64: Listen to a lecture

The Registrar of the National Academy is in charge of memorials, documents, and other matters.

The enrollment of students is also his responsibility, in addition to all other major and minor affairs within the National Academy.

If the Libationer is compared to the principal of a school.

Then is the Registrar equivalent to a counselor?

Qin Chuan followed Cui Jian to the counselor's office—ahem, to the small building where the Registrar was located.

Before even entering, he saw a white wall outside the door, covered with all sorts of messy content.

Qin Chuan immediately spotted the most central and striking headline on it—

“Down with the Second Generation of Kings!”

“The ‘Second Generation of Kings’ is named Chen Chuan, courtesy name Wen Yuan. The outside world knows him as ‘Chen the Immortal,’ ‘Chen Qing Ming,’ and ‘Young Sage.’ His arrival at the National Academy, ostensibly for further studies, is actually to challenge us! To curb his arrogance, we must devise four strategies!”

“The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans: The Second Generation is especially skilled in poetry and lyrics. Fellow students, do not bring shame upon yourselves; instead, we can compete with him in engineering, mathematics, and other fields, using our strengths to counter his weaknesses!”

Jia Yi's comment: “No student at the National Academy is foolish enough to do something so unwise.”

Jia Er's comment: “I can mentally calculate the numbers for a thousand chariots and ten thousand troops. I will make sure he never returns.”

“The second best strategy is to attack alliances: We can pretend to befriend him, make him work tirelessly, or even introduce our sisters to him, then break them apart, causing him to fall into melancholy.”

“Bullshit! My younger sister spends all day like she's lovesick, muttering Chen Wenyuan's name. Wouldn't that be like throwing a meat bun at a dog?”

“Same here, my auntie”

“The third best strategy is to attack the army: Make him write poems praising us. If he refuses, then resort to the worst strategy.”

“The worst strategy is to attack the city: The road is slippery at night. Prepare a sack, cover his head in a dark alley, and strike his body!”

Changsun Xiu: “I agree!”

Cheng Lu: “Me too.”

Jia Ershiqi: “The two upstairs, are those your own comments?”

Qin Chuan: ???

What is this, the National Academy version of a campus wall?

Why has he become a public enemy before even arriving?

The content on this campus wall was not limited to just these.

Qin Chuan scanned a few more times and saw content ranging from blind dates and friendships, renting and buying houses, to selling books.

“Ahem!”

Cui Jian, seeing Qin Chuan engrossed, said, “Brother, please wait here. I'll go see if the Registrar is in.”

Qin Chuan shook his head, “It's fine, I'll go in with you.”

Having said that, he stopped looking at the unreliable wall.

He knocked on the door and asked, “Is Registrar Liu in?”

“Who seeks me? Come in.”

Qin Chuan and Cui Jian exchanged a glance, then pushed the door open and entered first.

Inside, a man in his thirties was facing a desk, admiring the calligraphy on it.

Qin Chuan glanced over and immediately saw a line: “To establish the heart for Heaven and Earth.”

At this moment, Cui Jian spoke, “Registrar, this brother—”

Qin Chuan: “I'm here to handle my enrollment and select my main and elective courses.”

“Oh, enrollment? But this year the enrollment period has already passed. What is your name, where are you from—”

Registrar Liu wasn't particularly surprised.

After all, given the nature of the National Academy now, it was essentially an aristocratic academy, and it wasn't uncommon for people to be admitted through various connections.

This young man in front of him, he didn't know if he was...

“Chen Chuan, courtesy name Wen Yuan, from Ying Zhou, a Recommended Man in the tenth year of Great Zhou.”

Registrar Liu: ???

Cui Jian: !!!

“You are Chen Wenyuan!!!”

It must have been a special coincidence that Registrar Liu and Cui Jian uttered this sentence in unison.

Qin Chuan was not surprised by their reactions.

