I Don't Have Righteous Qi!

Chen Luo slowly opened his eyes. Hearing the movement, Ji Zhong hurried over.

"Master, you're awake? Let me tell you something..." Ji Zhong's face was flushed with excitement.

"You comprehended the Nine Swords of Dugu!" Chen Luo said quickly. Ji Zhong's expression froze, the words caught in his throat. After a long while, he stammered, "How did you know?"

Chen Luo sat up and put on an inscrutable expression. "I wrote the book. You gained enlightenment from it. How could I not know?"

"But gaining enlightenment from a book is something only a classic can accomplish!"

Chen Luo glanced blandly at Ji Zhong. "Why can't The Smiling, Proud Wanderer be a classic?"

Ji Zhong felt as though he had been struck by lightning, freezing in place for a moment. Before, he had merely been captivated by The Smiling, Proud Wanderer's prose, becoming so immersed in the story step by step that he could not pull himself away. But now that he thought about it carefully, every character in the book was vivid and lifelike, and each tale of love and hatred seemed to be unfolding right before his eyes. Why couldn't such a book become a classic?

Ji Zhong looked at Chen Luo again, and a trace of awe unconsciously entered his eyes. Whether or not he acknowledged it, the fact that he had gained enlightenment from the book proved that Heaven's Dao had already recognized The Smiling, Proud Wanderer's status as a classic. And someone capable of writing a classic...

Just as Ji Zhong had explained to Chen Luo before, only Confucian disciples who crossed three mountains and seas and reached the "Dao Transmission Realm"—the realm of the Confucian Master—were qualified to write books and establish doctrines. Outside Confucianism, cultivators from Daoism and Buddhism who could write scriptures likewise held no low rank.

What kind of person is the Young Master, really? This was the first time Ji Zhong had asked himself that question.

But at this moment, Chen Luo was recalling his conversation with Mount Tai just now.

Half an hour earlier, in the Dream Flower Forest.

"What happened? Why did I suddenly have the cultivation method for the Nine Swords of Dugu in my head?"

The Black Cat licked its paws at its leisure. "What's strange about that? Someone comprehended this martial art from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. As the author, of course you comprehended it on your own as well."

Confusion appeared on Chen Luo's face. "My book can let other people gain enlightenment?"

"Of course. And by reading the books you write, they can also obtain Red Dust Qi from them. Once you've found the Dao, other people can learn it too and use Red Dust Qi to cultivate."

"Wait." Chen Luo was somewhat dazed. "Other people can comprehend Red Dust Qi by reading the books I write?"

"Isn't that the rule of this world's Heaven's Dao? As long as something is a classic, anyone can gain power from it by reciting it. Of course, the books you write are included!"

Chen Luo's thoughts were a tangled mess. What was this supposed to be? A shared cheat ability?

The Black Cat's movements suddenly stopped. Its pupils went unfocused for a moment before returning to normal. It looked toward Chen Luo and spoke again. "Master, the Spirit of the Secret Realm asked me to tell you that you needn't worry."

"As long as you, Master, find the correct 'Dao,' you will be the Ancestor of the Dao, a Sage of your lineage."

"The more people who walk this path, the stronger you will become."

"So go and find that 'Dao.' Once that 'Dao' has been established, this secret realm will truly become your source of strength!"

"The Dao!" Chen Luo murmured to himself.

"Young Master?" Seeing Chen Luo sink into thought, Ji Zhong gently nudged him. Chen Luo came back to himself and suddenly asked, "Can you use the Nine Swords of Dugu?"

Ji Zhong shook his head slightly. "I only have the techniques, not the method of circulating energy. I tried using Righteous Qi to perform them, but they can't fuse at all! Oh, right, Young Master, look..."

Ji Zhong extended his hand and condensed a wisp of seven-colored mist the size of a soybean. "I comprehended this from the book too. What is it for?"

"This? Well, actually..." Chen Luo was just about to make up an excuse to fob Ji Zhong off when Xiao Huan suddenly rushed in.

"Young Master, Young Master! Advisor Li from the county office is here. He wants you to go with him to attend the Heart of Literature Choosing Master Ceremony..."

"The Heart of Literature Choosing Master Ceremony? Isn't it tomorrow?" Chen Luo froze and looked at Ji Zhong. Ji Zhong awkwardly rubbed his head and said in a small voice, "Young Master, your spirit and soul were exhausted when you competed with me. You've already been unconscious for an entire day and night..."

The Heart of Literature Choosing Master Ceremony was arranged at the Confucian Temple plaza in the eastern part of the city. It was also where young children received their enlightenment. Every autumn, an education commissioner would recite classics here. Thinking about it now, that commissioner must have at least crossed one mountain and sea, become a Confucian Master, and reached the "Enlightenment Realm" before being able to help human children awaken the "Comprehensive Reading" talent.

