Martyr

The Celestial Academy selected new students every year, and it had never drawn much attention. It was only because Chu He had enrolled this year that so many eyes had turned toward it.

Yet no one had imagined that the one who resonated with the Heavenly Book would not be Chu He.

Ji You?

There were no Aristocratic Clans surnamed Ji in the Qingyun World, so that night's light of the Heavenly Book sparked countless discussions.

By the time Cao Jinsong received the news, it was already deep into the night. He nearly wept for joy.

The young man he had found in Yuyang County was extraordinary indeed—truly extraordinary!

Besides him, someone else had arrived at Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake early and waited outside. When Ji You emerged, he handed him a calling card.

The card came from Prince Chong. Its words were earnest in their congratulations, saying that he had arrived in such haste on the day of enrollment that he had not brought enough cards, for which he was deeply ashamed, and so on. It also said that, having heard Ji You had resonated with the Heavenly Book yesterday, Prince Chong had specially prepared a banquet at his residence and invited him to drink and make merry.

Ji You smiled as he read the card, then handed it back to the servant.

He had no favorable impression of immortal sects, and even less of bureaucrats.

If the immortal sects were the chief culprits behind the people's misery, then Great Xia could hardly be considered anything but an accomplice.

Rather than exchange hollow pleasantries with politicians and officials, he might as well go comprehend the Dao through the Heavenly Book.

At that thought, Ji You suddenly recalled the woman in the red dress he had seen yesterday, as well as those slender, petite, snow-white jade feet.

Mm, the Dao of feet was also a Dao.

Ji You stretched lazily and stepped out of the courtyard, heading for Immortal Cuisine House. The moment he entered, he ran into Lu Qingqiu's group, with Fang Ruoyao following behind them.

Lu Qingqiu gazed at him for a moment, then suddenly revealed a faint smile and gave him a slight salute.

If Ji You had merely been a rustic independent cultivator yesterday, then today... he was different.

Resonating with the Heavenly Book meant he already had one foot in the Inner Court. Even she, the young lady of Yunzhou, seemed to have developed some intention of befriending him.

Ji You did not become arrogant merely because he had resonated with the Heavenly Book. After returning her salute with clasped hands, he headed for the food counter.

After looking over the dazzling array of dishes, he chose a plate of stir-fried Immortal Gathering Grass. Then, because his pockets were empty, he began pondering today's robbery list...

After eating, Ji You returned to Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake, only to find another servant waiting outside the entrance.

He initially assumed it was another calling card from Prince Chong. Yet after taking it and glancing at it, his brow furrowed, and he immediately headed down the mountain.

At that moment, officers and soldiers in Shengjing city were posting an imperial proclamation along Yong'an Street. Ji You swept his eyes over it, then took a winding route to Chunhua Post Station in Chunhua Alley.

"Top scholar...?"

Kuang Cheng had slept unconscious for three days and three nights. Now, full of energy, he nodded. "Mm."

Ji You stared blankly at Kuang Cheng. "How much is the salary? Can you give me half?"

"If I haven't been assigned an actual post, where would the salary come from?"

Ji You froze. He had received Kuang Cheng's note that morning, and it had contained the words "passed with high honors."

What he had not expected even more was that Kuang Cheng had actually taken first place as the top scholar. On his way here, Ji You had sighed all along the road, thinking, As expected, Yuyang County produces talents in abundance.

And yet there was no salary...

After pondering for a long while, Kuang Cheng finally spoke. "Actually, I still have to thank Brother Ji for this."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"I wrote an essay using the line, 'Since ancient times, who has lived without death? Let a loyal heart shine upon the annals of history,' and His Majesty personally selected me as the top scholar..."

The teasing smile on Ji You's face slowly vanished upon hearing those words.

He knew that the Emperor of Great Xia had long wished to revive imperial authority, but Chancellor Wei and Prince Chong had jointly gripped the court in their hands, leaving him without capable people to use.

That was why he had expanded the imperial examinations this year and summoned the Divine General of the North back to hold the fort. He wanted to rectify officialdom.

But the Emperor would not employ just anyone. What he wanted were those who were unafraid to die—and even dared to die.

"Kuang Cheng."

"Mm?"

Ji You looked at him with blazing eyes. "Do not become a martyr for the Emperor."

Kuang Cheng was slightly stunned. After a long silence, he smiled faintly. "Of course I would not be foolish enough to do that..."

"You need to understand. That line—'Since ancient times, who has lived without death? Let a loyal heart shine upon the annals of history'—is a lie. Even I cannot do it, much less you."

"Do not worry, Brother Ji. My responsibility is to restore the Kuang Family. I will not throw away my life so easily. I am very timid, unless you become the Celestial Academy Sect Master and support me."

