Chapter 44

Guan Yaoyuan and Yan Yue's bodies trembled, their eyes turning bloodshot. Countless pages and characters flashed before their eyes, finally being shattered by an invisible force.

The two groaned, blood flowing from their ears and noses, immediately becoming listless.

Guan Yaoyuan was somewhat better off; he had not used poetry to insult Fang Yun, only being affected by the aftermath. However, his Literary Palace still cracked, and it would take several decades to repair.

Yan Yue was the most severely affected. His Literary Palace was riddled with cracks, and the statues within were split like spider webs. The thin threads of talent, as thick as needles, drifted like fine smoke in the wind, unable to function. He could no longer use the skill of "talking on paper."

All the characters he had learned were torn apart, his gaze vacant, and he fell into a temporary stupor. In the future, he would be constantly interfered with by an invisible force when learning characters, and the higher Fang Yun's literary rank, the stronger the interference.

As long as Fang Yun lived, Yan Yue would never recover to be a normal scholar, not even a child scholar.

Wan Xuezheng sneered, "You thought Fang Yun, without a literary gall, couldn't deal with your insults? He is a child scholar before the Sage. Even without a literary gall, as long as he has a firm will and a single article to stabilize the nation, he has a momentary literary gall! But I must thank you two fools on behalf of the students of Jingguo. You actually forced Fang Yun to write a 'Dare to Temper the Gall' that stabilizes the nation, with ink and characters fragrant and luminous. This article even surpasses 'Jixian Early Morning Journey.'"

"Writing three sages in one stroke, one article to stabilize the nation, truly worthy of being a child scholar before the Sage. This grandeur is hard for ordinary people to match," Tang Dazhang, a merchant and a candidate, praised.

"This article is very reasonable. Confucius said: 'A gentleman can live in a humble abode, what is there to be ashamed of?' It is the best response to Yan Yue and others. No wonder the characters came to life."

"Mountains have names, waters have spirits, the opening of the article is magnificent, rarely seen in the world. But these are secondary. The heart that faces the sages while living in a humble abode is far beyond what we can compare to, far beyond," Wan Xuezheng said, seemingly ashamed and praising.

"Every word of this article has a literary gall. Those who overestimate themselves have no one to blame but themselves."

The crowd savored the article, completely forgetting the two whose Literary Palaces had been injured by the momentary literary gall.

Suddenly, there was another crack, startling the crowd.

They saw the wooden table in front of Fang Yun collapse, and the page of the nation-stabilizing article that had crushed the table slowly floated down, heavy as Mount Tai but now light as a feather.

Wan Xuezheng, quick on his feet, grabbed the inkstone, ink stick, and inked brush before the table collapsed to prevent the ink from splashing.

Nunu immediately pounced to catch the paper and show off to Fang Yun, but the paper, weighing hundreds of pounds, immediately pinned her down.

"Ying ying! Nunu! Nunu!" The little fox cried, looking at Fang Yun with tears in her eyes, desperately seeking help. She was terrified, unable to understand how such a thin piece of paper could be so heavy.

Fang Yun quickly bent down to pick up the paper. In others' hands, it weighed hundreds of pounds, but in his hands, it was light as a feather, no different from ordinary white paper.

The little fox immediately rolled to her feet, walked around the broken table, and showed no signs of injury. Then, she angrily glared at the paper, squinting her eyes, as if threatening it, treating it like a small beast that had bullied her, determined to take revenge.

Fang Yun chuckled, "This is a good thing, you mustn't damage it, understand?"

The little fox immediately hung her head, nodding, making a pitiful face as if she had been bullied and he hadn't helped her. Then, she ran behind Yang Yuhuan, standing up and hugging her leg, peeking out with a resentful look at Fang Yun.

Nunu made everyone laugh.

Fang Yun put away the original manuscript of "Inscription of a Humble Abode" and said, "Let's go inside and talk."

Fang Yun, Tang Dazhang, and Wan Xuezheng entered the house together. The people who had come with Wan Xuezheng to deliver rewards also carried various gift boxes into the courtyard, opening them one by one. There were silk fabrics, gold and silver jewelry, and in one box, a blood-red dried sea cucumber nearly two feet long, though it was cut into thin slices.

