Chapter 147: Yuyuan National Academy
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine walked out of the Scholars' Residence and arrived at the neighboring Princes' Garden.
Within the Princes' Garden, there were numerous princes, princesses, commandery princesses, and hereditary princes, of mixed quality, and to make matters worse, their factions were complex.
Princes and princesses were the children of the emperor, while commandery princesses and hereditary princes were the children of the kings. Besides the struggles for the throne among the hereditary princes, there were also power struggles among the princes and princesses themselves, which was quite a headache.
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine found this most annoying, but he couldn't avoid it; otherwise, offending the imperial and royal families would surely lead to him being given a hard time.
"Might as well go ask the Second Prince for his opinion."
Having made up his mind, he came to inquire of the Second Prince. Ling Yushu was both surprised and delighted. Overlord Mountain was the National Academy's Sacrificial Wine, second only to the Grand Sacrificial Wine in the Imperial Academy. His strength was unfathomable, in no way inferior to the top first-rank ministers of the court, nor to the sect masters, patriarchs, and leaders of the great sects. He was a pinnacle existence in the current world.
If he could receive his guidance, it would naturally be a good thing!
"The Second Prince seems to be overthinking things."
Seeing the joy on his face, Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine immediately knew he had misunderstood, and he smiled, "I only teach scholars below the Six Harmonies realm. Since I don't know much about the Princes' Garden, I wanted to ask the Second Prince to recommend two people."
Ling Yushu's face darkened.
The resources the Crown Prince received were far too many compared to other princes. For a prince like him, simply because he wasn't the Crown Prince, the cultivation he received after birth was countless times less than that of the Crown Prince.
Although princes and princesses could enter the Imperial Academy for cultivation without needing to pass exams, the Crown Prince had at least six teachers of the sect master level to impart knowledge, and the emperor would also personally instruct him from time to time, and even the National Teacher would go to teach him.
The Crown Prince was not only taught all kinds of top-tier ultimate arts but also learned the way of ruling the country, the talent to command civil and military officials, and even had to befriend court ministers to build his own small court.
Even if other princes and princesses had the ambition to vie for the throne, they simply lacked the competitive ability.
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine's skill was equivalent to that of a sect master level existence. Receiving his guidance, though not comparable to the Crown Prince's situation, was still much better.
But since Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine only taught scholars at the Spirit Embryo realm and the Five Radiances realm, he naturally had no share in it.
Ling Yushu suppressed the disappointment in his heart and smiled, "My seventh sister has excellent comprehension and talent. Even the National Teacher said she has extraordinary aptitude, surpassing me, but she is a bit mischievous. Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine is strict and can help temper her nature for me."
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine was surprised and said, "Is it the Seventh Princess? She is indeed a bit fond of play, which has delayed her cultivation progress. Those Imperial Academy overseers, hindered by her status as princess, won't make things difficult for her, but with me, she will have a hard time."
Ling Yushu's eyes flickered, and he thought to himself, "Seventh Sister, you've grown too close to that outcast, and it's hard to guarantee you won't do something to disgrace the royal family's reputation. This time, by following me out of the mountain, you can distance yourself from Qin Mu. When you see more young talents, you'll forget that outcast... Your elder brother is doing this for your own good, to keep you from going astray."
"Second Prince, do you have anyone else in mind?" Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine asked again.
Ling Yushu thought for a moment and said, "Ling Minyue, the Hereditary Prince Minyue."
"Ling Minyue, the son of Mount Tai King?"
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine smiled, "He is also a good seedling. I heard that you and Hereditary Prince Minyue are somewhat at odds. Why recommend him?"
Ling Yushu laughed, "The discord between Minyue and me is only because Mount Tai King supports my eldest brother. That's the reason. However, Minyue's aptitude and comprehension are indeed among the best in the Princes' Garden."
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine nodded and said, "The Second Prince is virtuous. In that case, let the Second Prince inform them of this news and have them come to the Scholars' Residence to find me."
