The dining hall is located at the northernmost end of Longmen Academy. It is a two-story attic with white walls and gray tiles.
When Gu Xu walked in, he saw many students already lining up in a long line. While waiting, they were talking and laughing about today's much-anticipated battle of Talisman and Dao.
Each student holds a metal token in his hand, with the four characters "Longmen Academy" engraved on one side and their own name engraved on the other side. When they got their meals, they did not take out the coins or coupons, but tapped the tokens on the table to pay for the meal.
Gu Xu originally thought that the dishes in the yamen kitchen at the headquarters of the Exorcism Division were rich and varied enough.
Unexpectedly, the dining hall of Longmen Academy is even more comprehensive.
Specialties from all over the country, such as salted duck from Jinling, tiger skin meat from Jiangnan, dragon beard noodles from the north, crisp candy from Langya, enema from Youzhou... can all be found in this room.
"It is worthy of being a school for the powerful children of Luo Jing. The dishes in this dining hall look even richer than those in restaurants outside," Gu Xu could not help but sigh in his heart as he smelled the mixed aroma of various dishes. , "When Shi Xiaohan comes here to study in a few days, he will definitely not be able to control himself when facing these delicacies."
Because Gu Xu's appearance was so conspicuous, the students in the academy recognized his identity from a distance.
But maybe it's because he's gaining momentum today.
Perhaps after he was promoted to the third level, his temperament became more worldly and refined than before - in the words of his previous life, he was "handsome and distant".
The students were just whispering, looking at him with wonder, admiration, hostility or infatuation, but no one took the initiative to talk to him.
Just as Gu Xu was thinking, "How can I eat in this canteen without a token?", a tall and thin middle-aged man with sparse hair that looked like a bamboo pole suddenly came to him.
"Gu...Mr. Gu, I have some doubts about the art of talisman and seal script recently. I wonder if you would like to give me some advice," the middle-aged man said politely, "You can borrow this token from the dining hall first. .”
This man's expression was a little reserved, and his speech was relatively slow. He sounded stumbling, and he was obviously a person who was not good at words.
Gu Xu turned his head and recognized him at a glance as Du Yuan, a teacher from Longmen Academy.
"Don't take advice seriously," he responded with a modest smile, "Mr. Du is a well-known Fu Dao master in Luo Jing City, and I am just a junior who has just started to dabble in Fu Dao, so I may not be able to help."
Hearing Gu Xu's polite words, Du Yuan couldn't help but narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at him again from head to toe.
He had long known from others that less than a year had passed since Gu Xu came into contact with Fu Dao.
For most talisman masters, being able to lay a solid foundation and draw some simple talisman seals according to the gourd's pattern in such a short period of time can be called "talented and intelligent".
But Gu Xu was able to reach a level in the art of talisman and seal script in just a few months that others could not achieve in years or even decades.
Because of this, when Du Yuan saw Gu Xu's overly young face and thought of his answer sheet that earned 120 points and was praised by the national master, he felt very complicated.
"You can definitely help," Du Yuan looked seriously into Gu Xu's eyes, "I would like you to tell me what the sentence 'The essence of Talisman is naming' you wrote in the question paper is. What's the meaning?
"If it's convenient for you, I hope you can give me some advice."
…………
Soon, the two sat down on both sides of a wooden table in the corner of the dining hall.
Du Yuan used Longmen Academy's token to buy Xu a bowl of beef noodles according to his needs.
But when Gu Xu handed him a few copper coins according to the corresponding price, Du Yuan immediately withdrew his hand and refused to accept the money, saying "knowledge is priceless" repeatedly.
So Gu Xu unexpectedly got a free meal from whoring.
At the same time, he also learned from Du Yuan that Du Yuan and Fu Tao, two teachers at Longmen Academy who are good at teaching Fu Tao, have recently encountered bottlenecks in the research process and have been unable to find a way to break through.
They have long been troubled by this.
To this day, when they heard the National Preceptor's evaluation of Gu Xu's first-part answer sheet, they seemed to see a glimmer of light in the endless darkness.
