Fang Yun successfully passed through the second pavilion of the third mountain, and upon reaching the third pavilion, he found the words “Poetry and Painting” written on the plaque.

The test of the third mountain appeared before Fang Yun, surprisingly requiring him to create a poem and painting of birds singing in the deep mountains using the second realm of calligraphy “Magic Brush Blooms” and the second realm of painting “Vividly Lifelike”.

Fang Yun stared at the question in a daze.

“Impossible! If the third pavilion of the third mountain tests this, not to mention Talented Scholars and Presented Scholars, even Imperial Scholars wouldn’t be able to pass. Specializing in poetry and prose, and having a rough understanding of all arts, is the highest pursuit. Only when one cannot specialize in poetry and prose, and seeks the next best thing, would they specialize in one or several of the hundred arts. The previous two mountains were difficult, but as long as one’s talent was sufficient, they could completely pass, even if they didn’t understand, they could slowly deduce the result as long as they found the method. But this second realm of poetry and painting, it drew a line that no Talented Scholar or Presented Scholar could cross.”

“There’s a problem, a big problem!”

Fang Yun pondered repeatedly in his heart, but he couldn’t figure it out, feeling uneasy, but he faintly felt that there might be a hidden secret, after all, this Book Mountain was created by Sage Confucius, it couldn’t possibly be specifically designed to harm him. After thinking about it, he finally decided to give up, but before giving up, he carefully observed the entire Book Mountain.

Several hours later, everyone was sent away from Book Mountain.

“Did I just fail like this?” Fang Yun was very unwilling.

Since Fang Yun reached the third pavilion of the third mountain, reaching the limit like the geniuses of past generations, all the officials of Jade Sea Prefecture came to the academy to congratulate him, even Li Wenying came in person.

However, just as the congratulations were halfway through, the court sent an urgent message, the Wolf Savage launched a large-scale invasion, Fang Yun didn’t have time to react, Li Wenying took out a flying page sky boat, taking some officials and Fang Yun to Mi State.

Fang Yun sat on the flying page sky boat in a daze, always unable to understand why Li Wenying suddenly took him, this was completely different from his previous expectations, everything was too sudden.

On the flying page sky boat, Fang Yun kept frowning, the more he frowned, the tighter it became, as if he had encountered a huge problem.

The flying page sky boat quickly flew to the sky above Mi State, when passing over The Peaceful Safety County, Fang Yun was thrown down by Li Wenying.

“The Peaceful Safety County is not the front line. But it is crucial, it is the hub for the transportation of food and grass, you will practice here for a few days. You go to the prefectural army of The Peaceful Safety County, someone will meet you.” Li Wenying finished speaking and left.

Fang Yun always felt that everything was strange since he left Book Mountain. Li Wenying’s behavior was also strange, or had a deeper meaning, but he couldn’t figure out why, he could only follow the military order to the prefectural army station of The Peaceful Safety County.

The person in charge of managing the prefectural army of The Peaceful Safety County was a deputy general of the fifth rank, he immediately threw a waist card to Fang Yun when he saw him. He said, “You are a fellow villager of Jianmei Gong? Go to the Transport Department immediately, I temporarily appoint you as a book official of the ninth rank, responsible for following the third camp of the escort to transport food and grass, if you delay the time, I will definitely not spare you.”

Fang Yun didn’t expect his treatment to be so bad, he had to participate in the dangerous task of delivering food before he could figure out the situation here, but now he was temporarily conscripted, he became a soldier, he couldn’t disobey the order, he had to go to the Transport Department as a book official.

An hour later. Fang Yun, as a book official, followed the third camp of the prefectural army of Tongfu, escorting food and grass to Huai Tian County. Before leaving, the entire team was helped by the Imperial Scholar county magistrate’s expedition poem “Chang Wu”, their physical fitness increased several times.

Thousands of armored oxen and grain carts and a battalion of five hundred soldiers lined up on the road, stretching for several miles.

Fang Yun was unfamiliar with the place, and always followed the camp school Zhong.

