The Path of the Sage

The child scholars and accomplished scholars present were speechless. The news spread quickly in Yuhai City, which was a military and holy academy stronghold, and they already knew what Fang Yun had said.

Even if they didn't mention his achievements, Fang Yun's courage alone was enough to make them feel inferior. No one present could do what Fang Yun had done.

Pang Jurén, who had been following Fang Yun from behind, nodded slightly. He knew that Fang Yun hadn't mentioned his true great achievements. Although he didn't know what great achievements Fang Yun had made, he could guess that it was something significant related to the fortune of the human race. Otherwise, Li Wenying wouldn't have gone to the Holy Academy to see the Semi-Saint and the Semi-Saint wouldn't have personally issued a gag order.

Even though Fang Yun was angry, he didn't mention the credit for the powerful poem "Capturing the King" and the talented scholar's war poem "Arrow in the Stone". Apart from the people who had witnessed it that day, only a few people in the world knew that he was the author of the two poems. It would be announced to the world as the work of someone else after a month, allowing people to study them in various holy temples.

Fang Yun continued, "If you all advised me kindly, I could have shamelessly gone to find Mr. Li and ask him to escort me to the Dayuan Prefecture for the examination on the first day of June. After completing the examination, I would return to Yuhai. But why didn't you give me a chance to speak? Why did you slander me as soon as you opened your mouths?"

No one could refute Fang Yun's words. Many people even vaguely understood that they were too eager to climb Book Mountain and had been used by Tong Li and others.

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"If I really came here for a place on Book Mountain, you can curse me all you want, and I won't say a word! But I came here because I had achievements in killing demons and was forced here by the demon race. Even if you, as fellow humans, don't help me, I wouldn't say anything even if you just watched coldly. But why did you add insult to injury? You all just see that I don't have a strong background. I'm neither from a prominent family nor the son of a high-ranking official. I only have a reputation but no power, so you think it's easy to bully me! If it were the son of a prefect, who would dare to stand in their way?"

Many people felt ashamed.

Fang Yun said, "You may not believe in me, Fang Yun, but ask yourselves, would Mr. Li Wenying act out of personal favoritism? If it weren't for Feng Chengjue, one of the four great talents and the leader of the rebellious literati, wanting to kill me, would Mr. Li have sent me to Yuhai City for protection?"

Everyone was moved. Feng Chengjue was hated by countless people, and those who had originally been averse to Fang Yun immediately changed their attitudes.

A child scholar bowed to Fang Yun and said, "Brother Fang is right. In the face of the conflict between the human race and the demon race, even families with grudges can join forces. We are too concerned about these trivial matters. We should denounce the demon race who kills people, rather than being victims of the demon race. I will try my best to clarify this matter to my fellow students and clear your name. I feel guilty and will not participate in this year's prefectural examination. Goodbye."

"Ah, you're right. If the talent that the demon race can't destroy is destroyed by our human race, how can we face others in the future? I apologize!"

"Selfishness has caused harm to Brother Fang. Please forgive us!"

Most people dispersed, but a few refused to leave. The child scholar who had initially insulted Fang Yun felt ashamed and angry but didn't dare to act out. He forcefully waved his sleeve and left with the others.

The bookkeeper sighed softly and said, "Fang Yun, I am someone by Mr. Li's side, and you know that. You must endure. Tong Li has been accustomed to lawlessness in Yuhai City because of his prominent family background. They probably deliberately provoked you and are looking for an opportunity to force you to leave Yuhai City."

Fang Yun said, "How could I not know? They think that the talent and the place on Book Mountain belong to them! If a son of a prominent family from the capital suddenly came to Yuhai City to climb Book Mountain, would they dare to stop them? I have only had a reputation for less than three months, and I am from a humble background. That's why they think I am committing an offense! If I bow my head, they will only think that everything is as it should be. I won't leave Yuhai City unless they push me to."

The bookkeeper was stunned for a moment and thought to himself that Fang Yun had a strong aura. Only those presented scholars who had fought against the demon generals had this kind of momentum. Could it be that Fang Yun had also fought against the demon generals?

Fang Yun faintly felt a sense of pride in his heart that he had never had before. This made him involuntarily think of Li Wenying beheading the Court Lord of the Dayuan Prefecture with his sword and slaughtering tens of thousands of demon race members on the Yangtze River.

The courage to write in the literary palace emitted a faint light.

The bookkeeper said, "That's right. Most saints have achieved their paths through killing, killing demon barbarians, enemy nations, and enemies. Let's go."

Fang Yun followed the bookkeeper to handle his registration and then went to register for the prefectural examination on the first day of June. However, there were too many people registering for the examination, and he didn't finish until noon.

Fang Yun's hometown, Jixian County, had a population of 90,000 and admitted fifty child scholars each year. In contrast, Yuhai Prefecture had a total of nine county cities with a population of over three million, and there were nearly two thousand child scholars each year.

During the prefectural examination each year, there would be tens of thousands of child scholars coming to Yuhai City to take the talented scholar examination, but only about fifty would be admitted each year. Even though this year the number of spots increased to one hundred due to the Five Movements of Wenqu, only three or four would be selected out of a hundred, making the competition extremely fierce.

Fang Yun glanced at the people behind him who were carrying dry rations and waiting in line, and then left the academy and returned home.

