Chapter 95 - 95: Entering the Secluded Bamboo Forest, The Young Man’s Flying Sword Is the First to Move (2)
As for the North Expedition… once it failed, the Yuan Meng Steel Cavalry might be able to cross the Blue Wave River and crush the dream-like prosperity of Great Zhao that had lasted for 500 years.
“The Yuan Meng Empire is indeed powerful, but if Great Zhao joins forces with the Dali and West Liang, even Emperor Yuan Meng might not be able to easily shake the iron wall. Naturally, it can continue to prosper for 500 years.”
Qin Lishi put down the essay, dipped his pen in cinnabar, and commented.
Although the essay was good, it did not score because it was too biased against his intentions.
After coldly reading the reviews, Qin Lishi placed the scroll aside. He knew that this examinee was probably destined to fail because he had not scored on the big question.
Qin Lishi was even a little curious about whose name it was under this scroll.
“Perhaps it was written by a student on the Literary Music Ranking of the Third
Headmaster, Wang Banshan.”
Qin Lishi smiled faintly.
Suddenly, Qin Lishi’s mind stirred. He looked up at the window of the Ministry of Rites. It was as if starlight had entered his dream and condensed into a starlight phantom in front of the window.
“Second Headmaster.”
Qin Lishi was stunned. He looked at the starlight figure and could not help but say.
The hunched Second Headmaster bowed to Prime Minister Qin and walked to
Qin Lishi’s side. He pointed at the article on the table and said, “The Literary Monument once moved because of this. If Prime Minister Qin doesn’t give a single point, it won’t be easy to explain to the First Headmaster, nor will it be easy for the Literary Department to respond.”
When Qin Lishi heard this, his expression froze. He looked at the paper that he had just graded and his heart trembled.
This article caused the Literary Monument to move?!
Qin Lishi felt a haze in his heart.
Could it be that the Literary Department also felt that the North Expedition was the right thing to do?!
Looking at the essay again, Qin Lishi did not admire it at all. All he felt was anger and disgust.
However, no matter how angry he was, he could not do anything. He could only bear the disgust in his heart and change the score to give some points. Otherwise, the articles that could cause the Literary Monument to move would receive zero points.
It would definitely make those old-fashioned Great Confucians from the Literary Department hate him.
The next day, at dawn.
Birds call out to clear the sky, invading the dawn to peer at the eaves.
As usual, An Le ended a night of visualization. His mental power was almost overflowing.
He walked to the courtyard and began to practice the Ancient Demon Five
Animals. An Le had not practiced the Ancient Demon Five Animals in the Spring Quarter Examination examination hall for three days, so he felt uncomfortable.
After a satisfying practice of the Ancient Demon Five Animals, his demon qi, Qi Blood, and mental strength intertwined. Vaguely, there were demon tiger phantoms roaring in the galaxy, and ferocious bears were like mountains. As the practice intensified, An Le’s control over the ancient demons became deeper.
After a round of practice, An Le changed into white clothes, took the Ink Pool Sword and Green Mountain, carried his luggage, and participated in the Spring Quarter Examination again.
Under the clear sky, peach blossoms and apricot flowers emitted a fragrance. On both sides of the road, green trees provided shade. The young man walked up the stone steps and arrived at the Literary Department.
There were no changes in the remaining two Spring Quarter Examinations. To An Le, it was not much different from the first round. On the first day, he did his questions as usual. The next two days, he sat cross-legged and cultivated, visualizing the Sword Waterfall.
It was unknown if it was because of the Spring Quarter Examination’s atmosphere or something else, but An Le, who was visualizing the Sword Waterfall in the numbered room, felt that his mental power had increased extremely greatly. It was almost as if he had stepped into the perfected-stage Shedding Mortality Realm.
When the Spring Quarter Examination ended, An Le walked out of the numbered room with the Green Mountain and Ink Pool Sword on his waist.
The warm sun shone down from the gaps between the peach blossoms. An Le narrowed his eyes and subconsciously felt relieved.
The Spring Quarter Examination was too important to the entire world. It was an opportunity for a fish to leap over the dragon gate. Everyone’s nerves were tense. Now that it was finally over, they naturally felt relaxed and comfortable like a fish entering the sea.
In groups of twos and threes, the Provincial Scholar candidates left the Literary Department and boarded the carriage. They either went back to prepare a banquet to invite their good friends for a drink, went to the Drunken Fragrance Restaurant to celebrate, or planned to go to the Falling Flower Pavilion to reminisce about the gentleness.
However, for many candidates who wanted to enter List A, the Spring Quarter Examination was not over yet. There was still a test of cultivation.
The next day, An Le only came with the Green Mountain and Ink Pool Sword.
When he entered the Literary Department again, there was much less noise. The candidates were no longer as elegant as a few days ago.
As far as An Le could see, the people who came for the exam today were all cultivators. Their bodies were rippling with Age Qi.
An Le, who had not collected the Age Qi for many days, did not hesitate to absorb it in one wave. He collected 20 wisps and added them to the [Thousand-year Genius] Dao Fruit column.
Recently, An Le collected a few strands of Age Qi and added them to the Thousand -Year Genius to increase his talent and potential.
Unknowingly, the Age Qi enhanced by the [Thousand-year Genius] Dao Fruit had already reached 82 wisps and was about to reach 100 wisps.
An Le was rather calm about this.
He arrived at a green lawn in the Literary Department. The last round of the Spring Quarter Examination was specially set up for cultivators. The people gathered here were naturally cultivators.
Many cultivators knew each other and gathered together to chat happily. These people were wearing Confucian robes and seemed to be extremely familiar with the Literary Department.
“They’re the geniuses on the Literary Department’s Literary Music Ranking.
They’re destined to enter List A.”
Beside An Le, someone spoke hoarsely. He turned around and saw a young man in cloth clothes carrying a large saber on his back. The man had the iron-blooded smell of a valiant general at the frontier.
“Brother, you should be the famous Master An in Lin’an, right?” The young man cupped his fists heroically.
“From the ink sword at your waist, I can basically guess Master An’s identity. I didn’t expect Master An to be so young. When I heard that you crushed Wang Qinhe of the Wang family on the West Lake, I was excited..”