I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 994: Defeated!

Upon hearing Zhou Qiucheng's words, the old master's face darkened: "Is there no one else besides me who can defeat him?"

“Even if you take action yourself, you might not be able to defeat him. You probably only have a 30% chance!” Zhou Qiucheng said.

"Only a 30% chance?" The master frowned, and after a moment he said, "I represent the reputation and face of the academy. I absolutely cannot make a move without being absolutely certain. If I lose, the academy will be completely finished."

"So, today's debate...?" Zhou Qiucheng looked at the Great Master with hesitation: "Shall we hand this round to the demon race?"

"No! Best of three, every game is crucial, we absolutely cannot give up! The third game is full of unknowns, we must win the first game." The eldest gentleman said decisively.

“But unless you take action yourself, but you can’t take action yourself…” Zhou Qiucheng’s face showed confusion.

Upon hearing Zhou Qiucheng's words, the Great Master turned to look at the King on the high platform: "To win, you don't necessarily have to use real strength to compete."

After speaking, the Great Master turned and walked towards the King.

Within the demon race camp, all the great demons looked at the spirited Chen Sanliang with joy on their faces. Xiong Dasheng said with a smile, "As expected of a demon master, as long as you make a slight move, it will be enough to sweep away the human race. We will definitely win the first round."

Tiger Power Immortal nodded in agreement: "Indeed, no one in the human race can defeat Chen Sanliang in terms of knowledge. Chen Sanliang has received guidance from the Peacock Ancestor, and his knowledge is flawless. We will surely win the first round, let the human race win the second round, and I, the ancestor, will personally take the third round. We will definitely win it without hesitation. The human race will be defeated in the blink of an eye. In the future, the entire human race will become part of the demon race, and our demon race can share the endless fortune of this land of China. We will no longer have to live a bitter life in the cold land."

The demon race, brimming with absolute confidence, all eyes were fixed on the distant arena. At this moment, the Great Master approached the Human King, bowed respectfully, and then said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Chen Sanliang's strength is beyond our expectations. We probably won't be able to win the first round against him."

"What?" The Human King was stunned upon hearing this, his eyes filled with disbelief: "The academy gathers all the most elite scholars of our human race. All the literary talents in the world are in the academy. How could it be no match for a mere Chen Sanliang?"

The old man gave a wry smile: "You may not believe it, but that's the truth."

"The first game is crucial, we absolutely cannot lose!" the King of Victory said resolutely.

Upon hearing this, the old man gave a bitter smile. He also wanted to lose, but was the current situation something he could control?

"I've heard that Zhang Chen and Chen Sanliang have some connection. How about we ask Zhang Chen to persuade Chen Sanliang to fight to a draw? As long as Chen Sanliang agrees to a draw, we can promise him any conditions," the Great Master said to the King of Great Victory.

The Great Victory King shook his head in rejection: "Zhang Chen is a wolf in sheep's clothing, he can't wait to see us make a fool of ourselves, so why would he help us persuade Chen Sanliang to fight to a draw?"

At this point, the Great Victory King's gaze shifted: "Instead of sending Zhang Chen to persuade them, why not send Chen Sanliang's father to persuade them? That old bastard Chen Xuan should still be alive, right?"

"Your Majesty, he is still alive!" the elder said.

"Send men to control all the members of the Chen family, young and old, and tell Chen Xuan to find a way to make Chen Sanliang admit defeat. Otherwise, I, the King, will exterminate the entire Chen family and extinguish the Chen family bloodline. I want to see whether the Chen family or the demon race is more important to Chen Sanliang." A mocking look appeared in the eyes of the Great Victory King.

Upon hearing this, the Great Master hesitated for a moment, but ultimately turned and left to do as the Great Victory King instructed.

On the high platform, Chen Sanliang and the Second Master discussed the Dao for two hours before Chen Sanliang slowly opened his eyes. The Second Master spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the platform, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Chen Sanliang. His voice was filled with disbelief: "What a terrifying Dao of teaching without discrimination! How did you comprehend such an impeccable Dao?"

Chen Sanliang did not answer, but lowered his head to look at the Second Master: "You were able to discuss the Dao with me for two hours before being defeated. You can be considered a pillar of Confucianism. Now state your choice: submit to me or die and perish here."

Chen Sanliang greatly admired the Second Master, and most importantly, the other party was also very powerful, being a tenth-level Grand Master.

"I would rather die than betray humanity!" The Second Master straightened his neck, his eyes fixed on Chen Sanliang: "I am willing to suffer calamity because my skills are inferior, but you should not be too happy. You should know that there is always someone better. In the future, someone will appear who can defeat you. Our human race occupies thousands of miles of land and has countless talents. Someone will eventually defeat you."

Chen Sanliang smiled upon hearing this: "After today, there will be no more humans. The situation you described will never come to pass."

After speaking, Chen Sanliang slowly walked forward and came to the Second Master's side. He slapped him down, and it looked like the Second Master was about to die on the spot. Suddenly, a stream of light flashed and came towards Chen Sanliang with a terrifying aura, forcing Chen Sanliang to take three steps back and avoid the opponent's sharp edge.

"Chen Sanliang, you've gone too far!" The eldest master shielded the second master behind him, glaring angrily at Chen Sanliang.

