Chapter 468: Not Playing by the Rules

Wangbei Academy.

"Jia character, vertical eight... Small Virtue!"

"Bing Viscount, horizontal seven... Small Evil!"

Across these thousands of steps, all throughout the mountain, the sound like morning bells and evening drums continued to ring.

Dong, dong, dong!

Some cheered and leaped for joy, while others were utterly dejected.

Some were obsessed with scrolls, while others built huts and farmed.

Some led oxen home late, while others lowered their heads to tinker with iron and wood...

For thousands of years, this had been the atmosphere of Wangbei Academy.

At this moment.

The Dean of the Academy, Wang Chao, was still playing chess.

Sitting opposite him was none other than the old man who had once played against another person in the waterfall at Mang Mountain, Master Situ!

These two people.

One was the Dean of the Academy.

The other was the only Elder of this Academy responsible for walking the world, Situ Kong!

The two of them playing chess naturally attracted many people from the Academy to watch.

Every move the two made seemed unconstrained and imaginative, yet difficult to fathom, as if all the Great Dao and minor paths of the world were contained within them, occasionally drawing bursts of exclamation from the onlookers.

This time, Situ Kong made another move, trapping the Dean opposite him, and laughed heartily: "Logically speaking, that Prefect Liu from the Longyan Dynasty should have arrived by now."

The Dean, Wang Chao, had not yet spoken.

At this moment, bell chimes rang out.

"He has arrived!"

"That Prefect Liu has arrived!"

"Prefect Liu has already reached the foot of the mountain!"

Wave after wave of bell chimes traveled up, and many people were excited by this. Prefect Liu had finally come up the mountain; many in this Academy were rubbing their palms and eager to try.

It was rumored that this Prefect Liu was the current number one young talent of the Longyan Dynasty, overflowing with talent and possessing great strategy.

Even Chen Ran, who had just been expelled from the Academy, had died at his hands.

Chen Ran, what kind of person was he? When he was in the Academy, he was the Seventh Senior Brother!

One could imagine that this Prefect Liu was now a rising star of the Longyan Dynasty. The future of the Longyan Dynasty! Since ancient times, those who came to Wangbei Academy were people seeking refuge or living in seclusion, each one incomparably arrogant; how could they not have some thoughts about him?

Wang Chao chuckled and stroked his beard: "It seems the Elder holds this Prefect Liu in very high regard?"

Situ Kong said earnestly: "He is someone who understands the Great Trend."

"Oh?"

Wang Chao could not help but laugh out loud.

Many people nearby also shook their heads and sneered upon hearing this.

The Great Trend?

Since ancient times, this Wangbei Academy had countless capable people; some were skilled in Mathematics, some in Strange Skills, some in Mechanism Art, some in Geomancy Art, and even more were skilled in the Art of War and Strategy. But if one spoke of learning to the peak, it was the Great Trend!

Everyone knew how ethereal and impressive this Great Trend was, but those who could learn it to such a level were few and far between, even in Wangbei Academy.

A person so young, only in his early twenties, and you say he understands the Great Trend?

Facing the doubts of others, Situ Kong remained calm and relaxed, laughing: "Yes, he understands the Great Trend."

A flash of light appeared in Wang Chao's eyes.

Situ Kong sighed: "If I am not mistaken, the Dean has already set up layers of mechanisms at the foot of the mountain, waiting for this Prefect Liu to arrive, wanting to dampen his spirit first, is that right?"

Wang Chao smiled: "Is it really that easy to enter the Academy?"

This Academy had countless disciplines, and the Mechanism Art within it was inherited from the Mohist School of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. There was also Geomancy Art; this time, those in the Mechanism Art had long been prepared to deal with everything Liu Zheng had.

Sure enough, at this point, a young man dressed in black stood up and said proudly: "Elder, there is no need to worry. We fellow disciples have only prepared some appetizers for this Prefect Liu..."

"Hahahaha!"

"Yes, it won't hurt him!"

"Hmph, with Senior Brother Huang's Mechanism Art, this Prefect Liu will definitely bump into a wall and bleed!"

"Hahahaha!"

Situ Kong was speechless and laughed; these people in the Academy now... each one was arrogant and conceited, no longer possessing the humility they once had. They considered themselves superior for living in seclusion, becoming cynical.

Little did they know, only by truly going out to see the world would they understand why they lived in seclusion and why they could not integrate into this worldly society.

He sighed.

He looked up at the plaque on the high building of the Academy.

"If not a good minister, then be a good doctor"!

These bold, sweeping characters were left behind by the first Dean who founded the Academy.

Since ancient times, these eight characters had been inspiring the growth of those at Wangbei.

However...

Did they truly understand the meaning of these eight characters?

Without a Worldly Walk, how can one be Transcendent?

Without healing others, how can one heal oneself?

He stopped speaking.

Yes, it was time for this Prefect Liu to teach these guys with their eyes above their heads a lesson.

……

Set up camp.

Liu Zheng was not in a hurry to go up the mountain.

But Jie Yu was anxious.

She sought out Liu Zheng several times, only to hit a wall.

She explained repeatedly that the Academy would not make things difficult for Liu Zheng and that there would certainly be no danger; she even staked her life on it, but Liu Zheng turned a deaf ear to her words.

Yes.

There would certainly be no danger to his life.

But wouldn't these reclusive monsters make things difficult for him?

Who knew what strange and bizarre things these messy people would cook up to wait for him?

Rather than testing the law with his own body, it was better to appear strong.

Boom!

If no one came out to welcome him in three days, he would bombard them with cannons!

Liu Zheng's idea was very simple; in fact, he still held respect for this group of people at the Academy and very much wanted to put them to use for himself. But the prerequisite was... he had to be able to suppress them! Suppress them firmly!

I can play along with you, but the rhythm must be in my hands, not yours!

And so.

The first day, they set up camp, rested, and enjoyed themselves.

The people at the Academy were all stunned.

This Prefect Liu had arrived at the foot of the mountain, yet he wasn't moving forward?

The fellow students of the Mechanism Art discipline also looked at each other in dismay.

"Could it be that he is afraid?"

"Haha, it seems he really is afraid!"

"The famous Prefect Liu, could he be a coward?"

With this, they became even more confident.

Consequently, they reported this matter to the Dean.

The Dean, Wang Chao, laughed heartily: "Elder Situ, is this the Prefect Liu?"

Situ Kong wore a bitter smile.

However...

The second day.

These people could no longer sit still.

"It's bad, it's bad!"

"Dean, Dean... that Prefect Liu, that Prefect Liu..."

Wang Chao, who was playing chess, was stunned for a moment: "What is it?"

"He has set up the cannons!"

"Bang..."

"You, you, you, what did you say?"

Situ Kong, off to the side, laughed until he fell over.

What a Prefect Liu!

He really doesn't take the beaten path!

"What is going on, what on earth is going on?"

Wang Chao had no heart for chess at this moment; he lifted his long robes with his hands and stood up, his face already turning a deathly pale: "He, he, what is he trying to do!"

This is the Academy!

This is a place for scholars!

Good grief.

We prepared layers of games for you... with different levels of difficulty for each stage.

You arrive, and you immediately want to bombard us with cannons?