Chapter 144 — Brothers of the Same Lineage
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
No wonder—had it been me, caught off guard, I could not have blocked it either. " He was not hurt; the firewood that Shen Mu had thrust at his chest was blasted by his vital essence into splinters of wood fiber, and could not wound him. Many scholars of the Scholars' Quarter hurried out, and seeing the gate of Shen Mu's courtyard torn down, could not help gloating inwardly: "That cast-off Shen dared to write words on his door insulting the scholars of our Jingping—now he has come to grief, has he not?
The Bashan Libationer himself has come to tear down their gate; let us see where he can put his face now! " The Bashan Libationer swept his gaze over them and waved a hand.
"Disperse, all of you, disperse. There is nothing to see; I was merely exchanging pointers with Scholar Shen. " "So he did give that Shen a sound beating after all. " The scholars understood, and looked at Shen Mu with gloating delight.
To their astonishment, Shen Mu's clothes were still neat and bright, while it was the Bashan Libationer who was covered in dust; it did not look as though Shen Mu had been beaten, but rather as though the Bashan Libationer was in a sorry state. The Bashan Libationer looked at the gate and the fallen wall and said with some headache, "No wonder the Grand Libationer said you nearly tore the Scholars' Quarter down once.
If you were to make a move in the Scholars' Quarter, it would not take you long to tear it down.
Your skill is exceedingly high, but it seems something has gone wrong with your cultivation method—there is a flaw at your left shoulder. " He had not deliberately lowered his voice, and the scholars who had not yet walked off heard it at once; one by one their eyes lit up.
"So his flaw is at his left shoulder! " Shen Wanyun drew a long breath. He had sensed that there seemed to be something sluggish in Shen Mu's cultivation method, but had never found where Shen Mu's flaw lay; now at last the Bashan Libationer had woken him to it. "Now my place as senior brother can be kept," he thought to himself.
"Have the menial servants come to repair this wall and door. " The Bashan Libationer caught sight of Shen Wanyun and called him over.
Shen Wanyun hastily bowed.
"Teacher! " The Bashan Libationer said to Shen Mu with a smile, "In the Imperial Academy there are few scholars I admire. Shen Wanyun is one I trained with care.
Junior Brother, what do you think of him?
" Shen Mu nodded and praised him.
"No wonder Senior Brother Shen's strength is so great—it was Senior Brother who trained him.
Senior Brother Shen is the senior brother of the Scholars' Quarter; in both cultivation and strength he has reached an exceedingly high level, and once he enters the Divine Power Quarter he is sure to shine brilliantly. " "Senior Brother?
Junior Brother? " Shen Wanyun was somewhat bewildered. The Bashan Libationer laughed.
"Junior Brother, why do you call him Senior Brother?
Call him martial nephew. If you call him Senior Brother, would that not throw our seniority into confusion?
" Shen Mu hesitated. The Bashan Libationer walked into the courtyard and went on, "I realized long ago that relying on the Directorate of Education alone to teach scholars makes it easy to produce experts, but also easy to hold back talent. The Directorate teaches too many people: with the same divine ability, one man learns it at a glance, while another needs ten or a hundred repetitions. But the Directorate must treat all alike—those who learn at a glance must study it a hundred times alongside the dullards, and only when the dullards have learned it may they go on to other divine abilities. That holds back their progress in cultivation. " Shen Mu and Shen Wanyun walked into the courtyard, and the Bashan Libationer tossed over his wine gourd. "I once spoke of this to the Grand Libationer.