Chapter 217: 217 Viewing the Monoliths in the Night by Lantern Light Part Two

Now that the middle-aged man had appeared, one of the Scholartree Manor’sstudents regained his arrogance. He introduced the man to the surroundingonlookers. “This is my martial uncle from Scholartree Manor, Ji Jin. More thantwenty years have passed since he offered his Dao to the Mausoleum of Books.” The young examinees were all startled by these words and one by one steppedforward to pay their respects. It must be known that in the past, Ji Jin hadbeen one of the south’s most famous scholars, possessing exceptional gifts. Whowould have thought that he had actually become a Monolith Guardian? This martial uncle, from the Scholartree Manor, called Ji Jin paid noattention to the respects and bows of these juniors. While throwing ChenChangsheng an exceptionally cold stare, he strode before him and Gou Hanshi. “To take the shape is to refine true essence, to take the idea is to stimulatethe spiritual sense, to take the form is to imitate sword moves; the world onlyrecognizes these three methods as authentic. All other methods, regardless ofhow bizarre they are, equally serve as the foundation for these three. If youreally plan on discarding them all, then I want to know, what sort of method doyou have? In the many years past, there have been countless peopleoverconfident in their intelligence, always thinking that their predecessorswere only mediocre and that they could easily surpass them. How could thesepeople understand that with such an unrealistic mindset, that they were alreadytravelling down a limited path?” He stared at Chen Changsheng, his voice harsh and uncompromising. “Don’t thinkthat just because you obtained first place on the first banner in the GrandExamination that you’re entitled to look down on all these others in this holyand sacred Mausoleum of Books, that has attained first rank on the first bannerand more! Who would dare to be as arrogant as you, wanting to reachenlightenment as fast possible. Otherwise you would definitely be battered andbruised here.” Everything around the monolith hut sat in silence. Only Ji Jin’s cold andoppressive voice rang out. In the eyes of the senior from the Holy Maiden Peak,the two students from the Star Seizer Academy, as well as all the otherstudents present, Senior Ji Jin was a Monolith Guardian worthy of great respectfrom all Daoists. His understanding of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths was farbeyond that of anyone outside the mausoleum. Although his words were harsh,they were also reasonable. Although Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi could beconsidered well-read, even erudite, in the Daoist Canons, they were stillyoung. Especially in the domain of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths, when faced withsuch harsh yet substantive criticisms, what else could do they except humblyreceive this advice? Yet as time passed, the atmosphere in front of the monolith hut grewincreasingly tense. Because while Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi had not said anything, they alsohad not clearly acknowledged their mistakes. The Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education’s building was not very eye-catching. Itwas completely engulfed by the dozens of tall red fir trees around it, but eventhose trees were incapable of shutting out the night sky. This was why thedozens of stone steps were illuminated by the starlight, as if covered by alayer of snow. His Eminence, Archbishop Mei Lisha, stood in front of the window, gazing atthe white steps as his right hand twirled a winter plum flower behind him. Itwas the beginning of spring, but for some reason this winter plum flower hadjust blossomed. “The Empress’ mind was vast and broad, able to hold the entire world, thus sheneedn’t care about the Orthodox Academy, needn’t care about how far that childcalled Chen Changsheng could go…of course, most importantly, the Empress wastoo powerful. Even if that child were to come across a stroke of luck, he wouldstill be but an ant in the Empress’ eyes. If she wanted to crush him, she coulddo so at any time, but there were still many people that were not as strong asthe Empress, so naturally they cannot be as open-minded. So they will fear,they will be afraid of those matters of the past, such as the reversal of theverdict in the Orthodox Academy.” Mei Lisha’s wizened face exuded a faint sense of ridicule. “No matter if it’speople from the Tianhai clan or those dogs that the Empress uses to gnaw peopleto death, along with the Pope’s attitude, the fear in their hearts grows everstronger and they grow