Yun Che looked at the disappointed yet eager-to-learn look in her eyes and suddenly remembered how, back when he had first transmigrated to Shenxiao Palace, he had also gotten up before dawn to claim a seat just to hear an elder’s public sermon, only to be shoved into a corner by core disciples because of his low status, unable to hear anything clearly.
His heart stirred slightly.
He gave the round-faced female disciple a gentle smile. “I’ll help you make that wish come true.”
“Ah?” the female disciples froze. “Senior sister, what did you say?”
The senior sister beside her also looked over in confusion.
Yun Che did not explain further. He turned to face the square packed with a sea of people. He drew a deep breath, then stepped forward.
With that first step, the aura around him quietly changed.
It was no longer the restrained, gentle bearing of a student, but the calm, dignified presence of a great Confucian scholar of the Gentleman Realm, naturally radiating outward.
A few students ahead, who had been huddled together in discussion, suddenly felt a chill run down their backs. They instinctively turned around and saw a woman in a moon-white Confucian robe walking calmly toward them. Though her steps were unhurried, they could not help but part to either side and make way for her.
Then came the second group, the third group…
Wherever Yun Che passed, the crowd naturally parted like a tide.
Low whispers began to rise:
“Who is this…?”
“What a powerful aura! Could she be…”
“It’s Miss Li! It’s Miss Li from today’s lecture!”
“Heavens, she’s so young… and so beautiful.”
“Move aside! The Mister is here!”
The news spread like ripples, and the crowded people ahead quickly opened a straight path leading from the edge of the square all the way to the main entrance of Mingde Hall.
Thousands of eyes turned in unison toward Li Zijun, carrying curiosity, reverence, and wonder.
The female disciple exclaimed, “She, she’s Miss Li???”
Heavens, I actually just spoke with Miss Li.
Yun Che did not slow his pace and went straight toward the entrance of Mingde Hall.
The white-haired dean and several scholarly deans waiting outside had long since noticed the commotion, and now they all came forward to greet her.
The dean cupped his hands and said with a smile, “You finally arrived. The students have been waiting with heads raised for a long time.”
Yun Che, controlling Li Zijun’s body, gave a slight nod, but her gaze turned behind her toward the two female disciples who were still standing there in a daze.
She raised a hand and pointed at the round-faced female disciple and her senior sister, her clear voice carrying distinctly to everyone nearby:
“Dean, during today’s lecture, are there any empty seats left in the inner hall?”
The dean froze for a moment, then looked toward the inner hall… indeed, the one hundred and eight writing desks were already full, and the reservation list had long since been fixed.
But Yun Che did not wait for his answer and continued, “If there are no empty seats, could two more be added beside the podium?
I see these two students are diligent, inquisitive, sincere, and resolute; they should have the chance to listen.”
As soon as those words fell, the entire venue fell silent.
The round-faced female disciple and her senior sister were completely stunned, unable to believe their ears.
The dean’s gaze swept over the two female disciples, whose clothing was plain and who were clearly from ordinary backgrounds, then looked at the calm Li Zijun, and a trace of understanding flashed in his eyes.
He stroked his beard and said with a smile, “I shall naturally obey your words.
Someone, add two seats on the left side of the podium!”
At once, several duty disciples brought over two writing desks and placed them beside the podium.
Only then did Yun Che turn around and look at the two female disciples who were still standing there in a daze, smiling slightly:
“Aren’t you coming over?”
The round-faced female disciple finally reacted, and tears came pouring down her face… this time from excitement.
She pulled her senior sister along and, under the gaze of thousands of envious, astonished, and complicated eyes, staggered through the passage the crowd had opened and walked to the newly placed writing desks beside the podium, bowing deeply:
“Th-thank you, Mister!”
Yun Che nodded and said no more, turning to face the one hundred and eight formally admitted students already seated in the inner hall, as well as the dense crowd of auditors outside the door.
He slowly walked up onto the podium, his robe sleeves sweeping lightly, and sat down calmly at the center.
His gaze swept calmly across the entire venue.
