Chen Qing must be insane!
Shen Yuan thought this way. These past two days had been even busier than when he had diligently studied the scriptures. He had been immersed in books day and night, waking up every day to think about the words, diagrams, and algorithms in the books. He would even ponder what he had read that day while eating. This was because what he had seen these past two days were miraculous techniques and principles that he had never seen even within his family. The reason he occasionally thought of Chen Qing scolding him for being crazy was because he couldn't believe that the other party would actually give such a precious Daoist scripture to a group of ordinary disciples to read!
Everything starts from the very first day of school!
Originally, he approached this so-called Yin-Yang Academy branch with a mix of curiosity, anticipation, and amusement. While he had some anticipation, deep down he didn't believe it. He didn't believe Chen Qing could actually build a Yin-Yang Academy, even if it was just a facade.
On the first day of class, a woman in white appeared and took away the top ten students in the class. These were the ten students who scored the highest in arithmetic, physics, and yin-yang theory. Her purpose in taking them away was to help organize the so-called Arcane Arts Academy textbooks.
At the time, he inwardly scoffed, thinking, "This Chen Qing made such a grand show of going to establish some kind of the Yin-Yang Academy in Liuzhou, but after all this time, he hasn't even finished the basic teaching materials?"
Their only hope at the time was that Chen Ying could actually teach them something.
After all, he knew Chen Ying's reputation. She had been ranked first in the Yin-Yang Academy for three years and was the most likely person to become the first female academic administrator of the Great Jin. Since such a prodigy was willing to cooperate with Chen Qing, even if it was just for show, and she could reveal some of her insights, he might still have a chance to become a high-level sorcerer.
The other party led them into the library and then presented them with a huge pile of books, telling them to sort and categorize them themselves. He was completely bewildered; it turned out he and his group had been brought in to do menial tasks?
I wasn't exactly disappointed, since I hadn't had high expectations to begin with.
The madness all began when he casually started reading his first book.
What kind of nonsense is this? Can the foundation of a technique be explained like this?
Misleading and utter nonsense!
However, this line of reasoning is somewhat clever; let's take a look.
Hmm. Although this Five Elements theory is different from the one in my family, many of the principles are indeed similar. Upon closer examination, there are some connections. However, the approach is too narrow and far less sophisticated and comprehensive than the Treatise on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements compiled by Master Zheng.
Hmm. This Bagua formation, derived from the Five Elements, can actually have so many variations? Really?
So, the interplay of mutual generation and restraint, the Samsara of yin and yang—can this be utilized in this way? Hmm, can matter in the world really decompose to such an minute degree? This... this... is it really possible?
These theories are too shocking! Who was the madman who wrote them? How could they be so...? But... thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem impossible.
And so, through a process of constant questioning, disdain, surprise, and then fascination, before Shen Yuan knew it, night had fallen.
If it weren't for the young woman in front of him waking him up, Shen Yuan felt he might never have woken up in his entire life.
"Young man, your name is Shen Yuan, right?"
"Ah, yes!" Shen Yuan quickly stood up and bowed to the other party. "Greetings, Lord Chen!"
"You recognize me?" Chen Ying frowned.
"Yes, I am Shen Yuan. I had the honor of meeting you, sir, during my trial studies at the Capital Yin-Yang Academy!"
"Oh, you have some basic knowledge. No wonder you're so passionate about it." Chen Ying nodded slightly. "I've seen your exam paper. Your arithmetic fundamentals are very solid, especially your innovative thinking on several math problems. You're a very talented person."
"I have talent?" Shen Yuan was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed!
After becoming the runner-up, many people praised his academic talent, and he had heard plenty of flattery. But the person before him was different. This person was the recognized prodigy of the Yin-Yang Academy -Yin-Yang Academy, a top student comparable to Wang Ye and Fei Jun. To praise someone like that for talent?
This feeling is completely different!
"My lord, you flatter me!" Shen Yuan swallowed hard, and it took him a long time to recover from his surprise. He stammered guiltily, "What talent do I have? I couldn't even get into the Yin-Yang Academy back then."
"You didn't get in?" Chen Ying was taken aback. "What was your theory score on the entrance exam?"
"Third place." Shen Yuan honestly replied, "Third place in theoretical knowledge, but my Spirit Energy score was extremely low; I was fifth from the bottom among my classmates."
"Oh, I see," Chen Ying nodded.
Shen Yuan lowered his head obediently, waiting for the other party's ridicule. It had always been like this before. At first, they would look at him with high regard when they heard about his theoretical achievements, but as soon as they heard that his Spirit Energy talent was low, they would immediately change their attitude.
At most, a polite response would be a simple "what a pity."
