Li Fanming laughed, “Since Brother Fang holds me in such high regard, I’ll take care of this matter. From now on, I’ll send you a message at the first opportunity whenever anything involves you.”

“I appreciate it in advance,” Fang Yun replied.

Whether it was Yuhai City or Jing Kingdom, they were ultimately small places. The Holy Academy, the Ten Nations, and the Two Realms were the real stages. With the help of the Semi-Saint Prominent Families, he could progress more smoothly.

After a while, Li Fanming stood up, “I’ve said all that needs to be said. It’s time to go for a drink. Brother Fang, would you like to join me?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Then I’ll take my leave. When you come to our Qi Nation, I’ll treat you to a drink!” Li Fanming left with a carefree attitude.

After seeing off Li Fanming, Fang Yun returned to his room and pondered for a long time. Finally, his gaze fell on the zither.

There were many war songs on the Holy Origin Mainland, but the most powerful ones were generally acknowledged to be “Guangling San”, followed by “Fenglei Yin” composed by the people of the Zhou Dynasty. Although the “High Mountain” and “Running Water” composed by the Zither Saint were also war songs, they were more about momentum than killing power compared to the previous two.

However, these four war songs required a Great Scholar at the third level of the zither path to play the complete song, so they were modified by famous zither masters. Depending on the level of the zither path, the length of the song played would vary.

After much thought, Fang Yun decided to adapt “The General’s Command” instead of learning these four war songs.

“The General’s Command” was a song played by the Tang Dynasty royal family when leading the army on an expedition in ancient China. The song was divided into four sections: the blowing of the horn in the military camp, the general’s command, the rapid march of the army, and the great battle between the two armies. The song carried the heroic spirit of the Tang Dynasty.

The song “Men Should Strengthen Themselves”, which often appeared in martial arts films in later generations, was adapted from “The General’s Command”. It was stirring and moving.

“The General’s Command” was originally a guzheng piece, but there was a method on the Holy Origin Mainland to adapt guzheng pieces and other instrumental pieces into zither pieces. Especially when played with the Treasures of Literature zither driven by talent, it could fully retain the original meaning of the song.

The process of adapting the zither score was extremely complex. Fang Yun had to visit all the shops in Yuhai City that sold zither scores and books, and buy all the books related to composition and score adaptation. Relying on his talent and the Book Mountain, he studied for a day, read a large number of score adaptation examples, and then slowly began to adapt the score.

The sound of a normal guqin is low and deep, not suitable for playing the high-spirited “The General’s Command”. However, the Treasures of Literature zither has a very wide range, far exceeding the guzheng, so there was no need to worry too much about the melody. The key was how to achieve it with fingering. Fortunately, Fang Yun had the Book Mountain, which made him familiar with all the fingering techniques over thousands of years, and his efficiency in adapting the score far exceeded that of the famous zither masters on the Holy Origin Mainland.

Every day at midnight, Fang Yun would go to the deserted Ping Lake, experiencing the coldness of the autumn wind and autumn season. Then he would play “Autumn Wind Tune”, letting his emotions blend with the sound of the zither, followed by a “Good Evening Prelude” to calm his emotions, and then adapt “The General’s Command”.

When adapting “The General’s Command”, Fang Yun was grateful for the memory of commanding the army in the Book Mountain illusion and the days of being an ordinary soldier. With the experience of both, Fang Yun could fully understand the meaning of “The General’s Command” and adapt it with ease.

Unconsciously, Fang Yun incorporated the cold autumn mood into “The General’s Command”.

The first day of August was the day when “The Path of the Saints” was published every month.

Except for the unusually small crowd in front of the Literature Academy of the enemy Qing Nation, the entrances of the Literature Academies of other nations were as crowded as usual, especially in front of the Literature Academy of Jing Nation, where the number of people was several times more than usual on the first day of each month.

As soon as it was dawn, Fang Dan was excited to leave the Fang family and go to the Literature Academy in Yuhai City to buy “The Path of the Saints” and “Literature Report” for Fang Yun.

