Fang Nation-Queller

These students had not known Fang Yun for long, but they already liked him very much.

Other teachers either droned straight from the books or kept a stern face all day long. Fang Yun's classes, however, had a style all their own. What he taught seemed simple, yet every part held reason, leaving a deep impression. Even the Three Character Classic and Fox Antithetical Rhymes he had compiled were countless times better than other primers.

In their hearts, what mattered most was that Teacher Fang had already been called Dayuan Prefecture's foremost talent. They admired him beyond measure.

Now that they had received this news, many of the children could not accept it.

He Yutang continued, "You should have heard about what happened yesterday as well. Someone insulted Teacher Fang, but Teacher Fang wrote the Inscription of the Humble Abode to declare his aspirations. They harbored malicious intentions, so their Literary Palaces were shattered by Instant Literary Guts. Today, the Yan Household had people block your Teacher Fang outside and said they would not let him off. Teacher Fang is young, after all. No matter what, he cannot contend against a prominent clan. He can only live in seclusion at home for now and cannot come to the clan school."

"How could the Yan Household be so vile!" a child shouted angrily.

"I'm going to the county office to file a complaint!" a little child said, wiping away tears.

"When I grow up and become an official, I'll definitely throw them all into prison! How hateful!"

He Yutang sighed. "Teacher Fang said just a few days ago that even if he passed as an Academy Student or Provincial Graduate, he would still come here to teach. But now, it will be difficult for him to come again. To prevent the Yan Household from accidentally harming you, classes will only last half a day today. After school at noon, leave through the back gate. Classes will proceed as usual tomorrow morning. If they are still there, we can only have half a day of lessons again. Be sure to explain everything clearly to your parents when you return."

He Yutang turned and left, and the children immediately broke into heated discussion.

"How hateful! Teacher Fang is such a good man. How could he run into such wicked people? My eldest uncle said that if anyone bullied me, I should go find him. I'm going to his house right now! He serves in the City Guard, so he can definitely bring people to beat up those villains!"

"There's not much family in my home, but Uncle Fang and Grandpa Fang are very good to me. Uncle isn't here, so I'll go ask Grandpa Fang to judge what's right. I'm furious! I still want to keep learning Antithetical Rhymes with Little Fox!"

"Hmph. I'll wait another three days. If the county office does nothing, I'll take my father and mother to the Prefectural Criminal Office and cry out our grievance at its gates. I refuse to believe even Legalist officials cannot deal with them!"

At noon, the children from every class left through the back gate, and the clan school was emptied at once.

Headmaster Fang Jingtang walked out through the front gate with a cold face and looked at the three men and five women dressed in mourning hemp.

The group had cursed for an entire morning and was exhausted, resting for the moment. When they saw someone come out, they started up again.

"Fang Yun, you Heaven-damned wretch! Give Yue'er back his Literary Palace! What a vicious man!"

"It was only a verbal dispute, yet he shattered another man's Literary Palace. He is no different from a Demon Barbarian! Why have the sages not sent down lightning to strike him dead?"

"A Sage-front Tongsheng is using his status to bully others! Heaven has no eyes!"

Fang Jingtang looked at one of the women in her forties and said with disgust, "Old Madam Yan, the clan school is about to close. Leave."

"Leave? Unless Fang Yun comes to kowtow and apologize to Yue'er, I won't leave even if I die! Yue'er was a dignified Academy Student, yet his Literary Palace vanished just like that. Only Demon Barbarians could be so ruthless!"

Fang Jingtang snapped, "Casual falsehood, twisting black into white! If Yan Yue's Literary Palace had not shattered, Fang Yun would have been the unlucky one. If Fang Yun had been harmed by that pack of beasts led by Yan Yue, would not our Jing Kingdom have lost a Before-the-Sages Academy Student? It was good that Yan Yue's Literary Palace shattered! I only hate that Lord Swordbrow did not blow him to death in one breath back then! A beast like that could never gather Literary Guts before death—not even Miscellaneous School Literary Guts!"

