"Even the slimmest hope is worth a try."

Qi Shan spoke with unwavering resolve and a firm gaze.

Although the drawbacks of Luan Gongyi's scholarly way are obvious, his advantages are so great that these drawbacks can be ignored. Since the scholarly way is not yet perfect, theoretically he can replicate all the incomplete scholarly ways in the world, filling any gaps.

What if the way of the scholar is perfected?

A scholar who has perfected the way of the literati and possesses a refined literary mind, if used well, can influence the outcome of a war and affect the rise and fall of a country. Luan Gongyi could be any one of them, which is equivalent to having all the scholars in the world who have perfected the way of the literati under his command.

Who can resist such temptation?

At least the Lord cannot resist.

Even if it means selling everything they own, they will help Luan Xin achieve a perfect outcome.

The intellectually disabled younger brother slowly put down his bowl, his deliberate manner exuding elegance, as if he were drinking not a bowl of cold water, but a rare and precious wine. He swallowed the last sip before saying, "No rush, let's hear the conditions for the perfection of the scholar's way first."

After listening, I guarantee that Qishan will be able to give up the idea.

He slowly extended two fingers and said helplessly, "There are two paths to becoming a perfect scholar; you can choose either one."

Completing any one of them will allow you to advance to the Perfect Realm.

"two?"

The old man suddenly cried out.

"There's actually a choice among these?"

His sudden appearance startled the unprepared young girl, while her intellectually disabled brother, seemingly unfazed, was actually caught off guard. The old man, however, was unfazed by this, his attention focused on the conditions his brother had set. As far as he knew, the conditions for achieving perfection in the path of a scholar varied for each individual, with only one choice. Meeting the conditions meant immediate advancement, becoming a true first-rate scholar, worthy of being recorded in history; failing to meet them meant being stuck in an mediocre position for life.

Throughout history, how many exceptionally talented individuals have been stuck at this threshold, regretting it for the rest of their lives? There are rewards for those who strive; the more demanding the conditions for achieving perfection in a scholar's path, the stronger the individual becomes after advancement. Being able to choose between two perfect conditions is unheard of.

How difficult does it have to be?

Judging from Luan Gongyi's reaction, it seems like things will only get extremely difficult or even more difficult.

The intellectually disabled younger brother gave a bitter smile.

"You have choices, and you don't even need to make an effort."

"What do you mean?"

"First, make good use of the ninety-nine already perfected ways of the literati." Luan Xin hadn't finished speaking when he started to sigh. [Drawing inferences from one instance] is indeed not a simple way of the literati. It is a question whether half of them can be collected in a hundred years. This condition belongs to "winning by quantity". The next condition is "winning by quality". "Second, collect nine perfect ways of the literati."

The old man and the young girl, unusually in sync, gazed at each other.

"Isn't perfection the same as completeness?"

"They sound the same, but there's a difference. Perfection isn't another realm, but rather refers to complete mastery of the perfected path of the scholar. The difference between them might be even greater than between perfection and imperfection." Luan Xin slowly added, "That person from the Eternal Life Cult is a case in point. I was just about to incorporate his path of the scholar into my own, but he discovered it and caused a backlash."

As Luan Xin spoke, the image of that person's eyes appeared before his eyes.

What terrifying eyes they were.

It seems to be able to see through everything.

They spotted me at a glance.

Luan Xin was caught off guard and unable to dodge. He was struck by the man's aura, and his dantian felt as if it were about to split open. The meridians in his limbs also felt like they had cracked open in countless places. In addition to his dantian, his head was also throbbing with pain, and he almost pretended to be stupid but ended up actually being stupid.

Thinking about it now still gives me a chill.

The old man's lips twitched, filled with boundless sympathy for Luan Xin. As Luan Xin himself quipped, it was true that he didn't need to put in the effort, but it was still better to do it himself; at least then he had control. Relying on others to work hard was a pipe dream.

The Way of the Ninety-Nine Perfected Scholars?

Nine Ways of the Ultimate Scholar?

Listen to this, is it even possible for people to gather all of them?

This is downright malicious harassment.

“It’s already a blessing from heaven that he didn’t have to meet two conditions at the same time to achieve perfection. The righteous path of the literati is indeed too special, so it’s expected that the restrictions are greater.” Although she said that, the girl’s brows were already furrowed so deeply that they could trap several flies. “Nine perfect ones… that’s difficult. The thief star has been in the world for more than two hundred years. It’s a question whether we can even gather nine together, whether we’re dead or alive. But there is some hope for ninety-nine perfect literati paths.”

There is hope, but not much hope.

Having a strong intelligence network isn't enough; you also need incredible luck—the way of the scholar, as the most important trump card of the scholar, is rarely revealed to others; it's kept hidden as much as possible. Under such circumstances, finding someone is extremely difficult.

He said, "I will keep a close eye on things for you."

This matter definitely requires his help.

