She is Jianxiu

These two men, Shaozhen and Xiutang, were fourth-rank scholars from the Suotu family, and naturally had contact with Sique Danyun.

In fact, the two were not much younger than Si Que Dan Yun, and were now elders who had lived for over two hundred years. If Suo Tu Yi had not sent a letter from his family demanding an explanation, the two would not have wanted to cause trouble for others for no reason, let alone for the Si Que family, which had also been established for over a thousand years.

Therefore, sitting in the hall today, they did not do anything disrespectful, but politely asked, "Fellow student Dan Yun, I wonder if all the juniors of your family who are of the fifth rank or above have arrived in the hall? It is not that we are suspicious, but we have indeed received instructions from above—"

"Scholar Shaozhen, there's no need for further explanation!" Si Que Danyun sneered, closed his eyes slightly, and said self-deprecatingly, "The fact that your Suotu family has come to question us today is already a great humiliation to my Si Que family. Why bother with this pointless explanation? I can assure you that, apart from the three who are still studying abroad, the remaining fifth-rank scholars are all here. If you have any questions, ask them now!"

While the two families aren't exactly best friends, they maintain a high level of courtesy and are far from being at each other's throats.

For the sake of Suotuhong, not only have all the noble families in the city been offended, but the academy and the prefect's mansion have also been filled with complaints lately.

Shao Zhen sighed, then exchanged a glance with Xiu Tang, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Who could blame them when Suotu Hong had a brother who was a third-rank scholar? The entire clan was hoping that Suotu Yi would advance further, so they dared not offend him.

He stood up, shook his sleeves, and asked the five people standing below the hall as usual: "Listen carefully to the next few questions. Think them through before you come up to answer. You are not allowed to lie. If my Suotu family's Truth-Speaking Worm finds out, things will not end well today."

He beckoned, and a young man immediately stood up beside him, holding a copper basin filled with water. Inside, many crystal-clear insects were jumping around, each about the size of a little finger, thick at the head and thin at the tail, but they looked strangely eerie.

"Before you answer, you must swallow a truth-telling worm. After we finish asking you questions, we will naturally lift the curse."

Seeing such methods, Dan Yun's face turned even worse. If it weren't for the fact that Suo Tu was a third-rank scholar, he probably would have been unable to resist fighting with the two of them today!
Half a day had passed by the time the Suotu family finished their questioning. The five people below the hall were pale and unsightly due to the influence of the Truth-Speaking Worm. Fortunately, none of them had any connection with Suotu Hong. Since Shao Zhen and the others could not get any results, they could only take their leave.

Unexpectedly, Shao Zhen and the others did not leave immediately. Instead, they waited until the five people in the hall left before carefully choosing their words and apologizing to Dan Yun: "It is not that we deliberately wanted to offend you, but our ancestor has given a strict order to investigate all the scholars of the fifth rank and above in the city. Otherwise, we will not be able to explain ourselves when he returns."

Dan Yun smiled, his gaze sharp as if venomous, and said to the side, "Old man? Back when we were studying at the Upper Academy, Suo Tu Yi was just a mere child. Now he's suddenly being addressed as an ancestor."

Speaking of this person, everyone in Mianzhou City is both envious and resentful. He achieved the third rank of merit at the age of over a hundred, and was later personally invited to study at the academy by the Grand Master. At a young age, he was on the verge of becoming a second rank, probably not much different from the ancestor Suotu back then. Not to mention Dan Yun, even Shao Zhen and others from the same clan have had a lot of complaints over the years.

However, complaints should not be made public. Shao Zhen and the others looked surprised, knowing that Dan Yun was too angry and had spoken recklessly.

He straightened his expression and warned, "Fellow student Dan Yun, watch your words!"

Si Que Dan Yun then swallowed the resentment in his heart, raised an eyebrow and said, "What, you've questioned everyone in my Si Que clan, and you still don't plan to leave?"

Upon hearing this, Shao Zhen could only manage a wry smile and shook his head, saying, "Fellow student Dan Yun, is there still someone in your household who hasn't been examined yet?"

Silence fell over the surroundings, leaving only Si Que Dan Yun's almost fiery eyes staring directly at Shao Zhen and the others.

……

The death of Nasuotuhong has caused widespread resentment in the city, and it seems that the chaos will not end until the real culprit is found.

However, Mianzhou City was not the territory of the Suotu clan. This commotion was too big, and the other aristocratic families were not without means. A few lawsuits were filed with the prefect's office, and some clansmen in the academy cried and pleaded with the higher authorities. Then, one by one, people came forward to stop it.

Si Queyi said, "The prefect of Mianzhou City is an official appointed by the Jinlai Kingdom. Although his merits are not high and he cannot compare with the third-rank ancestor Suotu, he has been granted an imperial title and is backed by the royal family. He has always been a force to be reckoned with, rivaling the Gushe Academy. Now that the prefect's office has stepped in, it will not be long before the Suotu family will have to quiet down."

She breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling that her recent worries were finally coming to an end. With her mind at ease, she was also surprised and delighted, saying, "My heart is surging with excitement. I'm about to break through to the seventh rank."

