Ten Kingdoms' First Case First

When Fang Yun woke, his face felt a little itchy. Opening his eyes, he saw that Nunu, who should have been in the bamboo basket, was lying by his ear instead, using the newly bought soft pillow as a bed.

Nunu lay on its side with its tail draped over itself like a blanket, its posture exceptionally elegant.

Fang Yun smiled faintly, stroked Nunu's little head, then got up to wash.

Carrying Registrar Zhou's written authorization, Fang Yun went to Literary Exchange Hall and then to the printing workshop. Fifty thousand books took up a great deal of space, so Fang Yun did not collect them. He planned to pick them up on the first day of April and sell them to those who came to buy the Sacred Way or Literary Gazette.

Fang Yun further refined the sales plan, and everyone began preparing at a fever pitch, determined to make Three-Flavors Bookstore famous.

After leaving the bookstore, Fang Yun sent Fang Daniu home. He himself drove the carriage to buy all the collected works of this year's three Half-Sage examiners, spending a total of sixteen taels of silver—the equivalent of three years of his former income.

He also stopped by the Literary Academy and bought ten years' worth of bound Literary Gazette and Sacred Way editions, spending a full sixty taels.

After doing the math, Fang Yun realized that buying every issue of the Sacred Way and Literary Gazette alone would cost nearly four thousand taels of silver. If he bought one copy of every book in Jing Kingdom Academy—assuming one hundred coins per book and a total of one million books—it would require one hundred thousand taels of silver.

"The road ahead is long."

Fang Yun drove the carriage to a secluded place, stored the newly purchased books in the Strange Book World, and then returned home.

That day, Fang Yun had discussed matters with the Fang Household's First Madam, who arranged for him to teach elementary studies. However, those children had already learned The Thousand Character Classic and The Hundred Family Surnames. They would not begin studying the Classics of the Sages or learn how to take the Licentiate examination until autumn, three months later. He would not need to teach much in the meantime—just one class a day—so the work would be very leisurely.

Though Fang Yun was grateful for the First Madam's arrangement, he did not want to receive twenty taels of silver a month for nothing. He decided to teach something else and began compiling the Three Character Classic.

The Three Character Classic covered many subjects, including education, history, astronomy, geography, morality, and more. Easy to memorize and read, simple and clear, it was an elementary text as famous as The Thousand Character Classic and The Hundred Family Surnames, holding an irreplaceable position in ancient times.

The original Three Character Classic contained much material, including ideas, figures, and history unsuitable for Saint Origin Continent, all of which had to be removed. At the same time, he needed to add history unique to Saint Origin Continent.

Based on Saint Origin Continent's history, Fang Yun rewrote roughly fifteen hundred characters of the Three Character Classic, intending to use it for tomorrow's lesson. If the response was good, he would continue teaching it, then print it into a book as soon as possible, spread his literary fame, and earn silver.

The wider one's poems and writings spread, the greater one's literary fame became. The brighter the stars in the Literary Palace, the faster Fang Yun's own Literary Qi would grow.

Early the next morning, Fang Yun went to the Fang Household, met the First Madam, and then followed her to Fang Clan School, where she personally introduced him to the school.

Fang Clan School stood on the outskirts of the prefectural city. It covered an enormous area and was in no way inferior to a small academy.

The students here had highly complicated backgrounds. Some were Fang family members, some were relatives of the Fang family, some were sons of Fang Household servants, and some were descendants of comrades who had once fought shoulder to shoulder with Fang Shouye through life and death. Fang Shouye had adopted every son of a martyr as his godson.

Everything at the clan school was free, including lunch.

Fang Yun estimated the expenses at no less than one thousand taels of silver a month, and his respect for Fang Shouye deepened. This was benevolence. This was righteousness.

There were a full four hundred students at the school, divided into three sections: elementary studies, beginner studies, and Licentiate classes.

Fang Clan School had more than twenty teachers, and the First Madam introduced every one of them to Fang Yun.

Only four of these teachers were Academy Students; the rest were Licentiates. Most were very friendly toward Fang Yun and praised his fine poetry, while only a few were lukewarm, even treating the First Madam coldly.

Among them, one young Academy Student spoke with the hardest tone. He called himself a "prefectural city Double-B Licentiate" and was quite pleased with himself.

Fang Yun could not be bothered with such a person.

Every year, the number of candidates taking the Licentiate examination in the prefectural city was twenty times that of Ji County, but the number admitted was only ten times as many. Thus, some sons of wealthy merchants and officials studied in the prefectural city while keeping their student registration in other counties.

Competition in the prefectural city was far fiercer than in other counties, so its people generally looked down on those from small counties. Even though Fang Yun was a Double-A Honor Licentiate, this Academy Student did not think himself much inferior.

Yet when they encountered students from the capital, people from every province would band together, because the capital's admission ratio ranked first among the four provinces and one capital. Though it was clearly only one city, its Licentiate quota exceeded that of an entire province.

When introducing that Academy Student, the First Madam deliberately added, "He is your Second Aunt's nephew."

Fang Yun immediately understood what was going on.

After seeing the First Madam off, Fang Yun returned to the teachers' room, sat at his desk, placed his belongings on the table, and once more organized the lesson material.

Before long, Fang Jingtang, the old headmaster who oversaw the clan school, entered the teachers' room.

All the teachers immediately rose to their feet.

Smiling amiably, Fang Jingtang said, "Sit, all of you. There are no outsiders here. Fang Yun, from now on, you will teach Class A of elementary studies. You will teach the second lesson each day, from eight fifteen to nine fifteen. Is that acceptable?"

