The young man arrived at the lakeside. It was evident that the Gao family of Geyang had poured considerable effort and resources into this academy. The former site of the Cliff Academy in Dali was soon to become the new Confucian temple in the Dali capital.

The young man turned his head and saw a figure that was both familiar and strange. Strange because the person’s appearance, height, and attire had undergone significant changes. The familiarity, however, came from the person’s eyes. So many years had passed since they were next-door neighbors. One was the scandalous illegitimate son of the Kiln Supervisor, and the other an orphaned peasant. Now, one was a Dali prince, Song Mu, and the other a scholar, a wandering swordsman, who had traveled tens of thousands of miles across two continents?

Chen Pingan cut straight to the chase, “Headmaster Mao said you were at the academy, so I came to see you.”

Song Jixin sized up Chen Pingan from head to toe. He had heard that the semi-immortal sword he carried was a gift of atonement from the Fu family of Old Dragon City. As for the wine gourd at his waist, it was a prize won when buying several mountains, a sword-nourishing gourd carefully selected by the Northern Mountain Deity Wei Bo. Song Jixin chuckled, “When we were neighbors, I always thought the folks on Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Lane were the ones with money and power. I never imagined that the people from Mud Bottle Alley and Apricot Blossom Lane would be the ones to truly amount to something. Apricot Blossom Lane only has Ma Kuxuan of True Martial Mountain to rely on. But look at our Mud Bottle Alley – you, me, Zhigui, and even Little Snot-Nose. I wonder if, decades from now, outsiders will view our Mud Bottle Alley, that wretched place even dogs wouldn’t piss on, as a place of legends?”

Chen Pingan was about to speak.

Song Jixin waved his hand, “At least let me finish. With your way of speaking, Chen Pingan, I’m afraid this rare reunion in a foreign land will end badly.”

Chen Pingan nodded, “Then let’s talk as we walk.”

The two strolled side-by-side along the quiet path shaded by willows along the lake.

Song Jixin smiled, “Your trip was really long and far. You probably don’t know what the town is like now, right? Ever since the common folk learned the general origins of the Li Zhu Grotto Heaven and it was opened to outsiders, everyone, from the rich families of Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Lane to the impoverished residents of Riding Dragon Alley and Apricot Blossom Lane, were rummaging through their belongings. They carefully brought out ancestral heirlooms and anything of age. Their eating bowls, pig troughs, pickling vats, even copper mirrors pried from the walls were treated with utmost importance. And that’s not all. Many people started going up mountains and down rivers, especially the Dragon Whisker River. For almost half a year, it was overcrowded with people picking stones, even the Divine Tomb and Porcelain Mountain were not spared. They took their finds to the Bao Fu Zhai on Ox Horn Mountain to have them appraised, and quite a few people became rich overnight. Silver and gold, once so precious, are nothing now. The competition for wealth is now measured by how many Immortal Coins one has in their pocket.”

Chen Pingan asked, “Are the farmlands abandoned? Have many of the porcelain kilns stopped firing?”

Song Jixin nodded, “Indeed, who cares about such meager harvests anymore?”

Chen Pingan sighed. This was human nature. If he, Chen Pingan, hadn’t had those experiences and had stayed in Mud Bottle Alley of the Li Zhu Grotto Heaven, becoming an ordinary kiln worker, he would have been even more diligent in searching the mountains and rivers. The only difference would probably be that he wouldn’t forget his duties. If he had farmland, he wouldn’t abandon it, and if he became a proper kiln worker, he wouldn’t let his skills go to waste.

After Lu Chen had reminded him, Chen Pingan went to the Dragon Whisker River that very night, carrying a large basket, searching for snake gallstones that hadn’t lost their spiritual energy, running with all his might and forgetting to eat and sleep.

However, even though Chen Pingan rummaged and picked so much that he wished he could scour the entire Dragon Whisker River, and did reap a considerable harvest, Ma Kuxuan had only entered the water once and found the most valuable snake gallstone. When he brought it out, the stone shone like a rising moon.

Song Jixin stopped walking. “Do you hate me?”

