Chapter 80

More than thirty armored ox carts, carrying over four hundred people, drove in the direction the demon race had fled.

An Chengcai sat in the first armored ox cart, his head lowered in silence, lost in thought.

Apart from Nunu, who often glanced at him, everyone else was busy with their own tasks.

Mr. Wang said, "Recite the classics of the sages in your heart to nourish your spirit and restore your talent. Fang Yun, since you still don't know how to write battle poetry, just remember to draw your bow and shoot arrows. With County Magistrate He and General Chen, both jinshi, our battle poetry is far inferior, so there's no need for you to act. If there's any danger, use the Mountain Inkstone to escape. Your life is more important than all of ours combined, understand?"

"I will follow your instructions, sir." Fang Yun did not show off, and he also sensed the deeper meaning in Mr. Wang's words, trying not to expose himself.

An Chengcai raised his head and looked at Fang Yun, his eyes showing a bit of respect and struggle.

Fang Yun closed his eyes and silently recited "Mencius." Reciting the classics of the sages not only凝聚才气 (凝聚才气 means "凝聚" (níng jù) "to condense" + "才气" (cái qì) "talent," which can be translated as "condense talent" or "focus talent"), but also restored consumed talent more quickly.

"My talent is like water. In terms of 'quality,' it's not inferior to a juren, but in 'quantity,' it falls short, so I can't create battle poetry at the juren level. I wonder if there's a way to increase my current talent."

Fang Yun searched in the World of Strange Books and soon found a line in a piece of wild history: "The Supreme Literary Heart, with talent as high as eight dou, can win with one against eight."

"Originally, 'talent as high as eight dou' was praise for Cao Zhi, one of the three great talents of the Cao family. Cao Cao was the most famous, but Cao Zhi had the most talent, yet was killed by Cao Pi. But what does it mean to connect 'talent as high as eight dou' with the 'Supreme Literary Heart'? Why 'win with one against eight' instead of 'fight with one against eight'?"

When his talent was restored, Fang Yun opened his eyes and, seeing Mr. Yu was free, asked softly, "Mr. Yu, what is the 'Supreme Literary Heart'? What is 'talent as high as eight dou'?"

"‘Talent as high as eight dou’ means Cao Zhi alone possessed eight parts of the world's talent, nothing special, everyone knows it. As for the 'Supreme Literary Heart,' I've never heard of it, but it might be in the ninth mountain of the Book Mountain. However, I know that each literary heart is divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. The most common literary heart is 'Swift Writing.' It's said that those who get the lower grade can write a sentence in one breath, while those who get the upper grade can write a poem in one breath."

"Ah? That fast? Even faster than the demons using their magic." Fang Yun was surprised. He thought writing battle poetry would take a lot of time, but if he got the upper grade 'Swift Writing,' he could write a battle poem in just a second, which was incredibly fast.

Mr. Yu smiled and said, "You underestimate our human race and the sages. 'Swift Writing' is just an ordinary literary heart. Above it, there are even more amazing ones, like 'Empty Paper' and 'False Words,' which are incredibly powerful! However, literary hearts are hard to come by, and upper-grade literary hearts are even rarer. But we all have high hopes for you. You becoming a xiucai and climbing the Book Mountain won't necessarily get you a literary heart, but becoming a juren and climbing again will definitely get you one! You are one of the candidates for the next generation's Four Great Talents!"

Fang Yun smiled modestly, "Don't say that. A new set of Four Great Talents is born every ten years in the ten countries, and each one, if they don't die, will become a great scholar. I'm not there yet."

"You can do it." Mr. Wang opened his eyes and said.

The others nodded, but no one explained the reason in front of outsiders: since Fang Yun could already write strong soldier poetry, he was not only one of the candidates for the next generation's Four Great Talents but also one of the strongest candidates.

An Chengcai looked at Fang Yun with even more respect and some shame.

Mr. Yu smiled and said, "Actually, I hope you keep a low profile. If you become too prominent and rise rapidly in two or three years, pushing the last of the current Four Great Talents down, it would be quite amusing, ha ha."

Everyone smiled. Although this had never happened before, if it did, it would certainly be interesting.

Only An Chengcai did not laugh.

Lu Yu, seeing An Chengcai was very nervous, consoled him, "We have two jinshi and nine juren, including one jinshi and four juren who are military officers with rich experience. They all have the strength to kill demon generals individually. Our enemies are only four demon generals, and we have more than enough to kill them. Demon generals are just slightly stronger juren. As for those demon soldiers and demon civilians, they are nothing."

An Chengcai kept his head down and said nothing.

Mr. Wang said, "Lu Yu, don't underestimate that demon turtle. It's as big as a house and is likely to have formed a pseudo-dragon pearl. A pseudo-dragon pearl can hold the water of a large river, imagine how heavy it is. If it falls, even a jinshi could be crushed to death. General Chen doesn't need to lead the charge to kill the demon generals; he's probably afraid the demon turtle has a pseudo-dragon pearl. If it does, he might need to seek help."

"What use is a pseudo-dragon pearl?" Fang Yun asked.