Many people looked at Fang Yun with envy. Elementary studies had five classes, and Class A had always been the best. The proportion of students from Class A who passed the Licentiate examination far surpassed that of the other classes. Once these students made something of themselves, their teacher would naturally gain qualifications—either entering the Literary Academy to teach or using this to expand their connections.

Fang Yun immediately said, "Everything shall be decided by the headmaster. This junior will obey."

Fang Jingtang nodded in satisfaction, but Lu Yingnian, the Academy Student beside him, said, "Headmaster, he is only a Licentiate of this year. Though he has Double-A Honors and cannot be compared with the rest of us, he ultimately has no experience. Is it truly appropriate to let him teach Class A? I have been an Academy Student for five years and taught here for three. Teaching the Licentiate class is not tiring for me. Why not let me take charge of Class A?"

"Yingnian, are you questioning my arrangements?" Fang Jingtang asked with a smile.

Lu Yingnian's expression shifted slightly. He hurriedly said, "No, no, no. Yingnian is not questioning Great-Uncle's arrangements. I am questioning Fang Yun's ability."

Fang Jingtang asked with a genial smile, "Yingnian, how old were you when you passed the Licentiate examination?"

"Nineteen," Lu Yingnian answered.

"And you, Fang Yun?" Fang Jingtang asked.

"Sixteen."

Fang Jingtang asked Lu Yingnian again, "Were your Licentiate examination results Double-A Honors?"

"No."

"Have you ever composed a State-Ringing poem?"

"I have not."

"Have you ever composed a Nation-Quelling poem?"

"What!" The teachers' room erupted in an uproar, and every teacher stared at Fang Yun in disbelief.

At that time, the April issue of the Sacred Way had not yet been released. The news that Fang Yun had written a Nation-Quelling poem circulated only among scholars of high Literary Rank. These teachers did not know of it; they only knew from the late March issue of the Literary Gazette that Fang Yun was a Double-A Honor Sage-front Tongsheng.

Lu Yingnian opened his mouth but did not dare speak again.

Fang Jingtang cupped his hands toward Fang Yun and said, "I only heard of your Early Departure from Ji County yesterday. It truly is peerless among poems. Your presence has made Fang Clan School shine in humble splendor. Teach well. Here, no one will dare gossip about you."

Still wearing his genial smile, Fang Jingtang swept his gaze across the room and left the teachers' room.

Lu Yingnian remained silent, while several Licentiate teachers gathered around Fang Yun, asking about his Nation-Quelling poem.

Unable to refuse them, Fang Yun wrote out Early Departure from Ji County. These teachers were only Licentiates, and even after studying it for quite a while, they failed to see the wonder of its every-character List Brocade. Once Fang Yun pointed it out, they came to a sudden realization and praised him again and again, thoroughly convinced.

Although Lu Yingnian did not come over, he listened with his ear tilted toward them. Afterward, he lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.

As eight fifteen approached, Headmaster Fang Jingtang came to the teachers' room again and led Fang Yun to Class A of elementary studies.

Lu Yingnian and several teachers without classes followed far behind them.

As they neared the classroom, Fang Yun's breathing quickened. Teaching for the first time, he could not help feeling excited.

Upon entering the classroom, Fang Yun first saw pair after pair of bright, clear eyes. These children ranged from six or seven to eleven or twelve years old. They sat upright behind their desks, watching Fang Yun curiously.

Someone called out, "Pay respects."

The scraping of desks and chairs sounded in disorder. All the students stood, bowed their heads slightly, and said in unison, "Greetings, Teacher."

"Sit," Fang Jingtang said with a smile, gesturing for the students to sit.

Fang Yun swept his gaze around the classroom and found no blackboard, though there was a lectern.

The two walked behind the lectern. Fang Jingtang said, "This is the new teacher who will teach your second lesson from now on. You may not know this, but he is this year's famed Double-A Honor Sage-front Tongsheng, the Ten Kingdoms' First Case First, Fang Yun!"

All the children widened their eyes and opened their mouths, staring at Fang Yun in astonishment. A few were so shocked that they even cried out.

Over the past dozen days, students throughout Jiangzhou and even Jing Kingdom had heard words like "Fang Yun," "Double-A," "Before the Sages," and "State-Ringing" every day. Whether in school, at home, or on the streets, people spoke of them everywhere, because Fang Yun had shattered Jing Kingdom's Heavenly Desolation.

These children studying elementary texts had heard their teachers praise Double-A Honors at school and their parents speak of Before the Sages at home. They had long admired Fang Yun immensely. Now that they saw the legendary great talent standing before them, how could they not be astonished?

Several children were so excited that their faces flushed red, as though they wished they could run up to Fang Yun and beg him for a poem.

Fang Jingtang was very satisfied with the children's reaction. After saying a few more formal words, he finally left.

Lu Yingnian and several teachers remained outside the classroom, wanting to hear whether Fang Yun truly knew how to teach.

Fang Yun looked over the students, who were still somewhat excited, and smiled faintly. "You all know who I am, but I do not yet know who you are. Starting from the left,

introduce yourselves one by one. Tell us your name, age, and what you like. Come, you go first."

Fang Yun looked at the first student in the front left.

That child immediately became the focus of the entire class. Blushing, he stood and said softly, "My name is Song, Song Qiming. I am nine years old. I like... I like eating."

"Ha ha ha..." The entire class burst into laughter.

Fang Yun smiled. "Good. Only by eating well can you grow strong. From now on, you must study hard and defend the Human Race's land, because no one knows what delicious things might grow on land occupied by Demon Barbarians."

The students burst into laughter again.

The teachers outside also laughed, not expecting Fang Yun to educate children in such a humorous way.

"Mhm!" Little foodie Song Qiming's eyes shone brightly. He nodded hard and silently committed Fang Yun's words to memory.

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