Time Changes, Circumstances Shift

Time Changes, Circumstances Shift

Zhang Yu knew full well that filth existed everywhere. Even Auspicious Light Capital, shrouded in brilliance, was no exception.

Taiyang Academy had been established within the Protectorate Office by the Great Xia Ministry of Rites a hundred years ago. Any student who graduated from there would be recognized not only by the Protectorate Office, but even in Celestial Xia itself.

Though the Protectorate Office had now lost contact with the homeland, Taiyang Academy students were still highly sought after and valued. Many officials holding important posts in government offices throughout the Protectorate Office had studied at Taiyang Academy.

It was easy to see why someone had set their sights on his academic record.

Yet unexpectedly, he didn't feel the slightest anger or resentment. Instead, he was exceptionally calm, which surprised even him.

Upon examining himself, he found that perhaps it was because he had now embarked upon the path of cultivation and possessed a certain degree of strength. This allowed him to view some matters from a perspective more detached from worldly affairs. Besides, venting his emotions alone would do nothing to solve the problem.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Registrar, I have a duplicate copy of my record. Can we determine when the original record went missing?"

The document clerk had been observing Zhang Yu all this while, and had even deliberately kept a slight distance from him. But seeing that Zhang Yu neither flew into a rage nor hurled accusations and abuse, instead speaking to him calmly and evenly, the clerk greatly admired his bearing and cultivation. At the same time, however, he couldn't help sighing inwardly.

He said, "The Literary Institute moved here three years ago. No new records have come in during that time. Since your record isn't here, it must have been missing for at least three years."

Zhang Yu recalled that three years ago, he had still been traveling abroad.

Only later did he learn that, at precisely that time, the small town where he had been born had suffered an extremely severe agricultural disaster. Its population had dwindled drastically, and eventually its administration was abolished altogether. Those who remained were relocated elsewhere.

Because he hadn't been in town at the time, his name hadn't been entered into the new household registry. He might have been treated as a missing person. Perhaps that was exactly why someone had turned their attention to his academic record.

With that thought in mind, he looked around and asked, "May I ask, Registrar, why did the Literary Institute move here? This place should originally have been near the Education Administration Office in the inner city."

The document clerk stroked his long beard. "Mm, the Literary Institute was originally there. But three years ago, a fire suddenly broke out and burned the entire old Literary Institute to the ground."

He pointed around them. "So it moved here afterward. My colleagues were all afraid of trouble and each found their own connections to leave. Only an honest fellow like me was sent here. It's rather amusing—this place stands isolated on all sides, and outside the door there's only a patch of vegetable ground, yet they insisted on building two more firebreak walls around me. They said it was to prevent another fire. I just don't know what they're trying to keep sealed inside."

"So all the documents here were entered afterward?" Zhang Yu asked.

The document clerk admitted frankly, "That's right, all entered afterward. But you know how it is—after a fire like that, it's perfectly normal for some things to be lost. Some parts inevitably won't match what came before."

Zhang Yu nodded. He understood now. He had learned everything worth asking, and there were no more clues to be found here. He cupped his hands in salute. "Thank you, Registrar. This student will take his leave."

The document clerk raised a hand in farewell. Watching Zhang Yu's departing figure, he seemed to mutter to himself, "It's better for people to be a little muddleheaded. Don't take things too seriously, or you may lose even more."

Zhang Yu didn't pause for even half a step. He returned directly to the carriage and said, "To Peaceful Lodge."

The wheels rolled, and the carriage set off once more.

Zhang Yu sat in the carriage, deep in thought. Without his academic record, he couldn't enter Taiyang Academy. And without entering Taiyang Academy, he couldn't continue his studies of the New Method.

There had been cases of academic records being stolen in the Protectorate Office before. If he wanted to recover his, there were channels through which he could appeal upward.

But even if the matter could be verified, it would take at least half a year, and that was only the most optimistic estimate.

Tampering with an academic registration was not something an ordinary person could accomplish. The fire at the Literary Institute three years ago made the matter's hidden details even more complicated. If one entertained a more conspiratorial view, it was even possible that certain people had been trying to conceal something far more important.

So if he pursued it now, he likely wouldn't gain any favorable result. Instead, he might be dragged into a vortex whose depths were impossible to fathom.

"Today is the fourth day of the second month in the Great Xuan Calendar. After the tenth, Taiyang Academy will no longer admit students. If I can't enter before then, I'll have to wait until next year."

He couldn't wait that long.

He had to seek another solution!

He considered one feasible measure after another, only to reject them all in succession.

Just as he was about to look at the scenery and shift his train of thought, his gaze accidentally swept across the newspaper beside him. A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind. He reached out, took the newspaper he had just been reading, found a certain piece of news, and read it several times from beginning to end. Then he closed his eyes and pondered for a long while.

When he opened his eyes again, they gleamed brightly.

"Perhaps I can start from this angle."

At some point, the carriage had stopped. They had evidently arrived. The driver was a perceptive man, and seemed to know Zhang Yu was considering something, so he had tactfully remained silent.

