Chapter 54

The little fox sat on the desk, curiously looking at the paper. It was just writing a few words; why was Fang Yun so solemn? Was he about to produce even more powerful poetry or prose?

The little fox immediately widened her eyes and waited earnestly.

In Fang Yun's mind, the famous Song Dynasty statesman, literary figure, and great poet Wen Tianxiang's masterpiece "The Song of Righteousness" appeared.

"Between heaven and earth there is righteous energy, which is assigned to all things in a mixed manner. Below, it forms rivers and mountains; above, it forms the sun and stars..."

All the words and punctuation marks of "The Song of Righteousness," totaling 360, appeared in his mind. Fang Yun's heart was stirred, and he slowly put pen to paper.

Heaven.

When Fang Yun finished the last stroke of the character "Heaven," nothing happened, and he breathed a sigh of relief, continuing to write the character "Earth."

The moment the character "Earth" was completed, Fang Yun suddenly felt his Literary Palace gently shake, and the stars in the Literary Palace's sky also trembled.

Fang Yun frowned slightly and wrote the third character, "You."

Fang Yun's body swayed, and he quickly used his left hand to steady the desk. Suddenly, a large amount of sweat broke out all over his body, and he felt his strength being drained. The talent in his Literary Palace decreased rapidly, like the fuse of a firecracker being lit.

The pen did not stop, and the words "Heaven Earth You" appeared on the paper. Before the fourth character was finished, these three and a half characters suddenly changed color, turning into golden characters that emitted a dazzling golden light.

The golden light illuminated the entire room.

Nunu opened her small mouth in surprise. She felt a majestic aura from these few characters, which made her instinctively feel fear, yet she also sensed that this power would not harm her.

Fang Yun continued writing. As he was about to finish the fifth stroke of the character "Zheng," a deafening sound suddenly rang in his ears, like a mountain collapsing or stars colliding. Fang Yun's vision blurred, his body tilted, and he loosened his grip, unable to hold the Demon-Exorcising Pen any longer.

With a thud, the Demon-Exorcising Pen fell on the desk, and the three and a half golden characters suddenly burst into flames without any fire. The entire paper burned, but it did not damage the desk or anything else, leaving not even a speck of ash.

Nunu did not care about this strange phenomenon. Instead, she pounced onto Fang Yun's leg, looking up with concern at his sweat-soaked, pale face. Her eyes were moist, and she was almost on the verge of tears.

"Ying ying? Ying ying?" Nunu asked softly, placing her front paws on Fang Yun's abdomen.

Fang Yun sat in the chair, weakly reaching out to pat Nunu's head. "It's fine. I'll take a nap."

Fang Yun struggled to get into bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep, but his mind was still racing.

"It seems 'The Song of Righteousness' is not an ordinary masterpiece. The righteous energy contained in the text, which is just and powerful, perfectly aligns with this world. Once I complete it, my Literary Rank will likely soar, but I don't have the corresponding strength, so I can't write it now."

"Mencius is the founder of the concept of righteous energy. In 'Mencius,' Mencius once said, 'Cultivate my righteous energy.' When Gong Sun Chou asked him what righteous energy was, Mencius said it was 'difficult to explain,' indicating that his righteous energy was not yet perfected. However, 'The Song of Righteousness' well articulates the power of righteous energy."

"If Mencius' righteous energy, which was not perfected, could still make him a Sub-Sage, what level would he reach if it were perfected?"

"Confucius said to achieve benevolence, and Mencius said to uphold righteousness."

"Confucius' 'benevolence' is the highest path, while Mencius' 'righteousness' is likely the strongest power. Benevolence and righteousness are like a person's wisdom and strength. However, Confucius perfected 'benevolence,' which is why he became a Sage, while Mencius' 'righteousness' and righteous energy lack a crucial element, which is why he is only a Sub-Sage."

"Could 'The Song of Righteousness' be the key element of 'righteousness'?"

"Confucius cultivated the path but did not cultivate power to the extreme. If he had also cultivated 'righteousness' to the extreme, would he have reached a higher Literary Rank? Is there anything else that can be compared to 'benevolence' and 'righteousness'?"

Fang Yun was incredibly excited. He never expected that writing just three and a half characters would bring him to the edge of the world's supreme power. Although it was just the edge, it was enough to see a clear direction.

"Before, I wrote poems and prose, but it was never solid. Now that I know the direction and what I should cultivate, I feel at ease."

"Confucius said to achieve benevolence, and Mencius said to uphold righteousness. I must achieve both!"

Fang Yun's mind entered his Literary Palace.

The Literary Palace was 3,000 feet long and wide, built from massive green stones, rough and primitive. In the depths of the Literary Palace, there was a statue of Fang Yun, and in front of the statue was a manifestation of Fang Yun's mind, identical to the real Fang Yun.

Fang Yun noticed that due to the earlier tremor, a few of the massive stones in the Literary Palace had slightly shifted, but there were no cracks. Reading for a few days would restore it.

His talent had not changed.

Fang Yun breathed a sigh of relief and casually looked up, only to be stunned.

In the center of the Literary Palace's starry sky, the stars that represented masterpieces had been pushed aside, and a new vortex made of countless glowing star fragments had appeared. The vortex slowly rotated counterclockwise, creating a tremendous pressure.

"Isn't that the Literary Gallbladder Vortex? After becoming a Scholar, one can form the Literary Gallbladder Vortex by worshipping at the Sage Temple, and then condense the Literary Gallbladder. But why do I have a Literary Gallbladder Vortex now? Could it be related to 'The Song of Righteousness'? Or did I accidentally understand the secrets of 'benevolence' and 'righteousness'?"

