Celebrations from All Sides, Soul Reaches the Fourth Realm

Upon regaining consciousness, He Shuchang was immediately drenched in cold sweat, but subconsciously muttered to himself, "Human Path Feedback? Qiu Yan?"

However, although Bai Zhaoyuan did not deliberately lower his voice, only He Shuchang could clearly hear Bai Zhaoyuan's words in the room. The others were still in a daze, surrounded by the smoke of Literary Thoughts, their minds wandering with their thoughts.

After being defeated by Qiu Yan, He Shuchang, a talented scholar from Jiangnan and a disciple of the Principle Sect, did not succumb to despair but instead learned from his mistakes. He then traveled among the common people and discovered the principle of Self-Reflection Investigation of Things.

Recently, the reason he has been seeking out Prosperity Capital Study to discuss philosophy is because he followed Senior Chen's advice. In the process, he either discussed literature with others or imparted his own knowledge, and his thoughts gradually changed.

It is worth mentioning that not long ago, he met a mysterious figure by fortuitous opportunity and obtained a method to gather People's Prestige through lecturing, which could lead to his becoming Grand Confucian. This is why he disregarded Senior Chen's advice to proceed step by step and directly set his sights on the Literary Hall.

The most famous person in the Literary Hall was Bai Zhaoyuan.

In retrospect, this idea has led to a series of setbacks for him.

The literary contest does not require physical combat. It relies not on physical strength, but on inner qualities such as willpower and knowledge. What He Shuchang said to the members of the Literary Hall earlier was actually to build up his confidence and establish an advantage in terms of momentum.

But before this confidence could be built up, it was shattered by Bai Zhaoyuan 'Thought-Convergent Order, making He Shuchang realize that the other party was no longer on the same level as him.

But that wasn't the end of it. Bai Zhaoyuan's words just now reminded He Shuchang of their previous argument, and he couldn't help but ask, "You mean Qiu Yan? What does your achievement of Order have to do with him?"

Bai Zhaoyuan glanced at him and slowly shook his head. "Although you have achieved Literary Heart, your vision remains confined to books and the mundane world, preventing you from seeing deeper mysteries. Your achievements in this life are limited."

Upon hearing this, He Shuchang's face immediately darkened. No one would feel good being belittled like this, let alone someone as outstanding as him. However, He Shuchang was shrewd and knew the gravity of the situation, so he endured it and waited for Bai Zhaoyuan to continue.

Sure enough, Bai Zhaoyuan raised his hand and pointed upwards.

A book floated above, ethereal and otherworldly, seemingly unreal. But as He Shuchang looked at it, he could vaguely sense the atmosphere of battle and warfare within it. In addition, there seemed to be occasional shouts of killing, drifting and uncertain, as if coming from afar.

"What kind of illusion is this? Could it be caused by your Thought-Convergent Order? There seems to be a trace of the Force of Order hidden within it." He Shuchang frowned. He was a disciple of a famous teacher and had his own background. After the Qiu Yan incident, he had also consulted with a great sage. He learned about the Human Path Order, which is why he made this statement. However, since he had not experienced it firsthand, he could not know the details and could only speculate.

"This book is Human Dao Canon, and I currently lack the ability to write it myself," Bai Zhaoyuan sighed, withdrawing his gaze and muttering to himself, whether explaining to He Shuchang or talking to himself. "This book was written by Qiu Yan, and with it, he has already secured his place in history, standing shoulder to shoulder with the great sages who wrote books throughout the ages!"

"Absurd!" He Shuchang immediately rebuked, "Although Qiu Yan is Thought-Convergent Order and Golden List, and has achieved academic success, he is still a young man. Your words are like putting him on the hot seat. Not to mention others, even the two Mr. Chens of my Principle Sect Academy are called living Sages, but that's because they have written several books and pioneered new paths. What merit does Qiu Yan have...?"

"I'm not trying to argue with you."

Bai Zhaoyuan shook his head again, but a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes.

"It's true that the Junior Chen wrote books, but it's not necessarily untrue that Qiu Yan also wrote books. You were able to see this book because I happened to Thought-Convergent Order, and strange phenomena accompanied me. You also possess Literary Heart, so you were able to remain unaffected. At other times, you wouldn't have been so lucky. You might as well take a closer look; you might gain some insights. Speaking of which, my strange phenomena should have alarmed the Imperial City, but because Qiu Yan wrote a book, there was a need for a response, so it couldn't spread. It truly is the will of Heaven."

At this point, he took a deep breath and focused his gaze on the book. "This book will also be helpful to me; learning from others can Jadebreaker." Then, he fell silent and began to read it intently.

"Strange phenomena? Bai Zhaoyuan also caused strange phenomena? But did Qiu Yan really write Human Dao Canon?"

As he spoke, He Shuchang looked at the ethereal book again. Because he had something on his mind, he looked at it more carefully this time, and sure enough, he gleaned a lot of information from it. That information was as sharp as a knife, piercing his heart and brewing insights within him.

However, this also stirred up complex emotions in He Shuchang. Recalling his defeat against Qiu Yan in the past, he felt resentment after experiencing a setback in his life. He wanted to close his eyes, withdraw, and not look at the other person. He also wanted to deceive himself and not admit that he was inferior to Qiu Yan. But in the end, reason prevailed over emotion, and he instead focused his attention and watched intently.

