Our Atmosphere Is Bad

The carriage swayed. Li Muge steadied himself, paused, then continued, "Over time, the plants and trees of the previous era became combustible calamity ash. These kilns and Smelting Plants use calamity ash as fuel, refining ores to create things."

Su Yun asked, "If plants and trees turned into calamity ash, then what about the people of the previous era? What did they turn into?"

Li Muge hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "That, I don't know."

The view ahead gradually brightened. Su Yun looked out through the window and saw layer upon layer of light in the distant sky. Those lights floated in the air, arranged neatly one above another.

Even more remarkable, there was not merely one row of such lights, but hundreds upon hundreds!

"Senior Student Muge, what are those lights over there?" Su Yun asked.

Li Muge looked a little embarrassed. "If you don't mind, just call me senior brother. I'll call you junior brothers. Senior student and junior student are how people from the Eastern Capital address one another. Here in the Northern Frontier, we call each other senior brother and junior brother."

Su Yun and Flower Fox had learned the terms senior student and junior student from the Ancient Books of Dragon Burial Mound, and did not know the customs of the Northern Frontier.

The Ancient Books of Dragon Burial Mound were written by Scholars of Tiandao Academy. Could Tiandao Academy not be an official school of the Northern Frontier, but rather an official school of the Eastern Capital? Su Yun wondered.

Li Muge glanced out the window and smiled. "Those are buildings."

"Buildings?"

Su Yun, Flower Fox, and the others were all dumbfounded. "Buildings that tall?"

If those lights were lights inside buildings, then wouldn't the top floors be among the clouds?

How could there be such tall buildings in the world?

The tallest structure in Tianmen Town, the Heaven Gate, was only several zhang high. How could there be buildings that reached into the clouds?

Li Muge asked curiously, "You've never seen buildings before?"

Su Yun and the four little ones shook their heads together. Hu Buping said, "There aren't buildings that tall in the countryside!"

"Ever since Lou Ban the Sage invented building construction, buildings have grown taller and taller. In the past, buildings could be at most a hundred feet high. Now, ones a thousand or ten thousand feet high can be built!"

Li Muge said, "In the past, buildings were made from timber. The finest timber took thousands of years to grow. Once felled and made into pillars, it could only be several zhang tall and support a few floors. Build any higher, and the wood could not bear the strain. That was why palaces had only a few stories, or simply one grand hall. Nowadays, buildings are made with artifact-refining methods. Applying artifact-refining methods to construction was Lou Ban the Sage's great innovation."

"Lou Ban the Sage?"

Flower Fox, Li Xiaofan, and the others revealed worshipful expressions. "This person became a sage by building houses!"

Su Yun was startled. The Ghosts and Gods he had encountered outside that great person's shrine the previous night had also been named Lou Ban.

Moreover, that Lou Ban knew Qiu Shuijing. He said that, like Qiu Shuijing, he too belonged to the New Learning. Lou Ban had even given Su Yun a square Wooden Box, saying it was a key, and told him to take it underground in Shuofang City to see whether the things he had hidden there still remained.

Could this Lou Ban be the same Lou Ban the Sage Li Muge had spoken of, the one who applied artifact-refining methods to building construction?

It couldn't be that much of a coincidence, could it? Su Yun thought.

"Lou Ban never became a sage. The Great Emperor of the Eastern Capital never bestowed sainthood upon him, only the title of Celestial Master. After his death, a Celestial Master Lou shrine was built to honor him."

Li Muge said, "In the past, sages were those whose learning ran deep, whose teachings spread far and wide, whose disciples filled the world, and whose learning became Major Schools of Thought, such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. That was why they were revered as sages. Later, the emperors of Yuanshuo could no longer endure it and wanted to confer gods and sages themselves, so sages gradually became those appointed by emperors. But among the common folk, Lou Ban is called Sage Lou."

When officials did not confer gods, the people did; when officials did not confer sages, the people did. Yuanshuo's circumstances were truly astonishing.

Su Yun felt a leisurely stir in his heart. My stall friend Lou Ban has no idea that people have already revered him as a sage after his death. When I return home and meet him, I must tell him this!

