Chapter 76

Everyone entered the cave, and the three juren scholars stayed outside to keep watch.

Fang Yun initially thought the three juren scholars were being kind, but upon listening carefully, he realized they were too excited to sleep. They were discussing in hushed tones the nonexistent "Five Movements of the Literary Star," their tone as enthusiastic as commoners discussing royal scandals or secrets of celebrities, wishing they could run to the Holy Academy for clarification.

The students and soldiers inside the cave were also very excited, all rejoicing at the prospect of a "Five Movements of the Literary Star" for the human race. No one felt jealous or skeptical; all the comments were positive.

"Thank you so much, Five Movements of the Literary Star. According to previous research, every time the Literary Star moves or shines, the talent of the human race will improve, and more people will achieve high literary positions. After all, it is the Literary Star, the voice of heaven. Even if we just hear it, we benefit immensely."

"Yes. I estimate that from this year on, the number of juren positions will increase by three to five, making our chances of passing the juren exam much higher."

"I hope to encounter the Literary Star's shine in my lifetime, which would greatly increase my chances of passing the jinshi exam."

"You're dreaming. It hasn't appeared in hundreds of years. Studying the classics of the sages is the right path."

Fang Yun listened to others' discussions while deep in thought.

"To avoid others associating me with the Literary Star's movement, I can't reveal my identity as a pre-saint scholar tomorrow. I'll delay it for a few days. After all, I'm just here to observe. With three juren teachers around, there won't be any problems. I can use this time to ponder the 'Marching Poem,' 'Enemy-Killing Poem,' 'Inspiring Poem,' and 'Strong Soldier Poem' and other battle poems I stored in the Wondrous Book World."

Fang Yun gradually fell asleep.

The next morning, everyone ate dry rations and continued hunting demons.

They soon discovered that there were many demons today, almost encountering one every quarter of an hour. They faced pig demons, bear demons, tiger demons, snake demons, bird demons, and even a demon tree. After killing the tree, they extracted the essence of its main root, which was excellent material for making writing brushes and could increase the power of battle poems by ten percent.

Many demon bodies were valuable, but with so many killed, they only took the most precious parts.

They hunted demons all day long. By evening, everyone was exhausted, and all the scholars' talent was depleted. They had to find a cave to rest and stop hunting demons for the night. If any demons approached, the three juren scholars would deal with them.

After a discussion, the three juren decided to descend the mountain the next day. There were too many demons today, and all the students had completed their trials. Staying longer would not be worth it.

The three juren took turns keeping watch, allowing everyone to sleep well and recover their strength and talent.

Fang Yun did not sleep immediately. He recalled the day's battles in his mind, sensing the spirit and intent of various battle poems, and repeatedly recited the few battle poems suitable for scholars.

On the third morning in Ze Mountain, after eating, the three juren issued the order to return the same way they came, dealing with any demons along the way.

They hadn't walked far when they encountered four pig demons. Mr. Wang said, "Watch how I control the Essence Assassin."

He quickly recited "Jing Ke's Assassination of Qin," controlling the Essence Assassin to charge at the four pig demons. The Essence Assassin dodged and weaved between the demons like dancing on the edge of a blade, each strike hitting a vital point. In just a few moments, all four pig demons were dead.

The scholars watched in amazement. Compared to the juren's use of battle poems, their control of the Essence Assassin seemed mindless.

The Essence Assassin lasted for a quarter of an hour before dissipating.

On the way, the group encountered demons frequently, but never in large numbers, at most seven or eight together. The three juren took turns using "Jing Ke's Assassination of Qin" to kill demons, teaching the students and demonstrating other battle poems. Fang Yun silently memorized everything.

At night, the forest was unusually dark. The tongsheng, scholars, and juren had night vision, but the soldiers struggled to move quickly, with some even spraining their feet. The group had to stop.

There were no caves nearby, so they used the Essence Assassin to cut wood and build a temporary camp to prevent a night attack by demons.

Fang Yun did not reveal his identity as a pre-saint scholar yesterday or today. They would leave Ze Mountain and return to Lu Family Town to complete the demon-hunting mission tomorrow.

"Once we return to the State Literary Academy, they will naturally see that I have become a scholar. I'll say I just broke through, so no one will associate me with the Five Movements of the Literary Star."

The students and soldiers slept well, but the three juren killed over forty demons trying to break into the camp.

At dawn, everyone set off again. After half an hour, Nunu suddenly cried out in alarm.

"Ying ying ying..." Nunu jumped onto Fang Yun's chest, grabbing his clothes and pointing southwest.

Everyone looked at Nunu tensely, as she had never been this anxious before, even with the most powerful demons.

Fang Yun immediately asked, "Is there a powerful demon?"

Nunu nodded.

"Is it a war general? One?"

Fang Yun held up one finger.

Nunu shook her head.

"Two?" Fang Yun asked, surprised.

Nunu nodded.

"Are there many other demons?"

Nunu thought for a moment, then repeatedly raised and lowered her paws, doing this over thirty times.

Before Fang Yun could speak, Mr. Wang asked, "More than three hundred?"

Nunu nodded vigorously, then grabbed Fang Yun's clothes, urging him to hurry.