Nunu looked longingly at the dragon palace blood ginseng, circling the box, clearly very hungry but never reaching out with her paws. Finally, she let out a painful cry and ran back into the house, out of sight.

The scholars and child scholars outside the door gradually left, but this "Inscription of a Humble Abode" was even more outstanding than Fang Yun's previous poems. They gathered at the alley entrance, savoring the nation-stabilizing article, the three-mile fragrance, the page that shattered the table, and the cracked Literary Palaces, discussing the high moral character contained in "Inscription of a Humble Abode."

Those who were close to Liu Yan Yue and Guan Yaoyuan gathered around them, unsure what to do.

"Yan Yue is truly a pity, still dazed. Why did he write that twisted poem to insult Fang Yun? Even if Liu... cough, couldn't use indirect methods?"

"From now on, few will dare to attack Fang Yun head-on. A mere child scholar has a momentary literary gall, truly a prodigy."

"Yes, I'm a bit scared."

"Gentlemen, I'm not feeling well, I must take my leave. I might need to take a half-year leave to recover, and I'll take the state examination next year, not this year!" The man said, then turned and quickly left.

"Cowardly as a mouse! As long as the Left Chancellor is there, what's there to fear!" Guan Yaoyuan said weakly.

Several people exchanged glances.

When "Inscription of a Humble Abode" was completed, Li Wenyi, the head of the state literary academy, was carefully annotating the "Three-Character Classic."

"Strange! This 'Three-Character Classic' is simple and easy to understand, yet why do I feel mentally exhausted after annotating only a hundred characters each day, unable to continue? After waking up, I feel refreshed, and my literary gall is more refined, my Literary Palace seems to have strengthened. Could this 'Three-Character Classic' be more profound than the 'Pillow Story'? Forget it, if I can't understand it, I won't. Even Fang Yun probably doesn't understand. After annotating, I'll recommend this article to the 'Sage's Way,' with multiple university scholars and a great scholar reviewing it, the secrets of this article will surely be uncovered."

Li Wenyi continued writing, each stroke slow, as if the pen weighed a thousand pounds.

Suddenly, Li Wenyi stopped, grasped the official seal, and looked up at the sky. His eyes flashed with images of blue skies and white clouds, like an eagle soaring high, seeing the entire city, finally focusing on where Fang Yun was.

After carefully observing, Li Wenyi couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent! With this article to temper the gall, my chances of becoming a great scholar can increase by ten percent!"

Li Wenyi closed his eyes and recited "Inscription of a Humble Abode" involuntarily.

"Mountains need not be high..."

Li Wenyi's voice, though normal, grew louder and louder.

By the time he recited "With a dragon, it becomes spiritual," the entire state literary academy could hear him.

By the time he recited "The Western Sichuan Pavilion of Ziyun," his voice had spread across half of Jiangzhou, but most people couldn't hear it, only those with the rank of candidate or higher could.

When he finished, Li Wenyi's voice echoed across the entire sky of Jiangzhou.

"Confucius said: What is there to be ashamed of?"

Li Wenyi's heart stirred, grasped the official seal, and his talent was suddenly exhausted, drawing on some of the power of the Sage Temple, transforming into a vast, invisible righteous energy, silently sweeping across the entire Jiangzhou.

Outside Linjiang Town, a fish demon with a mouth full of blood was slowly walking towards the Yangtze River, a half-eaten man's corpse hanging from its bone spear.

The righteous energy swept over, and the fish demon felt as if it had entered boiling water, its body smoking, screaming as it rushed towards the Yangtze River. After just two steps, it fell to the ground, its body slowly turning to pus and blood.

Outside Yuhai City, a group of shrimp soldiers were feasting on three human corpses when they suddenly screamed in pain. The translucent shrimp shells burst, and they died.

Outside Wangjiatun, near the demon mountain, a golden-furred giant wolf, standing on all fours and nearly ten feet tall, had just finished eating a child scholar. It suddenly looked up at the sky, as if frightened, and quickly fled towards the demon mountain, leaving a trail of intestines behind.

