Chapter 78

"When did you become a Scholar of the Sage's Presence?" Li Yuncang asked.

"I was inspired by the Five Movements University Scholar. In fact, I only slept for two hours these past two days, reciting the classics of the sages at night. That's why I could break through this morning." Fang Yun said.

Everyone was relieved; it was very common for many scholars to be inspired and rise up.

"What about that Strange Bird demon?" Mr. Wang asked.

Everyone looked at Fang Yun, their eyes filled with gratitude.

Fang Yun said solemnly, "You know I can recite the Analects of Confucius backward, and I recited it once again yesterday. Today, when I saw the Strange Bird harming people, thinking we would all die here, I felt a deep sorrow and couldn't help but recall the heroic figures of the great scholars and semi-sages. So, I blurted out a famous line from the Analects, using the phrase 'The Master does not talk about strange things, violence, or disorder' to intimidate it. I don't know why, but the Strange Bird didn't dare to call out anymore."

Mr. Wang said with satisfaction, "You have the courage of a righteous person and the integrity of a true scholar. I've heard that an old scholar who studied the classics walked at night to send a student home and encountered a demon. In a moment of desperation to protect the student, he loudly recited Confucius's Spring and Autumn Annals, and the sound of a thousand troops charging could be heard, which frightened the demon away. I didn't expect you to be able to do this too. This is the spirit of sacrificing oneself for righteousness. Even if your achievements don't match those of the Five Movements University Scholar, they will certainly not be inferior to Yi Zhishi's."

Fang Yun said, "Mr. Wang, you flatter me. I was inspired by the three scholars, and without their self-sacrifice to delay the demon general, I wouldn't have had the courage."

"That's the best way to think. Wait a moment, I'll go help the other two kill that bear demon!"

Mr. Wang turned and left.

The crisis passed, and the students cleaned up the battlefield, especially collecting the body of the Strange Bird demon. They placed the parts of the Strange Bird, Tiger Throat, and other demons into molten iron to make large drums or drumsticks. If these were refined into literary treasures, striking the drum could break the Strange Bird's call.

While the students were tidying up the battlefield, the work of the three University Scholars of the Holy Academy's Holy Path Editorial Board was nearing completion.

The elderly and middle-aged University Scholars from last month were still there, and the new University Scholar was from the Wu Kingdom, which bordered the Jing Kingdom.

"Ah, this Fang Yun, he is truly outstanding! When I got the full text of 'Inscription of a Humble Abode,' I read it for half an hour. Just this one piece to stabilize the country and strengthen the literary spirit, how many people will be inspired to solidify their literary spirit or advance further? Especially those with remarkable talent but unstable literary spirit and lacking in classics, they owe him a great favor." The elderly University Scholar said.

"I like the line 'Where in the world is there no fragrant grass?' In the future, when I have worries, reciting 'Spring Scene' will dispel them." The middle-aged University Scholar said.

The new Wu Kingdom University Scholar, over fifty years old with a long beard, said, "Some say that although 'The Pillow Record' has educational value, isn't it too vulgar to be published alongside 'The Western Chamber' and included in the 'Holy Path'?"

"Flattery has been around for thousands of years, and now someone is unhappy about a bit of vulgarity? Is that person a ghost who doesn't eat grains, or a king who wants to treat his people like pigs and dogs? Where is Mencius's 'The people are the most important'?" The elderly University Scholar said bluntly.

The bearded University Scholar smiled awkwardly and said, "It's just what others say. I still like reading 'The Pillow Record.' This text is easy to understand and more encouraging of learning than 'The Western Chamber.' The more people who read it, the better."

"You understand well. After today's meeting in the Hall of a Hundred Sages, a semi-sage made a holy decision. Starting from the first day of the fifth month, 'The Literary Treasure' and 'The Holy Path' will uniformly study 'The Western Chamber' and 'The Pillow Record,' with new punctuation to make it easier for students and ordinary people to understand. If 'The Pillow Record' isn't included in next month's 'The Holy Path,' wouldn't the new punctuation be a joke?"

"Ah? Then it will be on the front page?"

"It doesn't have to be on the front page. Let's put it on the second page. Although it is a reformative text, it is just a natural development and doesn't enhance the fortune of our human race. It's not suitable for the front page, which will remain blank."

The middle-aged University Scholar smiled and said, "This Fang Yun. 'The Theory of Yin and Yang' and Wen Ying's 'Early Plum' each count as half a piece, so in next month's 'The Holy Path,' he will have four pieces shining together. Li Wenying personally called him a 'one-character teacher,' so his fame will be even higher."

The elderly University Scholar said, "I always feel that although 'The Three-Character Classic' is simple and straightforward, it is the best text for educating young children. Can it be published next month?"

The middle-aged University Scholar said, "I don't oppose it. After all, educating young children is also part of the Holy Path. However, 'The Three-Character Classic' is already long, and with Wen Ying's annotations, it has too many characters. Let's put it aside for now. If there are not enough poems or essays in the next few months, or if we need to add more issues, we can publish 'The Three-Character Classic.'"

"That makes sense." The bearded University Scholar said.

"That's fine." The elderly University Scholar said.

At this moment, someone pushed the door open, and a young scholar entered. He bowed neither too high nor too low and said, "The Sage has instructed that if 'The Holy Path' is finalized today, it should be submitted to the 'Eastern Sage Pavilion,' where the Sage will personally publish it to the printing workshops. The Sage also said that 'Inscription of a Humble Abode' must be included."

"We will comply." The three University Scholars stood up and said.

The young scholar bowed again and turned to leave.

The three University Scholars looked at each other.

"Why is the Sage personally handling this? You have the most experience, what do you think is happening?"

