Chapter 78: The Bamboo Forest Is Filled with Literary Music, and the Young Man Takes the Lead with His Flying Sword

The four walls are filled with green, and the seven-story building is cold against the evening stars.

The night gradually climbed up to the sky, with stars all over the sky and the moonlight like frost.

Lin'an Prefecture, the Ministry of Rites.

With the end of the first round of the Spring Examination, the Ministry of Rites began to review the papers in a intensive manner, and the papers of the candidates in the examination hall of the Academy of Literature were transported to the Ministry of Rites.

After several strict procedures, the papers were covered with names and distributed to many examiners.

Cross-marking was carried out. If there were any objections, multiple examiners would review them to ensure that there would be no misjudgment.

More than 3,000 papers, each of which was filled with answers. Even if it was just a review, it would take a lot of time and effort.

Each examiner lived and ate in the Ministry of Rites during these days.

The cold lamps cast a brilliant light.

Officials began to read carefully, because the references were all candidates from all over the country, who had gone through many rounds of screening before arriving in Lin'an, so their ability to write articles was beyond doubt.

The Spring Examination was to select taller and better talents from a group of tall people.

The rustling sound of turning pages was like the sound of waves raised by the bamboo leaves in the bamboo sea at night.

The tables were arranged one by one, and the examiners sat behind them, holding wolf-hair brushes with cinnabar and red ink to comment and score, and evaluate according to the candidate's entry point for each question and the degree of closeness to the answer.

The atmosphere was tense but also harmonious.

However, the only thing that made the examiners a little dissatisfied was the big question of this Spring Examination, which was about the big question of whether to go north to fight or not.

Too much stereotyped, dozens of candidates wrote articles against the Northern Expedition, and their words even revealed the intention of flattering and getting close to Qin Xiang. The attitude was too obvious and boring.

Of course, not all candidates opposed the Northern Expedition. There were also several candidates who chose to support the Northern Expedition, but the articles did not have any substantive arguments. They just launched the Northern Expedition without reason and without basis based on their passion. Therefore, the examiner just glanced at it and did not give any points.

No suspense or rebuttal was needed.

After reviewing for a long time, many examiners stretched their backs, stood up and moved around, and emptied their heads and minds filled with candidates' knowledge.

Suddenly, several people saw an examiner sitting behind the desk, with his back straight, his eyes wide open, and his beard seemed to be trembling slightly. The whole person was completely immersed in the article and could not extricate himself.

The examiner's face was flushed, and his skin membrane turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After a long time, a loud and excited cheer was heard, accompanied by a violent slapping of the table.

For a moment, many relaxed examiners looked over in surprise, confusion, and speechlessness.

It was just to review the answers of the examinees, so why were they so excited?

"Well, well written. How can we, the officials of the Great Zhao, sit back and watch the Middle Earth suffer the humiliation of the barbarians! We are the orthodox of that Middle Earth!"

This examiner may have a heart of anger hidden in his body, which exploded at this moment.

Praise and comments kept bursting out of his mouth, and his red face was almost filled with tears.

But this article really touched his heart and ignited the anger in his heart.

"Cross the river! Cross the river!"

The examiner slapped the table and roared.

Many examiners were all pale, crazy, this is...

The one who coordinated everything this time was Prime Minister Qin, who was famous for opposing the Northern Expedition faction. This examiner dared to shout so loudly, isn't he going against Qin.

However, several examiners were also curious, and they all came over to read the article that made this colleague lose his composure and shout "cross the river".

The stars were like buckets, and the moonlight was cold.

After a while, several examiners put down the article, and each of them was emotional, with an inexplicable meaning surging in their chests.

If they hadn't controlled their own emotions, they would even want to be like the first examiner who was a man of temperament, and shout "cross the river"!

The two words "cross the river" were the last words of the frontier general who died with hatred and resentment.

Only two words, but they were full of heroic spirit.

Now, they read the article and tasted the two words, and finally felt a little sentimental.

"How?"

"According to the answer, no points will be given, because he does not understand the meaning of the question. As for me, I would like to give him full marks, because this article, with the momentum of a manifesto, is eloquent and arouses the fire of ambition in my heart."

The examiners discussed with each other.

"Submit it to Lord Qin Xiang and let him comment on it."

Finally, the examiners made a unanimous decision.

In the hall of the Ministry of Rites, a green lamp was lit, and the dim fire illuminated the room as bright as day.

The night was cool, accompanied by the moonlight and the lights.

Qin Xiang Qin Lishi sat at the main desk, looking at the examinee's papers presented by many examiners in front of him, frowning slightly, and observing them.

His face was normal, but there was a bit of sharpness in the depths of his eyes.

"Drive out the barbarians and restore the Central Plains..."