"Senior Zhao, I've only been enrolled for less than three months, and I'm already on track to break through to the seventh rank!"

At such a vibrant age, she couldn't resist sharing her joy with others after receiving such a delightful event. If Zhao Chun hadn't been sitting in the room, she would have jumped for joy today.

"You are diligent in your studies, working almost day and night, so it is only natural that you have made such progress."

In Zhao Chun's opinion, Si Queyi has decent comprehension and an open mind. Her past poor progress can only be attributed to the lack of a good teacher. Otherwise, given her enthusiasm and perseverance in learning new things, the speed at which she made a breakthrough in three months is still considered slow.

Suddenly receiving praise, Si Queyi became a little embarrassed and scratched his face helplessly, saying, "Senior, do you know how long it took me to break through to the eighth rank? A full three and a half years. Although I had a mentor after entering the clan school and learned more, I was able to reach the threshold of breakthrough so early thanks to your help, which enabled me to continue to learn."

That's not wrong. Compared to the seven or eight hundred people in Room C listening to a single teacher's lecture, Zhao Chun's personal guidance was undoubtedly far superior.

Besides that, Zhan Yan would sometimes call her over and give her further explanations and instruction in private. However, Si Queyi felt that what these masters could talk about for several hours to be considered thorough knowledge was nothing more than a single sentence in front of Senior Zhao.

She then had Zhao Chun guide her for an hour, and the insights she gained were already greater than a month's worth of lessons. If she still couldn't find any signs of a breakthrough after this, then it would be because Si Queyi was dull-witted and couldn't benefit from even a good teacher.

Zhao Chun didn't say much to her, but continued, taking advantage of the breakthrough as an excuse, "Now that you are about to break through, you should seize the opportunity and advance to the seventh rank as soon as possible. Assuming you can reach the seventh rank this year, in no more than three years, you should start thinking about advancing to the sixth rank. Otherwise, without a good reputation, you will naturally not be able to enter the upper academy of the academy."

In just three or four years, I'll be promoted to the sixth rank!
Si Queyi was stunned for a moment, and then said somewhat speechlessly, "Senior Zhao, I am twenty-three years old now. In another three or four years, I will be under thirty. To be able to advance to the sixth rank at such an age would make me a first-class genius in the entire Jinlai Kingdom."

"If you're not a first-rate genius, how can you get into the upper academy?" Zhao Chun didn't care. It seemed that those first-rate geniuses were just ordinary people that could be found anywhere in her eyes. "I not only want you to be a first-rate genius, but I also want you to surpass everyone else and become a first-rate student in the upper academy. Miss Si Que, since you've made up your mind to study with me, you can't underestimate yourself from now on."

"Geniuses have always been common, but only those who can remain geniuses can be called peerless geniuses. I cannot guarantee that you will thoroughly understand the teachings of the sages and become a hero of our time, but as long as you remain under my tutelage, I will not let you lose to anyone else."

Once Zhao Chun enters the academy, her time with Si Queyi will come to an end. Without her guidance, she will have to rely on Si Queyi herself to reach the pinnacle of cultivation.

The Siqueyi (a high-ranking official in charge of imperial ceremonies) possesses all the qualities of comprehension, talent, perseverance, and willpower.

The only thing missing is an unwavering fighting spirit and an indomitable will.

She must pick this up now, lest she be limited by it in the future.

Si Queyi seemed to be touched, nodding her head without saying a word. In her heart, something seemed to spring up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, making her feel awe and respect for Zhao Chun once again.

Having seen the initial signs of breaking through to the seventh rank, the next step is simply to accumulate knowledge and skills day by day, hoping for a gradual but persistent effort to achieve success.

Moreover, breakthroughs in the Mind School are never more difficult than those in the Xuanmen Daoist Cultivation School. The latter involves a wide range of knowledge, foundation, comprehension, cultivation methods, and external aids—none of which can be lacking. Sometimes, in order to condense a Dharma body, one can be trapped for hundreds or even thousands of years. Between major realms, there are also minor realms to climb. Cultivating cultivation methods and refining supernatural powers, there is always something to do, all in order to carve out a path to survival in that era of great strife.

Therefore, it was hard for Zhao Chun not to feel that the scholars of the School of Mind were living a comfortable life.

The Sique Yi and her maids repeatedly warned her to be careful of evil spirits, but she hadn't seen many of them during this time.

Cultivation is easy, life is peaceful, and external enemies are insignificant. Scholars of the Mind School have no other desires; what they care about is naturally their lifespan.

The faster the better; this had become a major concern for the entire Sique clan ever since the Suotu family arrived.

Two months later, in room C.

As Zhan Yan stepped into the school with the ruler in hand, he saw Si Queyi standing tall among the students, his face beaming with joy. "I was just about to inform Master Zhan that I have successfully advanced to the seventh rank yesterday and will be studying in the Yi class from now on."

Although they only saw each other every few days, Zhan Yan was surprised to see how quickly the other person's progress had been. He couldn't help but ask, "How old were you when you reached the eighth rank? I remember you enrolled this year and have only been in the Bingzi ward for less than half a year." (End of Chapter)