Du Heng grabbed Mingzhu and said with a smile, “There is no need to be so angry. Not everyone was prejudiced against me from the very beginning.”
Mingzhu also knew that his Senior Brother had always been like this. Toward outsiders he did not care about, he was always unmoved by praise or blame. That was why Mingzhu had found it so strange earlier when Du Heng flew into such a rage just because someone mentioned the Eldest Princess.
As Du Heng had said, one after another, people who had never spoken unkind words to him from the start came up to talk with him.
Du Heng had earned their admiration. They had seen people pass the Stele of the Heart’s trial safely before, but they had never seen anyone whose words shone so brilliantly, who also cursed the heavens and rebuked the Stele of the Heart Heavenly Dao consciousness.
No one knew who the old man beside the Stele of the Heart was, but because he was there, none of the students present doubted that Du Heng was merely putting on a show.
A smiling face is hard to refuse. Du Heng did not want to get close to them, but he did not give them a cold face either. He only said he was in a hurry to find Sage Su about something, so he quickly had the child Zhao Ming take him to find the person, while Mingzhu stayed below to wait.
Du Heng and the child Zhao Ming walked along the road.
“Is your Grandpa Su satisfied now?”
The child Zhao Ming nodded. “He should be satisfied.”
“In the past, there were also young masters who passed the Stele of the Heart’s trial only to be kicked out by my grandfather. But I have never seen anyone like Young Master Du, whose learning and courage are so outstanding, and whose words shine so brightly on the stele.”
The child Zhao Ming brought Du Heng to Sage Su’s room and knocked on the door. “Grandpa Su, Young Master Du, who just passed the Stele of the Heart’s trial, has arrived.”
“Come in.” An old man’s voice came from inside.
Zhao Ming looked delighted. “Go on in. That means Grandpa Su is satisfied with you.”
Du Heng pushed the door open and entered. Sage Su sat upright beside a round table, where a Go board was laid out with an unfinished game.
Du Heng cupped his hands and bowed. “I am Du Heng. I pay my respects to Senior Su.”
“No need for formality. Come over and finish this game of Go with me.”
Du Heng saw that Sage Su was not surprised to see him, which clearly meant he had already learned his background.
Had the rumors about him already reached Sage Su’s ears?
“Play Go? Senior, are you studying a game record or an unfinished board position?”
“No. I was only halfway through a game with a certain honored guest. She left when she heard you were coming. She said she could not beat me and did not want you to see it, so she asked you to finish the game for her.”
Du Heng looked surprised, but he still sat down across from Sage Su.
“Who is that honored guest? Do I know her?”
“You certainly do. But that person will not let me tell you. That little remark just now was something this old man let slip because I cannot hide my thoughts very well. When you see her someday, do not tell her I said it.”
Du Heng acknowledged this with a nod, already having a guess in mind.
The side left for Du Heng was the black stones. He looked closely and, within a few breaths, confirmed that the other person did not understand Go at all. With just those few moves, the black stones were almost completely cut off and suffocating.
But for him, there was still hope.
Only… since he was asking a favor of someone, should he avoid beating Sage Su?
Sage Su seemed to see his concerns.
“It’s fine. You are only taking over this game after all. Even if you do not know how to play and lose, it does not matter.”
The corner of Du Heng’s mouth twitched. But he wanted to win.
“Senior Su, if I win, could you grant me one request?”
“What request?”
“I want to ask about matters from Great Luo’s past.”
That was why Du Heng had gone to the Censorate. Since the Censorate was not there, he thought that since he was already here, he might as well look for the oldest Sage Su in the Yingtian Prefecture Academy.
Sage Su saw that Du Heng was quite bold. In all the years he had played Go, Du Heng was the only one who came right out and said what he wanted if he won.
He supposed that was the fearlessness of a newborn calf. Such temperament in a young man was a good thing.
He waved his hand. “There is no need to worry. You have already passed the Stele of the Heart, so this old man will certainly help you answer. If you win, I can agree to one more request.”
“Then, if I lose, how about you agree to one request from me instead?”
Du Heng’s mouth curved upward. As if afraid that Sage Su might go back on his word, he quickly cupped his hands in thanks.
“Then thank you for your kindness, Senior. I will certainly do my utmost.”
Sage Su saw how eager he was, but did not take it to heart. Confidence was a good thing.