"It sounds easy and simple, but it's not that easy. The Yuan Meng Emperor has been the most powerful person in the world for 500 years, and no one can shake his position. In the great Zhao, there is no one who can defeat him. If the Northern Expedition is about to start, who will check and balance the Yuan Meng Emperor?"

"Although the speech is passionate and magnificent, it is just talk on paper after all."

Qin Lishi actually appreciates this article, but appreciation is appreciation. No matter how well written the article is, it will not shake his mind against the Northern Expedition. The current situation is so good, Lin'an is prosperous, even the Kyoto of the Yuan-Meng Empire It's far behind.

And the Northern Expedition... once it fails, the Yuanmeng Iron Cavalry may be able to cross the Canglang River and crush the dreamlike prosperity of Zhao that has lasted for five hundred years.

"The Yuanmeng Empire is indeed powerful, but if we, the Great Zhao, unite with the Dali Kingdom and the Xiliang Kingdom, the three parties will join forces to form an iron wall. Even the Yuanmeng Emperor may not be able to easily shake it, and it will naturally continue to prosper for another five hundred years."

Qin Lishi put down the article, dipped his pen in, drank cinnabar, and commented again.

Although the article was good, it did not score points because it was too biased against his intentions.

After writing indifferent comments, Qin Lishi put the paper aside. He knew that he had not scored on this big question and the candidate was probably destined to fail.

Qin Lishi was even a little curious as to whose name it was under this vague name.

"Perhaps it was written by a student from Banshan, Sanfuzi Wang, who is on the literary and music list."

Qin Lishi smiled lightly.

Suddenly, Qin Lishi's mind moved. He raised his eyes and looked out the window of the Ministry of Rites. It seemed that starlight had come into his dream and condensed into a phantom of starlight in front of the window.

"Second Master."

Qin Lishi was startled, looking at Xingguang's figure, he couldn't help but say.

The rickety Second Master bowed to Qin Xiang, then walked to Qin Lishi's side, pointed to the article on the table, and said: "The Wenqu stele was moved by this article, and Qin Xiangruo didn't give a cent. It’s hard to explain it to the doctor, and it’s hard to explain it to the liberal arts college.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Lishi's face froze, and he was shocked when he looked at the article on the paper that he had just approved.

Did this article cause a stir in Wenqu monument? !

Qin Lishi felt a gloom rising in his heart.

Could it be that the Academy of Arts also felt that it was time for the Northern Expedition? !

Looking at this article again, Qin Lishi felt no appreciation at all, only anger and disgust.

But no matter how angry he was, there was nothing he could do. He could only bear the disgust in his heart, change the rating, and give some points. Otherwise, he would not get a single point from the article that could attract literary and musical monuments.

It is bound to arouse the disgust of those old-fashioned scholars who came out of the Academy of Literature.

…

…

The next day, dawn.

Birds call out for the clear sky, and they peek into the eaves at dawn.

Anle ended the night's meditation as usual, and her body and mind were almost overflowing.

Walking to the courtyard, he started practicing the Five Ancient Demons and Five Animals. He had not practiced the Five Ancient Demons and Five Animals in the Chunwei examination room for three days, and Anle felt uncomfortable all over.

Fight the five ancient demons and animals happily. The demonic energy, blood, and spirit are intertwined. There is a faint shadow of a demonic tiger roaring across the galaxy, and a ferocious beast as strong as a mountain.

As the drill intensified, Anle's control over the ancient demon's vision became more and more profound.

After some practice, Anle changed into white clothes, took the Mochi and Qingshan, packed up his luggage, and left for the Spring Festival again.

Under the clear sky, the peach and apricot blossoms exuded their fragrance, and there were green trees on both sides of the road. The young man walked up the stone steps to the literary courtyard.

There were no disturbances in the remaining two spring sessions. As far as Anle was concerned, the situation did not change much from the first session. On the first day, he did the questions normally, and in the next two days, he practiced cross-legged practice and visualized the sword waterfall.

I don't know if it's the spring atmosphere or some other reason. Anle was imagining the sword waterfall in the dormitory, and he felt that his mind was so high that he almost felt like he had reached transcendental perfection.

When spring came to an end, Anle walked out of the dormitory with Qingshan Mochi on her waist.

The warm sun shone down from the gap between the peach blossoms in full bloom. Anle squinted his eyes and unconsciously felt a bit relieved.

The Spring Festival is too important for everyone in the world. It is the opportunity for a fish to leap over the dragon's gate. Everyone's nerves are tense. Now that it is finally over, there is a relaxed and comfortable feeling like a fish jumping into the sea.

In twos and threes, the candidates left the liberal arts college together, got on the carriage, or went back to prepare a banquet to invite friends for a drink, or went to the Zuixiang Pavilion to celebrate, or planned to go to the Linhua Pavilion to savor the bone-crushing tenderness.

