How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

Chapter 139 Peerless Master, Will You Be an Official?

"————" Zhou Wenju raised his eyes but did not answer.

Zhuang Wenhua smiled lightly and continued, "If they hadn't targeted Master Cui, the outcome would have been fifty-fifty if Master Cui had gone on stage. But in order to ensure a sure victory, they deliberately targeted Master Cui. This action forced you, the prodigy of the Joyful Path, onto the high platform, making their defeat inevitable."

"So, man proposes, God disposes!" Zhou Wenju laughed. "Master Xuezheng, how many days will you be staying here?"

"I will report back to His Majesty later. His Majesty will make his own arrangements—I think it should take three to five days—"

"That student is asking you for leave to visit someone."

"Huh? Who are you visiting?" Zhuang Wenhua was surprised.

"There is someone among the Spirit Clan who has been kind to me; if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to return!" Zhou Wenju said. "I promised him that I would express my gratitude to him after the Green Mountain Literary Gathering!"

Zhuang Wenhua's mind lit up.

He was poisoned by the Spirit Clan, yet he was able to return.

Sure enough, someone helped him.

Cui Wusheng was poisoned, but was cured at the most critical moment, which was theoretically done by this expert from the Spirit Clan.

That makes everything fit together.

Within the Spirit Race, there are still highly capable individuals who yearn for the Great Universe.

That's great!

He quickly nodded: "A gentleman's word is his bond. If I promised to go, I must go. Go ahead, and thank him on my behalf!"

"Okay!" Zhou Wenju left Cui Wusheng's guest room.

He went into his room.

Zhuang Wenhua returned to his room, closed the door, took out his second-rank official seal, took a deep breath, and activated his literary energy—

In the Imperial Study, His Majesty sat in a dark corner, holding a memorial in his hand.

For a long time, the memorial remained unmoved. The chief eunuch, Old Hong, secretly glanced at it several times. Although His Majesty appeared to be reviewing the memorial, in reality, His Majesty's gaze never focused on it.

As the chief eunuch, he was the one who knew His Majesty best.

He knew that His Majesty was concerned about the special "civil war" that was taking place outside the country's borders.

A war of words can determine whether a powerful race becomes an enemy or an ally.

If they become friends, the Northern Territory will usher in the most peaceful period since the founding of the Great Yu Kingdom.

If they become enemies, the stalemate and balance in the North will be immediately shattered. With the Great Yan Kingdom allied with the Spirit Clan, the North will face unprecedented pressure, and the prosperous and peaceful Great Yu Dynasty may soon be plunged into bloodshed and turmoil.

That war of words had already begun.

And it should be over soon.

His Majesty is really nervous.

Suddenly, the imperial seal trembled.

His Majesty's hand trembled slightly, and the imperial seal was activated.

Zhuang Wenhua's figure appeared in the void.

His Majesty's breathing suddenly stopped—

"This old minister pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Zhuang Wenhua slowly raised his head, his face showing excitement.

This expression reached His Majesty's eyes, and his heart instantly raced: "Minister Zhuang, what's the situation?"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, we have won!"

His Majesty was greatly shaken, and let out a long sigh: "My dear minister, you have worked hard! The masters have not disappointed me. Good! Good! Excellent!"

The oppressive and heavy atmosphere in the entire imperial study was swept away.

The chief eunuch felt as if he had stepped into spring.

Zhuang Wenhua smiled slightly: "Would Your Majesty like to hear the details of this literary gathering?"

"My dear minister, please tell me quickly, I cannot wait any longer!" His Majesty was in a very good mood, and his voice was exceptionally smooth.

"Your Majesty, this Qingshan Literary Gathering has truly been more complex than we imagined. From the very beginning, it was fraught with unfavorable circumstances. However, one of our grandmasters has single-handedly saved the day, single-handedly rescuing us from the brink of death—"

1

"Which master?" His Majesty asked.

"This is Zhou Wenju, the young prodigy whom His Majesty recognized with his discerning eye!"

"Tell me in detail, what kind of romantic figure was he at this literary gathering—" His Majesty was truly excited.

Zhou Wenju is the most unique person in the Great Yu Kingdom.

He was unique in two ways. First, he was the only participant who had not undergone formal imperial examinations and lacked literary talent; at the time, even a high-ranking official had written an essay about this in the imperial court. Second, he was someone the emperor had discerningly chosen. Zhou Wenju's gun manufacturing business was recognized by the emperor, and his outstanding talent in poetry brought him to the attention of Mingluo, the head of the Imperial Secretariat.

By allowing Zhou Wenju to attend the meeting, His Majesty also took a risk.

If this person performs poorly, they will drag the entire team down.

After the defeat at the Qingshan Literary Gathering, Daewoo is under unprecedented pressure, and His Majesty himself has to bear the reputational risk of "misjudging people" as a ruler.

Heaven is my witness, His Majesty truly expects Zhou Wenju to perform exceptionally well.

Putting aside the "overall situation of the Great Yu Kingdom," Zhou Wenju's outstanding performance proves His Majesty's wisdom, doesn't it?