When he arrived at the entrance of the Literature Academy, Fang Dan saw that the bookstore of the Literature Academy had not yet opened, so he listened to others chatting. Almost everyone was talking about Fang Yun, especially his Qixi poem “The Immortal on the Magpie Bridge”, which made Fang Dan very happy.

A Child Scholar said, “Huh? I’ve noticed something big! Starting from April, Fang Yun’s poetry and prose have appeared in “The Path of the Saints” every month. Today, on the first day of August, there must be more. His works have appeared in “The Path of the Saints” for the fifth consecutive month.”

“Fang Zhenguo really lives up to his reputation! Not only did he create the unprecedented ‘Four in One’, but now he can also appear in “The Path of the Saints” every month. If he can keep this up until December, I’m afraid there will be no one to follow.”

“He is the one who holds up the sky of our Jing Nation.”

Fang Dan wished in his heart that Fang Yun could appear in “The Path of the Saints” every month, but he pretended to stroke his chin and said to those people, “You are praising Fang Mao too much. If his poetry and prose appear in “The Path of the Saints” next month, he will be on par with Tao Yuanming, the Tao Saint. The most impressive thing about Tao Saint back then was that his six poems appeared in “The Path of the Saints” for six consecutive months.”

“This gentleman, you are wrong. Fang Mao’s exegesis, policy discussion, and articles can’t be compared with those Semi-Saints yet, but his ability in poetry and prose has surpassed many Semi-Saints. Don’t forget that he defeated the Poetry King as an Accomplished Scholar! Once he becomes a Grand Academician, who knows what amazing poetry and prose he will write.”

Fang Dan thought to himself, I know better than you, but he said, “That may be true, but we’ll have to wait a few years to see. At least he has to become a Grand Academician to see if he has the qualifications to compare with the Semi-Saints.”

“Say what you want, but all of our classmates in the academy are convinced that Fang Yun will definitely become a Great Scholar, and his chances of becoming a Semi-Saint are second only to Yi Zhishi!” The Child Scholar seemed a bit unhappy.

A Child Scholar next to him glared at Fang Dan and said, “Don’t mind him. Every time Fang Yun has a new work, there are always people who nitpick.”Upon hearing the misunderstanding, Fang Danaiu chuckled to himself.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “They’re selling now!”

Fang Danaiu immediately craned his neck towards the bookstore in the academy. Before he could even take a step, he was pushed forward by the surging crowd. People were everywhere, creating a noisy scene. Many people were holding their money tightly in their raised hands, fearing it would be squeezed out.

However, Fang Danaiu quickly realized that there were too many people today. They were all rushing like mad, fearing they would not be able to buy “The Path of the Saints” if they were late.

“Stop pushing! Stop pushing!” Fang Danaiu said as he used his strength to squeeze into the crowd.

“Can we not push? My young master is waiting at home. If I’m late today, he’ll skin me!”

“Don’t mention it! Ever since our young lady read Fang Zhenguo’s ‘The Immortal at the Magpie Bridge’, she’s been obsessed. If I can’t deliver ‘The Path of the Saints’ to her before breakfast today, let her smell the ink and see the phrase ‘Yet in love’s embraces do we not soon lose count of the endless hours?’, she’ll get sick from anger.”

Seeing that the man was also dressed as a servant, Fang Danaiu laughed, “You remember this poem too?”

“I have no choice but to remember. Our young lady recites it every day. Whenever we pass by any tavern, they are all singing this poem. The other day, I heard an old accomplished scholar muttering that the whole city is filled with ‘The Immortal at the Magpie Bridge’.”

Fang Danaiu was even happier and stopped pushing, thinking that as Fang Yun’s attendant, he should let these people go first. He should have some of the demeanor of the Fang Zhenguo family!