Li Zijun’s consciousness came through with a distinct smile:
“Well done, Xiao Che. Now then… let’s begin the class.”
At this moment, after seeing Li Zijun take her seat, the student representative stood up and led the students in rising to salute, saying in unison, “Good day, Miss Li.”
Yun Che smiled and said, “Hello, everyone. Please be seated.”
The inner hall students and the crowd outside all sat down as instructed.
Hundreds of eyes focused on the moon-white figure atop the podium, and the entire interior and exterior of Mingde Hall fell utterly silent, with only the faint sound of the morning breeze brushing the eave bells in the distance.
Yun Che drew a deep breath… recalling the lectures of masters he had once observed in his previous life, he slowly began:
“Everyone, today we will not discuss scripture. We will speak of just one character…”
He raised his hand, and the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone that the duty disciples had prepared were already placed on the desk. Yun Che picked up the purple-bamboo wolf-hair brush and lightly dipped the tip into the thick ink in the Duan inkstone.
“You write the character, and I will cast the spell.” Li Zijun’s consciousness came at the right moment, carrying a hint of smile and encouragement.
Yun Che understood, his wrist hovering over the spread xuan paper. With the brush tip flowing, the character “wind” appeared on the page in bold, iron-like strokes and silver hooks!
At the instant the final stroke was completed…
Whoosh… !
A fierce wind born from nothing suddenly swept through all of Mingde Hall, centered on the podium!
It was no natural wind. It carried invisible scholarly qi, pure and vast, with a kind of strength that struck straight at the heart!
The robes of the students inside the hall whipped loudly, and the xuan paper that had not yet been pinned down by paperweights was lifted into the air. For a moment, white sheets flew about like snow!
“Ah!”
“My paper!”
Cries of surprise erupted everywhere, but they soon turned into stunned silence… because everyone saw that the flying xuan paper had not truly scattered. Instead, they were held aloft by a gentle strength and slowly settled back onto each person’s desk.
Even the strands of hair blown out of place by the wind quietly returned to their proper positions after a few breaths.
The entire process took only three to five breaths, yet it left all the students present staring dumbfounded.
This was… words spoken become law, words written become reality! So amazing!!!
“This is the Confucian school’s ‘carrying the Dao through writing and reaching the divine through characters.’” Li Zijun explained in her consciousness, her voice carrying the pride of Confucian cultivation, “Once a character is formed, heaven and earth resonate. The strength of rules appears through scholarly qi.”
Yun Che thought to himself: So this is the Confucian school’s words spoken become law… the strength of rules. Amazing. Next time, I definitely have to ask Zijun to teach me.
Although this was not the first time Yun Che had seen it, he was still shocked. He forced himself to stay calm, set down the brush, and swept his gaze over the hall below.
Many students were still staring blankly at the xuan paper that had been lost and regained on their desks, as if they had not yet recovered from the “miracle” just now.
He waited a few breaths, and only after everyone gradually calmed down did he raise the brush again.
This time, he said nothing. He simply focused his mind and wrote the second character on the xuan paper…
“Stillness”
When the final stroke landed, invisible ripples spread outward from the paper. The slight restlessness, whispers, and even the lingering shock in everyone’s hearts from the wind just now were all smoothed away in that instant.
An atmosphere of peace and composure covered the entire venue, and even the breathing of the auditing students outside the door unconsciously softened.
The third character…
“Brightness”
The instant the character was completed, the light around the podium seemed a little brighter. It was not that the sunlight had increased, but that some kind of “clear and lucid” artistic conception had spread through the air, refreshing the mind and making thoughts especially clear.
The fourth character…
“Thought”
This time, the change was even more mystical.
Many students suddenly felt a flash of insight in their minds, and some things that had puzzled them in their daily studies unexpectedly seemed to reveal new angles of understanding. That sensation of sudden enlightenment, though it lasted only an instant, was enough to stir their hearts.
After the four characters were finished, Yun Che set down the brush.
The entire interior and exterior of Mingde Hall sank into a silence as deep as the sea.
Everyone’s gaze was locked tightly on the four sheets of xuan paper on the podium… no, on the young female scholar in the moon-white Confucian robe.
