"How?"
Many aristocratic families began studying the so-called basic array knowledge distributed by Shen Yuan overnight, while a group of veteran array masters were completely absorbed in it.
"The way Jiangnan Academy explains magic arrays is truly heretical!" some radical old-fashioned people commented directly.
"However, there are many interesting things inside." Some of the family's elder sorcerers, who were good at studying, said, "The viewpoints inside are very novel, especially the method of using complex algorithms to interlock multiple spell arrays. At first glance, it seems absurd, but upon closer inspection, it seems feasible, and the more you look at it, the more mysterious it becomes."
"Yes, that's right. And there's that so-called element table, which explains how the elements of heaven and earth transform and form. It sounds unbelievable, but upon closer inspection, many of the principles make sense. Applying it to spell arrays," the old sorcerer murmured, "I suddenly understand why such a young sorcerer can Void Formation Drawing. Perhaps we were wrong from the start. Void Formation Drawing isn't that difficult. The reason we used to rely on complex materials to stabilize magical energy was because we didn't understand the changes in elements."
"So, these things Shen Yuan you weren't just perfunctory?" Several family heads asked, frowning.
"It's not a perfunctory offering." The old sorcerers shook their heads. "Even if it's fake, it was something that took a lot of effort to make. If it's real, it shows even more sincerity on the part of the other party!"
"This"
The group of family heads exchanged glances and finally decided to return and gather their disciples to give it a try. If such an opportunity was real, they certainly couldn't miss it.
On the third day, after all the students had reviewed the teaching materials, to everyone's astonishment, most of the highly gifted students complained bitterly and showed great resistance. They would curse the teachings as crooked and evil when they encountered difficulties. On the contrary, those students who were usually less gifted were able to calm down and gradually grasped the basics in just one day, which really stunned the elders!
This scene is also unfolding in the Shen Family.
"Father, I believe Shen Yuan is deliberately making things difficult for me and using trickery!!"
In just three days, Shen Yu, in a fit of rage, stormed into Shen Yan's study with the pile of copied textbooks and threw all the materials onto the desk.
Shen Yan frowned, carefully putting away his original copy, and looked sternly at the other person. "You're getting more and more unruly. Is this how you barge into the study?"
"I'm just furious!" Shen Yu said angrily, "That scoundrel Shen Yuan, he used trickery, deliberately distorting the intentions of those in Jiangnan, and using these crooked methods to restrict us!"
"Why do you say that?" Shen Yan looked at the other person in astonishment. He had also been studying these textbooks diligently these past few days. To be fair, many of the viewpoints were indeed unconventional, but upon closer inspection, they were also incredibly profound. If he weren't in such an important position as the Prefect of the Capital, he probably would have been completely engrossed in them. How could this kid have such a strong opinion?
"What kind of bullshit array principle is this? It involves complicated arithmetic and elemental conversion. It's utter nonsense. It's driving people crazy and they still don't understand a thing."
Shen Yan glanced at the other person and immediately understood.
This kid just can't understand it!!
how so?
Shen Yan was initially taken aback and asked curiously, "I just passed by your fourth aunt's courtyard, and Shen Xue was learning quite well there."
Hearing this, Shen Yu became even more furious. "Father, haven't you realized? These are the things that the miscellaneous descendants of the family can easily master?"
"That Shen Xue, with her low aptitude, failed the entrance exam for the Yin-Yang Academy four times. She could only help repair some magic arrays in the family, and also had to do odd jobs. She knows how to keep accounts and do calculations, so naturally she knows a bit about these crooked methods. Wasn't that what Shen Yuan did back then? Now he's deliberately using these things to disgust us righteous disciples. He's simply a complete scoundrel!!"
Shen Yan was stunned after hearing the complaint.
He understood the root of the problem almost instantly.
He could understand it because he had learned those miscellaneous skills since childhood. Back then, the mistress kept a close eye on him, and in order to hide it, he had to pretend to be focused on those miscellaneous skills. Although he later took the right path, he became an educational official and traveled around to various places. He had to assist the military town in repairing magic arrays and help maintain various treasures. In fact, he used the miscellaneous skills he had learned the most.
On the contrary, Shen Yu and the others had never been mistreated since childhood and had always followed the righteous path of inheriting the techniques.
The Yin-Yang Academy also assesses this: meditation efficiency, application of spells, and talent for inheriting various spells.
Inheriting spells is the most important lesson for top talents and the standard for measuring a spell's aptitude. After all, a sorcerer's greatest role is always combat power, and only those with good talent in inheriting spells and who can inherit all kinds of complex spells can have stronger combat power and be worthy of the family's reputation.
Those who don't show obvious inherited talent will do behind-the-scenes work, such as researching the principles of spells to equip the family's combat spells with more reasonable inheritance schemes, researching spell arrays, spending a lot of time studying how to set up spell arrays and what materials are needed, maintaining the family's spiritual fields, using spell calculations and various spirit-nurturing operations to minimize the family's budget and ensure the supply of family spellcasters, etc.
