Volume Two: Winds Rise in Anxi Prefecture Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Five: Bestowed the Characters for "Upholding Sincerity"

Such a classic double standard!

Dean Bai had originally intended to recruit Lu Jiuzhang into the Anxi Academy. But looking at it now, that opportunity was completely gone.

"Master Xu is above, Lu Jiuzhang pays his respects!"

Lu Jiuzhang quickly knelt down and performed the grand master-disciple greeting toward Master Xu. Having a Great Confucian as a master meant his future prospects would be boundless.

"Ahem..."

Master Xu was taken aback for a moment. He had expected Lu Jiuzhang to ponder for a while, but he never imagined the young man would accept without a second thought.

"Ahem... Rise, there is no need for such formalities."

Master Xu raised his hand slightly, and an unseen force gently lifted Lu Jiuzhang to his feet.

"There are three thousand Great Daos, each with its own lineage. Let me first tell you about ours," Master Xu said slowly. "In the late years of the previous dynasty, the people lived in extreme destitution. Feeling the hardship of the times, a scholar at the foot of Heron Mountain followed the Grand Ancestor through countless eastern and western campaigns. A single proclamation of his surpassed an army of thousands."

"When the Grand Ancestor campaigned in the west, the scholar broke through to the seventh rank of Confucianism. When the Grand Ancestor marched south, the scholar reached the fifth rank... By the time the Grand Ancestor established his monumental achievements, the scholar had already attained the realm of a Confucian Semi-Sage."

"The Grand Ancestor honored him as the Imperial Preceptor and decreed that all academies across the realm must erect statues of the Imperial Preceptor to stabilize the Confucian fortune and nurture future Confucian generations. Later generations respectfully referred to his lineage as the Heron Lineage."

"One hundred and seventy years later, the reigning chief scholar of the Heron Lineage became entangled in the domestic politics of the Great Zhou. In a fit of rage, the Emperor successively suppressed the Heron Lineage, leaving them unable to hold their heads high."

"The statues of the founding masters of the Heron Lineage in every academy were all toppled."

"Among all the branches of Confucianism, the Heron Lineage withered day by day. By the time of the late Emperor, those remaining in the lineage were practically negligible. When I was young, I traveled across the realm and happened to wander beneath Heron Mountain. Moved by the grand ideals of the founding Imperial Preceptor, I joined the Heron Lineage."

"Later, I cultivated in seclusion at the foot of Heron Mountain for over a decade. When I first entered the capital, a single seven-word regulated verse sensationalized the Jingzhao Prefecture, and an ensuing parallel prose piece made my name renowned throughout the Great Zhou."

"Visitors crowded endlessly before my distinguished threshold. Yet, I continued to diligently study poetry and books, and after several years, I broke through to become a Great Confucian. The late Emperor, appreciative of my talent, engaged me as the Imperial Preceptor to instruct the new Emperor."

"Upon the new Emperor's ascension, he honored me as the Imperial Preceptor, and overnight, the Heron Lineage appeared before the world once more."

Master Xu recalled the past, decades of time slipping away in an instant.

"Many scholars sought to become my disciples, but their aptitude was too poor, and I refused them one by one. Among those people were no lack of descendants from powerful and noble families, but I showed no leniency."

"Over the years, I have taken a total of eight disciples, all of whom are renowned Confucian scholars in the Jingzhao Prefecture. The strongest among them is approaching the level of a Lesser Confucian, bearing my demeanor. The weakest has spent half a lifetime in mediocrity, remaining merely at the ninth rank of Confucianism!"

"Scholar Lu, how far you can go and what you can achieve—what I can do to help is limited. Ultimately, it depends upon yourself!"

"The Sage said: A master leads you through the door, but cultivation is a personal matter."

Master Xu looked at Lu Jiuzhang. "Today, I bestow upon you a style name. Restrain yourself through principles, and uphold sincerity in your heart. This sincerity is not mere polite intent, but true sincerity of the heart; when the heart is utterly sincere, actions reach perfection, and when the heart is wholly benevolent, actions reach afar! From now on, your style name shall be Shoucheng!"

Shoucheng?

This was a style name bestowed by Master Xu himself.

Lu Jiuzhang, styled Shoucheng, could also be addressed as Lu Shoucheng!

"Thank you, Master!" Lu Jiuzhang said respectfully.