Du Heng was only twenty years old, with outstanding learning but low cultivation.
It seemed Dao cultivation did not suit him. Wouldn’t it be better to bring him under my Confucian cultivation school?
As for his Go skill, how good could it be? Probably about the same as that honored guest from just now, right?
Sage Su thought that since the words Du Heng had written on the inscription were so disheartening, he must have spent all his time studying scrolls and books. His Go skill must certainly not be very good.
In fact, he was the one getting the advantage. But once Du Heng entered the Yingtian Prefecture Academy, he could make it up to him later.
The two of them then began their back-and-forth game, one black and one white.
After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Sage Su suffered a crushing defeat.
“You…” Sage Su’s fingertips twitched. He nearly failed to hold the last white stone steady.
Du Heng bowed deeply. “Thank you for yielding, Senior.”
“You actually tricked this old man?”
“I never said anything about how good my Go skill was. Senior told me not to worry, so I naturally gave it my all.”
Sage Su blew up his beard and glared.
Of the three visitors today, Emperor Yun Zhao was actually the most law-abiding.
The other two were a mess: one ran off halfway through a Go game, and the other helped with the game while secretly thinking of ways to strike hard.
Du Heng looked at Sage Su’s ashen face and felt that something was not right. Wasn’t Sage Su going to be a poor sport like his uncle?
Sage Su flicked his sleeve and stood up.
“Forget it. I will not lower myself to argue with you.”
He walked to the window and looked at the words Du Heng had just written on the inscription.
“You came to my Yingtian Prefecture Academy today. Do you want to join my Confucian cultivation school?”
Du Heng followed behind Sage Su and froze.
“I had no such intention. I carved characters on the Stele of the Heart only because I wanted to meet you, Senior.”
“Although your words are disheartening, they contain a spirit of non-attachment and non-action. Your state of mind is excellent.”
“You possess great wisdom. You are very suitable for our Confucian school.”
“Since you have cultivated for so many years and only reached this realm, why not come under my wing and give it a try?”
Du Heng said politely, “My sect has treated me well. I have no intention of leaving it.”
“Besides, the origin of my spiritual power has already been set. Changing it again would likely waste all my effort and might bring disaster.”
The most important place for every cultivator is the Spiritual Platform at the center of the brows, and within it, the Sea of Consciousness.
How important is that place?
It is the birthplace of the spiritual power origin that matters most to all cultivators. Generally speaking, when a cultivator begins cultivation, they can only choose one type of spiritual power origin. Different types of cultivators have different origins, and they cannot be converted into one another.
By common sense, if a Dao cultivator wants to switch to Confucian cultivation, they must first completely disperse the spiritual power origin in the Spiritual Platform before they can cultivate anew.
“As long as you trust me, this old man guarantees that after you enter the Confucian school, you will reach your current realm within three years, and enter the fifth realm of Sitting in Reflection within ten years.”
Du Heng shook his head.
“Thank you for your kindness, Senior. I am content with how things are now, and I have no such intention.”
Du Heng thought that the ability he had learned from the true immortal in his dream to conceal his cultivation talent was truly astonishing.
Sage Su was a cultivator of the eighth realm, and even he could not see through Du Heng’s true condition.
But the two seniors in his own sect were also cultivators of the eighth realm. How had they been able to see through him?
After hearing from Yun Shuyu that those two knew his true cultivation, Du Heng had initially thought it was because only his spiritual awareness had reached the ninth realm of No Distance in Dao arts, sword techniques, and other cultivation skills, while his physical cultivation was only at the initial stage of the fifth realm of Sitting in Reflection. That must have been why they saw through him. But now it seemed that was not the case?
If that was so, then Yun Tianyi and Ye Mingshan were actually able to see through his spiritual awareness at the ninth realm of No Distance.
That was the most outrageous part. Spiritual awareness was something cultivators guarded with the utmost secrecy.
At this point, Sage Su saw that Du Heng had truly refused and did not say anything more.
That made sense too. The words he had written in his credo were already so disheartening.
“Only willing to be drunk among flowers, not seeking fame.”
How could he be willing to start over and suffer through cultivation from the beginning?
What a pity. He was a seedling with good talent. He had even thought Du Heng might be someone devoted to studying scrolls, but now it seemed he had been overthinking it.
Sage Su sighed.
“Tell me what you want to ask.”