Difficult to Satisfy

Besides the monolith in front of the Mausoleum of Books, there were the Proclamation of Azure Sky and the Proclamation of Golden Distinction, both rankings selected by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. What was the most important criterion for these rankings? It was naturally fights between the experts on the rankings. Every person on these proclamations, no matter their identity or status, would have some fighting experience, at the very least having fought once.

Chen Changsheng had no experience in this aspect, so he asked, "Then how do we fight? Who will go fight?"

Luoluo's eyes became even brighter. Her right hand gripped the handle of the Falling Rain Whip at her waist as she took one step forward. "If the teacher has a task, the student will undertake it."

There was no way Tang Thirty-Six would allow her to snatch away this opportunity. He interjected, "I'm the newcomer…you should let me display my skills."

In the present continent, the Mount Li Sword Sect had a special status, because their younger generation was very strong. Tang Thirty-Six was truly a youthful genius, but it was still impossible for him to be put on par with them. Let alone Gou Hanshi, even the other three youths from Mount Li would, in the crowd's view, be able to easily defeat him.

The Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws were all at Mount Li…their ranks on the Proclamation of Azure Sky were far above Tang Thirty-Six.

Tang Thirty-Six seemed to not even think about these things. He stared at Gou Hanshi, his eyes growing brighter and brighter in excitement.

The word 'fear' had never existed in his vocabulary. On the second night of the Ivy Festival, he had wanted to challenge Zhuang Huanyu, ranked tenth on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, yet he had been opposed by his school. Tonight, he had just decided to enter the Orthodox Academy and encountered the opportunity to fight with the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws. There was no way he would miss such a chance.

Yes, this was a good thing.

"If I did not recall incorrectly, this year's third night of the Ivy Festival…should be the literary test."

Gou Hanshi did not look at Tang Thirty-Six, only quietly gazed at Chen Changsheng. "You could have Her Highness acknowledge you as her teacher, so you naturally have your extraordinary aspects. Your scholarly knowledge must certainly be profound, but I hear that you have not succeeded at Purification. Thus, in my view, the literary test just so happens to be an excellent choice."

He had not completely said what was on his mind, but everyone had understood.

As the other side of this marriage—not speaking about whether he was the second or the third party—Qiushan Jun was unable to be present. As Qiushan Jun's most trusted fellow disciple, that which he wished to grant instruction was nominally the Orthodox Academy, but was in reality Chen Changsheng.

The Mount Li Sword Sect challenged the Orthodox Academy so as to challenge Chen Changsheng.

The hall was very quiet. These words of Gou Hanshi's seemed very reasonable, sufficiently expressing the Mount Li Sword Sect's sympathy toward the weak and its pursuit of fairness. Although you have not succeeded at Purification, the third night of the Ivy Festival just so happens to be the literary test, so what reason is there for you to not step on stage?

However, in reality, this proposal contained not one bit of sympathy, let alone fairness.

Gou Hanshi was well-versed in the Daoist Canon, his learning encompassing both the north and south. These young students in the hall needn't even be considered, as even those priests within the Li Palace who had worked with the Daoist Canon their whole lives would not have any hope of defeating him in the literary test—this was a fact publicly acknowledged by the entire continent. If speaking of cultivation, Gou Hanshi was still young and was rather insignificant before those senior experts who had cultivated for several centuries, but in terms of scholarly erudition, he was a truly supreme expert.

He wanted to match with Chen Changsheng in the literary test to see who was the better—how could this be fair? This was bullying through and through, the strong cruelly and mercilessly suppressing the weak.

Luoluo's gaze turned sharp as she stared at Gou Hanshi, her expression extremely unkind as she yelled, "Preposterous!"

Gou Hanshi's expression did not change. Bowing to her, he asked, "Might I dare ask Her Highness to instruct this one: how is it preposterous?"

Tang Thirty-Six sneered, "The entire continent knows that you're well-versed in the Daoist Canon, and your knowledge is extraordinary. Where could we find someone to compare to you? You actually want to compete with this guy on these aspects? Do you feel no shame? For you to really make this proposal, how could it not be preposterous?"