Ling Yushu was delighted in his heart, knowing that he was being given this opportunity to win over Hereditary Prince Minyue, and he quickly left.
Ling Yuxiu and Hereditary Prince Minyue arrived at the Scholars' Residence, only to find that besides them, there were several other scholars: Qin Yu, Shen Wanyun, Yun Que, Wei Yong, and others.
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine said, "I have discussed with the Grand Sacrificial Wine and decided to trial the position of Imperial Academy Doctor among the scholars. You are the candidates for Imperial Academy Doctor. From now on, you will only attend lectures at the Painting Sage Pavilion, Azure Sun Hall, Military Strategy Tower, Array Origin Hall, and Sound Heaven Pavilion, studying painting and calligraphy, state of mind, military strategy, formations, and music. Everything else, you will learn from me. I will teach you according to your aptitude, different from what other scholars learn. In a few years, whether you can become Imperial Academy Doctors will depend on your own abilities. Oh, and..."
He looked around and smiled, "You also have a senior brother, or perhaps you should call him a master uncle. He is the first Imperial Academy Doctor of our Imperial Academy. I have already discussed it with the Grand Sacrificial Wine and reported it to the emperor. The emperor's appointment will come down soon."
Everyone looked at each other in surprise. The first Imperial Academy Doctor? Who could it be?
Yue Qinghong and Yun Que the monk quickly looked at Shen Wanyun, whose expression was shifting uncertainly.
Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine said, "This time, I will first take the Seventh Princess out for a few days of training. As for the others, you'll have to wait for the next opportunity. Princess, go to the Heavenly Record Tower and choose a few volumes of cultivation techniques and divine ability scriptures. The rest of you, stay here."
Everyone was both surprised and delighted.
At the Heavenly Record Tower, the Secretary Supervisor checked the book token and said to Qin Mu, "When entering the tower to read, do not damage anything. If any books are damaged, you will be imprisoned. Your book token only allows you to read on the first floor. Do not go to the second floor, or the Secretary Supervisor there will arrest and punish you."
Qin Mu said, "I am going to cultivate with Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine and go out for training. I want to borrow a few volumes of scriptures to take out."
The Secretary Supervisor was surprised and said, "I see. Overlord Mountain Sacrificial Wine has special privileges; his disciples can borrow up to five volumes of scriptures. Go in and choose your scriptures, then come back to me to record them."
Qin Mu walked into the tower. Inside, there were dozens of rooms, each extremely spacious. On the doors were plaques listing the names of prefectures and counties. The scriptures in these rooms were presumably categorized by prefecture and county. The cultivation techniques and divine ability scriptures of the sects within a prefecture or county were stored in the room representing that prefecture or county.
Qin Mu walked into the room marked Li Prefecture. Inside, there were over a dozen bookshelves, each holding volumes of scriptures, with plaques listing the names of different sects. Besides sects, there were also names of noble families.
There weren't many people in this room, just two or three scholars sitting on the floor, reading books. There were also a few small doors nearby. Qin Mu walked over; two of the doors were locked from the inside, and one was open.
He pushed the door open and looked inside, startled to see that behind the door was a space about an acre in size, even larger than the room they were in, but completely empty.
"Is this a place for scholars to practice techniques and divine abilities?"
Qin Mu went to the bookshelf, pulled out a volume of scripture, and looked down, surprised. "Even Li Prefecture has this many sects."
The scripture was titled "Danxia Sect Danxia Skill of Li Prefecture," and next to it were several other books: "Danxia Sword Technique," "Danxia Four-Gate Formation," "Danxia Pill Formula Essentials," and so on.
Qin Mu skimmed through them. The Danxia Sect's technique indeed had its unique points. Once the technique was cultivated, the primordial energy transformed into danxia, or rosy clouds, and with a single move, the sky would be filled with rosy light. Hidden within the light were flying swords, and enemies, blinded by the light, would often be caught off guard.
"The Danxia Skill is not bad, but it's hardly miraculous."
