A Poke at the Secret Spot (Hilarious)
The commotion was great.
The entire grand hall fell into dead silence.
The middle-aged man sitting beside the city lord suddenly stood up, eyes wide open.
"The Confucian Sage Talent! It's actually the Confucian Sage Talent!!"
At this moment, his heart raced frantically.
His chest heaved up and down.
Guo Zimei felt a warmth spreading through his body as he slowly opened his eyes.
Phew!
He exhaled deeply.
He felt as if he had just soaked in a hot spring, very comfortable.
Afterward.
He looked at the middle-aged man sitting on the ground before him.
"Sir, what are you..."
He was somewhat surprised.
What is this all about?
The middle-aged man sitting on the ground was still in a state of shock.
This young man before him possessed such an astonishing talent!
The Confucian Sage Talent!
One with such a talent, their highest possible achievement in the future could reach the level of a Confucian Sage!
Their Confucian cultivation method did not rely on the strength of one's spiritual roots, as long as one had spiritual roots.
The talent for Confucian cultivation depended on the scholarly knowledge one had acquired before the age of eighteen.
In other words, it could be cultivated.
That was why the Book Mountain Immortal Academy was so powerful.
They could cultivate talents from a young age!
There were five levels of talent.
Namely: Confucian Scholar, Confucian Master, Confucian General, Confucian Lord, and Confucian Sage.
They had thought that finding a Confucian Master-level talent in this small city would already be a cause for celebration.
Little did they expect to unearth someone with the Confucian Sage Talent!
Such a talent was a once-in-tens-of-thousands-of-years occurrence!
Even in the Immortal Realm, it was a once-in-several-thousand-years rarity!
Indeed, the Book Mountain Immortal Academy bore the word "Immortal," signifying the exceptional nature of this force.
Apart from the mortal realm, even in the Immortal Realm, the Book Mountain Immortal Academy wielded its influence.
It was said that in other mortal realms, the Book Mountain Immortal Academy had a presence as well.
At this moment, witnessing Guo Zimei's astonishing talent, it was no wonder the middle-aged man before him had lost his composure.
If any member of the Book Mountain Immortal Academy had witnessed this scene up close, they would likely have reacted the same way.
The only embarrassment for this middle-aged man was that not long ago, he had looked down upon Guo Zimei...
The middle-aged man beside the city lord quickly walked up to Guo Zimei and smiled, "Young friend, welcome to the Book Mountain Immortal Academy!"
Guo Zimei's eyes lit up.
I passed?!
The group of young men in line looked on enviously.
They were not entirely clear about the twists and turns of this test.
But judging from the reactions of the two middle-aged men, the talent must be extraordinary.
"Young friend, please prepare yourself. I need to summon the Academy Head's Avatar momentarily. You may need to answer some questions from our Academy Head. Would that be acceptable?"
The middle-aged man was now extremely humble and polite, afraid of offending Guo Zimei in the slightest.
After witnessing Guo Zimei's remarkable talent, he knew that Guo Zimei's future achievements would undoubtedly be extraordinary.
Perhaps upon arriving at the academy, he would immediately be accepted as the Academy Head's disciple!
And in the future, he would surely become a prominent figure.
Such a person must be befriended early on!
Seeing the other party's courtesy, Guo Zimei blinked and quickly nodded in agreement.
Although puzzled as to why a great figure like the Academy Head needed an "Avatar" to come, he also wished to pay his respects to such a renowned master.
With Guo Zimei's consent, the middle-aged man swiftly took out a metal sphere from his spirit storage ring.
He chanted some unknown words while infusing spiritual energy into the metal sphere.
Then, a long wait ensued.
After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.
Suddenly, a beam of light projected upward.
At this moment, a ghostly image appeared above.
It was an old man.
He wore white robes, with hair as white as snow and a beard reaching down to his chest, exuding a scholarly and refined aura.
The two middle-aged men saw the ghostly image form and bowed respectfully, addressing it with reverence, "Greetings, Academy Head!"
The old man, however, appeared extremely agitated, his scholarly demeanor suddenly gone.