Chen Pingan shook his head, “I wouldn’t say hate. I just want to keep my distance from you.”

Song Jixin was puzzled, “Even though that Consort sent people to kill you, you don’t hate me?”

Chen Pingan asked, “Did you persuade her to kill me?”

Song Jixin scoffed, “I don’t have that kind of ability. The so-called mother-son affection exists after I changed my name to Song Mu in the Clan Affairs Office, of course, but with varying degrees of intimacy. But there’s nothing to be surprised about. I now realize that matters of the imperial family, while grander in scale, are essentially no different from those among our old neighbors. In a family with multiple children, parents will always have their own biases.”

Chen Pingan said, “That’s enough. If I have the chance in the future, I’ll just find her. There’s no need to hate you, Song Jixin.”

Song Jixin was breaking off willow branches, intending to weave a willow ring. Chen Pingan said softly, “She, like National Preceptor Cui Chan, is one of the most powerful people in Dali, but I don’t think that’s all there is to Dali. Dali has the earliest Cliff Academy, the prosperity and liveliness of Red Candle Town, the Dali border sentries who willingly offered me shelter from the wind and cold in the snow at the beacon tower, the shopkeepers in Qingluan Kingdom who greeted me with smiles because of my Dali passport and household registration, and even the outsiders who risked their lives to deliver messages to me on behalf of the Green Wave Pavilion she founded. I think these are also part of the Dali Dynasty.”

Chen Pingan turned to Song Jixin and continued, “I know all this. In the future, if I still decide to face her and beat her to death with a punch, I can do it cleanly, settling the grudges between the two of us, and try not to affect other Dali commoners.”

Song Jixin smiled, “She won’t think that way.”

Chen Pingan smiled and retorted, “I already have the justification, even the Confucian rules can’t find fault. Why should I care what she thinks?”

Song Jixin sized up Chen Pingan again, “Have you been reading some Legalist books?”

Chen Pingan still retorted, “Those books that Master Qi left you, some you left in the house in town, some you took away. Did you read the ones you took away?”

Song Jixin wove a small willow ring and slipped it onto his arm, shaking it gently. “Is it any of your business?”

Chen Pingan didn’t want to talk about such things and asked a question unrelated to grudges or public and private matters, “Why did you come to Great Sui?”
Song Jixing, hands clasped behind his head, reminisced, “Back then, Gao Xuan came to our place seeking opportunity. Some folks said I wasn’t his equal, so I came to this side to have a look around.”

Chen Pingan chuckled, “Can’t compare. You’ve come to Great Sui to flaunt your might. Gao Xuan was truly deep within enemy territory back then. Besides, Gao Xuan is now a hostage at the Biyun Mountain Linlu Academy. Why don’t you try that too?”

Song Jixing chuckled wryly, “Chen Pingan, you’re much sharper than before, actually making witty remarks. Did you learn that from me?”

Chen Pingan retorted, “Stop trying to take credit.”

Song Jixing crouched down, picked up a pebble, and tossed it into the lake, “I need a favor, what do you say?”

Chen Pingan replied without hesitation, “I refuse.”

Song Jixing looked up, feigning grievance, “Why? Chen Pingan, search your heart, aside from tricking you into being a dragon kiln apprentice, have I ever wronged you in any way?”

Chen Pingan said, “You find me annoying, and I find you amusing? Why pretend to be friends?”

Song Jixing was taken aback by this response, bursting into laughter, “Chen Pingan, ah, Chen Pingan, you’re much more likable than that rigid wooden puppet you used to be. If you had this kind of temper back then, I would have sincerely become your friend.”

Chen Pingan shook his head, “Song Jixing, you know very well that we can’t be friends. As long as we don’t become enemies, we should both be satisfied.”

Song Jixing removed the willow ring from his finger and tossed it into the lake, then picked up a stone, attempting to toss it through the ring’s center, “The Fallen Mountain’s Mountain God Shrine is in a difficult situation these days. Wei Bo harbors…resentment towards that Mountain God on your land. I wanted you to say a few words to Wei Bo, not hoping he would promote the Mountain God Shrine, but just asking that the statues within the shrine not be suddenly replaced one day.”

