The Grand Examination arrived as scheduled.
It was still at the Li Palace.
Outside the Li Palace, there was still a sea of people.
The various gambling dens had long since made their preparations, storytellers using their best Maojian tea to rinse their mouths.
But there were still some differences, such as the expressions and gazes of the spectating crowd. They were no longer as passionate and excited as they were last year. Many people were constantly yawning, and the number of tourists that had hurried over from other provinces was clearly much lower than last year.
The reason for this was that last year's Grand Examination was a great year. Many of the young geniuses that ranked high on the Proclamation of Azure Clouds had come to participate. Compared to last year, this year's Grand Examination was truly lacking in anything noteworthy. There were not many famous figures, and Xu You Rong, who had once been the object of many people's hopes, had lost all hope following her succession as Holy Maiden.
In reality, both Qiu Shan Jun and Xu You Rong could no longer participate in the Grand Examination. They had never needed the Grand Examination to affirm themselves, and those that had the qualifications to compete with them on equal footing had already arrived last year, such as Chen Chang Sheng.
Of course, Chen Chang Sheng had still come to the Li Palace, drawing the enthusiastic cheers of the populace, as well as the discussions that had not abated in the past few days.
Could Little Principal Chen really be a descendant of the Imperial clan? Could he really be Crown Prince Zhaoming? Fine, this theory was too absurd, then was he really trying to renew the engagement? Was it true that he had waited outside the Holy Maiden's Hall for an entire night? Wasn't the snow that night very heavy?
… …
… …
Tang Thirty-Six and Su Mo Yu brought the three new students that had barely passed the preparatory examination into the Li Palace examination grounds.
Chen Chang Sheng, on the other hand, was led by a cardinal into the depths of the Li Palace. It wasn't that he was unwilling to shoulder the responsibility of Principal, but it was truly the first year that Orthodox Academy was recruiting new students. The foundations of the new students were truly too poor. Being able to pass the preparatory examination was already a pleasant surprise, but it was impossible to place too much hope on their performance in the Grand Examination. In addition, Li Palace was essentially Orthodox Academy's home ground, so he did not need to worry about encountering the same problem as last year.
He had more important things to do.
Seeing the seemingly endless stream of water pouring into the Green Leaf from the wooden ladle, he once again began to ponder the question he had in the past.
The Green Leaf World was the same as the Garden of Zhou. Since it could not grow larger, why did it need to be so meticulously cared for, to allow it to continuously grow?
The Pope put down the wooden ladle, took a soft towel, and wiped the beads of water on his hands. He indicated that he should sit down and said, "There are some rules that are truly too old-fashioned and need to be changed, but you must also understand that without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Living under the starry sky, how can one not need reverence? If we all live like Su Li, we will naturally be happy, but don't forget that while rules are restraints for the strong, they are sometimes a form of protection for the weak. We need to consider how the world operates, and not our own thoughts. "
Previously, when Chen Changsheng had raised the question of the Black Dragon and the Monolith Guardian, the Pope had given a clear answer to the latter question, but he had not mentioned a single word about the former. His stance was already very clear.
"Martial Uncle, your view of the world is different from the Divine Empress's, resulting in these problems?"
"You can take it that way."
"But …" Chen Chang Sheng still wanted to argue.
The Pope raised his hand to indicate that there was no need for him to speak further. Looking at him, he said, "Even if you want to put your view of the world into practice, there is no need to be in such a hurry."
Chen Chang Sheng thought of that shadow that lay before him and thought to himself that he had no choice but to be in a hurry.
"Once you become Pope, you can do whatever you want. When that time comes, you don't need to ask me."
"Martial Uncle …"
"After hearing these words, do you really want me to be like Mei Li Sha and die early?" The Pope looked at him and said with a smile.
Chen Chang Sheng had no idea how to respond to these words.
"Don't worry, it won't be long."
The Pope walked to the side of the potted plant and used a handkerchief to carefully wipe away the water droplets on the green leaves.
Chen Chang Sheng didn't receive any good news from that secluded palace, but not long after he left, he heard an unexpected piece of good news – the Grand Examination had officially ended. The good news had arrived, two students from Orthodox Academy had actually entered the Three Grades. That Chu Wenbin, who had transferred from Heavenly Academy, had even managed to rank seventeenth in the Second Grade.
That night, the restaurants of the Hundred Flowers Lane were brightly lit, the teachers and students of Orthodox Academy were very happy to celebrate.
As for who placed first upon the First Banner in this year's Grand Examination, besides those addicted gamblers, no one else really cared.
What the world was most concerned with was the confluence of the North and South. Not long after the conclusion of the Grand Examination, the negotiations between the two sides finally achieved what could be described as a perfect outcome. In autumn, the confluence of the North and South would be formally signed. The sects and noble families of the South, which possessed countless cultivating experts and wealth, would finally be incorporated into the Great Zhou Dynasty. Although it was largely a nominal incorporation, it was still something that not even Emperor Taizong had been able to accomplish. For a moment, the entire continent was proclaiming the Divine Empress's might.
The hidden flow that many people feared might appear was tightly controlled by the Imperial Court. Within the alley of the Northern Military Department, who knew how many fingers had been severed and how many ghosts had been added. Zhou Tong and those officials loyal to the Tianhai Divine Empress had also committed innumerable evil deeds in the Record of Merit.
