Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

Suddenly, Gu Qing'e laughed.

"But all of that is in the past! I'm very satisfied with my life now!"

She turned to look at Chen Zhuo, and the word "strength" quietly appeared in her eyes.

Then it slowly merged into Chen Zhuo's body.

Suddenly, Chen Zhuo felt his whole body filled with power.

He could kill a tiger with one punch!

Chen Zhuo marveled at this.

He developed a great interest in the Xinyuan School, but he didn't know if he could learn a thing or two from it.

Although I major in landscape painting, I should be able to cultivate my inner self as well.

Just like my junior sister.

"The effects of rhetoric won't last long, let's get to work!"

Gu Qing'e muttered something under her breath, then picked up the sledgehammer again and started working.

Chen Zhuo also swung his hammer, and this time when his hammer landed on the gravel, the amount of stone dust kicked up was less than before.

The force of the hammer blow was more concentrated, and the speed at which the gravel was flattened was almost 20% faster.

Meanwhile, Gu Qing'e had already broken through the first layer of foundation soil, and each time the pickaxe tip fell, it chiseled a neat notch in the rammed earth.

She was completely unaware of the flying stone dust that splashed onto her sleeve.

While working, Chen Zhuo had a new idea in mind.

Logically speaking, this kind of work is actually most suitable for literati of the landscape painting school.

Mountains, rivers, plants, rocks, and soil all fall under the category of landscape-style literati.

He should be able to master these things very easily.

As his thoughts shifted, he seemed to genuinely resonate with these things.

In practical terms, it meant he could move bricks more easily.

Having realized this, Chen Zhuo suddenly fell silent.

He now understands why strongmen are always the ones doing this job.

Whose scholar, having been promoted to the rank of Xiucai, ventured into the world of mountains and rivers just to carry bricks?

Having figured this out, Chen Zhuo simply stopped overthinking and focused on his work.

Team leader He stopped as he passed by and looked at the roadbed subbase that had been leveled and solidified.

He glanced at the two people climbing out of the ditch, put away the blueprints, and praised them, "Professional."

He then took out a gilded card from his pocket and made a mark on it.

"The thank-you gift will be paid in the form of points, which the two of you can allocate as you see fit."

After saying that, he turned around and went to inspect the next section of the roadbed.

Chen Zhuo and Gu Qing'e exchanged a glance, neither of them refusing.

He deserved it, and he found that this job was inhuman.

They had just sat down by the ditch when a figure walked over from the end of the official road.

He was a man in his early thirties, wearing a faded blue cloth long gown, carrying an old book box on his back, with an oil-paper umbrella tied to the box.

He walked along the still-dry, rune-patterned roadbed at the edge of the official road, looked down at the glowing blue patterns under his feet, and carefully went around it.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that his face is thin, his eye sockets are somewhat deep, and his lips are dry and chapped.

He looked travel-worn and disheveled.

"Excuse me—" he began, his voice deeper than expected, with a slight northern accent, "Is this Qingshan County?"

Gu Qing'e stood up and patted the dirt off her knees.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

The man breathed a sigh of relief and bowed.

"My name is Shen Zhiya, and I come from the north. I have come to Qingshan County to establish the Xinyuan School of Confucianism by order of my master."

"The Heart Source School?"

"To establish an academy?"

The two spoke at the same time, their eyes filled with doubt.

It's truly a case of speaking of the devil and he appears.

They had just been discussing the Xinyuan School when the Xinyuan School sent people to establish an academy.

"Yes!" Shen Zhiya said softly, then took out a neatly folded letter from the side pocket of the book box.

The letter was sealed with wax, and there was a mark on the wax that Chen Zhuo had never seen before.

It was a handwritten character for "heart".

He turned the letter over, and on the back, he saw a line of small writing in charcoal:

"Qingshan County is about to be upgraded, and there should be a place for Xinyuan. I sent my disciple Zhiya ahead to select a site to build the academy."

He came here to establish an academy, so there's no need for him to hide it.

Moreover, the two people in front of them had extraordinary appearances and were clearly not ordinary people.

Gu Qing'e took the letter, glanced at the "heart" mark, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"Were you sent by President Mu?"

Shen Zhiya shook his head.

"President Mu is my martial uncle. My master's surname is Ji, and he is not in the Eastern Stone Region. I came here this time because I heard that ancient relics have appeared in the world, and I volunteered to come."

He looked around at the busy workers on the official road and the brick and wood shops being built in the distance.

Finally, his gaze settled on the faintly glowing trail of light at the foot of the main peak of the distant Green Mountain, a quiet certainty in his eyes.

"Qingshan County now has Guanshan Society, Ruhua Society, and Mingfa Society, and Uncle Mu's Wendao Society has been open for half a year."

But there isn’t a proper Xinyuan Academy.

For a school of thought to take root, it can't rely solely on teahouses and rented second-floor rooms. It needs courtyards, lecture halls, and a group of students willing to sit down and patiently hone their skills.

Chen Zhuo followed his gaze.

Qingshan County has really changed a lot recently; all the things he mentioned were established in this short period of time.

Shen Zhiya put his book box down by the roadside and continued:

"The teaching methods of the Xinyuan School are quite different from those of the Shanshui School."

He drew a small circle on the rammed earth with his finger. "The landscape teaches people to observe mountains and rivers. There are scriptures, literary arts, and cultivation methods left by our predecessors. Young students can learn from them, and scholars can practice them. The path is ready-made."

He drew another circle outside the circle, "Xinyuan doesn't teach specific literary arts. Xinyuan only teaches one thing, which is how to find your own heart."

Some people need a few days, some need a few years, and some can never find it in their entire lives.

If it can be found, it will naturally develop its own writing system; if it cannot be found, no one can help it.

After listening to this, Chen Zhuo suddenly spoke up.

"Mr. Shen, have you found your heart?"

Shen Zhiya did not answer immediately.

He reached out and smoothed out the circle drawn on the rammed earth, then stood up and put the book box back on his back.

"I traveled for four years. From Zhengjing to Dongshi, from the prefecture to the county seat, and from the county seat to the townships."

In the past four years, I've only done one thing: ask myself, "What do I really want to do?" When I reached Qingshan County, I figured it out.

He looked at Chen Zhuo and said, "I want more people who choose this path to not have to go through four years like I did."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhuo was immediately filled with respect.

Although he himself could not do such a great thing, that did not stop him from admiring people who did it.

Gu Qing'e returned the letter to Shen Zhiya.

Chen Zhuo then took out a token engraved with the character "Chen" from his waist.

"Take this to the Chen residence, and you can rent a property at a low price, as a small contribution to your business."

He's not that rich yet, but he can still make the decision to rent out a property at a low price.

Shen Zhiya bowed softly in thanks and did not refuse.

After he left, the official road was quiet for a moment.

Chen Zhuo watched his figure disappear into the blue mist at the end of the official road, lost in thought.

He specializes in the landscape style, which is his foundation and also the foundation of his martial arts technique, "The Record of Mountain and River Recreation," and this will not change.

But Shen Zhiya's words reminded him of something.

The core concept of the Xinyuan School, "Nothing exists outside the mind; my mind is the Dao," has a peculiar resonance with his situation as a time traveler.

I wonder what his "heart" is like now?

After the imperial examination, he planned to visit Shen Zhiya's new academy.