Chapter 50

These students, though they had not been with Fang Yun for long, had grown to like him very much. Other teachers either read from the textbook or had a stern face all day, but Fang Yun's classes were different. The content he taught seemed simple but was full of wisdom, leaving a deep impression. Even the "Three-Character Classic" and "Fox Rhymes" he compiled were far better than other primers.

In their hearts, the most important thing was that Mr. Fang was already known as the top scholar of Dayuan Prefecture, and they admired him immensely. Now, upon hearing this news, many of the children could not accept it.

He Yu Tang continued, "You should have heard about what happened yesterday. Someone insulted Mr. Fang, but Mr. Fang wrote 'Inscription of a Humble Abode' to express his resolve. They had evil intentions, so their literary palace was shattered by Mr. Fang's literary courage. Today, the Yan family sent people to block Mr. Fang outside, saying they would not let him go. Mr. Fang is young and cannot compete with a prestigious family, so he can only stay at home for now and cannot come to the clan school."

"How can the Yan family be so despicable!" one child said angrily.

"I will go to the prefecture office to file a complaint!" a child said, wiping away tears.

"When I grow up and become an official, I will lock them up in prison. They are so despicable!"

He Yu Tang sighed and said, "Mr. Fang said a few days ago that even if he passed the examination for a scholar or a provincial candidate, he would still come here to teach. But now it's hard for him to come back. To prevent the Yan family from harming you, we will only have classes for half a day today. After the noon break, you will leave through the back door. Tomorrow morning, classes will resume as usual, but if they are still there, we will only have classes for half a day. Make sure to tell your parents clearly."

He Yu Tang turned and left, and the children immediately began to discuss.

"How hateful! Mr. Fang is such a good person, how could he encounter such evil people? My uncle said that if anyone bullies me, I should find him. I will go to my uncle's house right now! He is a soldier in the city guard, and he can certainly find people to beat those evil people!"

"I don't have many people at home, but Uncle Fang and Grandpa Fang are very good to me. Since Uncle is not around, I will go to Grandpa Fang to seek justice. I am so angry, I still want to continue learning 'Rhymes' with the little fox!"

"Hmph, I will wait for three more days. If the prefecture office does nothing, I will take my parents to the state criminal court to appeal. I don't believe that even the officials of the Legalist school can't deal with them!"

At noon, the children from each class left through the back door, and the clan school became empty.

The principal, Fang Jing Tang, walked out of the main gate with a cold face, looking at eight people in mourning clothes, three men and five women.

They had been cursing all morning and were now resting. Seeing someone come, they continued to speak.

"Damn Fang Yun! Give back my son's literary palace! What a cruel person!"

"It was just a verbal dispute, and he shattered someone's literary palace. He is no different from a barbarian. Why don't the sages send lightning to strike him dead?"

"A scholar before the sages bullying people! Heaven has no eyes!"

Fang Jing Tang looked at a woman in her forties with disgust and said, "Old woman Yan, the clan school is about to close. Go away."

"Go away? Fang Yun won't kowtow and apologize to my son, I won't leave even if I die! My son is a scholar, and his literary palace is gone just like that. Only a barbarian could be so cruel!"

Fang Jing Tang said angrily, "You are lying and distorting the truth! If Yan Yue's literary palace hadn't shattered, Fang Yun would have been the one to suffer. If he had been harmed by Yan Yue and his group of beasts, wouldn't our Jing country lose a scholar before the sages? It's good that Yan Yue's literary palace shattered. I only regret that Sword Brow didn't blow him to death! Such a beast can never form a literary courage, not even a mixed literary courage!"

"You listen! You listen! You are saying that harming my nephew's future is justified. You are as ruthless as murderers! You look down on mixed literary courage? Be careful, the semi-sage Lü Buwei will send divine punishment to strike you dead! Be careful, the left chancellor will exile you!"

Fang Jing Tang sneered and said, "Pah! The practical mixed scholars are role models for us scholars, but the left chancellor takes the dregs of the mixed scholars, disrupts the court, flatters the barbarians, and harms our Jing country. He forms cliques and overthrows superiors, aspiring to be a powerful chancellor like Lü Buwei before the sages. Does he deserve to represent the mixed scholars? I advise you, if your Yan family continues to be used as a tool, you will eventually suffer a great disaster!"

After saying this, Fang Jing Tang ignored their curses and had the gatekeeper close the main gate.

Fang Yun returned home early and bought many books on the way. He couldn't store all the books in the Realm of Odd Books, so he had to display some of them.

He bought more than thirty books on the guidance for the examination of classics and quickly flipped through them on the way back.

The little fox Nu Nu followed Fang Yun seriously, looking at the books with a studious attitude. No one knew if she could understand them.

Occasionally, she would sneak a glance at Fang Yun. Once she noticed Fang Yun looking at her, she would immediately read more seriously, even nodding deeply, as if to say that what was written was reasonable.

Fang Yun roughly flipped through a dozen books and found that most of them were clichés with nothing particularly useful. He put the books down and closed his eyes to think.

"These books themselves are not problematic; the problem is with me. I understood most of the 'techniques' of the classics in one night. The Realm of Odd Books couldn't do it, the infusion of talent couldn't do it, and the literary palace couldn't do it. Could it be that the combination of these forces made my mind stronger?"

