One Stone Decides the World

He was originally the number one scholar, but was deposed and reduced to the rank of ninth grade county magistrate. In the Great Yan Dynasty, literature was valued over martial arts, and Confucianism and Taoism prevailed. Reading cultivates Haoran's righteousness. The stronger the righteousness, the stronger the ability. The six arts—ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic—are the most powerful forces in the world. Su Mubai, who passed the first prize at the age of twenty-two, should have had a bright future. However, because of an impeachment memorial, he was deposed by the powerful and demoted to Qinghe County as county magistrate. On his way to take office, he was intercepted and killed in a black pine forest, and his blood stained the stone monument. In a desperate situation, he awakened the "shooting" technique and killed the assassin. From then on, he embarked on a road back to the top—— But this road was more difficult than he imagined. In Qinghe County, the powerful Zhao family dominates the sky with one hand, the granary is emptied, and Tieniu's sister is kidnapped. In the city, the prefect colluded with the Zhao family, and he was about to be thrown into the abyss with a notice. In the arena, the mysterious Tingxue Tower offered a sky-high price—30,000 taels of silver, plus a human head. And that head belonged to Zhou Shenzhi, the Minister of Rites. What made him even more uneasy was—— Why is a former Imperial College scholar who has been reduced to the streets secretly giving him advice? Why is the owner of a killer organization who never shows up named Xie? Why is a daughter of a minister far away in the capital willing to take risks for him? What secret is hidden behind all this?