The entire team was well-trained, although they were prefectural soldiers, because they were on the border, their strength was not inferior to the troops led by the Grand Marshal.

Fang Yun felt that the atmosphere of the team was very oppressive, he didn’t dare to say or ask too much, he just kept observing and learning the rules of the army.

Camp School Zhong had a tamed eagle monster soldier, the eagle monster soldier would fly into the sky every once in a while, except for being a bit larger, it was no different from an ordinary eagle.

At night. The third camp was about to arrive at Songlin Village and planned to stay there for one night and set off the next day, but before they could arrive, the eagle monster soldier reported a cruel news, more than two hundred people in Songlin Village and more than twenty prefectural soldiers were all dead. A team of two hundred Wolf Savage people were carrying the bodies of the villagers and fleeing to the northwest, the leader was a Savage general, equivalent to Camp School Zhong’s Presented Scholar.

“One team stays here to guard the food and grass, the second and third teams and the others follow me to kill the enemy! If we can’t come back, the task of transporting the food will be left to you!” After Camp School Zhong finished speaking, he looked at Fang Yun and asked, “Book Official Fang, will you stay here or kill the savages?”

To fight or not to fight?

Without hesitation, Fang Yun said, “Everything is up to the general!”

“Good, then kill the savages with me!”

The team of more than three hundred people immediately rested and ate on the spot, then followed the escape route of the Wolf Savage people and killed them.

Fang Yun secretly complained in his heart, he had gone to the Holy Temple to worship the sages and learn the enemy-killing poem “Yi River Song”, the protection-increasing poem “With You in the Same Robe”, the inspiring poem “Singing Xing Tian” and the comforting poem “Gentleman in Service” before the prefectural examination.

But these war poems and lyrics are not something you can master just by learning, they must be practiced and understood over a long period of time, he originally planned to study for a while after getting off Book Mountain, who knew he would be sent out now.

“These prefectural soldiers were all protected by the expedition poem before they set off, more than three hundred prefectural soldiers killing more than two hundred Wolf Savage people is not a problem. I have received four times the talent rain, after the baptism of eight pavilions, whether it is the literary palace, the courage to write or the body, I have surpassed the ordinary Presented Scholar, my one arrow can kill a monster soldier. If it really doesn’t work, I will expose the war poetry and lyrics, at worst I will ask the sage to seal his mouth three times, after all, if there is a first time, there will be a second time.”

The team of more than three hundred people rushed forward, along the way there were constantly human limbs and broken bodies, and even traces of women being violated.

The anger in everyone’s hearts grew stronger and stronger.

To hide or not to hide?

“I won’t hide my power anymore! I’ll kill all these beasts with all my strength first! If I reserve a little bit of power, it might lead to the death of a dozen soldiers! If I’m not careful, I might die here myself.” Fang Yun made up his mind in his heart.An hour later, the troop had chased out of the forest and arrived at an unobstructed plain. The Wolf Savage people discovered the human soldiers and immediately howled, turning back to attack.

Under the cover of night, the two sides were getting closer and closer.

“Defend!”

All the soldiers immediately sprang into action, forming a defensive formation. The camp school and all the Talented Scholars put down their armor, ready to strategize on paper at any time.

Like the other ordinary Talented Scholars, Fang Yun took out his brush and ink bottle, and spread paper on the tray.

At this moment, Fang Yun’s talent had reached six inches. He pondered that the War Poetry “Capture the King” only consumed one inch of talent, but the enemy-killing poem “Arrow in the Stone” was too powerful, much stronger than “Yi River Song”. It would consume two inches of Talented Scholar’s talent, so he had to calculate the timing of killing the enemy well and not waste it.

Just as the camp school was about to write the War Poetry, Fang Yun said, “Sir Zhong, I have learned a poem about strong bows. Please let me be responsible for the archers.”

The camp school stared at Fang Yun for three breaths and said, “Then it’s up to you!”

