Insufficient Knowledge

Chapter 23: Insufficient Scholarship

From a distance, Su Yun and the four foxes appeared to be standing on clouds. Further away, a white elephant carried a divine being, galloping across the clouds.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared within the clouds, with bolts of lightning striking downwards incessantly.

The sound of thunder exploded repeatedly within the high-altitude thunder layer.

The Flood Dragon's tribulation had reached its most critical moment. The lightning strikes came one after another, surging towards Snake Ravine like a tide.

Beneath the cloud layer lay a bottomless abyss. If one were to fall, they would undoubtedly be smashed to pieces!

Let alone falling, even a glance down made one's heart pound, their muscles weaken, and their bones feel sore.

Moreover, the strong winds at high altitudes were fierce. The howling gales did not blow in a single direction; the wind here was strange, often changing course. Even a treasure like the Immortal Rope was buffeted, trembling like ripples.

Su Yun stood sideways on the rope, one hand forward, the other back, his body swaying with the rope's up-and-down motion.

He kept his eyes fixed forward, his ears deaf to all else, oblivious to the dangerous situation, deaf to the thunder, and his gaze locked onto the two characters emerging from the clouds.

The two characters transformed into a divine being riding an elephant and charging at him. This did not surprise him in the least, but the four foxes behind him cried out in alarm.

Spiritual Abilities were inherently peculiar.

These two characters, weakened by the lightning in the clouds, were already in a sorry state, far from their former glory.

But this was a Spiritual Ability!

Achieving Spiritual Abilities was extremely difficult. Only after the sixth level of Foundation Establishment could one enter the Spirit Infusion Realm. Those in the Spirit Infusion Realm could be called Spirit Scholars, but they could not necessarily forge Spiritual Abilities. Instead, it was a process of strengthening the spirit with Origin Energy and nurturing Spiritual Abilities.

Only upon reaching the Primal Motion Realm could one wield Spiritual Abilities.

This meant that Su Yun could be two realms behind the Confucian scholar Tong Xuan!

Qiu Shuijing had also told Su Yun that different realms had different cultivation methods. No single method could span all realms, nor could any single method be applied to all realms!

The Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter could only be used in the Qi Cultivation realm. After entering the Spirit Infusion Realm, one had to switch to a cultivation method for the Spirit Infusion Realm.

This implied that the gap in strength between different realms could be an insurmountable chasm!

The white elephant carrying the divine being charged towards him, letting out a long roar that was still clearly audible amidst the thunder. The colossal elephant galloped, treading on clouds, its impact force unparalleled!

Although the divine being's body was also tattered, its aura surged like a rainbow. Utilizing the white elephant's momentum, it wielded a Halberd and slashed down at Su Yun!

The combined force of the white elephant's charge and the divine being's own power meant this strike could cleave Su Yun from head to toe, splitting him in half!

"However..."

Su Yun's eyes blazed with a sharp light, forcing the sword shadows within them to retreat. His Blood Essence churned, and a deep dragon's roar emanated from his chest.

His Blood Essence Flood Dragon's two foreclaws rested on his shoulders, its head raised about two feet above him from behind, its whiskers dangling by his ears, swaying gently in the wind. It too let out a deep dragon's roar.

At this moment, his aura grew, as if wind swirled and billowed beneath his clothes, expanding his chest and puffing out his sleeves and pant legs.

"This Confucian scholar from the Tong Family... seems to lack sufficient scholarship!"

Su Yun and his Blood Essence Flood Dragon attacked almost simultaneously, meeting the descending Halberd. His Blood Essence had transformed from Crocodile Dragon's Qi into Flood Dragon's Qi, and the six moves and thirty-six Unbound Moves of Crocodile Dragon's Roar had consequently changed to the six moves and thirty-six Unbound Moves of Flood Dragon's Roar.

He immediately employed the Dragon Roaming the Winding Marsh unorthodox move. His arm met the descending Halberd, his palm landing on it. The Dragon Roaming the Winding Marsh unorthodox move made his arm as flexible as a Flood Dragon, coiling around the Halberd.

At the same time, his Blood Essence Flood Dragon also coiled around the Halberd.

Man and dragon, using a series of incredibly soft unorthodox moves, attempted to deflect the power of the white elephant and the divine being.

The charging force of the golden-armored divine being and the white elephant was almost crushing. Even with the Dragon Roaming the Winding Marsh unorthodox moves and the Blood Essence Flood Dragon, they could not completely deflect this terrifying power!

A hissing friction sound came from beneath Su Yun's feet as he was forced to slide on the Immortal Rope by the power of the divine being and the white elephant. The soles of his feet immediately felt the heat from the friction, as if his shoes were about to catch fire!

This strike from the divine being forced him back six to seven zhang. On the rope, the four foxes hastily fled.

However, Su Yun's retreat was too fast, sending the four foxes flying.

"My life is over!"

Just as Flower Fox and the others thought this, they suddenly found themselves riding on the rope, which had caught them.

The four foxes quickly stood up and saw the Immortal Rope slowly moving in the clouds, forming spiral patterns, a total of five and a half turns.

They happened to land on the outermost turn, while Su Yun, the white elephant, and the divine being were currently in the inner circle.

"Huh, this Confucian scholar from the Tong Family... seems to have insufficient scholarship..."

Flower Fox's eyes lit up as he also noticed a hidden flaw in Confucian scholar Tong Xuan's Spiritual Ability. He quickly said, "Xiao Yue, Xiao Fan, Buping! We can help!"

The four foxes immediately sprinted along the rope towards the white elephant.

Flower Fox shouted, "This time, we'll aim for the lower parts! We'll get under the elephant's belly and tear the big white elephant apart with Crocodile Dragon's Roar!"

