The canteen is located at the northernmost end of Longmen Academy, and is a two-story attic with white walls and gray tiles.

When Gu Xu walked in the door, he saw that many students had already lined up here, waiting while talking and laughing about today's much-anticipated battle of runes.

Each student holds a metal token in their hand, with the four characters "Longmen Academy" engraved on one side and their own name engraved on the other. When they got their meals, they didn't take out copper plates or tickets, but tapped the tokens on the table to pay for the meal.

Gu Xu originally thought that the dishes in the Yamen Chef at the headquarters of the Exorcism Division were rich and varied enough.

Unexpectedly, the canteen of this Longmen Academy is even more all-inclusive.

Specialties from all over the country, such as salted duck from Jinling, tiger skin meat from Jiangnan, dragon beard noodles from the north, halva from Langya, and enema from Youzhou...... You can find it all in this room.

"It is worthy of being a school for the children of Luojing's powerful people, and the dishes in this canteen look even richer than the restaurants outside," Gu Xu sniffed the aroma of various dishes mixed together, and couldn't help but sigh silently in his heart, "After Xiao Han comes here to study in a few days, he will definitely not be able to control himself in the face of these delicacies." ”

Because Gu Xu's appearance was too conspicuous, the students of the academy recognized his identity from a long distance.

But perhaps it's because he's gaining momentum today.

Maybe it's because after he was promoted to the third realm, his temperament became more out of the world than before - in the words of his previous life, he was "handsome and more distant".

The students were just talking about it, looking at him in amazement, admiration, hostility, or nymphomaniac, but no one would come up to talk to him.

Just as Gu Xu was thinking about "how to eat in this canteen without a token", a middle-aged man with a tall and thin body and thinning hair like a bamboo pole suddenly came to his side.

"Gu ...... Master Gu, I've had some doubts about the art of talisman seals recently, I don't know if you're willing to give me some advice," the middle-aged man said politely, "You can borrow the token of this canteen first." ”

This man's expression was a little restrained, and the speed of his speech was relatively slow, and he sounded stumbling, obviously a person who was not good at words.

Gu Xu turned his head and recognized him at a glance as Du Yuan, a teacher at Longmen Academy.

"Don't dare to give advice," he smiled modestly and responded, "Mr. Du is a well-known rune master in Luojing City, and I'm just a junior who has just set foot in runes, so I can't necessarily help." ”

Hearing Gu Xu's polite words, Du Yuan couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly, and looked at him again from head to toe.

He had already learned from others that less than a year had passed since Gu Xu came into contact with the Fu Dao.

For most talismans, in such a short period of time, being able to lay a solid foundation and draw some simple talismans according to the gourd can be called "gifted and intelligent".

But Gu Xu was able to reach a realm in the art of talisman seals in just a few months, which was impossible for others to achieve for years or even decades.

Because of this, when Du Yuan saw Gu Xu's excessively young face, and thought of his answer sheet that had won one hundred and twenty points and was praised by the national teacher, his mood was very complicated.

"You can definitely help," Du Yuan looked at Gu Xu's eyes seriously, "I want to ask you to tell me, what exactly does the sentence 'the essence of the Fu Dao is naming' you write in the question paper?"

"If it's convenient for you, I hope you will be able to teach me."

…………

Soon, the two sat down on either side of a wooden table in the corner of the dining hall.

According to Gu Xu's needs, Du Yuan used the token of Longmen Academy to help him buy a bowl of beef noodles.

And when Gu Xu handed him a few copper plates at the corresponding price, Du Yuan immediately withdrew his hand, refusing to accept the money alive or dead, and repeatedly said "Knowledge is priceless".

So Gu Xu unexpectedly got a meal for nothing.

At the same time, he also learned from Du Yuan that the two teachers of Longmen Academy, Du Yuan and Fu Tao, who are good at Fu Dao, have recently encountered bottlenecks in the process of research, and they have not been able to find a way to break through.

For a long time, they were deeply distressed by this.

To this day, when they heard the national teacher's evaluation of Gu Xu's answer sheet in the first link, they seemed to see a glimmer of light in the boundless darkness.

