Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 34 4 Mirrors 3 Mingtai

Chapter Thirty-Four: Four Mirrors and Three Bright Platforms

This unexpected turn of events not only surprised Fang Zifeng and Magistrate Zhang, but even made Chen Sijun, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, raise his head and look towards Wenxing Private School.

"A realm of calligraphy?"

Many students at Wenxing Private School also saw the strange change and thought it was the third time that the Wenqu Star had shone upon them. They immediately bowed to Ye Ruxue, hoping that the Wenqu Star would shine upon them.

At this moment, Ye Ru didn't have many thoughts. His mind had entered the realm of calligraphy. He seemed to see countless ink splashes around him, and these thick inks surrounded him, as if the Sage of Calligraphy had descended to earth.

Around him, countless small wind blades appeared, turning the room into a complete mess.

In just a moment, the poem "Ode to the Wind" appeared on the Xuan paper, and the surrounding talent gradually disappeared.

The neat characters are placed on the rice paper, and the surrounding atmosphere is filled with a sense of talent.

"Is this the essence of calligraphy, practicing calligraphy by the inkstone?"

Ye Ru looked at the still-wet ink of the "Ode to the Wind," his expression shifted, and a smile appeared on his lips.

With this practice of calligraphy, one can integrate poetry and ink marks into a unified whole, forming a scholarly spirit, and then mobilize one's inner talent to attack the opponent.

If that scholar had tried to assassinate us again that day, the outcome would have been uncertain.

"Ye Ru?"

At this moment, two anxious voices came, and Fang Zifeng, Magistrate Zhang, and the other two hurriedly pushed open the door and came in. When they saw the mess in the room, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you write this?"

Fang Zifeng looked at the elegant handwriting on the desktop and murmured to himself.

Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still somewhat shocked to see Ye Ru complete his studies.

After all, calligraphy, unlike poetry, requires practice.

The miracles created by this young man are almost enough to break the records of the entire Yanhuang Kingdom.

"This should be the first realm of calligraphy, but I still haven't mastered the power."

Ye Ru nodded, looked at the mess around him, and gave a wry smile.

"He is simply exceptionally intelligent. I wonder if his heart is as exquisite as that of a divine book, a heart with seven orifices of wisdom."

Magistrate Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, then joked, "Among the younger generation, at least in Qingyun County, I'm afraid no one can compare to Ye Ru."

"You have reached a high level in calligraphy, which will greatly increase your chances of winning in literary competitions between counties."

"By the way, how many more days until that inter-county literary contest?"

Ye Ru suddenly remembered something and said.

"The competition will be held at the Wendou Stage in three days. I'm here today to let you get familiar with it. Of course, the people from there are here now too."

Magistrate Zhang's face was solemn as he spoke in a deep voice, his heart filled with trepidation.

"Perfect timing, I'll also see just how amazing the 'Sacred Child' my father spoke of is."

Zhang Wenying said dismissively.

"This must be the county magistrate's daughter. Indeed, she has a beautiful face, delicate eyebrows, a charming smile, and bright, sparkling eyes."

Ye Ru cupped his hands in a gesture of praise to Zhang Wenyin.

"Grumpy."

Every girl seemed unable to resist such sweet words, and her face flushed slightly, making her look even more adorable.

"Haha, let's go, Mr. Fang, you should go too. I'd like to talk to you about that student from Wenxing Private School."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zifeng's smile faded, and his eyes turned somewhat cold. He then nodded, and the group walked one after the other toward the literary arena that Magistrate Zhang had mentioned.

This Wendou Platform, located in the central area of ​​Qingyun County, is a landmark of Qingyun County.

This literary arena is divided into four courtyards and three main halls. The four courtyards refer to the four main courtyards for playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, while the three main halls refer to the three main halls for poetry, wine, and tea.

Each hall and pavilion was guarded by members of the Holy Court's Hall of Punishments.

Scholars, successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and others could discuss and annotate the classics within the journal and do typesetting for three newspapers: the *Shengkan*, the *Congyun Shengkan*, and the *Shenwu Bao*.