"I'm not sure, but it might be a big event."

"How can we know the Sage's thoughts? We just need to follow the instructions."

"Fang Yun is very fortunate. This is already a semi-sage's personal endorsement."

On Mount Ze, Fang Yun and others finished cleaning up the battlefield. The three scholar teachers returned, with Mr. Yu dragging a bear demon that was as big as a small mountain.

"Continue on the journey. Those demons won't come back." Mr. Wang said.

Everyone set off again.

After a few steps, Mr. Wang said, "From now on, you must not leave our sight, and you must not speak to outsiders. The matter of Fang Yun's strong soldier poem must be kept secret! At least until he passes the Jinshi exam. You are not foolish; you understand the implications."

One person said, "Mr. Wang, don't worry. This scholar's strong soldier poem is of great significance. If the rebellious scholars know it was Fang Yun, they will do everything to kill him. We will protect him with our lives!"

"Can we learn 'Capturing the King' from him?" Lu Yu asked.

Mr. Wang said, "The Holy Academy has its own way to protect him. This poem will be attributed to a mysterious University Scholar, and a blank wooden plaque will be placed in the Holy Temple. Those who wish to learn 'Capturing the King' will worship and revere the mysterious University Scholar as their teacher."

"Is it necessary to do it this way?" Fang Yun asked in surprise.

"Of course. You haven't learned other battle poems, so you don't understand. We don't use the poems from the 'Book of Songs,' but to learn Tao Sheng's 'Praising Xing Tian,' we all go to the Holy Temple to worship and revere him as our teacher, thanking him for creating this battle poem. Otherwise, we would never be able to learn it. When you become a Jinshi and have enough self-protection, you can announce that you are the original author of 'Capturing the King.' At that time, the whole world will be grateful to you."

Fang Yun said, "That's fine. I don't want to expose myself now."

"Besides the people here today, only Sword Brow Gong and the Minister of Literature in the Jing Kingdom will know. Even the king and the empress dowager won't be informed. Finally, it will be registered in the Punishment Hall to avoid accidents, and even unrelated semi-sages won't know about it. Apart from us, no more than seven people will know your identity."

Mr. Yu said, "You don't need to go to the State Literary Academy every day. You only need to report once every ten days. Focus on preparing for the exam. Take the prefectural exam in June to become a scholar and receive the fourth talent descent. Your talent will increase. If you have any questions these days, come directly to the State Literary Academy to find Mr. Wang or other teachers, and we will answer them for you. I want to see how many double firsts you can get this year."

Li Yuncang said, "I'm curious about how many literary arches can be built on the street where Fang Yun's hometown is."

Lu Yu laughed and said, "Let me count. One for a Scholar of the Sage's Presence, one for a double-first scholar, and one for a Scholar of the Sage's Presence. Being published in 'The Holy Path' will definitely result in a Holy Path arch. Even if one poem or essay can't have two arches, you already have quite a few. 'Spring Dawn,' 'End of the Year,' 'Early Morning in Jixian County,' 'The Pillow Record,' 'Inscription of a Humble Abode,' 'Butterfly Lovers in Spring Scene.' If we combine them, you already have nine literary arches. In a few years, the whole Jixian County won't be able to hold all your literary arches."

Everyone laughed.

Literary arches are buildings that commend achievements, academic success, and moral integrity, also known as paifang. The birthplaces of great scholars and semi-sages have many such arches, but for a scholar to have so many is extremely rare.

Lu Yu asked, "Can scholars of the same year be commemorated with arches?"

"No, scholars of the same year can have arches, and Jinshi of the same year can have arches. I think Fang Yun can pass the scholar, scholar, and Jinshi exams this year, but he may not get first place in the scholar or Jinshi exams, let alone a perfect score. I would rather see him spend ten years to achieve a unique perfect score and not compete for the same year's title."

"Yes, Fang Yun, a perfect score and five poems are the highest honors in the imperial exams. Don't miss the big picture for the small details!"

"Perfect score and five poems? You really have high expectations for me. Yi Zhishi couldn't even do it." Fang Yun laughed.

"Yi Zhishi couldn't write a strong soldier poem when he was a scholar! This is a scholar's strong soldier poem. Just this one poem can save thousands of soldiers each year. If the demons and barbarians invade on a large scale, it could save hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions of civilians, and kill tens of thousands of demons and barbarians! Your poem enhances the fortune of our human race and is of great merit."

Mr. Wang looked at Fang Yun and said, "Your literary rank is too low, so it's not showing now. When you become a Jinshi, your great achievements will take effect. Work hard. The more human race achievements you accumulate now, the smoother your path to sainthood will be. Think about the ancient sages; which one didn't write a groundbreaking work? And the later sages, while they may not have written as much as the ancient sages, excelled in killing enemies and achieving great deeds."

"It is said that after Tao Sheng wrote 'Understanding the Holy Path,' he secretly infiltrated the demon world to retrieve the tenth chapter of 'The Art of War,' 'Terrain,' which had been defiled, and rescued hundreds of thousands of human race people trapped in the demon world, which allowed him to become a sage."

Ning Zhiyuan asked quietly, "Mr. Wang, I heard from my family that Tao Sheng actually went to the battlefield left by Confucius to become a sage. Is that true?"

"That's just one theory. However, it is true that our human race's great scholars have been going to the battlefield of the sages, and there are indeed great secrets hidden there. But that has nothing to do with us. Well, let's not talk about this. Go back and write a summary of killing demons, no less than three thousand characters. Do not mention the final demon counterattack, and do not mention the strong soldier poem, understood?"

"Yes!" All the students answered weakly, a short sentence more demoralizing than the Strange Bird demon.

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