The Path of the Sage

Everyone on the Holy Origin Mainland knew that possessing The Courage to Write made one a qualified scholar, and having The Heart of Literature made one a powerful scholar.

Fang Yun entered the Palace of Literature.

However, what he saw was not the palace, but a night sky.

Upon closer inspection, Fang Yun realized it wasn't a night sky, but a gigantic tree.

The tree was located in a distant place, its roots unseen, only a part of its trunk and crown visible.

The tree was pitch black, its material unknown. It branched out into countless twigs, each adorned with innumerable stars.

The tree exuded an ancient and profound aura, as if it was the origin of the world, or perhaps the world itself. Fang Yun felt incredibly insignificant.

Fang Yun knew that each star was a sun, not the stars as understood by ancient people. Each sun was equivalent to a solar system, and our sun was considered small among them.

"Incredible." Fang Yun curiously observed this strange Star Tree, trying to understand what it was. But the more he looked, the more astonished he became.

"I can't see the roots or the lower part of the trunk. It looks like a tree, but why do I feel like I'm only seeing a part of its branches? The part in front of me is equivalent to a galaxy, how big is the complete Star Tree?"

The Star Tree suddenly trembled, scattering countless starlights. Eventually, the starlight condensed into a heart-shaped starlight, streaking across the sky and instantly entering Fang Yun's forehead.

Fang Yun involuntarily blinked. When he looked again, he was in the Palace of Literature.

The starry sky, self-statue, and talent in the Palace of Literature remained unchanged. However, on the first mural of the palace, a jade oil lamp had been added. The lamp's light was heart-shaped, its oil like water, incredibly warm. It also emitted a faint fragrance that was exceptionally comforting.

Fang Yun noticed that the oil lamp was perfectly embedded above the mural "The Yellow Emperor Battles Chi You", as if it was the sun illuminating the world in the mural.

The moment he saw this Heart of Literature lamp, Fang Yun knew it was a Heart of Literature called "Furious Writing", and it was of the highest quality!

With the highest quality Furious Writing, a poem could be written in a single breath!

"A single breath is a second. This Furious Writing has completely solved the problem of slow poetry writing! Even if I suddenly encounter a demon race, I can immediately take action!" Fang Yun was overjoyed. With this Furious Writing Heart of Literature, his strength had greatly increased.

A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled.

"I heard that after a medium-quality Heart of Literature is sealed, it will immediately become a high-quality Heart of Literature and gain more powerful strength. But what changes will occur after a person with a high-quality Heart of Literature is sealed? Confucius and others were sealed before they obtained the Heart of Literature, while those who obtained the Heart of Literature before being sealed could only obtain a medium-quality Heart of Literature at most before being sealed."

Fang Yun stared at the Heart of Literature lamp for a while before leaving the Palace of Literature.

In front of him was a flat mountaintop with only a stone gate. A green light curtain was in the middle of the gate.

Fang Yun looked around. The top of the fourth mountain had nothing but the stone gate.

"I wonder what the fourth mountain tests. It is said that the first three mountains test literature, and the ones after test literary combat. After all, scholars need to master powerful forces to survive. No matter how good their knowledge is, if they are weak, they will ultimately find it difficult to reach higher levels in this world."

Fang Yun calmed his heart, slowed his breathing, walked to the gate, and reached out to touch the light curtain.

The light curtain immediately rippled like water, spreading in all directions. Finally, it became completely transparent, revealing an endless green grassland with three human-shaped sculptures standing upright. The third person was surprisingly Yan Yukong.

"What is this test?" Fang Yun thought as he walked in.

The first sculpture shattered, and a Presented Scholar walked down.

"Greetings, Brother Fang." The Presented Scholar greeted him, no different from an ordinary person.

"Hello, may I ask what the fourth mountain tests?"

The Presented Scholar smiled and said, "We three are the last ones who passed the fourth mountain but failed the fifth. You just need to defeat me first, then choose one of the other two to defeat, and you can successfully complete the test. If you can defeat the third person, the Heart of Literature you get when you pass the sixth mountain will be even better."

"I see, thank you for explaining. Are we going to have a literary duel?"

"Yes, we only need to use The War Poetry for our literary comparison. As long as you can kill me, you can win a round. You are a Talented Scholar, and I am a Presented Scholar. However, I am equivalent to just having passed the Presented Scholar exam, so I can't use the Presented Scholar's War Poetry, so I will only use the 'Yi River Song' to duel with you. You can start whenever you're ready, but the second and third persons won't be so easy to talk to."

"Thank you."

Fang Yun looked down and indeed saw a board on his body. He put down the tray, and the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone automatically appeared on it.

"Once you pick up the brush, it's a declaration of war. Be careful." The Presented Scholar politely said.

"Thank you for the reminder. So the fourth mountain tests literary combat? What if I just became a Talented Scholar and don't know how to use The War Poetry?"

The Presented Scholar smiled and said, "Then you can come back when you know how."

"…"

Fang Yun was speechless. He carefully observed the surrounding environment. It was just a normal grassland with two sculptures and one person. There was nothing else."It seems that this test is quite straightforward. It's not too difficult for a newly appointed Presented Scholar, after all, this person should be less agile than a real one. However, for someone who has just become a Talented Scholar and doesn't know how to strategize on paper, this Presented Scholar can be considered an invincible existence. Fortunately, I can strategize on paper."

Fang Yun thought to himself, calculating the distance of his 'Arrow in the Stone'. He immediately remembered that he had calculated in the illusion that it could maintain its power within thirty feet, its power would be halved between thirty and fifty feet, and it would disappear after fifty feet.

