Chapter 178 (1/2)

The palace officials fear a young man?

This was defying common sense. However, if this young man's surname was Nangong, then it would be understandable to a certain extent because there was a peerless genius produced by the Nangong clan.

A genius that was possibly on par with Chi Guyan.

He was the number one prodigy of the Great Xia Dynasty, Nangong Hao.

The young man in front of them would be Nangong Mu, the younger brother of Nangong Hao.

Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu returned to the inn on their Snow Treading Dragon Stallions. As they secured the reins of these horses, they could feel the obvious increase in foot traffic along the main streets. Most were all in one direction.

That direction was naturally the Imperial Academy.

Today was the release of results of the Theory Examination. The atmosphere in Yan Capital was heavy and tense but it seemed to have no effect on Fang Zhengzhi. He always preferred to go with the natural flow.

Similarly, Yan Xiu did not show any indication of nervousness. He occupied his mind with introspection. From the end of the Theory Examinations till now, he had been reflecting and trying.

On their way back, the two exchanged few words.

As Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu approached the Imperial Academy's gates side by side, heads looking like black dots stretched as far as their eyes could see. Forget about the Results Tablet, even the guards at the gates were completely blocked.

Any sort of elevation near the Imperial Academy was fully packed with people.

Fang Zhengzhi had a small scare when he saw such a sight. He recalled that there were not so many candidates that partic.i.p.ated in the examinations.

So where did all these people come from?

As he was thinking, he subconsciously scanned the crowd surrounding him. After that, he realized that other than the candidates, there were some palace officials wearing their official uniform mixed with the crowds.

There were even some pa.s.sing merchants that came to see what was going on.

Without a doubt, the Imperial Examinations' release of results was indeed one of the grand occasions in the Great Xia Dynasty. Be it, officials or citizens, everyone was keeping an extremely close watch of the event.

Fang Zhengzhi's leisurely stroll with an easygoing expression on his face while humming a small tune. His eyes sweeping the crowd in front of him, looking for the limited empty s.p.a.ces.

However, when people start noticing him and Yan Xiu, the crowd start to bubble with discussions.

This puzzled Fang Zhengzhi. He remembered when he was going to take Theory Examinations, he and Yan Xiu were obscured by the blinding talents of Yan Capital.

However, today…

Seemed a bit special.

Of course, he did not know that in the three days that he was gone, he had become the talk of the capital. From the main streets to the back alleys; small and big residences, everyone knew and talked about him.

He made history. No matter what method he used, whether he wrote nonsense or not, it was an irreversible fact that he broke the rule that no one else could for the past thousand years.

Everyone, simultaneously turned their heads to face one position. Countless pairs of eyes all pointed in unison at Fang Zhengzhi.

”It's Fang Zhengzhi?!”

He finally came. What do you think his expression would be when he drops out of the roll?”

”Well, I feel that he wouldn't drop so far off the roll. To be able to become the roll champion in the River of Trust Provincial Examinations, won't he at least have a shot at getting on the second-cla.s.s roll?”

”Didn't you hear about Prime Minister Yu's a.n.a.lysis?”

”You mean that sentence about quality over quant.i.ty?”

”That's right. If Fang Zhengzhi earnestly attempted the questions in the Imperial Theory Examinations, he might have a chance at the second-cla.s.s roll. Unfortunately, he finished all six sets of the script. Such low-life that l.u.s.ts after superficial fame and wealth would naturally not have time for checking and refinement.”

”Brother Tang's eyes sure are sharp. I'm impressed!”

The candidates started to murmur among themselves. They were looking forward to Fang Zhengzhi's expression when he dropped out of the roll. This intention was probably spurred on by jealousy.

It was like when people are used to wearing clothes out, then suddenly one day, one person did otherwise. Propounding that going out naked could allow one to fully embrace what Mother Nature has to offer.

Then…

This person would be either stoned or drowned in spit.

Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi's actions this time did not simply break the mindset that was instilled over a long period of time. He went and crushed the history of the Great Xia Dynasty since its founding under his feet.

He did something that no one had done since the beginning of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Finis.h.i.+ng the six sets of questions in the examination script in under four hours.

If such a thing actually happened, then didn't it meant that he was one level higher than the likes of Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao?

Whether it was the previous round when Chi Guyan became the Double Roll Champion or the round before that when Nangong Hao who got the t.i.tle of roll champion for the Imperial Examinations, no such thing had happened before.

No one believed that such an achievement was possible.

Furthermore, it was achieved by a mountain villager that had not ever step foot in a Hall of Dao before. The officials did not believe and the n.o.blelites even more so.

Fang Zhengzhi looked at those eyes that shot at him and felt confused. Yet, at this time, a disturbance arose in the crowd.