Chancellor Basha left the Scholars' Residence and went to the neighboring Imperial Children's Courtyard.
The Imperial Children's Courtyard housed numerous princes, princesses, imperial daughters, and young lords of varying quality, yet their factional politics were particularly complex.
Princes and princesses were the Emperor's children, while imperial daughters and young lords were the children of princes. Besides the succession struggles among imperial daughters and young lords, there were also power struggles between princes and princesses, which was quite headache-inducing.
This was what Chancellor Basha found most annoying, yet he had no choice but to make selections; otherwise, he would offend the imperial family and certainly face retaliation.
"Perhaps I should consult the Second Prince's opinion."
Having made up his mind, he went to seek the Second Prince's counsel. Ling Yushu was both surprised and delighted. Chancellor Basha was the National Scholar Chancellor, his status in the Imperial Academy second only to the Grand Chancellor. His strength was unfathomable, completely comparable to first-rank ministers in the court, on par with sect masters, cult leaders, and lineage heads of major sects—he was among the top existences in the world today.
Naturally, it would be a great benefit to receive his guidance!
"The Second Prince seems to have misunderstood."
Upon seeing the joy on his face, Chancellor Basha immediately realized he had misinterpreted, and smiled: "I only teach scholars below the Six Harmonies realm. Since I don't know much about the Imperial Children's Courtyard, I wanted to ask the Second Prince to recommend two candidates."
Ling Yushu's expression darkened.
The resources the Crown Prince received far exceeded those of other princes. For princes like him, simply because they were not the Crown Prince, the cultivation resources they received after birth were countless times fewer than the Crown Prince's.
Although princes and princesses could enter the Imperial Academy for cultivation without examinations, the Crown Prince had at least six teachers of the Cult Master level imparting knowledge and skills. The Emperor would also periodically provide personal guidance, and even the State Preceptor would come to instruct him.
The Crown Prince was not only taught various ultimate techniques but also had to learn the way of imperial governance, the ability to command civil and military officials, and even had to cultivate relationships with court ministers to form his own mini-court.
Other princes and princesses, even if they harbored ambitions for the throne, simply lacked such competitive capability.
Chancellor Basha's abilities were equivalent to a Cult Master-level existence. Receiving his guidance, though not comparable to the Crown Prince's situation, was still much better.
However, Chancellor Basha only taught scholars at the Spirit Womb and Five Luminaries stages, so he naturally had no chance.
Ling Yushu suppressed his disappointment and smiled: "My seventh sister has excellent comprehension and aptitude. The State Preceptor said her qualifications were extraordinary when he saw her, even surpassing mine, though she can be somewhatnaughty. Chancellor Basha is strict; perhaps you could help refine her temperament."
Chancellor Basha was surprised: "The Seventh Princess? She is indeed somewhat playful, which has hindered her cultivation progress. Those National Scholars, due to her princess status, won't make things difficult for her, but here with me, she'll have her work cut out for her."
Ling Yushu's eyes flickered, thinking to himself: "Seventh sister, you've gotten too close to that abandoned commoner. I fear you might do something to disgrace the imperial family's reputation. This time when you follow me out of the mountains, you'll be far from that Qin Mu. Once you meet more talented young men, you'll forget that abandoned commoner... Brother is doing this for your own good, to prevent you from straying onto the wrong path."
"Second Prince, do you have anyone else in mind?" Chancellor Basha asked again.
Ling Yushu thought for a moment and said: "Ling Minyue, Young Lord Minyue."
"Son of Prince Taishan, Ling Minyue?"
Chancellor Basha smiled: "Another fine seedling. I heard you and Young Lord Minyue don't get along. Why recommend him?"
Ling Yushu smiled: "My discord with Minyue is only because Prince Taishan supports my eldest brother, which caused our estrangement. However, Minyue's aptitude and comprehension are indeed among the best in the Imperial Children's Courtyard."
Chancellor Basha nodded: "The Second Prince is virtuous. In that case, please inform them of this news and have them come to the Scholars' Residence to find me."
Ling Yushu was secretly delighted, knowing this gave him an opportunity to win over Young Lord Minyue, and promptly departed.
When Ling Yuxiu and Young Lord Minyue arrived at the Scholars' Residence, they found several other scholars already present—Qin Yu, Shen Wanyun, Yun Que, Wei Yong, and others.
Chancellor Basha announced: "After discussing with the Grand Chancellor, we are implementing a pilot program for Imperial Academy Doctors above the Scholar level. You are the candidates for Imperial Academy Doctor. In the future, you will only attend lectures at the Painting Sage Pavilion, Qingyang Hall, Military Strategy Tower, Formation Origin Hall, and Celestial Sound Pavilion to study calligraphy and painting, state of mind, military strategy, formations, and music theory. The rest will be taught by me—I will instruct you based on individual aptitude, different from what other scholars learn. In a few years, whether you can become an Imperial Academy Doctor will depend on your abilities. Oh, and..."
He looked around with a smile: "You also have a senior brother, or perhaps you should call him senior uncle. He was the first Imperial Academy Doctor of our Imperial Academy. I have already discussed this with the Grand Chancellor and reported it to the Emperor. The Emperor's appointment will come down soon."
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances—the first Imperial Academy Doctor? Who could it be?
Yue Qinghong and the monk Yun Que immediately looked toward Shen Wanyun, whose expression was uncertain.
Chancellor Basha continued: "This time, I will first take the Seventh Princess out for a few days of training. As for the others, you'll have to wait for next time. Princess, go to the Celestial Records Tower to select several technique and ability manuals. The rest, stay behind."