The plaza was enormous, large enough to accommodate more than two thousand people. Advisor Li told Chen Luo that to participate in Wan'an County's choosing ceremony, one had to meet two conditions.

First, one had to have given birth to Righteous Qi within one's body, but one's cultivation could not exceed the Poem Creation Realm;

Second, one had to have a direct ancestor or descendant born within Wan'an County's jurisdiction, and the participant had to be no older than twenty.

"That makes a total of eight hundred and thirty-six Confucian scholars truly qualified to participate," Advisor Li said with a genial smile.

As Advisor Li led him along the main road through the center of the plaza toward the viewing platform, Chen Luo felt as though he had stepped into a pine forest. These young Confucian scholars, whether dressed in finery or rags, all held their chests high and their heads higher, their gazes resolute, as though a current of righteousness were surging into the heavens from the tops of their heads.

"Snow weighs down the green pines, yet the green pines stand tall and straight!" For some reason, these words suddenly surfaced in Chen Luo's mind.

"How wonderful..." Chen Luo sighed.

Ji Zhong seemed to understand what Chen Luo was feeling and said quietly, "No matter what happens in the future—whether we fight for power and profit or decay and fall—when the first strand of Righteous Qi is born, our Confucian disciples are all people of the greatest backbone."

As they spoke, Chen Luo had already climbed onto the viewing platform. Several people had arrived there early as well, all figures of prestige within Wan'an County. Chen Luo's former self had always stayed at home and rarely interacted with outsiders, so Chen Luo merely exchanged perfunctory bows with everyone before finding a corner and settling down by himself. Quite a few people, however, gazed curiously at the Chen family's young master who had "returned from the dead," their eyes full of scrutiny.

"Young Master, they're here," Ji Zhong reminded him. Following Ji Zhong's cue, Chen Luo looked toward the sky. Wei Yan was slowly approaching, holding a jade box in both hands and standing atop the Ancient Chariot beneath its Crimson Banners and Black Canopy. Cai Tongchen, meanwhile, stood on azure clouds, guarding one side of the Ancient Chariot.

The entire Confucian Temple plaza instantly fell silent.

Wei Yan and Cai Tongchen arrived above the plaza and slowly descended onto the high platform of the Confucian Temple. Wei Yan took one step forward and gently opened his mouth, yet his voice rang out like thunder.

"Confucianism asks: What is a scholar?"

The Confucian scholars below opened their mouths and spoke as one, their voices reaching into the firmament.

"To establish the heart for heaven and earth!"

"To establish destiny for the people!"

"To continue the lost teachings of the past sages!"

"To open Taiping for all ages!"

Wei Yan took another step forward and began—

"The ancients said: Though one dies, one may yet remain imperishable. What does that mean?"

"The highest is Establishing Virtue; next is Establishing Merit; next is Establishing Words. Though ages pass, they are never abandoned. This is what it means to be imperishable."

"Today, a former Great Scholar has transformed the Dao of his entire life and condensed an imperishable Heart of Literature through Establishing Words."

"If there is anyone who inherits his Dao, becoming a Great Scholar may be within reach!"

"I only hope that all students will not betray the Dao within their hearts!"

When Wei Yan finished speaking, he bowed deeply. The Confucian scholars below bowed in return as one, their single cry sounding like war drums.

"We dare not betray heaven and earth! We dare not betray the common people! We dare not betray the sages of old! We dare not betray all ages!"

Wei Yan opened the jade box in his hands. Instantly, azure light blazed forth, and a jade-colored sphere the size of an apple slowly floated out of the box. At the same time, the faint sound of recited classics could be heard.

"Heart of Literature Choosing Master—begin!"

Wei Yan pointed at the Heart of Literature. It exploded with a boom, transforming into countless beams of azure light that descended before every Confucian scholar and became a small table. The Four Treasures of the Study were arranged on each table.

"What does this mean?" Chen Luo asked in confusion. Ji Zhong explained, "This is the Heart of Literature Expounding the Dao. The students use the Four Treasures of the Study formed from the Heart of Literature to write down what they seek in their hearts. The essay that best accords with the Heart of Literature will be chosen."

But just then, a beam of azure light suddenly descended before Chen Luo, becoming a small table with the Four Treasures of the Study arranged atop it.

Chen Luo froze and looked at Ji Zhong. Ji Zhong hurriedly waved both hands. "No one in my ancestry has ever come to Wan'an County. This isn't for me."

Chen Luo was at a loss. If it isn't for you, could it be for me?

I don't have Righteous Qi!

After all, in the middle of June at West Lake, the heat was oppressive and the qi could not flow freely.

Prescription: monthly tickets, collections, and recommendations may provide targeted treatment for this condition.

P.S. By convention, during a Heart of Literature Choosing Master Ceremony where scholars gathered, there should be a literary gathering where someone copied an ancient poem and shocked the four corners.

But I refuse...