Fu Tao is a very face-saving person. It would undoubtedly be extremely difficult for him to put down his posture and ask questions from a junior like Gu Xu.
However, Du Yuan was different.
He is introverted, not good at expressing himself, and is not interested in external things such as "face" or "fame".
Students often say that his lectures are bumpy and make people sleepy——
If Professor Fu’s Fu Tao class is a “bragging story session”, consisting of 80% gossip and 20% practical information; then Professor Du’s class is “Hypnosis Spells That Do Not Require True Essence”, which is basically from beginning to end. Read the lesson notes in a calm tone.
However, everyone spoke highly of Du Jiaoxi’s research spirit.
He often shut himself in the monastery and studied the talismans and seal scripts without sleep or food.
Almost every year, he could figure out more than one improvement plan for talisman and seal script, or come up with a new talisman theory.
It was this kind of character that made Du Yuan decisively approach Gu Xu when he saw hope of breaking through the bottleneck, and asked this young man who was only 18 years old without any pretense.
Gu Xu listened carefully to Du Yuan's narration.
Then he pointed to the porcelain bowl with beef noodles in front of him and asked Du Yuan: "Mr. Du, what is this?"
Du Yuan frowned slightly: "A bowl?"
"Then if I smash a man's head with this bowl, what is it?"
"The murder weapon?"
Gu Xu smiled slightly and nodded.
He did not explain immediately, but continued to ask: "You should know why I came to Longmen Academy today, right?"
"For the title of academy teacher?"
"That's right," Gu Xu said lightly, "Then if I can successfully get this title, what changes will happen to me?"
Du Yuan thought for a while and said: "If you can become a teacher in the academy, you will be able to receive a sum of money every month, and you will also need to fulfill your obligation to teach students."
"You can try to understand it this way," Gu Xu chuckled, "The status of 'academy teacher' will be a talisman drawn on me - my monthly salary and the work of teaching students will become This talisman has given me new attributes."
Du Yuan fell into deep thought and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing his frown, Gu Xu continued: "Actually, the name 'Gu Xu' is also a talisman engraved on my soul. It gives me my identity and the meaning of existence in this world, and it also makes others have Find out how to get to know me."
Du Yuan took a deep breath.
He felt that he was very close to the answer.
With just one more step forward, he could push open the door of the small dark room and see the bright world outside.
At the same time, an idea came to Gu Xu's mind inexplicably:
"'Tai Shang Haotian', 'Emperor Zi Wei'... can the names of these gods also be regarded as a kind of talisman?
"What special attributes do these talismans have?
"Could it be a symbol of the authority of gods, or a link between their beings and their believers?
"..."
Of course, Gu Xu did not say this whimsical idea, but lowered his head and continued to eat noodles slowly.
After about twenty minutes, Gu Xu finally ate all the beef noodles in the bowl - I have to say that although the noodles looked very light, they tasted so good that he almost drank the noodles inside. All the soup was finished.
He really couldn't imagine what it would be like when that girl Xiaohan came to this dining hall.
Then Gu Xu stood up and said that he would leave the dining hall first and rush back to "Siqi Hall" to prepare for the third part of the assessment.
At the same time, he jokingly claimed: "May God grant me good luck and be able to work with Du Jiaoxi here in the future."
Du Yuan was still sitting on the chair, thinking about the problem motionlessly, ignoring him, as if he didn't hear his voice at all.
Gu Xu knew that Du Yuan had most likely entered a state of enlightenment.
So he left the dining hall without disturbing the other party again.
Time flies.
The crowd in the dining hall gradually thinned out.
The rain outside the window became heavier and heavier, and the pattering rain curtain turned into a flood that broke the embankment, roaring and falling from thousands of feet high in the sky.
The students also finished their meals and left the room one after another, preparing to go to the "Siqi Hall" to join in the fun.
Du Yuan was the only one left in the dining hall, and there were several metal dolls holding brooms and cleaning along fixed tracks.
Then the bell rang melodiously, announcing the start of the third round of assessment.