Gou Hanshi calmly looked at him and said, "I am also an ordinary person. My memory isn't better than anyone else's, and I don't have any more talent than the average person. I grew up in poverty, so it was impossible for me to begin reading the moment I left the womb. The only thing I know is to read. To read is my method of cultivation and knowledge is my power, just as strength is the power of tigers and leopards. I represent Mount Li in challenging the Orthodox Academy. Do you expect me to give up on my own power? If I use my own powers to walk this world, why do I need to be ashamed about it? If I use my own powers to defeat my opponent, how is that preposterous?"

"That's an absurd theory. I'm most skilled at sleeping, so if I were to compete with you on who could sleep the longest, you would also agree?" Tang Thirty-Six countered.

Gou Hanshi smiled and replied, "If the rules of the Ivy Festival had a rule about competing on sleeping, why shouldn't we compete on sleeping?"

Tang Thirty-Six was stifled by these words. After quite a while, he sneered back, "Then how to carry out this literary test? Could it be that you want His Eminence the Archbishop to make up an examination paper on the spot? There's no need for such trouble. It just so happens that none of us attended the second night of the Ivy Festival, so it would be much more straightforward if we just fought."

Gou Hanshi calmly replied, "If you insist on this, I also have no objection…you can decide the method, and you can also decide the participants."

Everyone in the hall was a little astonished. Tang Thirty-Six also did not expect Gou Hanshi's attitude to change so.

With Gou Hanshi's words, Guan Feibai and the other young disciples of Mount Li expressionlessly stood up and walked behind him.

Seeing this sight, the crowd finally understood that they had misunderstood Gou Hanshi.

The so-called literary test was truly a certain win for Mount Li, but if it was a martial test, Chen Changsheng had not a single chance of winning.

There were not many people from the Mount Li Sword Sect in the southern diplomatic mission. Besides Elder Xiao Songgong, it was just these four youths.

Four Laws of the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws.

Just then, Chen Changsheng spoke once more.

He looked at Gou Hanshi and said, "I agree with your argument. Anything obtained on the path of cultivation is one's power, just as the food we put into our bellies becomes our strength. It is our freedom to do with that strength anything we want. By coincidence…I also am an ordinary person, and it just so happens that I've also read a few books."

They were both ordinary people who had both read a few books. It truly just so happened to be the case, it just so happened that they could compete.

"In the end, desires are difficult to satisfy."

The archbishop looked at Chen Changsheng and chuckled, seeming to hold some deeper meaning.

He then looked out of the hall.

The autumn breeze was chilly, and the lanterns of the Double Seventh Festival were only amongst the people and not within the palace, thus making the breeze seem all the colder.

The elder tightened his clothes and said, "If this match is not fought, when Qiushan Jun learns of this in the future, his desire will certainly not be satisfied. When Tang Thirty-Six was unable to attend the last two nights of the Ivy Festival, his desires were also not satisfied. These southerners also just so happened to not be in time to attend the last two nights, so let them fight. But it's late, so do it quickly."

...

...

The doors to the palace were opened, and the light of the Night Pearls was cast on the darkness, clearly illuminating the plaza in front of the palace.

Outside the Imperial Palace, the streets of the capital were still bustling and lively. In the distance, a person was hanging up an eternal lamp, while in the southwest corner, a flame tree was currently blazing.

Several hundred people stood on the stone steps in front of the palace hall, watching the two groups standing at the east and west sides of the plaza, all with different expressions. Some were completely unconcerned, some were taking delight in the misfortunes of others, some were inwardly concerned, but there was no tension.

In the past Ivy Festivals, the open conflicts and secret battles between the academies of the capital had never ceased, and so some fierce spectacles had always occurred. In this year's Ivy Festival, the first night had hastily concluded due to Luoluo crippling Tianhai Ya'er, and nothing particularly exciting had occurred on the second night. On the third night, everyone believed that the highlight would be the marriage proposal of the southern diplomatic mission. In the end, a grand drama had truly been played out, but it was only now that an actual fight was about to occur.