This is also the only institution in Qingyun County that can publish books.

Before long, the four of them arrived at the Qin Academy within the four mirrors.

The melodious sound of the zither drifted over, some notes peaceful, others slightly melancholic.

Ye Ru couldn't help but sigh, recalling how Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru used their zithers to play in perfect harmony and defeat tens of thousands of demons.

"You've already reached the highest level of calligraphy, but I still have some doubts about your abilities in this inter-county literary competition. How about we have a friendly spar?"

When the four arrived at the literary arena, Zhang Wenying looked at Ye Ru and suddenly said something.

She still couldn't believe that Ye Ru, at only fifteen years old, could possess such amazing talent in poetry and calligraphy.

Moreover, she couldn't understand why her father would entrust the most crucial part of this literary contest to such a young boy.

Because if you lose, you will lose everything.

"How do you compare them?"

Ye Ru raised an eyebrow, realizing that he would have to use his true strength to impress the other party.

“You have already reached the first level of calligraphy, so let’s have a contest to see if your first level of calligraphy is more powerful, or my second level of zither playing is more powerful.”

Zhang Wenyin smiled and said to Ye Ru.

Fang Zifeng also looked at Ye Ru meaningfully:

"Ye Ru, you have now reached the first realm of calligraphy. In the Confucian Dao Continent, improving your sage path is one aspect, and another aspect is that you need to go to the frontier to kill enemies."

“Like the military strategists Sun Sheng family and Wu Sheng family, their descendants went to the frontier to train and transport troops to kill enemies in order to improve their sacred way.”

"Therefore, the path to sainthood is one thing, but practical experience is also essential."

"I see, then let's have a competition."

Ye Ru nodded and went into a music room.

He also wanted to know how much damage the application of calligraphy techniques to poetry could enhance.

The two stood at a distance, Zhang Wenyin holding a zither and Ye Ru holding the Three Perfections Writing Brush, looking at Zhang Wenyin with a solemn expression.

This was his first real battle, and his opponent was at the second level of the Qin Dao realm, with his Qin and sword skills fluctuating wildly. He could lose if he wasn't careful.

"In order to prevent Father and Mr. Fang from saying that I bullied you, I will only use the first realm of the Dao of Qin, the courage of the sword and the heart of the zither, to deal with you."

After Zhang Wenyin obtained the Yaoqin, her original gentle demeanor disappeared, replaced by a fierce and ruthless aura.

"Thank you."

Ye Ru nodded.

"watch out!"

Zhang Wenyin plucked the strings of her zither, and a tangible ripple of pale red talent energy surged outwards, causing the ground to tremble. The pale red talent energy ripple transformed into a red beam, pointing directly at Ye Ru.

Upon seeing a faint mark appear on the opposite side, Ye Ru's expression changed, and he quickly wrote with his brush:

"When will I be able to adorn myself with a golden bridle and gallop swiftly through the clear autumn!"

As the cross descended, Ye Ru channeled his inner energy into his legs and swiftly dodged the attack. The energy pierced through Ye Ru and slammed into the door, shattering it into pieces.

Seeing this, Fang Zifeng and Magistrate Zhang also became worried about Ye Ru:

"Ye Ru was at a disadvantage from the start. Although the way of the zither is a minor category, in terms of lethality, even the second level of calligraphy cannot compare."

"Well, I don't have high hopes for Ye Ru in this competition, even though he has a reputation as a genius."

Fang Zifeng said with a solemn expression.

“Yes, writing poetry also takes time. The key is that Wen Yin doesn’t give Ye Ru a chance to write poetry. You see, Qin Yin is suppressing him in almost every way, not letting Ye Ru stop at all.”

Magistrate Zhang nodded in agreement, also not believing that Ye Ru could win.

boom!

The sound of the zither burst forth, and Ye Ru narrowly dodged it. However, just as he breathed a sigh of relief and his feet came to a stop, a delicate shout accompanied by a slight fluctuation of talent suddenly sent a chill down his spine, and his whole body stiffened...

"You've fallen for it..."