Chen Pingan hesitated.

The current Mountain God of Fallen Mountain was none other than Song Yuzhang, the former kiln supervisor.

Song Jixing watched the willow ring drift further away, softly saying, “I know exactly what you want to say. His being thrown aside after his usefulness was over, his head being cut off by Lu Clan defector Wang Yifu, aside from covering up the royal scandal surrounding that covered bridge, was also due to the Emperor’s personal feelings. After all, who wants their own son to have a ‘foster father’ in his heart? Wang Yifu told me privately that before he died, he begged Wang Yifu to pass on a message to me, saying that for so many years, he always wanted me to write a spring couplet for him. Tell me, such a treasonous official, if he doesn’t die, who will?”

Chen Pingan considered, “I was planning to return to Dragon Spring County anyway. I will speak with Wei Bo about this matter, but I won’t demand anything of Wei Bo, nor do I have the ability to order around a Northern March True God. I can make that clear to you now. I can even tell you now that Song Yuzhang will likely side with your mother in the future. As the Mountain God of Fallen Mountain, yet he will be dealing with me. When the time comes, if I have the ability, I will definitely smash Song Yuzhang’s statue into powder, leaving no possibility of piecing together a deity again. I will not be lenient.”

Song Jixing chuckled, “With these two debts, I don’t feel like I owe you any thanks?”

Chen Pingan coldly smiled, “Never thought that you, Song Jixing, would ever thank me.”

Song Jixing let out a series of “tsk, tsk, tsk” sounds, stood up, and clapped his hands, “Chen Pingan, your words and actions at this moment are truly like those of a mountain cultivator, possessing a divine nature.”

Chen Pingan remained unmoved.

Song Jixing asked with a smile, “After seeing you and asking for a favor, I’ll be content to head home. Oh, right, Zhigui is waiting for me at the foot of the mountain, near the academy entrance. Would you like to come with me and see her?”

Chen Pingan shook his head, “No need.”

Song Jixing continued, “The current Ma Kuxuan of True Martial Mountain, after breaking through his seclusion, his advancement in cultivation realms is like a commoner suffering from diarrhea after eating something bad. He’s now being hailed as the second Wei Jin of the Wind and Snow Temple. Your Apricot Blossom Lane is relying on just him in terms of reputation, trying to compete with our entire Mud Bottle Lane. Does that infuriate you?”

Chen Pingan remained silent.

Song Jixing extended two fingers, bending one of them, “I originally wanted to tell you two things, as repayment for your help regarding the Fallen Mountain Mountain God Shrine. Now that I realize I still find you annoying, I’ll only tell you one thing. It seems that with the changing situation in the mountains west of Dragon Spring County, there are signs of our Dali Song Clan capsizing. Many foreign powers that bought mountain peaks and built residences are not optimistic about us, especially some sects close to the central part of Treasure Bottle Continent. Some are even planning to sell off their mountain peaks at a low price, to avoid being used as leverage in the future. One or two secret transactions have already succeeded. Among them, Ruan Qiong took over three mountain peaks in one go, including Ox Horn Mountain which Bao Fu Zhai released. If you return earlier, you might be able to snatch one or two. All you need is Grain Rain money now.”

Chen Pingan asked, “When did this happen?”

Song Jixing rolled his eyes, “I just heard Xu Ruo say it on the way here, about a decade ago. Before that, who would be willing to transfer their mountain peaks? Everyone was eager to relocate their entire sect to Dragon Spring County. It’s said that Wei Bo’s Biyun Mountain has been lively these past few years, filled with bootlickers. Fortunately, Wei Bo is welcoming, willing to greet each one with a smile. If it were me, I would have been disgusted to the point of vomiting.”

Chen Pingan nodded, “I’ll try.”

Song Jixing laughed, “No need to see me off.”

Chen Pingan said, “Then I won’t.”

Song Jixing laughed loudly, “That hasn’t changed, still so boring.”

Song Jixing left the lakeside, heading towards the foot of the mountain.

Chen Pingan stood in place, watching the man slowly leave.

Song Jixing arrived at the academy entrance and smiled at Zhigui, “Let’s go.”

