Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

"Adopted daughter?" Upon hearing this, Chen Zhuo's heart stirred, and he thought of Zhang Bo's younger sister, Zhang Ruo.

He then shook his head, saying that such a possibility was unlikely.

At that moment, a message appeared on the panel.

[Analysis progress of "The Sun and Moon Classic: Moon Chapter": 100%, Spirit +1, Literary Ability +1, Mastery of Literary Arts: Moon]

"Analysis complete!" Chen Zhuo was overjoyed; he had mastered another literary technique.

Moreover, the attribute added this time is not comprehension, but...

[Mental State: Influences the Precision of Literacy Control and the Range of Perception]

Chen Zhuo looked at the section on literary skills he was familiar with.

[Literature: Sun (lv.2 Proficient), Moon (lv.1 Mastered), War (Understanding)]

I carefully examined the effects of this literary technique.

If the effect of the sun is offense, then the effect of the moon is concealment.

【Literary Arts (Moon): When activated, it can temporarily reduce one's presence. If under the moonlight, it will temporarily become invisible.】

Chen Zhuo tried to activate it, and the character "月" (moon) slowly appeared around him.

The next moment, he felt much lighter all over.

Suddenly, the small hand of Qingluo massaging behind me slipped, splashing up many water droplets.

"Young Master, Young Master, I'm so sorry, Qingluo was just lost in thought and didn't notice you!"

The incident happened so suddenly that the little maid hurriedly apologized.

"It's okay, it's not your fault, let's continue."

"Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!" Seeing that Chen Zhuo did not blame her, Qingluo breathed a sigh of relief and began to massage and serve him even more attentively.

Is the effect really that obvious? Chen Zhuo was somewhat surprised.

This is without the moonlight; imagine how strong the concealment effect would be under the moonlight!

Then he realized that it was just a white-quality book, not a particularly rare item.

In other words, those who follow the path of cultivation can also master it.

No wonder my father was a cunning scholar; it turns out he had this side to him.

After Qingluo finished helping him bathe, Chen Zhuo took out the fox-tail pen he had exchanged with Fatty Wang and the carving stone his father had just given him.

Now that the equipment slot is empty, he's considering what to equip next.

His gaze swept over the two items, but he ultimately chose to carve the stone.

The reason is simple: the foxtail pen is of white quality, while the engraving stone is of green quality.

Green is definitely better than white!

Equipping the engraved stone will change the panel appearance.

[Unknown Engraving Stone (Green): Equipped.]

[Equipment Effect: Temporarily gain the spell: Devour (lv.1 Mastery)]

[Literary Arts (Devour): After activating the effect, a certain amount of essence is sacrificed to absorb any item into the body.]

"This effect..."

The description above makes it seem quite powerful; it can devour any object.

But the price is the sacrifice of one's vital essence.

Vital energy is the foundation of a scholar; when vital energy is depleted, life comes to an end.

So, at this point, is it possible to kill a thousand enemies but lose two thousand of your own?

After realizing this, Chen Zhuo's expression turned strange.

"Is this thing worth the demon cultivators going to such lengths to steal? We wouldn't even take it for free!"

After dealing with the matter, Chen Zhu politely declined the maid's offer to warm his bed and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Chen Zhuo went to the College of Arts early.

Tomorrow is the supplementary examination for the preliminary examination for the imperial examination, so it's always good to prepare more.

"Junior Brother is here!"

When Gu Qing'e saw Chen Zhuo, her eyes lit up, and she waved to him.

"Quickly, morning lessons are about to begin; it's the master's turn to teach today!"

As she spoke, she pulled him toward the Minglun Hall.

"Here, this is for you," Gu Qing'e said, handing over a book on the way.

"This is our textbook, 'Ten Lectures on Literature and the Way.' I copied this copy myself yesterday. How about it? Your senior sister treats you well, right?"

This… Chen Zhuo suddenly remembered the incident yesterday when his master punished his senior sister by making her copy texts.

It seems this is where the feelings were waiting!

Although he thought this in his heart, he didn't show it on his face.

"My senior sister is so good to me!"

Sure enough, Gu Qing'e smiled happily upon hearing this.

Chen Zhuo's lips also curled up slightly.

It seems he has found the right way to interact with his junior sister.

When they arrived, Minglun Hall was already full of people.

Upon seeing Gu Qing'e, the students inside naturally made way for the front row.

Chen Zhuo also benefited and sat in the front row.

Who is the person accompanying Instructor Gu?

"It seems to be a new disciple that Scholar Song accepted yesterday."

"This guy is really lucky to have caught the eye of Scholar Song. You know, the last time Scholar Song took on a disciple was back then."

"That's right! They say he's from the Chen family!"

Hearing whispers around him, Chen Zhuo ignored them.

Let them be envious!

He set his sights on "Ten Lectures on Literature and Taoism".

The panel did not display any prompts, which proves that it has no grade and cannot be equipped.

He felt a little regretful, but he didn't dwell on it too much. It was given away for free anyway, so he couldn't ask for anything more.

Just then, Song Zhiyuan stepped onto the stage, and the students below immediately fell silent.

"Today we will discuss the sixth lecture, 'The Art of Understanding,' the first part: 'The Origin of Literary Arts.'"

"The virtue of literature is indeed great. Why is it that it is born alongside heaven and earth? It is because black and yellow are mixed together, and square and round shapes are distinguished. The sun and moon are like overlapping jade discs, displaying the magnificent image of the heavens; mountains and rivers are splendid, displaying the orderly form of the earth: this is the literature of the Dao."

Simply put, “the ‘texture’ is not something we create, but rather the inherent patterns and rules of the universe.”

"Therefore, those who understand a technique should first know its origin. Only by tracing its source can one grasp its true essence; by following its flow, one will inevitably lose sight of its fundamental nature."

"..."

Song Zhiyuan was speaking on the stage, and everyone in the audience was listening attentively.

Chen Zhuo was no exception.

When Teacher Song announced the end of the morning class, everyone in the audience was still reluctant to leave.

"Come find me later."

A faint voice appeared in his ear.

Chen Zhuo looked at the stage, but Song Shi had disappeared without a trace.

He then looked at his junior sister beside him with a puzzled expression.

"Senior sister, was that the voice just now?"

Gu Qing'e blinked. "That's a sound transmission technique, a very simple little trick. Your senior sister will teach you after you pass the preliminary examination!"

After receiving Gu Qing'e's confirmation, Chen Zhuo went to Song Shi's residence.

"Huh? You've mastered another literary technique? From the *Sun and Moon Classic*?"

"Master has discerning eyes."

Looking at Chen Zhuo, Song Zhiyuan touched his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Upon seeing this, Chen Zhuo's heart skipped a beat. Could something have gone wrong?

"Master, is there a problem with the Sun and Moon Sutra?"

Song Zhiyuan shook his head, "The Sun and Moon Classic is fine. It is the most widely circulated and most basic type of literature. It has been circulating since the First Emperor and continues to this day."

"Then why...?"

Chen Zhuo was puzzled.

Instead of providing a definitive answer to the question, Song Zhiyuan changed the subject.

Do you know the classifications of literature?

"Literary arts are divided into seven categories: offense, defense, support, domain, sealing, healing, and special."

Song Zhiyuan just mentioned this basic knowledge in the morning class.

"The Sun and Moon Classic, as an introductory book on literature, contains two literary techniques, one offensive and one supplementary. However, it is generally recommended to learn only one of them as an introductory text. Do you know why?"