Upon seeing Wang Xuan, Liu Bei greeted him warmly, saying, "Brother Wang, you've finally returned! The three-surname traitor Lü Bu wreaked havoc in the camps of the warlords, causing widespread panic. I was afraid you had perished."
As Wang Xuan listened, the smile on his face froze. "You're the one who's going to be in trouble! You jinx!"
But Liu Bei meant well, so Wang Xuan could only complain a few times in his heart before following Liu Bei back to the military camp.
After not seeing each other for a few days, Miss Cai Yan missed Wang Xuan a little. After all, everyone in the military camp was a rough man, and only Wang Xuan could get along with her.
"Wang Xuan, where have you been hiding these past few days?" Cai Yan asked suspiciously. "You weren't scared off by Lü Bu, so you abandoned me and ran away, were you?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Xuan felt somewhat embarrassed, but he didn't show it on his face at all. Instead, he said shamelessly, "This young master is exceptionally talented. After watching the battle between Lü Bu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others, I had an epiphany, so I went into seclusion and broke through to the realm of entering the Dao through martial arts!"
Cai Yan opened her cherry-like mouth, unable to close it for a long time, and said in surprise, "What did you say? You have already broken through to the third level of martial arts and entered the Dao through martial arts?"
"If I remember correctly, you haven't been practicing martial arts for even a year, have you?"
In just one year, she went from an ordinary person who knew no martial arts to someone who had entered the Dao realm. This was truly astonishing, and Miss Cai Yan couldn't help but be surprised.
Wang Xuan said smugly, "I'm a genius, so my cultivation speed is inevitably a bit fast."
Cai Yan rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "We agreed to go to Master Zheng Xuan's school to listen to his lectures. How long are you planning to stay here?"
Clearly, Miss Cai Yan was already somewhat dissatisfied. After all, Wang Xuan had tricked her into coming out by using the excuse of attending classes under Zheng Xuan's tutelage.
Wang Xuan thought about it and realized that the armies of the various warlords and Dong Zhuo's Xiliang cavalry were currently locked in a stalemate at Hulao Pass, and it was impossible to determine a winner in a short period of time.
In Wang Xuan's previous life, this battle only lasted a few months before a winner was decided. However, the main world is a high-level martial arts world where gods and demons roam freely. How could it be the same as the Dharma-ending world of his previous life?
In the main world, all those who have made their mark on history possess considerable cultivation and have lifespans far exceeding those of ordinary people.
The lifespan of those at the Innate Realm is 150 years, those at the Dao Realm are 200 years, those at the Mortal Transformation Realm are 400 years, and those at the Celestial Realm can live up to 1,000 years. Those at the Divine Power Realm above Celestial Realm can live up to 3,000 years, truly deities on earth.
Since the lifespan of these famous ministers and generals increased by an average of about ten times, the timeline should naturally be extended by ten times as well. That is why the Han Dynasty had a national fortune of four thousand years, not four hundred years.
If Wang Xuan's guess is correct, the battle at Hulao Pass will not be able to determine a winner for at least a few years.
Wang Xuan naturally wouldn't waste any more years here; he'd rather go and attend classes under Zheng Xuan's tutelage.
He immediately patted his chest and told Miss Cai Yan, "I will do whatever you say. Once I have Li Dian and Yue Jin, I will go and say goodbye to Liu Bei."
Upon hearing this, Miss Cai Yan couldn't help but reveal a strange smile: "I'm afraid your two fierce generals are gone for good. In the days you were missing, they were quite close to Cao Mengde."
"What?!" Wang Xuan was furious. He hadn't expected those two guys to have found someone else.
However, after thinking about it, Wang Xuan could understand them.
After all, although Wang Xuan's father, Wang Yun, was the Grand Minister of Works of the Han Dynasty and held a high position, the central government of the Han Dynasty had long since fallen into the control of Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun no longer had any real power and could not give Li Dian and Yue Jin any real benefits. He could only serve as a household guard to protect the Wang family.
