On the Avenue.

Chapter 259: The No. Scholar
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings suddenly fell silent, with only the clatter of horse hooves and the rumbling of wheels.

No one said a word and the atmosphere was somewhat depressing.

Zhou Qianying smiled and said, "Master Chen is a third-rank official. By the time of Brother Chen's generation, the foundation is still a little shallow. By the next generation, it can barely be called an aristocratic family. If there are more children, it will be a large family."

Kings and princes founded a country and their descendants inherited the throne, which was called a noble family.

But that was in the Chinese continent.

Although the Thirteen Aristocratic Families were not the founding princes of the Ming Dynasty, they were the great families that assisted the True King in opening up the Xiniu New Continent during the True King era. Xiniu New Continent was independent overseas, the True King was equivalent to the Son of Heaven, and Xijing was equivalent to the imperial court. The Thirteen Aristocratic Families also had the meaning of founding princes, so they could stand firm.

For the families other than the Thirteen, the rules are not so strict.

Today, three generations of grandparents and grandchildren have served as officials in the court, and official positions have been passed down from generation to generation, which gives them the appearance of a noble family.

If a family expands and has many descendants, forming a powerful force, it will become a big family.

If one is financially strong, owns a lot of fertile land, has many retainers, and has great influence, then he is considered a powerful family.

The title of aristocratic families comes from this.

But most of the aristocratic families were smaller in size, far from being as large as the Thirteen Aristocratic Families. Once they lost power, they would quickly decline, and their foundations were far inferior to those of the Thirteen Aristocratic Families.

From the era of the True King to the present day, the noble families have been replaced one after another, and many behemoths that are as big as the Thirteen Noble Families have been born, but only the Thirteen Noble Families have been able to stand to this day.

The Chen family has three generations of ancestors and grandchildren. To say that they are a noble family is to flatter the old Chen family.

Chen Yindu started from scratch, with the worst qualifications, and made great progress in his middle age. He was once appointed as the Minister of Rites. He compiled the "Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Jue" as a teaching material for students all over the world. He had the hope of becoming a noble family, but unfortunately he later gave up his official position to become a wanderer, wandering in the world.

Chen Yindu returns to his hometown in Qianyang Mountain once or twice a year, and Chen Tang is left alone at home. It is almost the same whether he has this father or not.

Even Chen Yin felt that his son was not smart enough. He treated Xiaowu and the beekeeper Azhuo better than Chen Tang. He taught Xiaowu and Azhuo more than Chen Tang.

Chen Tang was born in a poor family. He was self-taught and passed the imperial examinations. After Chen Shi's death, Chen Tang worked hard to improve himself. Now he is over 40 years old and has been promoted to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Eight years after Chen Shi's death, he was resurrected by Chen Yindu. Chen Tang regarded Chen Shi as a monster and did not take any care of him. He did not even go home for the New Year, just like Chen Yindu did back then.

Chen Yin did not teach Chen Shi any skills. Chen Shi had never been to school and could only learn to read and write from the hanged ghost Zhu Xiucai. He broke into the tomb of the True King alone and obtained the Three Lights Righteous Qi Jue, and then embarked on the road of cultivation. Most of the skills he obtained later were obtained from breaking into the tomb of the True King.

Three generations of the family were all born into peasant families. They had no family heritage, and they were not even from a scholarly family.

"The Chen family may have the potential to become a noble family, but it is still a long way from becoming the top scholar."

At this time, a voice came, breaking the silence.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a handsome young man walking towards them. He was wearing a Taoist robe with a large collar and a black veil on his head. He was riding a donkey and looked very elegant and refined.

The handsome young man was about twenty years old, less than thirty, and was very handsome. The donkey carried him so that his feet could not touch the ground. Every time the donkey's hooves put down their feet, clouds of mist would appear to lift the donkey up.

In front of the donkey was a sturdy man leading the donkey. He was like an iron tower, about 12 or 13 feet tall, with muscular body and bare chest. His chest was covered with thick black hair, like a black bear that had grown into a human form, strong and powerful.

He led the donkey and walked very fast, catching up with the crowd!

"The Hercules' method has been refined to such an extent!" Everyone was shocked.

The handsome young man couldn't tell his cultivation strength, but the sturdy man was practicing some techniques similar to the Yellow Turban Warrior, and had refined his body to the level of the Yellow Turban Warrior!
An ordinary cultivator can only buy a few Yellow Turban Warrior talismans at most to deal with emergencies on a daily basis. Few people can find the Yellow Turban Warrior's practice method.

