The three Great Confucians tacitly didn’t respond but exchanged glances with each other.

Seeing this, Academy Head Zhao Shou reached out to take the folded Xuan paper, slowly unfolding it. Then he fell into a long silence.

Noticing Zhao Shou’s unusual behavior, Zhang Shen tentatively asked, “Academy Head?”

But the Academy Head ignored him, mumbling softly to himself, caught in some emotion he couldn’t shake off for the moment.

After quite a while, Zhao Shou stroked his beard and smiled: “Excellent poem! This poem, I will personally carve it in the Temple of the Secondary Sage, letting it become a part of Yunlu Academy. In the future, when descendants look back on this period of history, this poem will be enough.

“Tonight, you three come to my elegant residence for drinks. Let’s drink until dawn.”

The three Great Confucians found it unbelievable. How could Academy Head Zhao Shou, the current leader of Confucianism, lose composure over a single poem like this?

Even for masterpieces like “Fragrance Floats in the Air as the Moon Turns Yellow at Dusk” or “A Boat Full of Clear Dreams Presses Down on the Starry River,” the Academy Head had only smiled in praise.

“See for yourselves!” Zhao Shou passed the paper over.

Zhang Shen took it, and the three Great Confucians looked at it together. Their expressions suddenly froze, and like Zhao Shou before, they became immersed in some emotion, unable to shake it off for a long time.

“The journey is difficult, the journey is difficult, many forked roads, where are they now? When the long wind breaks the waves, there will come a time, to hoist the cloud sail and cross the vast sea.” Li Mu Bai suddenly burst into tears, saying emotionally:

“This poem is about our Yunlu Academy.”

Zhang Shen and Chen Tai, the two Great Confucians, clenched their fists. They understood why the Academy Head had lost composure. Li Mu Bai was right; this poem was written for Yunlu Academy.

Looking back on the two hundred years since the establishment of the Imperial College, Yunlu Academy has entered its darkest era. Students studied hard by lamplight, striving upwards, only to be shelved. Their passionate spirits had nowhere to unleash, their talents nowhere to display.

“Putting down the cup and chopsticks, unable to eat; Drawing the sword and looking around, the heart is bewildered!”

And those last two lines were simply strokes of genius, instantly inspiring heroic spirit in the Great Confucians, stirring their emotions.

The greatest charm of poetry lies in empathy, and this poem completely struck the heartstrings of Academy Head Zhao Shou and the three Great Confucians.

“Academy Head…”

Zhang Shen coughed, breaking free from the surging emotions, and said softly: “Xu Ci Jiu is my disciple, whom I’ve painstakingly taught.”

“Jin Yan, well done, well done,” Zhao Shou said approvingly.

“I must nurture talents for the academy. What hardship is there to speak of?” Zhang Shen said righteously:

“However, I have a small request, which I hope the Academy Head can fulfill.”

Chen Tai and Li Mu Bai instantly became alert.

Zhao Shou asked gently: “What request?”

“When you carve the poem, please remember to write a few small characters after Ci Jiu’s signature: ‘Taught by Zhang Shen, courtesy name Jin Yan, from Jing Province.'”

Before Zhao Shou could answer, Chen Tai and Li Mu Bai rushed to say: “I object!”

Zhang Shen became furious: “My student wrote the poem, what business is it of yours? Do you have the right to object?”

“Nonsense!”

The two Great Confucians glared, bluntly exposing: “Do you not know your student’s level? Do you dare say you don’t know who wrote this poem?”

Of course, Zhang Shen knew. Xu Ci Jiu was his student, and as a teacher, he knew better than anyone what his student was capable of.

As for how Xu Ci Jiu had guessed the topic, Zhang Shen’s thought was that Xu Qi An had asked Wei Yuan for help.

“?”

A question mark flashed in Zhao Shou’s mind. He waved his hand to block the hearing of the messenger student nearby and asked in a low voice: “What did you just say? This poem wasn’t written by Xu Ci Jiu?”

Chen Tai snorted: “Xu Ci Jiu excels in policy discussions, but his poetry is unremarkable. How could he produce such an inspiring masterpiece?”

Li Mu Bai chimed in: “It was written by my student Xu Qi An.”

“Since when did he become your student?” Zhang Shen sneered. “He’s my student too, so writing my name is correct either way.”

The three Great Confucians started bickering.

Academy Head Zhao Shou listened for a moment and roughly understood. This poem wasn’t written by Xu Ci Jiu, but by his elder cousin who was hailed as the Poetry Champion by the Confucian community.

This meant that Xu Ci Jiu had cheated too.

“By the way, what’s our top scholar’s specialty?” Zhao Shou asked.

Confucianism emphasizes character. The higher the rank of a Great Confucian, the more they value the firmness of character. In other words, every Great Confucian has extremely high moral integrity.

But this doesn’t mean all Confucians are saints. Unless one establishes a “destiny” of being a saint in the Destiny-Setting realm, minor transgressions are not a big issue.

However, cheating is not a minor transgression.

“Statecraft and military strategy!” Zhang Shen said. He was already renowned as a Great Confucian specializing in military strategy.

Statecraft was a “skill” that every Confucian student had to learn. On this foundation, Confucian students could choose 1-2 main “courses” to specialize in.

Some students specialized in the Book of Rites, some in the Doctrine of the Mean. Xu Ci Jiu specialized in The Art of War.

Hearing this, Zhao Shou nodded reassuringly. If he specialized in The Art of War, then there was no problem. It wouldn’t affect his future promotions.

