Chapter 1: 1. diting diagram
Great Qian Dynasty, Eighth Year of Shengjing, Second Month, Twentieth Day.
In Heluo Eastern Capital’s North Market, shops stood in dense rows, and people came and went like clouds.
Xu Yongsheng, tall and elegant, dressed in a white scholar’s robe, walked among the crowds.
Suddenly, a hand in the crowd stealthily reached out, quickly touching and retracting from the white-robed scholar.
The person brushed past, and Xu Yongsheng seemed to not notice, his steps unbroken.
Later, a group of thieves gathered in a back alley.
The thief leader looked around: “All of you had a good haul today.”
The thieves all took out their stolen goods.
The young man who had touched the white-robed scholar suddenly cursed aloud: “Damn pauper, putting rocks in his money pouch?”
The thief leader’s expression changed, and the young man quickly said: “It was really that pauper, not me…”
Before he finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly sounded, and the accomplice responsible for keeping watch on the periphery flew in, knocking two people nearby into rolling gourds.
Xu Yongsheng, in a white robe, appeared in the alley.
The group of thieves either pulled out short knives or picked up wooden sticks and bamboo poles from the side.
But before the thief leader could speak, the scholarly-looking Xu Yongsheng moved like thunder, flashing forward. One after another, people flew into the air.
Finally, he reached out and slammed a palm onto the thief leader’s face, pushing the back of his head into the wall with a resounding “thump”!
The thief leader immediately collapsed to the ground.
A scene of fallen bodies lay in the alley, with only Xu Yongsheng standing alone.
The wind sounded again, and someone flipped into the alley from above. Seeing Xu Yongsheng, he couldn't help but be startled: “I heard something was wrong with the commotion here, so it was you?”
Xu Yongsheng had already returned to his refined appearance: “Before I acted, I checked around and found no abnormalities. These are all ordinary petty thieves. I was just wondering if I should bother the Commandant.”
The newcomer was a young man dressed in Imperial Guard uniform: “Maintaining peace and security, no matter how small, is important. Besides, ordinary petty thieves in the Eastern Capital often lead to bigger problems. I can use them to leverage some other people.”
He looked left and right at the scattered thieves and chuckled: “You’ve achieved something in your studies; your strikes aren’t light.”
“The Master said: A gentleman does not promote a person because of his words, nor does he reject words because of the person.” Xu Yongsheng said without changing his expression: “This tells us that with people who cannot be reasoned with, use your fists, don’t waste words.”
Demon Suppression Guard Commandant Ma Yang: “…Although I am a pure Martial Artist, the Saint’s words don’t seem to mean what you’re saying?”
Xu Yongsheng: “Since the Commandant handles ordinary petty thieves, I will pay more attention in the future.”
“Thanks, but you already have a reputation in the South Market. I’m afraid few small-time thieves there will be as blind as those in the North Market.” Ma Yang waved his hand: “You still have classes at the Academy, right? Alright, go on, I’ll handle this here.”
Leaving the North Market, Xu Yongsheng headed east to the Dongdu Academy Outer Courtyard in Zhengwen Ward.
He had been in this world for some time since coming from Blue Star.
This was a world where the Martial Dao flourished. The Great Qian Dynasty was currently in a prosperous era. Although there were border troubles, internal peace had long reigned.
Heluo Eastern Capital was the secondary capital of the Great Qian Dynasty. The Qian Emperor often visited in his early years, and it was structured like the Guanzhong Imperial Capital, with both civil and military official departments. The National Academy for civil studies was divided into Western and Eastern Academies, and the Martial Academy for martial studies was also the same, one in the Emperor Jing and one in the Eastern Capital.
To this day, the Great Qian imperial court ranked Martial Artists, imitating official positions, from low to high, starting from Ninth Rank, then up to Eighth Rank, Seventh Rank, Sixth Rank, and so on, by analogy.