Zhigui asked, “Is your Young Master in a good mood?”

Song Jixing grinned, “Seeing Chen Pingan thriving, Young Master is especially happy.”

Zhigui oh-ed.

Song Jixing turned back to look at the Cliffside Academy, curiously asking, “Really not going to take a look around? If you want to, Young Master can accompany you for another trip.”

Zhigui shook her head, “Not interested.”

Song Jixing sighed, “Do you think both National Preceptors will side with my younger brother?”

Zhigui covered her mouth and giggled, “Young Master, you’ve asked me that many times.”
Song Jixin said helplessly, “Young Master, this is because you lack confidence. Uncle refuses to give me the full picture, and the two Imperial Preceptors are so inscrutable. Young Master has no foundation in the capital. Compared to Chen Ping’an back in Ni Ping Lane, he was even more destitute. At least he had an ancestral home, but Young Master has nothing. Civil officials and military generals, those on the mountains and below, except for a few who believe in high-stakes gambling, who is willing to truly favor you, Young Master?”

Zhigui comforted, “You still have this servant girl by your side, Young Master.”

Song Jixin laughed, raised his arm high, and spread his palm, the back of his hand facing the sky, his palm facing himself, “Young Master is just a puppet anyway, they can do whatever they want with me. Chen Ping’an could have his success, why can’t I have my day?”

Zhigui was still dressed as a maid, only her clothes were a bit more luxurious than in Ni Ping Lane. Her figure was becoming more graceful, and she laughed, “Young Master comparing yourself to him, isn’t that a bit… embarrassing?”

Song Jixin retracted his hand, struck his palm with his fist, and turned his head to praise, “That was a comforting word that I wanted to hear!”

In the Great Sui Capital, as the Thousand Elders Banquet was about to be held, the atmosphere was somewhat turbulent these days.

Cai Feng had already requested leave from the Directorate of Astronomy, but Cai Feng was also absent from his residence.

The newly appointed Number One Scholar, Zhang Dai, had not appeared in the Hanlin Academy, the most prestigious institution for cultivating future prime ministers, for a long time for unknown reasons.

It was said that Song Shan, the Deputy Commander of the Infantry Department, had even visited the Ministry of Justice.

Rumors were flying around the officialdom and the marketplace of the capital.

The nominal Mountain Master of the Cliff Academy, the Minister of Rites of the Great Sui, paid a special visit to the Deputy Mountain Master, Mao Xiaodong, late one night. The meeting place was not in the study, but in the Hall of Masters, where three Confucian Sages were enshrined.

Late that night, Mao Xiaodong didn’t tell Chen Ping’an the details, but instead summoned Chen Ping’an to leave the academy and go to the Great Sui Capital’s Temple of Literature. Compared to the first time he asked for a lion’s share, Mao Xiaodong took away even more ritual objects and sacrificial instruments carrying the nation’s literary fortune from the Temple of Literature.

After returning to Donghua Mountain, Mao Xiaodong brought Chen Ping’an to the summit, took out the jade tablet, and sat in the academy in the posture of a sage.

Chen Ping’an took out more than thirty pieces of natural treasures that Mao Xiaodong had helped prepare. The last two pieces that arrived late were a thousand-year-old water buffalo horn and a saber once worn by a martial saint from the central capital of a country in Bao Ping Continent, containing a strong aura of metal and slaughter. Mao Xiaodong didn’t pretend to be noble about collecting and refining materials. From the beginning, he told Chen Ping’an about the origins, prices, and unique features of these natural treasures.

Because Fan Junmao had helped prepare for the first refinement of the Water Character Seal in Old Dragon City, Chen Ping’an truly understood why Qi refiners spend so much money and time on refining their natal treasures. Ordinary Qi refiners, to succeed, must rely on their wealth and luck. If they are unlucky and lack a key item, the refinement will stall. On the path of cultivation, a step behind is a step behind forever, and the intangible losses can drive Qi refiners crazy.

