"You've come to kill me?"

Hearing those words, Sage Ruler Han Yue nearly stumbled and fell. She glared at Fan Li, thinking to herself - of course not!

After much effort, she had finally gained Elder Sister Yao Guang's permission to visit Fan Li under the pretense of investigating Chu's divine beast. Yet he actually suspected her intentions?

Han Yue felt her face flush red with embarrassment, nearly turning to leave in a huff.

Fan Li also realized he had misspoken. As the saying goes, some things are better left unsaid. Given the gulf in power between them, if they came to blows, he would only end up the loser.

How precious were his substitute puppet bodies? If this woman struck him down in one sword blow, wouldn't that be a pity?

"Haha, that was just a little joke. It's an honor for the Sage Ruler to grace my humble abode with her presence. Please, have a seat." Fan Li forced an awkward laugh, trying to change the subject.

Hearing his welcoming tone, Han Yue's expression visibly softened. Like a proud, solitary snow lotus blooming on the highlands, the female cultivator raised her chin arrogantly, self-admiring her noble beauty.

"Does the Sage Ruler perhaps have some business with me?" Fan Li probed cautiously.

Han Yue shook her head. "No business. I've just been staying in Peng City recently with nothing to do, so I'm visiting a friend."

For a fleeting moment, the smile froze on Fan Li's face. Who was friends with who exactly? Us two? What kind of friendship involved swords and backstabbing?

Seeing Fan Li's reaction, Han Yue assumed he was simply overwhelmed by her company. Indeed, in this world, there were precious few qualified to be friends with a Pure Land Sage Ruler, let alone a smelly man.

A faint smile crept across her lips, a rare sight. Her beautiful smile was otherworldly, like that of a celestial fairy.

"Last time in Chang'an, I had to abruptly leave without notice due to matters at the Pure Land. I've come today to explain that. Additionally, it would be rude of me to come without offering something in return.

Fan Li, if you have no other plans today, allow me to take you on a tour of Peng City, as my way of repaying you for showing me around Chang'an that day."

Fan Li's mind raced. What was the situation here exactly? Had this woman activated some intelligence system upgrade? What schemes did she have in mind that even he could not see through?

In the end, Fan Li concluded: The Brahma Sound Pure Land has not given up on destroying me!

"What's wrong? Are you too busy perhaps?" Sage Ruler Han Yue noticed Fan Li's hesitation, assuming he was conflicted.

"Ah, it's my arrangements that were lacking."

‘He is the Duke of Chu after all, holding the authority of an entire nation. Of course his days are occupied by a myriad of affairs. While I'm just an idle person. Besides cultivation, I have nothing to do most days.’ Han Yue started speculating wildly, first finding fault with herself instead of blaming Fan Li.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"If you're too busy...you don't have to accompany me the whole day." She bit her lip, as if steeling her resolve. Taking out two exquisitely carved wooden tokens, she said: "I heard the Luming Academy is hosting a renowned scholar for a lecture today. If you're interested, I can go with you to attend the class?"

The two wooden tokens were tickets to the lecture. Something Han Yue had specially prepared for Fan Li!

She had inquired about his background as a scholarly official renowned for his talents since youth, even astonishing all with his erudition at the Luo Lake Convention long ago.

A chance to hear a great scholar's lecture was surely an appealing prospect for him, right?

Han Yue's heart pounded erratically. This was the first time she had invited a man out, deathly afraid of being rejected.

"Very well then." Fan Li nodded reluctantly.

He was flustered, unsure what assassination plot lay in wait. Yet he could hardly refuse, or risk Han Yue dropping all pretenses to directly attack him with her sword.

‘All men must die eventually,’ he thought. ‘Whether as light as a goose feather or lighter still. Sacrificing this temporary form is a small price to see what tricks she has up her sleeve!’

Forcing a smile, Fan Li replied, "Thank you for the kind invitation, Sage Ruler. Let us depart."

...

The Luming Academy, Chu's most renowned institution for cultivating Confucian scholars.

Long ago, after the Chu Overlord's century of conquest established the Chu dynasty, his advisor Fan Zeng proposed founding academic institutions to nurture literati and cultivate civility in line with Chu's tradition prioritizing culture over martial arts. Thus, the Luming Academy came into being.

"Put simply, it's basically a public school?" Fan Li recalled the academy's history in his mind. "My ancestor Fan Zeng was the first Chancellor?"

More than traditions, Fan Li was intrigued by the academy's education model.

They accepted new students once every three years after examinations? Successful candidates could then become students and begin cultivating the expansive Confucian philosophies.

Over its thousand-year history, the academy's libraries contained more than just tens of thousands of volumes.

Students could freely access the vast collection of Confucian classics, though classes were not held daily. Self-study was the norm most days.

In fact, the Luming Academy had no resident lecturers. Only occasionally would renowned Confucian scholars be invited to give lectures, prompting students to break from self-study to attend. Moreover, most of Chu's great scholars already served as state officials in the imperial court.

In other words, these so-called great scholars were mostly bureaucrats of various ranks. It suddenly dawned on Fan Li that as the highest-ranking official and nominal leader of Chu's scholarly ranks, he had never once lectured at the academy himself.

‘I've just been too busy honestly. I should send Lu Chunqiu a letter to have his students give some lectures instead. Or better yet, publicly sponsor sending academy students to Lu City for Lu Chunqiu to teach them personally.’

The more Fan Li pondered, the better the idea sounded. There would always be talents among the masses to serve him when the time came. As for Lu City's tacit submission to Chu, he need not worry about the students staying abroad indefinitely.

"What are you smiling about?" Han Yue suddenly asked.

Fan Li froze, realizing he had failed to contain his scheming thoughts as a smile crept across his face. "Ah, I was just feeling honored that you invited me," he deflected.

"Really?!" Han Yue frowned, sensing he was lying.

But why would he lie about that? Being flattered by a Pure Land Sage Ruler's invitation was only natural after all.

Convincing herself she was overthinking it, Han Yue felt satisfied with Fan Li's response.

For this outing, both wished to keep a low profile. One was the Duke of Chu while the other a Pure Land Sage Ruler after all.

Rather than his ducal robes, Fan Li wore a modest Confucian scholar's gown of Shu brocade cinched with a jade belt, cutting the figure of a graceful nobleman.

Han Yue also left behind her Frost Sword, as carrying such an exalted divine weapon would draw too much attention.

Yet the pair's exceptional looks still drew admiring gazes upon arriving at the remote academy grounds.

"What a beautiful woman, a celestial fairy come to earth!"

"Walking celestials, a matchless beauty and a noble sir! Heavens, what distinguished house does that young lord hail from?!"

"I was so focused on self-study, I never knew the academy had such extraordinary individuals."

"The classics speak of heavenly jade beauties - the sages were no deceivers!"

Among the Confucian cultivators were both men and women. With a mysterious renowned scholar's lecture drawing hundreds of youths today, Fan Li and Han Yue's appearance, complete with entry tokens, led all to assume they were students as well.