Chapter 1

As the autumn wind howled and the temperature plummeted, winter was just around the corner. However, at this moment, Su Lin, dressed in a light green robe, sat in front of his desk with the windows and doors open, completely oblivious to the cold wind that blew in.

"I... I actually really did travel through time."

His gaze was somewhat vacant, and Su Lin still found it hard to accept the current reality. Just a moment ago, he was an ordinary high school senior, complaining about the required Confucian Analects in his Chinese class. But now, in the blink of an eye, he was no longer himself but someone else.

The current him was also named Su Lin, a native of Fengle County in the Wu Kingdom of the Tianren Continent. He was fifteen years old, an orphan, and had a wicked stepmother who was the daughter of a merchant.

"There really is such a world. Confucius is the supreme sage, and the Analects are the Holy Scriptures of the Tianren Continent. The entire Tianren Continent is divided into nine kingdoms, all of which follow Confucianism and select officials through the imperial examination system... This... is simply a world of Confucianism..."

Struggling to digest the memories in his mind, Su Lin drew a sharp breath. He never imagined that the Analects, which he had once criticized as useless for exams, would hold such a revered status on the Tianren Continent.

"This must be a punishment from heaven, or a huge joke. I criticized the Analects as useless and said that Confucianism corrupted people's minds, and then heaven sent me to a world where everyone respects and practices Confucianism, where Confucius is the sage, and the country is governed by Confucian thought. And I, of all people, am a Confucian scholar who studies Confucian classics..."

Fully understanding the world he was in, Su Lin could only laugh bitterly. "In my previous life, the Analects were only part of the Chinese exam. But now, if I want to rise in the world and live well, I must study the mountainous Confucian classics and learn to write poetry and prose."

On the Tianren Continent, Confucius became a sage through his benevolence and wisdom, teaching without discrimination, helping the various scholars achieve the status of lesser sages or half-sages. Then, with the combined power of all the sages, they built the Great Wall, using their ideas as bricks and stones to encircle the entire human domain, completely blocking the invasions of the demon beasts and the four barbarian tribes. At the same time, the scholars and sages established the Holy Temple and the Ten Literary Ranks, and the imperial examination system solidified this world of Confucianism.

"Originally, in this world of Confucianism, ideas are the most powerful weapons. Confucian scholars are no longer weak and powerless. Once they open their wisdom, they can absorb the holy power from the Great Wall built by the sages, using characters, poetry, and prose as carriers of thought to summon elemental forces and materialize them to attack enemies."

The thought that poetry and prose could become tangible objects and forces filled Su Lin with excitement and anticipation. Although the history of the Tianren Continent was similar to ancient China, it diverged into nine kingdoms after the Han Dynasty. The history and figures after the Han Dynasty were completely different from those in ancient China.

There were no literary giants or historical figures from after the Han Dynasty. This meant that the timeless poems and essays stored in Su Lin's mind, if they appeared in this world of Confucianism, would cause a tremendous upheaval!

However, the moment Su Lin remembered that he was already fifteen and had yet to open his wisdom, his heart sank.

Opening wisdom is a process every scholar on the Tianren Continent must undergo. More accurately, one is not considered a true Confucian scholar until they have opened their wisdom. Opening wisdom involves using a sentence containing profound thought to awaken one's intellect. This sentence can be a saying of the sage Confucius, a lesser sage, a half-sage, or a great Confucian scholar's interpretation of the classics.

Undoubtedly, the higher the level of the sentence used to open wisdom, the higher the potential literary rank one can achieve. Using a sage's saying to open wisdom, even the lowest half-sage's saying, results in an extraordinary first absorption of holy power, with a momentum that can reach the heavens. Whenever such a prodigy appears, it is a great fortune for the kingdom, as it means another potential great Confucian scholar has been born.

However, such geniuses are extremely rare. Among the millions of scholars in the nine kingdoms, only one prodigy who opens wisdom with a sage's saying is born every hundred years. Most of these are only half-sages, and all of them eventually achieve at least the rank of a great Confucian scholar. As for those who open wisdom with a lesser sage's saying, they almost all become half-sages.

The only ones who have ever opened wisdom with Confucius' own sayings, over the centuries, seem to be Mencius and Zisi, Confucius' grandson. This is because Confucius' sayings are so profound and obscure that a single sentence can have multiple layers of meaning. Even scholars with the rank of Jinshi (advanced scholar) or Daxueshi (grand scholar) cannot fully understand them, let alone a child of just a dozen years old.

