Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter 145: The Gathering of the Hundred Schools

While Chen Chang'an was under the custody of the Protecting State Grand General Yuan Bingzhong, chasing Yuan Yunfei and forcing him to address him as his uncle, Qin Furong and Su Qingtang happened to arrive at the general's residence bearing heavy gifts, intending to offer a preemptive apology statement.

The two of them hurriedly stopped him first, terrified that Chen Chang'an would bring disaster upon himself. To their utter astonishment, the next second, Grand General Yuan Bingzhong rushed forward, grabbed their hands, and said with deep emotion, "Chen Chang'an is my sworn brother—the kind of brother closer than kin! That makes the two of you my uncles!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Chang'an burst into hearty laughter.

Su Qingtang and Qin Furong were utterly dumbfounded, bewildered, and perplexed, to the point where they momentarily wanted to ask who they were and where they were.

Beside them, Yuan Yunfei looked ashen, feeling as though he wanted to jump into a lake.

Faced with Yuan Bingzhong's overwhelming enthusiasm, Su Qingtang and Qin Furong twitched the corners of their mouths and managed to reply with utmost difficulty, "Nephew... Worthy nephew!"

With that, they hurriedly dragged Chen Chang'an away from the general's residence, terrified that something else might go wrong. By the afternoon, however, they finally understood: it turned out that because Chen Chang'an had sung ballads and chanted lyrics atop the city walls of Chang'an, he had deeply moved Yuan Bingzhong, who was returning in triumph. The sworn brotherhood between the two had been personally decreed by Her Majesty the Empress herself.

Su Qingtang and Qin Furong finally set their minds at ease, puffed out their chests, and said in unison, "The Grand General of the current dynasty is our worthy nephew."

Yuan Yunfei was so furious that his legs ached and his heart hurt—his intended wife had practically become his aunt.

Upon returning to the newly acquired estate, Qin Furong loudly boasted of Chen Chang'an's glorious deeds. Naturally, everyone in the household, including the estate servants, had heard of them, because the ballad "A Loyal Heart to Serve the Country" and the lyrics to "Breaking the Array" were simply too overwhelmingly popular.

From street corners and alleys to the pugilistic world and the imperial court, anyone who had heard the content would give a thumbs-up in praise, sighing with emotion that the Su family's son-in-law was truly a man of extraordinary talent. The civil officials of Great Min—and even scholars and literati, represented by student intellectuals—specifically held a so-called symposium on the writing style of "Breaking the Array," and even invited Chen Chang'an to attend.

Chen Chang'an declined on the grounds that his brother-in-law was about to have a baby.

Having finally shaken off Yuan Yunfei's harassment, Su Wanqiu came running over specially to express her gratitude. With a smile as bright as spring blossoms, she said, "Thank you for completely solving my problem at the root."

Chen Chang'an chuckled and said, "It's nothing, just doing what I should. Remember to call him nephew in the future when you see him—you're in the aunt's generation."

"Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle!" Su Wanqiu covered her mouth and giggled.

Around the second quarter of the Shen hour, Chen Chang'an originally intended to visit the Fragrant Pavilion to play with Taohua, but when he opened the Fragrant Pavilion register and saw on the second page that all of Youwei's statistics had undergone absurd changes, he instantly lost the mood.

"Forget it, another time."

Thus, he took out the sheepskin scroll previously gifted to him by Taohua to study it. Among all his items, this was presumably the only thing he had not yet made sense of. Spreading it out on the stone table, he carefully observed and analyzed it.

On it were five patterns drawn in different colors and shapes, surrounded by numerous dots arranged in a profound and mysterious manner. It didn't look like a martial arts manual; rather, it resembled some kind of esoteric technique of strategic divination and mysterious arts.

Chen Chang'an fetched some pebbles from the courtyard and arranged them according to the pattern on the scroll. As the final pebble dropped, faint beams of light flickered and connected with one another.

"Ahem, so this... what on earth is it!" Chen Chang'an wracked his brains, utterly at a loss.

"Come, come, come, step this way, esteemed elder."

At that moment, a very humble and docile voice came from the doorway. Chen Chang'an looked up and saw his brother-in-law, Su Dingfeng, bending halfway over as he welcomed an elderly man dressed in an ink-blue robe with white hair tied up at the temples, radiating an immortal, transcendent aura, into the courtyard. Abandoning his usual arrogant and domineering demeanor entirely, Su Dingfeng beamed and fawned upon him the whole way.

Chen Chang'an's first internal reaction was: *Ah, so even he has days like this!*

Then he began to wonder who the old man was, quickly arriving at the answer. Any fool could guess that throughout Great Min, the only person who could make his brother-in-law bow was an elder from his sect. The Bashan Sword Sect had two figures of supreme status: one was the sect leader, Su Dingfeng's master, Zhen Ziping; and the other was the Sword Immortal Lü Zhihan, who held the title of the number-one swordsman in the Nine Provinces and was Zhen Ziping's junior fellow apprentice.

