Chapter 129 – The Youths Before the Rising Sun
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Mausoleum of Books was in the capital, and the capital was the center of the Great Zhou, the center of the human world, and even the center of the continent. Both the factions in the south and humanity"s allies, the demi-humans, had to admit to the legitimacy of this dynasty situated on the Central Plains, giving many concessions to it in all manner of disputes.
Only those who had pa.s.sed the Grand Examination and a few very special existences had the right to enter the Mausoleum of Books and comprehend the Dao, so the Grand Examination was the world"s most important activity, even more important than the Boiling Stone Summit that was held every three to five years. This year"s Grand Examination was still conducted in the Li Palace. In the early morning, thousands of people had already gathered outside the stone pillars of the Li Palace. Some people were selling fruits and melons, others selling cooked flatcakes and other meaty foods, and there were even some people selling stools. When carefully surveyed, however, it was actually the water sellers that were the most numerous. The people of the capital could watch the Grand Examination every year and were familiar with the rules, so the vast majority of them were still in their homes. The majority of the crowd gathered here were sightseers from various parts of the continent. One could imagine how lively was the scene as everyone gathered outside the Li Palace to wait for the Grand Examination to formally begin.
The students partic.i.p.ating in the Grand Examination naturally needed to arrive even earlier than the spectating crowd. An area about a thousand zhang long in front of the stone pillars had been divided from the rest, and all sorts of carriages were parked within. In the slight warmth of the morning sun, the teachers of various academies were giving their final words of advice to their students and some students had their eyes closed in rest.
This area was part.i.tioned from the ma.s.ses by a very long strip of yellow silk. Logically speaking, this cloth was completely incapable of blocking off the pa.s.sion of the ma.s.ses, let alone the instinct of peddlers to fight for territory. Strangely, however, neither the ma.s.ses nor the peddlers dared to cross this line of yellow silk.
This was because several hundred officials and Imperial Guards sternly stood guard at the strip of yellow silk"s perimeter, and it had even more to do with the carriage drawn by a black rhino standing at the end of the yellow cloth. The entire continent knew that only one carriage in this world was drawn by a black rhino, and only one person would ever sit within it: Lord Zhou Tong of the Department for Purging Officials.
The students from the south had arrived the earliest. People had come from each sect of the Longevity Sect, with Gou Hanshi and the three other disciples from Mount Li standing at the very front. Their expressions were calm, as if today was just like any other. The morning light fell on their faces, the morning breeze brushed against their clothes, and they gave off an indescribable aura of easygoing calm, attracting many gazes from the crowd.
The sects under the administration of Holy Maiden Peak all sent disciples as well. The junior sister from Gentle Stream Monastery that had been driven to tears by Tang Thirty-Six stood amongst this crowd, watching the crowd in the morning light. Her small face was fraught with anxiety and disappointment. A senior sister of hers rubbed her on the head and smiled, saying a few words to her.
A girl wearing the uniform of South Stream Temple"s outer sect slightly creased her brow as if bearing some great pressure. South Stream Temple was divided into an inner and outer sect. Xu Yourong was the only member of the inner sect, but the number of people in the outer sect was not small. As the person chosen by her teachers to partic.i.p.ate in the Grand Examination, she naturally bore a sort of responsibility.
The sects to the south of the River of Oblivion were so many as to be uncountable, but the vast majority of them belonged to the Longevity Sect or Holy Maiden Peak. These two were both factions of the south, but they could also be considered part of the same sect. Their young men and women stood together, occasionally whispering something to each other to alleviate that unease caused by being in a foreign land and the coming of a great test.
The only exception to this was several young men wearing long brown gowns, who stood a little distance away. These young scholars were all from the legendary Scholartree Manor.
Opposite to the students from the south, the students of the capital"s academies and those who had pa.s.sed the pre-examination all stood on the east end of the plaza. They were somewhat closer to the rising sun, and were also subject to less of the cold winds from the west. Their position was much better, and their numbers were greater as well. It was a crowd so dense that it was simply too difficult to count how many people were present.
