89: This scholar is all liver!

Central Continent Sacred Domain, Jixia City.

This city is not known for its grandeur or perilous terrain, but rather is filled with the scent of books and ink.

There are no towering immortal pavilions in the city; instead, there are mostly courtyards with green tiles and white walls, pavilions, waterside structures, and winding paths leading to secluded spots.

Countless students wearing various types of Confucian robes are either gathered in groups of three or five, discussing loudly, or sitting alone under trees, holding bamboo slips, nodding their heads as they read.

This place is the literary Holy Land of the entire Central Continent, and even the Azure Cloud Continent—the location of Jixia Academy.

South of the city, at a teahouse overlooking the lake.

Chu Xuanjin had changed into a moon-white long robe and held a folding fan, looking quite like a romantic scholar.

He looked at the lake and mountain scenery outside the window with boredom, but in reality, his Divine Thought had already spread out, and his Heavenly Dao Dharma Eye was operating at full power, like a high-precision radar, scanning every strand of Luck in the city.

"Tsk, the Central Continent really is different."

"Soul Transformation Cultivators are as common as dogs, and Void Refining Cultivators are everywhere. This Luck is colorful, like an overturned palette."

His gaze swept over various "Prodigies" with abundant Luck.

【Name: Zhou Zi'ang】 【Root Bone: Heaven Rank (Haoran Sword Body)】 【Luck: Cyan (Inner Sect Disciple of Jixia Academy)】

"From the Academy, already taken, pass."

【Name: Mo Di】 【Root Bone: Heaven Rank (Mechanism Dao Embryo)】 【Luck: Cyan with Purple (Successor of the Mohist School)】

"Huh? Mohist School? Doing mechanism arts? Interesting... Too bad, they also have a Legacy, hard to make a move."

Chu Xuanjin's goal was very clear.

What he was looking for was an unpolished gem—someone regarded by the whole world as Trash, yet possessing heaven-defying potential.

Only by taking on such Disciples would he feel a sense of accomplishment, and only then would it be satisfying to exploit the System.

Just as he was feeling a bit listless and preparing to change locations.

A faint yet extremely pure purple-gold light flashed and vanished from a remote corner of the Academy.

That light was more noble than the "Human Emperor Sacred Body" of the Crown Prince Zhao Wuji that he had seen, and more restrained than the "Primordial Dragon God" of his fourth Disciple, Zhao Wuyou!

Chu Xuanjin's eyes lit up instantly.

"Holy crap? SSR?"

The teacup in his hand paused in mid-air, and his gaze instantly locked onto the source of that light.

It was a young scholar who looked somewhat sickly.

He wore an old Confucian robe that had been washed until it turned white, sitting alone in front of the Academy's library, reading a tattered ancient book with great interest under the sunset's afterglow.

His face was pale, and he coughed from time to time, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

The students passing by looked at him with undisguised contempt and pity.

"Look, it's that nerd, Bai Jinnian."

"I heard that in order to enter the library, he exchanged all his monthly allowance for contribution points, and now he can't even afford to eat."

"He deserves it! Instead of cultivating the proper Immortal Dao, he insists on reading those useless sage books; it's simply a waste of the Academy's resources!"

"I heard that during the last assessment, he almost fell off his sword while performing sword control; it was hilarious!"

Chu Xuanjin listened with great interest, the curve of his mouth growing wider.

Looked down upon by everyone?

Good! I like this setting!

With a thought, he activated his Heavenly Dao Dharma Eye at full power, and the scholar's information clearly appeared before his eyes.

【Name: Bai Jinnian】

【Root Bone: Divine Grade (Sacred Word Dao Body)】

【Luck: Purple-Gold (Future Literary Saint, Luck is obscured)】

【Cultivation: Qi Refinement Stage level 9 (Mixed spiritual energy, unstable Foundation)】

【Status: Talent leaking, Lifespan depleting. Due to forcibly studying the words of ancient Saints, his Divine Soul and Physical Body cannot bear the dao rhyme, leading to spiritual energy dissipation and loss of Lifespan.】

【Hidden Identity: ??? (Law-Following Speech, one word can suppress mountains and rivers, one sentence can decide life and death!)】

【Recent Calamity: Three days later, during the Jixia Academy grand examination, he will be framed by his rival, the Mohist Disciple Mo Di, and his spiritual energy will run wild in front of everyone. He will be judged as having suffered 'Qi Deviation', his cultivation will be abolished, he will be expelled from the Academy, and he will become a cripple.】

"Sacred Word Dao Body?"

Chu Xuanjin rubbed his chin, his eyes shining.