However, for many candidates who want to hit the first rank of Jinshi, the Spring Festival is not over yet, and there is still a test of cultivation.

The next day, Anle came with only his sword from Qingshan Mochi. When he entered the liberal arts college again, there was much less noise. The figures of the candidates were no longer as graceful as the previous few days.

As far as An Le can see, those who came to take the exam today are all practitioners, and they all have the energy of time rippling in their bodies.

The peace and happiness that had not been collected for many days, without any hesitation, absorbed it in one wave, and collected twenty strands into the account, and also blessed it in the [Eternal Talent] Tao Fruit column.

Recently, Anle has collected a few or two years of energy, all of which are added to the talents of the ages to enhance his own talents and potential.

Unknowingly, the age energy blessed by the [Eternal Talent] Dao Fruit has reached 82 strands, almost reaching 100 strands.

Anle was quite calm about this.

We arrived at a green lawn in the liberal arts college. As the last test of spring, it was specially set up for the assessment of practitioners. Naturally, all the people gathered here were practitioners.

Many practitioners may know each other and gather together to chat happily. These people are wearing Confucian shirts and seem to be very familiar with the Academy.

"They are the geniuses on the literature and music list of the Chinese Academy of Arts, and they are destined to be among the top candidates."

Next to Anle, someone spoke hoarsely, and turned around to see a young man wearing civilian clothes and carrying a big sword on his back. The man had the iron-blooded smell of a frontier warrior.

"Brother, you should be the An family who is famous in Lin'an, right?" The young man clasped his fists proudly and said.

Anle smiled and bowed in return: "Chongzhou Anle."

"Looking at the ink sword on your waist, I can basically guess the identity of Mr. An. I never thought that Mr. An was so young. I heard that you crushed Wang Qinhe of the Sheng Wang family on the West Lake, and my heart was surging."

The young man grinned, with a bit of heat in his eyes.

"I am Han Shi of Cangzhou, nice to meet you." The young man clasped his fists and said.

Cangzhou... the area where Canglang River is located?

A military man?

As if he guessed what Anle was thinking, Han Shi smiled and said, "Indeed, I am participating in the Spring Examination with a military quota, and I also have hope. I want to make a breakthrough in the list of Jinshi and take the imperial examination to prove that there are also cultured people in our army."

Anle smiled and thought this person was interesting, so he chatted with Han Shi.

"Those scholars on the Wenqu list of the Academy of Literature must have recognized you, but they deliberately ignored you. Since ancient times, scholars have looked down on each other, which is indeed reasonable."

"The scholars on the Wenqu list are all very arrogant. I have heard about this in the army."

Han Shi glanced at the scholars and scholars in the distance, who gathered together and seemed to isolate Anle and Han Shi.

"The An family is well-known in Lin'an. If they can pass this spring examination and beat the An family, they will naturally become famous in one battle." Han Shi glanced at Anle, who looked relaxed, and said.

Anle didn't care: "If I am suppressed, it means that I am not as good as them. They are qualified to be famous."

Hearing this, Han Shi couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Domineering and free and easy, worthy of being the An master who can beat Wang Qinhe."

"The An master should be quite unfamiliar with the Wenqu list. It is a list ranked within the Academy of Literature. It means that the goal of those on the list is to inspire the literary spirit on the Wenqu Monument. It is quite notarizing."

Hearing this, Anle couldn't help but curiously ask Han Shi about the Wenqu list and the Wenqu Monument.

Han Shi is also a bold and straightforward person. He knows everything and says everything.

The sun is rising.

"Dang--"

With a crisp sound, the bell rang, representing the opening of the last practice test of the Spring Examination.

On the green grass field, someone floated over. In addition to the officials of the Ministry of Rites who were responsible for recording the results of the Spring Examination, there was also an old man.

The old man was wearing a Confucian robe, with his hands behind his back. He was full of bookish air, and his eyes were deep, as if they contained a starlight. Just standing there, he seemed to have great knowledge.

"Second Master."

The talented scholars on the Wenqu list all performed the student etiquette.

Anle and Han Shi, as well as many practitioners from other places who came to take the exam, also bowed.

There are three masters in the Wenyuan, each of whom is a great scholar with a very high reputation. They are all extremely powerful beings, just like the martial arts champions in the Wu Temple, with a respected status and a pillar.

The second master Pang Ji's eyes were kind and wise. He swept around and finally fell on Anle. He was very interested in this young man who shouted the program of "expelling the barbarians and restoring the Central Plains" in the article.

Retracting his gaze, the second master Pang Ji smiled and said, "The three spring examinations are over. All you need to do before the imperial examination is today's cultivation test."

"The cultivation test after the last spring examination was set by the Martial Temple. This time it is set by the Academy of Literature. I hope everyone will take it seriously."

After the second master finished speaking, he turned around and asked everyone to follow him.

