The Path of the Sage

However, Fang Yun deliberately wrote only half of the answer, hesitating, making sure he dragged out the time long enough for the old man to not appear again, before he finished writing the final result.

Having passed the first pavilion of the second mountain, Fang Yun received the baptism of the holy light for the fourth time, and then stepped into the second pavilion of the second mountain.

The plaque on this pavilion read "Geography".

Fang Yun only felt a flash before his eyes, and suddenly found himself in a place that was extremely familiar.

The small river outside Ji County!

Fang Yun immediately became alert. Although he often said that he was thinking by the river, he actually said so under forced circumstances, because Fang Yun used to like to daze by the river. If Fang Yun said that he had read widely in the past, he would definitely be exposed.

Fang Yun stood by the river, waiting quietly.

The old man appeared again at the side, asking, "This second pavilion tests geography. Since you often think on the bank of this river, you must have noticed that the water on the north bank is shallower than that on the south bank, right?"

Fang Yun vaguely understood what the old man was testing, and immediately said, "Indeed, I noticed it a long time ago."

"So do you know the reason?"

Fang Yun thought for a while and said, "I was just curious before and didn't think about it. Is this the question for the Book Mountain exam?"

"Yes."

Fang Yun slowly said, "There is no wind here, and the terrain on both sides is very flat. The water flow will not choose depth. Therefore, it can only be that the earth where the water flows forms a kind of force. This force makes the water flow on the south bank fast, able to wash away more silt, so the water on the south bank is deep; while the water flow on the north bank is slow, unable to wash away the silt, so the silt slowly accumulates and becomes shallow."

"How did you come up with that?" the old man asked.

"In fact, a Half-Sage had proposed long ago that the Holy Origin Mainland we are standing on is rotating. Since it is rotating, it will naturally drive everything on the earth, and the fact that the river is deep on one side and shallow on the other has a basis." Fang Yun said in his heart, "It's the Coriolis force."

"Oh? Don't you waste time thinking about these things every day?"

Fang Yun said, "Old man, you are wrong. I have observed some Presented Scholars' 'Great Wind Song', and found that many Presented Scholars control the song in the wrong way, which is probably related to the strange force of the earth. It's the same force that makes the river shallow in the north and deep in the south."

"Tell me about it."

"The Great Wind Song will form a tornado, but some Presented Scholars' tornadoes rotate clockwise according to the sundial, while others rotate counterclockwise. Even though the two people's strengths are not much different, the latter's power is at least 10% higher. I didn't understand it back then, but now I do, thanks to your inspiration. If Presented Scholars use the 'Great Wind Song' in the future, they should only use the latter method, which will make the 'Great Wind Song' more powerful."

The sundial is a part of the sundial. It is a method used by the Holy Origin Mainland to calculate time based on the shadow of the sun using a needle and scale, similar to a clock.

"Oh? This is unheard of. I'll note this down for now. If it's true as you said, your contribution will be even greater."

"The old man is too kind, I'm just guessing."

The old man asked again, "The people of the ten nations have accepted that the Holy Origin Mainland is a big sphere, what's your opinion?"

"The Holy Origin Mainland is indeed a big sphere."

"Do you have any evidence to prove it?"

"Is this a question?"

"Of course."

"Let me think. As everyone knows, Li Daoyuan walked in one direction and finally returned to the original place. Does this count as proof?"

"You need four more answers."

"Four?"

"Answer or not."

"Answer." Fang Yun deliberately thought for a while before answering. "Old man, have you ever seen a lunar eclipse?"

"Of course I have."

"The Sage said that when the Holy Origin Mainland is between the sun and the moon, it blocks the sunlight, so it leaves a shadow on the moon. But I found that the shadow is an arc, which can prove that the Holy Origin Mainland is a sphere."

"The third one?"

"When ships go out to sea, they often gradually disappear, and when they come back, the highest mast always appears first, followed by the hull. This exactly proves that the Holy Origin Mainland is round."

"The fourth one."

"If the Holy Origin Mainland is flat, we can see far away when we look out. But unfortunately, we can only see further when we climb high."

"The fifth one."

"When looking at the sea level, you will find that the horizon is actually an arc, not a straight line. Am I right?"

The old man nodded and said, "Then let me test you on the geography of the Demon Realm."

Fang Yun nodded and answered the old man's continued questions.

This time, Fang Yun was even more careful, deliberately slowing down a lot. He answered all three questions completely.

After answering, Fang Yun walked towards the third pavilion.

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The plaque on the third pavilion of the second mountain read "Agriculture and Industry".

This time the old man did not appear, but a test paper appeared as before.

The test paper covered the smelting of weapons, the planting and harvesting of crops, and the very niche subject of hydraulic engineering.

Fang Yun was not familiar with any of these three areas, but fortunately, he had the Book of Heaven and Earth, and he carefully worked out the answers.

Fang Yun officially passed the second mountain. It seemed simple, but it was actually much harder than the first mountain.

After receiving the baptism of the holy light in the third pavilion of the second mountain, Fang Yun looked back and saw only one person appearing in the first pavilion of the second mountain.

"Except for me, I'm afraid no one else can pass the second mountain this time. This year's exam is too biased. I suspect that even those Imperial Scholars and Hanlin Scholars may not have answered correctly."