Everyone was both surprised and delighted.
At the Celestial Records Tower, the Imperial Librarian verified Qin Mu's library token and said to him: "When entering the tower to read, you must not damage the books. If any books are damaged, you will face imprisonment. Your token only allows you to read on the first floor. Do not go to the second floor, otherwise you will be arrested and punished by the Imperial Librarians there."
Qin Mu replied: "I intend to follow Chancellor Basha for cultivation and training, and I wish to borrow several scrolls to take with me."
The Imperial Librarian was surprised: "I see. Chancellor Basha has special privileges—his disciples may borrow up to five scrolls. Go inside and choose your scrolls, then come back here to have them recorded."
Qin Mu entered the tower and found dozens of rooms inside, each extremely vast. On the doors were signs bearing the names of prefectures and commanderies—the scrolls in these rooms were apparently organized by administrative region. The technique and ability scrolls from sects within each prefecture were housed in the corresponding room.
Qin Mu walked into the room marked "Lizhou Prefecture" and found over a dozen bookshelves holding scrolls. The shelves also bore signs with the names of different sects. Besides sects, there were also names of noble families.
There were few people in this room—only three or four scholars sitting on the floor, absorbed in reading. Nearby were several small doors. Qin Mu approached and saw that two were locked from inside, while one stood open.
He pushed the door open and peered inside, slightly startled to find a space roughly an acre in size—larger than the room they were in—completely empty.
"Could this be a place for scholars to practice their techniques?"
Qin Mu went to the bookshelves, pulled out a scroll, and examined it with surprise: "Lizhou Prefecture actually has this many sects."
The scroll bore the title "Danxia Sect's Danxia Technique." Nearby were several other scrolls—"Danxia Sword Art," "Danxia Four Gates Formation," "Danxia Alchemy Manual Essentials," and so on.
Qin Mu skimmed through them. The Danxia Sect's technique did have its merits—once mastered, one's qi transformed into rosy clouds, and at first glance, the sky filled with crimson light, hiding flying swords within. Enemies blinded by the radiance would often fall prey to it.
"Danxia Technique is decent, but not quite extraordinary."
He set down the Danxia Technique and picked up the Danxia Sword Art. After a few glances, he put it back—the sword art was part of the same system as the technique and could only be practiced after mastering the Danxia Technique. He then examined the Danxia Four Gates Formation, which similarly required prior mastery of both the technique and sword art before it could be learned.
The Danxia Alchemy Manual Essentials he also skimmed briefly. It mainly concerned pill-refinement methods, and some of the recipes were worth studying, though several contained obvious problems in Qin Mu's eyes—the toxicity had not been completely neutralized.
He returned the Danxia Sect scrolls to the shelf and took down another thick set of scrolls.
"The imperial family scrolls of the Yuyuan Kingdom?"
Qin Mu was surprised, examining them repeatedly: "Weren't the shelves for Lizhou's sect scrolls? Where did the Yuyuan Kingdom come from? And what's the relationship between this Yuyuan Kingdom and Yuyuan Chuyu? Could it be that Lizhou wasn't originally part of the State of Yankang, but belonged to a kingdom called Yuyuan?"
Qin Mu's mind stirred. Yuyuan Chuyu was Lizhou's Deputy Governor—she used Yuyuan as her surname and claimed to have a brother named Yuyuan Chuyun who served as an official in the capital. Could these siblings be former royalty of the Yuyuan Kingdom?
Yuyuan Chuyu held a not insignificant official post, rising to high position at a young age—she must have considerable background.
"Lizhou is in the south-central region of the State of Yankang. In that case, Yankang has absorbed quite a few kingdoms."
Qin Mu browsed through the Yuyuan Kingdom's national learning. The imperial family scrolls were incomplete but far superior to the Danxia Sect's. The Yuyuan Kingdom's national cultivation was called "Chengdu Zaitian Mystic Art," forming nearly a complete system. Its sword art was called the "Setting Sun Sword Art."
After a quick perusal, Qin Mu decided to select these scrolls.
For sword arts, he had only practiced the first form of the Sword Diagram—"Sword Treads Mountains and Rivers." Sword Treads Mountains and Rivers was extremely draining—ordinarily, if he encountered enemies and used this sword art, just one move would deplete seventy to eighty percent of his qi. If more enemies appeared afterward, he would be in trouble.
Therefore, he needed a superior sword art.
The Yuyuan Kingdom's Setting Sun Sword Art was a high-level sword technique that suited his taste perfectly.
"The Imperial Librarian earlier said I could choose five scrolls. Why not look for others?"
Qin Mu quickly scanned the other shelves without finding anything that caught his eye. Most other sects' techniques were inferior to the Yuyuan Kingdom's Chengdu Zaitian Mystic Art.
He searched room after room and did find quite a few superior techniques, secretly wondering: if the first floor of the Celestial Records Tower already held so many classics, how powerful must the collections on the second and third floors be?
"Hmm, something's off. Some sects have probably submitted abridged versions, not their true ultimate techniques."
The more scrolls Qin Mu examined, the more skeptical he became. Many of the scrolls here had clearly been abridged—certain techniques were not included. His quick review made this unmistakably clear.
For instance, the Nine-Bend Connecting River Sword Art had nine moves. When he practiced the ninth move, his momentum and the sword art's power reached their peak, yet there was nothing after—amazing power had been built up with no tenth move to unleash it.
Clearly, the Nine-Bend Sword Sect had not submitted the complete art, holding something back.
Many similar situations existed. Obviously, these factions were unwilling to give their ultimate techniques to the State of Yankang—they all had reservations.