Saint Yuan Continent, Jing Guo, Jiang Zhou, Dayuan Prefecture, Ji County.

The sky was a brilliant blue, the sun shining brightly. Birds chirped happily, and the ground was scattered with leaves and petals washed down by the night rain. Spring was in full bloom.

Fang Yun jolted awake, a cold sweat drenching him. He opened his eyes, staring blankly around the room.

Fang Yun found himself lying on the cobblestones of a narrow alley. The ground was wet, and he hurriedly supported himself by the wall as he stood up, while pain shot through him, burning like fire.

"I distinctly remember a fire in the library, and I jumped out of a window to escape. How could I be here? Where is this place?" Fang Yun thought suspiciously.

Fang Yunyu discovered that his clothes were wrong. He looked down in astonishment, realizing he was wearing ancient coarse linen. His clothes were stained with mud and scratches. His arms were thin and small.

There was a small puddle beside him. Fang Yun bent down and looked into it, seeing his own reflection in the water.

"Isn't this me from fourteen or fifteen years ago?"

Suddenly, Fang Yun's head pounded with pain, his eyes saw stars, and a flood of memories surged into his mind. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead.

After an unknown amount of time, Fang Yun calmed down. His eyes were incredibly complex as he slowly sorted through the newly acquired memories.

"It turns out this isn't Earth anymore, but a Shengyuan Continent I've never heard of. This year is the same as before, and he's already been killed. Could it be that I died in the library and by some chance took over his body? Is this the legendary reincarnation?"

“This Fang Yun's most ardent wish is to be alive and possess the brilliance that will glorify his ancestors. To think there’s such a thing as 'Qi' here! Literati can control 'Heavenly and Earthly Energy' through Qi, gaining even greater power. It's unheard of.”

"Huh? The history here..."

Fang Yun discovered that this world, besides having demons and savages, had a normal history on the continent of Sheng Yuan before the Shang Dynasty. But from the late Shang Dynasty, there was a huge change.

During the late Shang Dynasty, Xibohou Jichang, who later became King Wen of Zhou, observed the sun, moon, stars and wrote the classic book "I Ching." Celestial omens appeared, bestowing upon him immense talent. He was crowned as the "Sub-Sage" by heaven and led his troops from Xigong to conquer the tyrant King Zhou.

The Western Qi army was unstoppable, and after many days, they arrived under the walls of Chaoge, the capital of the Shang dynasty. The city gates suddenly swung open, and a hundred thousand demon tribe soldiers, three hundred thousand barbarian tribesmen, and one million Shang soldiers surged out like water, encircling the twenty thousand Western Qi soldiers.

King Shang Zhou stood on the city wall, embracing the fox demon Daji, and cursed the soldiers of Xigqi. Afterward, he ordered a full-scale attack. Seeing that the soldiers of Xigqi were about to face a catastrophic disaster, King Wen of Zhou descended from heaven on Qingyun.

King Wen stood tall, with furrowed brows and a piercing gaze. He listed ten major crimes of King Shang Zhou, and for each crime he uttered, the fortunes of the Shang dynasty diminished by one, and King Shang Zhou aged ten years. After King Wen finished his account, the fortunes of the Shang dynasty collapsed entirely, leaving King Shang Zhou on the brink of death, barely clinging to life.

Zhou Wen Wang's talent was transformed into a blazing fire, soaring high in the sky. He held the sacred book, *The I Ching*, and recited it. One by one, tiny golden characters flew out of his mouth, growing larger and larger until they were the size of a person. Countless golden characters surrounded the brilliant aura, radiating gold light, illuminating the world.

Gold harms no human race, but one hundred thousand demon tribes and three hundred thousand barbarian tribes suddenly let out a horrifying wail. They split open from within, blood splattering everywhere, dying one after another.

In the end, all five Barbarian Saints perished, with only one of the three Demon Saints escaping.

On the wild moor, a willow weeps.

When King Zhou died, the millions of soldiers of the Shang Dynasty surrendered.

Later generations praised Zhou Wenwang: single-handedly slaying the demons and barbarians, he peacefully governed the world alone.

Later, King Wen of Zhou passed the throne to King Wu and devoted himself to studying the I Ching, living to be five hundred years old.

After that, no one else had such talent until Confucius was born.