He had only seen records of this Physique in the System's Cultivation Technique library.

It is the materialization of the most mysterious "Word Spirit Dao" among the three thousand Daos.

Cultivated to the extreme, one's words become law, Law-Following Speech, and whatever one says becomes reality.

It is far superior to the Human Emperor Sacred Body of that Core Disciple Zhao Wuji!

"This isn't just a Disciple; this is a walking wish-granting machine!"

Chu Xuanjin was overjoyed.

As for the "Lifespan depleting" and "Mixed spiritual energy," in his view, it was not a problem at all.

It was like a person possessing a top-tier sports car engine, but because they didn't know how to refuel it, they could only push the car every day.

This ailment was easy to cure!

Just then.

Several young men dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, whose temperament was completely out of place with the surrounding students, swaggered over to Bai Jinnian.

The leader was none other than Mo Di, the Mohist successor whom Chu Xuanjin had just seen.

"Yo, isn't this our great scholar Bai Jinnian?" Mo Di said sarcastically, "Still reading these useless broken books?"

Bai Jinnian raised his head, glanced at him, said nothing, and lowered his head to continue reading.

Complete disregard.

This attitude completely enraged Mo Di.

"You Trash! How dare you refuse to give me face!"

He snatched the ancient book from Bai Jinnian's hand and sneered.

"《Spring and Autumn Annals》? What era is this, and you're still reading this stuff? Can it grant you longevity, or can it help you control a sword?"

"It cannot." Bai Jinnian finally spoke, his voice calm, "But it can allow me to understand reason and know shame."

"You!" Mo Di was choked until his face turned red.

He was embarrassed into anger and used force with both hands.

"Rip!"

The ancient book that Bai Jinnian treasured like a treasure was instantly torn in two.

"I'll let you know shame!" Mo Di threw the torn paper on the ground and stomped on it fiercely.

"A piece of Trash who can't even afford to eat, and you dare talk reason to me?"

The surrounding students all gathered to watch the fun, pointing at Bai Jinnian, full of schadenfreude.

Bai Jinnian looked at the torn paper on the ground, and for the first time, there was a fluctuation in his eyes.

It was not anger, but a kind of deep sorrow.

He did not fly into a rage as Mo Di expected, nor did he cry or beg for mercy.

He simply bent down, picked up the torn paper piece by piece carefully, and gently patted the dust off them.

His movements were slow and very serious, as if what he was picking up was not broken book pages, but a broken heart.

"Paper will break."

He said softly, as if speaking to himself, and as if speaking to everyone.

"The Dao, will not."

After speaking, he hugged the pile of torn paper, turned around, and left silently.

That back figure, under the afterglow of the sunset, appeared somewhat thin, yet revealed an unspeakable stubbornness.

Mo Di watched his departing back, feeling as if he had punched cotton, feeling unspeakably stifled.

"Pah! Pretending to be mysterious, you Trash!" He spat and led his people away.

At the teahouse.

Chu Xuanjin drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

"What a 'The Dao, will not'."

He nodded approvingly.

Talent is certainly important.

But how far a Cultivator can go ultimately depends on this Dao Heart.

This Bai Jinnian's Heart-Nature and Comprehension Ability were far beyond his expectations.

"Not bad, not bad. This seventh Disciple, it's him."

Chu Xuanjin was in a great mood.

He was about to get up to go have an "accidental encounter" with his future seventh Disciple.

His gaze, however, inadvertently swept to the other side.

He saw the arrogant Mo Di, who had just been acting so domineering, sneaking around in a corner, whispering with a middle-aged man wearing the robes of a Jixia Academy Elder.

Mo Di's face was full of fawning smiles.

And that Elder nodded from time to time, his eyes flashing with cold light.

The corners of Chu Xuanjin's mouth curled up slightly.

"Oh? Designing a frame-up for the grand examination in three days?"

"I'm familiar with this script too."

He sat back down and poured himself another cup of tea.

"It seems this play has a second half."

"No rush, no rush."

"When he is stepped into the mud, when he is stepped on the hardest and is most desperate, that is when I will appear."

"Providing help in the snow is always more memorable than adding flowers to the brocade."

Chu - Professional Director - Xuanjin, leisurely shook his crossed legs, starting to look forward to the big play in three days.

He could already foresee it.

When the scholar, who was looked down upon by everyone, bloomed with boundless light in his hands.

What kind of expression the entire Jixia Academy—no, the entire Central Continent—would have.

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PS: Bai Jinnian was provided by the user "God's Abandoned Thing". I only received a name, so I made up everything else. If any other handsome and beautiful readers want characters or content, feel free to comment and dm me.