Breaking through

In the east of the Imperial Academy stood a quiet courtyard.

The autumn weather was growing cooler, and much of the courtyard's flowers, grass, and vegetables had withered.

Even so, the old man still watered the garden every day, day after day, year after year.

In truth, no one in the Imperial Academy, or even in Great Shang, could say how many years the old man had lived. They only knew that he had been there for as long as the Imperial Academy had existed.

"Oh? The Li Family's third son really said that?"

In the courtyard, after hearing the Venerable Law Confucian's words, Kong Qiu revealed a peaceful smile on his aged face. "It seems he's getting a little impatient."

"Head of the Confucians, will you see him?"

The Venerable Law Confucian asked solemnly.

"The time has not yet come."

Kong Qiu shook his head, picked up the wooden box on the stone table beside him, and casually tossed it over. "Have that disciple of yours take this to him."

"Yes!"

The Venerable Law Confucian bowed respectfully, then turned and left.

"He's gone. You can come out now."

After the Law Confucian left, Kong Qiu looked toward the back of the wooden house and spoke.

"Thank you, Head of the Confucians."

Qin Enuo stepped out and said softly.

"I had intended to wait a few days, until the Li Family's third son entered the Imperial Academy, before giving him the fleeceflower root. But since he has come asking of his own accord, I might as well give it to him early."

A smile appeared on Kong Qiu's aged face as he said, "Besides, trading one herb king for a year of the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal's time is worthwhile."

"There is something I don't understand."

Qin Enuo said earnestly, "Head of the Confucians, you have seen all the affairs beneath heaven. Why do you regard Li Ziye differently?"

"He is different."

Kong Qiu said slowly, "In fact, all the rumors are true. Those rare things the Li Family possesses all came from the hands of its third son."

"At most, that only proves he is clever. Talented people may not be plentiful in this world, but neither are they few. Cleverness alone would not make the Head of the Confucians spare him a second glance," Qin Enuo said calmly.

"You are his master. Haven't you sensed how he differs from the people of this world?" Kong Qiu asked with a smile.

"Different from the people of this world?"

Hearing the Head of the Confucians' words, Qin Enuo's expression grew solemn. What did he mean?

"Plum Blossom Sword Immortal, although you have opened five Divine Repositories and cultivated to the pinnacle of mortal martial arts, your eyes are still inevitably influenced by this greater world. You cannot see heaven and earth as they truly are."

Kong Qiu raised his head toward the sky. "Tell me, what lies above the firmament?"

"Above the firmament?"

Hearing this, Qin Enuo glanced at the sky and frowned. "Above the firmament-isn't that simply heaven?"

"What is heaven?" Kong Qiu continued.

"Heaven?"

Qin Enuo frowned. The answer to that question was far too nebulous, with no definitive conclusion.

"In truth, I pondered these questions for a long time as well, without ever finding an answer."

Kong Qiu smiled faintly. "Until I witnessed the birth of the Li Family's third son."

"Li Ziye? What does he have to do with it?" Qin Enuo asked in puzzlement.

"When he was born, he broke the rules that shroud this world. At that moment, I was able to see the true heaven and earth beyond this firmament."

Kong Qiu gazed at the sky. "It was beautiful. Although it lasted only an instant, it was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life."

"You mean...?"

After hearing the Head of the Confucians' words, Qin Enuo's face filled with shock. "The Li Family's third son is not from this world."

"The Plum Blossom Sword Immortal is indeed clever."

Kong Qiu nodded, a gleam flashing through his timeworn eyes. "He came from another world and was born into this one. Thus, the instant he appeared, the rules shrouding this world fell into disorder. That was how I could see through the layers of mist to the heaven and earth beyond this world."

"So that's why."

Qin Enuo grew even more shaken. All along, she had sensed an inexplicable incongruity about Li Ziye, yet she had never been able to say exactly why.

So he was not a person of this world.

No wonder his words and conduct were always startling, and he never cared about this world's rules or codes of propriety.

If the Head of the Confucians' words were true, all those unusual feelings of incongruity could be explained.

Yet something so shocking was truly difficult to believe.

"Head of the Confucians."