Even with slightly better luck, it is still a drain on resources. For example, getting a suitable item for refinement, and then having a rough idea of the price of auxiliary materials, originally planned to spend a Grain Rain Coin, which is the real price of the required natural treasures, but even if all the materials can be found, how to get them into your hands? Wild cultivators often rely on robbery, advocating killing and plunder, calling it “Heaven bestows but not taking is a sin.” Lineage cultivators often rely on buying, relying on favors, buying with immortal money, or bartering. If there is no friendship, you can spend immortal money in various immortal shops such as the Upside Down Mountain’s Spirit Herb House, Dragon Spring County’s Ox Horn Mountain’s Package House, and Green Coin Square. This is nothing, the most expensive situation is those scarce natural treasures. Immortal shops will have a special “Universe in the Sleeve” auction hall, calling on some wealthy patrons with purchase intentions to bid separately, with their own set of business techniques that make people bleed and wail. Once you reach this step, the final transaction price is often more than double the initial estimate of a Qi refiner. Some people even like to sabotage and raise prices, deliberately ruining the good deeds of others, driving up the price of an item worth one Lesser Heat Coin to three or four Lesser Heat Coins. Does the victim buy it or not? If they don’t buy it, many good things will be gone, delaying the refinement of their natal treasure, what can they do?

Moreover, between immortal mountains, the closer they are, the more they scheme against each other. Who wants to watch another family’s mountain have another middle-fifth realm cultivator, especially a land immortal who can command wind and rain? Deadly battles may not happen, but secret sabotage is sure to occur.

Therefore, when Mao Xiaodong had collected all the natural treasures, Chen Ping’an felt relieved, but also a little worried.

How to refine the third natal treasure?

According to the plan, he should already be in Northern Ju Continent at that time.

Should he change his mind, gather the remaining Da Li compensations from the Old Dragon City battle, sell everything, refine the third treasure in Fallen Mountain, and then travel to the Northern Ju Continent, a land of sword cultivators?

Chen Ping’an sighed slightly, and could only tell himself to worry about tomorrow when it comes.

He hadn’t even successfully refined the Golden Literary Courage, and he was already thinking about the third natal treasure. That was inappropriate. Do today’s work to the best of one’s ability is the right path.

Chen Ping’an calmed his mind, concentrated his breath, and finally took out the refining tool from the Green Tiger Palace of Tongye Continent, the Five-Colored Golden Cabinet Stove.

Then, he silently recited the set of refining formulas given by the Burial River Water Goddess in his heart.

Mao Xiaodong didn’t say a word from beginning to end.

More words are unnecessary.

Cultivation is one’s own business.

Even a mentor can only offer a few explanations and pointers.

Even a protector won’t interfere, at most, if the person fails in refining, they will try their best to protect the person’s fundamental path, striving for the “where there is life, there is hope” for the protected person.

Chen Ping’an had already placed various natural treasures in front of him, suddenly raised his head, looked at Mao Xiaodong sitting opposite him, and asked, “Mountain Master Mao, I actually have a doubt that I can’t figure out.”

Mao Xiaodong nodded, “Ask.”
Chen Ping’an inquired, “Since our Vast Expanse has the seventy-two academies situated across the nine continents, why isn’t it seven hundred and twenty? Is it that the Central Earth Literary Temple cannot achieve it, or is it that the Sage Master does not wish to do so?”

Before answering this question, Mao Xiaodong slowly said, “I will only offer my personal opinion. You can take it as a reference, but it may not be entirely correct. However, it can serve as a possibility for your understanding of this world. What do you think?”

Chen Ping’an nodded, “Alright!”

Mao Xiaodong then stated, “Regarding this matter, I once discussed it with someone. Nowadays, perhaps few mortals remember, but long ago, before the division of three and four, in the Northern Icy Continent, under the proposal of an old ancestor from one of the Four Prominent Schools, with the strong support of the Liu Clan, and the approval of a Lesser Sage, there once appeared a place hailed as the ‘Land of No Worries.’ It had a population of roughly ten million. There were no Qi cultivators, no philosophers of the Hundred Schools, not even the Three Teachings. Everyone was free from worry about food and clothing, everyone studied. The knowledge and principles taught by the masters were the essence of the Four Prominent Schools and the Hundred Schools, but they tried to avoid the fundamental tenets of each school. However, it was mainly based on Confucian classics, supplemented by the other Hundred Schools.”

