No First Place in Literature

There were four people blocking Qiu Yan's way, including Han Wei'er. Two of them were around forty years old, and the third was a young man in his twenties.

The young man walked up to Qiu Yan, looked him up and down, and asked with a puzzled expression, "You're Qiu Yan? You defeated He Shuchang, which led to Junior Chen taking you as a disciple?" Then he shook his head, "It's not quite what I expected."

Qiu Yan frowned. He ignored the young man and looked at Han Wei'er with a look of doubt in his eyes.

Han Wei'er smiled and said, "Brother Qiu, please don't misunderstand. These three are my friends, and they've come to help you."

"Help me?" Qiu Yan was somewhat confused.

"That's right," Han Wei'er nodded. "Now that the Ji Clan has opened up the path of the Heart Path, anyone with a little literary talent can open the door to the heart by using the writings of Sage Paper. This is a crucial moment for everyone to compete for. Wouldn't it be a pity to miss it? My father and I have high hopes for you, and my grandfather has also praised you highly, so I can't ignore it."

Hearing this, Qiu Yan roughly understood Han Wei'er's thoughts and realized that the other party was indeed willing to help. However, she did not know that she had already joined the Scholar Forest.

Across from her, Han Wei'er pointed to the Human Path beside her and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Zheng Yi from the Spring and Autumn Academy, and these two are An Jin and Xi Muyuan from the Nine Abyss Academy. The three of them are quite capable in their respective academies. Brother Qiu, as long as you demonstrate your knowledge, they can arrange for you to go to Scholar Forest Scholar's Gathering with the academy's disciples."

"Spring and Autumn Academy, Nine Abyss Academy?"

Qiu Yan's gaze swept over the three people, catching a trace of their auras that had a slight connection to his own. After a moment's thought, he understood.

"These three all have the air of Scholar Forest, so they must have been to the Scholar Forest before, but not for this debate." Besides the Apricot Altar Dao Discourse, there are other ways to enter the community. Having figured this out, Qiu Yan began to examine them more closely.

Zheng Yi was a man in his forties, not very tall, and slightly overweight. He had squinty eyes and a slightly upturned mouth, giving him a kind and approachable appearance.

"This man is a disciple of Spring and Autumn Annals Academy. On my way back from Scholar Forest, I passed by the Sage Worthies Hall of the Spring and Autumn Academy and caused quite a commotion. Does this man not know about it? Hmm? This man is also surnamed Zheng. I wonder what connection he has with Mr. Zheng?"

Thinking this, Qiu Yan looked at the other two.

Both of these people were from the Nine Abyss Academy. Qiu Yan had heard of this academy before. It was said to have a short history, established a few decades ago, and its founder was known as the Nine Abyss Sage. At that time, the Sage's status in the Scholar Forest world was roughly equivalent to that of Junior Chen today.

On the day Qiu Yan returned from Scholar Forest, he passed through the gate and entered the Heart Path. Finally, the road ahead split into seven, one of which led to the Nine Abyss Academy.

An Jin was about the same age as Zheng Yi, but he looked very robust and showed no signs of middle-aged obesity. He had a square face and gave people a serious and unsmiling impression. Since he arrived, he had been frowning and staring at Qiu Yan, deep in thought, as if he had encountered some problem that he could not figure out.

As for Xi Muyuan, he was the young man who spoke first, dressed in a scholar's robe. Although young, he possessed an imposing aura, which Qiu Yan could easily discern. This aura did not stem from his knowledge or Literary Thought, but rather from his long-standing practice of bossing people around and wielding power. This clearly demonstrated that Xi Muyuan's status within the Nine Abyss Academy was far from ordinary.

That makes sense. Han Wei'er kept saying she would help Qiu Yan enter the Scholar Forest, which is no small matter. It would be strange if the three people who came were just ordinary disciples from the academy.

But...

"Now that the Heart Path to Scholar Forest has been opened, the students who should be going to Scholar Forest Academy should have already entered. How can we allow more people to enter?" Qiu Yan asked, voicing his doubts.

Upon hearing this, Han Wei'er smiled but remained silent, glancing at Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi understood and stepped forward, saying, "Young Master Qiu may not know this, but the true allure of the Apricot Altar Dao Discourse lies in the fact that the descendants of sages like the Ji Clan use their bloodline to support and broaden their Heart Path, allowing even articles that would normally fail to open that Heart Path to awaken Heart Path. However, the breadth of that Heart Path is limited, and the number of people who can pass through is constrained by this, so we must enter in several batches, one at a time."

Nodding to himself, Qiu Yan remembered that when he returned from Scholar Forest, people did indeed come in batches through that gate.

Before he could even finish his thought, Xi Muyuan said, "However, don't delude yourself into thinking you can get your hands on the Sage Paper and write on your own. After all, you're not a disciple of the academy. The academy won't waste the Sage Paper on outsiders. At most, they'll invite others to join them in that vortex when the Heart Path is opened."

At this point, he changed the subject. "Besides, judging from your Literary Thought, it may not be able to open your Heart Path. You might even waste a precious piece of Sage Paper, which would be unwise. It would be safer to follow someone else."

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes. He knew that writing the Dao in the Sage Paper had many benefits; it could not only refine one's thoughts but also serve as a medium to connect with the Heavenly Order, making it exceptionally precious. It was normal that those academies were unwilling to offer it to outsiders. Besides, he had no intention of rejoining the Scholar Forest, but...

"This Xi Muyuan seems to be somewhat hostile towards me..."

