Where Dark Currents Stir, Seeking to Fan the Waves
Why is there such a commotion outside?
In the innermost room on the second floor of the Literary Pavilion, several elderly people and two middle-aged men sat in armchairs, some exuding extraordinary bearing, others displaying vigorous energy, and still others radiating an imposing aura.
Han Yi was also among them, as was Junior Chen Principle Sect, who had met Qiu Yan once before.
On the tables beside them, there were several scrolls of text, their surfaces smooth and glossy, their resilience visible even to the naked eye.
If one uses their heart to perceive, one can discern different moods from the various scrolls, vaguely connected to a certain Order. However, there are also a few pieces that are not connected to the external Order, but instead take a different approach.
"Perhaps someone has arrived, stirring up the spirits of the students in the building."
Hearing the noise outside, the people inside first discussed it, and then someone laughed. The speaker was an old man of similar age to Han Yi, named Zhou Dongyi. He was once the head of the Nine Abyss Academy, but has now stepped down and teaches students at the academy.
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man next to Zhou Dongyi nodded and said, "That's right. Young people can't fully understand everything they read. It's normal for them to have desires and wants. The Essentials experience things before they can distinguish right from wrong. Guiding them then will be much more effective."
This man Pang Chu, the owner of a study in the Eastern Capital. He was known as the Master of the Thousand Books Studio. Although he was not well-known, he was extremely famous in academic circles. His friends were all highly learned, and he was known for associating with no uncultured people.
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a voice rang out—
"While that may be true, it also shows that many people in this building lack manners. They should always be mindful of proper etiquette and manners. One should live life as if walking on thin ice. If one does not do so, what right does one have to guide others?"
The speaker clearly disagreed with Pang Chu's statement. He was also quite young, appearing to be around forty years old. He had a long, flowing beard and wore a dark robe. He sat upright in his chair, exuding a serious and unsmiling aura, which seemed to solidify the atmosphere around him.
This man is named Xu Shi, the current headmaster of the Ritual Reverence Academy. He was exceptionally intelligent from a young age. At the age of thirty, he participated in the Imperial Examinations and obtained the title of the Ritual Reverence Academy. He took over as headmaster three years ago.
A man like him, having experienced so much, exudes an aura that can influence others with his every move. However, at present, this aura is limited to those around him. The reason is that the other people in the room are no less knowledgeable than him, and their status is far superior.
Excluding Han Yi, who had served as a prime minister, and Junior Chen, whose disciples were all over the world, the others who stepped forward, according to seniority, could only treat Xu Shi with the respect due to a junior. Therefore, he could only refute Pang Chu's words with reason. Once the others spoke, Xu Shi could not act rashly.
Then the oldest person present spoke. His face was full of wrinkles, and his body was as thin as a rake. When he spoke, his voice trembled slightly and was low. "Since people outside call this Literary Pavilion Appraisal a grand event in the literary world, it is only right that it be lively. It should be recorded, put into the history books, and passed down to future generations."
As he spoke, his words carried an ancient air, and combined with their meaning, they gave onlookers a sense of witnessing history.
The old man, named Zheng Qiu, was an elder of the Spring and Autumn Academy. He had come at the invitation of the academy, not primarily to critique the articles, but to record the grand event. Due to his age, he held a high position, and once he spoke, it was as if he had set the tone, leaving others with no room for further discussion.
The remaining few were also from several academies within the Eastern Capital region.
The recent Apricot Altar Dao Discourse has caused quite a stir, spreading throughout the land. Except for a few border regions, almost everyone in the Scholar Forest world knows about it. These pillars of the academies, even if they don't want to get involved, have no choice but to show up for the sake of the academy's legacy. From this perspective, the two old Confucian scholars sitting in the Imperial City are actually more Transcendence.
At this moment, Junior Chen said, "Gentlemen, instead of pondering these things, why don't we read through the articles we have, write down our comments, rank them, and then circulate them among everyone in the building? This will put the matter at ease and prevent any further complications."
After he finished speaking, everyone nodded, picked up the scroll beside them, and began to read it.
The next moment, a series of artistic conceptions containing different paths spread out and intertwined with each other.
On a level rarely seen by ordinary people, tiny flames gradually emerge—these are the sparks of intellectual collision.
"Oh? Knowledge Through Effort, Practice Through Diligence..."
Zhou Dongyi of the Nine Abyss Academy looked at the article in his hand and his heart stirred.
The articles that were collected were distributed according to certain principles. Most of the people present were related to their respective academies, and the number of their disciples was related to the articles that opened their Heart Path. In order to avoid suspicion, they needed to be cross-evaluated.
Although Qiu Yan did not enter the academy, he received a joint recommendation from Han Yi and Junior Chen. Therefore, it was only right and proper that the evaluation be left to someone else. However, this person was not limited to Zhou Dongyi alone; the others also had to review it.
Before long, the atmosphere in the room changed, becoming much quieter. Various expressions could be seen on the faces of the people inside: some smiled knowingly, some frowned in deep thought, some nodded silently, and some shook their heads and sighed.
