Chapter 146 - 131: This Scholar Teaches and Kills Demons

Xiao Mo walked into the classroom and asked He Yeye to step outside. Only then did the children quiet down.

Xiao Mo first taught them some basic etiquette of the Confucian School.

The children were all very bright and found it novel, so they learned quickly.

Next, Xiao Mo had them introduce themselves, to understand their interests and also to memorize their names.

Finally, Xiao Mo tested them to see how many characters they knew.

Among the dozen or so children, the one who knew the most characters was the little girl from earlier who had bowed to Xiao Mo outside the Academy.

Her name was Xu Yuerou. She recognized most common characters and had even studied a bit of the Confucian classics.

Some of the children were only seven years old and didn’t know a single character.

’But that’s not a big problem. I’ll just have to teach them slowly.’

’In any case, I’ll likely be staying in Demon Suppression City for a long time.’

Xiao Mo distributed the textbooks he had written the previous night.

The textbooks didn’t just cover Heart Learning. In fact, Heart Learning only took up a very small portion, and it was the most basic, easy-to-understand part.

The books contained more of the Confucian classics, as well as some of the more accessible content from the Daoist Sect, Buddhist School, and Mo Family.

Learning is never something that can be accomplished overnight.

It’s best to progress from the simple to the complex. There’s no need to rush.

The sound of Xiao Mo’s lecture drifted from the classroom, echoing gently around the courtyard.

Inside the classroom, every child listened attentively. Even if they couldn’t understand, they wracked their brains trying to.

Outside the classroom, the Big Guy sat on the ground. He didn’t care at all what Xiao Mo was saying; he just watched the white clouds drift across the sky.

On the windowsill, He Yeye propped up her chin with her small hands, watching Xiao Mo teach from the side. Her little feet swung gently, the bells on their red strings tinkling.

As noon approached, Xiao Mo closed his textbook and said to the children, "That’s all for today’s lesson."

The children stood up and bowed according to the etiquette Xiao Mo had taught them. "Thank you for your hard work, Teacher."

"You students have worked hard as well." Xiao Mo returned the bow.

"Class is dismissed..."

After class, the students streamed out, reverting to their usual boisterous selves.

Xiao Mo gathered his textbooks and walked out of the classroom. He Yeye was already waiting for him outside.

The two of them walked out of the courtyard together, with the Big Guy following behind them.

"Are you really a Confucian scholar?" He Yeye asked Xiao Mo as they walked down the street.

Xiao Mo nodded. "The genuine article. Here’s my identification tablet."

"Then shouldn’t you be teaching all that ’zhi, hu, zhe, ye’ stuff? But you’re teaching everything! And you only taught a tiny bit of your Heart Learning."

Xiao Mo smiled. "Who says Confucian scholars can only teach Confucian knowledge? And who says Confucian knowledge is just ’zhi, hu, zhe, ye’?"

"Then why don’t you only teach your Heart Learning?"

"Heart Learning is just one school of thought, much like any other. I will teach them the Confucian classics and other subjects I have some knowledge of. Heart Learning is merely one among them; it shouldn’t be the entirety of their education."

"..." He Yeye’s brow twitched. "You’re a strange one for a scholar."

"Does that mean the City Lord is going to throw me into the river to feed the fish?" Xiao Mo asked with a smile.

"What do you think of the name I gave the Academy?" He Yeye asked suddenly, the question completely out of left field.

"Er..." Xiao Mo was taken aback for a moment, then said against his better judgment, "It’s a good name."

"And how’s the calligraphy?" He Yeye asked again.

"It’s beautiful. Full of spirit, like dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing. Very elegant." Xiao Mo continued with his insincere praise.

"Hmph hmph..." He Yeye lifted her chin proudly. With a little hop, she landed on the giant’s shoulders. The giant strode toward the City Lord’s Mansion, and her voice drifted back from over his shoulder, "Since your teaching today wasn’t half bad, I’ll spare you from being fed to the fish in the lake... for now."