"Listen to him! Just listen to him! You ruined my nephew's future, and you still think you're right! You people kill without batting an eye! You even look down on Miscellaneous School Literary Guts? Be careful that Half-Sage Lü Buwei does not send down holy punishment and strike you dead! Be careful that the Left Prime Minister does not exile you!"

Fang Jingtang sneered. "Pah! The Miscellaneous School that assists the kingdom through practical work is naturally a model for us scholars. But the Left Prime Minister took the dregs of the Miscellaneous School, threw the court into chaos, fawned on Demon Barbarians, brought disaster upon Jing Kingdom, formed factions for private gain, used inferiors to overthrow superiors, and dreamed of becoming a powerful minister like Lü Buwei before Saint Enfeoffment. Is he worthy of representing the Miscellaneous School? Let me advise you: if your Yan Household continues to be used as someone else's brush, sooner or later you will suffer a terrible calamity!"

After saying that, Fang Jingtang ignored their curses and had the gatekeeper shut the front gate.

Fang Yun returned home early. On the way, he bought many books. He could not keep putting everything into the Strange Book World; he had to leave some books out for appearances' sake.

In one breath, he bought more than thirty guidebooks on passing the Classic Interpretation examination and flipped through them quickly on the way back.

Little Fox Nunu followed along at Fang Yun's side, studying the books with an earnest, studious expression. No one knew whether it could actually understand them.

Every so often, it secretly glanced at Fang Yun. The moment it noticed him looking at it, it immediately became even more serious about reading, even nodding gravely as if to say that what was written above made sense.

Fang Yun skimmed through more than a dozen books and found that most were stale old phrases with nothing especially useful in them. He set the books down and closed his eyes in thought.

"There's nothing wrong with these books. The problem lies with me. I understood most of the 'techniques' of Classic Interpretation overnight. The Strange Book World could not do that, Literary Qi infusing my body could not do that, and neither could the Literary Palace. Could it be that all these powers combined have strengthened my mind?"

"Literary Qi and Dragon Palace Blood Ginseng can make my body, including my brain, stronger. The Strange Book World can provide me with enough written material. That age of information explosion gave me abilities and knowledge that even Half-Sages do not possess. Added to my diligent studies these past days, that is why my capacity to learn has grown stronger and stronger."

Having figured it out, Fang Yun continued reading.

After returning home, Fang Yun continued studying earnestly.

The process of learning was dull, but the voice in Fang Yun's heart kept encouraging him, becoming his driving force.

I want to become a Half-Sage and behold the wonders of the world. Above the Literary Rank of Saint, is there an even higher rank?

As his studies deepened, Fang Yun discovered something strange. Sometimes, he found practicing calligraphy and studying the Classics of the Sages tedious, and he occasionally even felt disgusted by them. Yet whenever he thoroughly grasped some principle, whenever his Literary Qi increased or became more condensed, he gained an unprecedented satisfaction deep within his heart.

"Perhaps this is a cleansing of the spirit, something like the feeling Sage Kong spoke of: 'Having heard the Way in the morning, one may die in the evening without regret.'"

At noon, Tang Grand Manager came to visit. The moment he saw Fang Yun, he said, "I thought you were at the Fang Clan School. When I arrived, I found it had already closed, and people from the Yan Household were there. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It will be resolved soon enough. Let's discuss the contract."

The two then entered the room and negotiated the contract terms one by one.

It took an entire afternoon to settle everything, and Tang Grand Manager, a Provincial Graduate, was drenched in sweat.

"If you fail the Imperial Examination, come to our Profound Court Book Firm. We can give you the treatment of a Metropolitan Graduate," Tang Grand Manager said.

"All right." Fang Yun agreed with a smile.

Tang Grand Manager took out ten thousand-tael banknotes and handed them to Fang Yun. "These are ten thousand taels in banknotes from the Sacred Academy Bank. Examine them carefully, then come with me to the Literary Academy to formally sign the contract."