When Confucius was born, he was ugly and strange in appearance. He was abandoned in the wilderness. The weather was extremely hot, and a hawk descended, flapping its wings to fan him, driving away the sweltering heat. A tigress took Confucius into her den and suckled him with her milk. Therefore, later generations said that Confucius was "a dragon giving birth to a tiger, raised by a tiger and fanned by an eagle."

Later, the tigress returned Confucius to his mother, and his mother carefully raised him.

Confucius's mother was a concubine. After Confucius's father died, Confucius and his mother were driven out by Confucius's father's main wife.

When Confucius was young, he was very poor. After becoming renowned, he once told his disciples: "I was lowly born, so I learned many manual skills." This means that because he was poor when he was young, he had to learn many trades.

When Confucius was young, he was very ordinary. It wasn't until middle age that he showed signs of being extraordinary and traveled around the different states.

When Confucius was old, he returned to Lu State and eventually became one of the highest officials, the Grand Master. However, he was ultimately dismissed.

After Confucius's resignation from his post, he revised the *Classic of Poetry*, the *Classic of Documents*, the *Classic of Rites*, and the *Classic of Music*. He also wrote a preface for King Wen's *I Ching*. Finally, Confucius personally compiled the *Spring and Autumn Annals*. At that time, his literary genius was unparalleled. Heaven showered flowers and stars blazed brightly, forming brilliant clouds that stretched for thousands of miles. Thunder roared across the land, shaking the world. His accomplishment was as legendary as that of a sage second only to the highest level.

After Confucius was deified, he retreated into seclusion for ten years.

Not long after, the snake demon saint who had fled during the War of Shang and Zhou, after six hundred years of cultivation, advanced further to become a great saint. He aimed to avenge Wen Wang's extermination of the demons and launched a large-scale invasion.

The power of the Great Sage is slightly stronger than that of human Arhats. Even Zhou Wenwang, of old, was somewhat inferior to him.

The demonic allied army arrived at Yuhai City, causing panic among the populace.

As the barbarian army was about to attack the city, Confucius arrived riding the "Warring States Chariot" of Wen Bao. He held the "Spring and Autumn Annals" in his left hand and a "Spring and Autumn Brush" in his right. Seeing the Great Sage of the Serpent Clan, he smiled faintly and said: “Food is never tiring, nor is it tiring to have thinly sliced meat. Please allow me to put you into my cauldron, and I will cook you over a raging fire.”

When millions of demons were enraged, Confucius took up his pen. Wind and clouds surged, the heavens and earth changed, and with his Spring and Autumn brush, he wrote nine "kill" characters, one character per sword stroke, slaying the great saint of the snake clan. He divided the great saint into ten parts and then publicly cooked him, devouring the hundred-zhang-long snake clan saint himself.

During the cooking process, millions of demonic troops wanted to flee. Confucius casually threw out the Book of Spring and Autumn, covering the sky for three thousand miles. With a single stroke of his brush, he killed millions of demons.

All people knelt down and addressed him as a sage.

Later, Confucius founded the first academy, the Qufu Academy, breaking the educational monopoly at the time. He enrolled 30,000 ordinary disciples and 3,000 direct disciples, with 72 outstanding disciples.

All those who study under Confucius naturally possess talent after their learning.

Later, Confucius went even further, attaining the position of sage, unprecedented before him and unmatched after him.

Sages perceive the Heavenly secrets and realize the great danger lurking within humanity. Therefore, they command chariots from all nations, traveling alone to the Three Barbarians in the north, the Four Seas in the south, and Mount Five Demons, forcing both the demon and barbarian tribes to sign a pact of peace for a thousand years.

No one knows what happened to Confucius during his travels to the three mountains above, the four seas below, and five peaks. All that is known is that after his return, Confucius visited a hundred schools of thought and then secluded himself, never emerging again.

After Confucius went into seclusion, Mencius, Xunzi, Zisi, Zixia, and Ziyou were successively named as demigods because they had received Confucius's personal teachings. They ranked below the sub-saint.

Confucians no longer stand in opposition to other hundred schools of thought. Confucius's grandson, Zisi, even put forward the idea of "learning from all schools," seeking guidance from various schools and helping them cultivate their talents. Mozi from Mohism, Han Fei Zi from Legalism, Lü Buwei from Miscellaneous School, Xu Xing from Agriculture School, and Sun Tzu from Military School were successively conferred as half-saints.

Not until Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, killed the white snake demon and launched an uprising did his disciples realize that Confucius was about to pass away.

