These Presented Scholars all wore expressions of sorrow. They had originally planned to take advantage of Fang Yun, but ended up shooting themselves in the foot. A person only has one mentor in their lifetime. Although they could retract their pledge after leaving the Holy Land, a true scholar would never do such a thing.

“Master, to celebrate you taking in nineteen Presented Scholar disciples in one breath, why don’t you treat us to a Flood Dragon feast after we leave the Holy Land?” Li Fanming suggested.

“Yes, treat us to a Flood Dragon feast!” The others chimed in, hoping to salvage something from the situation.

Fang Yun cleared his throat and said, “We’ll discuss this matter after we leave the Holy Land. For now, you should all go back and rest. We’ll discuss our plans for the Holy Land tomorrow.”

The group rolled their eyes in unison, having gained nothing from the situation.

“Sigh, do you think Master Fang purposely played the zither in the middle of the night to trick us into becoming his disciples?” Han Shoulu couldn’t help but joke.

“Although Master Fang wouldn’t normally do such a thing, it’s possible that he was feeling particularly bold today and decided to bully us!”

“Master Fang, are you really unwilling to treat us to a Flood Dragon feast?”

Fang Yun thought seriously for a moment before replying with a sigh, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to treat you to a Flood Dragon feast. The problem is, if I treat you, I’ll have to treat my other disciples as well.”

“You’ve tricked that many disciples?” Shi Tang asked.

“Although I didn’t actively seek out these students, like you, they also consider me their mentor. Including them, I probably have around fifty or sixty direct disciples, and over a hundred ordinary disciples.” Fang Yun explained helplessly. He had once enlightened many soldiers in the army, becoming their mentor. Naturally, they were considered his direct disciples. As for the students in the first class of the prefecture, they were his ordinary disciples.

The group was speechless. Fang Yun was still so young and already a Presented Scholar with so many direct disciples. What would happen when his status rose even higher in the future?

Fang Yun laughed, “I was just joking earlier. Since the Holy Land is lawless, after we leave, you don’t have to worry about this relationship. It won’t affect your ability to acknowledge other mentors.”

“That’s easy to say before acknowledging a mentor. But once you’ve acknowledged one, it’s no longer a joke.” Someone said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Since there’s no Flood Dragon feast, I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Master.” Li Fanming said listlessly.

“This master is too stingy!” Jia Jing’an also left with a laugh.

The group walked back together, quietly discussing how to take advantage of their new mentor. They couldn’t let this matter end so easily.

Xun Ye looked at Fang Yun with envy before turning to leave. Regardless of whether these Presented Scholars truly considered Fang Yun their mentor, they had formed a bond in the Holy Land. As long as there were no major conflicts, they would be Fang Yun’s allies in the future, even if most of them could only provide indirect assistance.

Shi Tang stayed behind and asked in a low voice, “Master Fang, what’s the deal with your blood of the great sage?”

Fang Yun knew it definitely wasn’t the blood of a great sage. It was likely related to the God of Literature. After being shocked and illuminated by the God of Literature, his body and all parts of his literary palace had undergone qualitative changes. It was normal for his blood to cause the thunder stone lacquer to react.

“There are many strange things in this world. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the blood of a great sage. Perhaps there’s something special in these materials that was accidentally activated by my blood. By the way, you all passed the imperial examination before me and are older than me. In the future, don’t call me Master Fang. It sounds weird to me.” Fang Yun said.

Shi Tang replied, “We don’t want to call you Master Fang either, but since we’ve acknowledged you as our mentor, even if it’s only temporary, we can’t just change our address. If you don’t like it, just think of it as us learning your War Poetry and addressing you accordingly.”

Fang Yun laughed, “Then it can only be this way.”

Shi Tang asked, “I heard you playing earlier. You’ve already reached the first realm of the zither path. Are you practicing the War Songs ‘High Mountain’, ‘Flowing Water’, ‘Wind Thunder Prelude’, or ‘Guangling San’?”

