Chapter 67: Yuankuan Academy, Guo Jia's Appointment

  Is this person really Guo Jia? Ma Chao couldn't help but feel suspicious. The age and appearance seemed to match, but the personality... Of course, he didn't know what kind of personality Guo Jia had either.

  "Alright, as a token of my gratitude, I'll treat you to a drink!" Ma Chao remembered that Guo Jia loved drinking.

  Kuo Chia listened and his eyes lit up, but he was not moved. He slowly shook his head, but looking at Kuo Chia's expression, it seemed as if he had refused a great temptation.

  "Mengqi brother, I have to admit that you understand me somewhat, but I won't let you thank me with just a little wine!"

  Ma Chao asked after hearing, "What does Guo brothers mean?" He did not understand what Guo Jia meant.

  "I just hope Brother Mengqi agrees to one thing!"

  Ma Chao thought that Guo Jia must be up to no good in looking for him, but he still said: "As long as the matter that Brother Guo says I can do, and does not violate the law or go against morality, I will definitely do my best!"

  He really thought so, and it was not easy to get to know Guo Jia, who was still so young. Ma Chao naturally wanted to make contact with him, and a good relationship would be beneficial for further plans.

  "Don't worry, how could I let Brother Mengqi do such a thing! It's like this..."

  Then Guo Jia told Ma Chao in detail about the matter he needed his help with. After listening, Ma Chao thought to himself: "Guo Jia, you really overestimate me. Don't I know my own weight? If this matter isn't handled properly, it will be a loss of face for the lord."

  Ma Chao was somewhat embarrassed, and Guo Jia burst out laughing, "Brother Mengqi's heroic spirit from just now has gone where? This doesn't seem like you at all!"

  Ma Chao smiled upon hearing this, "I don't know why Brother Guo thinks I can?"

  "There's no why, I believe in my feelings. At least until now, I haven't been wrong, I believe in you!"

  Very simple four words from Guo Jia's mouth, but when heard by Ma Chao, they seemed very heavy. I believe you made Ma Chao determined, what can be done, nothing more than losing face, no big deal, he said to himself.

  "Alright, as brother Guo has said, I will stake my life and accompany you on this one occasion!" Ma Chao said to Guo Jia.

  Guo Jia listened and seemed very satisfied, "This is the real Meng Qi! Let's make a deal!"

  "It's settled then!" And with that, the two of them had made up their minds.

  Three days later, at the entrance of Yingchuan Academy, "Guo brothers, I didn't expect you to arrive early!" Ma Chao laughed.

  Guo Jia said with a smile, "It's just that you arrived late. Brother Mengqi is indeed trustworthy. I thought he was afraid and didn't dare to come earlier." He had met Ma Chao once before, but now they were familiar with each other, and Guo Jia even started teasing him.

  Ma Chao burst out laughing, "Afraid? If I were afraid, I wouldn't be called Ma Chao! Brother Guo, you can rest assured and watch!" At this moment, Ma Chao surged with even more confidence.

  Guo Jia nodded, this is right, otherwise what did I ask you to come for?

  Today is the four-yearly exchange conference of Yingchuan Academy, and what is called an exchange conference is actually an academic exchange among scholars. However, nowadays the exchange conference has become a competition among scholars, but not everyone can participate.

  Firstly, there is an age limit, and only those aged 20 or under are eligible.

  Secondly, it is only suitable for people who are not well-known or have just a little fame. If you are already famous throughout the land, then naturally you cannot participate.

  The participants were composed of three parts, the first part was made up of students from Yingchuan Academy.

  The second part consists of a group brought by students from Yingchuan Academy, with each student allowed to bring one person. This person can be your relative, friend or even a stranger on the street, as long as they meet the two standards mentioned earlier.

  And the last part is a famous scholar from all counties and countries invited by Yingchuan Academy, who must also meet the previous two standards.

  The students of Yingchuan Academy who meet the standards are required to participate compulsorily, while the second and third parts are completely voluntary. In other words, the students of Yingchuan Academy can also not bring anyone, of course, if someone is invited by you, they can also choose not to participate, after all, not everyone likes to be competitive, nor does everyone want to be famous, and it can be said that if one loses face, it's not good.

  The third part is even more voluntary, and the Yuelu Academy is famous, but whether the talented scholars from various counties and countries can give face to this is still debatable. So, the third part generally has the least number of people coming, but it must not be underestimated after all, a famous name does not have false scholars.

  At that time, when Guo Jia and Ma Chao talked about this matter, Ma Chao felt that his level was not good enough, and he didn't know why Guo Jia thought highly of him and insisted on letting him participate.