Fu Tao is a very face-loving person. It is undoubtedly extremely difficult for him to put down his body and ask questions from juniors like Gu Xu.

However, Du Yuan is different.

He is introverted, not good at expression, and is not interested in external things such as "face" and "fame".

Students often say that his lectures are bumpy and sleepy—

If Fu Jiaoxi's Fu Dao class is a "braggart story meeting", it is composed of eighty percent gossip and two percent dry goods; Then this Du Jiaoxi's class is "hypnotic spells that don't need true yuan", and he is basically reading the preparation notes in a non-wavering tone from beginning to end.

However, all of them spoke highly of Du Jiaoxi's spirit of study.

He often locked himself in a retreat room and studied the talisman without sleep or food.

Almost every year, he was able to figure out more than one improvement plan for the rune seal, or propose a new rune theory.

It was this kind of character that made Du Yuan decisively find Gu Xu when he saw the hope of breaking through the bottleneck, and asked this young man who was only eighteen years old for advice without any pretensions.

Gu Xu listened carefully to Du Yuan's narration.

Then he pointed to the porcelain bowl containing beef noodles in front of him and asked Du Yuan, "Mr. Du, what is this?" ”

Du Yuan frowned slightly: "Bowl? ”

"And if I smash someone's head with this bowl, what is it?"

"The murder weapon?"

Gu Xu smiled slightly and nodded.

He didn't explain immediately, but continued to ask, "You should know what I'm here for today, right?" ”

"For the title of academy teacher?"

"That's right," Gu Xu said lightly, "Then if I can successfully obtain this title, what will happen to me?" ”

Du Yuan thought for a while and said, "If you can become a college teacher, then you will be able to get a silver tael every month, and at the same time, you will also need to fulfill the obligation of teaching students. ”

"You can try to understand it this way," Gu Xu chuckled, "The identity of 'academy teaching' will be a talisman drawn on my body—the monthly salary, as well as the work of teaching students, will become the new attributes that this talisman has given me." ”

Du Yuan fell into deep thought and was silent for a long time.

Gu Xu saw that his brows were tightly knit, so he continued: "Actually, the name 'Gu Xu' is also a talisman engraved on my soul. It gives me an identity and meaning in this world, and it also gives others a way to know me. ”

Du Yuan took a deep breath.

He felt like he was getting closer to the answer.

He only needed to take one more step forward and he could push open the door of the small dark room and see the bright world outside.

At the same time, an idea popped up inexplicably in Gu Xu's heart:

"'Taishang Haotian', 'Ziwei Emperor'...... Can the names of these immortals also be seen as a kind of talisman?

"What kind of special attributes do these sigils have?

Could it be a symbol of the authority of the gods, or a link between their essence and their devotees?

“……”

Of course, Gu Xu didn't say this whimsical idea, but lowered his head and continued to eat noodles slowly.

After about twenty minutes, Gu Xu finally ate the beef noodles in the bowl cleanly - I have to say that although this noodle looks very light, it tastes very good, and he almost drank all the soup inside.

He really didn't dare to imagine what it would be like when Xiaohan's girl came to this dining hall.

Then Gu Xu stood up and said that he would leave the canteen first and rush back to the "Siqi Hall" to prepare for the third part of the assessment.

At the same time, he jokingly declared: "May God grant me good luck to be able to work with Du Jiaoxi here in the future." ”

Du Yuan was still sitting in his chair, thinking motionlessly, ignoring him, as if he hadn't heard his voice at all.

Gu Xu knew that Du Yuan had probably entered a state of epiphany.

So he left the dining hall without disturbing the other party again.

Time flies.

The crowd in the cafeteria thinned out.

The rain outside the window became heavier and heavier, turning from a curtain of rain to a flood that burst the embankment, and fell from the sky with a roar.

The students also finished their meals and left the room one after another, preparing to go to the "Siqitang" to join in the fun.

In the dining hall, only Du Yuan was left, and there were a few metal dolls holding brooms and cleaning along a fixed trajectory.