Fang Yun thought for a long time but could not figure it out, so he gave up.

"One step at a time. The early appearance of the Literary Gallbladder should be a good thing."

Fang Yun thought to himself and fell into a deep sleep.

When "The Song of Righteousness" burned, the sages of the Holy Yuan Continent, the three regions of the Barbarian Tribes, the four seas of the Dragon Race, and the five realms of the Demon Race all looked up at the sky.

Holy Yuan Continent.

"The trajectory of the Literary Star has slightly changed. Is it a coincidence or a sign of great change? Is it a disaster or a blessing?"

Demon Race.

"Perhaps it's a great opportunity for our demon race to enslave the human race!"

"I want to eat a Sub-Sage!"

Barbarian Tribes.

"Our barbarian race will surely rule the Central Plains!"

"In this world, the barbarian race is supreme!"

Dragon Race.

"Let's just not fall into the sea."

Fang Yun woke up after an hour, feeling particularly comfortable. He entered the Literary Palace and found that it had completely returned to normal, except that the stars in the Literary Palace were slightly dimmer.

"Chen Sage's collection mentions that the stars in the Literary Palace have the function of repairing and enhancing the Literary Palace. Therefore, the more masterpieces, the stronger the Literary Palace."

Fang Yun opened his eyes and saw the little fox sitting in front of him, her eyes bright and fixed on him, looking serious and solemn, like a puppy guarding its sick owner.

Fang Yun smiled and said, "Thank you, Nunu. I'm completely fine now."

Nunu looked doubtful, leaned in to sniff him, then smiled and extended her pink tongue to gently lick Fang Yun's face.

Fang Yun was also very happy and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

The little fox immediately blushed, let out a shy cry, and darted into the bamboo basket, her back facing Fang Yun, but her wagging tail revealed her happy mood.

As noon approached, Fang Yun was still practicing calligraphy when Yang Yuhuan and Jiang Pozi returned.

Yang Yuhuan gently pushed open Fang Yun's door and then quietly closed it.

Fang Yun put the book on the desk and stood up to look at Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Yuhuan's gaze was very complex, filled with gratitude, shyness, worry, happiness, and a special emotion that made Fang Yun's heart itch.

"Big Sister Yuhuan," Fang Yun smiled.

Yang Yuhuan stared into Fang Yun's eyes and asked, "How could you bear to transfer such a valuable house to me?"

"How could you bear to waste your life on me?" Fang Yun asked.

"I... I am your foster wife," Yang Yuhuan's face turned red, and a hint of coquettishness flashed in her eyes.

"I am your future husband. What's the problem with giving you some things? It's all I should do."

"But... but I feel you are too good to me," Yang Yuhuan said, moved.

Fang Yun took Yang Yuhuan's hand and said softly, "Even if you were ten thousand times better, you wouldn't be as good to me as I am to you. This is just the beginning. In the future, I will treat you even better."

"Um," Yang Yuhuan quickly pulled her hand away, embarrassed to let Fang Yun hold it.

Fang Yun reached out to touch the phoenix hairpin on Yang Yuhuan's head and asked, "Did Aunt Fang give this to you? It's very beautiful, but you are even more beautiful."

Yang Yuhuan blushed and said, "Yes, Aunt Fang gave it to me."

"You are so beautiful. In the future, wear more jewelry. If you want something, just take the money and buy it. You don't need to ask me. You are half the master of our Fang family, understand?"

"I understand," Yang Yuhuan felt even more moved. She had always been afraid that Fang Yun would not value her after he became successful, but he treated her even better and paid more attention to her.

Fang Yun asked, "How is the house?"

Yang Yuhuan smiled shyly and said, "I don't know much about it, but it seems very large. Aunt Fang and her people thoroughly inspected it and said it was excellent, the kind of house that only noble families live in. She also said that our family doesn't have enough people, so she will send some maids, servants, or guards from the Fang residence. Otherwise, such a large house would be too empty. She also suggested that Jiang Pozi go to our hometown in Ji County to find some people you know, as family members are more trustworthy than outsiders."

Fang Yun nodded and said, "In the future, you won't need to do housework. You can visit Aunt Fang more often and learn from her how to manage a large family."

"Um. By the way, Aunt Fang said that Uncle Fang sent her a message yesterday, asking her to select some reliable young scholars and veteran soldiers to come to our house for you to choose as long-term attendants."

Fang Yun smiled and said, "Uncle Fang is very thoughtful. Actually, finding ordinary veteran soldiers would be enough, but he even found young scholar veterans. I am just a young scholar. Uncle Fang must not be that meticulous; it must be Aunt Fang's idea. I'll wait at home and choose a couple. More than that is unnecessary. When can we move into that house?"

"I think we can move in today, but Aunt Fang is being meticulous and said she will have people clean it for three days."

"Then we'll wait three days. I'll pretend to be sick for three days."

"Um. I'll go cook," Yang Yuhuan turned and left.

Nunu quietly walked to Fang Yun's feet and tugged at his pants.

Fang Yun looked down and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ying ying!" Nunu pointed to her bamboo basket and made a hugging gesture with her front paws, spreading them out like human arms.

Fang Yun asked, "Do you want a bigger place to live?"

"Ying ying!" Nunu nodded excitedly, putting her paws together in a pleading gesture, her fluffy tail wagging.

"Since the house is so large, I can give you a separate room. How about that?" Fang Yun asked.

Nunu was overwhelmed with gratitude, leaped up, and hugged Fang Yun's neck, giving him a kiss on the face.

Page break for ads

Page break for ads