The Civil and Martial Paths of Nature and Destiny

Qingchang, Zheng Household.

It was now the third day after Zhao Zhou's visit. After that day, Qiu Yan began packing his bags, explained things to Liu Huai and the others, and then headed south with Little Zheng Yun.

Throughout the journey, Little Zheng Yun didn't say much, always holding a book and reading silently, even after arriving at the Zheng Household.

"Mr. Qiu, thank you so much for bringing this from so far away."

Zheng Zhongsen's cousin, Zheng Jie, was a middle-aged man of average height and ordinary features. After seeing Qiu Yan and understanding his purpose, he appeared somewhat timid and hesitant, not even daring to speak loudly.

He was a constable working in the County Government Office. He was well-informed and knew that Qiu Yan's reputation in Jiannan Circuit was at its peak, and that he had even won the top score in the Provincial Examination.

Even a successful candidate in the provincial examinations could be addressed as "Master," let alone a top scholar in the provincial examinations?

Seeing the other party's attitude, Qiu Yan said, "Brother Zheng, you don't need to be so polite. Brother Zheng and I are like brothers, and Yun'er is my nephew. How could it be troublesome?"

As the two were talking, a petite figure emerged from the Zheng Household courtyard, standing far away by the door, cautiously observing Qiu Yan and Zheng Yun with lively eyes.

Qiu Yan immediately sensed something and looked up. What he saw was a little girl, about five or six years old, with two pigtails, big eyes, and a fair face. After noticing Qiu Yan's gaze, the little girl immediately shrank behind the door. After a few moments, she peeked out again, clearly very shy.

Qiu Yan smiled slightly at the little guy, causing him to hide again.

Zheng Jie rubbed his hands together nervously and said, "My wife has already prepared a few dishes. I would like to humbly invite Master Qiu to stay for a drink. What do you think...?"

Qiu Yan smiled and said, "I've already told you, Brother Zheng, you don't need to be so polite. You are Brother Zheng's elder brother, so you are my elder brother too. There's no need to call me 'Master.' It's too formal. Just call me Shen Zhi. Actually, even if you hadn't said anything, Brother Zheng, I would have bothered you anyway, since I still need to instruct Yun'er on her studies." Qiu Yan used a trace of Soul Dao techniques in his words to soothe Zheng Jie's mind.

"Yun'er is so lucky to be able to become Master Qiu's... Shen Zhi's apprentice." Zheng Jie glanced at his nephew with a complicated look in his eyes. He had just said the word "Master" when he was stopped by Qiu Yan's gaze and quickly changed his words.

As they talked, the two walked into the courtyard, with Little Zheng Yun following closely behind.

Soon, Zheng Jie and his wife invited Qiu Yan to eat.

The meal was quite lavish, with vegetables and meat, and half a pot of wine. During the meal Qiu Yan talked with Zheng Jie, pointing out some things that Little Zheng Yun should pay attention to in his studies. Zheng Jie took notes on everything.

After a few rounds of drinks, the little girl who had been hiding and Original Edition came over, drooling as she looked at the food on the table.

"This is my daughter, her name is Ya Niang. She doesn't have a formal name yet." Zheng Jie affectionately patted the little girl's head and introduced her to Qiu Yan, "Come here, Ya Niang. Call her Uncle."

The little girl called out timidly, her voice barely audible.

"She's a blessed person," Qiu Yan said sincerely, after carefully examining the pretty Ya Niang.

Qiu Yan is now Half-Step Fusion his Three Souls. In addition, he had an enlightenment three days ago, which made his whole body's strength transparent and his perception greatly enhanced. He can now directly use Soul Dao techniques during the day to perceive the approximate fortune of others.

Over here, the two adults were talking, while over there, the Ya Niang looked at the Little Zheng Yun with curiosity and tried to speak to him, but Zheng Yun seemed to ignore her. However, after the meal, the two children became much more familiar with each other.

After the meal, Qiu Yan called Zheng Yun over and gave her some earnest advice.

Having spent these days together, Zheng Yun had developed a slight dependence on Qiu Yan. Although he tried his best to hide it, a hint of reluctance could still be seen. However, he also knew that Qiu Yan's departure to study was a serious matter, so he didn't say much.

"Yun'er, stay here well and don't forget to review your lessons every day and practice your calligraphy diligently. I will send someone to collect your lessons from time to time to check them. Don't slack off."

"Yun'er understands."

Looking at Little Zheng Yun's well-behaved and sensible appearance, even Qiu Yan couldn't help but feel affection for him. He patted the boy's head and said with a smile, "Sometimes your Grandpa Liu misses you and will send someone to pick you up to stay for a few days. If you suffer any grievances, tell Grandpa Liu everything, understand?"

Little Zheng Yun nodded.

After exchanging a few words, Qiu Yan took his leave. Zheng Jie saw him off with a smile for quite a distance. To him, Qiu Yan's visit today, and the fact that he drank and ate at his home, was no small matter. If word got out, it could help him improve his status in the Yamen, so he was naturally delighted.

Standing by the Zheng Household's gate, Zheng Yun watched Qiu Yan's departing figure with a slightly depressed expression. Suddenly, his small hand was touched, and when he turned around, he saw his Ya Niang's bright smile.

After leaving the Zheng Household, Qiu Yan returned to his own residence.

Qiu Yan had been away from this old house for some time, but the Inner Courtyard was clean and tidy, obviously because someone cleaned it regularly. When Qiu Yan left, he found someone to stay here temporarily and help with the cleaning.

At this moment, when the man saw Qiu Yan return, he quickly stepped forward to bow and addressed him as "Master".

Now, news of Qiu Yan's achievement as the top scholar has already spread throughout Jiannan Circuit. As his hometown, Qingchang County even held a celebration. The neighbors all know the news and say that Qiu Yan is the reincarnation of the Wenqu Star.