“I… I’m currently creating my own War Song.” Fang Yun knew he couldn’t hide this matter. He would have to use it sooner or later. Moreover, ‘The General’s Order’ was almost complete. What he needed to do next was to refine it.

Shi Tang stared at Fang Yun in shock for a while before sighing, “Why do I feel like we’ve gained a lot from acknowledging you as our mentor? Master, if you succeed in the zither path, you must guide me.”

Fang Yun replied irritably, “I’m currently at the first realm of the zither path, and you’re at the second realm. How can I guide you?”

“No, playing your own War Song is different from learning someone else’s. It won’t be long before your achievements in the zither path surpass mine. Sigh, I’m heartbroken. I’m going to bed.” Shi Tang glanced at the Thunderous Zither before turning to leave.

Fang Yun put away the Thunderous Zither and went to sleep in his tent.

While sleeping, Fang Yun began to sort through the treasures he had obtained from the Dragon Cliff and those he had exchanged from the Spirit Bone. He roughly categorized everything and placed them in different areas of the Drinking Pearl of the River.

Fang Yun was still accustomed to measuring the Drinking Pearl of the River using his previous life’s methods. It was about the size of two basketball courts and could hold a lot of things. For now, he just did a rough count. He would sort everything more carefully after leaving the Holy Land.

The items he had exchanged from the Spirit Bone also included nine talent-filled Swallowed Lake Pearls. These were left behind by the human Presented Scholars who had died here. Fang Yun opened each one.

Two of the Swallowed Lake Pearls had been around for over two hundred years. Many of the items inside had decayed, the Treasures of Literature had lost their effectiveness, and the space inside the pearls had slightly shrunk. However, they contained records of the Holy Land, which were quite valuable. The other seven Swallowed Lake Pearls hadn’t been around for long. Apart from a few Presented Scholar Treasures of Literature that had lost their effectiveness and some dried food, everything else was usable.

The most common items in the Swallowed Lake Pearls were Presented Scholar Treasures of Literature – a total of twenty-one pieces!

Unfortunately, Treasures of Literature required the consumption of talent. Moreover, they weren’t as effective as Paper Talks Strategy, which could gain various lights and enhance ink, paper, and brush. Apart from Treasures of Literature related to zither and chess, the rest were only useful in emergencies. Normally, Paper Talks Strategy was the first choice, followed by Out of the Mouth Comes Literature, and Treasures of Literature were the last choice.

Therefore, Fang Yun chose two sets of Imperial Scholar Treasures of Literature that suited him and set the rest aside for other uses.There were many valuable items, but the most important one was a map of The Holy Land.

Many parts of this map were the same as the ones Fang Yun had seen before. Although some places had different names, their locations and descriptions were consistent. However, there was one place that Fang Yun had never seen before, and there was no description of it.

The Demon Ancestor’s Gate.

Upon seeing these four characters, Fang Yun’s heart couldn’t help but thump heavily.

Fang Yun knew about the Demon Saint, but he had never heard of the Demon Ancestor. Anyone who dared to call themselves the Demon Ancestor must be at least above the Demon Saint, possibly a Great Saint of the Demon Clan equivalent to the Sub-Sage of the human race, or even on par with the Sage Confucius.

“Other Presented Scholars have never mentioned the Demon Ancestor’s Gate. This might be one of the core secrets of The Holy Land, but it could also be nothing, just a guess. We’ll make a judgment when we get there.”

Fang Yun memorized these four characters and their location, then completely destroyed the map.

When he woke up, Fang Yun continued to pretend that his body had not fully recovered and still sat in a wheelchair.

The sun in The Holy Land was scorching, and it was as hot as noon even in the early morning. The ground was hot enough to fry an egg. These Presented Scholars had strong bodies, but they would be drenched in sweat if they stood outside for a minute.

