Chapter 81

Just now, it is the era of divine punishment. Although in the Zhongyuan world, there is no such severe denigration of teachers, many people still have incorrect views on choosing a teacher.

For example, Du Jiaoyuan stubbornly believed that Yue Heng must have been guided by a great teacher; otherwise, he could not have reached such a high level.

For example, some ordinary people believed that becoming a student by apprenticing to the head of Hong County's literary academy would lead to success, while apprenticing to an ordinary book club teacher would not amount to anything.

These views that emphasize famous teachers and believe in the importance of teachers are all wrong. Yue Heng presented "On Teachers" to illustrate a principle. He summarized: "As long as someone can teach you something you don't know, regardless of their status or who they are, they can be considered your teacher, with no distinction of high or low, noble or humble!"

After "On Teachers" was presented, all the teachers present were greatly moved, their bodies resonating. Many thought of themselves. The teachers at the literary academy thought about some bad habits of literati, such as ranking by seniority and order of arrival. Even though they were more talented than their seniors, they were often suppressed and had no chance to stand out. Today, hearing "On Teachers," they felt greatly invigorated. This was an affirmation of their abilities. The divine palaces in their bodies resonated, and the literary symbols glowed more brightly, showing signs of a qualitative breakthrough from quantitative change!

The martial arts teachers were also affected. Their martial spirits resonated, and in long-term battles, what kept them with a high win rate was not only absolute strength but also increasing rich experience. Most of this experience was gained through setbacks and learning from others' strengths, so respecting teachers and valuing the path was a virtue they highly regarded.

The spirit of the craft teachers was greatly enhanced. Among the four professions, they were the most creative. Therefore, it was common for low-rank craft masters to come up with good ideas, which high-rank craft masters would complete and refine. For them, the saying "Among three people walking, there must be one who can be my teacher" was very true. "On Teachers" elevated the importance of teachers to an unparalleled height.

Each teacher had their own insights. Not long after, someone exclaimed in surprise.

"My literary symbol is stabilizing and about to break through!"

"Wow, my inspiration is also about to take shape!"

"Resonating, resonating again, the enhancement of martial spirit is clearly visible!"

As many teachers were amazed, the only fourth-rank spirit master suddenly stood up, looking at Yue Heng on the stage with disbelief, stammering and sweating profusely, not knowing what to say.

Yue Heng couldn't see the changes clearly, but Chancellor Huo's perception far exceeded others. He stood up and asked solemnly, "Brother He, are you about to enter the 'Spirit Communication' realm?"

Among the spirit masters, the fourth rank is a spirit controller, and the fifth rank is a spirit communicator. Spirit masters meeting a higher half-rank are rare, and the higher the rank, the rarer they are.

The fourth-rank spirit master He looked serious and said, "Chancellor Huo, can we pause this lecture? Our spirit masters are not well-prepared, and some have not arrived yet."

This was said tactfully, and the other teachers rolled their eyes. Chancellor Huo was also amused and frustrated. It was clear that the high-ranking spirit masters had not taken this lecture seriously and were too lazy to come.

Now, seeing the great benefits, they immediately requested a pause and urgently called others to join.

People are always drawn to benefits. Considering that many were like this, Chancellor Huo decided to be a good person and stroked his beard, smiling, "Pausing first is fine. We can wait for half an hour for those who couldn't make it in time."

Hearing Chancellor Huo speak, the spirit master He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left the hall.

At the same time, many people quietly slipped out of the hall. Within half an hour, many new faces entered, making the already crowded hall even more packed.

Yue Heng was discussing with Chancellor Huo backstage. Next, he planned to start with "The Prodigy Poem." He gave Chancellor Huo a few hints and a heads-up, hoping to use the array of the county academy to limit the influence to a small area.

After seeing the new faces coming and going, Chancellor Huo said helplessly, "Some people, no matter how you talk to them, won't listen. Not hearing 'On Teachers' is their loss. This is a missed opportunity. If they ask you to repeat it, ignore them."

Yue Heng smiled and watched quietly. Soon, someone waved to Chancellor Huo, and the two discussed in a corner. Chancellor Huo's face was particularly grim, and he kept shaking his head.

"Oh, they didn't believe me and didn't come. Now they've come and are thinking of grabbing good seats. How easy is that? No way! I can let the new people stay, but don't expect me to make room for them!"

Chancellor Huo's attitude was firm, and he refused the invitations with a wave of his sleeve, making Yue Heng laugh and cry.

But those who came later still had to fight and compete, especially those on the verge of breaking through. They originally had deep strength but were too lazy to come, missing a good opportunity for enhancement.

