Chapter 72

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As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Yue Heng lay inside the tent, feigning sleep. The damaged literary disk had been activated, and its alert range could cover a distance of about five zhang (about ten meters) around him. The previously incomprehensible black sealed array area resonated with the Fuxi array of the entire dormitory, allowing him to tap into a portion of the elemental energy from the external array. He managed to activate the complete part of the damaged function.

"Although it's just an alert sound, it can at least serve as a warning and defense. It's rare for the 'Jie' (戒) literary symbol to be nurtured within the Literary Man's Palace, and the same goes for the 'Jie' literary disk. This damaged disk is not 'Jie,' and it even has an alert sound. This is quite interesting. It might be another warning literary symbol. If I have the chance, I must repair it and see its true form!"

Yue Heng opened his eyes. It was very quiet around him, and he could faintly hear a couple of dog barks or the triumphant songs of some deranged literary men.

"These few days, I need to understand the structure of the entire academy, determine what knowledge I will study in the future, and plan a path of cultivation that best suits me."

"Poetry, lyrics, songs, and odes are, of course, the most important. But I can also do many things, such as repairing literary disks, studying arrays, and even collaborating with craftsmen like Fat Lei."

"Additionally, I need to attend lectures at the Craftsmanship Academy and conduct research in physics theory, which is also very important."

"Right, should I visit the connections of Min Xuhuai? Speaking of visits, I should also visit Cui Shilang from the Literary Department of Qi County and Su Xunjian..."

While lost in thought, Yue Heng fell into a deep sleep, not knowing how long he had been asleep.

Boom!

A massive explosion sounded, startling Yue Heng. He immediately grabbed the shield beside him and held it over his head, without hesitation activating the 'Sheng' (生) literary symbol in his palace. He nimbly rolled to a corner of the tent.

Outside, cries of pain could be heard, and weapons clattered to the ground with a clatter.

Yue Heng emerged with his shield, and in the faint starlight, he saw three people clutching their ears and moaning in pain.

At the same time, the dormitories in all directions began to stir. Such a loud noise was unprecedented, and many people rushed over, thinking it was a treasure appearing or an enemy invasion.

The night patrol team arrived first, seeing Yue Heng fully alert and three people with pained expressions.

"Seize them! Two second-level soldiers without identity stones and one second-level student. Who are you? What are you doing here in our literary dormitory, sneaking around?"

"Speak! Or we'll hand you over to the Punishment Hall!"

"Holding weapons, were you planning to rob and hurt someone?"

"Behave! Even if you are a martial artist, you can't escape the beast-restraining rope made from the tendons of a demon crocodile!"

These people remained silent, and the patrol team members beat them up.

People around held torches, and Yue Heng looked around. Xiao Molin and Bai Huanzhi did not appear, but it was clear that someone was trying to target him.

However, these three cannon fodder were injured by the alert literary disk Yue Heng had prepared. The massive explosion was the best warning. Caught off guard, they were injured mentally and spiritually, their Literary Man's Palaces shaken, and their martial souls agitated. They lost their fighting ability in a short time.

The literary academy's patrol team arrived quickly and caught them red-handed.

"Yue Heng, did you suffer any losses?" the patrol team leader asked. Yue Heng shook his head.

"Do you know them?"

Yue Heng continued to shake his head.

The captain turned around and roared, "Not going to confess? Take them all to the Punishment Hall, dig up their entire background! Hmph, once in the Punishment Hall, few don't confess. Whoever is found guilty will be expelled from the academy at best, and at worst, stripped of their palace and martial soul!"

The few people were stunned and, frightened by the rough handling of the patrol team, immediately confessed.

"I'll talk, I'll talk... Someone told us that a new child scholar lives here, and he's easy to bully..."

"He has a valuable bag of holding with many good things inside. We were greedy and thought of doing this. We also thought about the Spring Tribute, right?"

"Someone told me he's weak, but who knew he would trick us..."

The truth came to light. These people from outside were just looking for money, but they couldn't provide an accurate name of who had incited them.

One said it was an old drunkard named Qi Lao San in a tavern, another said it was a group of senior students arguing in a tavern, and another said it was a wandering poet they often saw drunk.

It all seemed to be related to the tavern. The three, clearly drunk, couldn't even identify who had incited them. The patrol team leader shouted, "Take them to the Punishment Hall!"

Many people were still watching, but Yue Heng didn't bother to explain and returned to the tent.

However, he found someone sitting inside, the fourth-level scholar Liu Jingting, whom he had met during the day. Yue Heng was surprised and about to speak, but Liu Jingting gestured for him to be quiet.