Zhang Yu looked out through the carriage window. Beyond the hitching shed stood a stone arch bridge, willows planted along either side, with a babbling stream flowing beneath it.

Beyond the bridge stood the second Celestial Xia-style building he had seen since entering the capital. Built against the inner city's raised ground, it rose tier upon tier with an air of unattainable height. Most striking of all was its broad six-zhang flying-eaved gate. A horizontal plaque above bore the words "Peaceful Lodge." Many people came and went through its entrance, most dressed in traditional Celestial Xia attire.

He stepped down from the carriage and tossed the driver a gold yuan. The man caught it and thanked him repeatedly, then helped unload his luggage. He added that if Zhang Yu needed a carriage again, he could look for Old Shang of the West City Carriage House.

After dismissing the driver, Zhang Yu crossed the arch bridge and presented the calling card Zhao Xiangcheng had given him at the entrance. An elderly hall steward immediately came out to greet him and respectfully invited him inside.

At that moment, atop the outer wall of Dawn Harbor, a scholarly man in his thirties with swordlike brows and a heroic bearing, dressed in a round-collared blue robe, climbed a Fortress Platform.

At a glance, he spotted the Yao Salamander corpse being hauled onto the docks. Its enormous size startled him as well. "Such a huge Spiritual Aberrant?"

His brows drew together slightly as he pondered in secret, Old Duke Yao is gravely ill and unable to manage affairs. People's hearts are scattered, and Scholars' Deliberation is about to convene. The Divine Commandery Army has suddenly gained such a great merit—there's no telling whether they might demand even more conditions...

Just then, a servant-like man ran up the wall's horseway, not even pausing to wipe the sweat from his face. Bowing, he said, "Sir, a letter from Chief Officer Zhao."

The scholar opened the letter. Upon seeing its contents, he was both startled and invigorated.

"This Yao Salamander wasn't actually slain by the Divine Commandery Army? It was killed by a young man not yet twenty?"

With a turn of thought, he immediately removed a hard charcoal pencil from his waist, wrote several lines directly on the letter, and handed it to the servant. He instructed, "Xiao Wu, take this letter to Chen Wenxiu of the Hanmo Newspaper Office. Have him publish this matter at once. Remember, it must be fast! I expect the Divine Commandery Army will definitely try to claim the credit for themselves, so we must get ahead of them!"

The servant answered seriously, "Rest assured, sir. I'll deliver both the message and the letter."

After Zhang Yu entered Peaceful Lodge, Zhao Xiangcheng's calling card proved useful. The hall steward arranged for him to stay in the Rising Tower at the highest point. It had three inner and outer courtyards, spacious and bright, with every furnishing provided.

After bathing, he changed into loose, comfortable clothes and came to the viewing terrace outside the Rising Tower.

It was evening. A gentle breeze came drifting in, while the lingering glow of the setting sun enveloped both the buildings below the city and the vast azure sea beyond Dawn Harbor. The sight was magnificent and splendid.

Yet he knew that over the past twenty years, disasters had frequently struck many regions of the Protectorate Office. The people had scattered and drifted away. It was far from as peaceful and tranquil as it appeared before his eyes.

How much longer could this beauty endure?

He raised his hands. Fair and jade-like, they bore not a single flaw beneath the light.

This body was now at the pinnacle of life, yet from the moment a person was born, they advanced toward death. Washed by the tides of time, it too would one day decline.

To preserve all of this, he needed power that transcended the mortal world—power enough to change everything.

He had already made a comprehensive plan for how to enter Taiyang Academy this time. To ensure success, he had to employ every force available to him.

With a summons in his heart, the Seal of the Great Dao appeared before him once more amid radiance. Several Seal Glyphs floated unsteadily before him, and those into which he had once invested Divine Essence appeared especially bright by comparison.

At his will, the other Seal Glyphs retreated, leaving only one before him.

The two characters engraved within this Seal Glyph were "Verbal Resonance."

"Verbal Resonance" could use particular breaths and vocalizations to lend one's voice a unique rhythm. In communication, it could make others resonate with one's words, making them more persuasive.

It worked not only on people, but on nonhuman creatures as well. He had been able to imitate the Yao Salamander's cries and deceive that spiritual creature because this technique had played its part.

In his coming actions, this technique would be even more indispensable.

He glanced at the Divine Essence he could currently use. At the urging of his will, it slowly flowed into the Seal Glyph.

In a daze, he felt a subtle change occur in his body. His breathing became smoother, and his thoughts more active.

He casually recited a poem with simple, plain meaning. He found that he hadn't deliberately adjusted anything, yet when he read it aloud, his voice rose and fell with clear rhythm and cadence, carrying a naturally pleasing resonance.

He had been capable of this before, but had needed to focus his mind upon it. Now, however, it was like breathing, almost becoming an instinct of his body.

He felt that this improvement was considerable. Yet the Divine Essence he had originally replenished by half had diminished greatly once more. He couldn't help thinking, Once the matter of entering the Academy is settled, I'll need to find more items that can replenish Divine Essence.