At this point, Mao Xiaodong paused briefly.

He spoke extremely slowly and with great earnestness.

So much so that even Mao Xiaodong, as a Sage of the academy, seemed to be struggling somewhat.

Chen Ping’an opened his mouth and asked, “Were the teachers in the schools carefully selected virtuous gentlemen from the academy?”

Mao Xiaodong shook his head, “Of course not. Otherwise, it would be meaningless. Even if it succeeded, the customs of one nation would, at most, evolve into one continent. But that would starve the remaining eight continents, using the literary fortune of eight continents to support the peace and happiness of one. What would be the point? Therefore, the Liu Clan of the Icy Continent, under the supervision of all parties, secretly prepared for this for nearly forty years. Every aspect had to be approved by the representatives of the many philosophers of the Hundred Schools present. If even one person objected, it could not be implemented. This was the only time the Sage of Rites showed his face, and it was the only requirement he made.”

Chen Ping’an asked curiously, “The final result, then, was not as desired?”

Mao Xiaodong nodded, “Otherwise, there would not have been the later division of three and four.”

Chen Ping’an fell into deep thought, considering why it would have failed.

A tangled mess.

Mao Xiaodong said softly, “From the Sage Master to the Sage of Rites, one expounded benevolence and righteousness, while the other specifically formulated rules and frameworks. Why?”

Mao Xiaodong answered his own question, “Before answering this question, I also asked that person, why the Sage Master and the Sage of Rites, after establishing the supreme and orthodox position of the Vast Expanse, still tolerated the Hundred Schools? Why not simply leave only Confucian learning to enlighten the common people? That person’s answer enlightened me, a simpleton. I realized how vast the world truly is. That person said that the Dao Ancestor was looking at that ‘one,’ which is why the remnants of that rebellion were able to migrate to the Great Wall of Swords. And our Vast Expanse did not exterminate the demon race. The Buddha only left one sentence, predicting that the Era of Declining Dharma would eventually arrive, ‘From then on, in my Dharma, even if one shaves their head and beard, wears the kasaya, breaks the precepts, and acts unlawfully…'”

Mao Xiaodong asked rhetorically, “What do you think these three are seeking?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head, not knowing.

Mao Xiaodong said, “That person told me that he also did not know the answer, but perhaps they were hoping to give all sentient beings in the world a kind of freedom approaching its true meaning, a freedom that you can achieve without paying an extra price.”

Mao Xiaodong asked, “Do you understand?”

Chen Ping’an honestly replied, “I do not.”

Mao Xiaodong smiled, “Chen Ping’an, you don’t need to pursue the answer to this question right now.”

Mao Xiaodong stood up, raised one foot, hovering an inch above the ground, then raised it higher twice, “The current learning, knowing its foundation and true meaning, progressing step by step, then a person’s heart will be stable no matter how high they stand. Regardless of those miscellaneous and unorthodox practices, at the very least, we scholars should be like this.”

Chen Ping’an recalled what he had said to Yao Jinzhi on the summit of Great Spring Mountain, about the circles from the inside out, from small to large, and smiled knowingly, “I understand this.”

Mao Xiaodong sat back in his original position and asked with a smile, “Do you really understand?”

Chen Ping’an nodded, “I really understand!”

Mao Xiaodong extended a palm and said with a slight smile, “When the right time, the right place, and the right people all come together, then you can refine an object.”

Chen Ping’an first closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A golden literary core quietly hovered in front of him.

Chen Ping’an still did not rush to use a breath of pure martial artist’s true qi to “start the fire,” but instead inexplicably remembered the incident in his ancestral home in Mud Bottle Lane when he was young.

The second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head, the candle illuminates the beam, the peach tree hits the wall, and there is nowhere for the snakes and insects in the world to hide…

That was probably the very beginning of Chen Ping’an’s journey through the world.

At that time, he had not met many people yet.

But he walked step by step, meeting them one by one.

Practicing martial arts is not hard. Studying is worthwhile.

