I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1010 Heyday
Jinling City remains the same Jinling City. Despite enduring countless wars, it has not suffered any damage. Only the masters of Jinling City have changed.

Slaves came and went in Jinling City, constantly moving back and forth. Zhang Chen's eyes swept across the distance, his gaze filled with emotion, but he said nothing more, nor did he think of acting as a saint to rescue the slaves. Instead, he continued to urge his horse toward the Chongzheng Academy in the distance.

As you walk through the streets of Jinling City, you will see that the city is full of beautiful flowers and monsters dressed as monkeys, living like humans, turning the whole city into a kingdom of monsters.

The group walked through the streets of Jinling and arrived at the foot of Chongzheng Academy. Through the dense forest, they could see the aura of Chongzheng Academy soaring into the sky, and the sound of reading aloud echoing among the mountains.

"That means... Chongzheng Academy didn't go bankrupt?" Zhou Qiucheng listened to the sound of students reading aloud coming from the mountains, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

“Chongzheng Academy has clearly been reduced to ruins, so how can there still be the sound of reading?” Zhou Qiucheng’s eyes showed a hint of surprise and doubt. Then, the group followed the mountain path into the mountains. When they reached the halfway point, they encountered a monster dressed in scholar’s ​​robes but with a wolf’s head on its head, who was walking down from the mountain.

Looking into the distance, one could see that the wolf demon scholar was refined and cultured, with the demeanor of a scholar, even more so than the scholars in Chongzheng Academy.

As the wolf demon passed by the group, it sensed the aura of Tiger Power Immortal and its expression changed. It bowed respectfully, then stood up and continued walking down the mountain after the group had passed.

"Could there be a demon academy in these mountains?" Zhou Qiucheng's face darkened.

Zhang Chen remained silent, for he had already seen through his divine eye that an overwhelming demonic aura was rising into the sky, obscuring the entire mountain.

After walking in the mountains for a while, the group finally saw a palace in the distance. The palace stretched out like a dragon, lying dormant among the mountains, appearing and disappearing among them. Although the mountains were shrouded in mist, it could not obstruct Zhang Chen's view. He could see shadowy figures in the palace, including demons and monsters, as well as humans and demons. Some were reading, reciting articles, while others were studying. A powerful aura surged between them, even stronger than that of the former Chongzheng Academy.

Looking at the countless demon beasts dressed as scholars in the academy, and then at their pure and noble aura, Zhang Chen's eyes inexplicably revealed a hint of mockery: A group of humans studying can't even compare to beasts, isn't that ironic?

Zhang Chen found the scene before him incredibly ironic. In the past, the human scholars in Jinling City were no match for the righteous spirit of the monster before them; if word got out, people would laugh their heads off.

However, Zhang Chen did not laugh. Instead, his face darkened, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Zhou Qiucheng and Zhong Wubai were both great cultivators, so they could see through the sea of ​​clouds and see everything in the mist. At this moment, Zhong Wubai said with a look of surprise, "What a pure and powerful aura! I didn't expect these beasts to have actually learned something from reading. If these demonic beasts can still exude such pure and powerful aura, I wonder what kind of splendor the Chongzheng Academy must have had at its peak."

Upon hearing Zhong Wubai's words, Zhou Qiucheng's face immediately darkened. Could he really say that humans were inferior to demon beasts in terms of knowledge? That would be utterly shameful!

Knowing Zhou Qiucheng's embarrassment, Zhang Chen chimed in, "The noble spirit of Chongzheng Academy in the past was far inferior to that of today."

Zhong Wubai was taken aback, then seemed to realize that his previous words were inappropriate, and quickly turned to Zhou Qiucheng to explain, "Brother Zhou, I didn't mean it."

Zhou Qiucheng shook his head with a wry smile: "There's nothing I can't say. Being inferior to others is being inferior to others."

“Sir, there’s no need to blame yourself. Human hearts are unpredictable and not as pure as those of demons and beasts. When demons and beasts delve into learning, they are truly dedicated to it. Human scholars, on the other hand, have too many things to consider and too many temptations to face. Therefore, in terms of the purity of their hearts for studying, they are far inferior.” Zhang Chen comforted Zhou Qiucheng from the side, “If all human scholars were single-mindedly focused on their studies, how could those beasts compare?”

He wasn't simply trying to comfort Zhou Qiucheng; what he said was true, but humans simply don't have such a pure desire to read.

Zhou Qiucheng knew, of course, that humans could not possibly have such a pure heart for reading, so he stopped and turned around to walk down the mountain, his interest waning.

"Old Zhou, weren't we going up the mountain to take a look? Why did you go back?" Zhong Wubai shouted at the top of his lungs.

"It's boring! I'm not watching anymore! It's just a building and a bunch of beasts, what's so interesting about it?" After saying that, Zhou Qiucheng quickened his pace.

Zhong Wubai watched Zhou Qiucheng's retreating figure and shook his head: "Old Zhou's mentality is not good."

After speaking, he turned to Zhang Chen and asked, "Shall we go back too?"

"Aren't you going to read it, sir?" Zhang Chen asked with a look of surprise.

"I'm afraid that after seeing this, I'll feel despair and lose the confidence to resist the demon race in the future." Zhong Wubai also walked slowly down the mountain with his hands behind his back.

“Let’s go back too. Mr. Zhou is in a bad mood, and there’s no need for us to keep stabbing him in the heart,” Ji Feihua said to Zhang Chen.