The three juren looked at each other, nodded, and Mr. Wang shouted, "We've killed too many demons these past two days, and they are now counterattacking. Leave all unnecessary items behind, keep only a piece of bread and a piece of salted meat, and only bring weapons and armor. Discard all heavy items! All of them! From now on, no one will wait for you!"

Everyone immediately started discarding various items, traveling light, and began running.

However, this was a mountain forest, and the mountain demons ran much faster than humans.

At first, only Nunu could detect the demons, but soon the demon-detecting paperweights of the three teachers also began to glow and heat up, indicating the demons were close.

"Brother Wang, if we had a strategic advantage, we could fight the demon horde to the death with a high chance of victory. But there is no place to hold our ground here, and the forest surrounds us. If they attack from all sides, we cannot protect everyone. Moreover, two demon generals will try to kill these students, and we can't stop them. We should send two people to intercept the two demon generals, fighting while retreating, and one person to escort them away, blocking the demon soldiers' pursuit. I will intercept the demon generals!"

"I will also intercept the demon generals, Brother Wang. These children are in your hands!"

Mr. Yu and Mr. Dong walked towards the approaching demon horde.

Mr. Wang immediately took out a cloth bag from his chest and said, "This is a special item left by Chief Zhou to prevent emergencies. With this, even three demon generals cannot harm you two."

Mr. Yu took the cloth bag, opened it, and said happily, "With this, there is nothing to worry about. Let's go!"

The two juren left, reciting poems for speed and inspiration as they walked.

"Thank you, Mr. Yu and Mr. Dong!" many students said gratefully.

"Let's go quickly."

Under Mr. Wang's cover, everyone accelerated their run.

All the students and soldiers were moved, their eyes slightly red. Blocking two demon generals was not dangerous, but adding three hundred demon soldiers and civilians made the possibility of death very high, even with unknown literary treasures.

Fang Yun also thanked Chief Zhou and Li Wenying in his heart. A treasure that could make juren scholars so excited was at least a jinshi-level literary treasure. The fact that the treasure was given to Mr. Wang of Class One, rather than the more experienced Mr. Yu, clearly indicated it was to protect him, the pre-saint tongsheng.

Everyone ran frantically, and occasionally, huge sounds came from behind, indicating intense battles.

Soon, Nunu suddenly cried out, pointing behind them.

Fang Yun immediately asked, "Is a demon general coming?"

Nunu nodded once, then repeatedly raised and lowered her paws, doing this fifteen times.

Everyone's pace slowed, and a sense of death loomed. One demon general could tie up a juren, and if over a hundred demons attacked, the group would be torn apart in a few moments.

Mr. Wang asked, "Is it one of the two demon generals from before, or a new one?"

Fang Yun immediately asked, "Is it a new one?"

Nunu shook her head.

Mr. Wang cursed, "What cunning demons! The intelligence of demon generals is no less than humans. They must have first separated the demon soldiers and civilians to avoid the two of them. Knowing I'm not afraid of these demon soldiers, they let them pass. Then, one of the faster demon generals found an opportunity to escape the battle and chase us, joining the demon soldiers and civilians! The jinshi-level literary treasure I gave to Mr. Yu is a defensive treasure, useless against such demon generals."

Sergeant Liang said, "Mr. Wang, protecting you is the duty of the prefectural army. We will hold the demons for a moment, waiting for the other two juren to return."

"That demon general is too cunning; you can't stop him! I will intercept the demon general, and you form a defensive formation. The reason they left me behind is that my 'With You in the Same Robe' has a poem soul!" Mr. Wang's voice was tinged with pride and a hint of sadness.

Everyone was overjoyed, and Fang Yun was also extremely happy. If someone's understanding of a battle poem reaches the ultimate level or is in a special situation, they can possess the poem soul of that battle poem, doubling its power and adding extra effects.

Fang Yun immediately said, "I have dragon blood ink and a demon-dispelling brush, which can increase the power of your battle poem by forty percent."

"Good!" Mr. Wang looked at Fang Yun, surprised that he had brought these treasures.

Fang Yun immediately poured water into the inkstone, ground the ink, and handed the demon-dispelling brush to Mr. Wang.

Although reciting poems can kill enemies without writing, it has the disadvantage of not being enhanced by ink or other forces, only usable in emergencies.

Mr. Wang took the demon-dispelling brush, dipped it in dragon blood ink, and wrote "With You in the Same Robe" on paper.

As he finished writing, a thin layer of treasure light covered the entire paper.

"This is the poem soul treasure light," Lu Yu whispered.

Fang Yun nodded. Recognizing the treasure light of battle poems was a must for these literati.

When "With You in the Same Robe" was almost finished, a second layer of treasure light appeared on the paper, but it only covered forty percent of the page before stopping. Dragon blood ink increased the power by thirty percent, and the demon-dispelling brush, when not directly attacking demons, only increased the power of ordinary battle poems by ten percent.

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Update before 12 PM.

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Recommend a friend's historical novel: "Illuminating the World"

Synopsis: Stomping on the Huns, punching the Japanese, glorifying the seas, illuminating the world. In laughter, the strong enemies are obliterated.

[bookid=3181588, bookname="Illuminating the World"]

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