As for the most feared invasion of the demons to the south, it fortunately did not become a reality. It was said that this year, the snowy plains of the demon domain had experienced a series of violent snowstorms. The Demon Imperial clan and nobles of Xuelao City had placed all their thoughts on rescuing their own tribes and seizing the opportunity to attack. They did not spare a second glance towards the south.
Just like all the ordinary people, Chen Chang Sheng was also very happy, because this meant that the human world would be even more united against the demons, stronger, and even harder to defeat. This also meant that Xu You Rong's status would be even higher. At the same time, it was said that the White Emperor couple would be coming to participate in the signing ceremony, so Luoluo would also be coming, right?
The southern diplomatic mission gradually left the capital. South Stream Temple's convoy was the last to leave, but it still had to leave.
To Xu You Rong, the capital was her homeland, and Holy Maiden Peak was the place where she would spend her long years of cultivation.
The wind and snow fell on the Bridge of Helplessness, as if they had returned to that day.
"See you at the Boiling Stone Summit."
"See you."
Chen Chang Sheng and Xu You Rong stood on the snowy bridge, saying goodbye to each other.
He held up the Yellow Paper Umbrella and watched her figure gradually disappear into the wind and snow. He did not feel too much sorrow at parting.
The Boiling Stone Summit was in the summer, and they would soon meet again. Moreover, he would eventually go to South Stream Temple.
On the contrary, his mind became even calmer and steadier.
Not only for her, but also for himself.
He firmly believed that he would definitely be able to defy the heavens and successfully change his fate. He would be able to live past twenty, then past two hundred, year after year.
Because right now, he was no longer alone. He wanted to live a long life together with her.
In the past, he had only thought about how he had to live, but he had rarely thought about it, and of course, he had never experienced that living itself was a beautiful thing.
Only on that day when the white veil fell from the Bridge of Helplessness and he saw her eyes did he understand something.
From that day onwards, he changed a great deal. He still lived calmly and attentively, but his life was much more natural and casual.
To put it another way, the current Chen Chang Sheng lived more vividly, no longer as dull and even wooden as before.
This change in his spiritual world also affected the efforts he had made to live.
He continued to read, study, meditate, and cultivate. The five stone pearls on his wrist, although not even the faintest bit of Qi was released, were even more useful than the most precious of crystals. He continued to study the swords that Su Li had taught him, as well as all the swords in the world, but he also did not forget to study the one hundred and eight blades.
His cultivation was becoming more and more stable, getting closer and closer to the peak of Ethereal Opening. The star radiance that descended every night slowly accumulated in his meridians and apertures, waiting for the day when it would shine brightly. And his future was certain to be bright.
It had been almost two years since he had come to the capital.
It had already been a year since he had entered the Lingyan Pavilion and seen Wang Zhice's notebook.
He still had three years.
In this year, he had not once thought about defying the heavens and changing his fate according to the words in Wang Zhice's notebook. Even though he had already obtained the recognition of the entire world as the next Pope, logically speaking, he had the best chance and the best conditions to make the entire world dance and change the appearance of the sea of stars.
But he would not do this, because this would cause too many people to die.
He believed that he could use three years to cultivate to the Saint Realm, step into the Divine Domain, and then attempt to reconnect his meridians.
This sounded inconceivable, impossible, but since he had only used two years to go from a young Daoist from the countryside who knew nothing to the current candidate for Pope, a young expert who could already see the threshold of the Star Condensation realm, what else could he not do?
The word 'impossible' had no meaning to him.
Because he could not avoid the possibility.
… …
… …
Chen Changsheng was advancing, and so was the entire world.
This was truly worthy of being the age of blooming wildflowers. After that generation of geniuses like Wang Po, Xiao Zhang, Xun Mei, and Liang Wangsun, even more geniuses had emerged.
The many proclamations issued by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets were officially updated in the spring of this year.
This time, the proclamations had undergone enormous changes.
First of all, the Tier of Legendary Weapons, which had remained unchanged for many years, finally welcomed a change.
The Frost God Spear was still ranked first.
The Halving Blade was ranked second.
The Wooden Sword Little Phoenix was ranked third.
The reborn Heaven Shrouding Sword was ranked fourth!
Everyone knew that this was because the person using the sword was too powerful.
This was also the truth. No matter how powerful a divine weapon was, only in the hands of an even more powerful person could it display its true power.
The Orthodoxy's magical artifact, the Vault Sheath, which had been painted gray due to its loss, once more ascended to the stage of the cultivation world. The newly written characters were abnormally clear. The sword called Stainless was ranked ninety-fifth, in front of the Six Protections Divine Armor, but it was still far inferior to the sixty-ninth ranked Dragonscale Sword. Perhaps this was also the reason.
The divine weapons on the Tier of Legendary Weapons naturally attracted attention, but what people truly cared about was still the people themselves.
The Proclamations of Carefree, Golden Distinction, and Azure Cloud had also been updated.
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… …
(The name of the chapter was originally called 'A Lot of Updates', but thinking that it would definitely be drowned in spittle, I changed it to 'this artistic' …)
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