As the head of the family who had climbed up from the bottom, he knew everything he was capable of. He had a solid foundation in the principles of sorcery, calculation, and magic arrays, so he found it fascinating. But people like Shen Yu, on the other hand, found it quite different.
They are pure combat sorcerers, only skilled in application.
Because Yin-Yang Academy only tests this, in order to enter the academy more quickly, talented students like Shen Yu have spent most of their time from a young age focusing on its application.
Thinking of this, Shen Yan's scalp suddenly tingled!
"Father?" Shen Yu frowned. He was talking about serious matters, so why was his father spacing out?
"Ah, um." Shen Yan stood up and said, "I remember when I was little, my family had tests on things like divination, physics, and the principles of magic, right?"
"Those?" Shen Yu frowned even more deeply. "Those aren't important. Talented disciples like us are given our homework to those with duller talents. We don't even have enough time to practice the inherited techniques in a day, how could we have time to study those?"
"So, from childhood to adulthood, all those basic exercises were done by others?" Shen Yan's eyes widened.
"Why is Father so concerned about this?" Shen Yu said impatiently, "It's not just me who's like this, aren't all the children of noble families like this? Who among the talented ones is going to do the problems?"
Shen Yan: "."
No wonder Shen Yuan said that.
I remember that three days ago, when Shen Yuan left Jiangnan with his mother, the old master tried to persuade him to stay.
"Old man, I'm not trying to stop you from returning to Jiangnan, but perhaps you can stay a little longer? After all, you have some experience and could guide your cousins on some of the more difficult points in their textbooks."
"Grandpa, don't worry too much. The material in the textbook is just a bit difficult to grasp at first, but as long as you have the aptitude, you'll learn it quickly." Shen Yuan didn't mince words at all. "Of course, if you don't have the aptitude, no amount of teaching will help."
He suddenly looked at Shen Yan, who hadn't said much, and asked, "It seems Father still places his hopes on Shen Yu, doesn't he?"
Shen Yan frowned upon hearing this. "You know your brother's talent. Even though he has some personality flaws, it has to be admitted that if he goes to Jiangnan, he is the most likely candidate to gain an advantage for the Shen Family."
"Is that so?" Shen Yuan said with a half-smile, "Our academy's understanding of talent may be different from that of your traditional families of practitioners. Father, you'd better observe carefully, lest you jeopardize the Shen Family's future!"
--
Coming to his senses, Shen Yan looked at Shen Yu again, a sense of unease rising in his heart. "You don't understand at all?"
"What use would I be to these crooked and heretical practices?" Shen Yu became even more furious!
How much of the Nine Palace Mathematics from the family's basic divination course have you learned?
"That kind of time-consuming and brain-draining stuff, even my teacher didn't encourage me to learn it in the first place, okay?" Shen Yu became increasingly irritated. Had her father lost his mind? Why was he asking her this so much?
"Mental strain?" Shen Yan suppressed his unease. "Is that what you thought back then?"
"Is there a problem?" Shen Yu asked impatiently. "That divination method is inherently a heretical path. Some of the less talented members of the family, lacking talent in the orthodox path, show off their abilities in these heretical methods. Take my eldest brother, for example. He didn't inherit any talent, but he only knew how to work hard in this area, thinking that just because the divination master called him exceptionally talented, he could really gain face? Father, don't dwell on this issue. The most important thing now is to find out what exactly happened with the assessment at the Jiangnan Academy. That Shen Yuan must be lying to his superiors. That brat, he really has some nerve!"
Shen Yan was taken aback, and looked at his previously smug son with a strange expression. " Shen Yuan represents Jiangnan and is carrying out such an important mission. How dare he deceive his superiors?"
"Father, some people are simply unreasonable!"
Shen Yan: "."
Without saying another word, Shen Yan left the study. Shen Yu, standing behind him, was startled. "Father, where are you going?"
"You stay here and wait for your father to return."
Shen Yu paused in her tracks, hesitated for a moment, and then obediently returned to the study.
--
Shen Yan walked quickly to the courtyard of one of the concubines. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a little girl of about twelve years old looking very seriously at the textbook she was copying.
The little girl was engrossed in her studies and didn't notice Shen Yan's arrival at all. Shen Yan slowly walked in and immediately saw that the ground was covered with countless sheets of paper, each filled with various magical array diagrams and arithmetic formulas. With just one glance, he could tell that the little girl had already surpassed him in progress.
Moreover, the arithmetic formulas on the drawing paper were very precise. Although I hadn't touched arithmetic for many years, I could still understand them. These formulas, combined with the principles of those magic arrays, made perfect sense. In particular, the arithmetic structure of the Three Origins Formation was something I had been struggling with in my study. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the problem that had been troubling me had already been solved by a younger generation!
"Father."
Shen Yuan's words echoed in Shen Yan's mind again, "Our academy's understanding of talent may be different from that of your traditional families of practitioners. Father, you should observe carefully, lest you jeopardize the Shen Family's future!"
Is that what it meant?
I was a little delayed today, so there are only two chapters left. I'll make up for it tomorrow. I'm really sorry.
Dear readers, please get some rest. I'll try to upload three chapters of Heavenly Demon.