  However, afterwards he also thought it through, his own talent was indeed not good enough, but his vision was unparalleled. So Ma Chao thought that with his transcendent vision of this era, it wouldn't be too humiliating to plagiarize a bit from others. Not plagiarizing others' work would truly be unworthy of his status. Therefore, Ma Chao finally agreed with Guo Jia and also went to attend the exchange conference. Thus, the two set a date to meet at the entrance of Yingchuan Academy on the day of today's conference.

  Guo Jia led Ma Chao into the Yingchuan Academy, but before entering the academy, except for the students of this academy, all other external participants attending the exchange conference had to register first, sign their names and write down their place of origin, which was also a rule of the exchange conference.

  Ma Chao wrote down the four characters "Fufeng Ma Chao" and glanced at the signature book, where he saw the names he had heard of, such as Ju Lu Tian Feng, Guangling Chen Lin, and Chen Liu Ruan Yu. Ma Chao thought to himself that it seemed he had come to the right place this time. Being able to compete with so many famous people was worth his trip to Yingchuan Academy. He just didn't know if they were participating in the conference as friends of the academy students or if they were invited by the academy as talented scholars from various counties and states.

  After signing, Ma Chao and Guo Jia walked into the academy. As soon as they entered the academy, whether it was Ma Chao's psychological effect or the academy itself, he felt that such an environment was most suitable for reading and studying, exuding a breath of book fragrance, and Yingchuan Academy was indeed one of the top academies in the world today.

  "What idea does Mengqi have?" asked Guo Jia.

  "What does Guo Xiang think?" Ma Chao asked back with a sentence.

  "Meng Qi must be impressed by the scholarly atmosphere of our academy!" Guo Jia laughed.

  "Not bad, indeed it is! The Weichuan Academy is famous all over the world. After seeing it, I know that it is truly worthy of its reputation!" Ma Chao sighed with emotion.

  Kuo Chia-tse gave him a "you know what I mean" look. "Actually, it's not just you, Brother Meng Chi, almost all men and women, young and old, who come to my academy for the first time are like you!"

  Guo Jia proudly said that in fact, he had another sentence that he didn't say, which was that when he first came to the academy, his performance wasn't even as good as Ma Chao's. However, such a humiliating thing he would never mention.

  He led Ma Chao to a large empty space in the academy, but this place is no longer empty now. A hundred desks have been set up. From front to back, there are ten rows, with ten desks in each row. And in front of these desks, five more desks were placed.

  The front row was already fully occupied, it seemed they had indeed arrived a bit late. Ma Chao led Guo Jia to sit in the last row, and even more so, at the far right end, which was exactly where Ma Chao liked to be.

  Ma Chao and Guo Jia sat down, "I didn't expect so many people have arrived!" Ma Chao said.

  Guo Jia gave him a white eye, "I'm telling you, Meng Qi brother, you don't know this, the Communication Conference is held only once every four years, and I heard that Mr. Kang Cheng will also be attending this conference!"

  Ma Chao knew it was just like the Olympics and World Cup in his previous life.

  "Ah, will Mr. Kang also be coming?"

  Guo Jia nodded seriously.

  "Which Mr. Kang is that?" asked Guo's brother. Ma Chao really couldn't remember who this Mr. Kang was.

  Kuang Jia almost fell over when he heard this, thinking to himself "you don't know", and suddenly felt that bringing Ma Chao here might have been a mistake, but unfortunately it was too late now.

  "Meng Qi's brother, Mr. Kang Cheng was a man from Gao Mi, Bei Hai, Zheng Xuan and Zheng Kang Cheng."

  Guo Jia's tone was full of admiration, Ma Chao knew this time, thinking to himself: "Guo Jia, you should have said so earlier, Zheng Xuan would have been finished, and also Mr. Kang Cheng, I'm not all-knowing, okay?"

  "I know, I know. He is Mr. Kang Cheng."

  This time Ma Chao will absolutely not forget, and although Guo Jia is right next to him, the two are still a little distance apart. After hearing Ma Chao's words, Guo Jia quickly shifted to the left, meaning to say that I don't know him, this person has nothing to do with me.

  Ma Chao looked at him and said, "Is it necessary to be so secretive? You're acting as if you're avoiding a plague. I'm telling you, Brother Guo, no matter how much you try to hide, it's useless now. Who knows how many people have seen that you brought me here?"

  Guo Jia shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Brother Mengqi, I have been thoroughly defeated by you!"

  "Brother Guo, since you've invited me here, I'll make sure to bring honor to you and not shame!" Ma Chao said firmly.