However, in the big aristocratic families, they specially keep a kind of people who specialize in practicing the Yellow Turban Warrior method, and they have a body of copper tendons and iron bones, and are indestructible and have infinite strength.

He can bring a Yellow Turban Warrior with him when traveling, and the Yellow Turban Warrior has been refined to a true form of two meters tall, which shows that the beautiful young man has a noble background.

Zhou Qianying greeted him immediately and said, "I am Zhou Qianying from the Zhou family in Fengcheng. May I ask your name, brother?"

The handsome young man returned the greeting and said with a smile, "I dare not. I am Ma Zongzhou from the Ma family of Meizhou."

"Meizhou Ma family?"

Everyone was extremely excited. Zhou Qianying asked in surprise, "Are you from the Meizhou Ma family, one of the thirteen families?"

The handsome young man Ma Zongzhou said with a smile: "In Meizhou, is there another Ma family?"

Everyone hurriedly rolled off their horses and bowed, saying, "Wang Ping from the Wang family of Fengcheng, greets Master Ma!" "Fang Hu from the Fang family of Li County, greets Master Ma!" "Wei Liuchuan from the Wei family of Nao County, greets Master Ma!"

Ma Zongzhou jumped off the donkey, returned the greetings to everyone one by one, and said with a smile: "I am so ashamed! Everyone, please stand up quickly! I still need to return the greetings, Zongzhou is so tired!"

However, even though he was a kid from a small aristocratic family in a not-so-famous place, he returned the greeting in a very formal manner, and it was obvious that he had been well-educated.

He treated everyone kindly, making everyone feel as if they were in a spring breeze. Everyone had been pissed off at Chen Shi before, but now they felt as if their wrinkled hearts had been ironed and were now smooth and comfortable.

Ma Zongzhou exchanged greetings with everyone before looking at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi was still sitting in the wooden cart, warming himself by the fire with a sheep-horn lantern.

Ma Zongzhou smiled slightly and said, "Do you know why I said you can't become the top scholar?"

Chen Shi asked doubtfully, "Are you saying that you are the destined number one scholar?"

Wang Ping shouted, "Brother Chen, how can you say that? Brother Ma is the top scholar, isn't that what he deserves? In terms of wealth, background, official position, and inheritance, who can compare to Brother Ma?"

Ma Zongzhou shook his head and said sternly, "Brother Wang, you are wrong. The imperial court has always hated cheating in the imperial examinations. The imperial examinations and palace examinations are about talent and ability. If it's about background, then what else is there to test?"

Wang Ping repeatedly said yes, saying, "Brother Ma is right. Brother Ma is extremely talented and powerful. He will definitely be the first place in the imperial examination and the top place in the palace examination."

Ma Zongzhou looked solemn and shook his head, saying, "Although I think highly of myself, I also know that I am not the top scholar. In the past, I might have been able to compete with the candidates from the fifty provinces in Xiniu and Xinzhou. But this spring examination is different. Among the scholars participating in the examination, there is someone I also respect. He is..."

His expression became more serious, revealing a look of reverence, and he said softly, "Young Master."

Chen Shi raised his eyebrows and said nothing.

Sun Yisheng frowned slightly, obviously he had also heard of the title of Young Master.

Others were somewhat confused by the name, while others seemed very excited. The name of the young master had gradually spread.

Ma Zongzhou said: "I think I am not inferior to the children of other noble families, and I also think I am not inferior to the heroes of the world, but in front of you, I feel ashamed and I have to admit defeat. If you also participate in this imperial examination, he will definitely be the top scorer. No matter who comes, no one can take away his top scorer position!"

He looked at Chen Shi, smiled slightly, and said, "As for the peasant champion, that's even more impossible."

Chen Shi roasted himself by the fire and said calmly, "Young Master, you are also going to take part in this imperial examination? It turns out that the top prize has already been given to him. I was still wondering who has the nerve to do this. It turns out to be him. But, young master, I want to fight. I want to take the top prize from you, too!"

Sun Yisheng was startled and was about to speak, but after thinking for a while, he paused and thought, "Young people are of course full of youthful vigor. I was like that in my youth. But the young master's title of No. 1 cannot be taken away, let alone beaten!"

He was an official in the capital and had long heard of the young master's name.

The origins of this young man had long been a hot topic in Xijing.