It was just a pity that before this battle even began, the results had already been decided, so there was naturally nothing to be tense about.

Gou Hanshi would not personally step forth to compete—his cultivation level was already much higher than those of his peers. Like Qiushan Jun, he had already left the Proclamation of Azure Sky and become a member of the Proclamation of Golden Distinction. Whether Luoluo or Tang Thirty-Six fought, he would always be suspected of the strong bullying the weak.

Earlier when he had proposed to have a literary test with Chen Changsheng, he had also considered this. The literary test only moved words, not the heavens and earth. There was victory and defeat, but no injury or death.

In this bout between the Orthodox Academy and the Mount Li Sword Sect, the Orthodox Academy could select the method and choose the opponents. The Mount Li Sword Sect seemed to be acting very generously, but there was truthfully not much difference. The disciples sent by the Mount Li Sword Sect to the capital were all members of the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws. For the Orthodox Academy to achieve victory over any of them was very challenging.

"I originally planned to challenge the Fourth Law…this guy knew beforehand."

Tang Thirty-Six pointed at Chen Changsheng and said to Luoluo, "But since tonight is fight between school and sect, I can't act according to my own temper. The Fourth Law is the strongest, so he should naturally be handed over to you. I'll try and challenge that fellow called Qi Jian."

Luoluo replied, "I have no objection."

Chen Changsheng thought it over, then said, "Our chances of winning aren't big this way."

Tang Thirty-Six sneered at him, "I really wanted to use the horse-racing method of the past worthies, to use the weakest horse to compete with the strongest…the problem is that you're truly too weak and it's simply impossible to have you take the stage. It's best if we try to win two in a row so as to save you the trouble of disgracing yourself."

(TN: This horse-racing method is to race the weakest horse against your opponent's strongest horse, your strongest horse against their average horse, and your average horse against their weakest horse. It was proposed by the military strategist Sun Bin, a descendant of Sun Tzu, during the Warring States Period.)

Luoluo actually had an extremely firm confidence in Chen Changsheng, even though she had no idea where this confidence came from.

Just then, the people from the Mount Li Sword Sect walked out.

Walking at the very front was a youth, his appearance clean and young, his body thin and frail. He looked like he had not completely developed, seeming even younger than Luoluo.

This was the final and weakest of the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws, Qi Jian.

Qi Jian was the final disciple of the Mount Li Sword Sect's Master. His age was quite young, yet he was ranked in the top ten of the Proclamation of Azure Sky. Only at a certain gathering two years ago when Zhuang Huanyu had beaten him by half a move did he fall to eleventh place, but not a single person would dare disregard him.

Because he was truly very young.

The Mount Li sword robe he wore was very loose. Flapping about in the wind, it made him seem rather cute.

Seeing this sight, Tang Thirty-Six sighed, "How can I even attack him?"

Chen Changsheng sighed and replied, "You speak like you can actually defeat him."

Tang Thirty-Six was quite furious, glaring at him.

Chen Changsheng chuckled in reply.

Tang Thirty-Six suddenly fell silent for a few moments, then he said, "If we are able to fortunately win two matches, then this guy won't need to step out. If I lose, you should just concede as well, Luoluo. Losing two matches in a row, this guy won't need to fight."

Chen Changsheng noticed that he had used the word 'fortunately'.

Although he had no fear, it did not mean that the blood had rushed to his head and made him lose his senses.

Tang Thirty-Six was well aware that his opponent was very strong.

Luoluo was somewhat confused. Why is that if he loses, I should just concede?

Could it be that Teacher not stepping onto the stage is even more important than the Orthodox Academy losing?

"Yes, the Orthodox Academy just has us few sparrows, so how is it shameful to lose to the Mount Li Sword Sect? Okay, it truly is still a little shameful, but that doesn't matter, it's fine as long as you don't fight… If you don't fight, they won't have any means of regaining the dignity that they lost today."

Tang Thirty-Six gazed across the plaza at that calm youth in the darkness and sneered, "Suffocate them to death!"

Saying this, he put his hand over the hilt of his sword and walked over to the other side.