Zhuang Huanyu stood with an apathetic expression at the front of the students from the Heavenly Dao Academy, and the Heavenly Dao Academy"s position was in front of all the rest. Behind them was Star Seizer Academy, then the Temple Seminary, followed by the other Ivy Academies. In this quiet crowd, the constant chitter-chatter from the girls of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green was particularly conspicuous. Behind the Ivy Academies were the ordinary students who had pa.s.sed the pre-examination.
The Grand Examination had three banners, and those viewed most optimistically for them were naturally the disciples from these academies and the large sects. From the capital, this included the Heavenly Dao Academy"s Zhuang Huanyu, the Li Palace Academy"s Su Moyu, two young military officers from Star Seizer Academy, and a senior sister from the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green. The most outstanding of the southern sects" young generation naturally drew even more attention. The four disciples from the Mount Li Sword Sect and those young scholars from Scholartree Manor were regarded by most as shoo-ins to enter the three banners.
What people were most concerned about was who could enter the first banner.
Just like the history of human cultivation, the Grand Examination was divided into great years and minor years, and this year was clearly a great year, the compet.i.tion reaching an unprecedented level of intensity. It must be known that last year"s first rank of the first banner was taken by the Third Law of the Divine Kingdom"s Seven Laws, but if he had entered this year"s Grand Examination, he might not have even gotten into the first banner.
This year, the Divine Kingdom"s Seven Laws had sent four people, Scholartree Manor had sent four, and Holy Maiden Peak had sent the female disciple with the greatest potential. On the capital"s side, the proud Zhuang Huanyu finally decided to stop waiting, and even an expert like Tianhai Shengxue decided to stop waiting and show off his brilliance in this year"s Grand Examination. Only the young experts of the demi-humans did not send anyone to attend this year"s Grand Examination, perhaps because Princess Luoluo was in the capital. Of course, n.o.body counted that honest and simple youth from the Orthodox Academy.
Tianhai Shengxue had never attended a Grand Examination before because he had not been in Ethereal Opening at the time, so did not have the confidence to defeat the legendary Qiushan Jun and take first rank of the first banner.
Yes, if Qiushan Jun was not attending the Grand Examination, then Tianhai Shengxue simply had no interest in the Grand Examination. Zhuang Huanyu felt the same as Tianhai Shengxue. For a similar reason, these scholars from Scholartree Manor also did not come to the capital until this year.
All the proud young geniuses of the continent had always kept Qiushan Jun as their goal.
Unfortunately, Qiushan Jun did not appear this year.
However, they could no longer keep waiting. The Mausoleum of Books had been waiting for them over there for several years now. If they continued to put off entering the Mausoleum of Books to comprehend the Dao, it had a high chance of affecting their cultivating life.
Since Qiushan Jun would not attend this year"s Grand Examination, there were two candidates who had the highest hopes of taking first rank of the first banner this year: Gou Hanshi and Tianhai Shengxue. The odds set out by the great gambling houses of the continent said the same. As for those scholars from Scholartree Manor and Zhuang Huanyu, they had some good chance of charging into the first banner.
That name which had been all the buzz recently had been intentionally forgotten, and when discussing what might happen in the Grand Examination, people would rarely mention the name of that academy.
As if to prove the crowd correct, the odds ranking released by the great gambling houses for the Grand Examination had always ranked that name last, with outrageously long odds. Yet for some reason, a fierce fluctuation took place on the odds ranking for first rank of the first banner. That name"s odds continued to shorten until it was eventually ranked fourth.
This year"s Grand Examination was a converging of experts, the most intense compet.i.tion in the past ten years. And there were all sorts of things to discuss, like that academy and that person, but it was still somewhat regrettable. The much-antic.i.p.ated Qiushan Jun and Xu Yourong still were not partic.i.p.ating. Everyone knew that they both had the right to be given an exception and enter the Mausoleum of Books to comprehend the Dao whenever they pleased, but if they had also partic.i.p.ated, then this year would be far too stunning.
n.o.body knew why Qiushan Jun had chosen not to attend the Grand Examination this year, not even Gou Hanshi or his other junior brothers.