The Gods' Society, as an elite organization that gathers heroes from all over the world, only admits members who are either powerful, influential, or from noble families, or who possess extraordinary talent. This essentially helps Luan Gongyi initially screen out his target group, saving him from wandering around aimlessly. Besides the Gods' Society, Qi Shan's enemies and friends can also be added to the list; they can be tested one by one.

Qin Li, He Shu, Jiang Sheng...

Which scholar's way is not perfect?

At the same time, we also need to encourage our colleagues.

Limited literary fortune, weak strength, and an incomplete understanding of the scholar's path sometimes require us to examine our own shortcomings. Are we all content with the meager literary fortune we've attained? Ask yourselves why our literary fortune hasn't increased over the years! Is it because we think that being founding veterans and important officials means we can sit back and rest easy? With such difficult internal and external troubles facing the Kangxi Emperor, we should be striving for a more complete and fulfilling life!

If everyone else is perfect, but I am not, how can that be right? How can I have the face to hold a high position and enjoy the high salary of Kang Kingdom? Roll it all up! Strive to build a powerful empire where the way of the perfect scholar is everywhere, so as not to fail the emperor's boundless grace!

The girl's mind raced.

In a short while, he assigned KPIs to all his colleagues!

At the same time, they had also prepared their arguments to persuade the Lord to cooperate.

Luan Xinchong bowed deeply to Shan Shen and said, "Thank you."

Although Qi Shan only said one sentence casually, it carried immense weight. The old man's teeth ached from reading it; his jealousy was so intense it felt like his heart was bubbling with envy. Some people were ruined by Qi Yuanliang, while others were treated like royalty by him—truly, different people have different fates.

Even Wu Xian himself probably didn't expect that the extraordinary person he had gone to so much trouble to recruit would inadvertently become a stepping stone for Luan Xin... Emmm, a stepping stone fragment. Luan Xin's backlash wasn't too severe; he could recover with a little rest and recuperation. It's just a pity that the old man from the Eternal Life Cult's scholarly path failed to succeed...

Qi Shan dared not let Luan Xin try again.

After the last incident, the other party should be on guard.

If Luan Xin gets caught again, he might really become an idiot.

The mentally challenged younger brother replied, "No, it's already in my hands."

Copying the ways of a scholar, aside from the initial risk of being caught in close contact, only requires maintaining a certain distance. However, this situation is special, taking longer than usual, and his burden will increase accordingly.

The young girl and the old man: "..."

It's completely obvious.

The questions Luan Xin answered were all finished a long time ago.

During this time, He Shu learned that her intellectually disabled younger brother had awakened and made a special trip to see him. At that time, the girl was wiping away tears and almost cried herself to death; those who didn't know the situation would have thought she had died. He Shu, along with the military doctor he had invited, examined her intellectually disabled brother, and the conclusions they reached were not optimistic. To put it bluntly, the man's brain was completely damaged, and no one with current medical skills could cure him.

The girl collapsed to the ground in despair.

Her face turned deathly pale: "Is there really no way to salvage this?"

The military doctor shook his head, and the girl cried out in pain and fainted.

The camp was in complete chaos.

The old man was also swaying precariously; he closed his eyes and kicked his leg.

Well, now all three of them are lying down.

He Shu: "..."

The military doctor privately told him, "The three men are physically weak and depleted, their hearts are fragile, and they probably won't live much longer. Even if we keep them alive with strong medicine, it will be difficult to save them. What do you mean?"

They were just three refugees they picked up along the way.

Why waste precious medicinal materials and effort on rescue?

Even if you manage to save them, it will be a waste of time and effort.

It's better to ignore it and let it fend for itself.

No one would criticize him for it; his meddling would only bring him trouble and ridicule from his colleagues. He Shu paused for a moment upon hearing this, but the girl's face appeared in his mind. He sighed, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate. Use it when necessary."

The implication is that it means to save.

The three of them, grandfather, grandson, and granddaughter, will live as long as they can.

The military doctor had no choice but to agree, but some precious medicinal herbs couldn't be moved arbitrarily and required approval from multiple levels. This inevitably reached Wu Xian's ears. Actually, Wu Xian was busy strategizing against Shen Tang and wouldn't normally care about such a trivial matter; compared to He Shu, the herbs he wanted were insignificant. But some people disliked He Shu and wouldn't miss the opportunity to speak sarcastically.

Wu Xian smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"I cannot do good deeds, nor can I bear to see the common people suffer."

It's just a medicinal herb of a good age, why keep harping on it?

Upon hearing this, the other party merely sneered: "He doesn't believe he's kind-hearted? What kind of philanthropist in the world would kill his own brother and steal his sister-in-law? To call him a fame-seeker or utterly devoid of conscience would be an insult. Humph, coming to rescue three refugees at a time like this, what kind of good person are you pretending to be?"

Upon hearing this, the camp fell silent.