Inside the bookstore of the academy, a large number of books were placed behind the sales counter. A sales clerk handed the first book to a man dressed as a scholar with a smile, “You’d better flip to the first page first.” He continued selling books after saying that.

The scholar curiously took the book. Despite the urging from the people behind him, he habitually flipped open the cover, then turned to the first page. Because the first page is often left blank, just a piece of white paper, to highlight the importance of the first page. The first page is often empty for several years. So he developed the habit of turning pages directly.

However, just as he was halfway through, he paused, then stopped flipping with an incredulous look, holding the first page with trembling fingers.

The inscription by the Eastern Sage, Wang Jinglong!

“The merit of education covers the world” – these seven words were incredibly eye-catching.

“The Three Character Classic” and “Fang Yun” were prominently listed below.

The scholar’s hand trembled even more, and his face turned red with excitement. He wanted to shout out that a Jing Kingdom’s article made it to the first page, but he was too excited and happy, his mouth was trembling, and he couldn’t speak.

Someone next to him who had bought “The Path of the Saints” curiously flipped it open and said to himself with wide eyes, “Fang Yun made it to the first page? The first page of ‘The Path of the Saints’? Am I seeing this wrong?”

“What? The first page? You must be joking! Only a sage can make it to the first page.”

“Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up, we’re still waiting to buy books!”

Suddenly, another person excitedly held up the first page above his head and shouted, “The first page! Fang Yun made it to the first page! The Eastern Sage praised him as ‘The merit of education covers the world’! Look! Look! It’s true! Fang Yun has made a great contribution to education!”

Even children as young as six or seven knew the significance of the first page, and the significance of the sage’s inscription. The crowd first fell into a brief silence, then various emotions such as joy, surprise, excitement, and agitation erupted simultaneously, and the atmosphere in front of the bookstore of the academy suddenly changed.

Previously, the place was as noisy as a market, but now the crowd was brewing an atmosphere like a thousand soldiers charging on the battlefield.

“I’ll buy first!”

“I was here first!”

“Stop pushing! I lost my shoe!”

Fang Danaiu stood there with his mouth wide open, stunned for a long time. He thought that as Fang Yun’s attendant, he understood Fang Yun better than anyone here, and thought that “The Path of the Saints” could never surprise him. But he was shocked speechless by the news of Fang Yun making it to the first page.

Fang Danaiu was pushed further and further back. When he came to his senses, he found that he had retreated more than a zhang (3.3 meters).

“Nobody push me, I’m going to grab it!” Fang Danaiu, who had just decided not to grab, used all his strength to part the crowd and desperately squeezed forward.

A quarter of an hour later, Fang Danaiu, with his clothes disheveled and a silly smile on his face, rushed out of the crowd, holding the August issue of “The Path of the Saints”, and ran home barefoot.

Meanwhile, the same thing was happening at the entrances of bookstores in all ten nations. It had been several years since a masterpiece made it to the first page of “The Path of the Saints”, and every time there was a first-page issue, the sales were calculated in billions, and almost every household would have a copy.

In the capital of Jing Kingdom.

At the Liu Mansion on Chang Le Street, the Left Chancellor’s family was having breakfast. The Left Chancellor and his wife, their two sons and daughters-in-law, a daughter and son-in-law, and several grandchildren were all present.

More than ten people were eating at two tables, not speaking during meals or sleep. The room was quiet, and the children even hurriedly covered their mouths with their sleeves when they coughed, then sneakily looked at the seemingly kind and calm old man at the main seat. Seeing that the old man didn’t care, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the old man looked over, they would definitely be punished.

Suddenly, a shout came from the entrance, “Bad news! Fang Yun’s article made it to the first page of ‘The Path of the Saints’, and was personally inscribed by the Eastern Sage, praising it as ‘The merit of education covers the world’!”

“Shut up! Someone, gag his mouth, drag him to the backyard and beat him hard!” The old steward suddenly shouted.

“Steward, I…uh…”

Inside the room, the piece of beef the old man was holding fell onto the dining table. (To be continued.)