As the Eastern Sea's Raging Waves Battle Platform joined the battle, the farewell spring literary gathering officially began in the distant Sacred Academy.
The senior students had finished arranging the venue in Chang Hong Courtyard. A raised platform stood at the far end, with rows of tables before it. There were particularly many students this year, nearly five thousand in all, making the gathering exceptionally lively.
Apart from the necessary attendants from the Literary World, everyone present was a student. There was not a single person of high literary rank.
Seating at this literary assembly was arranged according to each student's primary school of study. Fang Yun primarily studied the Confucian School, so he and the other Confucian students were assigned to the northeast section. This time, no special effort had been made to seat him near the front; he had simply been given an ordinary seat like any other student.
This had long been the Sacred Academy's rule. Even the eldest legitimate son of the Sage Kong Aristocratic Clan would receive no overt privileges at the farewell spring literary gathering. Everyone would be mixed together and assigned seats within their respective schools.
Name cards had been placed on every table, and Fang Yun walked toward the place bearing his name.
Along the way, many people looked at Fang Yun, but most offered only simple greetings, lending the literary assembly an even greater air of equality.
When Fang Yun reached the table bearing his name card, the other nine people seated there hurriedly rose.
"Greetings, Void Sage Fang!" everyone said in unison.
Fang Yun returned their greetings with a smile. "You're all too courteous. At the farewell spring literary gathering, I'm merely an ordinary new student of the Sacred Academy. There's no need for such formalities. Speaking of which, I've