"A low score in Spirit Energy doesn't matter."
"There's nothing to regret, it's just fate. Not everyone in this world can be a sorcerer, you know?" Shen Yuan was taken aback, then looked up at Chen Ying in astonishment. "What did you just say, sir?"
"I said, it won't have much of an impact," Chen Ying put the surrounding books back in their places, then turned to say, "Our academy trains array masters and rune masters. Based on my research and observations over the past few days, I'm quite certain that if the focus is on arrays, there's no need for the array master to have very high spiritual power."
"How is that possible?" Shen Yuan exclaimed excitedly, "The art of spell arrays is the most difficult to maintain. One must constantly perceive changes and keep the spiritual energy within the array flowing continuously. The requirements for the spellcaster's own spiritual energy must be extremely high."
That's the old method.
"Huh?" Shen Yuan choked for a moment, then asked blankly, "The old... the old method?"
"Yes, the old methods at the Yin-Yang Academy use people as a medium to drive the magic arrays, resulting in extremely high operating costs. Just the multiple magic arrays in the capital alone require hundreds of families and thousands of sorcerers to maintain. In this way, the art of magic arrays is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it will never be able to flourish. But Chen Qing... no, our academy's methods are different."
"Not the same? In what way are they different?" Shen Yuan asked quickly.
"The spiritual power that drives the magic array in our academy doesn't rely on people, but on objects, and even on the magic array itself."
"What?"
"This content is too advanced for you right now. If you can enter the Heavenly Dao Academy later, I will explain it in detail. For now, just focus on helping to categorize the teaching materials." Chen Ying sighed, "We're short-handed, so I have no choice. Husband... cough, the prefect's opening date for the academy was too sudden. The classification of these Daoist texts isn't finished yet. You have some basic techniques, so you can help with the general classification. I've already listed the labels on the bookshelves. Just put the books into storage according to my classification. Remember, don't delve too deeply. Your foundation is limited right now, and going too deep won't help!"
"Yes!"
After that day, Shen Yuan fell into a frenzy of reading. Especially after he categorized and determined which books were suitable for beginners, he practically lived in the library, like a long-dried sponge, frantically absorbing the knowledge in the books, almost to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep.
The more he read, the more he understood the value of the Daoist scriptures in the academy. So he wanted to bury himself in books every single minute, wishing he could make one day last two, because he knew that such a good opportunity wouldn't last forever, and that the chance to read might be gone someday. Therefore, every extra second he read was a second gained!
With this mindset, Shen Yuan has been incredibly engrossed and satisfied these past few days. His only complaint is that there are about a dozen outsiders in the library who are reading with him, one of whom is only nine years old, which makes him quite unhappy.
" Lord Shen?"
Inside the academy's dining hall, having finally caught Shen Yuan there, Gu Beiquan and the others approached him. " Lord Shen, what happened to you?"
"But did Chen Qing threaten you, Your Excellency?" asked a former county magistrate standing nearby.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Shen Yuan originally didn't want to pay attention to these people and just wanted to finish his meal and go back to read, but he didn't expect to be bothered like this. He immediately said impatiently, "You arrived before me, and I heard you're involved in a murder case. Does that mean Chen Qing is threatening you?"
The group was taken aback. Recalling Liu Yiqi's madness that day, they immediately shrank back, and their desire to cause trouble waned.
"This Chen Qing is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He took our official seals before, and now he wants us to serve him. Heh, Lord Shen, we can't let him succeed!" Gu Beiquan sincerely advised.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan looked up in astonishment at the other party. " Chen Qing, you want us to work for you? What made you think that?"
"If not, why bother with this academy?" Gu Beiquan sneered. "Isn't it just to reinstate us? Liuzhou's population is growing, so naturally, there's a need for people to manage government affairs. If we're not reinstated, do you really intend to rely on training teenagers in the academy to govern?"
"Just watch, soon Chen Qing will be coming to our door begging for help." Gu Beiquan sneered as he took a bite of the worm.
Shen Yuan gave the other person a strange look and asked in a low voice, "May I ask, Brother Gu, how many points did you get in the previous assessments in divination, physiognomy, and the study of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements?"
"Those underhanded methods?" Gu Beiquan chuckled. "I wouldn't even bother filling them out. Brother Shen, you don't actually take that exam seriously, do you?"
Shen Yuan: "."
"I think," Shen Yuan glanced at the meat worms on the other person's plate and then at the other person's smug face, and after thinking for a moment, he still reminded him, " Brother Gu, if you can eat, then eat more. After you're sent back to North Street in a couple of days, you probably won't be able to eat this for a while."
"Huh?"