My virtue is above yours.

After Chen Jingxuan finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the crowd, and people whispered among themselves.

"We saw it very clearly: Junior Brother Chen was kneeling first, and then he fainted and fell asleep, but he fainted a little too quickly."

Zhao Qingshan whispered, "I'm his roommate. Yesterday evening, he went out with his medical kit without eating and didn't come back all night. He probably went to study medicine. He fainted so quickly because he didn't get enough rest or eat."

"So that's how it is. I knew that the humble Junior Brother Chen wouldn't skip his shift and come here to sleep. I never imagined he'd suffered so much."

"Jiang Zhen has gone too far. During the ceremony, I overheard her secretly threatening Junior Brother Chen. It must be because Junior Brother Chen stole her thunder that day that she's holding a grudge."

"A tree that stands out in the forest will surely be felled by the wind. Someone like Junior Brother Chen, who has no background, shouldn't stand out too much in the main sect."

Chen Jingxuan was secretly delighted. Thanks to the good image of humility he had established during the previous ceremony, and the fact that Jiang Zhen had a bad reputation, public opinion was now completely on his side.

He did not choose an aggressive approach, but instead positioned himself in a humble position, so that no one would criticize a disciple who had been forced to kneel until he fainted.

As for the abbot, since he is righteously committing evil, he would be even less likely to make things difficult for himself in front of everyone.

Abbot Zhang Shunan frowned, his handsome young face appearing exceptionally serious. He possessed profound cultivation and astonishing hearing, able to hear even the whispers of his disciples.

Besides those who defended Chen Jingxuan, there were also many complaints about Jiang Zhen's arrogance.

He had specifically instructed his disciples a few days ago not to make things difficult for Chen Jingxuan and the other two, but Jiang Zhen ignored his words.

Now that this has happened, all the disciples in the sect know that he has an arrogant and domineering disciple.

The sect leader didn't speak, but simply glanced calmly at Zhang Shun'an.

Zhang Shunan swallowed hard: "Senior brother, I'll handle it."

He addressed his disciples in the square, saying loudly, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If Jiang Zhenzhen has indeed acted in this way, I will certainly give Chen Jingxuan justice. Heaven and earth bear witness, our ancestors bear witness, and all of you disciples bear witness as well."

The disciples shut their mouths, not daring to utter a single word.

Zhang Shunan glanced down at Chen Jingxuan, who was still looking down, his face flustered, and his breathing erratic: "You don't need to be nervous. And don't think I'll make things difficult for you in the future. I've always acted fairly and justly. If what you say is true, it will be Jiang Zhen kneeling here tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, the air around Zhang Shunan distorted, and he instantly disappeared from everyone's sight.

Seeing that Chen Jingxuan was still bowing with his hands clasped, the sect leader said, "Put your hands down. You can trust the abbot's character. I can vouch for this matter, and all the disciples present are witnesses. Our Heavenly Dao Sect has its rules, so you don't need to worry."

"Thank you, Master." Chen Jingxuan then lowered his hand, pretending to breathe a sigh of relief.

The sect leader said, "Go and rest for a while and have something to eat. Once the supervisor has finished his business, you can return to Xinyangfang."

"No, I'll go now. I'm afraid I can't keep up with the abbot. If Senior Sister Jiang leaves before I arrive, I'm afraid I'll delay the people in the neighborhood."

"Then go ahead. Your master has taught you well."

The sect leader squeezed Chen Jingxuan's shoulder hard, making his heart tremble.

Chen Jingxuan picked up his medicine box and left quickly.

He realized that the sect leader's second half of the sentence had more than one meaning, but he also realized that the sect leader saw through it but didn't say it, perhaps because he had something on his mind.

After the commotion in the square subsided, Zhao Qingshan and a few busybodies secretly gathered together again.

Zhao Qingshan said with an air of seriousness, "Did you see what happened just now? The abbot went so far as to use his own disciple to pave the way for Chen Jingxuan. What else could this be but an illegitimate child?"

Everyone expressed their agreement, and some even regretted not speaking up for Chen Jingxuan like Zhao Qingshan had.