Xu Yongsheng was currently in the Dongdu Academy Outer Courtyard, like a Martial Dao “preschool.”
In terms of this world’s Martial Dao rank Realm, it was equivalent to unranked, or unclassified.
However, upon entering the Academy Outer Courtyard today, Xu Yongsheng met an Assistant Teacher and presented him with the four treasures of the study: brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
The Heart-Rectifying Brush, specially made from crane feathers and wolf hair.
The Knowledge-Attaining Ink, made from pine soot blended with peony dew.
The Sincerity Paper, specially made from ancient mulberry bark from the Academy Outer Courtyard.
The Investigation Inkstone, sculpted from Red Stream stone.
The other party examined them, looking as if he were grading an exam.
The path of Martial Dao cultivation in this world was perilous, often leading to Qi Deviation, bloodshed, and numerous hidden dangers.
Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism regulated the Martial Dao, summarizing and designing multiple trials, complex rituals, and a large array of Spirit Treasures for auxiliary support. Like taming wild horses, this reduced many dangers, bloodshed, and after-effects in Martial Dao cultivation, but it invisibly raised the threshold for Martial Dao cultivation.
The Heart-Rectifying Brush, Knowledge-Attaining Ink, Sincerity Paper, and Investigation Inkstone were all important auxiliary treasures for those cultivating Confucian Martial Dao on the path from unranked to Breakthrough to Ninth Rank.
Besides their high price, they also required the Martial Artist to first cultivate the Confucian Grand Righteous Qi to a certain level, and then use their own Qi to warm and nourish the four treasures. Otherwise, it would only be a waste of Materials.
Hold the Heart-Rectifying Brush, dip it in cinnabar, and write “Self-Restraint” a thousand times. Afterward, the brush handle will glow with a faint vermillion light.
While silently reciting “Exhortation to Learning,” pound the Knowledge-Attaining Ink for thirty days. Afterward, writing with this ink will produce an invisible fragrance that can attract fireflies to form a pattern.
Offer Sincerity Paper in a wine sacrifice to the portrait of the Most Holy First Teacher. After three days of burning incense, golden silk grids will naturally appear on the paper.
Nourish the inkstone with Qi. The Investigation Inkstone, exposed to the first sunlight each day for thirty days, will cause ripples to appear when grinding ink.
When the Assistant Teacher saw the four treasures of the study—now imbued with vermillion light, ink fragrance, golden net, and water patterns—he immediately understood that Xu Yongsheng’s Qi had indeed achieved something.
Such matters were no joke; those who asked others to prepare the four treasures of the study were doomed to fail the ranking ceremony. Qi Deviation would be light; death was highly probable.
“Not slow at all.” The other party looked at Xu Yongsheng with a slight surprise.
Xu Yongsheng remained unperturbed: “Much thanks to the guidance of all the teachers.”
After his initial surprise, the Assistant Teacher smiled and said: “The official entrance examination in the First Month of next year is still far off. Although accumulating strength is good, you should carefully seize this precious time.
The Spring Festival in two days will have an early ranking ceremony specially prepared for students who are progressing faster in their cultivation. If you feel confident and ready, you can participate, but don’t be impatient.”
Xu Yongsheng replied: “This student intends to try.”
The Academy Outer Courtyard’s official entrance examination, held once every three years, would arrive in eleven months, on the thirtieth day of the First Month of next year. Those who entered Ninth Rank would pass; otherwise, they would be expelled.
Conversely, to encourage those with faster cultivation progress, a Confucian ranking ceremony was specially permitted to be held early this year on the Spring Festival, the twenty-second day of the Second Month.
Those who passed would successfully rise from unclassified to Ninth Rank. Although their student status would not yet be considered official students of Dongdu Academy, they could receive advanced cultivation methods for the Ninth Rank period from the Academy.
Thus, one step fast, every step fast.
