous lines represent the Eight Trigrams—Heaven, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Water, Fire, Mountain, and Lake—while the phrases that follow guide the noble man in self-cultivation.

In his previous life, the *Book of Changes* was known to almost everyone, one of the Four Books and Five Classics, holding an exceptionally special status.

The most crucial part was the first sentence: Heaven moves with vigor; the noble man strengthens himself unceasingly!

This sentence alone laid the foundational cornerstone for the legacy of a great civilization in his past life.

When floods came, they didn’t build an ark, but tamed the waters by building dikes and dredging rivers.

When there was no fire, they didn’t pray for it or steal it; instead, Sui Ren drilled wood to create it.

Then there was Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, Jingwei filling the sea, and Kuafu chasing the sun.

These were all the spiritual imprints of a great civilization.

In every story, one could see the shadow of "strengthening oneself unceasingly."

Since Zhu Ge wanted to write the *Human Classic*, how could he omit this classic that guided one on how to become a true noble man?

"Qian: sublime success, furthering through perseverance..."

"...A hidden dragon; do not act..."

"...the virtue of Heaven cannot be taken as the lead."

Zhu Ge recited line by line, memories of his past life and the sights of his current one flowing through his mind.

At the same time, he walked step by step into the sky. Literary Energy spontaneously formed a staircase for him, and a gentle breeze spontaneously spread his fame.

High in the sky, Hongmi Immortal was both shocked and enraged, yet he couldn’t move at all!

Because at that moment, two more figures had appeared in the sky.

"Hahaha, Big Brother! Not bad at all!"

"The Historical Record of Ages has gained another entry... written in rich, bold strokes!"