Chapter Eighteen: The Opening Ceremony

  The university announced the rankings, and Li Tu took two first places, with his music test also being evaluated as a top-grade product. He led the way in this entrance examination, making his name known throughout the county town. Even the students who participated in the exam did not expect that this blind man would not only excel in music but also in mathematics, taking two first places and becoming the number one person, surpassing all the other students.

  Even Ning Zhen, the talented young man from Jun Cheng who also took two first places, was somewhat overshadowed in front of him. Among them, Cai Tuo Ji, who was expected to take the top spot on the music chart before the competition, couldn't even get one first place, and many people felt sorry for her.

  On this day, almost all the people in the county town were talking about a blind man who was rated as A+ by the Academy and took two first prizes, whose reputation filled the city.

  A fifteen-year-old sixth-grade pianist, and also a blind person, this is really shocking, and some people can't believe it.

  From that day on, there were many strangers outside Li Tu's bamboo building, all of whom came to take a look at his demeanor and see what kind of person this blind man was.

  "It's just a handsome young man who is also blind, yet he took two first prizes. Has his ancestors' tombs started emitting auspicious smoke?"

  Seeing Li Tu in person, many people are somewhat disappointed, and it's a bit far from their expectations.

  Three days later, it was February 1st, which was also the opening day of the school.

  On this day, Li Tu wore the uniform issued by the school, a white uniform with some green embroidery, very distinctive, wearing it on his body was a handsome young man, with a faintly elegant atmosphere, making him look even more extraordinary.

  People rely on their clothes, Buddha relies on gold decorations.

  Li Tu put on the court attire, and his whole image changed greatly, making the old servant look delighted, saying: "Young master, you look like a learned scholar in this court attire, it looks very good."

  Li Tu just smiled and didn't say anything.

  At dawn, Li Tu carried an ancient zither on his back and walked down from the bamboo building with an old servant, heading towards the academy.

  "Young master, after entering school, you must study diligently and not waste your time."

  The old servant who followed behind suddenly spoke out in a hoarse voice filled with emotion.

  The road to learning for young people is a long and arduous one, filled with many ups and downs that outsiders are not aware of. Those who have not experienced it themselves cannot truly appreciate the hardships and difficulties involved.

  "Grandma, I know, I won't let you down, and I've always been that diligent student."

  Li Tu recalled his years of studying and felt a sense of helplessness and bitterness in his heart.

  Li Tu stopped in front of a giant stone with the school motto engraved on it at the entrance of the academy, slightly raised his head, as if gazing at the motto.

  "Heaven is vigorous and strong, a gentleman constantly strives for self-improvement; Earth is receptive and yielding, a gentleman cultivates virtue to carry all things."

  It was this sentence that had been encouraging him all along.

  The opening ceremony was held in the central square of the school, and behind the gate is a straight bluestone road leading to the square.

  The two sides of the bluestone road are lawns, with scattered pavilions, towers, or painting galleries.

  Li Tu walked into the school gate, stepped on the bluestone, breathed in the fresh air inside, and had an indescribable aftertaste in his heart. The wish for studying for many years was finally fulfilled today.

  At this time, there were already many students gathered in the square, chatting and laughing in groups of three or five, with smiles on their faces, and from time to time, loud laughter echoed, filling the entire square with a youthful atmosphere, full of vitality.

  "Congratulations, Wu Shao, you got an A in the archery test!" a young man walked towards Wu Qi with a smile.

  "It's just a first-rate inferior product, not worth making such a fuss about. Besides, someone else took two championships, now that's something to be congratulated on."

  Wu Qi's face was calm and peaceful, he glanced at Ning Zhen who was standing far away with the first place in both archery and horse riding, and said lightly.

  "It can't be said that way, among a thousand people, only a dozen or so are rated as top-notch, which is very rare and difficult to come by."

  Li Tu walked onto the square and also attracted some students' attention. After all, he had taken two first places, one of which was even a top grade, so it could be said that he was in the lead, with unlimited glory for the time being.

  At this moment, carrying an ancient zither alone, standing with a calm expression, wearing white clothes fluttering in the wind, showing extraordinary elegance.

  "What a dashing young man."

  Everyone looked at the figure, and a sentence appeared in their minds.

  "This blind man is not simple, took two championships."

  "Hum! Who knows what kind of dog luck he had, and yet he even got the top spot on the list."

  Wu Qi let out a cold snort upon hearing the words, and as he looked at that figure, he couldn't shake off the feeling of discontent in his heart, a sense of suffocation, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

  "It's also surprising that he got the first place, and it's really puzzling. Those ten questions were not easy at all, I really want to know how a blind person like him managed to solve them?"

  The young man who had just spoken was also looking at Li Tu with a puzzled expression, his face filled with some resentment.

  "Haha, maybe this blind cat is just lucky and happened to bump into a dead mouse."

  "Maybe so, hehe."

  ……

  …

  Li Tu stood in the square with his guqin on his back, looking somewhat strange and isolated among the many students.

  "What's the point of bringing an ancient zither to the school opening ceremony? Is it to show off his status as a sixth-grade zither master?"

  Some students didn't quite understand why Li Tu was carrying an ancient zither on his back at that moment, but they didn't say much, just feeling a bit strange.

  "Congratulations to Brother Li, who took both championships and led alone."

  Chang Fei watched as Li Tu stood alone, then bid farewell to the others and walked over, a smile on his face that made him seem extremely friendly.

  "It's an overstatement, but congratulations to Brother Chang for taking first place on the book chart."

  Li Tu felt a bit surprised. At a time when others were reluctant to come into contact with him, this Chang Fei was the second person to take the initiative to be friendly with him.

  "I'm no match for you, Brother Li." Chang Fei smiled and continued, "No surprise, Brother Li should be in the Music Department, right?"

  "What does 'entering the music department' mean?" Li Tu hesitated for a moment.

  "Don't you know?"

  Chang Fei was also stunned, after entering the school, each student would be assigned to their own specialty, which would allow them to better utilize their strengths. This is something that every student knows, but Li Tu surprisingly didn't know at all, feeling quite unexpected.

  "What's going on?"

  "The academy divides students into six departments based on their performance: Li, Yue, She, Yu, Shu, and Shu. Each department has a different focus, with the Li department focusing on literature and the She department focusing on martial arts. You have exceptional musical talent and are already a sixth-grade musician, so you naturally fall under the Yue department."

  "So I'm in music class, doesn't that mean I can only learn piano?"

  Li Tu was shocked by what he heard and didn't expect that there would be a division of departments in the school.

  "Brother Li, you misunderstood. This emphasis is only relative, assigning students to subjects they excel in, just to make them better play their strengths, the Confucian classics are our main courses of study, and besides, don't take this division too seriously, other subjects also need to be studied."

  "So it was."

  "It is said that apart from the six colleges, there is another hidden college."

  Chang Fei glanced around and suddenly said in a low voice, his tone filled with excitement and agitation.

  "What does it mean that there is still one subject hidden?"

  Li Tu also became somewhat puzzled, feeling that Chang Fei would become excited and enthusiastic whenever he mentioned it, which was quite unexpected.

  "I've heard that this subject is not taught by many people in the entire school, it's very mysterious and not open to the public, few people know about it."

  "So mysterious, what subject is this?"

  Ascetic practice.

  "Ascetic practices?"