Logically speaking, given his level of strength, he should have attended one of the past few Grand Examinations. In the past, people thought that he had been waiting for Junior Sister Xu Yourong so that they could enter the Mausoleum of Books together to discuss and comprehend the Dao. People had also thought that Xu Yourong should have attended this year"s Grand Examination, but unexpectedly, she did not. Perhaps this was why Qiushan Jun also did not come?
Why did Xu Yourong not come? Because of the marriage proposal made during the Ivy Festival, or was it because of the engagement made by her grandfather?
Just then, a carriage crossed the strip of yellow silk and arrived on the scene.
The crowd in front of the Li Palace buzzed with discussion, as someone had recognized the people stepping down from the carriage.
That person walking at the very back was that Chen Changsheng who had recently caused so much unrest in the capital?
Such an ordinary-looking youth was actually Xu Yourong"s fiancé?
It was this youth that wanted to take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination?
Innumerable gazes fell upon Chen Changsheng.
He seemed as if he was unaware. Following the rules that Priest Xin had relayed to him in advance, he took out the register and the related application papers, and then stood in the area designated for the Orthodox Academy.
The work done in preparing for the Grand Examination had all been handled by the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, and so this order of the position had naturally been arranged by the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education as well.
The Orthodox Academy"s position…was at the very front.
It was even in front of the Heavenly Dao Academy.
It faced the rising sun, a most conspicuous position.
For both the spectating populace and the youths of the south opposite, it was very easy to look at them.
They were the focus of the entire crowd"s gaze—truly very convenient.
There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at the three youths of the Orthodox Academy.
Then…there was a boom as countless people began to discuss amongst themselves.
"This youth hasn"t even succeeded at Purification and he wants to take first rank of the first banner? Is this a joke?" "That youth is the sole grandson of the Wenshui Tang clan? How much has the Tang Old Master wasted on him?" "Just who is that savage-looking fellow? He"s just thirteen? Oh, so he"s a demi-human oaf."
The Orthodox Academy was placed at the very front, so the ones who were the most furious were naturally the students of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Ever since the Orthodox Academy fell into decline ten-some years ago, the Heavenly Dao Academy became the undisputed leader of the Ivy Academies. Who would have thought that their position from the past years would actually be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the Orthodox Academy this year? Zhuang Huanyu said nothing, but a fellow student of his criticized, "You even ended up being late today?"
Tang Thirty-Six had intentionally dressed himself up today. His blue gown blew about in the breeze, a jade belt was tied around his waist, and he gripped a paper fan in his hands. With an impa.s.sive expression, he gave off an indescribably cold arrogance.
He completely ignored this once-schoolmate of his. He lightly waved the fan, but just as he was feeling elegant, he heard a burp from beside him.
He somewhat angrily turned around, using the fan to cover his nose. He glared at Xuanyuan Po and said, "I told you not to eat so much, but you insisted. What"s so tasty about leftover deer meat?"
Xuanyuan Po rubbed his belly and said rather embarra.s.sedly, "I heard that sometimes the Grand Examination takes three days and nights, and they don"t give anything to eat. How frightening is that? And also, although it"s been cold recently, that deer meat has already been kept around for two days; won"t it spoil after another three? It"s not very good to waste food."
The expressions of the nearby students upon hearing this conversation were truly a sight to behold.
The Grand Examination was about to begin and these two fellows from the Orthodox Academy were still in the mood to discuss these problems?
Chen Changsheng was in no mood to chat about these things.
Right now, countless people were staring at him, yet he felt rather lonely.
He reminisced about Xining Village.
He was currently very sensitive to gazes.
He discovered that one person was not looking at him.
It was a youth.
This youth was standing amongst Star Seizer Academy"s ranks, yet he was not wearing that uniform of Star Seizer Academy that was extremely similar to a military uniform.
The weather was chilly, but this youth was only wearing one layer, and he had even rolled up the sleeves, exposing his arms to the cold winds.
Everyone in front of the Li Palace was watching Chen Changsheng, but this youth was staring at the distant rising sun that was just beginning to peek over the horizon.
Amidst the sea of people, this youth seemed particularly lonely.
Chen Changsheng suddenly felt that he and this youth were of the same kind of people.