Farewell to Famous Scholars, Players in Uproar

"What is this?"

Ding Ling looked at the letter in his hand, puzzled.

"This is a letter for Tong Yuan."

Pan Feng laughed heartily.

"Tong Yuan is an old acquaintance of mine! Take my letter to him, and there's a ninety percent chance he'll accept you as his disciple!"

"Oh?"

Ding Ling was delighted.

Tong Yuan was the Spear God who had taught Zhao Zilong, Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Ren!

If he could enter Tong Yuan's tutelage...

His rate of progress would surely advance by leaps and bounds. After all, he could use cheats!

"Haha..."

Seeing Ding Ling's expression, Pan Feng seemed to have expected it. He laughed twice, patted Ding Ling on the shoulder, and said,

"I think highly of you! I trust you won't disappoint me!"

"Indeed."

Zhang He said from the side,

"Anyone with genuine martial skill and even a little social standing knows of the Penglai God of Spears. Many people want to take him as their master, myself included. Unfortunately, the Penglai God of Spears is extremely strict when accepting disciples, and I didn't meet his requirements."

"What requirements does he have?"

Ding Ling glanced sideways. Even a genius like Zhang He did not qualify?!

"Haha..."

Zhang He laughed awkwardly twice before saying,

"When he takes on disciples, he must keep them by his side and teach them at all times. Only after they have thoroughly mastered the martial arts he teaches will he let them leave. I have inherited secret arts to learn, and I also have to attend private school. How could I stay on a mountain with him learning martial arts all the time?"

"I see."

Ding Ling understood.

"So, if the Spear God truly takes a liking to you, he will most likely make you master his martial arts before allowing you to leave. You should be mentally prepared."

Pan Feng said with a smile,

"Still, Ding Ling, your talent is so heaven-defying. I imagine you won't remain on the mountain for long, and it won't affect your official career. Pack up and prepare to leave."

He glanced at the sky.

"Right, I forgot that we arranged a farewell banquet for you. Eat first, then leave."

After the banquet.

Ding Ling returned to the manor, donned his General's Armor, took his official seal, and held a Fangtian Halberd as he prepared to depart.

The maid Zhao Bingxuan looked at Ding Ling with tear-filled eyes and begged him to take her with him, saying that she would serve him well.

Ding Ling hesitated.

Zhao Bingxuan immediately said,

"General, when you're away from home, you'll always need someone to attend to you. I can wash your clothes, cook, make your bed, and warm it for you!"

That made sense.

He could not possibly eat in the military mess with a bunch of soldiers every day, could he?

Or eat at restaurants all the time?

Besides, someone needed to take care of the household cleaning.

Hiring someone else would be troublesome.

He might as well take Zhao Bingxuan with him.

Ding Ling asked whether she could ride a horse, and Zhao Bingxuan said she could.

Ding Ling had someone bring over a horse for Zhao Bingxuan to ride.

At the same time, he specifically asked Zhang He to help look after Zhao Bingxuan's younger brother and sister.

Naturally, Zhao Bingxuan was deeply grateful for this.

With Ding Ling's instructions,

The few people living in that vast manor naturally had no need to worry too much.

Even if Yuan Shao entered Yecheng in the future,

With Zhang He and Gao Lan there, they would not need to be overly concerned.

Ding Ling rode away.

Zhao Bingxuan had also changed into a soldier's outfit and followed close behind him.

When they reached the city gate,

They found Ju Shou, Tian Feng, and the others there to see them off.

After losing to Ding Ling, Ju Shou, Tian Feng, and the others had come to admire him immensely. After several exchanges, they had been completely stunned by Ding Ling's learning and versatility!

They admired Ding Ling beyond measure.

There was no need to mention their repeated attempts to befriend him.

It was only natural that they had come to see him off this time.

"I had originally wanted to discuss the principles of governing a country and military strategy with you."

Ju Shou said regretfully,

"It seems I can only wait until next time."

Ding Ling's eye twitched. Could he say that he loved crushing his enemies head-on and hated all that scheming? Every time he discussed military strategy with Ju Shou and the others, he had to rack his brains until he was mentally exhausted. Ju Shou and the others simply did not know that.

They thought Ding Ling truly was capable of anything! Powerful to an absurd degree!

Naturally, Ding Ling would not take the initiative to expose the truth.

It would do him no good.

On the contrary.

The more others mistook him for someone formidable, the farther and wider his reputation might spread.

That would greatly help his Path of Glory.

"I look forward to meeting again next time."

Tian Feng and the others came forward one by one to bid Ding Ling farewell.

Xun Chen was the most straightforward. He had packed his bags, mounted a horse, and announced that he wanted to go with Ding Ling to Changshan Commandery.

"..."

Everyone was stunned.

But those who knew Xun Chen understood at once. They knew his obsession with chess had flared up, and he wanted to follow Ding Ling to learn chess.

Through the Achievement Medals, Ding Ling had roughly understood this as well. He urged Xun Chen to reconsider, saying that when he returned next time, he would definitely give him a chess manual.

With others also helping to persuade him, Xun Chen finally gave up on going to Changshan Commandery with Ding Ling.

After bidding everyone farewell one by one,

Ding Ling gave a sharp cry and spurred his horse forward. Amid a ringing neigh, he and Zhao Bingxuan gradually rode farther and farther away until they disappeared completely.

Only then did Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Xun Chen, and the others return with melancholy expressions. Along the way, they all marveled at how the Divine Land could have produced such a remarkable talent as Ding Ling.

Cheng Huan, Gao Lan, Zhang He, and Pan Feng listened from the side with immense pride.

That was because they had already completely regarded Ding Ling as one of their own.

Hearing that group of formerly arrogant, aloof scholars lavishly praise and support their friend naturally filled them with pride and a sense of achievement!

The Players at the Ji Province camp were even more stirred into a frenzy.

"Did you see that?! Ju Shou and the others personally came out to see Ding Ling off! And they looked so reluctant to part with him! How, how, how did Ding Ling manage this?! He actually made such a group of proud famous scholars bow to him in such a short time!"

"That's unbelievable! As far as I know, Tian Feng is an extremely upright and arrogant man! He normally does not even spare ordinary people a glance, yet he came to see Ding Ling off too. And his attitude toward Ding Ling was excellent. It's simply inconceivable!"

"Did you notice the way Ju Shou and the others looked at Ding Ling? It was as though they were looking at something shining! At a god!"

"Huh?! Now that you mention it, that really is true. What did Ding Ling do to make the famous scholars of Ji Province—scholars whom even Cao Mengde would praise highly in the future—act like this?!"

The entire city of Yecheng was in an uproar!

Especially after some newly logged-in Player revealed what Ding Ling had done at the Governor of Ji Province's residence, all the Players were utterly shocked!

"This is absolutely impossible. How could a new Player defeat famous scholars in every field? Even if he learned one subject a year, he couldn't possibly be this versatile! How old is he?!"

"Exactly. That's why we all think Ding Ling is terrifying. He must be a Peerless Genius trained by a Hidden Family!"

"But why does it seem like I've heard people say that Ding Ling is just an ordinary person?"

For a time,

There were all kinds of theories.

Because the matter was so explosive, it even shot to number one on the Real World's trending list!