Persisting in reasoning with people turns out to be something that may not always be pleasant but is something one will not regret.

So it turns out that I, Chen Ping’an, can have this day.

So it turns out that Miss Ning has such good judgment?

Mao Xiaodong shouted angrily, “Your state of mind is too cheerful. Stop it for a moment!”

Mao Xiaodong almost struck him with a ruler, scolding him angrily, “Even if you have a girl you like, think about her after you successfully refine your natal treasure! Who cares how many hours you want to think about her at that time, or if you’re grinning from ear to ear?! You have no sense of propriety!”

Chen Ping’an looked chagrined and quickly wiped his face, suppressed the smile on his face, and regained his focus.

Mao Xiaodong seemed extremely annoyed, but in fact, he was secretly happy in his heart, muttering, “Teacher, did I do well in this matter? It’s not too much to ask for a word of praise from you, is it?”

At the top of Donghua Mountain, when Mao Xiaodong and Chen Ping’an were sitting opposite each other,

There were also two people sitting opposite each other in the academy: the great scholar Dong Jing, who was proficient in thunder magic, and his half-disciple Lin Shouyi.

When heaven and earth became silent and stagnant, and the flow of time began to show signs of manifesting, Dong Jing frowned. Seeing that a bit of Lin Shouyi’s inherent spiritual light was about to stop, he waved his sleeve, isolating a small world. However, the great scholar seemed to be struggling slightly.

Dong Jing said in a deep voice, “Don’t be distracted. It’s like reading a book: being able to immerse yourself in the wonderful writings of the sages is a skill, but being able to pull yourself out is even more commendable. Otherwise, you’ll be a bookworm your whole life. What are you talking about resonating with the sages?!”
Lin Shouyi nodded slightly.

Dong Jing continued with the previous topic, “Don’t rush. Strive to open up two more Natal Qi Residences. Breaking through to the next realm can wait. We Confucian disciples cultivate Qi; our own physical aptitude is not the most important. Confucianism is already the orthodox path under this vast heaven. A Confucian’s cultivation, in the final analysis, is the cultivation of knowledge and inquiry. I ask you, Lin Shouyi, why is it that so many people clearly understand so many principles in books, yet they remain muddleheaded, even morally compromised?”

Lin Shouyi said in a deep voice, “If one does not know the root of a certain principle or a certain branch of learning, one naturally does not know how to conduct oneself in accordance with reason. Therefore, golden words that should weigh a thousand pounds, once obtained, become tattered cotton, easily scattered by the wind, unable to ward off the cold. In the end, one blames the principle for not being a principle, which is a great fallacy.”

“You are only half right. The half that is wrong lies in the fact that many sage-like principles are not meant for the world to grasp as concrete objects, but rather to give the heart a place to rest.”

Dong Jing nodded with satisfaction, “Then today I will only speak to you about one saying of the sages, and we will elaborate solely on this one sentence.”

Lin Shouyi straightened his posture, “I am willing to listen to Master’s teachings.”

Dong Jing asked, “The Sage said, ‘A gentleman is not a tool.’ What is the interpretation? What is the interpretation of the Academy of Rites? What is the interpretation of the Pure Confucian Chen Clan? What is the interpretation of Goose Lake Academy? What was the interpretation of the Tongcheng School in the past Qingluan Kingdom? And what is your own interpretation?”

Lin Shouyi was confident, ready to answer this series of questions.

Suddenly, he noticed that Master Dong had turned his head, looking out the window, far more distracted than Lin Shouyi himself.

Lin Shouyi hesitated for a moment, and seeing that Master Dong had no intention of withdrawing his gaze, he turned his head to look as well.

As a result, he saw a head hanging outside the window.

Dong Jing said angrily, “Cui Dongshan, what are you doing?!”

Cui Dongshan said with an innocent look, “I’m just afraid that Lin Shouyi will ask you, Dong Jing, a question that you can’t answer, which would be too embarrassing. I’m here to help you out.”

Dong Jing pointed his finger, glaring at him, “Get out of here!”

The matter of imparting knowledge is so solemn and reverent, yet this notorious rat turd of the academy was making trouble here.

