Sudden Change

Chen Luo's commotion naturally attracted some attention. Ji Zhong whispered in Chen Luo's ear, "Young Master, the Literary Heart invites you. You should write something. Otherwise, if word gets out, those conservative Confucians will criticize you..."

Write something? What should I write?

Chen Luo was completely baffled. I'm not even part of your system. You want me to write a self-reflection report?

What can I even write?

Usually, when someone reveals their inner Dao, other transmigrators would just wave their brush and shock everyone with the Four Sentences of Hengqu.

"To establish a heart for the world, to sustain life for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of the past sages, to open the peace for all generations!"

How imposing is that!

But--

You guys just recited that!

So what else is there?

"Be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures"?

This world already has a Great Scholar named Fan Zhongyan!

He just wrote Record of Cloud Terrace instead of Record of Yueyang Tower.

What should I do?

I can't exactly write about building a moderately prosperous society and achieving common prosperity, can I?

You wouldn't understand it anyway...

"I've got it!" A flash of inspiration struck Chen Luo's mind. There was one sentence that seemed to be missing from this world.

Chen Luo decided to write it immediately. He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write--

"The rise and fall of the nation concerns every common man!"

This sentence originated from the late Ming and early Qing dynasty thinker Gu Yanwu's Record of Daily Knowledge: Zhengshi. The original text stated: "Those who protect the state, their lords and ministers who eat the grain, should worry about it; those who protect the world, the humble common man, have a responsibility."

Later, in the late Qing dynasty, Liang Qichao, one of the leaders of the Hundred Days' Reform and a thinker, summarized it into an eight-character idiom.

As soon as Chen Luo finished writing, a phantom image of a large turtle suddenly appeared on the paper, with a stone tablet on its back.

"Bixi Carrying Stele!" people around exclaimed. Even Wei Yan turned his head, a clear look of astonishment on his face.

Ji Zhong was overjoyed. "Young Master, this is the phenomenon of the Literary Bixi! It means your words are enough to carry a literary Dao. Regardless of whether it fits this Literary Heart, this essay has the potential to be immortal. Hurry and continue writing! Look, the stone tablet is still blank..."

Chen Luo gave Ji Zhong a sideways glance. If you want me to keep writing, I'll keep writing. Don't I have any pride?

I know these eight characters are amazing, but I only know these eight characters. What else can I write?

Is this like the Gaokao? Do I need to write at least 800 words?

Chen Luo complained wildly in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged, appearing confident and composed.

"Let's just treat it like writing an argumentative essay. The thesis is out there. I just need to add a few supporting arguments and a conclusion..." After all, before transmigrating, Chen Luo had been a volunteer teacher in a mountainous area and had some experience with these exam-like situations.

To be honest, his mind was currently focused on finding a way to obtain worldly karma. He hadn't really considered the Literary Heart of a Great Scholar.

Let alone the impossibility of obtaining it, even if it were possible, he wasn't very keen on pursuing it.

After all, scholars suffer!

Just as Chen Luo was racking his brain for famous quotes and allusions from this world that could serve as supporting arguments for those eight characters, a "bang" suddenly sounded from below the viewing platform. A Confucian scholar in the plaza kicked over the square table transformed from the Literary Heart.

The scholar looked about twenty years old, with an unremarkable appearance. However, when he spoke, a clear, girlish voice emerged, tinged with a hint of annoyance. "Hmph! What a useless Literary Heart! It won't even let this young lady write a single character..."

At the same time, a sinister, hoarse voice echoed from nowhere. "Young lady, this old one told you, you are not from Wan'an County, so you cannot deceive the Literary Heart!"

The conversation between the old and young instantly stole Chen Luo's thunder. All eyes turned to the Confucian scholar standing in the center of the plaza. On the steps above, Wei Yan let out a cold snort. "Playing tricks. I've been waiting for you!"

