Human Path Stirs!

On the outskirts of Dingchang City, inside the military camp, the generals led by Marquis Xiao Lan of Maishan were talking when they suddenly fell silent. Their minds were shaken, their muscles and bones throbbed, and the entire military camp's qi and blood array trembled violently!

Qi and Blood surged!

"This is..."

Lu Jiang's eyes widened as he felt a surge of Qi and Blood flowing back into his body, mixed with complex information that seemed to encompass everything, yet he couldn't grasp it.

"The military classic is complete!" Xiao Lan exclaimed excitedly. "I never thought I, Xiao Lan, would witness such a scene in my lifetime!" At this moment, the Military School strategists and nobles around him completely lost their composure and dignity.

While he was speaking, the battle between qi and blood changed rapidly. The qi and blood quickly condensed in the air, and finally turned into the word "soldier", splitting out a ray of light and flying towards the northern sky!

In the camp, Xiao Lan seemed to sense something and ordered someone to pass on military orders, instructing the soldiers to prepare and sending scouts ahead.

Snap!

Prosperity Capital, Hanlin Academy.

A person was writing when suddenly he lost his grip, and the tip of his pen pressed against the paper, leaving a stain of ink.

"This... it's only been a short time, and it's already done?"

A voice full of unexpected emotions sounded, and the surrounding black light flashed, swaying, converging on the back of the man's hand holding the pen, twisting, changing, and forming the word "".

The character shone brightly, as if in response to some power, and finally produced a radiant beam that shot into the sky!

Deep within the Chen Residence, in a secluded courtyard.

In the dimly lit room, the Household Ancestor Chen, who was reclining on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with deep shock.

"This is completely unexpected! No matter how highly I regard him, I never imagined that he would truly achieve the first-stage Original Edition so quickly! The speed of his progress is simply unbelievable!"

As the thought of surprise swirled, the various Outer Demon that had been wandering around the room suddenly changed, converged, and condensed into the character "Dao" on the old man's wrinkled head.

However, this "Dao" is clearly different from the Daoist Sect. It has a calm and composed aura, but under the impact of the Divine Ability aura emanating from the Household Ancestor Chen, it appears to be on the verge of collapse, as if it may disappear at any moment.

However, this character also emitted a beam of light, which flew out of the house.

Crackling! Crackling!

Outside the city, in a secret room beneath a manor, the sounds of mechanisms clattering filled the air. A man dressed in Ink Garb was examining a mask closely. The mask twisted, revealing fleshy buds that lunged at the man's face, but were stopped by his aura.

Click!

The mask made a crisp sound and then froze.

The man in Ink Garb shook his head.

"It's still not perfect enough. I haven't completely tamed the Blank Divine Power, hmm?" he muttered to himself. Suddenly, he paused, looking up at the sky.

Click! Click! Click!

Next to it, the mechanism bounced, and several gold and iron parts flew out, changing rapidly in the air. The gears got stuck with each other, and finally formed a flashing "ink" character. A cold light also shot out into the sky!

In the farmland outside the city, an old man who was bending over to plant rice seedlings suddenly froze, his cloudy old eyes revealing shock. Just then, a smear of sweat slid down his forehead and dripped from his chin.

Sweat falls into the field, slowly seeping in, eventually forming the Chinese character for "farm," and a radiant light rises forth, heading north.

In a more remote village, in a simple clinic, a disheveled doctor was dispensing medicine. But when one particular herb was placed in the paper packet, he suddenly paused, then a smile crept onto his lips, his eyes darted around, and his gaze fell on the packet.

The powdered medicinal herbs danced and rearranged, eventually forming two characters—

Applied Arts!

These two words also emitted light, silently leaving the clinic and flying north.

At the same time, several Confucian academies inside and outside the city, including Taixu Academy, were shaken at this moment. Mr. Taixu, Ma Lao Xiangguo and others had different expressions. The literary thoughts around them gathered together and turned into Confucian characters, but each word had its own meaning. This character was like a frame, carrying different thoughts, different colors of light, and rising up.

Not only in Prosperity Capital, but also in Eastern Capital and the surrounding areas, similar things happened, with beams of light shooting into the sky and pointing straight to the northern Grasslands!

The four borders of the Great Rui.

A famous military general felt something at the same time. The qi and blood in the military towns and barracks where they were stationed changed rapidly, condensing into the characters "soldiers", and one after another, the qi and blood smoke rose from all over the border, pointing directly to the north!

In the main hall of the Prosperity Capital Literary Hall.

He Shuchang, who had once debated with Qiu Yan, stood in the hall, surrounded by a solemn atmosphere. Behind him followed several scholars from the Eastern Capital.

One of them spoke up, asking, "We have come from afar to test our knowledge with Brother Bai, why are you avoiding us?"

The person on duty at the Literary Hall was a middle-aged man dressed in Confucian robes, with a refined and scholarly demeanor. Upon hearing this, he said, "Please do not misunderstand, everyone. Brother Bai has been in seclusion for many days, not because he intends to avoid battle."

Behind the official in charge of the Literary Hall sat many scholars, their gazes toward He Shuchang and his group filled with disdain.

Ever since news spread in the Imperial City that Bai Zhaoyuan had lost to Qiu Yan in the debate, people have been coming to take advantage of the situation and try to kick him while he was down. Later, when they heard that Bai Zhaoyuan had gone into seclusion, many people had their own ideas and chose this time to show up. When others asked, they said that Bai Zhaoyuan was avoiding them out of fear.

The scholars at the Literary Hall believed that He Shuchang and his entourage likely shared the same goal.