The power of the Strong Bow Poetry was much stronger than the ordinary War Poetry, but it lasted for a very short time, about a hundred breaths. So Fang Yun began to calculate the time it took for the Wolf Savage people to charge, and then he lowered his head to write “Capture the King”.

After the last sentence “Capture the thief first, capture the king” was written, the paper burned and turned into light. After entering the bodies of thirty archers, there was no extra light, and twenty archers did not receive the blessing.

At this moment, the Wolf Savage people just entered the range of the bow and arrow.

Those Wolf Savage people who were rushing at the front all held shields, most of which were iron shields seized from the human race. Ordinary arrows could not penetrate them, but they were greatly discounted in front of Fang Yun’s “Capture the King”.

“Fire!”

Fang Yun and the others drew their bows and fired together.

The Wolf Savage general who was rushing at the front suddenly shouted a warning in the demon language. Then his blood surged and he violently spat out a demon technique whirlwind.

This blood-colored whirlwind blocked all the arrows. Even the arrows blessed by the Presented Scholar’s War Poetry would be easily dispersed by this demon technique whirlwind. But these “Capture the King” arrows, after passing through the demon technique whirlwind, only weakened to the level of ordinary arrows, either hitting the Wolf Savage people’s shields or their bodies, accidentally killing a Wolf Savage.

All the Wolf Savage people were surprised, and all the human soldiers were ecstatic. Many people turned their heads to look at Fang Yun.

The camp school laughed loudly, “Good! One round of volley for one demon technique, a big profit! If our army can win today, you, Fang Yun, should be credited with the first merit! Fire!”

The second round of thirty arrows was fired together. This time the Wolf Savage general did not use the demon technique. Instead, he roared and let the other Wolf Savage people disperse.

However, the thirty “Capture the King” arrows had incredible power, speed, and accuracy. They fell on the foreheads of thirty Wolf Savage people, instantly killing thirty people and reducing the Wolf Savage team by one-seventh.

The Wolf Savage general was furious, took a deep breath, and roared at the human soldiers, while all the other Wolf Savage people also howled while running.

“It’s the Ghost Cry and Wolf Howl! Be careful! My Courage to Write is not enough to offset it! Confucius said: The army can be taken away from its commander, but a man’s will cannot be taken away from him!” The camp school shouted loudly, and the power of the Courage to Write merged into the original words of Confucius in “The Analects”, immediately forming an invisible force to protect everyone.

The Ghost Cry and Wolf Howl formed by more than two hundred Wolf Savage people formed a black fog in the sky and rushed over, smashing the camp school’s Courage to Write.

The camp school took a step back, cursing inwardly. If there were two Presented Scholars who had condensed the Courage to Write, they could definitely block this Ghost Cry and Wolf Howl. But now there was only him, a Presented Scholar, and the first forty or fifty people would inevitably be deterred by the power of the Ghost Cry and Wolf Howl, thus losing their fighting spirit.

“Do not move unless there is a benefit, do not use unless there is something to gain, do not fight unless there is danger!” Fang Yun suddenly recited the content of “Sun Tzu’s Art of War”, especially the last sentence that said not to start a war until there is a danger, which was very consistent with the current situation.

The power of the Courage to Write merged into Sun Tzu’s famous sayings, immediately forming a force that was fifty percent stronger than the camp school’s, pushing away the power of the Ghost Cry and Wolf Howl, and counterattacking.

The human race cheered.

The Wolf Savage general had to howl again to intercept Fang Yun’s Courage to Write with the Ghost Cry and Wolf Howl. Because he used the demon technique three times in a row, his pace slowed a bit.

“Good! We must win!” The camp school was inspired by Fang Yun’s power and immediately recited the Great Wind Song.

The morale of the human side was greatly boosted, and another round of “Capture the King” arrows was fired.

The two sides finally engaged in close combat.

At this moment, Fang Yun’s talent had stopped vibrating. He secretly hid among a few soldiers. He knew that since he had decided to take action, he had to be more proactive. He was writing “Arrow in the Stone” at a very slow speed, looking for the opportunity to take action, rather than relying on the camp school to create opportunities.

