Global Game: I Can Choose Instance Rewards-Chapter 631 - 414: Picking a Fight (Part 2)

"What a grand scene... Are those demons trying to attack the nearby towns, only to be forcibly stopped here by the Buddhist Sect experts?"

Wang Zhifan did not rashly charge into the battle array to help. He stayed in the outer area, observing the overall situation from above. He noticed a town about twenty miles from here, with the enormous demon, suspected to be the Demon Venerable, leading many other demons moving under pressure towards that direction. The intention was obvious.

"We’re late... The Buddhist Sect has always been unwilling to let others intervene in their affairs, or it will cause trouble."

Mieyue, the Long Dao, arrived beside Wang Zhifan at this moment. Her relationship with Wang Zhifan had improved significantly along the way, and she proactively reminded him not to interfere hastily. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Isn’t voluntary assistance acceptable?"

Wang Zhifan was a bit incredulous upon hearing this. He could not understand why anyone would refuse another’s enthusiastic help, merely to maintain their own dignity?

"Look over there, you’ll understand. There are people from the Confucian Sect coming over."

Mieyue raised her hand to point out a direction to Wang Zhifan.

There appeared over a dozen small dots on the horizon. From a distance, they were easy to mistake for birds, but a closer look revealed them to be rapidly flying figures approaching. They were all dressed in high hats and broad belts, a style typical of the Confucian Sect.

"You have good eyesight; I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t mentioned it."

Wang Zhifan squinted his eyes a bit to look towards the approaching Confucian guests, realizing that the woman beside him was no ordinary mortal, possessing extraordinary observation skills.

This situation made him feel that the battlefield situation before him was becoming increasingly complex. Perhaps he might witness the rare scene of a conflict between the Confucian Sect and the Buddhist Sect.

At the same time, in the direction they were observing, indeed, some ominous signs were appearing.

A total of seventeen experts from the Confucian Sect suddenly flew in from the horizon, intruding into the battle dominated by the Buddhist Sect, and were intercepted mid-air by several Innate Realm monks guarding the outskirts.

"Stop! Outsiders are forbidden entry here!"

Three Innate Realm monks bathed in golden Buddhist light flew into the sky. Each had a vaguely imposing Dharma image behind them, as they sternly blocked the suddenly intruding Confucian guests.

The leader of the Confucian Sect was a graceful young man, roughly twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a high hat, long robe, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes. Although young, his aura was extraordinarily strong, seemingly surpassing the ordinary Innate Realm level.

This handsome and imposing Confucian cultivator, facing the interception by the three monks, lightly lifted his sleeve and waved it. The luxurious folding fan with a white base and golden edge in his hand blossomed like heavenly flowers, releasing countless profound characters for "trap." These ink-like symbols in the blink of an eye tightly bound the three Buddhists, making them fall helplessly to the ground as if chained, even dissipating the Buddhist Dharma images behind them.

"Trying to stop me, Qingfeng? How dare you not send out a few Buddhist sons?"

After casually resolving the monks blocking him, this graceful scholar chuckled as he led the rest of the Confucian students through the battle array, approaching the ground presence suspected to be the Demon Venerable.

Their actions undoubtedly angered the numerous monks around, but most were still fighting the demons, unable to tend to them. Moreover, the monks knew well that with their strength they couldn’t contend with this powerful Confucian master, so they chose to pretend not to see and focused on their own enemies in front to avoid disgrace.

At this moment, in the center of the battlefield, the battle between the three Buddhist high monks and the suspected Demon Venerable had reached a fever pitch.

Two of the high monks transformed into gigantic Buddhist Vajras, no less in size than the Demon Venerable, attacking from front and back like two gigantic deities besieging the terrifying six-armed Demon Venerable.

The other high monk sat cross-legged in the sky, holding prayer beads and continuously chanting Buddha curses. With every movement of his lips, a swastika character, bigger than a house, would fall from the sky, heavily striking the Demon Venerable’s body, causing its dark green flames to tremble violently, seemingly about to extinguish any moment.