However, one thing is certain: every article they held was unique and not empty rhetoric; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to open the Heart Path of the Scholar Forest. It can be said that any one of these articles could serve as a model in the academy.
Reading such articles is by no means a chore.
At the same time, outside the room, two figures were cautiously pressed against the door, channeling their energy to detect any movement inside.
"It seems the gentlemen in the room are about to begin critiquing the article..."
"That's right. Let's go report first. While the gentlemen are commenting on the articles, they will be too busy to attend to anything else. This is a good opportunity for Your Highness to act."
The two discussed it for a moment, made a decision, turned around and left, stopping at the corner on the second floor and knocking on the door.
A slightly agitated voice came from inside the door.
"Come in."
The two pushed open the door and went inside.
This room is small and simply furnished. It is where Literary Pavilion entertains guests. There is a table in the center of the room with Incense Burner on it and chairs on the side. As soon as you enter, you can smell the fragrance, which is refreshing and seems to dispel your worries.
However, when their eyes fell on the face of the person at the table, their hearts skipped a beat.
This man was none other than Prince Yan, his face filled with anger. He waved his hand dismissively at the two who entered, then slammed his hand on the table, saying bitterly, "Han Wei'er has ruined my plans again! Everything was arranged perfectly, just waiting for my men to enter the building to incite the students against Qiu Yan and tarnish his reputation. I never expected that this shout would throw everything into chaos!"
The two who had just entered immediately fell silent, realizing what had happened in a flash.
Their master came to the Literary Pavilion not only to make a name for himself at the grand event, but also to take the opportunity to retaliate against Qiu Yan. To this end, he made many arrangements, including bribing people, waiting for the show to begin. However, Han Wei'er's words disrupted his plans, and the situation spiraled out of control.
"Your Highness, Han Wei'er has done this more than once or twice. It seems unintentional, but it's all been targeted." A little old man whispered beside Prince Yan. This man was Prince Yan's chief strategist. Gongyang Yi had his Literary Thought Gongyang Yi stripped away by Qiu Yan and was already crippled. Prince Yan kept him around only to put on a show for his subordinates, and the staff had already been replaced.
Prince Yan glanced at the old man and frowned, saying, "Fu Ben, just say what you want to say directly. Don't beat around the bush."
"Yes," the old man named Fu Ben knew that Prince Yan was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to say anything more and directly revealed his thoughts, "In my opinion, it's not necessary to go through so much trouble. Qiu Sheng has Divine Ability, and Young Master Yang is not afraid of him. Why not ask Young Master Yang to take action, capture Qiu Yan, and hand him over to the government, strip him of his academic title, and put him in prison? In this way, even if his Fortune will be exhausted and his end will be miserable."
"What do you know! If I could resolve this with Divine Ability, why would I go to such lengths?" Prince Yan glared at Fu Ben, his tone unfriendly.
The "Young Master Yang" mentioned by the other party is actually Yang Ying. A few days ago, when the Golden Crow Daoist was defeated by Qiu Yan, it was Yang Ying who informed Prince Yan, letting the prince know how dangerous things were.
However, Prince Yan was still unwilling to give up and wanted to ask Yang Ying for help. Unexpectedly, Yang Ying advised him not to use his Divine Ability powers to coerce Qiu Yan in the future. If he insisted on being an enemy, then he should deal with him in Human Path.
What is the way of Human Path?
In essence, it's just a struggle between people; to put it bluntly, it's nothing more than scheming, backstabbing, and framing. But how can such methods compare to the decisiveness of Divine Ability killing?
However, Yang Ying's background was extraordinary, and Prince Yan dared not underestimate him. He quickly pressed for details, only to receive this answer—
"Qiu Yan is also Qi Manifestation, which is one of the foundations of the Great Rui. If you use Divine Ability methods and succeed, everything will be fine. But if you fail, it will be equivalent to cutting off your path to Human Path. Even if your soul is extracted and your spirit is taken away, you deserve it. It would be better to deal with it using Human Path methods, at least you can save your life."
What this means is that if you play by your own rules, others can also disregard the rules, harming both themselves and others.
Although Prince Yan understood the warning in Yang Ying's words, he found it hard to accept. However, since the words had been spoken to this extent, he had no choice but to endure it and instead began to have other ideas. In the end, he set his sights on the opportunity of Literary Pavilion Appraisal, hoping to use the opportunity to tarnish Qiu Yan's name and persecute him using Human Path methods.
Fu Ben had long since figured out Prince Yan's temperament, so he quickly lowered his head and dared not say another word.
Prince Yan calmed his anger and looked at the two who had just entered. "Since things have come to this, we can only go with the flow. Go and contact those scholars and have them give us a push."
The two bowed, accepted the order, and turned to leave.
But once outside, they found the corridors and staircases filled with hurried figures, and could hear the scholars' discussions.
"That's too arrogant! Qiu Yan is completely disrespectful!"
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Because I'm clumsy with my hands, I type very slowly. I haven't even started working on the second chapter yet. I'll see when I have the chance to add an extra chapter.