The human soldiers blocked the Wolf Savage general, but the Wolf Savage general was very powerful. With a casual swipe of his two wolf claws, he could kill or knock away an ordinary soldier. Only the Child Scholar soldiers could barely block his attack.

The Wolf Savage general killed into the crowd, and the camp school was in a dilemma. He had to use the Great Wind Song to kill other Wolf Savage people.

Taking advantage of the Wolf Savage general’s inattention, Fang Yun decisively completed the Talented Scholar’s War Poetry “Arrow in the Stone”!

The original treasure light, the soul of poetry treasure light, and the world treasure light appeared. With the power of the Demon Subduing Pen and Dragon Blood Ink, the power of Fang Yun’s “Arrow in the Stone” increased by three times and forty percent. The killing power was stronger than the ordinary War Poetry created by ordinary Presented Scholars, and it also had the wonderful use of the soul of poetry, possessing a terrifying penetrating power.

However, this time the soul of poetry treasure light did not summon the phantom of Li Guang, but condensed into a giant bow one zhang high in the sky.

The arrow was released, the wind rose, blood splashed, and the wolf howled.

This arrow was too fast. The Wolf Savage general was only guarding against the camp school and did not pay attention to Fang Yun at all.

The Wolf Savage general staggered back, looking incredulously at the fist-sized blood hole in his chest, which penetrated his chest and back. He looked up at Fang Yun, not believing that a mere Talented Scholar could inflict such a heavy blow on him.

“The human race will win!” Someone shouted, and the morale of the human race soared unprecedentedly, and the effects of their expedition poetry, inspiring poetry, and War Poetry also increased by ten percent.

“Good!” The camp school immediately recited, continuously attacking the Wolf Savage general.

The Wolf Savage was already unable to resist and wanted to escape. But he was blocked and finally killed alive!

With the death of the Wolf Savage general, the other Wolf Savage people immediately lost their fighting spirit and were killed by the human race.”Fang Yun, take three squads and search ahead. I think there might be some who slipped through the net.”

“Yes, sir!” Fang Yun selected three squads, a total of forty-five men, to move forward and search. These border soldiers were unruly and loved to bully young new officers, but in front of Fang Yun, they were as docile as rabbits. They knew that if the battle continued for another half a moment, at least half of these forty-five men would die.

The group moved towards the area where the Wolf Savages had passed by and quickly discovered the bodies of the human race and cattle and sheep that the Wolf Savages had discarded when they turned around.

The thick smell of blood permeated the air.

“There are wolf cubs!” More than a dozen soldiers pounced, pulling out two small Wolf Savages about three feet tall. They had wolf heads and human bodies, and their bodies were covered in fur.

One of the wolf cubs had a fierce look in its eyes and kept barking and biting. It was restrained, while the other one, timid, didn’t move at all, seemingly terrified. It stared blankly at Fang Yun.

“Sir Fang, should we kill or release them? Please give the order.”

Fang Yun was taken aback for a moment, not expecting that he had become “Sir Fang” in the army. Then he looked at the small Wolf Savage that was still barking.

There were traces of blood at the corners of its mouth, and a few pieces of human skin were stuck between its teeth.

To kill or not to kill?

“Kill!” Fang Yun ordered in a low voice.

With a flash of the blade, the head of the small Wolf Savage flew up.

“Wow…” The other small Wolf Savage was so scared that it knelt on the ground, constantly kowtowing to Fang Yun for mercy.

“Sir, should we kill or not?” A soldier asked, holding his knife.

Fang Yun looked at the small Wolf Savage and found traces of human blood on its little claws.

“Kill!”

The blade flashed again. Both wolf cubs were killed.

“Let’s go back.”

The group returned to the side of the camp and reported what had happened.

The camp commander praised, “Years ago, a Hanlin Scholar let go of a few savage cubs out of a woman’s kindness. A few years later, that Hanlin Scholar was killed by the savages he had let go. Releasing a tiger back to the mountain is a big taboo in war! This is not a civil war within the human race, but a war of extinction where it’s either you die or I die!”