The young master wants to win the top spot, who dares to compete with him?

To compete with him is to overestimate one's own abilities!

Ma Zongzhou looked around and said with a half-smile, "You are all children of good families, why do you want to mix with these bandits?"

Zhou Qianying asked doubtfully: "Bandits?"

Ma Zongzhou glanced at Chen Shi and sneered, "Mr. Chen has been doing evil in Qingzhou. He disguised himself as a Red Horse Bandit and stole many of our Ma family's longevity elixirs. He also killed people and set fires. He wiped out the best family in Qingzhou, leaving no one alive!"

Everyone was startled and moved away from the wooden cart.

Chen Shi's face was still somewhat sickly pale. He looked up and smiled at Ma Zongzhou, saying, "Your Ma family has committed many evil deeds in Qingzhou. I was kind-hearted not to beat you to death when you told me the name of the Ma family." "How dare you!"

The iron tower-like man beside Ma Zongzhou roared angrily, took a step forward, and pressed towards Chen Shi with an incomparably terrifying aura, shouting, "How dare you speak to Master Ma like that? I'll break three of your ribs to make up for your sin!"

The step he took was so powerful that it was like thunder, forcing everyone to slide back dozens of steps involuntarily.

Sun Yisheng flashed in the wooden cart, stood in front of it, and collided with the burly man with great momentum.

The iron tower-like man's eyes widened and he urged the Yellow Turban Warrior's true body to punch out with a thunderous sound. There was even lightning and thunder in the space.

Sun Yisheng's face suddenly changed, and the dojo burst into life.

He was still a long way from slaying the three corpses and refining the Pure Yang Spirit. He felt a little scared when he encountered a close combat warrior who had cultivated a pure physical body and could produce thunderous sonic booms.

This kind of attack can hurt his soul!

In normal times, he could distance himself, fly into the air, use magic to break the big man's true body, and then kill him. But now he was injured and had to protect Chen Shi, so he could only fight head-on!

Chen Shi's voice came: "Lord Sun, can you bear it?"

Sun Yisheng took the blow from the big man, groaned, suppressed the wound of his soul, and said in a deep voice: "I can bear it. You go first, don't worry about me! I will catch up with you later!"

Chen Shi put down the sheep-horn sky-spiritual lamp and asked in confusion, "Why are you leaving?"

He stood up, got off the wooden cart, and said to Ma Zongzhou: "Brother Ma, this is the first time we meet, and the big man next to you wants to break three of my ribs."

Ma Zongzhou smiled and said, "Three ribs are not enough? I can add two more. Chen Shi, I will not bully you. Hand over the elixirs you stole, and I will guarantee your life."

Chen Shi's face turned pale, and he shivered as the wind blew. He said seriously, "Brother Ma, if you want to break three of my ribs, I will only break three of yours. Don't fight back. If you do, I might kill you out of stress."

Sun Yisheng's heart was beating wildly: "What is he doing? I told him to escape, what is he going to do? He shouldn't do anything rash!"

He was secretly anxious, but the big man in front of him, who had cultivated the true body of the Yellow Turban Warrior, punched and kicked like a mountain, with thunderous explosions, hitting him very uncomfortable. His soul was originally damaged, and now the injury was compounded, and he couldn't free his hands.

Ma Zongzhou looked at Chen Shi and said with a smile: "Your injuries are not healed yet, could it be that you have tuberculosis? I can let you attack first."

Everyone around laughed. Zhou Qianying said with a smile, "Little Brother Chen, you should admit defeat, apologize to Brother Ma Shi, and return the elixir you stole!"

Before she finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of thunder in her ears. Chen Shi took a step forward, and his body pressed the air so hard that it exploded, with rumbling thunder!
The burly man who was hammering Sun Yisheng like a nail suddenly widened his eyes: "What a strong true body! Young Master is in danger!"

Ma Zongzhou also sensed the danger at the first moment and retreated immediately!

He is a descendant of the Ma family's patriarch, a member of the royal family. Every month, three experienced teachers are invited to train him in combat and fight him. He has also participated in the border army and fought against monsters. His combat awareness can be said to be the best among the Ma family's children.

As he retreated, he had already mobilized his martial arts.

The technique he practiced was from the Wenzhuanggong Treasure Mirror, which could only be practiced by the clan leader's lineage. It was called the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Scroll. This technique was extremely difficult to practice, as it required finding dragon and phoenix blood to take internally while building the foundation, and at the same time drawing the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Scroll on the body surface.

