Chapter 136 Going Back on One's Word

Hum~~~!
Hum~~~~~~!
Accompanied by a resonant chime, a sea of vast auspicious clouds gathered in the sky.
The auspicious clouds scattered countless rays of cyan light, dense as falling rain.
The scholars were all astonished.
The sound of the bell entered their ears, penetrating straight to their hearts and lungs. They felt as though man and nature had become one, as if they could achieve enlightenment overnight!
The rain-like cyan light fell upon their bodies, cleansing their marrow and washing their bones, making them feel as though they had been reborn!
"The sound of the Grand Yellow Bell? Is a Saint imparting teachings to all living beings on behalf of Heaven?"
"Aura-infused rain clouds bringing fertility? Could it be that a giant among scholars is bestowing great merits upon the common people?!"
Countless gazes gathered on Fan Li.
The handwriting he had just finished writing drifted away from the surface of the paper, suspended high in the sky, emitting bursts of radiant glow that illuminated all directions.
"Heavens! I've actually broken through!"
"I've broken through too, the Golden Core Realm, I am now in the Golden Core Realm!?"
"To hear the Dao in the morning, one can die content in the evening! I have heard the Dao, I have truly heard the Dao!!!"
The gap between the meteorological phenomena produced by Master Yichuan and Fan Li was as vast as the difference between a firefly and the bright moon, exceeding tens of millions of times over.
The gazes the scholars cast at Fan Li were filled with fervent adoration, as if he were a Confucian Saint living once more in the mortal world!
"We students pay our respects to our mentor!"
Suddenly!
A thousand scholars took Fan Li as the center and knelt before him in unison.
This time, without even needing Zhu Ziyang to remind or urge them, everyone was performing the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows to Fan Li!
Zhu Ziyang's face turned as pale as paper.
The celestial phenomenon triggered by Fan Li had long since scared him so much that his legs went weak, almost causing him to kneel.
Yet, the aura-rain seemed to possess a life of its own. Clearly, the entire Luming Academy was within the range shrouded by the rain, not a single drop fell upon him.
Among the thousand scholars present, Zhu Ziyang was one of the only two who gained not the slightest benefit.
The other person who gained nothing was, of course, Master Yichuan.
"You actually take him as your master?"
"Are you all crazy?"
"You are not allowed to kneel!"
"Stand up quickly! None of you are allowed to kneel!"
Zhu Ziyang screamed at the top of his lungs, wanting to make the scholars stop kneeling to Fan Li.
Unfortunately, not a single one of the thousand scholars paid any attention to him.
After the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows concluded, the scholars still remained on their knees, looking at Fan Li with adoring gazes, waiting to listen to his teachings.
Fan Li was not intimidated either.
What was his identity?
The Duke of Jin of Great Chu!
In the imperial court, had not the civil and military officials knelt before him hundreds or thousands of times?
The thousand-odd young scholars kneeling before him now were merely a minor scene.

