Chapter 883 Preliminary Election
Seven days later.
Song Wen disguised himself as a handsome young man.
Then, he went to the City Lord's Mansion.
The Shangshuang Street outside the City Lord's Mansion was blocked by soldiers wearing armor and hanging steel knives. Only young people who came to participate in the selection were allowed to enter. Other family members or onlookers who came to see them off were all blocked outside the street.
Several long queues have been formed on the street, all of which are young people with decent looks.
Some are well-mannered scholars, some are strong warriors; some are shy girls, some are elegant ladies...
They are excited and nervous, looking forward to becoming disciples of the "Dingguang Buddha", but also worried about being eliminated.
In front of the gate of the City Lord's Mansion, there are several desks, and a copywriter is sitting in front of each desk, registering the information of these young people.
Song Wen stood in the crowd and slowly followed the pace of the team.
Not every young person who came to participate in the election could pass smoothly. Many people were rejected and left with a depressed look. After leaving Shangshuang Street, they would be criticized and complained by their elders.
Those who successfully passed the primary election were all excited. Their elders who were stopped outside the street saw it from afar and felt proud. Especially when the people around knew that their young people were selected, they were envious.
After waiting for two hours, Song Wen finally came to the copywriter who registered the information.
The copywriter was an old man. He raised his turbid eyes and swept across Song Wen's face. His eyes suddenly showed a look of surprise.
There was no other reason. The young man disguised as Song Wen was too handsome.
Even though at this time and place, all the young people with decent looks in the city gathered, Song Wen still looked "outstanding".
"Name, place of origin!" the old man said lightly.
"My Lord, I am from Sifang Village, Fengbai County, and my name is Fang Pengyi." Song Wen said.
Fengbai County is a small town below Guanling City, only more than 50 miles away.
The old man did not question what Song Wen said and asked.
"Can you read and write?"
Song Wen said, "I started to learn to write at the age of five, and I have been studying hard for more than 12 years."
The old man nodded slightly, bowed his head and wrote on the book in front of him, recording Song Wen's information.
Then, he threw a wooden sign to Song Wen.
"This wooden sign is the proof that you passed the preliminary selection. Remember to keep it well and don't lose it." The old man reminded.
"Thank you, my Lord."
Song Wen took the wooden sign and saw that it said 'Male, No. 4,952'.
At this time, a soldier came and said to Song Wen.
"Young Master, please follow me. The Lord of the City has prepared a unified residence for those who have passed the preliminary selection. I will take you there."
Led by the soldiers, Song Wen walked out of Shangshuang Street, through the crowded crowd, and came to a training ground not far from the City Lord's Mansion.
This training ground covers a vast area. In one corner, there are rows of neat wooden houses, which should be the army's spare barracks.
Thousands of young men and women have gathered in front of the barracks, in groups of three or five, whispering happily. There are also many young men and women in each wooden house.
"Young Master, all the rooms in the barracks are prepared with daily necessities. You can choose any vacant room at will. I will take my leave."
After the soldier finished speaking, he turned and left.
Song Wen found an empty wooden house at random and walked in.
The wooden house is very narrow, only a few square meters, but it is fully equipped with wooden beds, wooden tables, teapots, mattresses and other daily necessities.
Evening.
The setting sun was like blood.
After eating the food brought by the soldiers, all the young people, including Song Wen, were summoned to an open space.
There were more than 10,000 people, half of them men and half of them women, standing in several square formations.
In front of them, there was a stone platform, and Lord Miao appeared on the platform.
"Everyone, I am the Lord of Guanling City - Miao Sheng."
"Greetings to Lord Miao..."
More than 10,000 young men and women below said loudly.
Miao Sheng raised his hand, signaling everyone to be silent, and then continued.
"You have all passed the first round of preliminary selection, and you are indeed the best young people in Guanling City. However, at 9:00 tomorrow, the second round of selection will be held to test your understanding of Buddhism."
"Later, each of you will receive a copy of the Lotus Sutra. This Buddhist scripture has 28 volumes and more than 60,000 words. Tonight, you have one night to memorize and comprehend this scripture."
There was a burst of light discussion from the audience.
The Lotus Sutra is an extremely obscure Buddhist scripture. Even though most of the more than 10,000 young men and women are Buddhists, they have basically never recited this scripture.
Looking at the chaotic scene below, Miao Sheng didn't care and continued.
"Tomorrow at 9:00 p.m., you will be tested on memorizing this scripture. Men and women will be ranked separately, and the top 3,000 will go to Xidong Mountain to worship Dingguang Buddha."
"I hope you will make good use of tonight's time. You must concentrate on memorizing and understanding the essence of the scripture, and also make sure you have enough rest to avoid physical and mental fatigue affecting tomorrow's selection."
After Miao Sheng finished speaking, he waved his hand to the back.
Behind the high platform, there stood a hundred soldiers, each holding a bundle of Buddhist scriptures, which was the Lotus Sutra.
The soldiers walked around the high platform, came to a group of young men and women, and began to distribute Buddhist scriptures.
All those who received the scriptures raced against time and began to read the books in their hands.
Song Wen also received a book. Just as he was about to follow the crowd and read the scriptures, he heard a deep voice.
"Friend, I wonder if you are good at being well-informed and having a strong memory?"
Song Wen looked in the direction of the voice and saw that beside him, a young man of about sixteen or seventeen was looking at him with hope.
The man had strong limbs and was strong and powerful. It was obvious that he had good martial arts skills.
"Brother, what do you want?"
Song Wen did not answer directly, but his face was full of confidence.
Seeing this, the man's eyes flashed with joy. He looked around vigilantly and saw that no one was paying attention to the two of them. He lowered his voice to a level that only the two of them could hear and said.
"My name is Xu Yan, and I live in the wooden house next to you. I have practiced martial arts since I was young, and I have mastered a lot of martial arts. In Guanling City, I am considered an expert. However, no matter how strong my martial arts are, they are not as strong as the Buddhist teachings of Master Dingguang. I want to enter Xidong Mountain to comprehend the Buddhist teachings. However, my memory is not as good as my martial arts, and I can't remember the obscure scriptures at all. I wonder if you can help me learn a thing or two during the test tomorrow?"