Students Laboring Under the Sun, Black Lightning Strikes the Palace

The blazing sun hung overhead.

Outside Prosperity Capital, in a stretch of farmland, Imperial Academy students toiled, sweat pouring down their backs.

Now they bent over, now they straightened up. Quite a few of them kept turning back from time to time, looking toward the edge of the fields not far away.

Several burly soldiers stood there. Though they carried no blades, their eyes were wide as bronze bells as they watched the students laboring in the fields, exerting an oppressive pressure on their minds.

It was worth mentioning that these soldiers' battle robes were made of fine material, clearly unlike those of ordinary troops.

Seven days had passed since Qiu Yan had met with the Emperor and submitted his memorial.

During those seven days, Qiu Yan had gone to the Imperial Academy on five occasions, lecturing and conversing, imparting a few concepts of the Way of Knowledge and Action to the many students. Though it had left a deeper impression in some hearts, the results had been meager when it came to establishing an academic lineage.

The reason was simple. A doctrine concerned a person's view of the world and their conduct; it was not something that could change overnight. Not to mention the various other factors that left the students with very limited interest and motivation to accept an entirely new doctrine.

In truth, some students had entertained opportunistic thoughts. They considered joining the fledgling First Meeting school now, thinking that once the doctrine truly flourished, how lofty would their own standing become?

Yet such people were often the most pragmatic. After learning of what Qiu Yan had done in official circles, they concluded that he had broken the rules of the bureaucracy and was bound to have offended several great clans. Thus, they too chose not to