Thinking of the upcoming Tiantai Zen Ceremony, it should be the former, since the sect leader himself had to be present.

Sure enough, as they drew closer, he heard the groveling Su Dingfeng say, "Master, please come this way. You should have given advance notice when arriving in Chang'an City so I could make proper preparations!"

The transcendent Zhen Ziping gave him a sidelong glance, saying in a tone of utter disdain, "Prepare what? Prepare to run away? Back then you claimed there were family matters, so this master allowed you down the mountain. And look at you—you still don't know when to return? Once we get back to the mountain, just wait and see how I deal with you!"

"I... Master... This... These family matters were rather troublesome and hard to handle, weren't they? I only just finished getting busy recently and was about to head back up the mountain. Why, just two days ago I was still in prison." Su Dingfeng offered a far-fetched, utterly unconvincing explanation.

Zhen Ziping's gaze was piercing like a torch. "Is that so? How is it I heard that you casually hacked down several Great Min soldiers with your sword and frequently shouted provocative remarks against the imperial court?"

"No, absolutely not!"

As they spoke, the master and disciple walking into the courtyard happened to pass right by Chen Chang'an. Su Dingfeng scooped him up and smiled with harmless innocence. "Come, Chang'an, let me introduce you. This is my master, Zhen Ziping, the sect leader of the Bashan Sword Sect and an immortal being."

"Tell his esteemed master whether I hacked down any Great Min soldiers with my sword, and whether I constantly shouted provocative remarks against the imperial court!"

"Ah, well..." Chen Chang'an met his gaze, hesitating whether to speak.

Su Dingfeng nudged him with his elbow. "Why are you looking at me? Speak the truth! You must not deceive his esteemed master!"

At the same time, he blinked his eyes incessantly.

Speak the truth, is it? Chen Chang'an understood in a second. "No, my brother-in-law did not hack down several Great Min soldiers with his sword; given his standard of swordsmanship, a single sword strike would have killed them instantly. And as for shouting provocative remarks against the imperial court, he didn't do it constantly—only occasionally, just occasionally!"

Su Dingfeng's face darkened instantly, and with a grimace, he shot Chen Chang'an a look that meant *you can figure this out slowly for yourself*, before smiling cheerfully to explain to Zhen Ziping, "Master, the brain of this third brother-in-law of mine isn't quite right; please don't listen to his nonsense. Let's go inside, I'll brew some tea for you!"

Zhen Ziping said nothing, merely nodding. However, just as he was about to move, he inadvertently glanced at the pebbles Chen Chang'an had arranged on the stone table, and was instantly captivated, staring with total concentration and single-minded focus.

"Let's go, Master!" Su Dingfeng urged.

Zhen Ziping ignored him, cupped his fists toward Chen Chang'an, and asked, "Dare I ask, little brother Chen, how did you manage to arrange these pebbles?"

Su Dingfeng chimed in, "Master, I told you earlier, this is my third brother-in-law. His head isn't quite right—who cares how he arranged them?"

"Insolent!"

Zhen Ziping's expression tightened as he rebuked him on the spot. "What do you know? The arrangement of these pebbles is profoundly mysterious and marvelously wondrous, containing the Daoist laws of heaven and earth within. It is not something ordinary people can fathom! Your third brother-in-law possesses extraordinary aptitude and learning; having him by your side is a great stroke of fortune. You must learn to seek his guidance often, do you understand?"

Su Dingfeng: "..."

A thought stirred in Chen Chang'an's mind. Hearing Zhen Ziping's tone, he seemed to understand quite a bit about it. Perhaps he could ask him what was going on, and maybe by a lucky coincidence unearth the secret hidden within the sheepskin scroll.

...

In Chang'an City today, numerous factions had gathered. Their commonality was that they all belonged to various sects and schools, having followed their sect leaders to participate in the upcoming Tiantai Zen Ceremony.

The participants came from all directions in great numbers, but those truly qualified to be officially enfeoffed effectively boiled down to the Bailu Academy representing Confucianism, the Bashan Sword Sect represented by Zhen Ziping, the pugilistic martial artist faction led by Zhou Yao, and the Daoists.

The Scholarly Pavilion was an official venue specially established by the imperial court to receive the Confucian personnel entering the city. Liu Yu, the current leader of the academy, was sitting by a window facing a grove of lush green poplars, reading and studying the Four Books and Five Classics with undivided focus. As everyone knew, he had three thousand disciples under his name, among whom thirteen were the most famous.