After breakfast, everyone gathered in a large tent to discuss matters. Xun Ye came in early and stood in the corner, not saying a word. When Fang Yun came in, he nodded slightly as a greeting, no longer showing the hostility he had towards Fang Yun before.

When everyone was present, they all looked at Fang Yun, subconsciously waiting for him to preside over the meeting.

Fang Yun was not stage fright, he smiled slightly and said, “I’m just giving suggestions, not orders. Let’s just say my opinion. With more than twenty of us joining hands, even if we encounter Wolf Savage and his group again, we can fight them head-on. No one wants to explore those small places like before, right?”

No one objected.

Fang Yun said, “I think we should explore the center of The Holy Land. Those who disagree can express their opinions.”

Everyone thought for a while, looked at each other, and no one objected. No one noticed that Fang Yun used a little trick. People always tend to “not directly express their opinions”, so Fang Yun didn’t say “those who agree, stand up”.

Xun Ye seemed to have really changed his attitude towards Fang Yun and remained silent.

With no one objecting, Fang Yun’s image in everyone’s hearts was elevated once again. They all believed that Fang Yun had gained everyone’s approval. Even if they didn’t consider him as a leader, they regarded him as one of the best candidates for the leader.

Fang Yun said, “Since everyone agrees, then we decide to go deeper. By the way, what do you think of the Mist Butterfly?”

Everyone’s eyes lit up involuntarily. The Mist Butterfly was one of the most valuable oddities in The Holy Land. Whether it was the Pen Elder, Ink Turtle, Strange Wood, Weird Grass, or Spirit Bone, even among all the ancient lands, the Mist Butterfly was the most suitable oddity for the human race. The ability of the Mist Butterfly to transform the energy of heaven and earth into The Weak Water and strange wind was nothing short of a miracle.

“Did you get important news about the Mist Butterfly from the Spirit Bone?”

“Yes.” Fang Yun said, and then shared the information he had obtained about the Mist Butterfly. In fact, many aspects were already known to those prominent families and couldn’t be considered secrets. There were also some key points that Fang Yun didn’t reveal, not because he wanted to keep them to himself, but because Xun Ye was present.

Everyone listened carefully, and the temperature in the tent noticeably rose. Everyone was a bit excited. That was the Mist Butterfly. If it could be tamed, it would be of great help to oneself. Even if one didn’t sell it after leaving The Holy Land, even the Semi-Saints would buy it at a high price. Its value far exceeded that of the Thunder Stone.

“If one of us gets the Mist Butterfly, the gain won’t be less than Fang Yun… uh, less than Master Fang.” Han Shoulu said.

“If it’s possible to exchange, I’d rather trade everything I got from Dragon Cliff for the Mist Butterfly.” Fang Yun said.

“Of course, the Mist Butterfly is more important.” Someone laughed.

Li Fanming said, “The value of the Mist Butterfly is extraordinary. If it’s given to a Semi-Saint, it can definitely be exchanged for a Great Scholar! Unfortunately, everyone contributes, but in the end, only one person gets it. So according to the rules, we should make a gentleman’s agreement. Whoever gets the Mist Butterfly should compensate the others. Even if they don’t have the ability to give others treasures now, they should help the other party or their family when they achieve a high position in the future. What do you think?”

“Of course, if the person who gets the Mist Butterfly forgets the gentleman’s agreement in the end, we won’t say anything. It’s just that the friendship in The Holy Land will be gone.” Han Shoulu said.

Seeing that Li Fanming and Han Shoulu were so open-minded, everyone agreed, and everyone participated in this gentleman’s agreement.

In the end, Fang Yun said, “Since everyone agrees to go to the center of The Holy Land to find the Mist Butterfly, then we will take the center of The Holy Land as our final goal, and search for the Mist Butterfly in the places it is most likely to go along the way. Two birds with one stone.”

“Agreed!” Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Get ready, and we’ll set off soon!” (To be continued.)