Chapter 131- The Final Two (1/2)

The brush glided across the snow-white paper, similar to a person snaking across the desert. Occasionally giving out the scraping sound of brush on paper; occasionally silent as it smoothly drifted past.

The Hall of Zhao Wen was to akin to being filled with mulberry trees, nurturing countless silkworms.

Chen Chang Sheng grasped his brush and earnestly answered the questions on the paper, his brush didn’t make any great movements, as he concentrated upon his writing, one stroke to one character, serious to the point of being rigid.

Due to being rigid, it looked nervous, but in reality he was feeling calm and unfettered; the countless works he had read since young, drifted across his mind, akin to leaves falling in the wind; seeing each question, he would choose one from amongst the falling leaves before writing down what was prescribed wherewithin. Questions that required greater consideration; those had yet to appear.

Having gone through a substantial portion of the questions, there had yet to be any that strayed outside the knowledge contained within the Scripture of The Way, the clergy who set the questions had yet to demonstrate knowledge beyond that of past forebears.

Gou Han Shi, who was situated nearby, lowered his brush and briefly massaged his wrist before continuing to answer the questions. His expression was calm and relaxed, akin to being back within the study at Li Mountain, revising and creating study notes.

The Hall of Zhao Wen was quiet within, only the sound of writing and the scuffling of scrolls could be heard, with the occasional cough arising from those who were nervous.

It was at this moment, that something unexpected occurred: someone handed in their paper early.

The one handing in was obviously not Gou Han Shi or Chen Chang Sheng; their brushes had only just landed upon paper and started writing; as the most hopeful examinees of the academic phase, wouldn’t they at least answer all the questions in their entirety?

It also wasn’t Xuan Yuan Po. Disqualification did not exist for the Academic Exam, thus, if this wasn’t your forte, you could just give up on this part of the exam; this was something Tang Thirty-Six had told him and was something many teachers or elders from the various schools and sects had also told their students or disciples.

The benefit of experience: if your results in the Martial and Duelling phases were to be exceptional, then even if you had no results in the academic phase, you could still enter within the Three Grades.

The handing in of papers early was something often seen for the Grand Examination, but for this year, people were still surprised: this was far too early.

The first person to hand in their paper was the youth Chen Chang Sheng had been keeping his eye on. This youth had not even read the questions, or more specifically, the moment the paper had been placed upon his desk, he left his seat and took it towards the seating area for examiners.

He had effectively abandoned the test.

In past years, though there were many people like Xuan Yuan Po who would give up on this academic phase based on the advice of their elders and teachers, they would at least take into consideration the prestige of the Imperial Court and Orthodoxy by enduring for an hour before handing in their paper.

Yet this youth, without an ounce of hesitation, had abandoned the test the moment it had started, showing of a lack of thought for human relations. Fellow examinees gazed at his back in shock, with some showing an expression of glee, evidently gloating over the idea that he would have left a bad impression upon the examiners.

That youth walked up to the seating area for examiners and placed down his answer paper.

That thick stack of papers was obviously blank.

The examiners that had been appointed by the Imperial Court and Orthodoxy all stared at the youth in silence, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

One of the examiners broke the silence and said, “you are certain that you wish to hand in your paper?”

The youth had delicate features, with a distinctive pair of brows that were very small and very flat, almost akin to looking at a straight line; strangely, this did not detract from his features, only giving the sense of someone that was cold and detached.

Upon hearing the question of the examiner, the youth continued to have an expressionless face, asking: “Not allowed?”

While saying those words, his eyebrows lightly twitched, showing some annoyance; it seems he disliked conversing with others.

His voice was cold like ice, the tone was flat like barren plains, spoken slowly, akin to having to throw out each word; it was as if he hadn’t spoken to anyone for a long time.

The clergy member lightly frowned, replying in a slightly unhappy tone, “According to the regulations of the Grand Examination, handing in your paper early is allowed, but…”

Not waiting for the clergy member to finish speaking, the youth said: “I’m handing it in.”

His words were still slow, the tone was still flat and his expression still cold. His intent was clear and firm: he wasn’t doing anything wrong.

The clergy member looked at the blank answer paper, but didn’t say anything else; another examiner harshly reprimanded him: “You’ve already lost your chance of entering the Second Grade, anyone that had any sense of shame would feel disgraced right now, but for you to act in such a gloating manner, just what have your teachers been teaching you?”

The youth remained expressionless and didn’t answer.

He did not have a teacher and had entered the Grand Examination in order to participate in the duels, he wanted to defeat everyone, especially that girl from White Emperor City, this was to affirm to himself that he was the strongest. As for the Imperial Court and Orthodoxy’s selection of first place upon the First Banner, this did not interest him.

Shortly after, someone took the youth and left the Hall of Zhao Wen, leaving for the site of the Martial Trial.

The hundreds of examinees that were left, looked at the disappearing figure of the youth with complicated feelings.

Gou Han Shi could vaguely deduce the identity of the youth; his expression became a little sombre.

Zhuang Huan Yu’s brow lightly twitched, his expression was still calm, but his eyes betrayed a sense of unease.

After an hour, examinees started handing in their papers.

These examinees were taken from the Hall of Zhao Wen and down the divine avenue, after walking for a long period of time, they arrived at the location for the Martial Trial: The Garden of Dawn.

The Garden of Dawn was a park located in the Eastern section of Li Palace, under the tranquil Spring season and clear scenery, greenery blanketed across like a sea of green. Countless trees dotted the landscape, birds could be heard chirping in the morning, flowing streams seen in twilight; the scene was extremely beautiful. With the remnants of Winter fading and the buds of Spring sprouting, the earth was still covered in hints of brown, yet this did nothing to detract from its allure.

What was the true purpose behind the Grand Examination?