Chapter 544: Dragon Tiger Ancestor Master (2)

Chapter 544 -463: Dragon Tiger Ancestor Master (2)

Yan Shao’an had his eyes closed in contemplation.

He slowly opened his eyes. “Your Majesty, I wish to travel to Yingshan Academy. I ask for your gracious permission.”

Li Dai was stunned for a moment.

He hadn’t expected Yan Shao’an to leave him at such a critical juncture.

But then, his eyes lit up.

“Go, Master Yan. Please give the Dean my regards.”

Yan Shao’an nodded.

He then rose, pushed the door open, and walked out.

Li Dai watched Yan Shao’an’s departing figure, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

The Xuan Yang dynasty’s thousand-year rule couldn’t have possibly relied on the Li Royal Race alone. Otherwise, not even the Nine Heavens Profound Soldiers would have been enough to keep the world’s heroes in check.

The Court’s civil and military officials were certainly a crucial component.

But what truly stabilized Xuan Yang was, in fact, the Confucian Family.

More specifically, it was the Civil Servants and the academies.

As the most important vehicle for spreading Confucian doctrine, the power of the academies was a matter of course.

The four great academies, in particular, were powerful enough to rival the Daoist Ancestral Court and the Buddhist Holy Land.

During Xuan Yang’s previous civil unrest, the four great academies had chosen to remain silent and did not intervene.

After all, in the eyes of those great scholars, it was all Xuan Yang’s internal affair. Their loyalty was to the righteousness in their hearts, not to any particular emperor.

But now, the situation was completely different.

These sealed beings could practically be considered outsiders.

This was something the Confucian Family would never permit.

If the Confucian Family intervened, much of the pressure on Li Dai would be relieved.

Besides… who’s to say the Confucian Saints hadn’t left behind sealed beings of their own?

…

Qingshan, Yingshan Academy.

Yan Shao’an led a horse down a small path, the sound of its hooves CLOP-CLOPPING along.

The verdant mountain beneath his feet was named Qingshan.

Next to it ran a river, named Lv Shui.

The founding Confucian Saint of Yingshan Academy had chosen the names himself. They stuck, and as the academy grew into one of the world’s finest, “Qingshan” and “Lv Shui” became a destination that scholars across the land dreamed of visiting.

But as for where Yingshan was located?

Opinions varied widely on that matter.

“It’s been far too long.”

Yan Shao’an remarked with a sigh as he walked.

Just then, a middle-aged Confucian scholar appeared on the path.

“Senior Brother, what brings you here?”

Yan Shao’an chuckled. “I’ve come to see if the orchid I planted all those years ago is still alive.”

If any of his fellow officials had seen this, their jaws would have hit the floor.

The Lord Grand Protector was famous for his stern, humorless demeanor.

The middle-aged scholar laughed, amused. “The orchid was cut down long ago,” he teased. “I planted a patch of bamboo there instead.”

Yan Shao’an sighed in resignation. “Really?”

“Go and see for yourself.”

“Alright.”

Yan Shao’an nodded.

But his pace remained as slow as ever. The prospect of seeing his orchid didn’t hasten his steps in the slightest, just like the delicate scholar he had once been.

“I’ve always found this rock to be an eyesore. Why hasn’t it been moved?”

“And the moss! How many people have slipped on it? We’re always told that knowledge should be practical, but no, they have to insist on ‘ambiance’.”

Yan Shao’an grumbled on.

The middle-aged scholar finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Senior Brother, if the academy did everything your way, could it still be called Yingshan Academy?”

This was a highly disrespectful thing to say.

Especially to the Court’s current Grand Protector.

But Yan Shao’an, far from being angry, was delighted. “Exactly! Precisely!”

Xuan Yang was said to have four great academies.

But that was really just to round out the number. Like the Four Great Classical Novels or the Four Great Masters, it seems people are just fond of the number four.

In truth, the only one that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Yingshan Academy was Bailu Academy.

The others… were a distant second.

Interestingly, the Court’s Grand Protector was a graduate of Yingshan Academy, while the Grand Tutor was from Bailu Academy.

The two academies had been locked in a quiet rivalry for millennia.

For a few centuries, one might gain the upper hand, and then for the next few, the other would.

But in the end, they were always evenly matched, with no clear victor.

The middle-aged scholar remarked, “Senior Brother, has it really been a century since you were last at the academy?”

“Just about.”

Yan Shao’an’s gaze grew distant as he seemed to recall something.

A long, long time ago, he had been a student at Yingshan Academy. He wasn’t the most talented, so he understood the need to get a head start.

That was why he was always the first to arrive at the academy grounds.

