4: Five Saints and Seven Sages, Sword of Qingfeng

The Five Sages and Seven Worthies!

They are the twelve strongest individuals in the world today in the ways of both literature and martial arts.

With just a simple introduction from Chen Zhou, all the seated students were filled with fervent excitement.

Only Qin Chuan inwardly lamented—

Become them?

He recalled the life goal of that 'Sage Teacher'.

It clearly meant surpassing them!

Forget it, let's just complete the first step first.

Life is hard, Chen Chuan sighed.

"Alright, that's all for today's lesson. Chen Wenyuan, come with me for a moment."

"Goodbye, sir!"

After giving Chen Chuan a look that said 'you're on your own,' his little friends stood up and bowed.

Meanwhile, after Chen Chuan followed his own father a distance from the classroom, he heard him say:

"I won't be returning to the residence tonight. Let your mother know."

"Oh, is Father going to Cui Xiang Tower again with his colleagues for some merrymaking?" Qin Chuan asked, pretending to be casual.

"Silence!" Sure enough, Chen Zhou grew flustered upon hearing this.

"How can you slander your old man's good name like that! Was I going for merrymaking? Clearly... no, wait, when have I ever been to Cui Xiang Tower!"

"Oh! I'll tell Mother exactly that," Qin Chuan said, the corner of his mouth not loosening in the slightest.

Chen Zhou, exasperated by him, looked at him with annoyance.

"Out with it, what do you want this time?"

Qin Chuan grinned: "I've been thinking of getting a new set of scholar's treasures these past couple of days, but my monthly allowance..."

Chen Zhou sighed helplessly and fished out two pieces of broken silver from the pouch at his waist.

"Take this. Your father doesn't have much left either. Those expenses at Cui Xiang Tower... ahem, they're all for socializing with colleagues!"

Qin Chuan quickly took the money: "Thank you, Teacher Chen, for saving this commoner from hardship!"

"Go on, go on. Don't forget to tell your mother." At this point, he seemed to remember something and added:

"By the way, since you've decided to take the prefectural exam this time, whether you pass or not, you need to study hard. But don't put too much pressure on yourself. Your father also didn't pass the Xiucai exam until he was eighteen."

Qin Chuan: "I understand. I'll definitely pass this time! Father, go ahead and enjoy your... social engagements!"

With that, he scurried away.

Qin Chuan rushed home without stopping and had Qing Mo go report to his mother.

As for himself, he quietly pulled a box out from under his bed.

Upon opening it, a dazzling silver light and three items came into view!

He added the silver coins and silver he had just gotten from Chen Chuan to the pile. He didn't pay much attention to this considerable wealth, instead focusing on those three little trinkets.

He remembered clearly—these seemed to be the things little Chen Chuan, at the age of one, had snatched during his ' First birthday celebration (Zhuazhou)' (Zhua Zhou, a first birthday tradition), showing his peerless prowess among his generation?

Since they were certified as special items by the System, they must have some unique qualities.

He picked up the three items one by one, examining them carefully.

[Sage's Teachings (First Edition Print): A book once blessed by a Saint. Has an excellent enlightening effect and can slightly enhance the user's literary Dao Luck.]

[Bamboo Forest Map: A painting of a bamboo forest cottage by a great master. It seems there is another world within? (Unlocks at Haoran Righteousness Level 2)]

[Qingfeng Sword: A Sharp Weapon forged from extraterrestrial meteoric iron. But a pearl obscured by dust, it requires repair and polishing. (Can be activated)]

The first two items were not worth thinking about for now; there was no way to utilize them.

The key was the last item, the Qingfeng Sword, which wasn't much bigger than a toothpick—after all, for a child's Zhua Zhou trinket, you couldn't expect it to be large.

That wasn't the key point. The key was that 'Can be activated.' How to activate it?

Just as this thought arose in Qin Chuan's mind, he saw the status note behind the Qingfeng Sword change to 'Activating.'

In the blink of an eye!

In the time it takes to blink, Qin Chuan saw the silver pieces placed together with the Qingfeng Sword suddenly melt, turning into streams of light that were absorbed by the Qingfeng Sword.

"Holy shit!"

The elegant language of Xia Kingdom escaped his lips.

Although Qin Chuan separated them quickly enough, the Qingfeng Sword still 'swallowed' a small pile of silver.

Qingfeng Sword? (×)

Money-devouring beast! (√)

You have to understand, this amount of silver was no small sum!

Before unlocking the mysteries within the womb, Chen Chuan, perhaps due to some hoarding tendency or something else, saved all his money except for necessary expenses.

A sum of over twenty taels was absolutely a huge fortune.

A decent family of three in the city probably only earned that much in a year.

His father, Chen Zhou, a lecturer at the academy, held a proper seventh-rank official position—Sì Mén Bó Shì (Doctor of the Four Gates).

Yet his annual salary was only around a hundred taels of silver.

From this, one can see how much of a saver the kid Chen Chuan had been in the past!

And it makes it even clearer—just how much this Qingfeng Sword swallowed in one gulp!

Qin Chuan looked at the thing speechlessly. So activating it meant devouring money, right?

However, he wasn't all that heartbroken over it.

This Qingfeng Sword clearly looked extraordinary, instantly reminding him of things like Flying Swords from Xianxia novels.

If it could be activated...

A moment later, Qin Chuan sighed, holding his forehead.

The Qingfeng Sword, having swallowed roughly ten-odd taels of silver, still showed the status 'Activating.'

He almost strained his eyes trying to see, barely making out a faint glimmer on the dull, grayish sword body.

To fully activate this, how much money would it take!

He now just wanted to change his name to—

Qin·Single-mindedly Making Money·Chuan.

Jokes aside, fun aside, don't treat Transmigration as a joke.

Qin Chuan still had to prioritize completing his 'life goal'.

But, achieving life goals also requires making money.

If he followed that so-called 'Sage Teacher' life goal step by step, whether he could ultimately reach it was unclear, but Qin Chuan absolutely didn't have that much time to waste on it.

Especially since the time flow between his consciousness being Transmigrated to this other world and the Main World was uncertain. He couldn't afford to waste decades here.

So, were there any shortcuts?

Knowledge and cultivation required his own effort, but when it came to fame and the admiration of the masses, there was room for manipulation.

For example: The money-throwing tactic?

As someone from the information age, no one understood the importance of mass information dissemination better than Qin Chuan.

The only thing lacking now was the capital to control public opinion.

Plus, he also wanted to activate the Qingfeng Sword to see. Thus—he needed a large sum of money!

But Qin Chuan only entertained the thought briefly.

His main focus still had to be on the imperial examinations and even the literary Dao.

He coveted those legendary supernatural abilities immensely. If he could obtain them...

Especially after searching through his memories, it seemed poetry and verses held a different status in this world?

Speaking of this, Qin Chuan was wide awake!

In the memories of those who Transmigrated to ancient times, which one didn't copy a few timeless masterpieces?