Seeing that he was not forcing himself, Ji You finally felt relieved. "I also have good news. Yesterday, while everyone else was trying to resonate with the Heavenly Book, the Heavenly Book came to resonate with me."

Kuang Cheng's eyes widened. "As expected of us!"

"The days ahead will get better."

Kuang Cheng looked at Ji You, unsure whether he meant the days ahead for the two of them, for the people of Yuyang County, or both.

But speaking of Yuyang reminded him of something.

On the night before they had set out for the capital, he had suddenly seen a sky full of starlight falling in his family courtyard. Each spark was the size of a firefly, dancing endlessly through the air.

The young scholar had never seen such a strange sight, so he had called his family over. Yet they said they could see nothing, as though he alone could see it.

He had wanted to ask Ji You what it was, but in the end, he said nothing.

He was not even an immortal cultivator. How could he possibly have seen starlight filling the sky and falling down? It must have simply been his eyes playing tricks on him.

Afterward, the two left the post station. With the few coins of broken silver they had left, they found a small restaurant and ordered three vegetarian dishes and a pot of weak wine.

Though it looked rather shabby, it still counted as mutual congratulations.

On the street beside that little restaurant stood the incomparably luxurious Xihe Tower, where a group of Outer Court disciples from the Celestial Academy sat drinking in silence.

This should have been the best time to cultivate, but Ji You's resonance with the Heavenly Book last night had shattered the little Dao heart they had possessed to begin with.

Thinking back to their first day at the Dao Comprehension Ground, everyone had laughed at that rustic independent cultivator for wasting his time practicing martial arts.

Yet in the end, he had been the one to resonate with the Heavenly Book.

And their so-called tireless efforts, to the point of forgetting food and sleep, had become a complete joke.

Chu He was also in Xihe Tower at the time, but he was not with the others. He sat alone in a private room on the third floor, surrounded by empty wine jars.

Beside his chair, a songstress lay on her back on the ground. Her body was covered in bruises raised by fists, and it was already unclear whether she lived or died.

As the second son of the Chu Family, he had always considered himself exceptional. To avoid living beneath his elder brother's shadow, he had abandoned Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion and resolutely chosen the Celestial Academy, determined to carve out a path that belonged to him alone.

The elders of his Household had praised his lofty ambitions and all supported his decision.

Yet he had not expected that just after entering the academy, a rustic independent cultivator would replace his elder brother and become his new shadow.

Last night, Ji You had gathered two rays of spiritual light.

At such a pace, how could Chu He possibly surpass him?

But why him? That rustic commoner whom he could ordinarily crush with a casual stretch of his hand had now made him lose all face. How could he let it go?

Just then, a waiter from Xihe Tower came upstairs with more wine. Seeing the songstress's miserable state, he was so frightened that he nearly dropped the wine jar in his hands.

Chu He abruptly turned toward him, killing intent bursting from his eyes.

In his view, Ji You, this waiter, and that songstress were all the same. They should have obediently remained ordinary mortals.

But at that moment, Chu He's young book attendant rushed upstairs and saved the waiter's life.

"Young Master, Young Master, someone from the family has come. They are outside."

"What?"

Chu He instantly sobered. Looking at the flustered book attendant, he suddenly realized that his loss to a rustic independent cultivator had likely already become known to his family.

He rose in panic and stumbled downstairs, where he saw an old man with a hooked nose.

This man was not from the Chu Family. He was an Attendant who had once served at Chu He's elder brother's side.

The hooked-nosed Attendant's face was livid. He led Chu He into a secluded alley and handed him a box of pills along with a letter.

Die to preserve your name, or live without disgracing the glory of your clan.

There was only one short sentence in the letter, yet it made his eyes tremble and his face turn pale.

Only after a long while did he remember the box of pills, and he reached out to open it.

Perhaps his eyes were deceiving him, but when he saw the pills, Chu He seemed to see ten infants curled up and struggling. Yet they vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by a vast surge of immortal essence.

That immortal essence resembled the heavenly light that had appeared when Ji You resonated with the Heavenly Book, leaving Chu He's face full of shock.

"I thought the Second Young Master would certainly enter the Inner Court. I never expected that in less than three days, a rustic independent cultivator would trample you beneath his feet. What a waste of such a hard-won divine pill."

"This... what kind of pill is this?"

"This pill is rare in the world. It can awaken all your potential and make your cultivation progress far beyond that of ordinary people. Take one first, then one every seven days afterward. When you take them, I will protect your Dao."

"There is truly such a fierce pill in this world? Will it have any side effects?"

The hooked-nosed old man looked down at him with a cold expression and said nothing.