"Let's go back!" Zhang Chen listened to the sound of reading aloud coming from the mountains, a complicated look in his eyes. He took a deep breath and took the lead in walking down.

"With the demon race so ambitious, is there really any hope for humanity? Even if all demons and beasts were to transform into wild animals, if the demon and human races still possess such spirit, humanity might not be a match for them," Ji Feihua asked, following behind Zhang Chen. "Who knows what the future holds? What we must do is preserve the northern lands as much as possible, so that the demon race will never have the opportunity to invade them," Zhang Chen replied, also feeling that the demon race was far too ambitious, so ambitious that it made him uneasy.

The group arrived full of enthusiasm but left dejectedly. Passing by the former Shen family mansion, they saw that it had been renovated and restored to its former grandeur, which made Zhang Chen feel a sense of loss and change.

Not long after I left the North, the ruins of the Shen family had been rebuilt and the family had returned to its former glory. However, now the Shen family's gates are filled with demonic beasts, each with a strange head but a human body, which looks very strange.

"Shen Garden? This is the Shen family's residence?" Ji Feihua looked at the Shen family's gate with curiosity, glancing at the demonic beasts coming and going, and asked with a curious expression.

"You know about the Shen family?" Zhang Chen looked at Ji Feihua curiously.

"The matter between the Shen family and you has already spread throughout the capital and become a laughing stock, especially the matter of your engagement being broken off..." Ji Feihua seemed to realize something was wrong when she said this, and quickly shut her mouth, giving Zhang Chen an embarrassed smile: "I misspoke."

Zhang Chen glanced at Ji Feihua, then said nothing more, only cursing helplessly, "It's true what they say, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast."

"It was Shen Ling who leaked this information within the academy. Shen Ling wanted to get revenge on Zhang Gaoqiu and ruin his reputation, so she had a big fight with him within the academy, and then everyone knew about it." Ji Feihua paused here, "I found it funny at the time, so I sent someone to investigate carefully. Later, when Shen Ling tried to get close to me, I felt that this woman had questionable character, so I reprimanded her from a distance."

Zhang Chen looked surprised upon hearing this, never expecting such a twist.

The two talked as they returned to the large ship, where human slaves continuously carried goods to replenish the ship's supplies.

The slaves had blank stares and reeked of a foul stench that was unpleasant to smell even from afar. When they saw Zhang Chen and his fellow human beings, they did not cry out for help but regarded them as traitors who had defected to the demon race. They silently accepted their enslavement and continued to work.

"The demon race is working so hard and is so united. Do you really think there is any hope for humanity?" As soon as Zhang Chen got on the ship, he heard Zhou Qiucheng ask dejectedly. He was asking Zhang Gaqi and the others.

Zhang Gaqi and the others fell silent upon hearing this, their faces filled with pessimism.

“Sir, there is no need to worry. If one day the demon race really conquers the land of the human race, they will surely be blinded by the beauty of life and become corrupted by all the bad habits of the human race, becoming the next human,” Zhang Chen comforted Zhou Qiucheng.

He recalled another ethnic group from his previous life: the grasslands beyond the Great Wall.

Since the people from outside the Great Wall entered the pass, the Eight Banners people have become completely corrupt. The rulers of Guanzhong, who consider themselves the legitimate successors of the Chinese nation, actively suppress and corrupt the ethnic groups outside the pass, using various methods to suppress their own compatriots.

Humans have occupied the legitimate land of China for hundreds of thousands of years, possessing a profound cultural heritage. The water towns of Jiangnan are enough to dazzle those demons. Once they lose their external enemies, they will quickly degenerate and follow in the footsteps of humans.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's insightful remarks, everyone was taken aback, and after careful consideration, they realized that there was indeed some truth to them.

The atmosphere on the large ship was much more somber than before, and the smiles on Zhou Qiucheng and the others' faces disappeared.

Zhang Chen didn't continue comforting the group. Instead, he went to the side to brew tea, picked up some pastries and ate them. His eyes swept over the slaves who were constantly carrying supplies. He saw a seven or eight-year-old child, skin and bones, carrying half a sack of grain on his head, walking silently behind the other slaves with difficulty.

"Do demons still use child labor?" Zhang Chen looked at the skinny boy, who was now covered in black soot, looking like a little wild man. His arms were so thin that they seemed to be nothing but bones, making him look like a skeleton.

The thin boy paused slightly as he looked at the pastries in Zhang Chen's hand, swallowed hard, and stared longingly at Zhang Chen. Seeing this, Zhang Chen gently pushed the pastries away. The boy looked around and, seeing that the demon clan manager hadn't noticed, quickly picked up the bag, stepped forward, grabbed the pastries from the table, and began to wolf them down.

"Eat slowly, don't choke! Don't worry, they won't punish you if they see this. I'll put in a good word for you." Zhang Chen looked at the boy in front of him and, for some reason, felt a pang of sympathy.

"Sir, you are so kind! When I find my father, I will definitely ask him to repay you! No matter what you need or what difficulties you have, you can tell my father." The boy wolfed down the pastries.

Zhang Chen was taken aback upon hearing this, then immediately became interested: "So you have a powerful background? Then how did you end up being captured and enslaved?"

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, the young man was taken aback: "That's because I haven't found my father yet! My mother said that my father is a peerless hero with unparalleled wisdom and methods. When I find him, I will definitely make him repay you."

As the young man finished speaking, he saw a demon clan leader patrolling from afar. He quickly picked up the pastries on the table, put them in his pocket, and then got up and rejoined the group.

(End of this chapter)