Zhao Qingshan proposed, "This matter of the illegitimate child should remain a secret between us. Let's not spread it around anymore. Today, we swear an oath to become the Crown Prince Party, to curry favor with—no, to protect—Senior Brother Chen."

Everyone agreed.

-

After leaving Qingyao Mountain, Chen Jingxuan could feel his cultivation level increasing. The hidden seed of energy within him was becoming fuller, and it felt like it was about to burst forth at any moment.

"This can increase cultivation level? What kind of path am I cultivating anyway?"

When he arrived at Xinyangfang, Jiang Zhen was no longer there, and not only that, even the free clinic booth was gone.

"Won't the abbot be too angry and destroy Jiang Zhen and his stall along with everything else?"

He quickly pulled over a passerby to ask what was going on.

A passerby said, "Just now, the Taoist priest was treating everyone's illnesses when suddenly a Taoist priest in purple robes appeared out of thin air. With a wave of his hand, the female Taoist priest was knocked into the wall. Then he kicked her into the air and flew away himself."

"What about the stall?"

"The stall was moved to the entrance of Shengyang Academy by the female Taoist priest before."

Guided by passersby, Chen Jingxuan turned two streets and saw two rows of dilapidated houses that had been demolished into ruins. Yellow dust was everywhere, and the air was murky and choking.

A passerby pointed to the road covered in dirt in the middle of the ruins: "This road ends there."

Chen Jingxuan asked, "Why is this place all in ruins?"

"The imperial court has ordered the digging of a large lake here. All of this has to be demolished."

Chen Jingxuan asked in bewilderment, "Why dig a lake in the city for no reason?"

"It seems that His Majesty said something about 'the highest good is like water,' and that if there is more water, people will become virtuous, so he wanted to dig a lake."

Chen Jingxuan looked completely bewildered: "Does Your Majesty always do things that are so illogical?"

"Yeah. Everyone's used to it. He's probably just using it as an excuse to build a garden for fun. His Majesty has been doing this ever since the second year of the Yuande era, so we'll get used to it. I guess this place..." The passerby hesitated, then tapped his head lightly.

Thank you.

Chen Jingxuan carried his medicine box and walked in. The road was rugged and uneven, with various pieces of wood and tiles lying across it, making it look like a pile of ruins.

"Is Jiang really crazy? Moving his stall to a place like this. Is he afraid the people will come in?"

Chen Jingxuan walked all the way to the end of the pile of ruins and saw an open space. In front of a yellow earthen wall, he saw the familiar stall.

He walked up and discovered that on the dilapidated earthen wall behind the stall, there was a human-shaped imprint in the shape of the Chinese character "大" (da), with a figure resembling an hourglass. This physique matched Jiang Zhen perfectly.

All around were ruins, except for one intact courtyard that stood amidst the rubble.

From the outside, it appears to be a courtyard with three sections, and four or five houses that rise above the walls; the structure does not look like a traditional house.

The courtyard wall is mottled and covered with vines, and many of the tiles on the wall and the top of the gate have fallen off.

The courtyard gate was tightly closed, with only a slight crack visible. Above it hung a faded plaque that read "Shengyang Academy".

Through the crack in the gate, one can see the screen wall of the academy. The murals on it are almost completely worn away, but one can roughly make out a person wearing a red robe giving a lecture. The people sitting below are of all ages, genders, and social classes, dressed in various ways.

This academy stands amidst ruins; it's either a holdout or a place with connections.

Chen Jingxuan connected various clues in his mind and came up with a conjecture.

Jiang Zhen's senior brother was on duty here before and discovered that something big was going to happen at the academy. They did not tell the upright abbot, which resulted in Jiang Zhen not being able to be assigned to this duty. So Jiang Zhen had to come and compete with him for it.

Chen Jingxuan moved the stall back to the main road outside so as not to delay his free clinic.

He then casually grabbed a ladybug, separated a wisp of his divine consciousness, and took control of the ladybug's body. The ladybug then flapped its wings, passed through the dusty ruins, and entered Shengyang Academy.