These thirteen individuals each excelled in culinary arts, musical temperament, array formations, astrology, astronomy, geography, and mathematics. Those accompanying him to Chang'an this time were Ran Hui the sixth disciple, who was proficient in musical temperament; Cai Gong the eighth disciple, who excelled in mathematics; and Yan Lu the thirteenth disciple, who was hailed as the preeminent solo talent in today's literary world for his achievements in poetry and lyrics.

At this moment, Yan Lu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes fluttering in the breeze at the entrance of the Scholarly Pavilion, gazing into the distance as he muttered to himself, "Drunk, I trim the lamp to inspect the sword, dreaming I return to blow the horns of successive camps. Across eight hundred *li*, we divide the roast meat of our麾下 troops; fifty strings play the frontier tunes outside the passes... On the battlefield... autumn roll call!"

"What magnificent lyrics! What kind of person could possibly write such lines? I truly wish I had the chance to meet them."

Meanwhile, the eighth disciple, Cai Gong, holding a bamboo flute beneath a cluster of verdant weeping willows, played slowly and steadily with total concentration, mimicking the melody of "A Loyal Heart to Serve the Country" that he had heard from the common folk on the streets. The sound echoed lingeringly, pleasing to the ear. When he finished, he tucked the flute back into his waistband and sighed with heartfelt emotion, "This melody swallows the universe and is magnificently grandiose—simply marvelous! Chen Chang'an... I've inquired about him, and he's just a newcomer who joined the Black-Clothed Guards this year."

"Hmph, to think it actually came from the hands of a martial artist! Well... I suppose only those who have grown accustomed to the glint of swords and flashing blades could compose such a tune. I truly wish I had the opportunity to meet him."

...

In the neighboring Daoist temple, about a hundred Taoist priests were practicing swordplay and boxing in the courtyard. This area was specially designated by the court to welcome Daoist figures. In the main hall, beneath a Bagua Taiji symbol, sat an elderly Taoist priest with graying temples at the sides but a straight back, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

He was Du Xiao, the second-in-command of the Daoist sect, who had come to Chang'an City to accept the Tiantai Zen Ceremony on behalf of his senior fellow apprentice, Qiu Daoran.

As everyone knew, every year's Tiantai Zen Ceremony for the Daoists was attended by this second-in-command as a proxy, because the orthodox Daoist sect leader, Qiu Daoran, had fallen into a deep slumber nine years ago and had yet to awaken to this day.

Rumors had it that back then, because the Empress Bai Wan's daughter had a illicit affair with a Buddhist monk, the empress vowed to exterminate the temples and slaughter the Buddhists. Driven to desperation, the Buddhist sect summoned the Dharma manifestations of three holy Buddhas to descend upon Chang'an City, intending to perish together with Bai Wan. That was the occasion the empress came closest to death.

At the critical moment, Qiu Daoran used supreme divine power to summon the Daoist divine venerables, destroying the Dharma manifestations of the three holy Buddhas. However, he himself suffered the backlash of the mystic arts, which destroyed his foundation, plunging him into slumber. Yet, for his meritorious service in protecting the sovereign, the Daoist sect became the state religion.

Because of the intervention of the Buddhist sect, Bai Wan realized that although her body was tied to the nation's fortune and protected by the power of faith, ordinary swords or methods could not pose a threat to her life. However, when a certain religion or group developed rapidly and accumulated popularity and faith among the people, it would form a terrifying energy that did not fear the power of faith vested in her.

Therefore, she had once asked the Imperial Tutor Dong Zhongxuan for countermeasures. The reply she received was to issue a decree enfeoffing all the various sects; as long as they accepted enfeoffment, they would submit to the imperial sovereign's faith. No matter how prosperous their development or how many commoners supported and believed in them, they would never again pose a threat to her as empress.

In essence, this was a means to suppress the development of other faiths outside of imperial authority. Those willing to accept enfeoffment were allowed to branch out and spread across the nine provinces of Great Min, while those unwilling were preemptively suppressed and annihilated to prevent future trouble.

Thus, the annual Tiantai Zen Ceremony officially began from that time onward.

...

Bathed in bright sunshine, people came and went in a continuous stream along the streets. A man wearing a thin, breathable grey light tunic drove a carriage alone through the bustling, noisy markets and alleys of Chang'an, ultimately stopping before Black-Clothed Lane. First, he gazed at the Hidden Armory Tower, saying leisurely, "Still at the eighth-rank late-stage profound realm, neither advancing nor retreating. It seems the threshold of the ninth-rank true martial realm is indeed difficult to touch."

Then, withdrawing his gaze, he cupped his fists in salute to the guards stationed at the lane entrance and spoke very politely, "Two young brothers, would you mind going in and passing a word, asking your Black-Clothed Guard阮静初 to come out and see me?"

The lane guards looked him up and down and asked, "Ruan Jingchuh—a recruit recruited this year. What is your relationship to her?"

The man smiled and replied, "I am her uncle-in-law!"