"Junior Brother Yun, have you ever seen a Spirit Divine Weapon? Spirit Divine Weapons are forged from special metals and materials, fused with Spiritual Abilities through sacrificial refinement, then tempered a thousand times over and honed into weapons."

Li Muge said, "Spirit Divine Weapons are exceptionally tough, indestructible. Spirit Scholars like us can easily crush rocks and bend steel, yet we cannot destroy Spirit Divine Weapons. Lou Ban incorporated the techniques of forging Spirit Divine Weapons into building houses. All his life, he refined houses as though they were spirit weapons! That is why Yuanshuo's buildings are equally unbreakable and grow taller and taller! I heard that in the Eastern Capital, there are already buildings two or three thousand zhang tall. They truly dwell alongside immortals!"

Su Yun, Flower Fox, and the others were captivated, wishing they could go see them immediately.

"After Sage Lou mastered the art of constructing buildings with the methods used to forge spirit weapons, the first thing he built was our Shuofang City."

Li Muge said leisurely, "Only after he became famous in Shuofang was he summoned by the Great Emperor to the Eastern Capital to build that city. He turned building construction into a Major School of Thought on par with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Wenchang Academy now even offers architecture as a course, on equal footing with Confucian studies!"

Su Yun listened, utterly absorbed, while the Land Candle Dragon gradually slowed.

The Candle Dragon had already carried them into Shuofang City. It strode into the city, bearing eighty small wooden buildings on its back. The passengers inside the wooden buildings had begun packing their belongings, preparing to disembark.

Flower Fox pushed open the window and looked outside. The streets were ablaze with lanterns and revelry, flower lanterns hanging everywhere amid brilliant decorations.

Su Yun also seized the chance to look outside. The city lay beneath a hazy night mist, with towering buildings rising among its streets and piercing the clouds.

He studied the nearest building. Every floor of the high-rise resembled a palace, with traditional bracket sets and supporting beams around each level, long eaves stretching outward, their corners like flying wings and swallow tails.

The Land Candle Dragon exhaled, and white mist spread low across the ground in every direction. The Candle Dragon moved slower and slower, yet it had already arrived before that towering building.

Su Yun leaned half his body out the window and continued examining it. On the eaves of every palace-like floor stood stone ridge-beast carvings, such as immortals pointing the way.

He looked upward. The high-rise was octagonal, with no telling how many rooms. It had sixty-four floors in all, each around thirteen or fourteen feet high, making it perhaps eighty or ninety zhang tall—far taller than ordinary mountains.

The topmost floor was built like the roof of a palace hall, an octagonal multi-tiered tower like an imperial palace, brilliantly lit from above!

Then a second high-rise appeared before him, even taller than the first!

A third building emerged, again much taller than the second.

Towering buildings and grand residences shot straight into the heavens. Their lights illuminated the cloudtops, dyeing even the clouds a riot of scarlet and purple.

More remarkable still, aerial bridges connected these towering buildings and grand residences. Su Yun looked up to see pedestrians walking upon bridges high among the clouds, as though they were traveling through a city in the sky.

"The aerial bridges between these buildings lead everywhere. They are wide enough for four or five carriages abreast. The people living up there might never need to set foot on the ground for their entire lives!" Li Muge said with a smile.

Hu Buping, Li Xiaofan, and Qingqiu Yue, the three little demon children, also poked their heads out, their eyes wide as they let out cries of amazement.

Rows upon rows of cloud-piercing buildings filled their sight. The structures flickered with lights of every color, and the aerial bridges spread like branches. This scene of Shuofang City truly resembled a forest forged from steel: the buildings were its trees, while the crisscrossing roads were their roots.

"The Raoshou of Linyi Village once told us that the city was like a steel forest. It really is."

Su Yun leaned against the carriage window and quietly watched the world outside. Raoshou said the city was a hundred times more dangerous than Tianshiyuan, that city people ate people without even spitting out the bones. Was that true?

Beside him, Li Muge smiled. "Junior Brother Su Yun, Junior Brother Flower Fox, since you have come to seek learning, why not attend our Wenchang Academy? Wenchang Academy ranks near the top among Shuofang City's official schools. This season is precisely when we recruit next year's new Scholars. As long as you pass the assessment, you can enroll."

