She is Jianxiu

As soon as that cold, low voice fell, Si Queyi hurriedly opened the book and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Zhao Chun knew she was nervous, and before coming here, she had heard from her about the identity of the person giving the lesson today. She knew that the person sitting on the high platform was the only one of the three teachers in the Bingzi branch who came from a collateral branch and had barely been promoted to a sixth-rank scholar after the age of sixty.

This person's name is Zhan Yan, and the students often call her Teacher Zhan. Because of her strictness, she is often complained about by the students in private. Si Queyi was punished twice by her and was still afraid of it.

However, when it came to lecturing, no one in the Bingzifang dared to question this mentor.

Si Queyi explained that Zhan Yan was of mediocre talent, so in the first lesson he had been straightforward with everyone, saying that he had only achieved the rank of sixth-grade scholar through his cultivation so far, and that the chance of advancing to the fifth grade was slim. As for her, her talent was secondary to her ability to reach the sixth grade; what truly helped her break through was her decades of diligent study—a testament to the power of accumulated knowledge and experience.

Few people will truly understand these words; at least those who are proud and arrogant will simply laugh them off and not believe them.

Only someone like Si Queyi, who came from a collateral branch and was a newcomer to the clan school, would be greatly encouraged after hearing these words, believing that in addition to talent, diligence is also a path to success.

Therefore, Si Queyi always held Zhan Yan, his mentor, in high esteem and tried his best to show off in front of him. Unfortunately, the more he did, the more mistakes he made, which gave those with ulterior motives an opportunity.

Zhao Chun sat cross-legged in the hall, her eyes closed as if she were thinking. While listening to Zhan Yan explain the scriptures, she also slightly opened her mind and unconsciously brought the entire room under her senses. Even the slightest movement would make her immediately aware of it.

On the podium, Zhan Yan's voice was somewhat low and hoarse, but when it came to the important parts, he did not hesitate to repeatedly analyze and clarify the meaning of the text for the students.

When his emotions were running high, he would even slam his fist on the table, stand up, and wave his sleeves in the air, speaking fluently and eloquently, with almost nothing he couldn't understand.

Occasionally, things would calm down, and the teacher would take a short break with his teacup. This was the time for students to ask questions and for the teachers to provide answers.

However, in the Bingzi Room, only the first twenty students were qualified to ask the master for guidance. The remaining students, such as the Siqueyi, who sat at the back, could only listen silently and discuss the matter with their classmates after class.

Zhao Chun spared a moment to listen to Zhan Yan's explanation of the scriptures for half an hour. Perhaps because she lacked a true literary lineage, these dry scriptures were utterly useless to her. Furthermore, they weren't particularly profound. In fact, she noticed that some parts, which even Zhan Yan, a sixth-rank scholar, hadn't fully grasped, she understood completely without any lingering impression.

"Perhaps it's because my primordial spirit is exceptionally powerful? Hmm, that's quite possible. After all, a sixth-rank scholar can only compare to a cultivator who has achieved the Unity Realm, so it's natural that he can't comprehend it."

With her cultivation level, she could probably only reach the third rank in this realm. No one in the entire Sique clan had ever reached such a level. Therefore, the scriptures passed down within the clan were essentially just cultivation methods compiled by scholars of the highest rank, based on the teachings of sages. If Zhao Chun wanted to understand them, she wouldn't have any difficulty at all.

On the contrary, it can analyze the surface and the essence, pointing directly to the truth, and easily achieve what Si Queyi now dreams of.

A thought struck her. She knew that the true geniuses of the Sique clan could not only be admitted to the Jiazi Academy, but if someone possessed exceptional talent and reached a point where even the clan's instructors could not provide guidance or training, then someone from the academy could be summoned to recommend them for further studies in Lijing.

The academy mentioned here naturally refers to the Gushe Academy. Its lower campus is located in Mianzhou City, often admitting commoners regardless of their social status. The Gushe Academy in the capital city, however, is its upper campus, the cultural center of the entire Jinlai Kingdom. Even members of the royal family and nobles must start as students in the outer academy and must not violate its rules and regulations.

Zhao Chun believed that since the Gushe Academy was related to Huanyuan, she had to investigate it. However, in order not to alert the enemy and put herself in danger, she might as well work on her identity...

With this plan in mind, Si Queyi could not leave it unattended. Zhao Chun nodded slightly, thinking that this opportunity was a way of repaying the other party's kindness in taking her in.

Inside Room C, Zhan Yan finished answering the students' questions and then waved his hand, giving everyone a short break.

Si Queyi dared not relax for a moment. He quickly picked up the book to understand the meaning of the text, writing and drawing with one hand while muttering to himself.

The person on the stage glanced down and saw this scene, so he nodded almost imperceptibly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

Just as Jingchuan and the others thought, Zhan Yan himself was from a collateral branch of the family and had endured decades of hardship within the clan school. The cold stares and gossip he had suffered were far beyond what the current Siqueyi could bear. However, those who achieve great things must have an unyielding will. The newcomers are still young, and regardless of whether their temperament is soft or hard, they all have shortcomings. Weakness makes it difficult to make progress, while recklessness and excessive rigidity make them prone to breaking.

