Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 474 – The Storm of Enrolling Students (III)

Without question, if everything Tang Thirty-Six said here became fact, then the Orthodox Academy would be the school with the best conditions in all of history. However, it was still a school in the end, so what was most importantly was inevitably not a cafeteria or allowance, but what could be learned within the school. There might have been some that didn’t care, but there were even more students that did.

“I hear that the Orthodox Academy doesn’t even have a lecturer. If we were to enter, what would we learn?”

It was that young student with the extreme self-confidence who earnestly asked this question.

“This person here is Priest Xin of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education. In the tea house, that one over there, the Archbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons Mao Qiuyu is drinking tea right now.” Tang Thirty-Six looked at the young student and said, “You should have already seen, our Orthodox Academy is guarded by the Orthodoxy cavalry, its order is kept by the priests of the Li Palace. If you require instruction, do you think it will be difficult?”

“But…in the end, it’s been a very long time since the priests of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education taught classes. Moreover, I really am concerned over just what cultivation methods we can learn in the Orthodox Academy. After all, it’s been many years since classes were last taught here.” The young student earnestly pursued his questions.

“Stupid.” Tang Thirty-Six shook his head. “Chen Changsheng knows the Daoist Canon from back to front and is astonishingly well-read. The long-established Orthodox Academy has deep stores of knowledge. Just what cultivation method do you want that it doesn’t have?”

Saying this, he refused to give any more explanation. Turning back to the crowd, he declared, “The Orthodox Academy is only enrolling students for a single day. Don’t miss out on this opportunity.”

The student saw that he was being ignored, but this only served to harden his resolve. He was the first to walk up to the table and declare, “I want to apply.”

As in many matters of the world, as long as one person took the lead, those who followed would appear one after the other. With but a few moments of labor, those numerous students who were standing amongst the crowd a few moments ago had all come to the tables. Because they were concerned that there was a limit to the number of applicants, they even began to fight with each other. There were endless cries in the vein of, “I want to apply, I was third in line!”

“I also want to apply! I am second-ranked in Jiangnan County. I’ve already succeeded in entering Meditation.”

“Principal Chen, I’m willing to pay tuition, and I don’t need an allowance either. I just want you to accept me.”

In order to attend the Grand Examination’s preparatory examination and even more importantly to catch the attention of the Ivy Schools at the Ivy Festival, the innumerable young students of the counties of the Great Zhou and the south were currently congregated in the capital. Now they surrounded the Orthodox Academy as an impenetrable crowd, turning the scene into a cacophony of noise.

Chen Changsheng took the filled-out forms and, after looking them over, handed them to Priest Xin and the rest to record. However, he did not write their names onto the register. After all, it was only natural that entering the Orthodox Academy also required a test, or else if some evildoer mixed himself in, it would certainly cause quite the ruckus in the future.

With the assistance of Priest Xin and the other priests of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, the enrollment of new students for the Orthodox Academy proceeded very smoothly. The stack of application forms continued to grow thicker and higher. Xuanyuan Po incessantly massaged his hands while Tang Thirty-Six chuckled as he called out to every applicant and even took on the duty of answering their questions. Every question he answered or confusion he cleared was done extremely well.

Chen Changsheng couldn’t help but shake his head at the scene. Just what was so attractive about this matter that would cause this habitually lazy guy to put so much heart into it?

Suddenly, a scornful voice rang out from the street, “The way you talk about it is even more pleasant than singing. What deep background? What numerous cultivation methods? When all is said and done…isn’t it still that just the few of you can’t deal with all the challenges from the Ivy Schools and so are temporarily taking in new students to serve as scapegoats?”

These words cast the area in front of the Orthodox Academy into an abnormal silence. The faces of these young students seemed to subtly change as they silently looked at each other. They realized that these words were extremely sensible, or else why was it that rather than earlier or later, the Orthodox Academy would just so happen to take on new students at this time?

The crowd gradually parted, revealing the man who had spoken.

Tang Thirty-Six slowly narrowed his eyes, the expression in them turning sharp.

That person should still have been quite young, but his demeanor and way of dressing was that of an old man. He wore blue clothes that had been washed so many times that the color had faded to white and his feet sported a pair of cloth shoes. His eyes, however, were extremely deep, seeming like they could see into the hearts of all. At the corner of his lips danced a nigh-imperceptible tinge of ridicule.

He looked at Tang Thirty-Six and said, “Could it be that I’ve seen through your petty calculations and you now feel thoroughly embarrassed?”

Tang Thirty-Six did not respond to this question, rather staring back and asking, “Bie Tianxin?”

At this name, Chen Changsheng stood up and Xuanyuan Po clenched his fists.

“Correct, I am Bie Tianxin.”

Upon seeing their response, that person perked his eyebrows, seeming to be filled with contempt. “Who I am is not at all important. Whether my words are accurate or not, that is what is important.”

Chen Changsheng asked, “Why can you decide whether what you say is correct?”

“You are Chen Changsheng?”

That person very seriously examined him, then shook his head as if he was somewhat disappointed. “I had originally thought that you were really as extraordinary as Qiushan Jun, but now I see that you can’t compare.”

After barely a pause, Chen Changsheng replied, “Please advise.”

“Since you know that I’m Bie Tianxin, you know that my name comes from the saying, ‘distinguish the will of the heavens, completely calculate the hearts of men’.”

(TN: Tianxin 天心 means ‘will of the heavens’, Bie 别 means ‘to separate/distinguish’)

With a hint of scorn, that person continued, “These petty tricks can deceive these children from the countryside, but how could it deceive me?”

After a moment of silence, Chen Changsheng raised his head and replied, “This way isn’t right.”

Bie Tianxin raised his eyebrow and asked with a false smile, “Your right and wrong?”

“Yesterday, I said something to Tang Thirty-Six: without solid evidence, don’t criticize.”

Chen Changsheng looked at him and said, “In Xunyang City, I also said to Su Li, don’t imagine the world to be too dark, because that only means that you yourself are too in the dark!”

These two statements caused Bie Tianxin’s eyebrows to gradually descend. This was obviously not because he approved of Chen Changsheng’s words, nor did he care much about that first statement which mentioned Tang Thirty-Six. The second statement, however, had mentioned Su Li, which forced him to be somewhat more cautious.

“But, you really are doing it in this way.”

The corners of his lips once more revealed a scornful smile. Seeming rather detestable, he looked at Tang Thirty-Six and said, “Could it be that in the future, the Orthodox Academy won’t let these students participate in matches?”

The young students were all exceptionally tense. If what this person said was true, then entering the Orthodox Academy was actually an extreme risk! How could they be any match for such opponents? If they died in such a shady manner, how could they live up to the ardent hopes of their parents back home? What Grand Examination? Wouldn’t all this turn into illusions?

Countless gazes rested on Tang Thirty-Six, wanting to know just what he had to say.

Tang Thirty-Six was quiet for a very long time before he finally made his response.

“Upon applying to the Orthodox Academy, if they pass the assessment, they would become students of the Orthodox Academy. Since they’re students of the Orthodox Academy, it’s only a matter of course that they represent the Orthodox Academy in matches!”

With these words, the entire area fell into turmoil.