Chapter 113 – The Proclamation of Azure Sky has New Entrants (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
A bright and clear voice came from the depths of the Li Palace. From the direction, it most likely came from the Hall of Announcements and was using a sound-projecting array.
The crowd were very sure that they had not misheard, so both sides of the Divine Avenue were cast into absolute silence. After a moment, whispered conversations began to rise, and then they exploded into an uproar. Only now did the crowd completely come to their senses and realize what had happened. It turned out that the news that the Red Goose had brought from far away was actually the new ranking for the Proclamation of Azure Sky!
"The new Proclamation of Azure Sky!" Many young students called out so many times in their shock that their voices turned hoa.r.s.e.
It was clearly late autumn, so why was a new ranking for the Proclamation of Azure Sky coming out?
Countless years ago, when the demons were still invading from the north, in order to motivate young experts to diligently cultivate and bravely strive for first place, various powers headed by the Orthodoxy began to establish rankings, with demi-human cultivators being added later on. With the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets in charge of making and promulgating the rankings, no one had ever doubted the fairness of the proclamations, as each proclamation was ultimately personally examined and approved by the Elder of Heavenly Secrets.
As the leader of the Storms of the Eight Directions, the Elder of Heavenly Secrets possessed a supreme intelligence, profound stores of knowledge, and sublime virtue, receiving the respect of all.
Of all the rankings promulgated by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, "Liberation", "Golden Distinction", and "Azure Sky" were the three most famous, referred to by the ma.s.ses as the Proclamations of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
In order to keep the original intention for which these rankings of experts were created, as well as avoid human experts fighting amongst themselves for fame and thus weakening their ability to fight against the demons, the Proclamation of Liberation had for a very long time only been orally transmitted amongst a small group of people. The Proclamation of Golden Distinction was only posted. Only the Proclamation of Azure Sky—in order to motivate young experts to vie against each other—was publicly announced to the world, placed on stone walls in front of the Six Ivies, the Longevity Sect, and other such places.
There was no set time at which a new Proclamation of Azure Sky was promulgated, but over the many years, a sort of convention had been formed. Every year after the capital"s Grand Examination, the rankings would be changed once. Other than this, a changing of rankings would occur after each Boiling Stone Summit, which was held every three to five years. Thus, the rankings were usually changed once a year with very few exceptions.
And in the most recent twenty years, the Proclamation of Azure Sky had only twice changed rankings early.
Those two occasions had been under special circ.u.mstances, because two geniuses had appeared far too suddenly and were far too dazzling. If the rankings had not been promptly changed, the fairness of the Proclamation of Azure Sky would have faced severe questioning, and even the power and prestige of the Elder of Heavenly Secrets would be shaken. Even those young geniuses that were ranked on the Proclamation of Azure Sky would not have felt their rankings to be legitimate.
The reason that the Proclamation of Azure Sky"s rankings had been changed several years ago was Qiushan Jun, and the most recent incident was because of Xu Yourong. The Proclamation of Azure Sky had already been changed once this year, at the conclusion of this year"s Grand Examination in the spring, and there was no Boiling Stone Summit this year either, so why was there suddenly a new ranking in the late autumn? Could it be that another person like Qiushan Jun and Xu Yourong had appeared this year?
The cries of shock from the two sides of the Divine Avenue gradually ceased. The crowd still found it difficult to suppress their astonishment, racking their minds for what could have happened recently. The Ivy Festival? No, the Ivy Festival was held every year, and it was just a rehearsal for the Grand Examination. No one had ever heard about it influencing the Proclamation of Azure Sky. Some people inadvertently gazed at Xuanyuan Po, the confusion and perplexity in their minds deepening.
Xuanyuan Po was also very shocked. He was an unsophisticated demi-human youth who grew up in the wilderness with his tribe, but even someone like him knew of the Proclamation of Azure Sky. After all, this was a ranking that every young genius longed to attain, and it was a goal that he too had once strived for. But even he could not understand how he had managed to be ranked on the Proclamation of Azure Sky.
Although he was ranked at one hundred and forty-eight of the Proclamation of Azure Sky—which, according to how the rankings were read in the past, was probably the final position on the ranking this time, not a very glamorous ranking—it had be known that every young expert under the age of twenty, excluding demons, had the right to compete for a place on the Proclamation of Azure Sky. Ranking within the Proclamation of Azure Sky was an incredibly difficult task. The academies of the capital were constantly abuzz with talk of wanting to get on the Proclamation of Azure Sky and how difficult it was to do so. To be ranked was already an extraordinary accomplishment.
Of course, those truly monstrous young geniuses like Qiushan Jun and Gou Hanshi who entered the Proclamation of Golden Distinction before the age of twenty were another thing altogether.
Xuanyuan Po himself did not understand how he was able to rank on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, so other people would naturally find it difficult to understand as well. Many people recognized Xuanyuan Po and knew that he had once been a new student highly valued by Star Seizer Academy. However, on the first night of the Ivy Festival, before he could show his skills, he was crippled by Tianhai Ya"er. Even the imperial physicians and professors of Star Seizer Academy admitted that his wounds could not be cured, so how did he suddenly appear on the Proclamation of Azure Sky?
Tang Thirty-Six stood on his toes and patted Xuanyuan Po on the shoulder, stirring the still-stunned youth from his daze as he sighed, "Pretty good—what have you been doing recently? Sneaking out in the middle of the night and fighting? Don"t tell me you went back to Star Seizer Academy to look for people to fight?"
Many people present thought the same as Tang Thirty-Six. It seemed that Xuanyuan Po"s injuries were already cured and that he had even engaged in private bouts with some youth on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, or else how could he enter the Proclamation of Azure Sky? As for how a private matter was known by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, this did not require an explanation. With the full support of White Emperor City and all the factions of the human world, the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets knew everything in the world.
