Paintings Stir Many Hearts, Resolve Awakens in Xi

"Are Qiu Yan's two servants still outside? Let them come over so we can ask about the ownership of these nine paintings."

Suddenly, Han Yi said something that made everyone else in the room's hearts skip a beat.

"Old Han, Qiu Sheng never said who these paintings were to be given to." Zhou Dongyi sensed something amiss and voiced his thoughts. "Besides, the previous disturbances in the Human Path Order didn't happen without reason. Qiu Sheng essentially borrowed our help, so the ownership of these paintings should be based on that."

"That's why I had to ask." Han Yi smiled slightly, ignoring Zhou Dongyi's words.

The expressions of the others changed. These people, sitting together, had some personal connections, but they couldn't be considered close friends. The reason was that each of them had a family academy behind them, inheriting different doctrines. When they encountered problems, arguing based on reason was the least of their worries; sometimes, they would even tear each other apart in a dispute!

Han Yi and Qiu Yan had a close relationship, which was obvious to most people. Han Yi wanted to use this relationship to take Qiu Yan's nine paintings and add them to the Han Residence.

Qiu Yan's nine paintings have taken on completely different meanings in the eyes of the public. Some have even praised them as masterpieces, because the nine paintings are a perfect whole, revealing the various factors used by High Antiquity Human Path.

Such a realm of artistic conception would move even these Grand Confucian and teachers.

Because they hadn't anticipated that the nine paintings, when combined, could lead from initial Human Path to gradual exploration, eventually forming a system, opening up a new world, establishing a foothold, and possessing a future, they were even more astonished and their minds were deeply moved.

This is a gradual process, requiring predecessors and successors, with nine paintings serving as a bridge between the past and the future.

Therefore, Qiu Yan's most recent paintings become especially precious.

His painting skills were still immature and his style was rough, so those few paintings were not of great value in themselves. However, when they were connected with the other paintings and formed a coherent style, their importance was immediately highlighted, and they became the finishing touch.

At present, Qiu Yan's painting skills have been mastered. Even if he were to deliberately suppress his skills to create a similar effect, it would be very difficult, and there would inevitably be some traces of artificiality. Only when his painting skills have truly Great Cheng can it be reproduced. However, to be able to transform skill into simplicity and return to authenticity represents an extraordinary realm. Anyone who can achieve such a level is undoubtedly a master painter who has shaken the world throughout history.

In other words, even if Qiu Yan were to paint it again, it would be impossible to reproduce such a set of paintings in a short period of time. As a result, such a set of paintings that showcases the development of Human Path and depicts the High Antiquity way of Human Path naturally becomes precious.

Things are valued for their rarity.

What is even more commendable is that, although Qiu Yan incorporates his own understanding into this set of paintings, the general outlines and some details are drawn from the Land of the Divine Remains and what he learned in his previous life, so they are relatively close to reality and do not have too much subjective color.

In this way, each academy, by applying the essence of its own doctrines and making slight modifications, can interpret the scenes in the paintings. This is not only enlightening for the Grand Confucian, but also of great significance to the many disciples in the academies, guiding them to have an intuitive understanding of the Ancient Scene, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Not to mention, in the last painting, Qiu Yan incorporated many spiritual elements, linking them with the battlefield of his other self, analyzing that divine might and using it as the heavenly might in the painting, and integrating his own feelings of fighting against the Domain of Law into the ignorant humans in the painting.

When emotions are expressed through painting, those emotions become all the more genuine.

Under these circumstances, Han Yi and the others naturally recognized its value and were eager to compete for it. Although they all noticed the rise and fall of the Human Path Order, they did not say it out loud. This was because they wanted to leave a good impression, since the Human Path Order was different from ordinary power. If it went against its inner spirit, it would not only be useless but also harmful. There was no need to worry too much about it.

Han Yi wanted to use personal connections to obtain these paintings. Although the others were unhappy, they knew that this kind of thing was common. Since they were Qiu Yan's paintings, how to deal with them was naturally up to Qiu Yan. After all, Qiu Yan had not said that he would give all nine paintings to everyone.

However, while the group was considering giving up, their emotions immediately changed when the messenger returned, realizing that things had changed.

"Young Master Qiu's School of Names have already left." The person who delivered the message was not from the Han Residence, but from the Literary Pavilion, so he told the truth.

"Oh?" Zhou Dongyi, Xu Shi, and the Human Thoughts and a idea arose in their minds.

Then, the messenger added, "However, someone has already been arranged to go to Young Master Qiu's residence in the Lin Zhong to convey the old prime minister's instructions."

Hearing this, Han Yi shook his head silently and smiled, "As expected of the people of the Literary Pavilion, they are indeed quick to learn and considerate in their dealings. However, since Qiu Yan has made arrangements to have the two servants leave at this time, he must have a plan. It seems that my little scheme will not be successful."

The others, upon hearing these words, also sensed something, deduced the reason, suppressed their thoughts, and remained silent, waiting for news to arrive.