The three young fox demons were greatly encouraged.

The divine being, having failed to kill Su Yun with one strike, forcefully lifted the Halberd, impaling Su Yun and the Blood Essence Flood Dragon into the air. The Halberd spun and shook, making hissing sounds, breaking Su Yun's Dragon Roaming the Winding Marsh unorthodox moves and forcing the Blood Essence Flood Dragon to uncoil.

He wielded his Halberd, executing various techniques such as thrusting, lifting, slashing, chopping, and hooking, filled with killing intent!

Su Yun, still in the air, once again employed the Dragon Roaming the Winding Marsh unorthodox moves, constantly shifting between the six types of unorthodox moves, appearing as if there were thousands of techniques. He would either coil around the Halberd, stick to it, or stand on it.

Even though the divine being had sent him flying, it couldn't completely shake him off. His limbs were as flexible as a Flood Dragon's. With a light touch, a stick, or a hook from any part of his body, he would land on the Halberd again.

Meanwhile, his Blood Essence Flood Dragon swooped down. The white elephant swung its trunk, and the Flood Dragon attacked, the dragon and elephant clashing.

The divine being found it inconvenient to sit on the elephant's back, so he stood up. Seizing the opportunity while the divine being stood, Su Yun landed on the elephant's back, closed the distance, and moved within three feet of the divine being, preventing him from fully utilizing the power of the Halberd.

The combat range of the Halberd is between four feet and twenty feet. When wielding the Halberd, if the enemy is within four feet, I retreat one step and can cut them with the smaller blade. If the enemy retreats twenty feet, I advance one step and can stab them with the main blade.

Su Yun was precisely at three feet, outside the Halberd's attack range. His Crocodile Dragon's Roar transformed into Flood Dragon's Roar, and his thirty-six Unbound Moves shifted in countless ways, like a Flood Dragon deity with multiple heads, tails, and claws, attacking the divine being like a storm.

The divine being retreated again and again. Suddenly, his feet found nothing beneath them, and he fell from the elephant's back. Spreading his legs, he landed on the Immortal Rope.

At this very moment, four Fox Demons crawled between his legs and went under the white elephant.

Su Yun followed closely. Mid-air, he swept his right leg like a Flood Dragon's tail.

The divine being tilted his head and blocked with the Halberd. Su Yun's kick landed heavily on the shaft of the Halberd. Immediately, he spun in the air and swept his left leg in another Flood Dragon tail sweep.

The divine being's head was knocked askew by this kick. Su Yun landed and unleashed Flood Dragon Emerging from the Abyss with his left hand, fingers spread forward, grasping the shaft of the Halberd.

The dragon's roar behind him sounded as the Blood Essence Flood Dragon abandoned the white elephant. Flood Dragon Emerging from the Abyss bit down on the divine being's head.

"Today, I will beat the 'divine' character into the 'A' character!"

Su Yun and the Blood Essence Flood Dragon exerted force simultaneously. One snatched the Halberd and, with a turn of his wrist, plunged it into the white elephant. The other bit off the divine being's head.

The divine being exploded with a "bang," transforming into the character "Jia".

At the same time, beneath the white elephant, the four Fox Demons each unleashed Crocodile Dragon's Roar, breaking the white elephant's four legs. The white elephant exploded, becoming the character "免".

--Because a Halberd was stuck in its backside, the character "免" looked rather awkward.

The Spiritual Power contained within the characters "God" and "Elephant" was broken, replaced by "Armor" and "Immune." The light of the two characters gradually faded and finally disappeared.

Su Yun breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when Flower Fox interjected, "This Confucian scholar from the Tong Family has poor scholarship! 'The origin of humanity stems from Taiji, subtly aided by the divine, with the 'I Ching's' imagery preceding all.' This quote is from 'The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons,' Mister Wild Fox has spoken of it!"

Su Yun nodded. 'The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons' was a classic text from the old Sages, and Mister Wild Fox spoke most often of the old Sages' classics.

Both he and Flower Fox were disciples of Mister Wild Fox. Su Yun had studied for six years, while Flower Fox had studied for a full seven years. Therefore, they had many of the old Sages' classics memorized by heart.

However, the three young fox demons had studied for a shorter time and did not learn much of the old Sages' classics. They immediately asked Su Yun and Flower Fox for guidance.

"This sentence means that human culture originates from the interpretation of Taiji, perhaps with subtle help from the divine. The Sages then used the hexagrams from the 'I Ching' to interpret Taiji."

Su Yun attempted to restrain his Blood Essence and explained to them, "The 'divine' here refers to human ancestors, not spirits transformed after death, nor the gods worshipped in religion."

Flower Fox picked up where Su Yun left off, continuing the explanation, "The 'imagery' in 'the 'I Ching's' imagery preceding all' does not refer to animals like the white elephant, but to hexagrams. The Confucian scholar from the Tong Family clearly misunderstood these two characters, taking them to mean the divine and a large white elephant."

If the classic was misunderstood, the power of his Spiritual Abilities would be greatly reduced. Similarly, his future progress would be difficult!

"This is the consequence of not having a good teacher."

Flower Fox, imitating Mister Wild Fox's tone, said earnestly, "If the meaning of a classic is distorted or misunderstood, one could be delayed for a lifetime. Therefore, having a good teacher is crucial! We are very fortunate to have Mister Wild Fox and Mister Shuijing teaching us, laying a solid foundation."

The three young fox demons seemed to understand but not fully.

Hu Buping asked doubtfully, "If Mister Wild Fox is so powerful, why was he killed by bad people?"

Zhai Zhu: Recommending the sci-fi novel, "Nine Star Poison Milk," by author Yu, a regular on the bestseller list!