Upon hearing the reply, He Shuchang remained unmoved. However, several people behind him stepped forward and said, "Since Brother Bai cannot come forward, it is not appropriate to force him. However, Brother He, you cannot leave so easily this time. Otherwise, if word gets out, it will be detrimental to the reputation of your establishment and Brother Bai."

"Hmm?" Everyone in the Literary Hall was surprised to hear him say that, but then they understood his plan.

Then the man continued, "In my opinion, why don't you all exchange your knowledge with us and verify each other's findings? What do you think?"

"This..." The civil official on duty hesitated upon hearing this.

At this moment, He Shuchang spoke up, "I have some views on Self-Reflection Investigation of Things. I have heard that your esteemed institution also has unique insights into the Investigation of Things and Extension of Knowledge and the extension of knowledge. We might as well exchange ideas and learn from each other."

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a somewhat sarcastic voice rang out—

Do you think we don't know your plans?

The person who spoke was actually Feng Zhao.

This man once stayed at the Book Hoard Inn with Zhou Guan and others. When Wen Zhizhen gave a lecture at the inn, he poured cold water on the idea and spoke harshly, but he was a fairly upright and impartial person.

He disappeared without a trace after the Imperial Examinations, Knowing Action he's now in the Literary Hall.

One of the men behind He Shuchang immediately retorted, "Brother, what do you mean by that?"

"What do you mean?" Feng Zhao sneered. "This He Shuchang, the Secretary, has been debating with people in several major study rooms in the Imperial City for the past six months. Whenever he wins, he goes there to lecture on his own Self-Reflection Investigation of Things, and he's quite famous. He's vaguely resembling Wen Zhizhen in his early days."

"You!" The people behind He Shuchang couldn't help but shout out.

Wen Zhizhen has now been deported back to her hometown due to the cheating scandal and is banned from taking the exam for life. When Feng Zhao said that He Shuchang resembled Wen Zhizhen, it was no exaggeration.

He Shuchang waved his hand to stop the people behind him, and then gestured for Feng Zhao to continue.

Feng Zhao, unmoved by the flattery, looked directly at He Shuchang and said, "I heard that when you were in Eastern Capital, you had a debate with Qiu Yan, but you did not win. Qiu Yan once farmed and studied outside Eastern Capital, and many people came to him to debate or ask him for advice. They all gained a lot, which became a well-known story. I suppose you, Young Master He, would like to emulate him?"

Within half a year, Qiu Yan's reputation as the top scholar spread far and wide, and his deeds in various places also became known. The events in Eastern Capital were already full of legendary color. Soon, they spread throughout the world, and the story of Qiu Yan studying Lin Zhong was showing signs of becoming a classic tale, and was about to turn into the idiom "Qiu Yan studying and farming".

Upon hearing this, He Shuchang narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Are you saying I'm imitating Qiu Yan?"

"I didn't say that. It's just that your behavior is bound to cause misunderstandings!" Feng Zhao's words were as cold and hard as ever, and the meaning behind them was easy to understand.

He Shuchang sized up Feng Zhao without saying a word, yet an invisible pressure enveloped the surroundings, spreading ever wider, surprising even those with some knowledge.

"Literary Heart Pressure? At such a young age, He Shuchang has already condensed his Literary Heart!"

Literary Heart is the key to the academy's inheritance. Those who achieve Literary Heart are extraordinary, at least in that they have their own insights into the principles of Human Path!

Once they understood, the way everyone looked at He Shuchang changed noticeably.

Noticing the change in the gazes around him, He Shuchang nodded to himself and was about to say a few words of advice to Feng Zhao, but before he could speak, he suddenly froze!

Then, a strange mist spread from the depths of the Literary Hall, ethereal and captivating, and was clearly composed of Literary Thought, with a Force of Order flowing within it!

In the Void, a bolt of lightning flashed, and Order surged!

Everyone, including He Shuchang, was startled. Enveloped in the mist, they vaguely saw the manifestation of Human Path Order, yet they still didn't know the reason!

"Young Master Bai has succeeded!"

Immediately, cheers erupted from the members of the Literary Hall.

"This is... Thought-Convergent Order? Who did this? Could it be Bai Zhaoyuan? He Thought-Convergent Order and become a great Grand Confucian scholar?" He Shuchang's mind suddenly went blank. He had come here with the idea of gathering public support as a shortcut to becoming a great Grand Confucian, but he never expected to encounter such a thing.

However, after a few breaths, everyone who had absorbed a lot of mist became dazed and speechless.

The mist trembled and converged in one place, revealing a figure dressed in white who slowly walked out, with what appeared to be a faint white horse beneath him. On the Literary Thought's chest, the mist condensed into characters.

At this moment, lightning struck from the Void, and the scene changed again. In the dim light, He Shuchang's consciousness began to drift, and a book appeared in his field of vision.

The book was held by one hand, swallowing Literary Thought like Black Hole, with a tendency to absorb He Shuchang's consciousness and Literary Heart into it!

"Human Path Feedback? I never imagined that in this era, someone could go to such lengths. Qiu Yan has beaten me to it again..."

Bai Zhaoyuan's sigh finally jolted He Shuchang out of his daze.

ps:

Thanks to "Longwu", "Six-winged Demon King", "Xiao Shuo", "Infinite Wireless", "Never Vote", "Mianzijiao", "ing", and "xihj" for their monthly votes!

Thank you to "Canghaizhizi001", "Daoist Master One-Nine", and "Book Friend 140715183321431" for their generous donations!

The first half of the page from this morning was lost due to a WPS outage, so this update is late.