The condition of dragon and phoenix blood alone is not something that ordinary families can practice. The Ma family cannot find real dragons and phoenixes, but there are many exotic beasts in the world that have dragon and phoenix blood. Refining the dragon and phoenix blood of these exotic beasts can also practice this skill.

The Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Scroll cultivates both internally and externally. After mastering it, the body will be like a real dragon coiled, emitting golden light of phoenix feathers, extremely sharp, and killing the enemy will be as easy as taking something out of a bag.

And internal training made his cultivation extremely vigorous and powerful, with rich blood and energy of extremely high quality. Even if the enemy had the same cultivation as him, they would be defeated by his more tenacious blood and energy!

however……

"too fast!"

Ma Zongzhou's eyes revealed despair when he saw Chen Shi approaching him, but his qi and blood had just started to flow and his martial arts had not yet completed a full cycle.

"Crack!"

Ma Zongzhou felt the crisp cracking sound of the fist hitting the ribs under his armpit. One, two, three, exactly three ribs, broke at the same time, so there was only one cracking sound.

The body tempered by the Dragon and Phoenix Treasures could not withstand this fist at all!

His qi and blood circulated, and the dragon and phoenix talisman made a circle. The seven-colored lights behind him were like seven tangible and intangible swords, slashing out one after another!

He was really angry.

The opponent attacked too quickly, leaving him no time to react, but as long as the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Scroll was activated, he could easily kill his opponent!

Chen Shi was surrounded by colorful lights, his palms flying up and down, continuously slapping the sword, avoiding the sharp edge, and slapping the seven sword lights to scatter. Then he raised his leg and kicked Ma Zongzhou's neck heavily.

"Oh!"

Ma Zongzhou tumbled and rolled like a windmill, his neck tilted and almost chopped off.

He rolled for half a mile before he stopped. He tried to get up, but fell to the ground again.

Chen Shi was startled, then flew into a rage. He rushed forward and kicked Ma Zongzhou hard in the crotch and abdomen.

"You fought back! Why did you fight back?"

"You know what? I almost killed you!"

"I still have to pretend to be a good child in front of Lord Sun!"

"I still want to leave a good impression on Chen Tang! You almost made me kill someone in front of him!"

Chen Shi kicked for a while, but still felt unsatisfied. He glanced at a huge rock weighing over 100 kilograms nearby, picked it up and smashed it on Ma Zongzhou's head, breaking the rock into pieces.

Ma Zongzhou was beaten half to death, and he was furious and shouted, "Stop hitting me!"

Chen Shi was stunned for a moment, then he flew into a rage. He raised his hand and the canopy on the wooden cart flew over. Chen Shi pulled out a stick from the canopy that was more than a person tall and as thick as an arm, and hit him without thinking, causing Ma Zongzhou to scream in pain.

Ma Zongzhou was beaten unconscious, and Chen Shi was a little tired. He raised his hand to wipe the blood off the stick and inserted it back into the canopy.

Huagai flew back to the wooden cart. Chen Shi dragged Ma Zongzhou back to the crowd and threw Ma Zongzhou to the big man.

The burly man was startled and quickly took a step back to protect Ma Zongzhou.

Sun Yisheng was shocked and confused, so he took a step back to protect Chen Shi.

Chen Shi got in the car and said, "Sorry for the delay. Sir Sun, please get in the car."

Sun Yisheng didn't dare to get on the cart. He followed the wooden cart for a while. Seeing that the big man with the iron tower did not catch up with him, he climbed back on the cart.

The wooden cart disappeared into the distance, leaving Zhou Qianying, Wang Ping and others stunned.

In the car, Sun Yisheng and Chen Shi were silent for a long time.

Sun Yisheng mustered up his courage and was about to ask, but Chen Shi broke the silence and said, "Master Sun, let's just pretend that what happened today never happened. Don't tell Chen Tang."

Sun Yisheng was stunned and asked tentatively: "So, you are still a good boy in front of Master Chen Tang?"

Chen Shi corrected him: "Good boy."

Sun Yisheng thought about it and nodded.

——Sorry, the update is late. I was not satisfied with the plot I wrote at the beginning, and it did not give me the feeling I wanted, so I deleted it and rewrote it. Sure enough, after deleting more than 3,000 words and rewriting it, I felt much more comfortable, but I felt a little dizzy.

(End of this chapter)