Chapter 20: Confucians, with a heart embracing the world

  What is this: a book and a sword appearing in one's mind?

  At this time, Li Tu's brain was in extreme pain, and his pale face was covered with sweat. He was shocked and couldn't believe that it would appear in his mind?

  The mist in his mind gradually dispersed, and the suddenly appearing book and sword became clearer and brighter, and could be seen clearly.

  A thick and old black leather book, a simple and unadorned iron sword.

  The black book was surrounded by the four characters "qin qi shu hua" which were somewhat similar to ancient oracle bones, but not oracle bones, a kind of script that Li Tu had never heard of before, emitting an aura of ancient and desolate age.

  "This seems like a very ancient script that I've never heard of before, but why did I understand its meaning as soon as I saw it?"

  "These four ancient characters are zither, chess, calligraphy and painting."

  Li Tu felt a strong sense of eeriness and absurdity. The characters were clearly unfamiliar, yet as soon as he saw them, he understood the meaning they represented.

  "What is this writing, it feels very strange."

  The four ancient characters of "qin, qi, shu, and hua" are displayed, with the character for "qin" being slightly shiny, while the other three characters are in a gray state. On that thick black leather book, another ancient character is displayed, which looks like an unadorned and simple "sheng".

  "What kind of book is this, the Bible?"

  The character "圣" looks simple and unadorned, but it gives people a feeling of being as heavy as a mountain and as profound as the ocean, it's an indescribable word.

  This "holy" word seems to contain very profound mystery, making it impossible for people to ponder and understand.

  "What book is this?"

  Li Tu asked himself again, his heart still in shock, this "saint" character gave him a too heavy feeling, as if his own spine was unable to bear it, heavy like a mountain.

  "This word is very heavy and feels strange."

  "Why did it appear in my mind?"

  Li Tu stared blankly at the book and sword in his mind, with many doubts and unreasonable thoughts, but couldn't get an answer.

  "This long sword looks like an iron sword, also ancient and unadorned, looking very ordinary, but on the sword is engraved a 'king' character, emitting a strong and powerful aura, making it extraordinary, able to cut through mountains and split peaks."

  "What does it mean that 'the book is sacred and the sword is king'?"

  Li Tu was shocked at the same time and was thinking, as if the books and swords that appeared in his mind were not ordinary objects.

  "Also, the four ancient characters 'qin qi shu hua' surrounding the black book represent what? It seems that the color of the character 'qin' is slightly different from the other three characters, and it's a bit brighter."

  "But why is this 'qin' character brighter than the others? Is it related to my qin skills?"

  Li Tu looked at the four ancient characters in his mind and pondered them carefully.

  "I have some skills in playing the guqin, but I'm far from being a master. As for Go and painting, I've never even touched them before. Calligraphy is something I vaguely understand, but it's still far from being at a master level."

  "If it's related to the grade, that's possible, but why do I have a feeling that this has nothing to do with the grade? It's very strange."

  "The four characters of qin, qi, shu and hua, the character for qin is a bit brighter, could it be..."

  Li Tu suddenly remembered that on the day of the music trial, he had abruptly entered a mysterious space where floating piano platforms were drifting about. Moreover, aside from the suspended piano platforms, there existed places he had not yet entered: the Black and White Chess City, the Endless Book Mountain, and the Ten Thousand Mile Painting Gallery.

  "Is it that the four ancient characters of qin, qi, shu and hua represent a suspended piano platform, a black-and-white chess city, a boundless book mountain, and a ten-thousand-mile painting corridor?"

  "If it's really like that, then..."

  Li Tu's shock in his heart turned into excitement and surprise in an instant. The suspended piano platform was very mysterious, and it helped a lot with his piano skills. Just that one piece, "The Prelude to the Divine Sound", was already a heavenly melody that shouldn't exist in this world. Moreover, there must be more than just one piano piece hidden within the platform, and other things related to the piano that would greatly aid his piano skills.

  Since entering the Hanging Piano Platform, Li Tu had repeatedly hoped to enter again, but he had no way of knowing what kind of existence this was, it was very mysterious.

  "I hope what I think is true, otherwise it would be a waste of time and a great disappointment."

  Li Tu looked at the character "qin" and whispered a soft "go in".

  Suddenly, the scene in front of me changed.

  Blue sky and white clouds appeared, with ever-changing sea of clouds, floating islands stood in the air like heavenly ladders, the sea of clouds was as beautiful as a fairyland, shocking the heart.

  Li Tu stood on the ninth-grade piano platform, staring blankly at the ever-changing sea of clouds, and whispered in his mouth: "The sky is delighted with me."

  After a long time, he finally came back to his senses and walked step by step on the piano platform, with unparalleled excitement and joy in his heart.

  "It's really like this, finally came in again, I've been expecting this moment for too long."

  Li Tu walked up to the stone table and sat down on a cushion, his fingers gliding over the strings of the zither, producing a series of melodious notes that filled him with an indescribable sense of beauty.

  "It's been a long time since I've had this feeling."

  Looking at the sea of clouds, looking at the floating island, looking at the ancient zither in front of him, Li Tu was speechless at this moment.

  "Heaven has bestowed favor upon me; I will diligently study to repay it."

  Li Tu stared blankly at the piano standing in the sea of clouds, muttering to himself, unable to calm the excitement and joy in his heart for a long time.

  "All of this is wonderfully beautiful."

  After a long time, Li Tu exited the Qin Tai. He wanted to confirm once again whether he could enter and exit the Qin Tai at will. Looking at the faintly lit "Qin" character in his mind, he lightly said "Enter", and reappeared inside the Qin Tai.

  "This is my desk, I will study hard to repay it."

  Li Tulai stood on the Qin Tai, gazing at the sea of clouds, silently saying something in his heart.

  ……

  "That 'qin' character indeed represents the Hanging Qin Platform, and the other three characters represent the Black and White Chess City, the Boundless Book Mountain, and the Ten Thousand Mile Painting Gallery. I'm really looking forward to entering that moment."

  Li Tulian tried several times but couldn't enter the space represented by the three characters of chess, books and paintings, feeling a little disappointed.

  "What do books and swords represent then?"

  Li Tu fell into deep thought again, the surprise that Qin Zi had given him was too great, he wanted to unravel the mystery in his mind.

  "I wonder what else is hidden in this book, can it be opened?"

  Li Tu tried to open the black leather book, but for a moment he didn't know how to open it.

  "Can it be like the four characters of qin, qi, shu and hua, where just thinking about them in your heart is enough?"

  "Try it out, open it."

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, a page in his mind slowly turned over, revealing a line of ancient characters.

  "Scholars, with a heart embracing the world."

  Seeing this line of ancient characters, Li Tu's chest suddenly shook violently.

  ……

  "Next, I'd like to introduce the heads of the other five departments. This is Professor Gong Yangchuan, who is in charge of the Music Department and is a renowned guqin master."

  Bai Yi Gong Yang stood on the stage, smiling slightly and nodding at the students below. His handsome smile and elegant demeanor triggered a chorus of cheers from a group of female students, who seemed to adore him.

  "This is Professor Kageyama, who is in charge of the shooting department. He is highly skilled with a sword and is one of the few people in the kingdom who are proficient in using swords."

  A middle-aged man with a straight posture and an extraordinary demeanor nodded, while inconspicuously glancing at Ning Zhen, who was as calm as still water below the stage, and felt some admiration in his heart.

  "This is Professor Chezi Chen, who is in charge of the Imperial Academy..."

  "This is Professor Qiu Wu, in charge of the literary department..."

  "This is Professor Mu Ye in charge of mathematics..."