Cui Dongshan always held onto the windowsill with both hands, his feet off the ground, blinking his eyes, “If I don’t leave, will you hit me?”

Dong Jing calmed his mind, intending to reason with this guy, and then threaten him with the prestige of the Maoshan Master of the academy, but he didn’t expect Cui Dongshan to have already released his hands. That annoying head finally disappeared.

Dong Jing snorted coldly.

As a result, Cui Dongshan jumped again, his arm resting on the windowsill, and laughed, “I’m back.”

Dong Jing scolded, “Cui Dongshan, you are a Nascent Soul cultivator, doing such a thing, aren’t you bored?!”

Cui Dongshan said righteously, “I’m about to die of boredom, that’s why I came here to find something interesting, otherwise what would I come for?”

Dong Jing stood up, “Want to fight?!”

Cui Dongshan shook his head, “A gentleman uses his words, not his fists.”

Dong Jing was so angry that he strode away.

Among those who cultivate thunder techniques, especially Earth Immortals, how many have good tempers?

Cui Dongshan tapped his toe on the wall and floated backwards, waving goodbye.

Lin Shouyi smiled wryly.

Dong Jing stood by the window, and after confirming that Cui Dongshan had gone far away, he still waited for a long time before returning to his original position.

Cui Dongshan did not continue to pester, and swaggered to several classrooms and several student dormitories. He saw Li Huai, who was dozing off in class. Cui Dongshan rewarded this little brat with several chestnuts. He took the young woman of the Great Sui aristocratic family, who was frozen in the river of time, sitting in front of her desk in the classroom, and changed her hairstyle to one that he thought was more in line with her temperament. He went to see a beautiful young girl in the dormitory who was secretly reading a book of talented scholars and beautiful ladies, took pen and ink, and blotted out all the most exciting and shameful descriptions in the book with ink…

From this, it can be seen that Cui Dongshan was indeed very bored.

Wandering around, Cui Dongshan finally glanced at the scene on the peak of Donghua Mountain, and then returned to his small courtyard, sleeping soundly in the corridor.

Shi Rou “wore” a set of immortal remains, and could walk freely.

Without the last Dragon-Binding Nail imprisoning his cultivation, Xie Xie found it more difficult to walk, but sitting on the steps and feeling the mystery of the river of time was still possible.

Cui Dongshan suddenly stood up with a carp jump without warning, startling Xie Xie and Shi Rou.

Cui Dongshan suddenly remembered the gesture of intimidation that the girl named Li Liu had made to him at the entrance of the academy a few years ago.

The girl seemed innocent and ignorant of the world.

Cui Dongshan leaned back and fell to the ground with a thud, humming and hawing, throwing punches again and again, clicking his tongue and saying, “The Lord of the Jianghu, no wonder her ambitions are higher than the sky.”

Cui Dongshan closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Xie Xie and Shi Rou almost simultaneously turned their heads to look at the peak of Donghua Mountain.

The flowing water of time there seemed to be dyed with a vast golden color for some reason.

Only Shi Rou, in an instant, turned her head and quickly glanced at Cui Dongshan.

That day, after Chen Ping’an said “Think about it again,” she clearly saw Cui Dongshan, whose back was to Chen Ping’an, with tears on his face.

Cui Dongshan was clearly already asleep, but he snapped his fingers.

Shi Rou’s abdomen rumbled like thunder, a feeling she had not had for hundreds of years.

Cui Dongshan turned his head, smiling and reminding, “Don’t do it in my yard, hurry up and find a latrine, otherwise either you’ll stink me to death, or I’ll beat you to death!”

Shi Rou was filled with grief and indignation, and ran away.

Cui Dongshan kept rolling in the corridor, saying, “Xie Xie, where are you going to find a young master who will help you wipe the corridor, right?”

Xie Xie had to agree, “Xie Xie thanks the young master.”

Cui Dongshan lay on the corridor, swimming from one end to the other in a frog-like posture, then turned around and did it again, repeatedly humming “Toads don’t drink water, a peaceful year, a peaceful year…”

First, set a small goal, such as 1 second: