All Heavens and Worlds Starting from the Night Watchman

Chapter 024: Born in This Era, Why Must Night Exist?

Lin Qiye and Xu Xinnian visited the academy together. On the way, Xu Xinnian shared some knowledge about the Confucian Dao.

A famous saying of Confucianism goes: “Buddhism is wonderful, Taoism is admirable, and sorcery is not bad either.”

— “Even the unique paths of Gu Masters and Shamans are quite spiritual and deserve recognition.”

— “As for crude martial artists, please leave, and take the strange beings of the demon race with you.”

But in the eyes of a true Confucian scholar, who upholds the belief that “all professions are inferior, only studying is superior,” everyone else is mere trash.

Confucianism originated from the Sage, and Yunlu Academy, founded by the Sage’s chief disciple, holds the key to Confucian cultivation. It is a sacred place in the hearts of scholars across the land. As the last remaining institution capable of teaching the Confucian Dao, it prides itself on being the true orthodox school of Confucianism.

However, two hundred years ago, a Confucian traitor named Cheng Yasheng introduced the philosophy of “preserving heavenly principles and eradicating human desires.”

He created an educational system that not only rivaled but surpassed the traditional Confucian method. With the full support of the Great Feng Dynasty, he established the Imperial College.

This sparked a battle over Confucian orthodoxy. Over time, the Imperial College replaced Yunlu Academy as the primary institution for training court officials.

Thus, the saying emerged among the people: “The court is filled with noble officials, all from the Imperial College. To become an official, go to the Imperial College; to cultivate the Confucian Dao, go to Yunlu Academy.”

Confucian cultivation shares similarities with the techniques of sorcerers, as both are tied to fate and fortune.

However, while sorcerers refine and control fortune, Confucians absorb and merge with it. Because of this, Confucian scholars cannot achieve immortality.

“No immortality?”

Learning that Confucian cultivation does not lead to eternal life was a direct blow to Lin Qiye’s ambition to master it.

After all the effort to reincarnate into a world of cultivation, he was now being told he couldn’t attain immortality? Then what was the point of practicing Confucianism?

“Yes, the Confucian Sage pioneered Confucian magic, which relies on fortune for cultivation. Its core ability lies in altering reality through words. It follows the principle of slow and steady progress—before one can cultivate, one must study. Only by reaching a certain level of mastery in literature can a scholar advance in the Confucian system.”

“Compared to other cultivation systems, Confucianism is remarkably well-rounded, with no apparent weaknesses.”

“However, because Confucian scholars are constantly intertwined with fortune, even those who ascend to the supreme realm cannot significantly extend their lifespan, unlike other top-tier cultivators.”

“Among all cultivation systems, Confucianism is widely recognized as the strongest.”

“Only Confucian scholars can exert unparalleled suppression over opponents of the same level from other systems, making them peerless…”

Strength aside, if it didn’t grant immortality, wouldn’t cultivating it be a waste of effort?

Then again, mastering multiple disciplines is never a disadvantage. There’s no rule saying one cannot practice both the Confucian Dao and another cultivation method. To be honest, Lin Qiye believed he should pursue both Daoism and Confucianism.

Martial arts clearly did not suit his path, so he dismissed it. While learning more skills is beneficial, no one has unlimited energy.

Arriving at Yunlu Academy, Lin Qiye and Xu Xinnian found that Qingyun Mountain was neither grand nor picturesque. If not for the righteous aura rising skyward, it would be indistinguishable from any other wilderness.

The mountain housed courtyards, pavilions, plazas, and waterfalls, all connected by cobbled pathways forming a web-like structure.

In a pavilion at the cliff’s edge, the second-floor study room had no walls on the side facing the precipice. Standing on the balcony, one could overlook the vast plains and distant mountain silhouettes.

“You’re here!” Li Mubai exclaimed upon seeing them. He had thought Lin Qiye wouldn’t show up, but to his surprise, he had.

Lin Qiye and Xu Xinnian approached the pavilion. The two figures descending the stairs to greet them left Lin Qiye feeling honored.

“To have two esteemed teachers welcome me personally, I am truly overwhelmed. Yunlu Academy is indeed a place of outstanding talent. A mountain need not be high; its name is made by the presence of an immortal!”

“Come upstairs and speak,” they said.

Following them upstairs, Lin Qiye had barely settled when another person arrived—Elder Chen Tai of Yunlu Academy.

Chen Tai had come with the intent of taking in a disciple, sparking a conflict with Zhang Shen and Li Mubai. Lin Qiye never expected himself to be in such high demand.

Even the headmaster appeared in the end, leaving Lin Qiye completely flustered. His reputation had skyrocketed.

Though he had not officially taken a master, the academy greatly valued his talent and allowed him free access to study.

Lin Qiye glanced at the classics copied by Xu Xinnian and immediately stepped into the path of Confucian cultivation.

Before coming here, Lin Qiye already knew about the Ninth Rank Enlightenment Realm, the starting stage of Confucian cultivation. This stage required scholars to memorize the Sage’s teachings verbatim, transforming them into personal knowledge, improving memory and learning ability, and enabling photographic reading.

However, this stage provided no direct combat power—it simply laid a solid foundation for future progress.

Lin Qiye merely read half a book and directly stepped into the Ninth Rank Enlightenment Realm, leaving Li Mubai and Zhang Shen utterly dumbfounded.

“He only read half a book and reached the Ninth Rank Enlightenment Realm…”

“Is he even human?”

“A genius! A prodigy in the Confucian Dao!”

“No, not a genius—he’s a monster.”

Zhang Shen and Li Mubai were both visibly shaken, their hands trembling. They now realized that Lin Qiye was truly an unparalleled talent in Confucian cultivation.

For ordinary scholars, reaching the Ninth Rank Enlightenment Realm required memorizing the entire Confucian canon.

Yet Lin Qiye had merely read half a book and achieved the same feat.

If he were to read all of Yunlu Academy’s classics, wouldn’t he reach the Eighth Rank Self-Cultivation Realm?

Xu Xinnian, watching Lin Qiye’s effortless breakthrough, began doubting his life choices. He had memorized the classics cover to cover just to barely enter the Ninth Rank.

Meanwhile, Lin Qiye had merely skimmed through half a copied text and entered a realm countless scholars dreamed of reaching.

“Heavens! Born in this era, why must I live alongside Lin Qiye?”

Xu Xinnian felt utterly crushed. Comparing oneself to others only brings despair. Losing to Xu Qi’an was already humiliating enough.

He had always known Lin Qiye was extraordinary, but who could have imagined he was a peerless genius?

Seeing his disciple’s wounded pride, Zhang Shen quickly consoled him, “You don’t need to compare yourself to him or your brother. They are not ordinary men.”

Li Mubai nodded in agreement. “Indeed. I suspect Lin Qiye could reach the Self-Cultivation Realm within a single day.”

Oblivious to their discussion, Lin Qiye remained engrossed in his reading, flipping through books at an astonishing speed.

Before he knew it, he had entered the Eighth Rank Self-Cultivation Realm.

The core of this realm was tempering one’s literary courage, making one’s words powerful and persuasive, capable of inspiring morale and even briefly affecting an opponent’s will.

It was the first true manifestation of the Confucian ability to make words shape reality.

“Eighth… Eighth Rank…”

Zhang Shen and Li Mubai were dumbfounded, their lips twitching. Lin Qiye had merely read a book and ascended yet again.

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed such a person existed.