Yet, even with the three Buddhist high monks fighting with all their might, the six-armed Demon Venerable showed no signs of truly falling. It stood firm against the attacks from both Vajra Incarnations and the Fallen Heaven Buddha Curse, as if rooted to the ground. Even the supposedly mighty Buddhist Dharma images couldn’t shake it and could only engage in a sustained battle with its six pillar-like demon arms.

This scene was watched by the Confucian Sect’s Qingfeng, who had just led his people close by, and he immediately let out a light laugh, mocking:

"Outnumbered yet unable to quickly subdue... If your Buddhist Sect cannot slay the demon, step aside for me, Qingfeng! I need only a moment to slay this demon!"

His voice was not loud, yet influenced by a special power, it could be heard clearly within a radius of ten miles, evidently aiming to put pressure on the Buddhist Sect experts.

"Is the Confucian Sect and Buddhist Sect always this at odds?"

Wang Zhifan, far from the central area, couldn’t help but ask Mieyue beside him, as he couldn’t understand why the Confucian expert Qingfeng would provoke the Buddhist Sect at such a crucial moment. The animosity of scholars shouldn’t be this great.

"Well, there are many territorial conflicts between the Confucian and Buddhist Sects. They seek every opportunity to outshine the other and showcase their strength to attract more followers."

Mieyue, who had become quite familiar with Wang Zhifan, explained this, enlightening him.

"Oh... so that’s how it is... No wonder I heard in a place called Shuqiu City that the Confucian Sect has closer ties with the Daoist Sect."

Wang Zhifan recalled now, during a conversation with a Confucian named Zhang Siqian, he mentioned that the Confucian and Daoist Sects had good relations, but their relations with the Buddhist Sect were not as good. At the time, he hadn’t paid attention to this aspect.

Curious, Wang Zhifan then asked Mieyue more about these matters, such as the relationship between the Daoist and Buddhist Sects, why the Daoist Sect’s external relations seemed better, and the extent of the specific struggle between the Buddhist and Confucian Sects.

With nothing pressing to do, Mieyue patiently explained these key points to him.

She explained that the Daoist Sect maintained relatively good relations with the Buddhist and Confucian Sects because Daoists prioritized tranquility and inaction, generally avoiding aggressive territorial expansion, resulting in fewer conflicts of interest with the other two.

Even if someone from the Daoist Sect’s territory joined the Buddhist or Confucian Sect, the Daoists wouldn’t bother, prioritizing harmony and allowing people to choose their own paths as long as it didn’t interfere with their cultivation.

In contrast, the Buddhist and Confucian Sects were different. Both took a more active and utilitarian approach; in the Buddhist Sect’s sphere of influence, other cultivators found it hard to stay long, and the Confucian Sect actively promoted Confucian thought. Occasionally, Confucian scholars conflicted with Buddhist disciples who liked to spread their teachings widely, leading to significant casualties in the past.

However, several decades ago, the three Saints noticed this issue and imposed restrictions, prohibiting disciples of the three paths from fighting each other lethally. After all, it was said that the three Saints had quite good relations with each other on a higher level and did not wish to see internal strife among human cultivators that would inadvertently benefit the Demon Realm adversaries.

Yet, the top-down restrictions couldn’t genuinely resolve all conflicts. Even though the three major human powers in the Calamity Realm appeared more peaceful on the surface, private power struggles persisted.

Especially between the Buddhist and Confucian Sects, both seizing opportunities to nauseate each other. Since the Saints prohibited physical combat, they sought chances to mentally attack each other, especially by finding a justifiable cause, forcing the other to endure humiliation in silence.

At this time, the Confucian Qingfeng seeking trouble with the Buddhist Sect was just such an opportunity, as eliminating the Demon Realm invaders is the righteous cause for all human forces in the Calamity Realm. If the Buddhist Sect expended great efforts but couldn’t subdue a suspected Demon Venerable, while the Confucian Sect managed effortlessly, then the Buddhist Sect would undeniably be inferior to the Confucian Sect, leaving no room for rebuttal.