Dazzling electric light penetrated the lead-colored clouds, and the rumble of thunder seemed to echo the ringing of the bell.
Du Yuan finally stood up slowly from his seat, straightened his clothes carefully, and then bowed deeply in the direction of "Siqitang".
His forehead accidentally hit the corner of the table, but he didn't even notice.
…………
At the same time, the four candidates returned to the desk in "Siqitang".
Their expressions at this moment were all different.
Gu Xu was still calm and composed, his eyes were like calm lakes, without the slightest emotion.
Shen Qiu still had a cynical expression - in his eyes, the thoughts of "participation is important" and "just try your best" were revealed.
Zhao Xinran clenched his fists inadvertently, his eyes burning like burning flames. As the talisman master with the highest level of cultivation and seniority among the four, she fell far behind the two younger juniors in the second step because she chose the wrong solution to the problem; this made her feel a little unwilling. She very much hopes that in this last link, which is also the link where it is easiest to bring out her strengths, she will do her best to turn the situation around.
As for Mo Li, he lowered his head and stared at the table with a dejected look, which was completely different from his confidence in the morning.
When the bell rang, the Imperial Master of Da Qi appeared in front of them again.
"The ability to break away from books and draw your own unique talisman seals is the criterion that distinguishes ordinary talisman masters from talisman masters," I heard the national master say, "So, in this third link, we will Examine your ability to 'innovate' talismans.
"Now that the long night is approaching, the Daqi Dynasty will face more powerful and terrifying ghosts. Especially the lives of ordinary people without cultivation will be seriously threatened.
"I hope you can design a talisman that can be widely used among the people to help as many people as possible escape danger and save their lives after the 'Long Night' falls.
"You can design any form of talisman... for attack, defense, or even for seeking help and escaping. I will not put any restrictions on your ideas.
"You have one hour."
As soon as he finished speaking, the figure of the Imperial Master disappeared.
The four candidates sat quietly, lost in thought, and none of them started to write.
If the assessment in the second stage is too tricky and out of the norm, it requires them to rack their brains and exhaust their lifelong knowledge of Talisman to solve a problem that has little to do with Talisma, practice, or combat. .
So, the question in this third link is too broad, it seems easy, and there are countless options to choose from.
However, it is precisely because of the high degree of freedom that the Talisman Masters are hesitant.
This means that they must find the best answer, a better answer than the rest of the people here, in order to become the ultimate winner.
As the rain falls heavier and heavier, the world outside the window becomes darker and darker, making the brightly lit "Siqi Hall" look like an independent space.
About a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Xinran began to write.
Her wrists are hanging in the air, and her brushwork is smooth, like flowing clouds and flowing water, with the style of a master.
While drawing the talisman, the fluctuating emotions in her eyes gradually subsided, and her eyes became calm, sharp, and focused again, as if she had been immersed in the world of the talisman.
Ten minutes passed.
She gently put down the brush in her hand.
The talisman in front of her suddenly burst into bright golden light, making everyone present unable to open their eyes for a moment.
Although everyone did not know what kind of talisman Zhao Xinran drew, they could feel the terrifying power contained in the talisman from the blazing light.
Mo Li and Shen Qiu both felt a burst of pressure.
Then, Zhao Xinran stood up, picked up the talisman on the table, and without even looking at it, strode out of the house and handed it into the hands of the national master who was drinking tea in the pavilion.
"That's so fast!" Instructor Fu Tao glanced at her and couldn't help but murmured.
The national master took the talisman and glanced at it. He did not comment, but nodded slightly, obviously approvingly.
While Shangguan Jin was pouring tea for Luo Sishou, she silently sighed, "The famous Fu Tao master in Luo Jing is indeed well-deserved." At the same time, she was also a little uneasy, worried that Gu Xu might suffer a slight loss in this competition due to his lack of experience.
Only Luo Chuan's face did not change.
He was still sitting at the table, absorbed in smelling the aroma of "Baifei Tea", as if he didn't see what was happening in front of him at all.
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