It was the ninth month, the third season of the year.
The maple leaves were red, the wheat ears golden, and the clear autumn wind was like a traveler returning home after a long journey. It passed through the towering walls of Central Capital City and through the holes left behind by the years, letting out a whistling "whoosh."
The temperature had begun to drop, and the little children had all put on the thick clothes their mothers had sewn. Students hurried through the streets with books tucked under their arms. Once autumn arrived, the next year's Spring Imperial Examination entered its final countdown. If they did not work hard now, one person would be missing from the spring outing after next year's examination.
Did they want to gallop proudly beneath the spring breeze, their horses' hooves flying, while admiring flowers in the entertainment houses and playing with jade in the pleasure quarters?
Then they had to work hard, work hard, and work harder through the golden autumn and bitter winter!
Martial artists did not pursue the Imperial Examination, but a new situation had arisen for them. At the court assembly two days ago, an official had submitted a memorial proposing that, aside from the martial schools and academies jointly established by the imperial court and Dongcang, private Martial Arts Schools should also be opened to strengthen the martial path.
As the saying went, "Poor in literature, rich in martial arts." Compared with studying, martial cultivation was even more difficult. After all, a scholar's greatest expense was no more than the Four Treasures of the Study. The classic commentaries could still be shared and were not disposable. Martial artists, however, were different.
Whether it was medicinal baths for tempering the body or precious materials for enhancing one's qi and blood,