  "Who would have thought that Guo Jia shook his head again, 'Brother Mengqi underestimated me, I've never cared about those things. This time I invited you to come, actually had my own plans, but there was no chance to talk to Brother Mengqi.'"

  "Oh? Brother Guo has something to say!"

  Ma Chao also wanted to know why Guo Jia had invited him over, and he naturally understood that Guo Jia was not one to be overly concerned with saving face.

  "Just the other day, Mr. Ci Ming found me and said..."

  Just as he said that, Guo Jia glanced at Ma Chao, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression. Guo Jia slapped himself on the ear and thought to himself that he knew what was going on next to him, how could he forget so quickly? So he introduced Xun Shuang to Ma Chao again, this time Ma Chao was no longer puzzled.

  Then Guo Jia told Ma Chao the whole story, and after listening to it, Ma Chao sighed in admiration. Xun Shuang was indeed kind-hearted and meticulous towards the students of the academy. With such a principal, the academy would surely develop better and better.

  Things were like this, the students of Yingchuan Academy in previous years were all good, humble and eager to learn, polite to others. Not arrogant, not self-satisfied, modestly learning from others, never underestimating others, it can be said that each one was good. But the students in the past two years, of course, there are also some who are relatively satisfactory, but there are also some unsatisfactory ones.

  For example, some people are self-righteous and don't put others in their eyes. After reading a few days of books, they think they know everything, with a belly full of knowledge and overflowing talent. Xun Shuang has seen all these, but there hasn't been a good way to deal with them so far. It's useless to talk to these people, the best way is to let them see the greatness of the world with their own eyes, that there are people outside of people, and sky outside of sky, so they can realize by themselves that they have always been narrow-minded and arrogant.

  It just so happened that there was an exchange conference, and a few days ago, Xun Shuang found some students in the academy who he thought were very good. He asked each of them to find someone with real talent and learning but not famous, no matter what method they used. As long as they met the standards, it didn't matter who they were. This would also allow those who normally thought they were superior to take a good look at what true talent and learning really are.

  Guo Jia's original intention was to find Xi Zhi, but unfortunately he had already gone on a tour of learning, so Guo Jia went to the streets to try his luck and see if he could meet someone with real talent and learning. Just then, he saw Ma Chao looking for him, so he took the opportunity to bring Ma Chao here.

  In Guo Jia's eyes, Ma Chao was not a simple person, he was absolutely a capable person, only earlier he was indeed defeated by Ma Chao. It has to be said that Guo Jia had some insight, Ma Chao was indeed not simple, but his abilities, in terms of martial arts, were still okay. But as for learning, it's hard to say, anyway, the ability to plagiarize can be said to be the best in the world today.

  "I didn't expect that, there's another reason. I admire Mr. Ci Ming, and it's an honor to have him attend this grand event!"

  It's not, Xun Shuang pointed out that we need to find people with real talent and learning. Of course, this matter must be stronger than those people, and it is necessary to suppress the whole scene with ability, and still have a reputation that is not obvious. Only in this way can those people see themselves clearly and learn humbly.

  Ma Chao himself knows his own level best, but now for the sake of not losing face, for Guo Jia's trust, to thank him for his help, and for Xun Yu's painstaking efforts, he must try his best this time to come up with something that will make those people convinced and satisfied, or else it would be unfair to everyone.

  This time, Ma Chao was ruthless. In the past decade or so since he came to this world, he had only plagiarized a few lines of poetry. But this time, those few lines were clearly not enough to see. The world's articles are all copied, and this time they will be copied in full. When it's time to be low-key, you have to be low-key, but when it's not time to be low-key, there's no need to pretend anymore. Ma Chao thought so, and as he thought about it, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "What's so funny, Mengqi? Is there a beautiful woman around?" After finishing speaking, Guo Jia looked left and right, but they were all of the same sex, where was anyone else?

  Ma Chao didn't hesitate and replied with a single word: "Copy!"

  Guo Jia was too busy looking for beauties and didn't quite catch what Ma Chao said. "What, brother Mengqi said?"

  Ma Chao only then realized that he had inadvertently revealed his inner thoughts, "Ah, I was referring to Cao, have you brothers heard of Cao Cao?"

  Guo Jia shook his head, "Cao Cao? I've never heard of him before. Is he a beauty? Does Brother Meng know him?"

  Ma Chao listened and thought, what's going on here? He shook his head too. But in his heart, he thought that getting to know him was just a matter of time.

  The whole room fell silent as the five desks in the front row were now occupied.