When Confucius passed away, his divinity transformed into a pillar of brilliant energy that shot straight up into the sky. It lasted for a long time and was visible to everyone in the world. Three days later, the pillar of energy split into three parts: one part went to the Qufu Academy, one part to his 30,000 disciples, and one part spread throughout the world.

Therefore, Mengzi, Xunzi, Zengzi, Zisi and other five sages advanced further and were bestowed the title of Sub-sages.

From then on, the era of talent began.

From this point on, the Hundred Schools of Thought ultimately converged to Confucianism.

After the tragedy of abolishing a hundred schools of thought, the human race prospered.

After Confucius's death, Qufu Academy was renamed "The Sacred Academy" and its status became exceptionally high.

The academy gradually perfected its cultivation of talent and power, upholding Confucius's will. It absorbed the best from all schools of thought, placing emphasis on merit above all else. It established ten ranks: Sheng (Sage), Xiucai (Junior Scholar), Juren (Master's Degree Holder), Jinshi (Imperial Scholar), Hanlin (Hanlin Academy Scholar), Taishi (Grand Master), Daren (Great Confucian), Bansheng (Half-Saint), Yasheng (Sub-sage), and Shengren (Sage).

The higher a scholar's literary position, the more talent they possess, and the stronger their mastery over the celestial energy of heaven and earth.

My heart is pounding with excitement. I never imagined that there was such a magical world.

As long as one is alive, they possess the most basic "talent" and receive a literary position bestowed by Heaven. The gift of birth is "bright eyes that see in the night," allowing them to see in the dark and read without needing oil lamps. For those who become scholars (秀才), it's even more extraordinary; they can "discuss military strategies on paper." This isn't meant as ridicule, but rather, a scholar's battle poems and war verses can transform words into reality, manifesting powerful forces. As their literary position rises, they gain even more unimaginable celestial gifts.

Fang Yun recalled that the Shengyuan Continent had also experienced the Qin, Han, and Three Kingdoms periods. Currently, there were ten countries on the Shengyuan Continent. Through recent historical figures, Fang Yun deduced that the Shengyuan Continent was probably located before the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Fan Yun has recently canonized several notable individuals.

Wang Xizhi, renowned as the "Sage of Calligraphy," achieved semi-saint status with his works *Lantingji Xu*, *Ping'an Postscript*, and *Mourning Postscript*, ranking below only the sub-sage.

Tao Yuanming attained the title of "Half-Saint" due to his works, including "The Story of the Peach Blossom Spring," "Biographies of the Five Willows Gentleman," and "Returning from Exile."

Zu Chongzhi earned the title of "half-saint" thanks to his works such as , , and .

Li Dao Yuan was considered a half-sage due to his works "Water Classic Commentary" and "Basic Records".

Fan Zhun became a renowned scholar with his work "The Treatise on Divine Extinction," ranking second only to the semi-saints.

But, there's no Li Bai! There's no Du Fu!

No Bai Juyi! No Wang Changling!

There is no Li Shang! There is no Wen Tingyun!

No Wang Wei! No Du Mu!

No Han Yu! No Liu Zongyuan!

There is no Zhenqing! There is no Li Gongquan!

No Su Dongpo! No Ou Xiu!

No Lü You! No Li Qingzhao!

No Lu Jiuyuan! No Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao! No Zhu Xi! No Wang Ming!

But no one famous after the Sui and Tang Dynasties!

Fang Yun took a deep breath, without a doubt, this was perhaps the best era for him!

Suddenly, Fang Yun's expression changed slightly because he just remembered his current position and the day of the week.

This scholar came from a poor family. He lost both his parents at an early age, and the only relative he had left was his foster sister, Yuhuan, who was three years older than him.

Fangjia originally couldn't afford to buy a concubine, but Yuhuan was taken in by Fangjia when she was a child. Her father stole Fangjia's meager money to gamble and lost everything. He cheated during the game and was beaten to death. Before he died, he said that he sold Yuhuan to Fangjia as a concubine to repay their debt.

Yuhua was a beauty from a young age, and as she grew older, her beauty became even more radiant. She was known by the locals as "The West Shi of Jiangzhou," Even though her family was poor and she only wore very simple clothes, her stunning beauty could not be hidden.

After both of their parents passed away, Fang Yun and Yuhuan depended on each other. Yuhuan was skilled with her hands and made a living by doing needlework.

Fāng Yùn was studying in a private school in the morning and started working as a waiter at Jixiang Restaurant at noon to make a living. He was determined to become an examinee.