Zhuang Wenhua was very excited and gave a detailed report on the entire literary conference process.

The scriptures and doctrines were quite conventional, nothing more than a discussion between two people, with the Grandmaster of the Great Universe's scriptures and doctrines being only half a level deeper.

In calligraphy, however, the difference is overwhelming.

The difference is also quite obvious.

The Calculation Path had just ended, and the Chess Path had also ended; in the blink of an eye, the score was three to one.

The report has reached this point.

His Majesty is nervous.

In a best-of-seven series, the score was 3-1.

There's one more round, let's draw!

This was an area he had already decided in his mind was highly likely to be lost by Daewoo.

"The Way of Painting—we actually won the Way of Painting?" His Majesty grasped this crucial point. He asked this question because he knew the outcome beforehand.

The result was that the Great Yu Kingdom won.

That proves that Daewoo won all three games in the following rounds.

Zhuang Wenhua said, "This is another person I need to specifically mention: Wu Tianliang, the grandmaster of painting, who, facing certain defeat, sacrificed himself for his art!"

"To die for one's beliefs?" His Majesty's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhuang Wenhua said, "Master Wu's literary talent is destroyed and can never be revived, but he won the most difficult round at the Qingshan Literary Gathering!"

"The Wu family are truly loyal and valiant! Their achievements deserve to be recorded in history!" His Majesty let out a long sigh: "Tell me about the last two rounds!"

"In the realm of poetry, the opponent came prepared, launching a battle of verses. Master Zhou immediately penned a timeless masterpiece, defeating him without a doubt—'The moon shines bright over the pass during the war; the soldiers on the long march have not returned. If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would not dare to cross the Yin Mountains!'"

"Though not born on the battlefield, his pen produces vibrant war poems—brilliant! 'If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare cross the Yin Mountains!' How magnificent! Absolutely exquisite!" His Majesty clapped his hands in praise: "And the seventh round, Yue Dao? What amazing performance will Cui Wusheng deliver this time?"

Zhuang Wenhua looked up, his expression somewhat strange.

His Majesty frowned slightly: "Why don't you answer, my dear minister?"

Zhuang Wenhua said, "Your Majesty, as I have said before, Master Zhou single-handedly determined the fate of two worlds."

His Majesty was greatly shocked: "One person's power to stabilize two realms, Le Dao—Le Dao is also him?"

"Exactly!" Zhuang Wenhua said, "The enemy used an extremely insidious trick, poisoning Cui Wusheng, who was about to take the stage, with a very subtle poison. If it weren't for Master Zhou discovering it, we would have lost! He discovered the enemy's plot and quietly cured Master Cui of the poison, but under the influence of the poison, Master Cui fell into a coma and was unable to perform. It was in this desperate situation that Master Zhou stepped forward, taking his place, carving a transverse flute into an instrument, and ushering in the era of the seven-tone scale—"

His voice was very excited.

Even though he is usually mature and composed, he couldn't help but get excited when talking about this thrilling scene.

His Majesty was completely stunned.

Zhou Wenju, the era of seven tones!

He was not only an unparalleled poet and a master of ci poetry, but also a prodigy in the art of gun making, and now, surprisingly, a grandmaster of music in the era of the Seven Tones of Music.

Yes, it is no exaggeration to call the genius who opened the era of the seven-tone music path a master of music!

This is the person he personally selected!

This is the person who, despite immense pressure from both the imperial court and the literary world, presented his work to the Qingshan Literary Society!

As expected, their performance was stunning and beyond imagination!

Zhuang Wenhua bowed deeply: "Your Majesty's ability to discover such a talent among the vast sea of ​​people, your ability to recognize and appoint capable individuals, and your keen insight are truly admirable!"

His Majesty slowly raised his gaze: "Minister Zhuang, in your opinion, should I join forces with your Wenyuan Pavilion to request a literary heart from the Holy Temple?"

To seek out Wenxin for Zhou Wenju.

Li Lüyi had mentioned this matter before attending the meeting that day.

Now, it's His Majesty's turn to bring it up.

They are talking about the same thing, but the context is completely different.

The starting points are also completely different.

When Li Lüyi raised this point, it was purely to criticize Deng Yuzhou, a first-rank physician.

Didn't Deng Yuzhou say that Zhou Wenju lacked literary talent and was unsuitable to attend the meeting? Li Lüyi retorted: Then I will join His Majesty in submitting a special application to the Temple to apply for a literary talent for him.

That's a strong rebuttal!

Deng Yuzhou immediately went limp.

When His Majesty mentioned this matter today, it was not to criticize anyone.

There was only one starting point: to make this peerless genius truly serve the dynasty!

The Imperial Dynasty and the Wenyuan Pavilion joined forces to apply to the Holy Temple for the Wenxin. As long as the Wenxin is still in Zhou Wenju's body, Zhou Wenju will be branded with the Imperial Dynasty's mark, and he should naturally serve the Imperial Dynasty.

He knew, of course, how attractive Zhou Wenju was now.

It attracted not only people from other countries, but also a whole host of saints. His poems are so outstanding, how could the saints of poetry not be moved?