The messenger was still somewhat confused. He was respectful before the scholars, but his status was not insignificant. Now, as the person in charge of the Literary Pavilion, he needed to control the course of events as much as possible, so he naturally paid attention. Half an hour later, the two servants who went to search for the person in the Lin Zhong returned with astonishing news—

"Young Master Qiu, accompanied by two servants, has already left his residence in the Lin Zhong. It is said that he is heading to Prosperity Capital to participate in this year's Metropolitan Examination."

"Gone?" Literary Pavilion's leader was taken aback upon hearing this. "With him gone, how can the many scholars gathered in the Lin Zhong let this go?" Clearly, he was aware of the events of the past few days and knew that a group of scholars had gathered at Qiu Yan's residence, each with their own purpose, but all targeting Qiu Yan. They would not let the latter leave.

The messenger replied, "When Young Master Qiu left, he left behind several manuscripts. For some reason, they attracted a lot of scholars who fought over them, and many of them engaged in a literary contest on the spot. No one had time to care about where he went."

"Is that so?" Literary Pavilion, the person in charge, shook his head upon hearing this and instructed, "Here's what we'll do: tell the gentlemen upstairs all about this, then write it up in a file. When the Prince returns, submit it to him. Our Prince is very concerned about this Qiu Yan; we can't let his every move slip by."

"Yes."

As soon as the man left, the news was quickly delivered to the gentlemen's rooms.

"Just as I thought."

Having heard the news, everyone present understood. Han Yi gave a wry smile and looked up at the group, "What? I presume you all have a plan on how to distribute these paintings?"

Pang Chu smiled and said, "In my opinion, it would be better to put it in Thousand Books Studio. Your academy has some restrictions, but the study doesn't have so many concerns. Anyone can see it."

"That's not advisable. People come and go in your study. If it gets damaged, it would be a shame." Xu Shi shook his head. "Actually, you could follow the ancient method of dividing items and have each academy have one piece."

"No," Junior Chen shook his head. "These paintings only show their value when they are displayed together. If they are kept separately, it would be a great pity if one of them were damaged by an unsuspecting person, and it would be difficult to achieve Heavenly Principle."

"So, it seems we still need to determine who's better." Zhou Dongyi let out a long sigh. "I just wonder, what will we be competing in this time? Will it be a discussion of Dao?"

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by the voices of Xi Muyuan and others.

"Teacher, another disciple has been poisoned!"

"What?" Zhou Dongyi was stunned, but before he could react, footsteps sounded outside the door, approaching from afar, followed by Gao Song's voice from outside the door—

"Reporting to the Headmaster, two people have also died at our Ritual Reverence Academy!"

"So fast?" Xu Shi frowned. After hearing about the Nine Abyss Academy incident, he immediately returned to the academy to make arrangements. Fortunately, he had not yet seen the deceased at that time, which put him at ease. He did not expect that things would take such a sharp turn for the worse in such a short period of time.

Not only these two academies, but soon, representatives from several other academies also arrived, all reporting the damage.

Even someone from the Spring and Autumn Academy came to report. Upon hearing this, Elder Zheng Qiu remained calm, but he still said, "It seems that the evil spirit in the Lin Zhong that is deliberately harming people has become even more rampant. If it is not stopped, the consequences will be unimaginable. I wonder what the Literary Pavilion plans to do."

Snap!

Pang Chu suddenly clapped his hands and said, "I have a sudden idea. We want the painting now, but we've suddenly encountered a disaster in the Scholar Forest. Rather than being in chaos, why not combine these two things into one?"

"What do you mean?" Xu Shi glanced at Pang Chu, a thought flickering in his mind.

Pang Chu said, "Since we're going to have a competition, let's do something practical. This time, for the Scholar Forest rescue, everyone will be sending their disciples. I also have a nephew among them, and we'll travel together. The one who saves the most people and has the greatest impact will receive these nine paintings. What do you all think?"

Han Yi shook his head, knowing that he had been eliminated. Although he had connections and power, he didn't have many disciples, let alone suitable candidates to join the forest.

Apart from Han Yi, the others' eyes lit up.

"This is a good suggestion, but how do we judge the number of people saved and the impact?" Xu Shi pondered for a moment.

Junior Chen replied, "These matters are best left to the Literary Pavilion to decide; we should trust him."

"Alright."

Afterwards, the group discussed the matter briefly, but did not intend to inform the disciples outside the sect of the details, lest they make things worse. Instead, they called the disciples in after the discussion was over.

Xi Muyuan and the others had learned from the people in the Literary Pavilion why their teacher and the headmaster had returned in such a hurry.

"It's all because of Qiu Yan's painting?" Xi Muyuan felt a wave of discomfort wash over him, yet his resolve hardened even further.

"In this Scholar Forest rescue, I must demonstrate my skills and stand out from the crowd! It will also prove my Rectifying Names!"

With this thought in mind, he and the others entered the room. (To be continued. Please search for the novel for better and faster updates!)