Fang Yun looked at the crowd at the foot of the mountain, thinking that everyone would be informed by the Half-Sage of their position after leaving the Book Mountain. In the past, more than half of the people could enter the first pavilion of the Book Mountain, and many people passed the first pavilion. But now it's incomparable to the past, so everyone inferred that this year's Book Mountain is too difficult.

As Fang Yun walked towards the third mountain, he recalled that the first mountain tested characters, couplets, and dictation, which were all literary, but different from ordinary exams. The second mountain tested various arts.

"I wonder what the third mountain will test."

After descending the second mountain, Fang Yun encountered a more fierce strange wind, which slightly moved his clothes.

When he arrived at the first pavilion of the third mountain, Fang Yun saw a very tall wooden pole standing in the middle of the square, and the word "skill" was written on the plaque.

A ruler appeared in Fang Yun's hand, and the old man's voice followed: "Measure the height of the wooden pole with the ruler."

Fang Yun was stunned for a moment, thinking that this was a practice of climbing skills? But when he tried, he found that there was a problem with the wooden pole. A strong force prevented him from climbing.

Fang Yun held the ruler and looked around. He quickly noticed that both he and the long wooden pole cast shadows on the ground. After a little thought, he smiled.

"At the same time, the ratio of the ruler and the long pole to their shadows is equal. If you stand the ruler on the ground and measure the length of the ruler and its shadow in a short time, and then measure the length of the shadow of the wooden pole, you can calculate the height of the long pole."

"If they hadn't experienced systematic learning on Earth and only received education on the Holy Origin Continent, even those so-called Half-Sage disciples might not be able to think of a measurement method. It's not that their wisdom is inferior to mine, but their way of thinking is."

After thinking, Fang Yun began to manually measure, and finally got the correct length, successfully obtaining the baptism of the holy light in the first pavilion of the third mountain.

The baptism of the holy light this time took an exceptionally long time, allowing Fang Yun's strength to make substantial progress.

Seeing Fang Yun leaving the first pavilion of the third mountain, the Talented Scholars of Jing Kingdom at the foot of the mountain let out a desperate shout.

The Talented Scholars of Qing Nation and Wu Nation remained silent, but more than half of the people bowed their hands to Fang Yun, expressing their sincere admiration. Some people didn't care about Fang Yun's victory or defeat, but when they saw the reactions of some Talented Scholars from Qing Nation and Wu Nation, their eyes became strange.

Several older Talented Scholars from Jing Nation became extremely excited when they noticed this scene.

Qing Nation and Wu Nation had jointly suppressed Jing Nation for decades, causing almost irreparable damage to Jing Nation's literary reputation and public sentiment. Coupled with Chen Guanhai's serious injury and last year's defeat, many literati and the public expressed their intention to join Qing Nation or Wu Nation.

Even Li Wenying or the Great Scholar Wenxiang couldn't reverse this situation, they could only watch their countrymen being despised by foreigners.

But now, Fang Yun made the Talented Scholars of Qing Nation and Wu Nation admit defeat. They recognized Fang Yun, recognized the scholars of Jing Nation, and recognized the power of Jing Nation.

Many of the Talented Scholars present admired Fang Yun. After leaving the Book Mountain, today's memories will not be retained, but their subconscious goodwill towards Fang Yun is still preserved.

This seemingly insignificant change has a significant meaning. It means that the efforts of Qing Nation and Wu Nation for decades are being slowly dissolved by Fang Yun alone, which is something that no one in Jing Nation can do.

Other nations may sympathize with Jing Nation, and even respect Jing Nation for fighting against the Demon Barbarians, but when they have conflicts of interest with Jing Nation, sympathy and respect will become worthless. Only strength and power can determine everything.

Without enough hard power, all soft power is just a bubble, which can be broken with a poke.

Fang Yun is gradually enhancing Jing Nation's hard power step by step.

Everyone watched as Fang Yun slowly walked to the second pavilion. Although they didn't know what the second pavilion was testing, everyone knew that the second pavilion of the third mountain was very important. Because anyone who passed the second pavilion of the third mountain as a Talented Scholar would have great achievements in the future.

Whether or not they can pass the second pavilion determines whether a person is a genius.

Fang Yun slowly entered the second pavilion of the third mountain and found himself in a schoolyard with many weapons.

"Could it be that this second pavilion is a place to test martial arts?"

The old man came out again and said, "You can choose any weapon."

"Yes." Fang Yun chose a bow and arrow, and then a group of Demon Soldiers appeared in front of him.

These Demon Soldiers were well-trained, but Fang Yun had also killed demons before, and he successively shot them down, achieving excellent results.

After completing the test of the second pavilion of the third mountain, Fang Yun turned his head and looked down the mountain.

The people of Jing Nation let out a deafening cheer.

After passing the real second pavilion of the third mountain and stepping into the third pavilion, regardless of success or failure, Fang Yun will receive a very high evaluation like those geniuses.

If he can really break through the three mountains and three pavilions, then Fang Yun will become the first Talented Scholar in history to ascend to the fourth mountain. (To be continued.)

PS: Triple update.