Then the bell rang melodiously, announcing the beginning of the third part of the assessment.

Blinding electric light pierced through the lead-colored clouds, and the rumbling thunder seemed to echo the bells.

Du Yuan finally slowly stood up from his seat, carefully straightened his clothes, and then bowed deeply in the direction where the "Siqitang" was.

His forehead accidentally hit the corner of the table, but he didn't realize it.

…………

At the same time, the four candidates returned to their desks.

Their expressions were different at the moment.

Gu Xu was still indifferent, his eyes were like a calm lake, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Shen Qiu still had a cynical expression - in his eyes, there was a thought of "focusing on participation" and "just do your best".

Zhao Xinran clenched his fists inadvertently, his gaze like a scorching flame. As the highest cultivation and the oldest talisman among the four, she was far behind the two younger juniors in the second link because she chose the wrong solution to solve the problem; This made her feel a little unwilling. She hopes to do her best to turn the situation around in this last link, which is also the easiest part to play to her strengths.

As for Mo Li, he lowered his head and stared intently at the desktop, looking dejected, completely different from the confidence he felt in the morning.

When the bell rang, the Great Qi National Master appeared in front of them again.

"Whether or not you can draw your own unique talisman seal out of books is the criterion that distinguishes ordinary talismans from rune masters," I heard the national teacher speak, "So, in this third link, we will examine your ability to 'innovate' the talismans."

"Now that the long night is coming, the Great Qi Dynasty will face even more powerful and terrifying ghosts. Especially ordinary people who have not cultivated, their lives and safety will be seriously threatened.

"I hope that you can design a sigil that can be widely used among the people, and help as many people as possible to get out of danger and save their lives after the 'long night' comes.

"You can design any form of sigil...... It can be used to attack, defend, or even to call for help and escape. I will not limit your thinking in any way.

"You have an hour."

As soon as the words fell, the figure of the national teacher disappeared.

The four candidates sat silently, lost in thought, and did not begin to write.

If the assessment of the second link is too tricky and too unconventional, they need to rack their brains and exhaust the knowledge of runes they have learned all their lives to solve a problem that has little to do with runes, cultivation, and battles.

Well, the topic of this third session is too broad and seems easy, and there are countless options to choose from.

However, it is precisely because of the high degree of freedom that the runes are hesitant.

This means that they have to find the best answer, better than the rest of the room, to be the ultimate winner.

As the rain gets heavier, the world outside the window becomes darker and darker, and the brightly lit "Siqitang" is set off as if it is an independent space.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Xinran began to write.

Her wrists are dangling, and her brushwork is smooth, like flowing water, quite a master's style.

While drawing the talisman, the fluctuating emotions in her eyes gradually converged, and her gaze became calm, sharp, and focused again, as if the whole person was invested in the world of the talisman.

Ten minutes passed.

She gently lowered the brush in her hand.

The rune paper in front of her suddenly burst out with brilliant golden light, making everyone present unable to open their eyes for a while.

Although everyone didn't know what kind of rune seal Zhao Xinran had drawn, they could feel the terrifying power contained in the rune paper from this blazing light.

Mo Li and Shen Qiu couldn't help but feel a burst of pressure.

Then, Zhao Xinran stood up, picked up the talisman paper on the table, and without looking at it, he strode towards the outside of the house and handed it to the national teacher who was drinking tea in the pavilion.

"It's fast!" Teaching Fu Tao glanced at her and couldn't help muttering.

The national teacher took the rune paper, glanced at it, and did not open his mouth to make an evaluation, but nodded slightly, obviously with an approving attitude.

Shangguan Jin poured tea for Luo Sishou, and silently sighed, "Luo Jing's famous Fu Dao master really deserves his reputation"; At the same time, she was also a little apprehensive in her heart, worried that Gu Xu might suffer a little in this competition due to her lack of experience.

Only Luochuan does not change color.

He still sat at the table, sniffing the aroma of "Baiwei tea" attentively, as if he had not seen everything that was happening in front of him.

PS: Ask for a monthly pass!

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