He nodded and said, “Yes, it's me. My name should already be registered at the National Academy. Is it strange for me to come to class now?”

“No, not strange!”

Cui Jian's head shook like a rattle-drum, and he involuntarily retreated two steps.

He looked less like he had encountered a fellow student and more like he had run into some ultimate fear, a great demon king.

At the same time, Cui Jian recalled what his own father had told him last night, and then thought back on his actions along the way.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Qin Chuan no longer paid attention to this young man who was questioning life; he turned his gaze to Registrar Liu.

“Can I complete my enrollment and course selection now?”

Registrar Liu also reacted at this moment. He didn't have as many psychological activities as Cui Jian, and he said at the fastest possible speed:

“Yes, of course you can!”

With a swift motion, the procedures were quickly completed.

Qin Chuan looked at his selected courses: Grand Learning, Calligraphy, Law...

He had chosen them purely by feeling, unsure how useful these courses would be to him.

But even if he chose incorrectly, it wouldn't be a big problem—within the National Academy, courses could be changed freely, as long as it wasn't too frequent.

From this perspective, the Great Zhou National Academy seemed to embody the idea of teaching without discrimination and specializing in one's field.

When he and Cui Jian left the room together, Cui Jian seemed as if he had been subjected to a long-term silence spell.

Qin Chuan: “Changfeng, take me for another tour?”

“.This, this is fine.”

Seeing the young man's completely resigned expression, a hint of a smile flashed in Qin Chuan's eyes.

Speaking of which, all jokes aside, he held no ill will towards Cui Jian.

He just found it more amusing to tease him?

Too bad he was a man!

After familiarizing himself with all parts of the National Academy, Qin Chuan finally let go of Cui Jian, his human tool.

Cui Jian ran off as if fleeing a plague god.

As for Qin Chuan himself—after careful thought, he found the location of the Grand Learning class professor.

The Grand Learning class was undoubtedly the most important class in the National Academy.

All students could attend, and there were no small classrooms.

The class was currently in session.

Among the crowd listening, he also saw Cui Jian's figure.

Cui Jian naturally saw him too and immediately swapped seats with a familiar classmate.

He tried to stay as far away from Qin Chuan as possible!

Qin Chuan smiled, but didn't insist on going over.

He casually picked a spot and waited for the class to begin.

Unbeknownst to him, Qin Chuan felt something.

He looked up and saw an old man in Confucian robes with white hair at the front podium.

Then, he heard everyone in the hall rise.

“Teacher, you've worked hard.”

The old man nodded, without any unnecessary words.

He said, “Students, today's lecture is...”

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the entire hall, as if confirming the number of people.

Taking attendance?

Immediately after, Qin Chuan felt the old man's gaze linger on him for a moment.

This was not an illusion.

But he had a clear conscience; he was a student of the National Academy, so what if he came to listen to a lecture?

Sure enough, after lingering for a moment, the old man's gaze moved away again.

He continued, “...Today, we will discuss the Realm of the Literary Heart.”

Literary Heart?

This was the first time Qin Chuan had heard this term, and he couldn't help but listen intently.

“...The Literary Heart is formless and intangible, but it is an important foundation for your self-cultivation. Those with firm resolve can replace the heart of Heaven with their own hearts; all changes in Heaven and Earth originate from the true heart; those with a weak Literary Heart will despair after a few words and be hopeless for life...”

The old man spoke eloquently, and Qin Chuan listened engrossed.

The content of the old man's lecture was somewhat theoretical, and deeply philosophical, yet many of the things he spoke of were entirely new to Qin Chuan.

A moment later, the old man saw that most of the students below him looked thoughtful, and he waved his hand in mid-air.

Four lines of large characters, formed from thick ink, appeared in the air.

It was indeed the 'Four Sayings of Hengqu'.

The old man: “Have you heard these four lines? They are the culmination of the Way of the Literary Heart!”

As Qin Chuan listened, he wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt as if the old man had glanced at him when he said that.