Up to this day, Qi Xuansu had still never met the Earthly Preceptor. It was no exaggeration to say that among the Three Deputy Grand Masters, the Earthly Preceptor was the most mysterious figure.0

This was not strange.0

During the previous dynasty, when the Confucian School still dominated the world, every successful candidate who participated in the imperial examinations should have, in theory, met the emperor. However, Emperor Shizong had refused court audiences for 20 years, devoting himself entirely to cultivation, and even stopped personally presiding over the triennial palace examinations. As a result, officials who passed the examinations after the 21st year of the Mingyong Era never had the chance to behold the emperor’s face. Aside from cabinet ministers and a few veteran officials, none of the court officials, great or small, recognized the emperor.0

Given Qi Xuansu’s current status and position, it was not unusual that he had never met the Earthly Preceptor. He had only seen the Imperial Preceptor a handful of times. Though he had met the Heavenly Preceptor more often, that was largely thanks to Zhang Yuelu. But when the Heavenly Preceptor chose to avoid meeting him, Qi Xuansu still could not see him.0

One could say that the Earthly Preceptor had intentionally avoided Qi Xuansu, or it could simply be a coincidence. Thus, although Qi Xuansu had harbored some doubts in the past, he had never investigated too d...0