Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

When we arrived at the backyard, the mess had been cleared away. However, although there were occasional patches of greenery, it still looked rather desolate under the somber twilight.

The unnecessary and unsightly houses were demolished, leaving a large open space. In front of it were two sizable lakes, and a long corridor had been built around the lakes.

The corridor, like a long snake, stretched across the muddy ground. It was quite simple, with wooden planks laid on the ground, with large gaps between each pair of planks. On top, there was only a rough horizontal wooden frame. Every so often, there were benches on both sides for resting. Apart from the wooden frame, the rest of the area had been freshly painted.

Along the lakeside of the long corridor, every few meters, an elm or willow tree is planted, already sprouting tender green buds.

Li Xingzhi looked up and saw that there was a small pavilion in the round lake.

He looked around again and sure enough, he spotted a small awning boat.

He walked around and looked at the lake, and he was quite satisfied with it. As for the long frame around the lake, he had already made preparations.

When they reached the bridge, they saw two burly men standing on either side. These were servants of the Li family, standing there to prevent anyone from being ignorant and entering the Li residence from the library.

Seeing the two men bow respectfully, Li Xingzhi nodded and crossed the small bridge. Hidden among the trees, a two-story pavilion could be vaguely seen, surrounded by several large halls, facing the backyard of the Li residence.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the pavilion stood amidst the water, with a door at the bottom and a long staircase leading directly to the second floor from the outside.

The walls were painted white, the ceiling was jet black, and auspicious beasts gathered there, giving it a solemn, quiet, and very simple appearance.

The two main rooms face this side. They are spacious inside, with several tables and chairs in each room, and a futon underneath.

The library has been open for some time now, and it is not for profit.

According to Li Xingzhi, a "membership system" was implemented, with one librarian and three elders at the top, and three levels below them: iron, bronze, and silver, each with different reading permissions and other privileges.

At this moment, in one of the several halls behind the library, a group of people had gathered. Li Xingzhi went in and saw that it was Ouyang Xun and several scholars he did not recognize, dressed in simple clothes.

Upon seeing Li Xingzhi enter, Ouyang Xun, who had been chatting idly, stood up to greet him. Although the others didn't understand, they also stood up, but seeing Li Xingzhi's extraordinary demeanor, they secretly began to speculate about his identity.

"When did you return, my lord?"

"Hehe, I just got back. Why don't you introduce these gentlemen?"

He led the group of people beside him and said, "These are my classmates and friends. Today, the library is completed, so I invited them over." He then introduced them one by one.

Including Ouyang Xun, there were five people among them, all of whom possessed extraordinary qualities.

On the far left is Ouyang Xun, who appears to be the youngest.

Beside him stood a neatly dressed man, whose outer garment, though made of linen, revealed a pale white silk lining beneath. His head was slightly raised, his demeanor subtly sharp, suggesting a confident and composed air. According to Ouyang Xun, this man was named Chen Lin.

The man to Chen Lin's right was named Wen Yun. Among the group, he appeared the most mature, yet his composure showed no signs of weariness; rather, he seemed to possess an indomitable spirit.

The second person on the right is named Zhang Wei. His eyes and brows have a touch of frost, and his hemp clothes are patched in several places. He is the most shabby among them, but his wild and unrestrained demeanor is the most eye-catching.

The person on the far right is named Kou Changqing. He is robust and has a heroic air about him, making him slightly different from the others.

Li Xingzhi looked at the other four people, all of whom were extraordinary, but he didn't know why none of them had left any trace in the history books.

As he sized up the group, they were also sizing him up. They all wanted to know who had the audacity to produce so many rare and ancient books and build such a grand library! This was truly a great blessing for the scholars of Jingchu!

No one expected that such a spirited person was a handsome young man.

The group looked at the young master in the middle, dressed in a blue robe, who was truly outstanding and unforgettable. They wondered which noble family he was the eldest son of!

Only Wen Yun looked at Li Xingzhi, frowned, and then said something to Ouyang Xun.

As night fell, everyone had said their goodbyes and left. Li Xingzhi looked at Ouyang Xun and said, "Your friends are all quite good!"

Ouyang Xun frowned but did not answer. He said, "My lord, we are in some trouble."

"How to say?"

“Young master, you must have noticed that Wen Yun is the eldest son of the Wen family in Tanzhou City. However, because he dislikes the spoiled nature of those young masters, he has joined us.” He paused, then continued, “He just told me that the powerful families in the city might be a threat to us. Among us, he is the most skilled in management and planning, so if that’s the case, it must be true.”

Li Xingzhi thought about it and realized that by doing this, he had broken the monopoly of those wealthy families on these books and culture, which indirectly harmed their interests, and they would come knocking on his door sooner or later.

Thinking about it this way, I understood many things. Why are books, paper, and pens so expensive? Why did it take hundreds of years to develop a simple technology like movable type printing? There may be other reasons, but the biggest one is probably the obstruction from vested interest groups.

By monopolizing books, paper, and pens, they monopolized culture, talent, and the lifeline of the rulers! By the late Tang Dynasty, the power of these aristocratic families had permeated every aspect of the dynasty, and the once-powerful ruler had become a puppet. The historians' pens were all writing for them!

Li Xingzhi had no intention of breaking this situation. The reason he built this library was firstly to find something to do, but more importantly, he saw that poor scholars like Ouyang Xun were really struggling and wanted to help them.

As for those wealthy families, if they anger him, he wouldn't mind adding fuel to the fire in this still unsettled pot.

Li Xingzhi patted Ouyang Xun on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm here. Anyone who dares to reach out, I'll chop off their hand!"

At this moment, Ouyang Xun realized that the young master of the Li family was no longer as calm and composed as usual. There was a hint of murderous intent in his eyes, which startled him, but calmed him down.

Although he didn't know what background or methods Li Jia Dalang had, the confidence and decisiveness in Li Xingzhi's words made him believe in him.

Li Xingzhi returned to the courtyard, where the lights had already been turned on.

He looked at the large fish tank in the middle of the yard. The two fire carp inside were even more vibrant and lively. One or two small green round leaves had floated on the surface of the water, with silver water droplets rolling on the leaves, making the scene in the tank more distinct and meaningful.

The fish in the tank seemed to have noticed Li Xingzhi's arrival, and they all floated to the surface, opening their small red mouths; their tails swayed gently, their posture more composed, bringing out a touch of gold, which made them appear noble!

Li Xingzhi was reluctant to leave. He added some water to the jar and fed it some food before going inside.

He opened the system, intending to study it further and see if he could find the function of the merit points, when suddenly, he glanced at it and discovered that his merit points had inexplicably decreased by thirty points!

Li Xingzhi was somewhat puzzled. He didn't seem to have done anything wrong, so why was his merit reduced?

He carefully reviewed the events of the day, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Could it be because I caused that little girl to faint? The system wouldn't be that cruel, would it?

Suddenly, a thought struck me: Could this be it?

With a sudden thought, he noticed that one copper coin was missing from his hand, and a small bottle had appeared in his hand containing five Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pills. He checked his merit points and realized that they had decreased by fifty.

He was startled! It seems he should be more careful in the future.

He felt a chill run down his spine; thankfully, he hadn't recklessly messed around with the system shop. His earlier bad premonition had proven true; no wonder he'd almost gone mad so easily a few days ago—it was all because of this thing.

It seems I need to start accumulating good karma more often, otherwise, taking things out of the store will be like a death sentence.

Is this thing just for passive consumption? He sat in the space, studied it for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped paying attention to it.