Everyone followed the second master respectfully and silently, walking deep into the Academy of Literature.

The students on the Wenqu list were all puzzled, because they found that this was the direction to the Wenqu Monument, the sacred object of the Academy of Literature. Could it be that this cultivation test was related to the Wenqu Monument?

As expected, when walking through the secluded path, the view suddenly opened up. With peach trees on both sides shedding peach petals, you can see a dense bamboo forest where you can hear the sound of the bamboo sea in the wind. In the depths of the bamboo forest, there is a stone tablet without words standing in the pavilion.

The sun was shining, and the stone tablet seemed to reflect the vast starlight like the night.

Anle looked at the stone tablet and felt an inexplicable sense of tranquility, as if he felt a surging literary meaning. The ink pool on his waist trembled slightly, as if it could not bear it and roared up.

"This is the Wenqu Tablet... I didn't expect that I, Han Shi, would be able to see the Wenqu Tablet of the Academy of Literature in my lifetime. It can be regarded as an eye-opener. Many military generals who want to see the Wenqu Tablet will be blocked by the rivers of saliva formed by the Confucian scholars of the Academy of Literature."

Han Shi, who was beside Anle, was amazed and looked at it with sparkling eyes.

However, after looking at it for a while, he lost interest: "It is not as domineering as the Wu Kui Stone in our Martial Temple."

As soon as the words fell, several Confucian scholars on the Wenqu list stared at him, as if staring through this disrespectful person with their eyes.

Anle smiled, but didn't say much. It is indeed not as domineering as the Wu Kui Stone. The Wu Kui Stone was watered by the blood and blood of the Wu Kui of all generations, so it is not bad, but the mystery of the Wenqu Tablet is more restrained.

"The Martial Temple has its own rules for assessment, and the Academy of Literature follows its own rules."

"There is a bamboo forest in front of the Wenqu Monument, called the Heart-Questioning Sea. Crossing the Heart-Questioning Sea and approaching the Wenqu Monument is the test of your cultivation this time. The ranking will be calculated based on how close you are to the Wenqu Monument. Of course, whether you can enter the palace examination in the end will also depend on your literary test results."

The second teacher Pang Ji chuckled.

As soon as the words fell, the uproar came from the mouths of the Confucian scholars on the Wenqu list.

The Heart-Questioning Forest is notoriously difficult to walk through. Once you enter the forest, the shadows of the bamboos are hazy, and the test is to refine your mind. If your mind is not good enough, you will not only leave the forest, but you will even get lost in the forest and find it difficult to move forward.

But if you can pass the Heart-Questioning Forest, the further you walk in the Heart-Questioning Forest, the more benefits you will get, which will greatly help the baptism and clarity of your mind.

The Martial Temple is for physical training, and the Academy of Literature is for spiritual training, so there is a clear division of labor.

The Heart-Questioning Forest is the place where the Academy of Literature refines its mind.

Therefore, the examination this time actually took out the Forest of Heart-Searching, which indeed caused confusion and doubts among many Confucian scholars on the Wenqu list. After all, for them, walking in the Forest of Heart-Searching is a great advantage. Every student on the Wenqu list has walked in the Forest of Heart-Searching, and has detailed experience of the rhythm, route and even some details in it.

Isn't this move by the master a complete bias?

"This is a decision made after I discussed with the first master and the third master."

"Everyone, if you are ready, you can enter the forest at any time. The final ranking will be calculated according to the distance from the Wenqu Monument to where you stop."

The second master smiled kindly.

"Yes."

The students on the Wenqu list, as well as the candidates from all over the country who took the exam, all clasped their fists and bowed in response.

Then they looked at the green bamboo sea one by one. The sun shone from the blue sky, through the mottled bamboo leaves, and sprinkled gold on the ground.

The students on the Wenqu list were all excited.

The teachers were so obviously biased, so they naturally couldn't let down the reputation of the Wenqu Academy.

The students on the Wenqu list, with their heads held high and their chests puffed out, were full of confidence. They walked towards the bamboo forest, stood outside the bamboo forest, and began to release their minds to outline the route and plan for walking in the forest.

However, while they were still planning the route.

An excited sword chanting resounded from the side, and an ink-colored sword shadow flew out quickly, like an ink line suddenly drawn on a white paper. The sword energy that was slapped up kept sweeping away the green bamboo branches, and the bamboo leaves fell and scattered, and drifted into the heart-searching forest.

An Le was a little helpless, and smiled apologetically to Han Shi beside him and the stunned Wenqu list students in the distance.

White clothes are more beautiful than snow, and the waist is decorated with green mountains.

He walked into the depths of the bamboo shadows.

This An family, who was famous in Lin'an, didn't even do a mind detection and route plan for the heart-searching forest.

He pressed the Wenqu list Confucian scholars to enter the forest first!