At this thought, Qin Enuo suppressed the turmoil in her heart and looked at the old man before her. "Aside from the Head of the Confucians, does anyone else know about this?"

"Probably not."

Kong Qiu shook his head. "That scholar in the Divine Oracle Hall of the Western Regions may have seen something, but at the time, his cultivation was not as powerful as it is today. So he could not have seen much."

"The master of the Divine Oracle Hall in the Western Regions, Fu Jinglun."

The moment she heard the word "scholar," Qin Enuo knew whom the Head of the Confucians meant.

That scholar who had once studied in the Central Plains, well-read in poetry and books, his belly filled with learning.

No one had imagined that the scholar would eventually travel far to the Western Regions and become the master of the Divine Oracle Temple.

From a scholar filled with learning to a charlatan whose mouth overflowed with doctrine-Fu Jinglun's choice had once shocked the entire world.

"Come to think of it, that scholar seems to have studied at the Imperial Academy too."

Kong Qiu smiled. "The younger generation is to be reckoned with. To attain such mastery in just over twenty years-remarkable. Back then, I thought he was the one who could change this world. Later, I realized I was wrong. Fu Jinglun's talent and brilliance are indeed unmatched throughout the ages, but he is not the right person."

In the end, Fu Jinglun was still a person of this world. However far his vision reached, he could not escape its shackles.

"Change this world?"

Qin Enuo frowned. "Is there something wrong with this world?"

"A cage."

Kong Qiu said calmly, "Within this cage, everyone views the sky from the bottom of a well, unable to see the vastness of heaven and earth. Narrow in heart, they fight over a moment's advantage and haggle over an inch of gain. Wars erupt everywhere, never ceasing for hundreds and thousands of years. That is why I have been waiting, waiting for someone who can change this world to appear."

Moreover, there was something else he had not said, and could not say.

For over a hundred years, that feeling in his heart had grown increasingly strong. Only at the moment the Li Family's legitimate son was born had he truly confirmed it.

The sky above the Nine Provinces was about to change!

The bitter winter was approaching. It was foreseeable that turmoil in the Nine Provinces was already unavoidable.

"Does the Head of the Confucians believe this person is Li Ziye?"

Qin Enuo asked in puzzlement, "Although he is different, he is truly far too weak. Never mind changing this world-even protecting himself would be difficult."

"Martial force is not the only way to solve problems."

Kong Qiu picked up the watering pot and watered the flowers and grass in the garden. "Before the Li Family's third son was born, the Li Family was merely an ordinary merchant household. After his birth, he invented those unusual things. In just ten years, the Li Family's wealth has reached a point where even the Great Shang Dynasty's court fears it. That is something even martial force cannot achieve."

"But absolute martial force is ultimately the most effective way to solve problems."

Qin Enuo said gravely, "No matter how special Li Ziye is, without great strength, he still cannot truly change this world. He will encounter countless people who obstruct him. Some of them will be so powerful as to be almost invincible-Fu Jinglun, for instance."

"Mm."

Kong Qiu nodded. "The problem you speak of does indeed exist. That is why, from the moment you accepted the Li Family's third son as your disciple, I have been waiting for you to come."

"Waiting for me?"

Qin Enuo froze. A moment later, she recovered and said in shock, "The Head of the Confucians knew long ago that I would come to the Imperial Academy for the thousand-year-old fleeceflower root."

Could the head of the Confucian School truly see so far ahead?

"His eight meridians are blocked. Without an herb king, relying solely on the medicinal strength of ordinary great herbs would take many years to open them all. You cannot wait that long."

Kong Qiu said calmly, "So you were bound to come."

"I admire your wisdom, Head of the Confucians!"

Qin Enuo cupped her hands and bowed, admiration appearing on her beautiful face.

At the very least, she could not see as far ahead as the Head of the Confucians could.

Kong Qiu smiled faintly. "I have merely lived a long time. Stay in the Imperial Academy and wait for the next few days. The day the Li Family's third son comes here is not far off."

"The Head of the Confucians still refuses to see me?"

In Li Garden, Li Ziye looked at Bai Wangyu, who had just returned from the Imperial Academy, and asked in disappointment.

"Mm."