Cao Cao, however, was different. He was a regional warlord with a wealth of civil and military officials under his command. He was also the initiator of the alliance of warlords, and his status among the warlords was extremely high. Joining Cao Cao's ranks was far better than becoming a retainer in the royal family.
Moreover, Cao Cao's personal charisma was far superior to Wang Yun's!
"If it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if a mother wants to remarry, she wants to remarry. Let them go if they want. Anyway, in the original history, these two also surrendered to Cao Cao." Wang Xuan smiled bitterly, secretly comforting himself.
Recalling the history of the Three Kingdoms from his previous life, Wang Xuan suddenly had a bad feeling. It seemed that in the unofficial history of his previous life, there was some unclear and ambiguous relationship between Miss Cai Yan and Cao Mengde!
Wang Xuan's heart skipped a beat, but he asked casually, "You've met Cao Mengde these past few days, haven't you? What do you think of him?"
Cai Yan didn't think much of it and said without hesitation, "Cao Mengde must be a great hero. He did everything he could to eliminate Dong Zhuo and restore the Han Dynasty."
During this period, Cao Cao was indeed still loyal to the Han Dynasty and did not have much ambition; he only wanted to be the General Who Conquers the West for the Han Dynasty.
Cai Yan believed that Cao Cao was a great hero, which was not wrong; in fact, most people in the world thought so.
But Wang Xuan felt a chill in his heart; this was a sign that the foundation was unstable!
Just as he was cursing Cao Cao in his heart, Cai Yan continued, "Moreover, Cao Mengde is also very talented. Whether it is poetry, lyrics, or songs, he is better than me."
At this point, Miss Cai Yan's eyes almost sparkled with excitement.
"It seems we can't stay here any longer. Pack your things right away, and I'll go say goodbye to Liu Bei immediately!" Wang Xuan looked up at the sky. If they didn't leave soon, Cao Mengde would probably have dug up the entire wall!
Chapter 101 Jixia Academy
Cai Yan was somewhat confused, but she vaguely guessed that she had said something she shouldn't have, which had provoked Wang Xuan.
However, she was still very happy that Wang Xuan agreed to leave immediately, so she didn't ask any more questions and went straight to pack her things.
Not long after, Cai Yan put all her personal belongings from the tent into her spatial ring, and then, leading her unicorn, Little Snowball, she came to Wang Xuan's side.
Wang Xuan, leading his dragon-scaled horse, walked with Cai Yan toward Liu Bei's military tent.
Not long after, Wang Xuan met Liu Bei. Liu Bei seemed restless and out of sorts, and Wang Xuan found out the reason.
At this time, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both in seclusion, and those two fierce generals could break through to the late stage of the Celestial Realm at any time, reaching the same level as Lü Bu!
Liu Bei had witnessed Lü Bu's unparalleled bravery, and now that his two sworn brothers might break through to the same level as Lü Bu, Liu Bei was naturally extremely excited, to the point that he had been somewhat absent-minded for the past few days.
Wang Xuan walked over and greeted Liu Bei, then cupped his hands and said, "Lord Xuande, we've been bothering you in your camp for a while now, it's time for us to leave."
Liu Bei was taken aback upon hearing this, and quickly tried to persuade him to stay, saying, "Brother Wang, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Perhaps I have not been hospitable enough?"
Liu Bei was determined to use Wang Xuan's connections to establish relations with Situ Wang Yun and even the Emperor of Han!
If Wang Xuan leaves now, all the efforts he has put in these past few days will be greatly diminished.
Wang Xuan chuckled and explained, "The reason we left Luoyang is to go to Donglai County in Qingzhou to listen to lectures under the great Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan, so it is inconvenient for us to stay here for long."
"The great Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan!" Upon hearing Wang Xuan's words, Liu Bei did not try to persuade him to stay, but looked at Wang Xuan with envy and jealousy.
Among the great Confucian scholars of the late Han Dynasty, the most famous were Ma Rong and Zheng Xuan. Both of them were powerful figures at the perfect level of Heaven and Man, unparalleled in their time!