At this moment, Fang Yun's identity was extraordinary. Many wealthy merchants, prestigious families, and officials sent invitations and a large number of greeting cards, but Fang Yun refused them all and focused on studying at home.

Just like before, he still only slept for two hours a day.

After experiencing the Thunderous Holy Melody, the Five Movements of Wenqu, and three instances of talent descending from the heavens, Fang Yun's literary palace and body were stronger than those of ordinary talented scholars. He was even not inferior to ordinary presented scholars because ordinary presented scholars had only experienced the Three Movements of Wenqu.

In addition to the nourishment of the Dragon Palace Blood Ginseng, even if Fang Yun only slept for two hours a day, he remained energetic.

Fang Yun didn't go to the academy, but he wrote an essay on classics every morning, noon, and evening and had Pang Jurén evaluate them.

By the fifth day of May, Fang Yun held Li Wenying's invitation and went to the Yudai River with Yang Yuhuan and his servant to watch the dragon boat race. Besides Pang Jurén's family, another neighbor, Lai Pianjiang, and his family also went together.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they headed to the Yudai River. They arrived at the Yudai Riverbank a little after eight in the morning.

Fang Yun looked around and saw that the clear Yudai River ran through the city, separating the main city from the northern sub-city. The name Yudai River wasn't grand, but it was wide. It was two hundred zhang wide at its widest point and even had small sandbars in the river.

On both sides of the riverbank were rows of lush green willow trees, with branches hanging down like willow branches, which was particularly pleasing to the eye.

At this moment, the streets were bustling with people. Scholars, children, beautiful girls, charming young women, and people of all kinds were coming and going, all with smiles on their faces, enjoying the festive atmosphere.

The voices of vendors selling rice dumplings, sachets, mugwort, and calamus were endless, and there were also street performers, making it extremely lively.

The servant girl, Nu Nu, was extremely excited, looking around in all directions, curious about everything.

Fang Yun looked at the sandbar in the river and saw that there were already many people and some dragon boats on it.

Lai Pianjiang, who was beside him, introduced, "That sandbar is the starting point for the dragon boat race every year, and the endpoint is the famous Jinghai Tower. The owner of that tower is related to Chen Sheng. Before Chen Sheng was enfeoffed as a saint, he inscribed a name on that tower. Jinghai Tower is the name he chose, so it has grown bigger and bigger. There is another tower on the north and south of the Yudai River, facing each other from a distance. It is faintly the number one restaurant in Yuhai City. There is a dragon-headed bridge outside Jinghai Tower with a dragon head on it, and a silk ribbon hangs from the dragon's mouth. The person who reaches there first and lifts the silk ribbon flag from the dragon's mouth is the winner. If you go closer to the riverbank and look, you can see it."

Fang Yun nodded and took out the invitation given to him by Li Wenying, saying, "What place is this? Could you please take me there, Lai Pianjiang?"

Lai Pianjiang smiled and said, "You truly are a talented scholar. Jinghai Tower is the endpoint, and the Yuhai Tower where this invitation is from is right across from that sandbar, which is the starting point of the dragon boat race. Not many people are invited here. Come, I'll accompany you to take a look."

The three families went to the Yuhai Tower together. Fang Yun was afraid that Yang Yuhuan would get lost, so he held her hand.

Although this action was not considered inappropriate in this era, it was not considered proper either. Yang Yuhuan struggled a few times out of shyness but eventually let Fang Yun hold her hand and walked forward.

Under the guidance of Lai Pianjiang, the group arrived at the entrance of the Yuhai Tower and found that it was different from other restaurants. Many big men were standing at the entrance.

However, Fang Yun and the others could tell that these big men were child scholars, and they were obviously soldiers. Each of them was well-trained and had strong close combat abilities. They could even fight against demon soldiers alone.

Lai Pianjiang whispered, "This year's dragon boat race is a bit strange. It's not usually this heavily guarded. There must be an important person here, but I don't know if it's someone from our Jing Nation or the neighboring Qing Nation."

Fang Yun walked to the entrance and handed the invitation to a guard. Seeing that Fang Yun had brought so many people, the guard said, "You can go in, but please ask the others not to go upstairs."

Lai Pianjiang immediately smiled and said, "I serve in the military, so I understand these rules."

The guard nodded and let them in.

After walking a few steps away from the guard, Lai Pianjiang whispered to Fang Yun, "They have the accent of the capital."

Fang Yun understood what he meant. Lai Pianjiang was saying that there might be an important person from the capital here.

Yuhai Tower was extremely spacious, and many people were chatting and listening to music on the first floor. The door at the back of the first floor was open, revealing a garden, and beyond the garden was the Yudai River. Fang Yun's gaze passed through the green willow branches and could see the sandbar in the Yudai River, which was the island Lai Pianjiang had mentioned.

Lai Pianjiang said, "Go to the second floor. You can see clearly from there. We'll watch from downstairs."

Fang Yun looked at Pang Jurén, and Pang Jurén casually nodded. Fang Yun felt relieved and held Yang Yuhuan's hand as they walked towards the second floor.

Along the way, many people secretly glanced at Yang Yuhuan. Whether they were dashing young men or romantic scholars, even the songstress who was playing the zither lost focus because of Yang Yuhuan.

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