The atmosphere inside the tent was tense, ready to explode at any moment. Everyone appeared to be keeping their eyes down, but in reality, they were secretly observing He Shu's reaction.

He Shu remained silent.

Clearly, they didn't want to pay attention.

The man, however, was annoyed by He Shu's less-than-expected reaction and pressed his advantage: "He Shu, who do you think you can fool with this act?"

“This is where the emperor and his ministers discuss matters, not your private quarters where you throw a tantrum.” He Shu’s expression was somewhat cold, and his voice became indifferent. “The affairs of the He family are none of the business of an outsider to make malicious speculations and fabricate stories.”

The other party sneered: "Fabricated?"

He then countered, "Which sentence is fabricated?"

The people inside the tent remained silent.

He Shu's wife lived in the inner quarters for a long time and rarely appeared in the outside world, but that doesn't mean no one had seen her; naturally, there were people who knew about her.

At this moment, Wu Xian's face darkened and he interrupted the argument.

For a period of time, the Censorate had been flooded with memorials impeaching He Shu, all revolving around these two issues. Wu Xian had heard a little about it, but there were plenty of shady and chaotic things going on in this world, so he didn't pay much attention. Don't be fooled by the handsome appearances of all the civil and military officials in the court; if you really looked into them, none of them would be able to stand the light of day.

There are too many people with dirty hands to count.

Wu Xian's departure temporarily quelled the conflict.

Throughout the meeting, He Shu seemed distracted.

"Would it be alright if we didn't do anything along the way?"

Wu Xian's words brought his attention back.

He Shu cupped his hands in acknowledgment and replied, "Yes."

Wu Xian said, "In this battle, I seek victory, not survival! If we win, the foundation of the Gao Kingdom can continue, all thanks to you gentlemen. If we lose, I will go to the Yellow Springs first, and wait there for twenty or thirty years before we fight again!"

The crowd shouted in unison, "We will do our utmost!"

It's obvious to everyone—

This is a battle to determine survival!

Every person present came from a prominent family; few had risen through the ranks. Over the years, they had also formed alliances through marriage to solidify their relationships and positions. They were not unaware of Shen Youli's exploits in Kang Kingdom, but they were even more aware of the fate of the powerful families within Kang Kingdom. One after another, they had been suppressed, their former glory lost. If Gao Kingdom lost, this would serve as a cautionary tale!

If their kingdom falls, it will not only be the kingdom of Gao that perish, but also the future and continuation of their family. Therefore, they must fight with all their might in this battle!

They are not fighting for Wu Xian.

It's about fighting for yourself.

It is for the family, it is for the future.

As the army began its intensive preparations for battle, Luan Xin's methods of literati practice were nearly fully replicated. In this situation, he also activated Gu Chi's methods of literati practice, listening to everyone's thoughts. The result of this was that he looked even more foolish and dull-witted. The army doctor, while taking his pulse, shook his head and sighed, "You can start preparing for your funeral."

The so-called funeral arrangements simply involved preparing a straw mat to wrap the body and bury it.

Fortunately, Gao Guo was not short of food.

Otherwise, he would have ended up in a pot instead of in the ground.

Two hours later, Luan Gongyi shut down Gu Chi's "Way of the Scholar," instantly accelerating his progress from a snail's pace to that of an eighty-year-old woman. Luan Gongyi secretly noted down the intelligence he had gathered about the Gao Kingdom's war and asked the feigning-ill girl, "What do you think of He Shu?"

The girl said, "It's fine."

Besides constantly talking about his younger brother, he never stops.

"There are rumors that he killed He Xin and stole his brother's wife."

Girl: "..."

This rumor is way too outrageous!

He would rather believe that He Shu committed suicide than believe that he killed He Xin.

and--

"He Xin is dead?"

Luan Xin relayed the news he had heard to the girl: "He Xin is really going to die. Who received the intelligence from? A ghost?"

He was also planning to use the congratulatory letter to manipulate He Shu.

Luan Xin said, "It seems that many of the rumors are untrue."

Girl: "..."

This isn't just distortion, it's spreading rumors.

After a long while, a sound came from the air.

"The message has been sent out."

The girl clutched her startled heart: "Choi Sun-hyo, couldn't you at least make a noise before you speak, give me some warning?"

He genuinely couldn't sense Choi Sun-hyo's presence.

If this guy were to suddenly slit his throat from behind, he probably wouldn't realize he'd been tricked until he saw blood. If a scholar had mastered the ways of the scholar, who knows how treacherous he might be. Cui Xiao sneered, "Make a fuss? Want me to give you a good beating and a fanfare?"

At the same time, a bluebird landed silently.

It stretched out its claws to block Shen Tang's path.

ヾ(ゞ)

As someone from Zhejiang, I don't think I've ever visited West Lake. I saw it's a three-hour high-speed train ride there; I wonder if there's anything fun to do there…