Tang Thirty-Six turned to Chen Changsheng and asked, "When did you cure his injuries? Why didn"t you say anything? We should have at least downed a few cups of wine to celebrate."
"Drinking wine isn"t good for your health," Chen Changsheng said out of habit. Then he realized what was being asked and shook his head. "Xuanyuan"s injuries truly are improving, but they haven"t completely recovered."
Tang Thirty-Six slightly creased his brow and said to Xuanyuan Po, "Since your injuries aren"t completely cured, you shouldn"t fight. There"s no meaning in striving for a momentary rank on the Proclamation of Azure Sky."
Xuanyuan Po shook his head in denial. "I"ve spent my entire time in the Orthodox Academy with you guys, eating and cooking. I"ve never left, not even once."
Tang Thirty-Six asked in shock, "Then how did you get into the Proclamation of Azure Sky?"
Xuanyuan Po honestly answered, "I also don"t know."
Tang Thirty-Six was too shocked to speak. He thought to himself, this guy journeyed from the remote lands of the demi-humans to the human world and has only been here for half a year. His heavy injuries still haven"t fully recovered and he hasn"t even fought a match, but he entered the Proclamation of Azure Sky? Could the Elder of Heavenly Secrets have gone senile, or is this fellow a b.a.s.t.a.r.d of the White Emperor? That would make him Luoluo"s brother from a different mother, but on that night when the two were talking, they didn"t seem similar…
His thoughts began to trail off into all sorts of possibilities, and the conjectures of many people in the crowd had also reached rather absurd levels.
Thinking was a fast process, so in reality, not much time had pa.s.sed. After a clamor of noise, the Divine Avenue quickly fell silent.
The Li Palace"s Hall of Announcements continued to send the voice through the sound-projecting array.
This voice was bright and clear, refreshing as the autumn breeze.
The commentary the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets gave for Xuanyuan Po was very simple and similarly refreshing.
"Abundant true essence and great strength. Injury is curable, and good prospects if secret techniques can be found. Luck is extremely good, meeting a wise teacher in the capital, thus placing him at the end of the ranking."
The most important use of the Proclamation of Azure Sky was to motivate young talents to strive forward, so every time a new ranking was issued, a commentary or reason was given so as to avoid any arguments. Those spa.r.s.e commentaries were extremely simple yet very exquisite. Moreover, everyone would be convinced by them, as these commentaries had been personally written by the Elder of Heavenly Secrets.
The meaning of these words was this: his potential was extraordinary and his strength astonishing. The right arm crippled by Tianhai Ya"er could be treated, and once his injury was cured, if he was able to cultivate in one of the secret techniques of the demi-human experts appropriate for himself, much could be expected of his future. The most important information in this commentary was that he had encountered an excellent teacher in the capital.
Xuanyuan Po earnestly listened and thought, my teacher is Princess Luoluo and she"s naturally excellent beyond compare, and Her Highness"s teacher… He inadvertently turned to Chen Changsheng. At this point, Tang Thirty-Six had also understood the meaning of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets" commentary and also turned to Chen Changsheng. He couldn"t help but ruefully shake his head.
Only the people of the Orthodox Academy understood. Others did not, so they were left wondering at the ident.i.ty of Xuanyuan Po"s teacher. When they heard the line regarding the secret techniques of demi-human experts, some people noticed that Jin Yulu was standing by the three youths of the Orthodox Academy and were instantly enlightened, believing themselves to have understood the commentary from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. Although there were still people who did not understand why Xuanyuan Po had been ranked on the Proclamation of Azure Sky and were still unconvinced by the commentary personally written by the Elder of Heavenly Secrets, no one dared to voice their doubts. Anyway, none of them were in the mood to care about Xuanyuan Po and the Orthodox Academy.
The grudges between the Orthodox Academy and the other Ivy Academies, the engagement between Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, and even the conflict and probing between the new and conservative factions of the Great Zhou, had today been supplanted in importance. From the capital to White Emperor City, from Holy Maiden Peak to the Boundless Valley, from Mount Li to Scholartree Manor, and even in the distant Xuelao City, everyone was concerned about only one thing.
Just as it had been in the past, on the day in which the new rankings of the Proclamation of Azure Sky were released, the entire continent would focus their attention on this matter. Everyone could only hear the names as they were announced. This wasn"t even taking into account the fact that a new ranking was being released in the late autumn, meaning that there must have been a ma.s.sive change, causing people to pay even more attention.
The forests lining the Divine Avenue were quiet, the only sounds being the rustling of leaves in the wind and birds pecking at their food. The teachers and students of the academies and also the Li Palace priests who had come to see the spectacle were all looking in the direction of the Hall of Announcements, listening to the voice with absolute focus for fear that they might miss a word.
The voice from the Hall of Announcements continued, and the entire capital could hear the names of each and every youth.
Some of these names were familiar, some of them strange. Some of them belonged to young talents who were already famed in the world while others were like Xuanyuan Po"s, belonging to people who had seemingly come from nowhere. A professor of the Li Palace Academy even heard the name of a student who had pa.s.sed the pre-examination for the Grand Examination and had been taken by the Li Palace Academy. In his shock and surprise, he nearly pulled off his own beard.
Besides the sounds of these names, the entire continent was silent.
Today, at the Li Palace, at Scholartree Manor, at White Emperor City, and in countless other places of the continent, countless people were listening to these names, nervous and hopeful. Some would weep, some would raise their arms in celebration, some would wistfully dream, some would go crazy. No person did not want to be ranked, and those who were ranked would not be able to endure falling from the ranking.
This was the Proclamation of Azure Sky.