Su Yun was rather tempted and was about to offer his thanks when Flower Fox asked, "Wenchang Academy ranks near the top, so who ranks first?"

Li Muge's expression became somewhat unpleasant. He said resentfully, "Naturally, Shuofang Academy ranks first... But Wenchang Academy is truly formidable! Last year, Wenchang Academy surpassed Moxia Academy among Shuofang's official schools and ranked third!"

Su Yun and Flower Fox exchanged a glance. It seems Wenchang Academy is not all that impressive. It probably never ranked third in the past and only happened to claw its way up there by chance.

Li Muge saw through their thoughts. His face reddened, and he stammered anxiously as he argued, "In terms of results, Wenchang Academy is no worse than them! It's just that our school atmosphere is bad, and it held us back! Really, our atmosphere is bad, but our results are excellent! You definitely won't regret applying to Wenchang Academy!"

Su Yun's heart stirred slightly. He felt that his injuries had healed considerably; clearly, Shuofang City's medicines were highly effective against such wounds.

Only his right arm still burned with pain, showing no sign of improvement.

He had forcibly used his right arm to unleash that Immortal Sword strike that killed the white ape, slaying Ancestor Yuan San. In that instant, the terrifying impact of his qi and blood had nearly ground the muscles of his right arm to pulp!

Even with Shuofang's spiritual medicine, it would not heal in less than ten days or so!

The Land Candle Dragon finally arrived at Shuofang Station. This station was many times larger than Tianshiyuan Station, with official roads branching in all directions toward different cities.

As the Land Candle Dragon entered the station, Su Yun and the others saw several other Candle Dragon Carriages arriving from elsewhere, travel-worn and dusty, also entering the station.

Several enormous Candle Dragons let out deep dragon roars, greeting one another. Spirit Scholars fetched water to wash away the heat from the Candle Dragons' bodies, while others led over cattle and sheep for them to eat.

The passengers began disembarking. Crowds flowed endlessly through the station. Su Yun and Flower Fox held the hands of the three little foxes as they squeezed through the crowd and stood at the station entrance. Gazing at the vast and incomparably prosperous Shuofang City, their minds went blank for a moment, and they did not know where to go.

Snow had actually begun falling in Shuofang City that winter. The flakes were as large as goose feathers, drifting down and sending a chill through their collars.

Li Muge carried a huge bundle on his back and several more in his hands. He squeezed out of the crowd with difficulty and smiled. "Brothers, if you have nowhere to stay, come to my place. I rented a house in the city! Tomorrow, I'll take you to try Wenchang Academy and test your luck. Perhaps you'll get into Wenchang Academy! Wenchang Academy is very difficult to enter, really, I'm not lying to you. Other than the atmosphere being a little poor, we're still a good school!"

Flower Fox looked troubled. He raised his head toward Su Yun and whispered, "Little Yun, what do you think...?"

Su Yun lowered his voice. "We have nowhere to stay, so we'll go to his place for the night first. Tomorrow, we'll accompany him to take a look at Wenchang Academy. If things look bad, we'll turn around and leave. We absolutely cannot jump into a cesspit!"

Flower Fox and the little foxes nodded repeatedly. Hu Buping whispered, "From what Brother Muge says, Wenchang Academy must be a huge cesspit..."

Seeing that they had agreed, Li Muge excitedly led them outside. "The place I live is beside the Calamity Ash Factory. It's a little noisy, but the price is cheap, so make do for one night. Early tomorrow morning, we'll head to the academy!"

Flower Fox asked curiously, "Why doesn't Senior Brother live with his family?"

Li Muge's expression became somewhat unnatural. "I've grown up. I want to make a career for myself. If I stayed at home, I'd only have to endure my father's looks. I want to prove that I'm no worse than him!"

Zhai Zhu: The annual meeting is over, heading home! Calamity ash was an ancient name for coal. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, someone dug up coal but did not know what it was. Emperor Wu summoned a monk from the Western Regions to ask him, and the monk said that this thing was called calamity ash, transformed from the people and objects of the previous era.