"Talent and the dragon palace blood ginseng can make my body, including my brain, stronger. The Realm of Odd Books can provide me with sufficient textual resources. The era of information explosion gave me abilities and insights that even a semi-sage doesn't possess. Combined with my hard study these days, my learning ability has become stronger."

After understanding this, Fang Yun continued to read.

At home, Fang Yun continued to study diligently.

The learning process was tedious, but the voice in his heart kept motivating him, becoming his driving force.

"I want to become a semi-sage and see the wonders of the world. I want to know if there is a higher literary rank above the sages!"

As he delved deeper into his studies, Fang Yun discovered something strange. Sometimes he found practicing calligraphy and studying the classics of the sages tedious, and occasionally he felt disgusted. However, whenever he understood some principles, or his talent increased or became more refined, he felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction deep inside.

"Perhaps this is a spiritual cleansing, similar to what Confucius said, 'If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening.'"

At noon, Master Tang visited. Upon seeing Fang Yun, he said, "I thought you were at the Fang clan school, but when I arrived, I found it closed. The Yan family was there. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It will be resolved soon. Let's talk about the contract."

So the two entered the house and negotiated the contract clause by clause.

It took the whole afternoon to finalize the contract, and Master Tang, a provincial candidate, was sweating profusely.

"If you fail the imperial examination, come to our Xuanting Bookstore. We can offer you the treatment of a metropolitan candidate," Master Tang said.

"Sure," Fang Yun smiled and agreed.

Master Tang took out ten thousand taels of silver in ten thousand taels of silver bills and handed them to Fang Yun, saying, "This is a ten thousand taels silver bill from the Holy Academy Bank. Check it carefully, and then we will go to the Literary Academy to sign the contract formally."

Fang Yun took the silver bill and examined it carefully, asking, "The paper of this silver bill is different from ordinary paper. Is it said to be mixed with the scraps of Holy Pages?"

"Indeed. The requirements for making Holy Pages are very high, and there are always a large number of discarded paper and pulp each year. Most of them are used to make silver bills or special documents."

Fang Yun nodded, put away the silver bill, and said, "Stay in the main room and have some tea. I have some private matters to discuss with Big Ox."

Fang Yun then called Big Ox and had him copy a small part of "Fox Rhymes." He then took the manuscript and went to the Literary Academy with Master Tang.

On the way, they talked about Holy Pages, and Master Tang smiled and said, "It won't be long before the Holy Academy gives you Holy Pages. You are just a child scholar now and don't know when you will go to the front lines to fight the barbarians. Do you want to sell some of the Holy Pages?"

"Do you want to buy Holy Pages? How much per page?"

"Thirty thousand taels per page."

"Didn't I hear that the dragon race is offering fifty thousand taels per page?"

"First, you have to find the dragon race. Second, you have to ensure the Holy Academy doesn't find out, or it will be considered treason against the human race. Finally, what you get is equivalent underwater jewels, not real silver bills," Master Tang said.

"I guessed the human race wouldn't let Holy Pages flow out. After all, they can double the power of battle poems and turn the virtual into the real. I want to ask you, with 'Spring Dawn,' 'End of the Year,' and 'Early Morning in Jixian' published in the 'Holy Journal,' how many Holy Pages should I get?"

"By convention, the best poem in the county examination, regardless of its level, earns one Holy Page. 'Spring Dawn' is almost a provincial poem, so it earns another page. 'End of the Year' earns one page. 'Early Morning in Jixian' is a national poem, so it earns three pages. However, at the national level, the reward of Holy Pages is secondary. The important thing is the opportunity to enter the Sea of Learning and the Holy Tower. These are too far away. When you become a metropolitan candidate and enter the Sea of Learning, you will naturally understand."

Fang Yun was purely curious, and Master Tang was afraid he would aim too high, so Fang Yun didn't ask further.

Fang Yun said, "Including the pages given by County Magistrate Cai, I only have seven Holy Pages in total. I can't bear to sell them."

"Right, Holy Pages are precious. Try to keep them for your safety. If you have more in the future and want to sell them, find me first."

Fang Yun smiled and said, "Holy Pages should have other uses, right?"

Master Tang said frankly, "Yes, generally, university scholars or higher-level literary treasures are not sold for money. They are either exchanged for other items or for Holy Pages. The families of the sages are not short of money, so they often use Holy Pages for transactions."

After signing the contract at the state literary academy, the two parted ways. Fang Yun then took the part of "Fox Rhymes" written by Big Ox to find Zhou, the clerk.

When Zhou saw Fang Yun, he put down the official documents and looked at the paper in Fang Yun's hand, joking, "It's not another piece written by child scholar Big Ox, is it?"

"It is his. It's the new 'Fox Rhymes' I compiled. It's not finished yet, so I'm filing it to avoid being stolen." Fang Yun smiled and handed the manuscript to Zhou.

"Who would dare to steal your work, Fang National?"

"Do I have a new nickname?"

Zhou smiled and said, "Of course. Two national poems in less than a month, what else could you be but Fang National? Heaven to earth, rain to wind, the continent to the sky..."

Zhou began to read "Fox Rhymes" involuntarily.

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