As Wei Yan spoke, he reached out and grabbed the Confucian scholar who had just spoken. A scholar's box suddenly appeared out of thin air around the scholar, as if to seal him in. Just then, the space in front of the scholar distorted, and an old woman with white hair and wrinkled skin emerged from the distorted space.

The old woman opened her mouth, and a mass of black clouds flew out from her mouth, instantly engulfing the scholar's box that Wei Yan had just condensed. The scholar's box began to visibly corrode. If one looked closely, they could see that the black clouds were actually countless tiny insects, gnawing at Wei Yan's scholar-art scholar's box.

"Gu?" Wei Yan's expression changed. "Who are you?"

The Confucian scholar spoke again. "You don't need to worry about who we are, Great Scholar Wei. This Literary Heart belongs to us, and today it returns to its rightful owner!"

The Confucian scholar raised his right hand. The square table in the plaza, which had been transformed from the Literary Heart, once again turned into wisps of green light and flew towards the scholar's raised right hand, condensing into the previous form of the Literary Heart. Even the phantom image of the Bixi on the square table in front of Chen Luo on the viewing platform only resisted for a moment before collapsing with a roar, turning into green light and flying towards the scholar.

"Protect the Literary Heart!" a Confucian scholar suddenly shouted, emitting a faint layer of green light from his body as he charged towards the strange scholar and the old woman. With this cry, the other Confucian scholars reacted, shouting in unison, "Protect the Literary Heart," and surged towards the two figures in the center.

The old woman waved her sleeve again, and another mass of black clouds shot out, dispersing and rushing towards the Confucian scholars. The black clouds were, of course, Gu insects. They easily broke through the Confucian scholars' righteous qi defenses and entered their bodies. In an instant, more than half of the Confucian scholars collapsed.

"Presumptuous!" Wei Yan roared. He pointed at the two with one hand, and instantly, a giant brush, as if supporting the sky, appeared above the heads of the strange scholar and the old woman. The tip of the brush swept through the air, and a black ink mark flew towards the two. It seemed as if anyone touched by this ink mark would disappear from this world.

Great Scholar's Supernatural Power: Annihilation Stroke!

The old woman took a deep breath. Three pairs of crystalline insect wings sprouted from her back. Her body suddenly grew taller, revealing a graceful figure. She transformed from a frail old woman in her eighties into a young woman in her prime. She leaped up, meeting the descending ink mark, and let out a roar. Strangely, no sound was emitted.

But as she made the roaring motion, the space vibrated, and the ink mark shattered in the vibrating space.

The strange Confucian scholar chuckled, still in a clear, girlish voice. "Mr. Wei, please don't be angry. We don't want trouble either. These Confucian scholars have just been affected by Granny Rong's Sleepy Bug. There's no danger to their lives..."

Granny Rong, now appearing as a young woman, landed again. Wei Yan's eyes glowed with a blue light as he stared fixedly at her. "Incarnation Gu? The Town Profound Division's intel was correct. You people aren't all dead yet!"

"Mr. Wei, that's a bit much. Honestly, even if you were all dead, we could still dig up your graves..." the Confucian scholar replied. He then said to Granny Rong, "Granny Rong, the Literary Heart is ours. Let's go..."

"Dream on if you think you can leave!" Wei Yan reached out again, seemingly about to use Confucian techniques. At that moment, Granny Rong pointed at Wei Yan. Wei Yan froze, looking at the palm he had used to block the Nether Energy Death Ray for Cai Tongchen. It was now rapidly turning black.

"You put Gu in the Nether Energy Death Ray!" Wei Yan looked at Granny Rong.

Granny Rong said calmly, "If you immediately circulate your Righteous Qi, you can naturally expel the Gu worm in an hour. If you try to stop us, you'll just wait for death."

After speaking, Granny Rong turned and grabbed the strange scholar, about to leave. Suddenly, a Great Scholar's aura, no less powerful than Wei Yan's, erupted. A majestic voice rang out—

"The two of you should stay..."

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