(He didn't know that the Poet Saint's family wished he could be swallowed whole.) His calligraphy was so outstanding, how could the Mohists be indifferent?

He has now suddenly revealed a new way of music that he has never shown before, and as soon as it appears, it shines brightly for miles around. Would the Holy Family of Music be unaware of it?

Zhou Wenju currently does not possess any literary talent!

What he needs most is Wenxin!

If His Majesty doesn't give it to him, there are plenty of Holy Families willing to give it to him.

If another holy family gets there first, wouldn't this super genius just fall into someone else's hands?

Therefore, the first thing this emperor, with his exceptional strategic vision, thought of was to preemptively bestow upon him the Wenxin mark, imprinting the Great Yu Dynasty's mark upon him.

Zhuang Wenhua said, "To be honest, Your Majesty, at the end of the final round, my thoughts were exactly the same as Your Majesty's. I also thought that only this method could forever imprint the Great Yu Dynasty's mark on this Grandmaster, making him serve our Great Yu. However, the situation has changed now."

"Has the situation changed?" His Majesty's heart skipped a beat. He could hardly imagine that he would be moved by a young man.

"He has already won Wenxin's heart!"

"What?!" His Majesty's expression changed drastically. "Which holy family made the first move? Or perhaps a certain dynasty?"

"Your Majesty is overthinking it. No Holy Family or Imperial Dynasty made a move to seize it first! If nothing unexpected happens, it should be that he caught Wenxin from the Dao Sea!" Zhuang Wenhua said.

"The Way of the Sea Fishes for the Heart of Literature—" His Majesty was momentarily stunned: "This—is this even possible?"

Zhuang Wenhua said, "Your Majesty's doubts are also my doubts. Under normal circumstances, the probability of encountering a literary heart while fishing in the Dao Sea is extremely low, almost impossible. However, I see very clearly that before the Seven Melodies of Wonder opened the Dao Sea, he did not yet possess a literary heart. When the Dao Sea closed, he entered the realm of literary heart. There is no other possibility than that he happened to encounter a literary heart in the Dao Sea!"

"On the vast sea of ​​Dao, I happened to encounter the heart of Chinese culture—is the Dao of Heaven so kind?" His Majesty slowly raised his gaze and looked up at the sky.

"Perhaps it really is!" Zhuang Wenhua said. "In that case, Your Majesty will need to think of other ways to appease this prodigy, which is the key reason why this old minister is reporting to Your Majesty in detail today."

The Aoyama Literary Society has ended.

They got everything that the Great Yu Kingdom wanted.

What remains is probably that through this literary gathering, we can see the true geniuses and preserve their legacy.

Although this scholar of the Wenyuan Pavilion was under dual jurisdiction, he was still truly loyal to the Dayu Dynasty.

In addition, he also greatly admired Zhou Wenju. If he had any selfish motives, he hoped to make this emperor, whose word was law, truly value Zhou Wenju and become the person behind Zhou Wenju.

His Majesty gazed at him for a long time: "Minister Zhuang's sincerity is truly gratifying to me! There are two matters for you to attend to."

Zhuang Wenhua knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, please issue a decree!"

"Firstly, now that we have won the Green Mountain Literary Gathering, the marriage agreement between the two parties should proceed naturally. You should discuss this thoroughly with the person in charge of the Spirit Clan and finalize the detailed terms."

"Yes! This old minister has set a time with the three chief elders for formal communication tomorrow."

"Secondly! Before you set out on your campaign, I personally promised that if you were victorious, each of you would request a reward—" His Majesty said, "You might as well communicate with the various masters first, collect their requests, and inform me in advance!"

Zhuang Wenhua was overjoyed.

Royal rewards have never been requested voluntarily in history.

However, His Majesty broke with convention and promised "self-requests" before the Aoyama Literary Gathering.

What does that mean?

This reward is no longer something the dynasty can award at will; instead, the recipient must specify what they want.

Just think how great a blessing this is!

How relaxed!

This shows that in His Majesty's mind, the outcome of the Qingshan Literary Gathering is the most important matter, outweighing everything else.

As the leader of the team, he could imagine how happy his hastily assembled team members would be to receive this imperial favor.

His Majesty's last words came softly: "The key is this Zhou Wenju! Why don't you ask him if he's willing to—enter the court as an official?"

Zhuang Wenhua's heart skipped a beat.

Those who have not undergone the imperial examinations are called "plain people".

Entering the court as an official from humble beginnings was also a departure from established practice.

But today, this seems to be an inevitable choice.

Because His Majesty did not know how to reward him.

Awarding him literary talent and imprinting him with the imperial mark would have been the best reward, high-class and sophisticated. But the most intriguing aspect was the implied meaning: whoever his literary talent belonged to, he naturally belonged to that family and should naturally serve that family; otherwise, his literary talent would be tarnished.

However, Zhou Wenju already possessed Wenxin.

Then this brilliant move will be wasted.

Unless you can give him the literary flower above the literary heart.

However, His Majesty cannot do it.