Was this the “Dao” of the Jixia Academy inheritance?
With nothing but a brush and a few characters, she could draw forth the momentum of heaven and earth and cleanse the dust from people’s hearts!
It took a long while before someone drew a deep breath as if waking from a dream, and then low exclamations of amazement spread like a tide.
Yun Che let that shock ferment for a moment, and only after the atmosphere had eased slightly did he speak again, his voice clear and steady:
“What I just showed was not meant to show off. I only wanted everyone to directly feel this… the power of words can connect heaven and earth and reach the human heart.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the young and passionate faces below the platform:
“Yet a tower of ten thousand zhang rises from the foundation, and a divine brush also begins with the basics. In today’s class, we will start with the most basic thing… the ‘brush force.’”
The students were all invigorated and sat upright, and even the auditors outside the door subconsciously straightened their backs.
Yun Che walked down from the podium and came to the specially cleared writing desk in front… that was set up for demonstration. The duty disciples had already prepared brush and ink, along with a bowl of clean water.
“Recently, I observed copybooks from a hundred schools, and I have gained some comprehension in the art of brush force.” Yun Che held the brush, his gaze calm. “So-called brush force does not refer only to the shapes of the strokes, but rather to this… thought before the brush, and qi flowing through from beginning to end.”
He dipped the brush into the water in the dish, not using ink, and wrote in the air directly on the smooth desk surface.
“Look at this ‘horizontal stroke’…” His wrist moved steadily to the right. Though it left no trace of water, a sense of steadiness and breadth naturally flowed from the motion. “Like battle clouds stretching for a thousand li, broad and ready to build momentum.”
Then, for the vertical stroke: “This ‘vertical stroke’… like a withered vine of ten thousand years, upright and resilient.”
“This ‘left-falling stroke’… like a blade that can cut through rhinoceroses and elephants, crisp and decisive.”
“This ‘right-falling stroke’… like collapsing waves and thundering lightning, gathering power before erupting.”
Each time he spoke of a kind of stroke, he demonstrated it in the air, while a corresponding momentum naturally leaked from his body. Although the students could not see the actual strokes, they could clearly feel the breadth of the horizontal stroke, the uprightness of the vertical stroke, the crispness of the left-falling stroke, and the bursting force of the right-falling stroke.
“The wonder of brush force lies in pouring the feelings of the heart, through the strength of the wrist, into the dots and strokes.” Yun Che set down the brush and looked at everyone. “For those of you who are just beginning, there is no need to force a resonance with heaven and earth.
You only need every stroke to have an aim in the heart, force where it should go, and intention where it is placed… only then will the characters have a soul.”
He walked back to the podium and pointed at the four characters he had just written. “When I wrote this ‘wind’ character, what I had in mind was not a gentle breeze or drizzling rain, but the boldness of ‘the great wind rises and the clouds soar’ and the vastness of ‘a long wind for tens of thousands of li.’
When thought reaches that point, the brush force forms on its own, and scholarly qi is born naturally.”
Below the platform, the students listened in rapt attention. Many could not help but imitate the strokes on the scraps of paper they carried, trying to grasp that feeling of “thought before the brush.”
Even the two female disciples who had been specially allowed to sit beside the podium had long forgotten their nervousness and were listening with full concentration. The round-faced female disciple even secretly traced the strokes with her finger on her knee, her eyes sparkling.
Just as he was about to continue explaining the specific brush methods, he suddenly had a thought and looked down at everyone in the hall:
“All this talk about brush force is ultimately just theory on paper. Is there anyone here willing to come up and try? Just write one character, and I can comment on it on the spot.”
As soon as those words fell, the hall became completely silent.
The students looked at each other… writing characters before this Mister who could make words become reality? The pressure was too great!
However, after a few breaths, a timid voice sounded:
“Mister… this student is willing to try.”
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice, and it turned out to be the round-faced female disciple beside the podium. She stood up, her cheeks slightly red, but she had mustered her courage.
A smile flashed in Yun Che’s eyes. “Good, come up here.”