He put down the Danxia Skill and picked up the Danxia Sword Technique, glanced at it a few times, and put it back. The Danxia Sword Technique was part of the same system as the Danxia Skill; only by cultivating the Danxia Skill could one practice the Danxia Sword Technique. He then looked at the Danxia Four-Gate Formation, which also required first cultivating the Danxia Skill and Danxia Sword Technique to master.
The Danxia Pill Formula Essentials was also briefly skimmed; it mainly dealt with alchemy. Some of the pill formulas were worth referencing, but in Qin Mu's view, many of them clearly had problems, as the toxicity hadn't been fully neutralized.
He returned the Danxia Sect scriptures to the shelf and then picked up another thick set of scriptures.
"Royal clan scriptures of the Yuyuan Kingdom?"
Qin Mu was surprised and flipped through them several times, thinking, "Isn't this shelf for the sect scriptures of Li Prefecture? Where did this Yuyuan Kingdom come from? By the way, what is the relationship between this Yuyuan Kingdom and Yuyuan Chuyu? Could it be that Li Prefecture wasn't part of the Yankang Kingdom in the past, but there was a country called Yuyuan?"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. Yuyuan Chuyu was the Junior Governor of Li Prefecture. She had the surname Yuyuan, and she mentioned having a brother named Yuyuan Chuyun, who was an official in the capital. Could they be former royalty of the Yuyuan Kingdom?
Yuyuan Chuyu's official position was not low; she held a high post at a young age, which suggested she had a significant background.
"Li Prefecture is in the south-central part of the Yankang Kingdom. It seems the Yankang Kingdom has annexed quite a few countries."
Qin Mu flipped through the Yuyuan Kingdom's national academy scriptures. The royal clan scriptures of the Yuyuan Kingdom were incomplete, but they were much better than those of the Danxia Sect. The Yuyuan Kingdom's national academy technique was called the Chengdu Carrying Heaven Mysterious Skill, which was almost a complete system, and its sword technique was called the Setting Sun Sword Technique.
After a brief reading, Qin Mu decided to choose this set of scriptures.
As for sword techniques, he had only practiced the first move of the Sword Diagram, "Sword Traverses Mountains and Rivers." The consumption of "Sword Traverses Mountains and Rivers" was enormous. In ordinary times, if he encountered an enemy, using this technique would drain his primordial energy by seven or eight parts with just one move. If there were more enemies afterward, it would certainly be disastrous.
Therefore, he needed a superior sword technique.
The Yuyuan Kingdom's Setting Sun Sword Technique was a superior sword technique that suited his taste.
"That Secretary Supervisor said I could choose five volumes of scriptures. I might as well look for others."
Qin Mu briefly scanned the other bookshelves but didn't find anything he liked. Most of the techniques from other sects were inferior to the Yuyuan Kingdom's Chengdu Carrying Heaven Mysterious Skill.
He searched room by room and did find quite a few superior techniques, which made him curious. If the first floor of the Heavenly Record Tower already housed so many classics, how formidable must the classics on the second and third floors be?
"Hmm, something's off. The scriptures presented by some sects are probably abridged; they haven't submitted their true ultimate arts."
The more scriptures Qin Mu browsed, the more suspicious he became. Many of the scriptures here seemed to have been abridged, with some ultimate arts not included. He could clearly sense this after a brief glance.
For example, the Nine-Bend Connecting River Sword Technique had nine moves. When he executed the ninth move, he felt his momentum and the power of the sword technique reach their peak, but then there was nothing more. The technique had built up astonishing power but lacked a tenth move to unleash it.
Clearly, the Nine-Bend Sword Sect hadn't submitted the complete sword technique but had held back.
There were many similar cases. Evidently, these forces weren't willing to hand over their ultimate arts to the Yankang Kingdom and had all held something back.
— Alliance Leader Third Life Fate Little Knife has a birthday today. A year is a season of blooming flowers in life. Adding a new year, fragrant for a year. Happy birthday.