Unfortunately, Ma Rong died a few years ago, and only Zheng Xuan is still alive. He can be called the backbone of scholars in the world, and his status in the officialdom is much stronger than that of Lu Zhi, Liu Bei's teacher.
If given the opportunity to study under Zheng Xuan for a period of time, Liu Bei would rather abandon his 20,000 to 30,000 troops and go to study under Zheng Xuan.
After all, the connections and relationships formed through this are far more valuable than the 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers!
When Liu Bei learned that Wang Xuan and his companions were going to study under Zheng Xuan, he could only reluctantly bid farewell to Wang Xuan and respectfully see them off.
After leaving Liu Bei's camp, Wang Xuan and Cai Yan rode their horses towards Qingzhou.
Qingzhou is a hundred thousand miles away from here. Fortunately, both of them have cultivation, and the horses they ride are not ordinary.
Wang Xuan's dragon-scaled horse can travel five thousand miles a day, while Cai Yan's unicorn, Little Snowball, is a third-tier exotic beast that can easily run twenty thousand miles a day!
With their all-out effort, they arrived in Donglai County, Qingzhou in just over twenty days.
Zheng Xuan was originally from Gaomi County, Beihai Commandery. Historically, he was a migrant farmer in Donglai Commandery because of his family's poverty.
However, in the main world, Zheng Xuan, a powerful expert at the peak of the Celestial Realm, would naturally not be so poor as to farm for others.
Wang Xuan had long heard from his adoptive father that the great Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan ran a school in Donglai County, Qingzhou. He oversaw an academy called Jixia Academy, where thousands of students attended his classes!
"Jixia Academy, what a profound name!" Wang Xuan knew that the name of this academy was not chosen by Zheng Xuan, but was inherited from the Spring and Autumn Period ten thousand years ago!
The Jixia Academy, also known as the Jixia School, was first built by Duke Huan of Qi, Tian Wu. It was located near the Jixia Gate in Linzi, the capital of the State of Qi, hence the name "Jixia Academy" because of its location near the Jixia Gate.
The Jixia Academy was the world's first institution of higher learning with a unique structure, jointly established by the government and privately managed. Its official curriculum followed the Huang-Lao school of thought. As the central forum for the debates among various schools of thought at the time, it significantly contributed to the formation of a vibrant academic landscape.
However, with the Qin Dynasty's conquest of the six states and the Chu-Han Contention, the Jixia Academy relocated its mountain gate several times during thousands of years of war.
Now, Zheng Xuan, as the headmaster of the Jixia Academy, has moved the academy to Donglai County.
Wang Xuan and Cai Yan arrived at the Jixia Academy together. They heard the sound of students reciting their lessons, which carried a special charm that drew them in.
Wang Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. He activated his Golden Eyes of Qi and looked around. He saw that the vast and righteous energy filled the entire academy, gathering in the shape of a book at the center of the academy.
"It's actually a manifestation of destiny! This kind of formation is even above the purple natal destiny!"
Above the purple aura, there is also the solidified aura. If it is an emperor, the accumulated national fortune can condense into a canopy of fortune, and there may even be the image of a true dragon accompanying it.
The Jixia Academy is clearly different from the state and is more like a sect. Its fortune has deviated from the Five Elements theory of Yin and Yang and has been transformed into books formed by the righteous spirit!
Just then, the book formed from the condensed fortune seemed to sense something and emitted a faint light, which immediately caused a stinging pain in Wang Xuan's eyes, forcing him to stop using the Golden Eye of Fortune.
"With my current azure innate destiny and the help of the Eternal Tower of Heaven and Earth, I still cannot fully fathom the destiny of the Jixia Academy. It is truly terrifying!" Wang Xuan's eyes showed horror. He dared not be negligent and quickly stopped his small movements. Just like an ordinary student who came to study, he stepped into the academy.