Chen Sanliang ignored the Second Master and turned his gaze to the First Master: "The First Master has been hiding his true strength. His cultivation has reached the peak of the twelfth level and he is not far from breaking through."

"Have you climbed this high platform to discuss the Dao with me?" Chen Sanliang asked.

After several discussions on the Dao, he actually broke through to the next level, taking that final step. Now his cultivation has reached the twelfth level, and he is not afraid of the Great Master at all.

However, compared to the Great Master's aura, Chen Sanliang's aura seemed very weak, because he had only recently broken through.

"You've actually broken through to the twelfth level too?" The old master looked at the aura flowing around Chen Sanliang's body with an incredulous expression. Although the aura around the other party was weak, it was definitely at the twelfth level. Chen Sanliang smiled smugly upon hearing this: "Just last night, I used the essence of heaven and earth that was dissipating from the imperial city to cleanse my bones and break through to the twelfth level."

"You have such good fortune and luck!" the old man said without any emotion.

"It is thanks to the Master that I was expelled from the sect back then, and forced to study alone in the North, that I have achieved what I have today." Chen Sanliang looked at the Master with complex and unfathomable eyes: "In truth, I am still your student. I will never forget your kindness in imparting knowledge to me back then. You should accept my bow!"

"I dare not accept such praise! I only regret that I did not eliminate the root of the problem back then, which has brought this great calamity upon the human race today."

The eldest master threw the second master off the stage, then stared intently at Chen Sanliang: "I'll fight you and see if your 'teaching without discrimination' principle is really that powerful."

"I have long admired your learning, Master, and it is something I have been looking forward to for a long time." Chen Sanliang looked intently at the Master and raised his hand to make a 'please' gesture. The Master's energy surged forth, carrying with it a raging fire that seemed to want to engulf Chen Sanliang.

One is the leader of the academy, and the other is a demon master of the demon race. What they are fighting for is not only the superiority of the lineage, but also the future fortune of literature and Confucianism in the world.

The two men's essence, energy, and spirit collided like thunder and fire, distorting the void and causing countless words and scrolls to evolve within it.

Within Kyoto

Zhang Chen suddenly stood up, his eyes looking towards the outside of Kyoto, a look of shock in them: "Chen Sanliang has broken through to the twelfth level? Didn't I warn him last time we met not to break through his realm?"

"Chen Sanliang is finished. Once the concentration of the essence of heaven and earth drops, I'm afraid all his strength will turn into nothingness." Zhang Chen stared in astonishment at Chen Sanliang's soaring aura outside the city, his eyes filled with surprise.

As Chen Sanliang and the Great Master discussed the Dao, time slowly passed. They had been discussing the Dao from daytime until nightfall, a total of eight hours. Then, the two of them opened their eyes at the same time and stood silently on the arena.

The onlookers watched the two on the stage, wondering who would win. At this moment, Chen Sanliang spoke up: "As expected of the number one scholar of the human race, what a fine teacher to lead the academy."

"Unfortunately, I am still not as good as you. Your knowledge is too vast and without any flaws. I have lost!" After the master finished speaking, his energy and spirit began to dissipate, his twelfth-level cultivation level continued to decline, and all his cultivation level turned into flowing water.

"Will you choose to submit, or will you embark on this journey? If you submit to me, out of consideration for our past master-disciple relationship, I will not make things difficult for you, and may even allow you to establish a separate Confucian school among the human and demon races, thus repaying the kindness you showed me by not exterminating me back then!" Chen Sanliang looked at the eldest master quietly.

Upon hearing this, the old master shook his head and said without changing his expression, "I am the last backbone of all scholars in the world, and the last obsession of all scholars in the world."

After speaking, while his last bit of cultivation was still intact, the old man slapped himself on the forehead. The next moment, he died instantly, lying on the ground without breathing.

He is Chen Sanliang's master, so how could he submit to Chen Sanliang?
"Why bother!" Chen Sanliang sighed softly, his voice full of helplessness.

If the discussion of the Dao fails, and the Great Dao is flawed, then the Dao will be lost.

This is the Confucian Way: cultivation can lead to instant enlightenment, but it is also extremely dangerous.

At this moment, everyone in the academy had a sorrowful expression on their faces, their eyes fixed on the scene, filled with resentment, yet they were helpless.

"The Great Master has been defeated!"

"How could the Great Master be defeated, being an unparalleled being?"

"How could the great master fail?"

"What virtue or ability does Chen Sanliang possess, and what skill do he have to defeat the Great Master?"

"Is that beast's knowledge truly so profound that he is invincible under heaven?"

……

Despair filled the hearts of everyone in the academy. Even the Grand Master had been defeated, so what about the rest of the academy? Who could possibly stand against Chen Sanliang?
The Great Victory King stared blankly at the high platform, his eyes filled with disbelief. He never imagined that the great master who had been in charge of the academy for decades, the number one scholar, would actually have a day of failure.

"Hahaha, humans, you've lost the first round!" Tiger Power Immortal stood up from his chair and shouted triumphantly in the direction of the victory, his words filled with elation.

Winning the first round was nothing to Tiger Power Immortal; it was all within his expectations. Since he dared to propose the duel, he must have been fully confident and made thorough preparations.

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King turned his head, a strange smile appearing on his face, which startled Tiger Power Immortal: "Defeated? Perhaps not!"

(End of this chapter)