All the strange phenomena disappeared, and the majestic sword energy barrier that enveloped the entire Shangxian Academy was lifted. Countless eyes from inside and outside the county were still fixed on the Shangxian Academy. The many strange phenomena just now and the earth-shaking aura that suddenly appeared later all proved that something big must have happened in the academy.
Many people even speculated from the strange phenomena emerging from the preaching jade slip and the vast and overwhelming aura that one of the five saints of the academy should have appeared.
The county magistrate, Li Hu, was born a military general and rose to the position of county magistrate. This was also the county's traditional practice, used to balance the influence and control of the academy in the county.
The abnormalities and various movements at the Shangxian Academy from the very beginning immediately alarmed the county magistrate, Lihu. He felt that this matter must contain a big event that could allow one of the five literary saints of the academy to appear in person. The implications were so wide that Lihu was unwilling to think too much about it.
Li Hu rushed to the gate of the academy, but found that the entire academy was closed to visitors. After returning, he immediately picked up paper and pen and wrote a secret letter. However, before he finished writing, someone came to the door with an urgent report.
"Sir! Someone has come from the capital!" The visitor knelt hurriedly at the doorstep.
"What? Someone has come from the capital, but does His Majesty have an imperial decree to issue?" Li Hu's face changed, and he didn't even care about the secret letter in his hand, and asked immediately.
"No, they went to Shangxian Academy! They should be carrying the imperial edict!"
"Quick, let's go over there!"
He quickly took his officials to rush to Shangxian Academy again. When they arrived at the gate of the academy, they saw that the gate of the academy was brightly lit in the night, and the street at the intersection was crowded with carriages, completely blocking the road.
All the dignitaries of the entire county gathered here at the moment, and many of them were talking about it. As a holy place for scholars all over the world, the academy had never lacked rewards in all dynasties. After the emperors of each dynasty ascended the throne, they would reward it.
But this time it was a little different. Emperor Kong Zhang actually gave Xundu Academy a fiefdom.
When Li Hu arrived, he just saw the master of the academy with a dozen teachers and hundreds of disciples accepting the imperial edict from an official of the Secretariat.
All he could hear was the discussions of many people around him. The young men who were not able to enter the Shangxian Academy but were still considered scholars were discussing even more intensely.
"Where is the ancient Xundu? Why did His Majesty grant this place to the Imperial Academy?" A young scholar in a silk gown thought hard about this place. It sounded familiar, but he had never heard of it before.
"Guxundu, you know it's a place name from ancient times. It should be the capital of Dahuan in the past. But it's been almost two thousand years, and it definitely won't be called this name now." A good friend next to him seemed much more reliable than him and told him immediately.
In a carriage, two old men wearing Zhougonghou robes sat in the luxurious carriage, lifted the curtains and looked outside: "Ancient Xundu? It should be the place near the river in today's Yanguo County and Yuan County! I remember that place suffered a great disaster a few years ago. Evil spirits gathered, ghosts were rampant, and most of the gods died. It is still deserted!"
"Then why does the emperor still use this name?"
"I don't understand. The emperor has his own considerations. How can you and I guess them?"
All the dignitaries and elegant scholars were discussing the significance of the imperial edict and where the ancient xun was, while many residents and vendors nearby were discussing other things.
"One hundred thousand ounces of gold! One thousand rolls of silk! How much does that cost?"
"It's better to study! Once you enter the Imperial Academy, you will have everything! If you want to be an official, then be one. If you don't, you will still be superior to others!"
"Do you think you can enter this academy just because you want to? It's harder to become a disciple at the Shangxian Academy than to take the imperial examination!"
"Did you see that light just now? Could it be the academy's righteous spirit?"
"It's amazing! He has read all the books. Has he become a god?"
The county governor, Li Hu, watched outside for a long time without disturbing anyone, then turned and left, his face full of contemplation.
"Sir? Are you leaving just like that?" The county official beside him followed closely behind him.
"The imperial edict came at this time! It means that His Majesty already knew what happened in the academy. Why should I be too anxious?"
Li Hu got on the carriage and took a look at the tall and magnificent academy before he walked up to it: "Wait a little longer, there should be news coming out soon, and then we will know what happened in the academy."
At dawn the next day, carriages from the academy quickly rushed in all directions, and mandarin ducks, which carried messages, also rushed into the sky from Shangxian Academy. After circling in the county sky for a few times, they carried the letters to the academy branches in various parts of Dongzhou.
This scene also fell into the eyes of the entire county city and the areas within a radius of hundreds of miles, further confirming that something big had happened in the academy. However, no one knew whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, and what impact it would have on them.
Not long after, news of the descent of an immortal in the capital of the Great Zhou spread from all directions, and all kinds of secret news and rumors also spread in all directions. These contained various speculations, some of which were close to the truth, while others were purely rumors.
It seemed true and false, making it hard to figure out. Some people even combined the immortal who descended on the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty with the recent movements of the academy and guessed something.
However, no matter whether it is the academy or the palace, the secrets are kept secret.
The Great Zhou Empire is now divided into five major palaces and twenty-three academies. As for other branches and sects, they are countless.
Luotianshan Zhizhai Academy is one of the top ten academies in the world. Zhizhai Academy belongs to the Lunjia School, and its founder is one of the twenty-four sages.
Looking down from Zhizhai Academy, one can see crisscrossing fields below the mountain, neatly divided fertile lands, farmers with their wives and children working in the fields, and the sound of reading aloud coming from the mountain. The whole academy looks like a paradise.
This tranquility was not broken until a group of disciples from the academy who had traveled thousands of miles came and delivered a letter to the headmaster of Zhizhai Academy.
A solemn headmaster with gray hair and a middle-aged face opened the letter box engraved with righteousness, and then his eyes suddenly widened: "Feng Sheng ascended to heaven? Xundu turned into a star!"
"I'll get ready, you take a rest! I'll go to the County Shangxian Academy with you later!"
Fujidi was a prosperous place in ancient times and has never been destroyed for thousands of years. The moral academy here is therefore the most widely passed down, but the atmosphere there is also the most conservative among all the academies.
At this moment, inside the ancient and heavy lecture hall of the academy, a group of old men were reading the letters in their hands over and over again. The more they read, the more shocked they looked. Several old men looked at each other, not knowing where to start.
"All the sages of literature and all the saints of various schools will ascend to heaven with Feng Sheng and share the eternal life?"
"The Millennium Academy planned this, and Feng Sheng came to Dongzhou because of it! It turned out to be our generation's fate!"
Located on the shore of Fengyang Lake, Fengyang Academy is the only academy in the world that accepts female students. Most of the students here are women from high-ranking officials or aristocratic families. Although it is not among the top ten academies, due to its uniqueness, its fame is almost comparable to the five major academies.
A mandarin duck flew into the school palace. A righteous spirit rolled up in the sky and immediately pulled it down. A woman in a blue and white robe pulled out the letter on her feet.
That night, a dozen people from the academy boarded a large boat on Fengyang Lake and went up the river to the Jun Shangxian Academy.
From all over the country, horse-drawn carriages and ships of all sizes carried masters, presidents, and literary masters from various academies to the Shangxian Academy. Even though the Shangxian Academy was the main academy, there were still signs of open and covert struggles among other academies, and such a grand scene had never appeared in all these years.