"No need for formalities. Since you are my student, you must practice caution when alone and engage in bitter cultivation. The sea of books is vast and endless; our life is finite, but knowledge is infinite. To chase the infinite with the finite is perilous! And to continue pursuing knowledge knowing this, is perilous indeed!"

Master Xu continued, "Though I am your master, my ability to assist you is limited. Dean Bai, fetch the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone!"

Hearing this, Dean Bai immediately understood what was meant. He had plenty of writing materials on hand.

Moments later, Dean Bai brought over a table and spread upon it a piece of plain rice paper, ten feet wide and thirty feet long.

Dean Bai personally ground the ink, and Master Xu picked up the brush, writing a line of verse upon the paper: [In reading, one fears not reading widely, but failing to comprehend the meaning. One fears being complacent in one's own ignorance, and once learned, failing to put it into practice.]

With strokes as fluid as dragons and snakes dancing, the piece of calligraphy was complete.

A faint white glow and the fortune of Confucianism enveloped the rice paper. Each and every character seemed to spring to life.

Master Xu did not stop. Dean Bai pulled the paper away to let it dry aside, and Master Xu continued to write: [A single flute and a single sword encapsulate my life's ambition, living up to fifteen years of wild renown.]

When the brush stopped, a chilling aura of swords and sabers rose around the room.

The ferocity of the sword qi was such that Lu Jiuzhang felt a stinging sensation across his skin. Even a martial artist of the seventh or sixth rank might not survive amidst this tempest of blades and swords.

Master Xu retrieved a seal from his robe and pressed it onto the rice paper.

The glowing blades and flashing swords seemed instantly suppressed by the seal, quietly dissolving and remaining permanently sealed within the paper.

"This piece of calligraphy can vanquish demons and subdue devils," Master Xu slowly explained. "Should you encounter danger in the future, rely on this piece. Anyone below the fifth rank of martial arts will have no chance of survival."

"For those between the third and fifth ranks of martial arts, they will suffer grievous and incurable wounds!"

"As for the first piece of calligraphy, though it bears no seal, the space between its lines conceals my lifelong insights into Confucianism. If you can fully comprehend them, you can reach the realm of a Great Confucian, and if you surpass them, you might even become a Semi-Sage!"

A Confucian Semi-Sage—that was the realm of the founding ancestor of the Heron Lineage. Among all subsequent descendants, not a single person had ever set foot in the realm of a Semi-Sage. Throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, openly speaking, no Semi-Sage existed. Such a realm had already reached the unity of heaven and humanity.

...

When Lu Jiuzhang left the Anxi Academy, he had gained immensely.

Upon returning to the Yingtian Restaurant, Bai Xiaosu and the big black dog had already returned and were eating downstairs together.

Lu Jiuzhang took a seat beside them.

Sensing Lu Jiuzhang's aura, the big black dog could not help asking, "Master Jiu, have you broken through again?"

"Mm!" Lu Jiuzhang nodded slightly.

"Damn it! No way, how long has it even been?"

The big black dog was shocked! It was a divine beast, blessed with the fortune of heaven and earth. Yet its speed of breakthroughs lagged far behind Lu Jiuzhang's. Could it be that Lu Jiuzhang was the actual divine beast blessed by heaven and earth?

Dammit, comparing a dog to a human was enough to infuriate a dog to death!

The big black dog felt indignant, while Bai Xiaosu appeared somewhat more composed. "Is this a breakthrough in martial arts?"

She knew that Lu Jiuzhang had previously broken through to the eighth rank of martial arts. She had not expected that just a short time later, he would break through again.

"A breakthrough to the eighth rank of Confucianism!" Lu Jiuzhang said slowly.

Dual cultivation in both Confucianism and martial arts, both now having entered the eighth rank.

That day, many people had looked down on Lu Jiuzhang, believing that trying to chew too much would ruin his digestion. Now, this could be considered a powerful counterattack against those who doubted him!

Dual cultivation in Confucianism and martial arts, reaching such a realm at this stage, was truly extraordinary.

...

After finishing their meal, the group planned to head upstairs to rest. Just as they stepped onto the stairs, several burly men walked down from above.

Lu Jiuzhang found these men somewhat familiar; they were the exact ones who had been sitting near them during lunch earlier that day, loudly boasting about grave robbing and tomb raiding—not opening a tomb for three years, but living off a single tomb for three years!

Lu Jiuzhang could not condone their practices. Of course, he had no intention of stopping them either, as there was no need.

Staying at the Yingtian Restaurant was meant to avoid trouble; why needlessly invite complications?