A Lesson in Futility

"I..." Ma Feifei was a little dumbfounded, turning to look at the girl who had stolen the chicken leg.

Want me to be your underling?

You still expect me to call you "big brother"?

You've probably floated up to the sky...

"Pfft~"

Suddenly, Lian Yi, who was behind Ma Feifei, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

That smile instantly drew everyone's attention, including the instructors'.

"Hiss~!"

Suddenly, gasps of astonishment rose from the crowd.

"Senior Sister Lian Yi!"

"Is that Senior Sister Lian Yi...?"

"It really is her..."

Well, it seems everyone knows Lian Yi, this Feng Shen Ji who was expelled from the academy.

Ma Feifei was also a little surprised. He turned to look at Lian Yi and was surprised that Lian Yi was so famous that everyone knew her.

"It's all ancient history, and I'm ashamed to bring it up." Lian Yi blushed and lowered her head slightly, seemingly embarrassed.

Ma Feifei chuckled, then his face darkened, and he snapped in a low voice, "Then don't hide behind me! They're all staring at me like that!"

Ma Feifei was sitting in front of Lian Yi. Lianyi lowered her head and hid behind Ma Feifei, making Ma Feifei the focus of everyone's attention.

I feel so embarrassed.

Upon hearing this, Lian Yi lowered her head even further, but she pointed to the woman next to Ma Feifei and whispered, "Shopkeeper, Mu Qingyi..."

"Mu Qingyi?" Ma Feifei was taken aback, only then remembering the name. Ignoring the stares of others, she turned to the girl beside her and asked, "Your name is Mu Qingyi?"

Mu Qingyi didn't answer. She shook the chicken leg in her hand, and the oil on it was flicked off, dripping onto the student in front of her, standing out conspicuously against his blue robe.

The other person's face turned completely black...

"I'm sorry, Xiao Qian." Mu Qingyi apologized and patted his shoulder with her other hand.

The student named Xiao Qian forced a smile, glanced at the five greasy claw marks on his shoulder, and said with a wry smile, "It's alright, big brother."

Mu Qingyi smiled and nodded, quickly putting away the chicken leg in her hand. She then obediently let her hands hang naturally at her sides, looking straight ahead, and whispered, "Remember to call me 'Big Brother' from now on. This is study time, don't get distracted, listen carefully, otherwise that bad student who was expelled from the Wu'an Academy will be a bad example."

Ma Feifei was speechless. Before she could even speak, Lian Yi behind her became angry and hissed, "Mu Qingyi, who are you talking about?"

Mu Qingyi turned to look at Lian Yi, her face showing surprise, and said, "Oh! Isn't this Lian Yi, my classmate? Why are you back? You'd better hurry up and leave, or the Dean will definitely come after you if he finds out."

The mere mention of the Dean made Lian Yi like a frostbitten eggplant, obediently remaining silent.

"Alright, that's all for today. We'll cover the rest about controlling Spiritual Power tomorrow." The instructor glanced at Lian Yi and Mu Qingyi with a complicated expression, sighed, announced the end of class, shook his head, and left without even saying goodbye.

Upon hearing the instructor's words, the students all stood up and left, as if they had encountered a thief and were trying to avoid him at all costs.

"Hey, hey, hey... don't go! You haven't learned it yet." Ma Feifei looked helplessly at the departing instructor, completely bewildered. It seemed like Mu Qingyi and Lian Yi were two little devils, causing everyone who heard of them to turn pale and avoid them.

"Shopkeeper, these two seem a bit dangerous... Should we slip away?" Zhang Caicai whispered to Ma Feifei.

Ma Feifei patted Zhang Caicai's head to indicate that everything was alright.

"Come on, little brother, it's our first time meeting today, let me treat you to a feast. The chicken legs at Zui Xian Lou in the East District are amazing, I think you'll like them." Mu Qingyi got up from the ground, the chicken leg in her hand reappearing at some point, and said to Ma Feifei while biting into the chicken leg.

Ma Feifei was speechless. How could this person be so attached to chicken legs? But being able to get in touch with Mu Qingyi was a great achievement. Now, it was time to see how to trick her into becoming Book-holding woman.

Thinking of this, Ma Feifei did not refuse and nodded in agreement to have dinner with Mu Qingyi.

"Let's go then." Mu Qingyi glanced at Lian Yi and waved her hand, saying, "Since they're all your friends, let's come together."

Well, Mu Qingyi's demeanor does match how she addresses herself.

"We still have to go to the Confucian Dao Academy," Lian Yi said with a displeased expression.

"Pop~"

Mu Qingyi took the chicken bone out of her mouth, tossed it aside, took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, and casually said, "You mean the Confucian Dao Academy? No need to go, the grass on the graves there is almost three feet tall."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ma Feifei frowned immediately upon hearing this and asked in confusion.

"There's no one here... The Confucian Dao Academy established by the Empress has closed down, and even the Confucian Dao Academy are about to lose their jobs." Mu Qingyi wiped her hands clean, put away her handkerchief, and walked forward, saying, "Let's go, we can pass by the Wu'an Academy Confucian Dao Academy we go out this way, and I can take Confucian Dao Academy to visit it."

Ma Feifei and his group all looked puzzled. The knowledge taught at the Confucian Dao Academy was the 'Four Books and Five Classics' published by the Mysterious Bookstore. To be precise, it should also be considered as the Confucian Dao Academy established by the Mysterious Bookstore.

Logically, given the prestige of the Mysterious Bookstore, the Confucian Dao Academy should have been extremely popular, but the opposite is true.

"Let's go take a look," Ma Feifei said solemnly, and then followed.

This is indeed a very serious problem, because Ma Feifei's next two tasks are both related to the Confucian Academy and Confucian Dao Academy. More importantly, the completion of the Great Dao also requires the prosperity of both Confucianism and Daoism.

Because Taoism magic is considered supernatural, business is booming, so there's no need to worry about it.

In comparison, the Confucianism Confucian Dao Academy on the Confucian side were of paramount importance.

Although everyone didn't quite understand what the Confucian Dao Academy was, the fact that the entire Chu Kingdom Academy had established Confucian Dao Academy was enough to prove Confucian Dao Academy importance to Ma Feifei. So when they heard that the Confucian Dao Academy had fallen on hard times, everyone felt a little heavy-hearted.

The group followed Mu Qingyi for about ten minutes. A small side path appeared on the main road, Overgrow weeds that had climbed onto the path itself.

Mu Qingyi pointed to the side path and said, "This is the Confucian Dao Academy. You see, even the weeds on both sides of the path are neglected. The academy's handymen think it's unnecessary."

"What could be the reason for this?" Ma Feifei asked, puzzled.

That doesn't make sense! These are the Four Books and Five Classics, and those who study them will acquire Righteous Qi, which is no less powerful than Daoist magic power!

"Because it's useless to learn it," Mu Qingyi said calmly.

"Is what you learn useless?"