Of course, the words used to open wisdom do not absolutely limit one's future potential. In the nine kingdoms, there have been cases where scholars opened wisdom with the interpretations of grand scholars and eventually achieved the rank of half-sage.

"Alas! Now, not to mention the words of Jinshi or grand scholars, even a poem by a Juren (scholar) could not open wisdom for the previous Su Lin. Most children can open wisdom by the age of six or seven, after learning to read the Thousand Character Classic and the Hundred Family Surnames. The latest they open wisdom is around twelve or thirteen, but this Su Lin... is so stupid that even the almost vernacular poems of Juren scholars cannot open his wisdom... How did I end up in such a useless body?"

Feeling no trace of the legendary holy power in his body, and combining this with his memories, Su Lin realized that his fifteen-year-old body had yet to open wisdom.

Without opening wisdom and lacking holy power, he was not considered a true Confucian scholar and had no qualifications to take the imperial examinations. Su Lin also remembered that if he did not open wisdom and become a Confucian scholar by the age of sixteen, his gentry status would be taken by his stepmother's son, Su Wen.

"No! I must open wisdom. Even if it's with a Juren's words, I must open wisdom before I turn sixteen next year."

Without gentry status, Su Lin would become a commoner and would not be able to attend the free schools provided for gentry children. Gentry status is a symbol of the state's recognition of Confucian scholars with literary ranks. A Juren rank grants gentry status, a Jinshi rank grants the status of a minister, and ranks above Jinshi grant the status of a duke or marquis.

Gentry status is hereditary but can only be passed to the eldest legitimate son. Su Lin's father, Su Jingtian, fortunately obtained a Juren rank at the age of thirty, earning gentry status. After Su Jingtian's accidental death, the gentry status was naturally inherited by Su Lin, the eldest legitimate son. However, if Su Lin did not open wisdom and become a Confucian scholar by the age of sixteen, according to Wu Kingdom law, the gentry status would be inherited by his stepmother's son, Su Wen.

"Gentry status is a hereditary reward from the state for Confucian scholars with literary ranks. It not only allows free attendance at gentry schools but also provides a monthly stipend of one tael of silver from the county government. My life is already difficult under Su Liufu's abuse, and if I lose my gentry status after turning sixteen, I might starve to death on the streets..."

The more Su Lin thought, the more he was filled with fear and cold sweat. In his previous life, although his family was ordinary, he had never lacked food or clothing. But now, in this unfamiliar world of Confucianism, with both parents dead and a wicked stepmother and her child oppressing him, if he lost his gentry status, Su Lin did not know how he would survive.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard a cold snort from the doorway: "Su Lin, this is your meal for today."

Su Lin turned around to see his stepmother, Su Liufu, dressed in a bright red silk skirt, adorned with gold and silver, but with a wicked face. She held a bowl of thin porridge and, taking a few steps forward, threw it onto Su Lin's desk, splashing the porridge everywhere. Seeing the books on Su Lin's desk, she sneered, "Little brat, don't waste your efforts. No matter how much you read, you will never open wisdom. The gentry status of the Su family is definitely going to my son, Su Wen."

"Shameless Su Liufu! Even if I cannot open wisdom, I still have gentry status. You, a commoner, dare to be so disrespectful to me?"

Seeing this wicked woman, Su Lin immediately felt the same pain and anger as the previous Su Lin. His anger flared, and he stood up abruptly. For some reason, the words from the Book of Rites about the three obediences and four virtues of women immediately came to his mind. Pointing at Su Liufu, he shouted:

"The Book of Rites says: 'A woman has three obediences and no independent will. Before marriage, she obeys her father; after marriage, she obeys her husband; after her husband's death, she obeys her son.' My father is long dead, and I am the eldest legitimate son of the Su family, inheriting the gentry status and being the true head of the household. You, a mere woman, do not behave properly, manage the family affairs for the Su family, but instead bully me while I am young and abuse me. Are you not afraid that I will report you to the county magistrate, have you thrown into prison, and then paraded through the streets, so that everyone in the county will know your wicked name?"

After saying this, Su Lin picked up the bowl of thin porridge and threw it at Su Liufu's feet. The porcelain bowl shattered, and the porridge splashed onto her red silk skirt, causing Su Liufu to retreat to the wall in shock, her face filled with fear as she looked at Su Lin.

She never expected that the usually meek and weak bookworm Su Lin would use the three obediences and four virtues from the Book of Rites to attack her. Su Liufu wanted to retort and slander Su Lin, but in the face of the holy words from the Book of Rites, she was speechless and dared not resist. In this world where Confucianism is supreme, how could a woman who could not read dare to contradict the words of the sages?