Suddenly, the pile of Wolf Savage corpses that had been stacked together began to move. More than a dozen wolves quickly stood up, their eyes emitting a green glow, which was extremely terrifying in the night.

“Damn it! The wolves are colluding! That Wolf Savage General actually hid a wolf spirit in his body!”

Before the camp commander could finish speaking, the body of the Wolf Savage General suddenly leaped high, and its two sharp claws stabbed straight at the camp commander.

Two personal soldiers sacrificed themselves to block the attack, while the others were all stunned. The camp commander also hurriedly retreated.

Fang Yun was right next to the camp commander. At this moment, he only had two choices: to run away or to help the camp commander.

“If I run, the camp commander is likely to die. Without the camp commander, these corpse wolves will definitely kill us all. I, who only have two inches of talent left, won’t be able to escape either. If I help the camp commander, there might still be a glimmer of hope.”

To save or not to save?

Fang Yun fiercely pounced at the Wolf Savage General.

“Camp Commander, it’s up to you now!” After Fang Yun shouted, he felt a severe pain in his left arm and passed out.

After a while, Fang Yun opened his eyes and found himself lying in a large room. His left arm was gone.

“Well, losing a left arm is better than losing a life. If I had the Thousand-Year Life Fruit, I could definitely recover.”

Soon, Li Wenying arrived, apologized to Fang Yun, and then took him back to Jade Sea City.

Fang Yun studied and healed his wounds in Jade Sea City.

A year later, Fang Yun participated in the state examination and ranked first among the Presented Scholars, becoming the top scholar of Jiang State.

Another year later, Fang Yun went to the capital for the examination and ranked third among the Imperial Scholars, becoming the third-place laureate.

Two years later, Chen Guanhai passed away.

Another year passed…

Autumn leaves fell, but they still clung to the warmth of the tree branches, spinning in the air, reluctant to return to their roots.

The streets of Jade Sea City were bustling with people. In a place surrounded by a crowd, the loud voice of a storyteller could be heard.

“The demon king, White Lady, held the Dragon King’s token, summoning a sky full of water, shrimp soldiers, and crab generals. The Grand Academician Cai He was not to be outdone, his righteous spirit was overwhelming. All demons bowed their heads…”

A group of children aged six or seven to teenagers sat or squatted in the innermost circle, many idlers and young women stood behind them, and some passers-by stood at the back, some stopped to listen, some left after listening for a while and not understanding.

After a while, two young men came over, heard someone telling a story, and leaned over.

The young man in the brocade robe said in surprise, “This beggar is calm and extraordinary. He doesn’t rely on begging but on storytelling. His pronunciation is clear and round, without any flattery. His arms and legs are all broken, but his face doesn’t change color. He is truly a righteous beggar. Give him a silver coin.”

The servant in plain clothes hurriedly lowered his voice and said, “Young Master, you must not.”

“Why must I not? If this beggar had intact legs and feet, he could easily pass the examination and become an Accomplished Scholar.”

“Young Master, this is the former third-place laureate of Jing Kingdom!”

The young man in the brocade robe’s face changed dramatically, and he exclaimed, “Is he the first scholar of Jing Kingdom who scolded the Left Chancellor in the court, Fang Yun?”

“Of course, it’s him.”

“But how did he become like this!” The young man in the brocade robe had an angry look on his face.

“Alas, although I am from Qing Nation, I also admire people with integrity. Back then, he climbed the three mountains and three towers as an Accomplished Scholar. Although he didn’t pass the three towers, he finally passed the third mountain after becoming a Presented Scholar and obtained the Heart of Literature. Later, he passed the examination and became an Imperial Scholar.”