Therefore, in her opinion, of the students who came in from the side branches this year, only Si Queyi was worthy of her attention.

However, this level of achievement is not worth her extensive cultivation. After all, her term will end this year, and she will be going to the capital to study. Those who can graduate in this year's class are all direct descendants of the same family. When the new teacher arrives next year, the disciples from the collateral branches of the school will probably face even greater difficulties.

Zhan Yan sighed and shook his head silently. After swallowing the tea, he felt an indescribable bitterness in his mouth.

He simply raised his hand and struck the bronze bell on the table, then straightened his expression and said, "Alright, bring me paper and pen." This meant he had rested and was ready to continue explaining the text.

Upon seeing this, Si Queyi's tension intensified, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Deciphering characters is her weakness; she made two mistakes before because of this. Jingchuan and the others will definitely not let this opportunity slip by!

Sure enough, just as the students spread out their paper and pens, concentrating intently, Si Que Tan turned around and a mocking smile appeared on his lips. He was clearly thinking of repeating what he had done before and teaching the other party a lesson again.

Zhao Chun opened her eyes at the right moment, showing great interest in the steps of deciphering the characters.

According to Si Queyi, the sage Danqiu once had many disciples, with over eight thousand listening to his lectures alone. However, among these eight thousand, only a handful were truly able to enter his inner sanctum.

The four most learned and accomplished disciples, after completing their studies, became the founders of the four great academies of Gushe, Jiuyi, Shaoshi, and Baiyu. The names of these academies also originate from the names of the four secondary peaks at the foot of Danqiu Mountain. The teachings of the sages that have been passed down to this day were compiled by these two generations of disciples, divided into four chapters, and inscribed on steles for posterity.

Even today, the analysis in Si Que's "Ren Zang Jing" and "Pan Luo Shu" is only a single sentence from the Gu She Wen Bei in the four chapters.

Since ordinary handwriting cannot convey the emperor's intentions, the inscriptions on the four stone tablets were all carved in ancient script. This is why there is the saying that to restore the literary tradition, one must first understand the characters.

The Gushe Stele alone contains over ten thousand characters of script. Si Queyi is twenty-three years old this year, yet he has only mastered no more than ten characters of script. This shows how many cultivators will be blocked on the path of deciphering these characters.

She took a quick breath and forced herself to suppress the distracting thoughts in her mind. Just as she was concentrating, Zhan Yan on the stage raised his sleeve and waved his brush, writing a simple character with only a few strokes.

"This character is '克' (kè). I have taught you this today. You will need to take it for the exam in the next big lesson."

Zhan Yan put down his pen and sat down. His expression was slightly more serious than before, which allowed Zhao Chun to notice that this man was constantly exerting his strength while writing, and the literary meridians in his body were also pulsating accordingly.

When she concentrated on trying to trace the characters of the Qi script with her divine sense, she also felt a heavy sense of obstruction.

The resistance was neither too great nor too small. Zhao Chun forced himself to try once, and the rest went smoothly without any obstacles.

But for Si Queyi, an eighth-rank scholar, just looking at the direction of the inscription with his naked eye was enough to make his mind churn like a stormy sea, causing him to feel dizzy and disoriented.

This feeling is a common difficulty for scholars all over the world when deciphering characters, because only through the written characters can one perceive the thoughts of the sages, thus enabling the literary tradition to flourish and the spirit to be enhanced.

Therefore, no matter how hard or tiring it is, it's all worth it.

Si Queyi frowned, but his body suddenly trembled. If he looked up at that moment, he would see Si Que Tan with his hands on his knees, his five fingers forming a strange hand seal, and his other hand flat in a palm, with the words "Si Queyi" written on a piece of paper underneath.

As he turned his wrist, a hidden force flew up from the paper and struck backwards without missing a beat!
Si Queyi's pupils contracted, and she quickly tried to be on guard. However, at this moment, it was by no means an easy task for her to immediately withdraw her strength from the script. If she made the slightest mistake, all of her interpretation of the script today would be in vain.

Fortunately, just as she was about to pull her mind back, a calm and powerful hand pressed her down. Si Que Tan's swiftly attacking dark force seemed to crash into a vast ocean, unknowingly swallowed by the tide, without even a ripple.

Is it Miss Zhao?

Si Queyi didn't dare to speak, and forcibly suppressed his gaze towards Zhao Chun. He only glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and found that she was sitting cross-legged as before, her face calm and expressionless, not like she had used any tricks.

"hiss--"

For just a moment, she was distracted, and the force that rebounded from the inscription made Si Queyi's head throb with pain. She dared not think about anything else and quickly pulled herself back to focus on the inscription.

Unexpectedly, Jingchuan and his group tried three or four more methods after their first attempt failed, all of which seemed to hit a brick wall, leaving them utterly perplexed. (End of Chapter)