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Since we have this opportunity to get a feel for Qiu Yan's background, why not take it? Bai Zhaoyuan is right. My He Family's classics have mentioned that if a classic is created that can explain Order and promote Human Path, then those who are in Thought-Convergent Order and who are closely connected with the classic will feel something. Others will not be able to feel anything. The reason I can see this book is probably because I am within Bai Zhaoyuan's range of thought!"

Realizing he had stumbled upon a rare opportunity, He Shuchang immediately changed his mind and sneered.

"However, the records also mention that the Original Edition of Human Dao Canon are obscure and difficult to understand, but they are the most precious, containing the most fundamental mysteries. Therefore, the texts are sparse, and can be summarized in one or two books. What is passed down to the world in the future are often lengthy treatises that have been diluted and annotated, and it takes dozens of volumes to make a classic, so that ordinary people can understand them. Now that I have seen Qiu Yan's Original Edition text, I am studying it diligently. Perhaps I can really learn the true meaning and one day be able to use his way to fight back!"

As his thoughts settled, the book's mystique quickly drew He Shuchang in, just like Bai Zhaoyuan, into analyzing and memorizing its meaning. However, he didn't realize that as he continued reading and deepened his understanding, a seed slowly emerged in his heart, drifting like Heart Demon, stirring up thoughts and sending them, like incense offerings, into the Void, their destination unknown.

Bai Zhaoyuan frowned, sensing something, and snapped out of his immersive state of contemplation. He shook his head and thought to himself, "Qiu Yan is quite cunning, but without such self-serving actions, how can he plan for the country or the Dao? Ultimately, he has been corrupted by worldly affairs and is gradually deviating from the truth. However, since I have gained a bit of your Original Edition insight, I might as well do you a favor!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and white light flew up from the character on his chest, like a celestial horse that galloped away, turning into light and rushing towards the north!

The beam of light shot out swiftly, traversing great distances, penetrating deep into the Grasslands, and amidst howling winds, arrived at a place where the wind was raging.

The sky was already filled with various colors of light. One could see those rays of light wandering around, revealing the rise and fall of different schools of thought and exuding vitality, as if friends and relatives from Eight Directions had gathered to congratulate each other.

Sharp, austere, peaceful... a variety of moods rise and fall.

Under the sky, black and white mingled, and the hurricane formed from the Dragon Qi had weakened, most of it being sucked into a book. Even the Imperial Preceptor, the Venerable One, and the Heavenly Hound were being pulled along, tending to merge into the book, but they struggled on their own, unwilling to give in.

At this moment, whether it was flesh and blood, Nascent Soul, or Yin Spirit, all were enveloped by a strange power, ignoring their individual characteristics, and tending to transform into words on the page.

The book Qiu Yan held in his hand was the Original Edition first volume of the Essentials of the Military Classics.

Not far from Qiu Yan, characters appeared on the forehead of the Daoist Ning Sanshou. They were divided into two parts: one part was the two characters "Zongheng" and the other part was the character "Ming".

However, the former has dimmed, while the latter shines brightly.

Both parts emitted light simultaneously and converged towards the sky, but one could see that Ning Sanshou's eyes were hollow, and his entire aura had changed, as if he had become a different person.

"Stop! Stop! Do you know what you're doing? I'll sit down..." The Venerable's shouts could still be heard amidst the raging wind, but Qiu Yan ignored them. He realized that his Original Edition power alone was not enough to completely quell the storm, and he had already made up his mind.

He suddenly looked up at the various lights in the sky and said loudly, "You have all come from afar to celebrate with me, Qiu. It would be impolite of me to refuse, so I thank you again!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the many rays of light in the sky seemed to come alive, wandering around on their own before suddenly falling and gathering around Qiu Yan.

In the blink of an eye, Qiu Yan's figure was enveloped in a dazzling array of colors, the light seemingly forming a pillar, impenetrable to all.

Various scenes and moods spread over and entered Qiu Yan's heart.

No insights or experiences have been passed down from this artistic conception, but the steadfastness of that word gave Qiu Yan a feeling of traveling through the Time River, returning to the Middle Ages, and experiencing the contention of Hundred Schools!

A sense of atmosphere surrounds you, insights arise spontaneously, your Divine Sense, and radiance spreads!

A crackling sound came from Qiu Yan's soul, and suddenly many colors appeared in the Myriad People's Heart Fire), which then expanded rapidly, merging with the Yang Fire and enveloping his entire Divine Soul.

The Divine Soul burned, the blood faded, and a great light shone forth!

The Fourth Realm of Nature Cultivation: Spiritual Light!

Immediately afterwards, the Divine Soul, with its inner yang and outer yin, leaped out from the crown of the head, its brilliance even dimming the surrounding sunlight, and then pounced onto the book!

The "Essentials of the Military Classics" suddenly expanded, like a gaping maw, swallowing the last bit of the hurricane in one fell swoop. The auras of the Imperial Preceptor, the Venerable One, and the Heavenly Hound completely disappeared into the world!

P. S.: Thanks to "A Cigarette Travels the World", "Plucking Flowers and Stealing Beauty", and "timespace" for their monthly votes!

Thanks to "Ah, go to hell" for the donation!

Due to an unexpected loss of the manuscript this morning, the evening's draft has also been postponed. Please forgive me.