The middle-aged scholar had been the Book Hall Gatekeeper back then, which is how they met.

Later, at first, Yan Shao’an had no desire to enter the Court and become an official. His ambition was to achieve sainthood through his writings.

Unfortunately, he had no talent for it.

No matter how he racked his brain, the essays he produced were always graded as bottom-tier.

Perhaps it was the will of heaven.

The worse his writing got, the better his martial arts became.

Before he knew it, he had become the academy’s number one martial artist.

His instructor at the time told him pointedly, “Leave the mountain. Go take the imperial examinations.”

And so, he left the mountain.

He went on to become the seven hundred and thirteenth top scholar in Xuan Yang’s history.

At the time, Bailu Academy was dominant. The Grand Tutor, Liang Yuan Kang, was already the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and there was a strong culture of exclusion against Yingshan Academy at the Court.

The distinguished top scholar was given only the minor post of Lower-Class Scholar of the Wenyuan Pavilion.

But Yan Shao’an, contrary to expectations, loved it.

He buried himself in his studies. His writing grew ever more atrocious, but his cultivation realm soared higher and higher, progressing through multiple stages until he finally broke through to the level of Divine Communication.

Later on, this scholar fought in many wars.

The old emperor made him a Military Officer.

After that, the scholars of Yingshan Academy could finally hold their heads high alongside those of Bailu Academy.

But Yan Shao’an himself never had another chance to return to Yingshan Academy.

He was, in truth, incredibly busy.

“Is the Dean well?”

Yan Shao’an asked calmly.

“He’s doing well. Same as ever, though he seems to be sleeping more and more.”

The middle-aged scholar smiled.

Back when they were young men, the Dean of Yingshan Academy had been the academy’s most brilliant Instructor.

He was the complete opposite of Yan Shao’an.

The Dean was an exceptional scholar but had absolutely no interest in the martial arts.

Xuan Yang was a nation founded on martial might. Even the top scholar of the civil examinations had to be tested on combat strength.

Thus, the Instructor, not yet a Dean, saw his path to an official career completely severed.

Yet he didn’t feel the slightest regret.

He simply buried himself in his books, reading and writing. And as he wrote, he found his cultivation realm rising and his personal fortune growing.

Eventually, he wrote his way into becoming a Divinity Grandmaster.

He even became the Dean of Yingshan Academy.

The thought of Instructor Zhu brought a knowing smile to Yan Shao’an’s lips.

If there were a ranking of all the Divine Communication Powerhouses in the world, it would be hard to say who was number one, but Dean Zhu would almost certainly be last.

This was because Dean Zhu had never once raised his hand against another person in his life.

He had absolutely no idea how to fight.

He only became a Divine Communication powerhouse because the scholarly fortune that had accumulated upon him was so immense it had literally pushed him into the state of a Divinity Grandmaster.

This situation was similar to that of most of the Emperors Ren.

They were cases of pseudo-Divine Communication.

And yet, it was this pseudo-Divine Communication powerhouse who ultimately surpassed a True-Divine Communication powerhouse to become the academy’s Dean.

And the Vice Dean, a True-Divine Communication powerhouse, had no objections whatsoever.

In fact, he declared,

“An academy is an academy because we compete on who has read the most and who writes the best. In that, I am inferior to Instructor Zhu. But if anyone thinks Instructor Zhu is unfit to be Dean… well, this humble scholar also happens to know a bit about fighting.”

As he reminisced, Yan Shao’an saw a circular archway of gray bricks and green tiles.

Once through the gate, he had truly entered Yingshan Academy.

Many disciples doing their morning practice saw Yan Shao’an, their eyes filled with adoration.

Even though Yan Shao’an never publicly identified as a student of Yingshan Academy, what scholar didn’t dream of becoming an official?

Thus, he had become an idol to countless students at Yingshan Academy.

His status in their eyes even surpassed that of Dean Zhu.

“Lord Grand Protector, I am Yang Qi, a student.”

“Mr. Yan, I am Han Yang, a student.”

…

One by one, the young scholars surrounded him. Though they had told themselves a thousand times to remain poised and respectful, their expressions inevitably turned into fawning admiration.

After all, even if they curried favor with the Dean, they still had to do their own scholarly work.

But currying favor with the Grand Protector? That might lead to a high-ranking position straight away.

Yan Shao’an had long grown accustomed to such scenes.

He walked on without stopping.

He passed one classroom after another, finally stopping before a small, thatched hut.

A thin, white-haired old scholar sat dozing in front of the hut, a book resting in his hands.

Yan Shao’an bowed deeply.

“Mr. Zhu, this student has returned.”