Now, the good seats were all taken, so they had to resort to their familiar friends, using teacher-student relationships or threats and inducements. The listening area near the main stage was in chaos, and finally, more than ten people squeezed in.

Yue Heng could only sigh as he watched Chancellor Huo. When the time came, he walked back on stage.

"Confucius said, 'Among three people walking, there must be one who can be my teacher.' Respecting teachers and valuing the path is just the first step. Next, I will talk about the conditions of oneself. Reading and learning is a skill. The same article or martial technique can be difficult for someone with mediocre talent but easy for someone with great talent. Since everyone here is one in ten thousand to enter the county academy, most of you are exceptionally talented. I will now recite 'The Prodigy Poem' to remind those who consider themselves talented. Of course, this poem may be somewhat exclusive to non-literati, so you can choose whether to listen!"

Yue Heng didn't say more, but who in the hall, after hearing "On Teachers," would doubt his talent?

Chancellor Huo nodded to him, and almost no one was willing to give up this opportunity.

Yue Heng wrote and recited simultaneously. The first four lines he wrote on the paper were like a spring thunder, stunning everyone.

"The emperor values heroes, and literature teaches you all. All things are inferior, only reading is supreme."

Boom!

The hall was in chaos, and the three to four thousand people immediately started to clamor. At least half were hot-tempered martial artists, how could they remain calm?

"What does this mean? What is 'all things are inferior'? Why say 'only reading is supreme'? Are our martial artists, craft masters, and spirit masters not as noble as literati?"

"Rubbish! What a load of rubbish! When did reading become the most useful? In my view, literati are the most useless, a bunch of shameless guys always showing off their literary skills!"

"Who's stopping me? I promise not to kill him! Damn, wearing a mask and pretending to be a god, fooling kids! Spit!"

"Too much! Too much! Who is this guy? Is he looking for death?"

Ordinary martial artists and craft masters might just curse, but the faces of the martial arts and craft teachers immediately turned grim. Many stood up, ready to confront Chancellor Huo.

"Old Huo, who did you invite? His words are too out of line!"

"Old Huo, I only need one explanation from you. Is this your idea? Are you deliberately humiliating us? If you want to shame us, let's go to the training ground or the demon beast mountains for a showdown, no need to do this through others!"

"Hmph! If you look down on us martial artists and craft masters, we'll leave! I hate you guys who are full of malice and like to use veiled insults!"

Faced with the doubts and anger of his colleagues, Chancellor Huo was in a bind. How could he have known Yue Heng would say such shocking words!

But the arrow had to be released. This was the person he invited, and these four lines indeed emphasized the importance of learning, which was the best possible encouragement for literati students!

"Everyone, please calm down and don't leave yet! Old Zhao, I'm not trying to provoke you, don't go! Everyone, please sit down and let me communicate with you, okay?" Chancellor Huo finally calmed down the agitated colleagues and quickly ran to Yue Heng's side, asking in a low voice.

"Is this the full text of 'Encouragement to Study, Part 5'?"

"Far from it, there are over a hundred more lines!"

"Ah? You... are all such rebellious words?"

"Chancellor Huo, for literati, these are not rebellious words but loyal advice!"

"That's true, but today's crowd is too mixed... How about this, I'll let those who don't want to listen leave."

Chancellor Huo was very troubled but still didn't want to give up on the article. He took out a literary plate and said to everyone, "The author mentioned that this poem may be somewhat exclusive to non-literati. Now you've seen the effect. There may be more similar phrases later, some of which may be harsh. So, please make a choice now. If you want to continue listening, stay. If you don't want to listen, you can leave now!"

Rustling, a small number of martial artists and craft masters left. Strangely, not a single spirit master left, and the previously furious martial arts and craft teachers, after much hesitation, sat down angrily.

These old guys were smarter than the new students. They knew the benefits of resonance. Even if the words were harsh, if they could make them stronger, they didn't care much.

Seeing the situation ease, Chancellor Huo indicated to continue. Yue Heng smiled, picked up his pen, and wrote the next four lines: "When young, one must study hard, and literature can establish one's position. All the nobles in the court are readers."

Bang!

Clang, clang, clang!

"Rubbish, rubbish!"

"Unbearably foul!"

"You are arrogant! Where in the court are all readers? What do you think of the generals?"

"Everyone, calm down, calm down! All literary works are full of imagination and exaggeration, a common trait of literati. We all know that only a small part of the officials in the court are literati. This passage is meant to give young students hope for an official career. Please don't take it to heart!"