The maximum distance of the Talented Scholar's War Poetry 'Yi River Song' is only fifteen feet!

Fang Yun immediately had a plan, because the other party's intention was just to become a Presented Scholar, in fact, it was just a Talented Scholar with more talent, and he could not master the power of a Presented Scholar at all.

"Since he has just become a Presented Scholar, there is no need to keep a distance, just compete with the Heart of Literature! Lower-grade rapid writing, one breath one sentence; mid-grade, one breath two sentences; upper-grade, one breath one poem. Here, it can be said that the world's war poetry, only speed is invincible."

After Fang Yun finished thinking, he said, "Brother, you can start."

"Okay." The Presented Scholar held his brush, staring at Fang Yun. The moment Fang Yun picked up his brush, he also immediately lowered his head to write, but as soon as he mobilized his rapid writing, he heard a sound like wind blowing through the forest and the string of a bow being pulled.

"Sound of the falling pen?" The Presented Scholar slightly raised his head to glance at Fang Yun with the corner of his eye. Even if Fang Yun reached the first realm of calligraphy, he was confident that he could surpass him, but then he suddenly raised his head, ignoring his own war poetry, and stared at Fang Yun in a daze.

The pen in Fang Yun's hand actually formed a series of afterimages. He was writing at a speed he had never seen before.

"Upper-grade Heart of Literature?"

Just as this thought came to the Presented Scholar's mind, Fang Yun put down his pen, a large bow appeared in mid-air, and a sharp arrow flew towards him.

"There are always people better than oneself!" The Presented Scholar said, and was hit by the powerful 'Arrow in the Stone'. His body suddenly exploded and finally turned into a stream of water, flying into Fang Yun's body.

Fang Yun felt strange, he thought it would be a baptism of holy light or something. He didn't expect it to be like this.

Fang Yun slowly retreated to prepare, but suddenly looked at the first statue.

The statue was originally only a base and a pile of rubble, but now it was gradually reappearing, finally turning into a statue of Fang Yun.

Fang Yun found it interesting, but in the blink of an eye, he thought of a possibility.

"This means that as long as I don't pass the fifth mountain, my statue will always be here. The people who come here later are all newly appointed Presented Scholars. If they choose me, they can only blame their bad luck."

Fang Yun walked to a distance of twenty feet and looked at the second statue, which immediately cracked open.

This Presented Scholar didn't say a word, and immediately used his strategizing on paper to write 'Yi River Song' after appearing.

"The wind is bleak, the Yi River is cold..."

This Presented Scholar also had a lower-grade Heart of Literature, and could write one sentence in one breath.

However, just as he finished the first sentence, he heard the sound of breaking through the air, immediately raised his head, and saw a sharp arrow coming at him.

He looked confused, as if asking where the arrow came from. Was it cheating?

The arrow arrived, and the man died.

The second Presented Scholar immediately turned into a stream of water and was absorbed by Fang Yun, restoring Fang Yun's talent to nine inches, and stabilizing Fang Yun's talent so that it no longer vibrated.

Fang Yun looked at the statue of Yan Yukong.

"He's here, which means he didn't pass the fifth mountain either. His talent is not inferior to Yi Zhi Shi, and he has been taught by a Semi-Saint, which shows how difficult the fifth mountain is. I wonder if I can pass the fifth mountain when I become a Presented Scholar for the second time and go to the Book Mountain. Killing his intention should not be difficult. After all, he is not a Presented Scholar before the saint, and he has to go to the Book Mountain the day after he is selected. It's impossible for him to learn to speak eloquently in one day."

Fang Yun thought to himself, looking at the statue of Yan Yukong, the statue shattered.

"The wind is bleak, the Yi River is cold..."

Yan Yukong was reciting the Yi River Song with eloquence while running quickly, watching Fang Yun vigilantly. Moreover, there was an additional layer of mountain shadow on his body, which was the protective power of 'Mountain Ode'.

"This..." Fang Yun didn't expect Yan Yukong to be so talented that he learned to speak eloquently overnight after being selected. But what about his Presented Scholar's War Poetry 'Mountain Ode'?

Fang Yun immediately guessed that the power of 'Mountain Ode' was given to Yan Yukong by the Book Mountain. Only by killing him at this time would he be eligible to get a better second Heart of Literature.

Fang Yun quickly picked up his pen, and in a second, 'Arrow in the Stone' was completed, and the sharp arrow was shot out.

Yan Yukong was extremely experienced and immediately rolled on the spot.

But the speed of the 'Arrow in the Stone' was too fast, and it still hit the phantom formed by Yan Yukong's 'Mountain Ode'.

"Boom..."

Half of the 'Mountain Ode' was shattered by the 'Arrow in the Stone', but Yan Yukong was not injured.

Yan Yukong's eloquence was forcibly interrupted, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but there was no panic at all. He started to speak eloquently again and rushed towards Fang Yun quickly. Yan Yukong also had rapid writing, but it was only effective for the written war poetry, and it didn't work for eloquence at all.

The body of a Presented Scholar is much stronger than that of a Talented Scholar, and he had learned the killing techniques of the army a long time ago.

Fang Yun sighed secretly, Yan Yukong, as a disciple of a Semi-Saint, chose the best tactic at the first time. If he didn't have the upper-grade Heart of Literature, he would undoubtedly lose.Fang Yun had just finished composing a piece of The War Poetry. His aura was slightly disturbed, making it easy for him to fail if he continued writing. Therefore, he turned and ran, creating distance between himself and Yan Yukong. Five breaths later, Fang Yun turned around, strategizing on paper.

Yan Yukong had already finished his eloquent speech, and a black fog assassin materialized in front of him. (To be continued.)