A Declining Confucian Dao Academy

"Yes, learning is useless. Although the Four Books and Five Classics contain many profound truths, this is a world where cultivation is paramount. Even a menial servant at the Wu'an Academy must have a cultivation level no lower than that of Spirit Master, a waiter at Zui Xian Lou Restaurant has Spirit King cultivation level, and a captain of a government yamen must be at least Spirit King to be qualified."

"Whether they become independent cultivators after graduating from the Wu'an Academy or pursue any other profession, cultivation is an indispensable part of their lives."

"No matter how profound the Four Books and Five Classics are in the Confucian Dao Academy, or how well they explain the principles of self-cultivation, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world, they ultimately cannot improve one's own cultivation. They are just useless." Mu Qingyi said as she led the group deeper into the path, her tone somewhat forlorn.

"Can't we have both?" Luan Feng, who had been following behind, asked.

Practitioners have highly developed brains. Although they may not be able to memorize a book perfectly, they can usually remember it. Therefore, they can learn more efficiently and achieve twice the result with half the effort. They can do both without affecting their practice.

After all, even in spiritual practice, apart from seclusion, no one would spend 24 hours a day doing nothing but spiritual practice.

"Other books would certainly be fine, but the Four Books and Five Classics are inherently difficult to understand. If you don't calm down and read them word by word slowly, you simply can't remember them, let alone understand their meaning. So when the Confucian Dao Academy was first established, the students there studied from morning till night almost every day, and they simply didn't have time to do anything else."

"In this way, their cultivation will naturally fall into disuse, but the Four Books and Five Classics won't increase their cultivation either. Comparing the two, what do you think they will choose?"

As they spoke, the group arrived at a huge square. Rows of houses stood neatly around the square, but weeds grew rampant around the houses, and many of them had begun to climb into the windows.

Because the plants and trees in this other world are nourished by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, they grow very quickly. For example, the towering trees in the Nine Heavens Mountain can easily reach a height of thirty to fifty meters.

These decorations at the Wu'an Academy need to be maintained every three to five days, otherwise they will end up in this state.

"This is the Confucian Dao Academy within the Wu'an Academy. However, it's been almost a month since any students have come to attend classes here. Because students have the freedom to choose their courses, the academy has no choice but to leave the Confucian Dao Academy abandoned here," Mu Qingyi said, pointing to a stone tablet in the center of the square.

Looking around, Ma Feifei and the others noticed that the stone tablet was engraved with three powerful characters: "Confucian Dao Academy". In the lower right corner, there was also a square seal with the words "Seal of King Chu Qiong" written on it.

"The inscription on this stone tablet was written by the Empress herself, and she ordered it to be distributed to all the major academies in the Chu Kingdom. This is enough to prove how much the Empress valued the Confucian Dao Academy. It's just a pity..." Mu Qingyi shook her head and sighed, not continuing.

"You seem quite disappointed with how the Confucian Dao Academy has become?" Ma Feifei was very Mu Qingyi's attitude. Since everyone thought the Confucian Dao Academy was useless, why was she still feeling sorry for the Confucian Dao Academy decline?

"Because the Confucian Dao Academy is the only branch that provides a canteen, and they even employ royal chefs. Their chicken legs are just as good as those at Zui Xian Lou." Mu Qingyi said, her mouth Alto Mare watering, and pointed to a corner in the distance, saying, "See that? That's the Confucian Dao Academy's kitchen. It's just a pity that the royal chefs ran off to enjoy themselves because no students came to study."

Ma Feifei was speechless. Damn, she'd run into a foodie!

"Tch, what royal chef? Is he any better than Zhang Caicai?" As soon as the little brat Zhang Caicai heard that it was related to cooking, he became smug, looking like Laozi was the best in the world.

"You can cook too?" Mu Qingyi asked in surprise, having been successfully captivated by Zhang Caicai.

"The imperial chefs of the Chu Kingdom's palace didn't even possess one ten-thousandth of my true teachings, Ninth Brother, don't you agree?" Zhang Caicai said, raising her head.

"That's true," Ba Jiu replied in agreement.

"Then can you walk?" Mu Qingyi asked curiously.

"That's easy!" Zhang Caicai straightened her back, and the pot on her back flew out and landed accurately on the square.

"Clang"

The pot made a steady slamming sound, spun around a few times, and finally came to a stop.

"Today, I, the God of Cookery Zhang Caicai, will show you my skills. Ninth Brother, gather some dry grass." With that, Zhang Caicai leaped onto the square.

"Alright!" Mu Qingyi followed, even skipping the Zui Xian Lou.

Ba Jiu glanced at Ma Feifei, seeking Ma Feifei's consent.

Ma Feifei nodded slightly. He didn't want to go to that Zui Xian Lou in the first place. Right now, his mind was full of things related to the Confucian Dao Academy. It would be best if Zhang Caicai could keep him here.

After getting Ma Feifei's permission, Ba Jiu rushed off to gather hay for Zhang Caicai.

Looking at the Confucian Dao Academy surrounded by weeds, Ma Feifei felt a bit depressed. He sighed and walked over, browsing through each room.

Luan Feng and Yun Qingyang did not follow, but remained standing still.

Yun Qingyang had her own ideas. Suddenly, she took out drawing paper and brushes, looked in Ma Feifei's direction, and started drawing on the paper.

Ma Feifei surveyed the rows of houses, and finally stood quietly below the square, observing everything, his consciousness already entering his mind.

"System, isn't it said that students who study the Four Books and Five Classics can acquire Righteous Qi? Why haven't the students in the Confucian Dao Academy of the Wu'an Academy acquired it? Is it the same in other academies?" This was Ma Feifei's question.

"Ding! All the students studying at the Confucian Dao Academy have acquired a proportion of Righteous Qi, but it just hasn't been activated yet," the system's cold voice announced.

After hearing the system's answer, Ma Feifei finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the Four Books and Five Classics were correct, that was fine.

"Then how should we stimulate the Righteous Qi within them?" Ma Feifei asked again.

Mu Qingyi is right. If we don't inspire Righteous Qi and provide benefits to students, and given the extreme difficulty of studying the Four Books and Five Classics and Four Books and Five Classics, everyone will definitely choose to give up.

"Those who possess the Sacred Book can awaken their Righteous Qi, and the owner of the Mysterious Bookstore System can also awaken Righteous Qi." After the system finished speaking, Ma Feifei felt a piece of information being implanted into his mind.

This is a way to inspire Righteous Qi.

After reading this information, Ma Feifei's originally serious face began to show a slight smile.

This smile was captured by Yun Qingyang, who then sketched it with her brush.

"Alright!" came the three "good"s in a row.

Zhang Caicai's chicken legs are cooked, Yun Qingyang's painting is finished, and Ma Feifei's troubles are solved...

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