"You may all rise." Fan Li raised his right hand slightly and said with a smile.
"Yes, we strictly obey our mentor's command." The thousand scholars replied in unison, and only then did they dare to stand up.
"You still call him your mentor!?"
Zhu Ziyang was utterly driven mad with rage.
"This person is so young, and his cultivation is only at the Foundation Establishment stage. What qualifications does he have to be everyone's teacher?"
As soon as his voice fell, he was met with countless disdainful gazes from the crowd.
That scholar who had just broken through to the Golden Core Realm said with a look of disgust, "The sea of learning is boundless, and he who achieves mastery first is the master. Zhu Ziyang, do you not even understand such a simple principle?"
Another scholar also said, "Our mentor just said that Confucian cultivation is divided into Confucian scholarship and personal cultivation. It is clear that our mentor has attained learning that bridges heaven and earth, entirely worthy of our worship!"
Zhu Ziyang's jaw dropped in shock.
He wanted to retort.
Yet for a long time, he could not utter a single word.
With no other choice left, Zhu Ziyang could only look at Master Yichuan for help, with a pleading expression.
"Teacher..."
Master Yichuan's face turned ashen.
He knew too that he had lost, and suffered a disastrous defeat at that.
However, how could he be willing to admit defeat to a young man like Fan Li?
The only way was to start another round and turn defeat into victory!
Thinking of this, Master Yichuan's old face could not help but turn slightly red.
Still, he braced himself and said, "It is completely unnecessary for a young man to be complacent just because of a lucky lead. A few words cannot prove the height of your knowledge and mine."
"Huh?"
Fan Li was slightly stunned upon hearing this.
What does this old man mean?
He lost, but is a sore loser?
What does a lucky lead mean? Judging by his tone, is he going to have a second round?
The onlookers among the scholars were likewise surprised and indignant, not expecting Master Yichuan, who considered himself a great Confucian scholar, to display the demeanor of a sore loser.
"So? You still want to have another match?" Fan Li asked with a half-smile.
"Just now was merely testing the waters; this old man did not use his full strength." Master Yichuan gritted his teeth and said, "Now, the competition truly begins!"
"Good! Once the Teacher gets serious, you brat are doomed to lose!" Zhu Ziyang clapped his hands in excitement.
Unfortunately, among the more than a thousand onlookers, not a single person responded to him.
Even though Zhu Ziyang clapped his hands red, he saw no second person echoing him, and could only awkwardly pull his hands back into his sleeves.
"This old man is so dreadfully tedious. Shall I just cut him down with a sword?" the Holy Maiden of Cold Moon suddenly whispered to Fan Li.
Originally, she was the one who invited Fan Li out for leisure, yet it had turned into a duel between Fan Li and this stubborn old man.
How utterly disappointing!
"Please don't." Fan Li gave a wry smile upon hearing this, and whispered back, "I just said that the sea accepts all rivers because of its capacity, yet if you run someone through with a sword, the bad reputation will fall upon him."
"…Fine."
The Holy Maiden of Cold Moon regretted it to death.
Yet she was the one who had invited Fan Li to attend the lecture in the first place, and she could only blame herself for not choosing a better activity.

Master Yichuan did not yet know that he had just narrowly brushed past the gates of hell.
Given the gap in cultivation between him and Cold Moon, let alone using the Frost-Condensing Sword, she could have easily punctured hundreds of holes in his body with just a casual snap of a tree branch.
"Young man."
Master Yichuan spoke, deliberately raising his pitch.
"Now let us have a formal comparison."
"The zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—choose whatever content you prefer, this old man will let you pick!"
"That way, the world won't ridicule me for relying on my seniority to bully a younger generation."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Ziyang immediately chimed in loudly, "The Teacher possesses such grand demeanor and magnanimity!"
Damn it!
With one singing and the other echoing, the master and disciple were both hypocritical beyond description.
The scholars inwardly felt utter contempt!
Originally, most of them only detested Zhu Ziyang, but now they despised Master Yichuan right along with him.
Confucian cultivation actually covered a very wide range.
Aside from the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, there were also rites, archery, agriculture, commerce, engineering, mathematics, strategy, and so on.
Master Yichuan only mentioned the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting because those were clearly his fields of expertise.
"I'll choose the zither, then," Fan Li casually replied.
Although the body he possessed through transmigration had extremely poor combat prowess, aside from cultivation, he practically scored full marks in every single subject.
If placed before his transmigration, he would definitely be a god-tier student scoring 750 points on the national college entrance exam!
"You dare to choose the zither?" Master Yichuan was secretly startled in his heart. "Could it be that this brat has extremely high attainments in the art of the zither?"
His expression turned a bit more unsightly.
Having already lost one round, if he were to lose another, he would have no face left to make a living within the borders of Great Chu.
"Ah! What bad luck!" Master Yichuan suddenly said, "This old man is only accustomed to playing my ancestral Nine Heavens Ringing Jade Zither, but today it is not by my side. Junior, I'll still let you choose, but pick another category for the duel instead?"
Upon hearing this, the scholars broke into an uproar.
Going back on one's word?
Is this the kind of conduct a great Confucian scholar should exhibit?
His credibility was so poor that he was inferior to a seven or eight-year-old child.
Zhu Ziyang also stared dumbfounded at his teacher, because he clearly remembered that when he went to kiss up to Master Yichuan a few days ago, he had indeed seen him play that Nine Heavens Ringing Jade Zither.
"Why don't you choose, then?" Fan Li said somewhat impatiently.
"Very well!" Master Yichuan blurted out, then realizing he had lost his composure, quickly added, "You still understand some etiquette and know how to respect your elders. Since you have voluntarily ceded the right of choice, this old man shall make the decision for you."
At this point, no matter how important his pride was, it was still less important than winning or losing.
Master Yichuan pondered for a moment and finally made up his mind.
"Let us compete in [Painting]!"
(End of chapter)