Fang Yun took the banknotes and inspected them carefully. "The paper for these notes differs from ordinary paper. I heard that they are mixed with scraps from the edges of Sage Pages and other materials?"

"That is indeed the case. Sage Pages have extremely strict production requirements. Every year, there are always great amounts of discarded paper sheets and pulp, most of which are used to make banknotes or special documents."

Fang Yun nodded, put away the banknotes, and said, "Stay in the main hall and drink tea first. I need to speak to Da Niu about something private."

Fang Yun then called Fang Daniu over and had him copy out a small portion of Fox Antithetical Rhymes. Afterward, he went with Tang Grand Manager to the Literary Academy.

Halfway there, the two spoke of Sage Pages. Tang Grand Manager smiled and said, "Before long, the Sacred Academy will send you Sage Pages. You are only a Licentiate now, and who knows how long it will be before you can go to the front lines to fight Demon Barbarians. Do you want to sell some of your Sage Pages?"

"You want to buy Sage Pages? How much per page?"

"Thirty thousand taels per page."

"Didn't I hear that the Dragon Race offered fifty thousand taels per page?"

"First, you would need to find the Dragon Race. Second, you would have to ensure the Sacred Academy did not learn of it, or it would count as betraying the Human Race. Lastly, what you would receive would be underwater treasures of equivalent value, not genuine banknotes," Tang Grand Manager said.

"I knew the Human Race would not allow Sage Pages to flow out unchecked. After all, they can double the power of War Poetry and turn void into reality. Let me ask you something. I currently have three poems—Spring Dawn, Year's End, and Early Departure from Ji County—published in the Sacred Journal. How many Sage Pages should I receive?"

"By convention, the best poem in the County Examination receives one page regardless of its level. Spring Dawn is also nearly State-Ringing, so it naturally earns another page. Year's End earns one page. Early Departure from Ji County is a Nation-Quelling Poem, and by convention receives three pages. But once a work reaches the Nation-Quelling level, Sage Pages become secondary. What matters are opportunities to enter places such as the Sea of Learning and the Sage Pagoda. In truth, these things are still too far away. Once you become a Metropolitan Graduate and enter the Sea of Learning, you will naturally understand."

Fang Yun had merely been curious, but Tang Grand Manager feared that he was aiming too high. Fang Yun therefore did not ask further.

"Adding the ones County Magistrate Cai gave me, I only have seven Sage Pages in total. Once I use them, they will be gone. I can't bear to sell them."

"Mm. Sage Pages are precious. Keep them to save your life whenever possible. Once you have more in the future and wish to sell them, be sure to come to me first."

Fang Yun smiled. "Sage Pages should have other uses as well, shouldn't they?"

Tang Grand Manager replied frankly, "Yes. Literary Treasures of Grand Academician rank or above generally are not sold for money. They are either bartered for other items or exchanged for Sage Pages. The Sage Aristocratic Clans do not lack silver, so they often trade with Sage Pages."

After the two entered the Prefectural Academy and signed the contract, they parted ways. Fang Yun then took the portion of Fox Antithetical Rhymes written by Fang Daniu and went to find Registrar Zhou.

The moment Registrar Zhou saw Fang Yun arrive, he set down the official documents in his hands, glanced at the sheets Fang Yun was holding, and joked, "Don't tell me this is another work ghostwritten for Licentiate Fang Daniu?"

"It is his. I compiled a new Fox Antithetical Rhymes. It isn't finished yet, but I'm registering it first to keep others from stealing it." Fang Yun smiled as he handed the manuscript to Registrar Zhou.

"Who would dare steal a masterpiece by Fang Nation-Queller now?"

"I have a new nickname again?"

Registrar Zhou smiled. "Of course. Two Nation-Quelling works in less than a month—if you are not Fang Nation-Queller, then who is? Heaven to earth, rain to wind, continent to vast sky..."

Registrar Zhou began reading Fox Antithetical Rhymes without realizing it.

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