"Where is the one with the Confucian Sage Talent?! Do not deceive me!"
The two middle-aged men gestured towards Guo Zimei and said, "It is this young friend."
The ghostly image turned its gaze towards Guo Zimei, and a warm smile suddenly appeared on its face.
The speed at which its expression changed left the onlookers speechless.
"Young friend, may I ask your honorable surname?" the ghostly old man asked.
Guo Zimei looked at this old man, somewhat disappointed.
He had expected the Academy Head of the Book Mountain Immortal Academy to be a person like Master Chen.
But upon seeing him, he felt the old man did not even possess one percent of Master Chen's presence.
However, faced with the question, he still replied, "My humble surname is Guo, given name Zimei."
"Zimei, touch that book again and let me see!" the old man called out Zimei's name with practiced familiarity, as if the two had known each other before.
Guo Zimei nodded and followed his initial actions, touching the book once more.
Shortly after, a golden glow began to emanate from his body.
The ghostly old man watched this scene unfold, his body trembling with excitement.
"It truly is the Confucian Sage Talent! The Confucian Sage Talent indeed!"
The ghostly image cried out loudly, losing all composure in his exhilaration.
Guo Zimei also opened his eyes and frowned slightly.
Huh, is this really the Academy Head?
Compared to Master Chen, the difference was like heaven and earth.
The ghostly image remained overjoyed for quite some time before finally smiling at Guo Zimei and continuing, "Zimei, did you learn on your own from a young age, or did you have a teacher to guide you?"
He had to clarify this.
In the mortal realm, there were some hidden great scholars.
Perhaps some individuals had studied for many years, eventually comprehending things that others could not.
Although such people had no cultivation, and were of no use to ordinary cultivators, to the Book Mountain Immortal Academy, they were a valuable asset.
They could invite these individuals to teach at the academy.
After all, they possessed literary knowledge and could nurture talented individuals with exceptional aptitude.
He felt that the person who had taught Guo Zimei must also have some abilities.
But more importantly, Guo Zimei's innate talent was extraordinarily high.
He could grasp things quickly and had incredible comprehension abilities.
Only then could he nurture such a formidable talent for Confucian cultivation.
Guo Zimei did not conceal anything and replied, "I began my studies at thirteen, and for the past four years, I have been under the guidance of a teacher. This teacher is a man of profound knowledge and cultivation. If he possessed any cultivation himself, I would even think he was the descent of a Confucian Sage!"
A look of admiration flashed across Guo Zimei's face.
Hearing Guo Zimei's words, the ghostly image almost wanted to laugh.
Indeed, just a child.
A descent of a Confucian Sage, huh?
However, this person should still have some abilities.
"Do you happen to have any of his poems recorded? You could recite a few for me to listen."
The ghostly old man needed to gauge the level of knowledge of the person Guo Zimei referred to.
If this person could compose poetry, hearing a couple of pieces would allow him to evaluate their level of literary attainment.
He could then consider whether it was necessary to invite this person to teach at their academy.
Guo Zimei remained candid, "Master Chen has composed countless poems. I wonder how many the Academy Head would like to hear?"
Countless poems?
Heh.
"Just recite a couple at random," the ghostly old man said.
From those two words "countless poems", he already knew this person likely did not possess much true literary talent.
For a person to produce one or two poems worthy of being passed down in their lifetime was already enough.
When it came to poetry, more was not necessarily better.
Guo Zimei nodded and first recited a poem Master Chen had taught him early on - "Midnight Thoughts."
His voice was mellow, full of emotion.
The poem was quickly recited in full.
The feeling of homesickness overflowed beyond the verses.
As the recitation ended, he looked towards the ghostly old man and asked, "Academy Head, how was it?"
But if only he hadn't looked at the ghostly image's expression, it would have been better.
Upon seeing it, he couldn't help but pause in surprise.
Academy Head, why do your eyeballs look like they're about to pop out?!
Guo Zimei felt the other party's expression was too priceless.
It was as if some secret spot had been poked by something sharp.