However, all the righteous energy in the sky suddenly gathered, forming a ten-foot-long, intensely white pen, which struck the giant wolf.

The giant wolf's back half was shattered, the wound smoking, healing and being burned by the righteous energy repeatedly.

The demon king wolf roared to the sky, cursing in demon language, using its front legs to support its body and quickly fleeing towards the demon mountain, dragging a long trail of intestines behind it.

Li Wenyi's body swayed, sitting back in his chair, muttering to himself, "A demon king of the Heavenly Wolf clan secretly invaded Jiangzhou, for what purpose? What is the fox god it mentioned? Hmph, fortunately, 'Inscription of a Humble Abode' has tempered my literary gall, making me vigilant. Otherwise, I wouldn't have discovered this demon king. This matter must be reported to the court and the Sage Academy."

Li Wenyi's mind moved, and two pages of paper flew up, with words appearing on them.

A thought became an article.

The two pages of paper flew to the letter hall and disappeared.

Li Wenyi's face suddenly changed, "Not good! The original copy of 'Inscription of a Humble Abode'!" He took a step, and a white cloud appeared under his feet, about three feet in diameter.

Walking on the white cloud.

The so-called white cloud is not a blue cloud but a white cloud above the blue sky.

However, the white cloud immediately disappeared.

"My talent is exhausted!" Li Wenyi shouted, "Someone, prepare the carriage! Quickly! We can't let anyone get ahead."

While Li Wenyi was reciting "Inscription of a Humble Abode," Governor Sun had also seen Fang Yun through the literary treasure official seal.

Governor Sun was part of the literary chancellor's faction, aiming for the Sage's Way, not a political career. Like Li Wenyi, he silently recited the article, reciting it twice, his talent partially exhausted but his spirit better.

Governor Sun strode out, angrily saying, "Fang Yun, Cai He asked you to see me, and you didn't come, how dare you! I must ask you why you look down on me."

A child scholar advisor said, "Your Excellency, there are so many documents in the office that haven't been processed, why are you going out? Your anger is not convincing."

"Less talk, quickly prepare the carriage. If I weren't afraid of Li Wenyi reporting me, I would use a rapid travel battle poem. Cai He has 'Jixian Early Morning Journey,' and in just a few days, he wrote three letters to boast to me. I can't stand this! 'Inscription of a Humble Abode' surpasses 'Jixian Early Morning Journey' by several times. I must get it, let's go!"

The prefecture office was in the west of the city, while the state office was in the east.

Jiangzhou had a witty saying to describe the three top figures in the state literary academy, the state officials, and the military: the head of the academy is decisive, the general is fierce, and the state governor is always thinking.

At this moment, the small old man-like state governor Ge was pacing in his room, thinking.

"That is a nation-stabilizing, gall-tempering article, and the most resolute inscription, which would greatly benefit me, even compensating for my personality's weaknesses. Because the Left Chancellor and the Literary Chancellor are at an impasse, I was promoted by the Empress Dowager to be the state governor of Jiangzhou. I am still a candidate, unable to enter the Hanlin Academy, and the highest I can achieve is a third-rank state governor."

"If I can get the original copy of 'Inscription of a Humble Abode,' I have a good chance of breaking through to the Hanlin Academy. Even if I can't become a chancellor, I have a chance to become one of the six ministers or five secretaries, entering the cabinet as a councilor. At that time, I won't have to fear offending the Left Chancellor."

"But if I get 'Inscription of a Humble Abode,' it will promote Fang Yun's literary fame, inevitably angering the Left Chancellor in advance. What should I do?"

As Ge hesitated, carriages of high officials from the city hall set out from all directions, heading to the same place.

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Scholars, you are too fierce!

"The Way of the Sage" actually made it to the homepage recommendation list, entering the top fifteen! That's the domain of the greats! This is a new book!

Did you use "talking on paper" to push it up?

Please give this book a hand, more recommendation votes, to stabilize its position on the recommendation list!

Old Huo thanks you!

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