"Uncle Zhang, thank you for your help these past few days."

After exchanging a few words with the man, Qiu Yan returned to his study, tidied the books on the bookshelf, then went to a corner of the room, moved a brick aside, and took out a bright red bead from it.

This bead was crystal clear, with light and shadow flowing inside. It looked ordinary, but when Qiu Yan held it in his hand and gently scratched it with his fingernail, it immediately emitted a surge of Qi and Blood, causing his blood Blood Qi to surge and white smoke to rise from his head!

After observing it carefully for a while, and even using his senses, almost to the Spirit Projection his mind, to try to capture the aura within the bead, Qiu Yan finally nodded in satisfaction after a long time.

"Indeed, this blood bead has been completely refined and condensed by divine power. Its aura is completely contained and will not be revealed. You don't need to worry about it attracting unnecessary trouble if you carry it with you."

After saying that, he took out a jade pendant from his pocket.

This jade pendant is made of ordinary material. Qiu Yan bought it in Yuanning Prefecture. It has a hole in it, and with a little force, the red bead was set into it with a "snap".

Instantly, the jade pendant turned red, becoming crystal clear, and was hung at Qiu Yan's waist.

This seemingly ordinary red bead is anything but simple; it has an extraordinary origin. It was formed when the Demon King Shi Jianhui's soul was scattered and torn apart by numerous vengeful spirits, eventually solidifying into a demon core! It is essentially the Demon Core of a great demon at the Core-Forging Realm!

It was previously taken away by the true deity and refined day and night, then sent by a demon to the study to be hidden away, left to the clone.

After fighting Shi Jianhui, Qiu Yan had already roughly guessed the true nature of this demon.

This Demon King cultivated to the point of condensing Demon Core and even developing True Essence, but he likely suffered severe injuries, causing his cultivation level to plummet. He barely preserved some of his True Essence before reincarnating, but he left behind his demon body from his previous life.

After reincarnation, influenced by the illusion in her womb, a barrier arose between her human and demon forms. Therefore, she transferred her Demon Core and True Essence to her human body, slowly nurturing it, hoping to one day restore it to its former state.

"When I fought the Demon King, she displayed the cultivation level of the second stage of Core Forging, the False Core stage. Yet she could wield True Essence, likely a legacy from her past life. Now, her True Essence and Demon Core have been refined into a single bead, further condensed and transformed by divine power. Carrying it with me brings immeasurable benefits, accelerating my martial arts cultivation! I currently need to improve my martial arts, achieving a balance between literary and martial arts, to establish Daoheart Fist Intent..."

After thinking for a while, Qiu Yan sat down.

"I won't be staying in Jiannan Circuit for much longer. To enhance my reputation and accelerate my advancement in the Divine Path, relying solely on one path is far from enough. No matter how renowned I am in Jiannan Circuit, it's often not recognized when it spreads out, making my efforts twice as much for half the result. Ultimately, I need to go out and make contact with the upper echelons of the Scholar Forest. Hmm, perhaps I should organize my thoughts today..."

Thinking of this, he spread out paper on the table, ground the ink, picked up a brush, pondered for a moment, and then wrote two words on the paper—

Life.

The word "sex" is ethereal, dynamic, and ever-changing, just like a thought.

The word "ming" is condensed, full and square, just like bones and blood.

After thinking for a while, Qiu Yan picked up his pen again and wrote two characters.

Below the character for "sex" was written the character for "literature," and suddenly Literary Thought flowed.

Below the character for "fate" is the character for "martial arts," instantly filling one with vital Qi and Blood.

The literary and martial arts are subtly compatible, yet there is still a gap between them, as if they are not logically unified.

Qiu Yan shook his head, closed his eyes, and pondered deeply. Memories flowed through his mind, with memories of his past and present lives surging like a tide. Then, a Spiritual Light flew out from within!

He suddenly opened his eyes, and with a flick of his pen, wrote down two more words!

"" means "knowledge", which expresses an artistic conception of inquiry, understanding, and comprehension;

"" means "", exuding an artistic conception of practice, experimentation, and mastery!

Boom!

As soon as the words "Knowledge and Action" were formed, Qiu Yan's perception was shaken. The force that permeated his entire body actually penetrated inward, making his mind clear and his senses float and rise, as if his soul Spirit Projection!

A fine line gradually appeared on his forehead!

"Huh?" Two surprised exclamations rang out from outside the courtyard!

Meanwhile, in Xingyuan Prefecture, a major city in the northwest of Jiannan Circuit, at the Quanyou Academy.

Zhao Bingcheng and another elderly man sat silently in the room, looking at the calligraphy scrolls in front of them.

After a few moments, Zhao Bingcheng sighed, his face full of bitterness, and said, "Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to use these foreign languages for the time being."

Another person sighed and said helplessly, "Who would have thought that our Quanyou Academy would fall to this state, with our disciples unable to write a single article worthy of being presented to the Sage Worthies Hall?"

Zhao Bingcheng shook his head and smiled wryly, "During my trip, I collected these scriptures and poems using the Sage Manuscript as a guide, precisely to prevent this from happening. Time is of the essence, the deadline is approaching, let's move on now. If that doesn't work, we'll have to seek help from other academies."

"If we really ask for help, Quanyou's reputation will be completely ruined. Now is the crucial moment for the struggle for Confucianism orthodoxy. If this happens, everything will be over!"

As they talked, the two tidied up the articles, picked them up, and walked outside.

Among these articles, there is a poem titled "Pity the Farmers" that Qiu Yan wrote back in Wuxin City! (To be continued)

ps: Thanks to "osun" and "qlizhipeng12" for their monthly votes!

Thanks to "taishang0" and "Huoshan1889" for their tips!