As Qiu Yan pondered, he glanced at Han Wei'er and thought to himself, "It's not because of romantic feelings. Xi Muyuan of profound and mature Literary Thought, and he doesn't seem to harbor any jealousy or hatred. His eyes are clear when he speaks, without any personal feelings mixed in. His hostility isn't due to personal relationships, but rather to his academic pursuits, perhaps related to the Heavenly Principle Debate."

Thinking back to what the other party had said at the beginning, Qiu Yan had a clue. Not long ago, he had debated with He Shuchang at the Heavenly Principle Tower of the Principle Sect Academy, which made him somewhat famous. In the past few days, it had become a topic of conversation among the literati. Since ancient times, there has been no first place in literature and no second place in martial arts. Few people would easily submit to others. In the eyes of many Confucian scholars, Qiu Yan had not entered any academy and was not affiliated with any sect, yet he had a reputation. Naturally, this made people feel resentful and wanted to suppress and compare with him.

"In a few days, there will likely be some more twists and turns at the Literary Pavilion. Although this tower is for judging articles, there will definitely be people who want to compete for superiority. However, those who actually wrote the articles are currently wandering around the literary Scholar Forest, so it is very likely that others will be the ones taking their articles to be judged."

Suddenly, a thought flashed Spiritual Light Qiu Yan's mind.

"Yes, the Sage Paper can imprint a person's thoughts and Literary Dao, aligning with Order and connecting with the soul of the writer. When Prime Minister Han and Junior Chen critique it, as long as they write comments on the paper, following this connection, even if the soul is still in the Scholar Forest, it can still sense something and gain something from it."

Thinking about it this way, Qiu Yan realized that he really had to go there in person on the day Literary Pavilion Appraisal, because no one could do it for him.

The building was full of scholars that day. If Hu Qi and Dai Guo were to send it, given their status, it might cause a stir and leave a reputation for disrespecting elders. Han Yi and the others were all highly respected people. If Qiu Yan sent a servant to have someone evaluate them, their reputation would immediately plummet.

With this thought in mind, he lost all interest in talking to anyone and said to Han Wei'er, "I thank Miss Han for your help, but please let this matter drop. To be honest, I have already been to the Scholar Forest Academy, so there is no need for me to entrust this matter to someone else."

"You've been to Scholar Forest?" Han Wei'er was taken aback. "The Heart Path has only been open for a short time. If you've been to Scholar Forest, you must have lingered there for a long time. How come you came out so quickly? Didn't you gain nothing?"

"Prime Minister Han is aware of this, Miss Han can inquire further," Qiu Yan said, bowing slightly to the other three. "I must thank you all for your kindness, though it has been a wasted trip for you."

"You say you've joined the Scholar Forest, but your Literary Thought aura is weak, and you lack the aura of the Scholar Forest. Are you just spouting nonsense?" Xi Muyuan immediately became suspicious. He had also joined the Scholar Forest before, but he didn't join this time in order to save his limited number of times to use in a critical moment.

However, those who have entered the Scholar Forest community can sense each other's auras, but Xi Muyuan has not been able to detect such an aura from Qiu Yan since he arrived, and even his Literary Thought are extremely weak, which is why he suspects that Qiu Yan is just a name without substance.

This is because Qiu Yan's cultivation has reached a certain level, which has led to such a consequence.

After all, Qiu Yan was not only a Confucian scholar, but also a cultivator who had comprehended the mysteries of the Divine Path. In addition, he had studied the Sage Spirit and had just verified his knowledge with Han Yi. His State of Mind was showing signs of transformation. Under the combined effect of all these factors, the aura on Qiu Yan's body had already shown signs of returning to nature.

Under these circumstances, it was already quite remarkable that Xi Muyuan and others were able to glean even a hint of Literary Thought talent from Qiu Yan.

It's important to know that neither Duolu nor the man in the long robe, who had accompanied Prince Yan earlier, had been able to detect the Literary Thought aura emanating from Qiu Yan. However, this wasn't because Duolu and the man in the long robe were less skilled than the three of them. In fact, Xi Muyuan and the others were not cultivators. The reason they were able to detect a trace of literary Literary Thought was twofold: firstly, they were close to Qiu Yan; secondly, they were focused on the Literary Dao. Although they also had desires for fame and fortune, their desires were much purer than others, which allowed them to perceive the Literary Thought.

However, Qiu Yan had no intention of arguing with the questioning. He didn't need to convince others of his claims, and besides, in Qiu Yan's view, arguing with scholars had little Human Path value.

After saying goodbye, Qiu Yan strode away.

"Seeing is believing, but actually being there is not as good as hearing about."

After Qiu Yan left, Xi Mu shook his head and gave an assessment. "A few days ago, when I heard the name Qiu Yan and learned that he had defeated He Shuchang and alarmed Junior Chen, I was interested in verifying his claim with him. But today, hearing that he failed to Scholar Forest, I know that this person has exaggerated a bit."

An Jin, who had been silent, also said, "To Scholar Forest, one must have Sage Worthies Clay Statues, but these sculptures are kept by various academies. Those who enter the academy must be recorded, but I have never heard of Qiu Yan's name. I wonder how he entered the academy."

Han Wei'er frowned, wanting to say something, but ultimately couldn't utter a word.

As for Zheng Yi, he remained all smiles and didn't say a word.

On the other side, Prince Yan, who was in the tavern, saw this scene and his eyes flashed with a sharp light. He turned to give instructions to a servant.

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