Bai Wangyu nodded. "The Venerable Law Confucian conveyed your words, Brother Li. But the Head of the Confucians said the time has not yet come."

"The time hasn't come?"

Li Ziye asked in puzzlement, "What does that mean? When will the time come?"

Do all lofty experts speak through clouds and mist like this? I don't understand! Can't they make themselves clear?

"I don't know either."

An apologetic look appeared on Bai Wangyu's face. "Even the Venerable Law Confucian cannot go against the Head of the Confucians' words, so you will have to wait a little longer, Brother Li."

"That's all I can do!"

Li Ziye let out a heavy sigh, then turned to head back to the inner courtyard.

"Oh, Brother Li, the Head of the Confucians asked me to give you this."

Just then, Bai Wangyu took a wooden box from inside his robes and handed it over.

Li Ziye paused, took the wooden box in puzzlement, and opened it at once.

"Thousand-year-old fleeceflower root!"

Seeing the crooked, exceedingly ugly wooden lump inside the box, Li Ziye's face filled with shock, and he cried out involuntarily.

Hearing him, Bai Wangyu also shifted his gaze over, and a flash of envy crossed his usually calm expression.

He knew of this thousand-year-old fleeceflower root. It was one of the Imperial Academy's rare treasures, extremely precious. That the Head of the Confucians had actually given it away showed just how highly he regarded Brother Li.

Li Ziye quickly recovered, delight appearing on his face as his mood instantly improved considerably.

"Old Bai, don't leave such long pauses when you speak. Couldn't you have taken it out sooner? You made me feel disappointed for so long for nothing."

Li Ziye put away the wooden box, then reached out and patted Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder, earnestly lecturing him.

"You are right to admonish me, Brother Li."

Bai Wangyu nodded, accepting the criticism very humbly.

"Go back and rest. I'm going to find Old Zhang."

Very satisfied with Little Red Riding Hood's willingness to correct his mistakes, Li Ziye gave him this instruction, then headed toward the inner courtyard in high spirits.

"Old Zhang!"

Before he had taken more than a couple of steps, Li Ziye raised his voice and shouted, "Get up! Time to work!"

Before long, in the inner courtyard, the young maidservants hurried back and forth, busy as a roaring fire. Steam billowed from the large wooden tub in the medicine room as basin after basin of great herbs was poured into it.

Li Ziye removed his outer robes and stepped into the medicinal tub.

"Endure it!"

Before the tub, Zhang Lata spoke with a grave expression, then turned his palm and clenched it around empty air, directly shattering the thousand-year-old fleeceflower root in his hand.

The next moment, all five Divine Repositories within Zhang Lata awakened at once. Faint rumbling sounded, and their radiance shone as brilliantly as stars, fully revealing his world-shaking cultivation.

The Sword Maniac struck, bringing two fingers together into a sword. Boundless Sword Qi surged, and a single sword strike entered Li Ziye's body, forcibly shattering one of his major meridians.

At the same time, Zhang Lata gathered his True Essence again, pouring the essence of the thousand-year-old herb king into Li Ziye's body without cease.

"Urgh!"

Fierce pain surged in like a tide. Li Ziye's body trembled violently, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, staining the water red.

In the west wing, Bai Wangyu sensed the powerful fluctuations of True Qi from the inner courtyard, and his expression grew slightly solemn.

There was actually a peerless expert of the Fifth Realm in the residence.

Boom!

Just then, a violent impact erupted in the inner courtyard's medicine room, shattering the medicinal tub and blasting the door open. Water sprayed through the air, and a drenched youth knelt on one knee on the ground, panting heavily.

Before the youth, the slovenly old man was also in an utterly sorry state. His body was covered in water, and his wet hair clung haphazardly to his face, leaving him without the slightest heroic bearing of a peerless expert.

"The second meridian!"

The youth knelt on one knee, both fists clenched. He was finally another step closer to opening all eight meridians.

"Hmm?"

In the west wing, Bai Wangyu was just about to withdraw his gaze when his expression suddenly sharpened, surprise appearing on his face.

A breakthrough!

At that moment, in the inner courtyard that had already returned to calm, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi suddenly churned violently. Like raging waves, it poured into the medicine room from every direction without cease.