The young man in the brocade robe said, “I know all of this. Later, he and the Literary Chancellor joined forces to outwit Willow Mountain. He was full of spirit, but at the height of his career, Chen Guanhai passed away. The Wolf Savages invaded in large numbers. The Literary Chancellor, Zhang Poyue, Li Wenying, and Fang Yun fought bloody battles, but they were first betrayed by the Left Chancellor, then surrounded, and finally defeated. Li Wenying was the first to die in battle. Before the Literary Chancellor died, he sent Fang Yun thousands of miles away. I heard some of what happened later, but I’m not very clear.”

“Later, our Qing Nation and Wu Nation’s armies marched straight in, divided Jing Kingdom, and several prominent families joined forces to arrest Fang Yun for deserting the battlefield. They shattered his Courage to Write, destroyed his Palace of Literature, crippled his limbs, and forced him to beg for a living in Jade Sea City. But this Fang Yun is really talented. In a situation where no one dared to help him, without talent and without hands and feet, he actually unified the beggars in Jade Sea City. He lives more freely than many ordinary people.”The young man in the brocade robe sighed, “He is indeed an extraordinary talent, a scholar among men, a king among beggars. If I were in his shoes, I would have thrown myself into the sea. But he, unable to publish books or sell articles, resorts to storytelling and begging. He is truly a peerless scholar. All the scholars in the world are truly outdone by him.”

The man in plain clothes lamented, “Fang Yun has had it tough. First, he was betrayed, then he had to watch his comrades die one by one in battle, and finally, he was abandoned by the Holy Academy and suffered cruel torture… Yet, he is still alive. Just for this courage alone, ordinary people can’t compare. However, he has offended the prominent families of our Jing Kingdom, so you must not give him any money, young master.”

“What a pity.”

“Look at him, his spirit shows no signs of decadence, and his temperament seems even more restrained than before. If his literary status is restored, he might be able to become a Grand Academician.”

“Let’s go.”

Suddenly, time stood still, and everyone froze, except for Fang Yun.

Fang Yun’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and he continued to speak to himself, “Xiao Qing was defeated by Cai He, coughing up blood and flying out…”

An old man from Book Mountain quietly appeared in front of Fang Yun.

“Why do you cling to life?”

“I have friends to avenge, a nation to restore, I cannot die.”

“What would you do if you had the power of a Semi-Saint?” the old man asked again.

Fang Yun calmly replied, “I would kill the entire Willow Mountain clan, slaughter the royal families of the two nations, eliminate the prominent families of both nations, reorganize the Holy Academy, and exterminate the Demon Barbarians.”

“You are quite ambitious.”

“I have nothing left but ambition.” Fang Yun smiled faintly.

“Have you gained anything?”

Fang Yun declared loudly, “When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it first exhausts his mind, works his body, starves his skin, leaves him in want, confuses his actions, so as to stimulate his spirit, toughen his nature, and enhance his abilities.”

With each word Fang Yun spoke, it was as if an invisible hammer was striking the world, causing the entire space to vibrate. In the end, numerous cracks appeared in the space, like shattered glass.

The whole world collapsed with a bang, like countless shards of glass falling down.

In front of Fang Yun, there were buildings, and the words on the plaques were changing, finally settling down.

Dream.

At this moment, Fang Yun was still in the second pavilion of the third mountain.

At this moment, it had been less than an hour since Fang Yun set foot here.

Fang Yun smiled and said, “I didn’t expect that I would also have a dream. Sir, have I passed this pavilion?”

“You should.” The old man disappeared.

Fang Yun turned around and saw that the people of Jing Kingdom at the foot of the mountain were eagerly looking at him.

“Jing Kingdom is still here.”

Fang Yun took a step towards the third pavilion of the third mountain.

A roar that could overturn Book Mountain erupted from the foot of the mountain.

Not only were the people of Jing Kingdom shouting, but people from other nations were also loudly congratulating Fang Yun.

“I admit defeat!” A man from Jing Kingdom jumped into the Weak Water River.

The rest of the people from Jing Kingdom followed suit and jumped into the river.

(To be continued.)

PS: The last chapter was not about Xu Xiake, but Li Daoyuan, it was a typo. Due to the plot, two chapters are combined into one.