“You needn’t argue over a single poem. I think that Xu Qi An is using his younger cousin’s hand to present this poem to our academy. This, for us, is the greatest feedback,” Zhao Shou said.

“The Academy Head is right,” the three Great Confucians said in unison.

We’ll ask Xu Ning Yan for more masterpieces later… the three Great Confucians thought simultaneously.

Additionally, they very tacitly added in their hearts: That despicable villain Yang Gong!

…

The next day, the Xu mansion held a grand banquet, inviting relatives and friends. According to Xu Xin Nian’s wishes, the mansion was divided into three areas for three groups of guests: the front courtyard, the back courtyard, and the central courtyard.

The central courtyard seated his classmates and friends. The back courtyard, not convenient for outsiders to enter, seated family members. The front courtyard seated Second Uncle Xu and Xu Qi An’s colleagues.

The three groups of guests were perfectly separated, drinking and boasting among themselves. The scholars ignored the crude warriors, and the warriors didn’t bother with the scholars’ affectations.

“Second Young Master truly lives up to being a scholar, arranging everything so orderly,” Xu Qi An remarked while accompanying his little brother to toast guests.

“Why didn’t our teacher come to attend?” Xu Qi An asked.

Second Young Master Xu, having had a few drinks, his fair face slightly flushed, exhaled alcohol-laden breath and said helplessly: “This morning, the servant who delivered the invitation brought back news that our teacher and two Great Confucians had a fight and were injured.”

“Fighting again?” Xu Qi An thought to himself, are all the scholars from Yunlu Academy this hot-tempered?

The brothers turned to go to the inner courtyard, where all the family members were. Aunt and Second Uncle remained at the banquet to accompany the Xu clan members. A few children who had eaten their fill were playing in the courtyard, envying the Xu mansion’s large compound.

Xu Ling Yin, too shy to mingle with her young companions, ate from beginning to end, refusing to budge from her seat.

The Xu clan members were overjoyed. First, Elder Young Master Xu had just been enfeoffed, and now Second Young Master had become the top scholar. This was a sign of the Xu family’s rise.

While the younger generation was happy, they thought more about relying on this big tree, possibly leading to future success.

The older generation’s joy was purer, weeping with joy that the ancestors had shown their divine power and that the Xu clan was about to become a great family.

“Donkey Second Egg,” an elder of the clan stood up, patting Xu Ping Zhi’s hand, saying with satisfaction: “Elder Young Master and Second Young Master’s success is largely due to your efforts. One in civil service, one in martial arts, both nurtured by you. You’re even more capable than those tutors. I happen to have a pair of grandsons, Second Egg, can you take care of them for a few years?”

Donkey Second Egg was Second Uncle’s childhood nickname. Xu Qi An’s father’s childhood nickname was: Donkey Big Egg.

Only the elders in the clan could use these nicknames.

“Hahaha, sure, no problem. Grand Uncle, just send those two little rascals over,” Xu Ping Zhi said, beaming with pride, a bit carried away. He even felt that Xu Ci Jiu and Xu Ning Yan’s success was due to his efforts.

What efforts did you make? You’re the unfilial Xu Ping Zhi… Xu Qi An smiled outwardly while inwardly criticizing.

Father truly lacks self-awareness. You’re just an uncouth warrior… Xu Xin Nian thought to himself.

In terms of educating children, no one praised her, which made Aunt very indignant. But thinking of her past conflicts with her nephew, she felt that if she stood up to claim credit, she would surely be rebuked by her nephew.

…

Western Gate, Capital City.

The soldiers guarding the city suddenly heard faint Buddhist chants, ethereal as if coming from the horizon.

A soldier dug in his ear, finding the chants still echoing, “Hey, did you hear any strange sounds…”

He had just asked when he saw his colleagues opposite and beside him also digging in their ears.

At this moment, someone on the city wall shouted: “Buddhist light, there’s Buddhist light in the west…”

The soldiers at the base of the wall instinctively gripped their spears tightly, vigilantly gazing into the distance. A few seconds later, they saw golden Buddhist light slowly rising from the west.

It was like the rising sun… No, purer than sunlight, more affable.

Unconsciously, they loosened their grip on the spears, looking up at the pure Buddhist light, their eyes devout and gentle, as if their souls had been cleansed.

The commander guarding the city bit his tongue hard, the pain stimulating his brain, gaining momentary clarity to resist the “devotion” in his heart.

He staggered, pushing aside the soldiers gazing westward in a daze, grabbed the drum mallet, and struck hard, again and again.

Dong dong dong…

The deep drum sounds spread across the land, resonating in the hearts of the city-guarding soldiers and the citizens of the eastern city.

…

“They’ve come!”

Xu Qi An, who was raising his cup in a toast, heard Monk Shen Shu’s murmur in his mind.

They’ve come? What’s come?

He was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized: that the Buddhist envoy group had arrived.

Finally… the Western Regions’ Buddhist faction had finally reached the capital.

They came for the Sang Po case, they came for Monk Shen Shu.

They came with ill intentions.

He had been in this world for over half a year and was about to encounter high monks from the Western Regions’ Buddhist faction for the first time.

The Supervisor has already shielded the heavenly secrets for me, so the Buddhist monks shouldn’t be able to see through Monk Shen Shu’s existence… As the main official in charge of the Sang Po case, I definitely can’t avoid dealing with the monks… I’ve heard that the Buddhist faction has various bizarre supernatural powers, like “mind-reading” and such. If that’s the case, can they hear my thoughts?

Xu Qi An felt as if facing a formidable enemy.