increasingly wary of the Orthodox Academy and ChenChangsheng. Naturally, they have no desire to see him continue to shine. Sincethey themselves are unable to act, they invited a southerner that they hadknown for many years, yet this is to be expected. It’s just that I didn’t thinkthat a person like Ji Jin would deign to act.” After Priest Xin’s conversation with Chen Changsheng earlier that day, he hadfelt that the situation was a little strange. After investigating, he quicklyreturned to report. Standing before the bishop, he was stunned by these words.His face carried a fierce expression as it shuddered. With disbelief apparentin his voice, he asked, “Who would dare do such a reckless thing in theMausoleum of Books?” “Upon entering the Mausoleum of Books to view the monoliths and comprehend theDao, the most important asset is the mindset. Those people do not need topersonally take action to deal with Chen Changsheng, just disturb his mindset,thus affecting his cultivation.The experience of entering the Mausoleum ofBooks for the first time, for one’s cultivation, is irreplaceable andimpossible to reverse.” Mei Lisha’s eyes gradually grew small, his expression cold. “Even if we’re notspeaking in the long-run, only at the moment, if Chen Changsheng’s cultivationwere to be affected, if he were unable to obtain sufficient gains in theMausoleum of Books, even if he were to enter the Garden of Zhou a month later,he would not be able to reap much. In fact, it would be extremely dangerous.” Only now did Priest Xin understand that the seemingly unremarkable hostilityand scorn that some in the Mausoleum of Books held actually concealed suchruthlessness. He took in a breath of cold air and somewhat hurriedly said, “Iwill immediately send someone over to tell Mister Nian Guang to keep watch overJi Jin and the others.” “Nian Guang, huh…He might not necessarily like Chen Changsheng.” Mei Lisha frowned, then said a little roughly, “If he had not been so fiercelycoerced by the Orthodox Academy that year, how could that outstanding studentfrom the Temple Seminary be willing to spend the rest of his life in theMausoleum of Books?” Priest Xin asked worriedly, “Then what should we do?” “You can still tell Nian Guang, but I think that in the end, I want ChenChangsheng to overcome this problem himself, in fact…I’m really quite curious.That child stayed for a day in the Pavilion of Ascending Mist, then playedtourist for a day, then made meals for a day. When he finally arrives beforethe Heavenly Tome Monoliths, what will he see?” The main residence of the sumptuous mansion grounds was filled with the soundsof music and laughter. This was not the Tianhai clan’s main residence, but wasTianhai Shengxue’s own home, so there was no elder to take notice. Tomorrow, Tianhai Shengxue would once again set off for Snowhold Pass. All theyoung nobles of the capital’s princes and dukes, that he was friends with, hadcome to send him off. With the wine flowing freely, it was hard to avoid thesubject of the recently concluded Grand Examination, as well as the youngpeople that had recently entered the Mausoleum of Books. Towards the beginning,the subject of Tianhai Shengxue’s odd withdrawal from the Grand Examination wasstill fresh in the minds of those young nobles, so they tiptoed carefullyaround the subject, but after three rounds of drinks, they gradually became toointoxicated to restrain themselves, and their conversations gradually began toridicule and shame Chen Changsheng and even the Li Palace. Tianhai Shengxue had nothing to say, only smiling upon hearing their words. Atthe midpoint of the feast, he turned to Prime Minister Yu Wenjing’s son andexcused himself, got up, and walked towards the rear of residence. In the rearresidence, there was someone waiting for him. This was a person even youngerthan him and their bloodline was even more distinguished. Normally, he wouldnever have invited this person to come to his drinking parties, sometimes goingas far as avoiding him if possible. “The people in my family are ready to go crazy. Could it be that you alsothink I’ve gone mad?” Tianhai Shengxue looked at Prince Chen Liu and frowned.“You’re worried that Chen Changsheng will be suppressed in the Mausoleum ofBooks, but your worries are redundant. The Empress hasn’t said anything and thePope has made his position clear. Who would dare to touch him? It’s not likehe’s offended Zhou Tong.” Prince Chen Liu’s handsome face was fraught with anxiety. “You’re right, thereare people in the Mausoleum of Books that are attempting to disrupt ChenChangsheng’s viewing of the monoliths, and Zhou Tong is really waiting outsidethe mausoleum for him.”