"Many thanks for sparing my life, Lord City Lord."

Xiao Mo chuckled and bowed as he saw the City Lord off, then returned to his own courtyard.

From then on, every day at the Hour of the Dragon, Xiao Mo would go to the courtyard by the lake to teach the children.

Gradually, in addition to the initial dozen or so children, more and more kids began attending class at the "University Hall."

Xiao Mo turned none of these students away.

Eventually, there were so many students that Xiao Mo had them move their desks and chairs into the courtyard to hold class in the open air.

Among these children, Xiao Mo felt that there were indeed a few promising young scholars.

One of them was the little girl, Xu Yuerou.

The other two were boys named Li Man and Zeng Songshi.

These three children were all around ten years old. They were not only intelligent but also diligent. After class, they would often seek out Xiao Mo to ask about things they didn’t understand.

Xiao Mo patiently answered their questions and told them they could come to his courtyard anytime if they had more.

Of course, there were also some children who truly couldn’t keep up with the studies.

Xiao Mo didn’t force the issue. As long as He Yeye gave her permission, they didn’t have to come.

In contrast, He Yeye never missed a single lesson.

While teaching, Xiao Mo was also organizing his own philosophy, writing *Knowledge and Action Combined* one character at a time.

After the Demon Race and the World of Ten Thousand Laws officially went to war, the Demons would assault Demon Suppression City every few days.

And Demon Suppression City would always choose to proactively meet the enemy.

Xiao Mo knew the Demon Race wanted to test the depths of Demon Suppression City, probing for weaknesses and opportunities.

But wasn’t Demon Suppression City doing the same?

Every time Xiao Mo went to the battlefield, he was always the one charging at the very front.

And just as He Yeye had said, the Demon Race’s World had taken notice of Xiao Mo. Whenever he appeared, Demon Cultivators would try to ambush and kill him.

If they were Demons of the same Realm, He Yeye wouldn’t interfere.

But if a Cultivator from the Upper Three Realms came to bully someone weaker, He Yeye wouldn’t be so polite.

Xiao Mo taught the children of Demon Suppression City, and in return for this "tuition," He Yeye acted as his protector.

Gradually, Xiao Mo’s fame spread throughout Demon Suppression City.

In the northern part of Demon Suppression City, more and more people came to know.

Of a teacher by the lake.

When a great battle began, he would descend from the city to slay Demons.

When the battle ended, he would return to the city to teach.

...

「Four thousand years later, Demon Suppression City.」

A young girl strolled through the city, eating a stick of tanghulu. A thirty-foot-tall giant followed behind her.

It seemed that no matter how much time passed, the girl never changed, forever a child.

As she walked, the girl arrived at a villa by a lake.

On the plaque above the courtyard gate were the two words "University Hall."

The plaque, however, was so old and rotten that it looked as if the slightest touch would cause it to crumble into splinters.

"Lord City Lord?"

Just as He Yeye was staring blankly at the plaque, a woman walked out of the courtyard.

"Yuerou, what are you doing here?" He Yeye asked.

"I come to clean the Academy regularly," Xu Yuerou said. "Lord City Lord, what brings you here?"

"Just taking a stroll," He Yeye said, shaking her head. "By the way, I heard you’re going to the Confucian Academy."

"Yes." Xu Yuerou nodded, her eyes firm. "Li Man and Zeng Songshi have both become ’Companion Saints and Sages.’ They, along with Headmaster Shang Jiuli of Bailu Academy, are going to clear our teacher’s name. I want to go help them. If there’s one name in the World of Ten Thousand Laws that should never be erased, it’s our teacher’s!"

"Clear his name? Heh."

He Yeye chuckled, then patted the Big Guy, turning to leave. Her voice echoed in the night.

"The Confucian Academy is not worthy of clearing Xiao Mo’s name.

"Your teacher’s name is forever etched upon the stone tablets of the Great Wall of China. No one can ever erase it."