Two scholars dressed in blue robes blocked Wang Xuan and Cai Yan's path and asked, "May I ask what brings you two here? If you wish to study, you have come too late. The year's studies are already more than halfway complete. You should wait until next year."
Wang Xuan had no intention of waiting until next year. He took out Cai Yong's letter from his spatial ring and handed it over, saying, "My name is Wang Xuan, and I am the son of Minister Wang Yun. The woman next to me is named Cai Yan, and she is the daughter of the great Confucian scholar Cai Yong. I have a letter from Mr. Cai Yong here, and I hope you can pass it on to Mr. Zheng Xuan."
"Cai Yong?!" Upon hearing this, the two scholars immediately dared not be negligent. Although Cai Yong's reputation in official circles was not as great as Zheng Xuan's, he was still a famous Confucian scholar of his time and an idol worshipped by scholars.
Not long after, a man took the letter and left in a hurry to find Zheng Xuan.
Wang Xuan and his companions didn't have to wait long. Soon, the scholar returned and said, "The headmaster asked me to take you to see him!"
Led by the scholar, they walked into the back mountain of the Jixia Academy.
The Jixia Academy is divided into two parts: the front mountain and the back mountain. The requirements for attending classes on the front mountain are more lenient, similar to those for outer disciples. However, Zheng Xuan's time for lecturing on the outer mountain is limited.
Those who could attend classes in the back mountain were essentially Zheng Xuan's personal disciples. Zheng Xuan would give lectures in the back mountain every day, and anyone who didn't understand anything could ask him.
Chapter 102 Becoming Zheng Xuan's Apprentice
As Wang Xuan and Cai Yan walked into the back mountain, they saw a refined middle-aged man sitting cross-legged, reciting Confucian classics.
In front of the middle-aged man, there were twenty or thirty young scholars listening attentively, asking questions from time to time if they didn't understand something.
Wang Xuan and the others didn't disturb them and consciously went over to join the class.
Miss Cai Yan was a talented woman, well-versed in the classics of various schools of thought, and with the constant guidance of the great Confucian scholar Cai Yong, her literary foundation was extremely solid. Upon hearing Zheng Xuan's lecture, she was instantly captivated.
Even Wang Xuan had a vague sense of enlightenment. In his previous life, Wang Xuan was also a liberal arts student who had memorized a lot of poems and songs and could also write a few simple doggerel.
Since his rebirth into this world, his comprehension has increased significantly. As his cultivation progresses, his comprehension continues to improve. Although the time he has to study the classics is limited, his literary skills have also improved considerably. At least, he can understand most of what Zheng Xuan says.
Zheng Xuan lectured on the classics for about half an hour before signaling the students to leave, leaving only Wang Xuan and Cai Yan behind.
Zheng Xuan glanced at Wang Xuan and said, "I have read Mr. Cai Yong's letter. He said that you were being targeted by the Old Immortal of Nanhua and asked you to come to me for refuge. It seems that he was fooled by you, kid."
Wang Xuan wasn't embarrassed. He knew Zheng Xuan was unfathomable, so it wasn't surprising that he could see that. However, he still couldn't help but ask, "Master Zheng, how did you figure that out?"
"Don't give me that. I haven't even acknowledged you as my student, yet you're calling me 'Master Zheng'!" Zheng Xuan glared at him irritably and said, "The path that the Old Immortal Nanhua cultivates is different from ours and is rejected by the Heavenly Dao. If he had really taken you as his disciple, you would probably already be plagued by calamity."
"I was really plagued by calamity before, and I was almost destroyed by the Heavenly Dao!" Wang Xuan muttered to himself, but said flatteringly, "Master Zheng, you really have discerning eyes. Nothing can be hidden from you!"
Zheng Xuan was too lazy to correct Wang Xuan's form of address. He had figured it out: this kid from Situ Wang Yun's family was definitely a shameless fellow.
At this moment, Cai Yan suddenly asked, "Mr. Zheng Xuan, you said that the Dao cultivated by the Old Immortal of Nanhua is different from ours. Does that mean he doesn't cultivate martial arts?"