"If a pseudo-dragon pearl falls into our hands, it has two uses. One is to refine it into a literary treasure, preferably something related to water, like 'Canglang Journey.' It would increase the power of a literary treasure by at least twice and can be used continuously. The second use is to eat it, which would make you immune to wind and waves, allowing you to part water and move through it, with some unique effects. However, don't think about the pseudo-dragon pearl; think about how to save your life."

"Turtles have a very high status among fish demons, second only to the dragon race. The most terrifying thing about demon turtles is their hard shells. Once they activate their demon blood, scholars of the same level can't break through their defenses. Fortunately, Chen Xi and County Magistrate He are both jinshi. If nothing goes wrong, they can gradually wear down the demon turtle's vitality and eventually kill it. If it were juren, they might be killed before they could wear it down." Mr. Wang said.

Mr. Yu said, "A single demon turtle with pseudo-dragon blood isn't scary, but what's scary is that this mountain is full of demons. If the dragon turtle attracts a large number of demons, we will all be buried here. That's why even General Chen said we will only pursue for one day. If we don't see the demons by tomorrow morning, we will return."

"Will we be that unlucky?" Ning Zhiyuan whispered.

"Many more unlucky people exist. Many talented xiucai and juren have suffered because of bad luck, with their literary palaces shattered, their literary gall bladders broken, or even died. But with two jinshi here, you don't need to worry too much."

"Anyway, we will only kill demon soldiers and demon civilians, staying far from the demon turtle. Jinshi aren't afraid of the demon turtle, but if the demon turtle goes crazy and attacks us, the jinshi might not be able to stop it."

Everyone recalled the previous incident with the strange bird and felt a lingering fear. If it weren't for Fang Yun, they would already be dead.

"Being cautious is always right." Mr. Wang sighed and looked out the window.

The demons left many traces along the way. Chen Xi, with his rich combat experience, led the way at a fast pace.

After about fifteen minutes, all the armored ox carts slowed down because the demons had left the main road and entered a hilly area.

The oxen were incredibly strong, but pulling people up slopes was still difficult.

Chen Xi ordered everyone to get off the carts and walk, selecting six carts to carry three days' worth of supplies and weapons. The cart drivers chose six carts, each pulled by six oxen, with people pushing on the slopes and holding the carts on the way down, ensuring the carts could travel through the hills.

Everyone followed the demons' tracks and eventually arrived at a large forest.

The trees in the forest were tall and dense, with small gaps between them, and the ground was uneven. Even if the carts could travel through the forest, they would quickly fall apart from the shaking.

Everyone stopped at the edge of the forest, first sending out a scouting team, then Chen Xi ordered everyone to carry two days' worth of dry rations and wear complete armor and weapons.

Fang Yun chose a bow and arrow, while the other students put on armor.

An Chengcai also chose a bow and arrow and carried a sharp dagger.

Most of the soldiers wore armor on their upper bodies. They had all received the power of encouragement poems before coming, making it easy for them to carry a hundred pounds of equipment.

Chen Xi then gave orders, arranged the troops, and emphasized the military rules.

From now on, everyone here was a soldier.

The students from the State Literary Academy had previously killed demons, but that was just for training. At that time, they were still students. Now, they were soldiers!

The three juren teachers were better off, but Fang Yun and the fifteen xiucai had to force themselves to change their mindset to adapt to this real military life. If they were careless, they could be punished by military law, and if they made a big mistake, they could be executed.

In the army, there was no distinction between before and after the sages; there were only superiors and subordinates, only orders and killing.

The dense canopy of the primeval forest blocked the sunlight, making the forest slightly dark. The rotten leaves on the ground emitted a musty smell, and the occasional passing of poisonous insects or snakes and rats made everyone more tense.

More than four hundred people moved quickly forward.

General Chen Xi and County Magistrate He led the way, with a sixth-grade lieutenant on each side. The three teams formed a pin shape, with the students from the State Literary Academy in the middle, and a seventh-grade captain at the rear.

Fang Yun took a deep breath and carefully observed his surroundings. He no longer saw himself as a student on a trial but as a new recruit, observing how the veterans chose their paths, dealt with poisonous insects, and conserved their energy.

Fang Yun noticed that, apart from the civil servants from Mi County and the State Literary Academy, the army included one jinshi, four juren, and at least thirty xiucai, a ratio far exceeding that of ordinary armies, clearly indicating they were elite troops.

As they pursued the demons, night fell. At around seven in the evening, they rested for three quarters of an hour to eat, then continued their journey.

The forest was pitch black. Scholars of the tongsheng rank or higher had night vision and were not afraid to travel at night, but the ordinary soldiers could not, so the formation had to be tightened. A lieutenant held up a literary treasure embedded with many night pearls, which was originally used for underwater lighting but was also effective here.

By nine o'clock at night, they found a chaotic area in the forest with many large trees broken and some areas covered in poison. There were over a hundred demon corpses, including fish demons and mountain demons, indicating that the demon snake or demon turtle had summoned mountain demons.

Chen Xi paused for a moment, carefully examined the battle site, and, with a serious expression, said that two more demon generals had joined, warning everyone to be cautious before continuing.

Fang Yun, while walking, recalled the map of Jiangzhou he had seen at the State Literary Academy.

This should be the Black Curved Mountain, a branch of the Wild Demon Mountain. The mountain was not very steep, and further ahead was the summit, from where the Yangtze River could be seen.