Chapter 155: Chapter 148: Success from Deliberation, Ruin from Carelessness

Ma Guan had achieved Minor Success in the Calligraphy Dao.

Not only was Mr. Yue Ming shocked and thrilled, but even Chen Yi himself hadn’t expected it.

He was confident in the Calligraphy Dao he taught and believed that talented students could embark upon the path with enough effort.

But he had never imagined that someone would take this step in the very first lesson.

It was simply unbelievable.

Chen Yi could hardly imagine the sensation it would cause once word got out.

Never mind the future—right at this moment, after Ma Guan wrote the character for "Book," which now faintly glowed with splendor, the study hall fell completely silent.

The students sat upright in their seats, their eyes fixed on the sand tray before Ma Guan, staring with utter disbelief at the glow on the character for "Book."

Even Ma Guan himself stared blankly at the sand tray, as if he couldn’t believe he had written it.

He murmured, "Did... did I write this?"

Chen Yi glanced around, then rose and came to his side. He smiled and said, "You did indeed."

"But if you don’t want this to be a one-time fluke, recall the state of mind you just had and write a few more characters." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Ma Guan paused. Instead of immediately following the instruction, he suddenly stood up and performed a deep bow.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Chen Yi smiled. ’The young man really is as straightforward as I thought.’

’But I suppose I’ve earned this bow.’

"Alright, you’ve given your thanks. Sit down and write a few more characters."

"Yes, Teacher."

With a solemn reply, Ma Guan sat back down before the sand tray, wiped away the character for "Book," and smoothed the sand.

He recalled his previous state of mind.

’A gentleman must be centered and serene, resilient and unyielding, grand and magnanimous.’

He paused for a moment.

Ma Guan once again picked up the tree branch at his side and wrote the word "Gentleman" in the sand tray.

The strokes were level and straight, possessing an upright and grand air.

The moment the tip of the branch paused, a crystalline luster faintly appeared on the sand tray.

Though not as brilliant as the character for "Book" that Chen Yi had written, it was, without a doubt, a character "revealing its splendor."

Ma Guan’s mind relaxed, and he looked up at Chen Yi. "Teacher?"

Chen Yi clapped him on the shoulder and praised with a smile, "Not bad at all."

’Not bad at all? It was far better than that.’

’You can judge a man by his calligraphy.’

’Just by looking at this one word, "Gentleman," I can discern Ma Guan’s character and state of mind.’

’He truly has the air of a gentleman.’

Only then did the surrounding students, who had been holding their breath, finally cup their hands and congratulate Ma Guan.

"Brother Heming, congratulations."

"Brother Heming, with time, you will surely become a master of Calligraphy in our Great Wei Dynasty."

"Why wait for the future?"

"Even now, in our Guiyun Academy, besides Mr. Qingzhou, there’s no one who can compare to Brother Heming in the Calligraphy Dao."

"That’s right. Even our Dean and Mr. Zhuo Ying are slightly inferior."

What the student who spoke didn’t know was that Mr. Yue Ming and Mr. Zhuo Ying, having heard the news and rushed over, were standing right outside the study hall and had heard every word.

The joyful expressions on their faces instantly stiffened.

Their expressions made the other old men who hadn’t been named roar with laughter and start teasing them.

"Mr. Yue Ming, it seems you still have work to do on your Calligraphy Dao."

"Zhuo Ying, is your Calligraphy still presentable these days?"

Hearing the voices from behind, the students finally noticed their arrival and quickly sat up straight.

Only the student who had just spoken had a wry smile, lightly slapping his own mouth a few times.

Mr. Yue Ming shot the two old men a glare, then walked into the study hall first. He offered a quick apology to Chen Yi for the interruption before heading to Ma Guan’s side.

After seeing the word "Gentleman" on the sand tray, a gratified smile couldn’t help but appear on his face.

However, Mr. Yue Ming didn’t praise Ma Guan first. Instead, he bowed deeply to Chen Yi.

"Qingzhou, this old man thanks you on behalf of Heming and Guiyun Academy for imparting the Calligraphy Dao."

Mr. Zhuo Ying and the others behind him did the same.

Seeing this, Chen Yi said helplessly, "Sirs, are you trying to shorten my lifespan with such a gesture?"

’For someone to achieve Minor Success in Calligraphy Dao during the first class was already beyond my expectations, and now Mr. Yue Ming and the others are thanking me so formally. Aren’t they afraid of blowing this out of proportion?’

Hearing this, Mr. Yue Ming straightened up and glared at him. "What nonsense is that?"

"You’ve taught an academy student to the level of Minor Success in Calligraphy Dao, a prodigy with the potential for Great Success in Calligraphy Dao, a future master of Calligraphy for our Great Wei Dynasty! Is it wrong for this old man to thank you?"

Chen Yi watched him earnestly pile all sorts of titles onto Ma Guan and shook his head with a wry smile.

"You’re the Dean. Whatever you say, goes."

"Now that’s more like it."

Mr. Yue Ming’s expression softened slightly. He turned and praised Ma Guan, "Heming, well done."

"From now on, learn well from Qingzhou. Strive to achieve Great Success in Calligraphy Dao as soon as possible, so our Guiyun Academy can become famous throughout the Great Wei’s Nine State and Three Prefectures."

At this point, Mr. Yue Ming paused and shot a sidelong glance at Chen Yi. "Of course, Mr. Qingzhou’s name will likewise spread far and wide."

"..."

Chen Yi privately pursed his lips.

Things had come to this; he could only let it be.

’But who could I blame? It was just my luck that this class produced a student like Ma Guan, with more than enough talent and skill in Calligraphy.’

However, with Mr. Yue Ming’s arrival, the lesson clearly couldn’t continue as normal.

The minds of the students in the study hall were all on Ma Guan, their feelings a complex mixture.

They all knew that regardless of whether Ma Guan could pass the provincial and metropolitan examinations in the future, he could become famous far and wide on the strength of this Calligraphy skill alone.

Meanwhile, outside the study hall, many other students had rushed over after hearing the news.

Some were envious, some were jealous, but most were filled with regret.

"When Mr. Yue Ming told us to sign up to study with Mr. Qingzhou, what possessed me to refuse?"

"Me too. Ma Heming really lucked out."

"Who could have possibly thought that what Mr. Qingzhou was teaching wasn’t simple Calligraphy, but the Calligraphy Dao?"