Xu Yongsheng had chosen to cultivate the Confucian Martial Dao for several reasons: first, because it was safe and less prone to Qi Deviation; second, because of certain Academy regulations; and third, because he had some savings specifically beneficial for Confucian Martial Artists’ cultivation, allowing for faster improvement.
Leaving the Academy Outer Courtyard, Xu Yongsheng headed east, returning to the South Market.
Compared to the North Market, which gathered high-end goods and large-scale trade, the South Market’s goods were more everyday, but its overall scale was larger than the North Market. The market was bustling with people, with thousands of shops across a hundred and twenty trades, and goods piled up like mountains.
Boats came and went on the northeast and due north canals, with waterwheels standing in dense rows.
Xu Yongsheng’s shop was adjacent to the canal behind it, guarding a massive waterwheel. Smoke billowed from the roof’s ventilation duct, and the furnace inside was intensely hot.
The water-powered bellows, connected to the waterwheel and providing draft through a damper, continuously sent wind into the iron-smelting blast furnace, which stood over a zhang tall.
When Xu Yongsheng entered, the young man minding the shop hurried forward: “Boss.”
“I’ll change first.” Xu Yongsheng went to the side to change out of his scholar’s robe and headscarf. A moment later, he came to the furnace, wearing only a sleeveless vest over his upper body.
The elegant Young Master who had just been tall and graceful now had muscles that were not exaggerated but extremely refined and full of power, visible beneath his open vest.
Xu Yongsheng held a small hammer in one hand and tongs in the other, clamping a refined iron sheet for quenching in water. A “sizzle” sound rose, and white smoke billowed.
“Boss, you’ve already cultivated a scholar’s Qi. Why do you still…” someone couldn’t help but ask.
Xu Yongsheng had other plans, but his face remained unconcerned: “If I don’t touch it for three days, my hands itch. But indeed, I’ll be coming less often in the future; this place will mainly rely on you all.”
He oversaw everything, while others either swung large hammers to strike the refined iron or controlled the airflow nearby.
Though Xu Yongsheng was young, his aim was precise and his hands steady. He clamped the refined iron with tongs and returned it to the furnace for tempering, mastering the heat with seasoned skill.
Later, as usual, Xu Yongsheng let the other people in the shop go home first, then personally handled the cleanup, extinguishing the fire but not the furnace.
But once no one was inside or out, he quietly melted a piece of blood-red silver he had bought from the North Market that morning.
The resulting molten silver resembled fresh blood.
Then, like blood-red silver, he plated it onto the surface of a long saber.
After finishing, and tidying up, Xu Yongsheng appeared unconcerned. As the curfew drums gradually began, he left the South Market and returned to his residence in Yongning Ward.
Although he had entered the Dongdu Academy Outer Courtyard, he still had to strictly observe the curfew before successfully entering a rank and becoming a true Martial Artist.
After dinner, he reviewed his Academy lessons and continued his own cultivation.
As night deepened, Xu Yongsheng slept soundly.
Until midnight…
In his sleep, Xu Yongsheng’s body suddenly emitted a faint glow, condensing into an illusory book.
The pages of the booklet seemed to be stuck together; currently, only the first page could be opened, revealing a diagram.
The diagram depicted a Spirit Beast with a tiger head, a single horn, dog ears, a Dragon body, a lion tail, and Qilin feet.
It looked somewhat like the Diting, the Spirit Beast rumored to sit before Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the Underworld Hell, as Xu Yongsheng knew from Blue Star.
At this moment, the Diting in this diagram actually moved.
Then it stretched its body, and amid flashing light, it seemed to turn real, stepping out of the diagram. After circling once above Xu Yongsheng’s closed-eyed, reclining body, it passed directly through the wall and vanished into the night.
The illusory book then disappeared, and specks of faint light re-merged into Xu Yongsheng’s body.
The room returned to its dark tranquility.
Xu Yongsheng, who had seemed to be in deep sleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear, completely devoid of sleepiness.
