Chapter 130 – The Academic Exam Begins (1/2)

The youth was rather skinny, but not to the point of being emaciated; the body beneath that flimsy clothing seemed to have substantial amounts of hidden strength.

He had his eyes squinted as he gazed upon the rising sun, a look of yearning, yet trepidation; fearing to get close, and thus keeping their distance, akin to Chen Chang Sheng’s attitude towards the flamboyance of this world.

The rising sun gradually broke through the clouds upon the horizon, appearing before everyone present.

Everyone was still staring at Chen Chang Sheng, babbling away; “I’ve heard he hasn’t even completed his Purification, with what is he going get first place on the First Banner?”

Gou Han Shi’s brow lightly twitched, he felt that today’s Chen Chang Sheng was slightly different from when they last met at the divine avenue, yet he couldn’t tell what had changed.

Mao Qiu Yu was not required to stand in line like the other students and teachers, he sat upon the observation platform of Li Palace and gazed at Chen Chang Sheng, thinking to himself: “He actually succeeded in his Purification, but why does it feel slightly different?”

Chen Chang Sheng wanted to ask Tang Thirty-Six if he recognized the lonely looking youth that was standing amidst the students from Star Seizer Academy, but Minister Xin had arrived.

“You have to win.” Minister Xin said to him keenly, as he patted him on the shoulder.

Chen Chang Sheng was slightly confused, over the past few days, Minister Xin had visited Orthodox Academy multiple times, yet he had never said those words, only seeking to help relieve some of the pressure he might have felt, why did he choose to say those words today, with the Grand Examination about to commence?

“I’ve bet my entire fortune on you winning,” said Minister Xin. “If you fail to take first place upon the First Banner today, then you have to remember to collect my corpse from the River Luo tomorrow.”

Under these circumstances, if Chen Chang Sheng were to fail at obtaining first place, the one most affected would not be Orthodox Academy, but the Education Board that had supported the academy; were the Education Board to falter, Minister Xin’s future would be a bleak one, thus, he had logically placed all his assets on a bet for Chen Chang Sheng’s victory.

Chen Chang Sheng didn’t know what to say in reply, but Tang Thirty-Six answered: “No wonder last night had some big changes to the pay-out rate.”

The Wen Shui Tang family were loath to lag behind in monetary affairs, though they weren’t overly interested in the small sums involved with gambling on the Grand Examination, they nevertheless kept a close eye on its developments.

Minister Xin replied: “Just my own personal wealth would not be enough to affect the pay-out rates of the gambling scene.”

They stared towards the ceremony platform, towards the biggest patron of Orthodox Academy.

There, His Eminence, Archbishop Mei Li Sha, had his eyes lightly shut, indiscernible as to whether if he was sleeping or awake; no one knew how much had he wagered upon Chen Chang Sheng winning.

In the same way, no one knew how much had Mo Yu, who was currently seated beside him, had wagered upon Chen Chang Sheng.

That’s correct, Lady Mo Yu believed in Chen Chang Sheng’s ability to place first upon the First Banner, she didn’t have any logical reason to believe this, but she still felt that he could achieve it.

The Grand Examination was separated into an Academic Exam, Martial Trial and Duelling Stage, the ordering of these phases was not fixed, and was decided each year as it commenced. For this year, the first phase was the Academic Exam, when this was announced five days ago, a lot of people speculated that this was the Education Board intentionally favouring Orthodox Academy, or more specifically, Chen Chang Sheng.

The Academic Exam was to be held at the Hall of Zhao Wen (Pellucid Edification), with some time to go before its initiation, Minister Xin lowered his voice and reminded the three youths from Orthodox Academy that for the Martial Trial, no matter how well their performance was in the Academic Exam, if they fail to complete the Martial Trial, they will not qualify for the Duelling Stage and their result will effectively be nothing.