"Take out your Fuxi literary disk!"

Liu Jingting's voice was low and serious, his eyes sharp. Yue Heng didn't dare refuse and handed over the damaged disk.

Liu Jingting's palm glowed blue as he quickly examined the damaged array inside. He frowned and put the disk down, then tossed an unfamiliar disk to Yue Heng, saying sternly, "The loud noise just now came from this disk in your hand, do you know that?"

"Ah?"

Yue Heng was taken aback, holding the disk. This was a blatant case of pointing to a deer and calling it a horse!

Liu Jingting stood up and whispered quickly, "I'll keep this disk for research. Come back in a few days."

Yue Heng guessed that Liu Jingting was protecting him and felt a bit excited. He asked with a low laugh, "Can I learn array and disk repair techniques from Mr. Liu?"

Liu Jingting grunted and walked out of the tent, saying, "We'll see your talent in a few days."

Yue Heng beamed, watching Liu Jingting leave quietly from the back door. Then, his palace's qi surged, and his divine sense entered the new disk. Inside, a simple array was running, with an amplification and震慑 function. He understood.

Not long after Liu Jingting left, another group of uninvited guests arrived. Several older instructors asked Yue Heng what had happened. Yue Heng demonstrated the disk, which only had the function of a loud warning. The old men were even more puzzled.

"Was it really an amplification?"

"Can't be, it felt more like a 'Zhen' (震) disk."

"It's not quite 'Zhen.' There are also 'Jie' (戒) and 'Xian' (陷) disks that can serve as warnings. If some additional warning arrays are added, 'Kun' (困) can also have warning and counterattack functions..."

"Enough, stop showing off your knowledge!"

The old men examined Yue Heng's disk several times, grumbling for a while before leaving. No one noticed the faint smile on Yue Heng's face.

...

Time passed quickly, and most of the new students had reported to the academy, making it increasingly lively.

At the foot of a mountain ten miles from the county academy, there was a bustling market. This place was a buffer zone for cultivators entering the secular world, and many academy students, tired of the monotonous environment of the academy, enjoyed feeling the human touch here.

On the third floor of the Qingfeng Tower, the tallest building in the market, Xiao Molin sat by a window. He raised a cup of wine, clinked it with Bai Huanzhi's, and drank it in one gulp, then refilled their cups.

"Xiao brother, it's been three days. Most of the new child scholars have reported, and formal lectures will start tomorrow. Fellow students will eat and travel together, making it harder for us to act. We need to hurry!"

"But Bai brother, you still owe me half the snow lotus seeds and the gold notes. We've also lost a lot of people! I also want to ask, who is he? It's not as simple as being related to your cousin's death, right?"

Xiao Molin looked at Bai Huanzhi, giving him some pressure.

In the past three days, to deal with Yue Heng, he had found three groups of people to test him, all of which ended in failure.

Sometimes Yue Heng would meet an instructor, chat happily, and leave together. Other times, his people would be recognized by Ji Jingyu and his group, who would protect him. Most incredibly, the tent in the middle of the dormitory had been there for three days without being removed. The boy would carry a Fuxi literary disk to protect himself, wandering around the academy, making it hard to catch him.

Worst of all, even his two followers returned with their heads hanging low, saying they had been humiliated, but fortunately, their hands were clean, and no one found out they were the ones causing trouble.

In short, Yue Heng was too mysterious, with unpredictable strength and complex relationships. Xiao Molin found him very difficult to handle.

Bai Huanzhi's mouth twitched in pain as he took out a cloth bag and handed it over. "Here are the remaining snow lotus seeds and gold notes. Yue Heng has taken the Spring Examination five times and was once in the same society as my cousin. Everyone in Hong County knows he doesn't have a deep background."

Xiao Molin opened the bag without hesitation, glanced inside, and put it away, satisfied. "Bai brother, you're a man of your word. I'll act quickly. But to avenge your cousin, you can't rely entirely on outsiders, right?"

Bai Huanzhi's face darkened. "As long as he's in the academy, I'll be his enemy! Once the new child scholars join the major factions, he will be isolated and without support. I want to see what happens to him then!"

Xiao Molin raised his wine glass. "As long as you pay the price, I'll help you without reservation."

Bai Huanzhi drank in one gulp, his mood complex and difficult to bear.

He looked out the window, where people in the market were slowly leaving. Suddenly, two people appeared in his line of sight. His gaze froze, then turned to disgust. He grunted and slammed his wine glass on the table.

On the market street, the two, one fat and one thin, walked together. The fat one gestured wildly and talked loudly, while the thin one, looking as if he would be blown away by the wind, was curious about everything.

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