Passing Down Knowledge - 698

"I've spent many years working with the Emperor, and yet I still cannot completely grasp him. There is something about him that seems unreal. It's as if he is the chosen one or something." The Imperial Scholar was clearly struggling to put it into words.

Skymender understood what he was saying.

"Either way, even if you and Sword Master Shang fail, it is not completely over. He may have some other method of completing his goal."

Skymender found it a bit difficult to take in everything that he had learned today, but they had just started. Not long after, the Imperial Scholar changed the subject.

"Before you can actually be involved in any of that, you must first become the Imperial Scholar yourself. I taught you some things at the Imperial Scholar Camp, but this will be on a different level. Let's begin."

The Imperial Scholar instantly began to speak, a board behind him. He occasionally wrote something down that Skymender should memorize. From the moment he started, Skymender realized that he had underestimated the Imperial Scholar. Despite everything, him winning the Imperial Scholar Camp, getting a perfect score on the intelligence test, and even being promoted to the future Imperial Scholar, he struggled to keep up with the Imperial Scholar. 

The Imperial Scholar had planned this lesson the day before, perfecting it to the peak of efficiency. 

After around five hours, the Imperial Scholar was visibly tired, and was slowing down. Things were different from how they were in the Imperial Scholar Camp. He was older, and the things he was teaching were much more advanced. In addition, he had been going over things fast the entire time. Soon, he had to sit down.

"I'm getting old, Skymender. This may be a lot, but I don't have much time to teach you. You must not get impatient or lazy."

Skymender nodded. He could tell how much effort the Imperial Scholar was putting into this.

The Imperial Scholar handed him a book. "I wrote this myself not too long ago. Study this as much as you can until tomorrow, and come back."

Skymender spoke seriously. "Thank you. I will do my best."

He turned and left the room. As soon as he made it back to his house, he sat at a desk and began to study. Although the house was not considered very big, it had plenty of room, including room for an office area. Skymender studied through the day and night, getting six hours of sleep, before waking up and leaving. He left early, not to go to the Imperial Palace, but to go find the Fatty's father.

At this time, he would not be found at his house, but at the Fugui Chamber of Commerce.

Skymender made his way over and entered.

With his noble carriage and attire, he instantly drew attention. Commoners made way for him as he walked to the front desk. 

"Welcome, esteemed sir. What can I do for you?" The desk lady asked nervously.

"I am here to see Mr. Fugui." Skymender said. 

"Of course, sir. His office is on the top floor. It is impossible to miss it."

Skymender thanked her and began to walk up the stairs. At the fifth floor, which was the highest floor in the building, he stopped. Looking around, there was only one door ahead. To the side was a nameplate that read, Fugui.

 Skymender walked up to the door and knocked on it. A voice from inside told him to enter.

As he entered, he saw the Fatty's father behind a desk, writing on some papers. As soon as he saw Skymender he stood up. 

"I apologize. I did not know it was you, Skymender."

Skymender waved his hand. "It's alright. I'm just dropping by because I have some business you might be interested in."

The Fatty's father nodded his head. "Alright then. What do you have?"

"I want to sell the restaurant." Skymender said.

The Fatty's father looked confused. "Already? But you just started."

Skymender agreed. "It is not what I wanted, but I recently inherited a position, and I can no longer own the restaurant."

The Fatty's father's face turned serious. "I see."

He did not ask any questions, but in his head, he understood what it meant to inherit a position that did not allow him to own any properties. He knew that it must be something high up in the Empire.

"In that case, I will congratulate you. Naturally, I can begin looking for buyers." He said.

"Please go ahead. I won't sell it for now, as I won't be inheriting the position for the time being. I am just letting you know far in advance. Until then, I will continue to work on the restaurant and increase its value." Skymender explained.

The Fatty's father nodded. "Alright. Also, that Fatty has been looking for you. He completed some sort of weight loss transformation. He looks around as fat as he did a few years ago. Better, but not enough to be satisfying."

"Alright. I'll find him when I can." Skymender said before leaving.

He then made his way over to the Imperial Palace. He arrived a few minutes before the appointed time, but they started anyway.

Skymender spoke for around ten minutes in brief detail about everything he had studied.

"Good. Now, from there, let's begin."

The subjects they spoke about covered literally everything. From language, to negotiation tactics, to business management, physics, poison, medicine, construction, even a little bit about cooking.

Skymender soaked all of the knowledge up, doing his best to not disappoint the hardworking Imperial Scholar.

Once again the Imperial Scholar stopped after around five hours. Skymender returned home and studied. This process repeated five days in a row, before the Imperial Scholar told Skymender to come back in two days, not one.

"I'm still the Imperial Scholar, and there are a lot of things I need to do. I'll get just about everything done tomorrow."

Skymender nodded and left. In the meantime, he did not slack. He studied the book that the Imperial Scholar gave him.