Chapter 1 Xiao Feng

Xiao Feng was slightly stunned, wondering why the Cult Master was concerned about the imperial examination.

Thoughts flashed through his mind, but he still bowed slightly:

"Yes."

"Good, good."

Tianyi Zhenren nodded slightly, without saying much, and waved his hand, letting the preoccupied Xiao Feng retreat.

"It's always hard to fathom Tianyi's will. For someone to say such things..."

Picking up the kettle again, Tianyi Zhenren muttered to himself:

"This Zhenren is truly curious about what you intend to do..."

.......

Crackling~

Festive firecracker sounds rang out everywhere in Qingdu City.

It was the day the results of the provincial examination were announced. Qingdu City was filled with joy. Whenever someone passed, there would inevitably be cheers and celebrations, with large numbers of people coming to offer congratulations.

Of course, there were also many envious and jealous eyes.

Listening to the faint sound of firecrackers, Sa Wuling was also a little nervous. He knew his own limitations.

He was originally just literate and had absolutely no connection to erudition. It was naturally difficult to ask him to have confidence in just seven days.

Those who dared to participate in the provincial examination in Qingdu City were not incompetent fools.

After all, every prefecture and state had civil service examinations. In theory, after passing the prefectural and state examinations, one already had the means to become an official.

Ordinary people had no intention of traveling long distances to Qingdu to participate in the provincial examination.

Those who came were all people who had confidence in themselves.

Seeing a trace of nervousness in Sa Wuling's heart, Yan Xiake tightened his cloak and comforted him:

"Passing the provincial examination shouldn't be a problem for you."

Was the provincial examination difficult?

Of course, it was very difficult!

But as the saying goes, it is difficult for those who don't know how, and not difficult for those who do.

In Yan Xiake's eyes, who had once won the top spot in just over an hour, the provincial examination was nothing more than that. After removing the many confusions, the core was just a few points.

Loyalty to the emperor, love for the country, current affairs, policy debates, and catering to preferences.

These points were naturally no problem for him. It was naturally impossible for Sa Wuling to win the top spot, but passing the provincial examination was not too difficult.

After all, cultivators had clear divine senses, learned quickly, and used things skillfully.

Although seven days were not enough for him to become a great writer, imitating was not a big problem.

"I hope so."

Sa Wuling was not so optimistic. He was an expert in performing rituals for funerals, but he really had no confidence in this imperial examination.

Crackling~

Suddenly, outside the small inn, gongs and drums were beaten, firecrackers exploded deafeningly, and a burst of joyful sounds came.

Someone sang loudly, approaching from afar:

"Congratulations to Sa Wuling, Master Sa, for passing the special provincial examination with the 376th rank!"

"Congratulations to Master Sa for passing the special provincial examination with the 376th rank!"

"Passing the special provincial examination with the 376th rank!"

The person singing loudly shouted, heard from afar.

Hearing this, there was a sudden uproar inside and outside the inn. Many people immediately gathered around, wanting to see this new master.

"I passed!"

Sa Wuling immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The Da Qing provincial examination only ranked the candidates. The real division into three grades would be after the imperial examination.

However, the provincial examination was held only once every nine years, and each time there were only four hundred candidates ranked. Three hundred and seventy-six was already a very dangerous ranking.

Fortunately, he had the opportunity to participate in the imperial examination.

"Go, take the large sum of money you prepared."

Yan Xiake also felt relieved. Although he spoke strongly, he was not entirely certain in his heart.

Fortunately, this hurdle had been passed.

"Cough cough!"

Sa Wuling coughed lightly, postured, and walked out unhurriedly, forcing himself to appear calm and composed, as if he had expected it.

Everyone who saw it secretly admired him.

There were many ways to be promoted in the world, and there were many who rose from obscurity in various industries.

But no path to promotion was more enviable than the imperial examination.

In the morning, a peasant; in the evening, in the emperor's hall. For thousands of years, the imperial examination had long been the desire of the people.

Although Sa Wuling had some experience, he felt a little unnatural in his heart when he felt the envy and jealousy of countless people around him.

The yamen runners wearing black uniforms beat gongs and drums and stepped forward to congratulate him. After Sa Wuling dropped some money, their smiles became even denser.

They bowed and said:

"Congratulations to Master Sa for passing. Yamen runners from the Ministry of Rites will come to teach you the matters of entering the palace in the evening. Tomorrow will be the day of the imperial examination. You must not be失态 (shītài, lose your composure) when meeting His Majesty."

This was the charm of money.

Without these rewards, these yamen runners would probably be too lazy to say these words.

"Thank you for the reminder."

Sa Wuling followed suit and offered another bag of money.

Several yamen runners accepted it with smiles, cupped their hands, and said goodbye.

"Hoo!"

Sa Wuling took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

The provincial examination was over, and the next step was the real test.

In the inn, listening to the noise fading away, Yan Xiake's thoughts also settled down. He looked at the City God Temple from the window and muttered to himself:

"Old City God, protect me from eliminating this great demon..."

.......

Whoosh whoosh~~

The north wind howled, and heavy snow fell, turning the world white. All things returned to silence, and no pedestrians could be seen moving.

West Mountain.

Located one hundred and twenty li west of Qingdu, it was a large area of silver-clad mountains and rivers. Named West Mountain, it was actually a royal hunting ground.

Many wild animals were raised within to supply the royal family for hunting. Ordinary people who entered would die.

At this time, it was the moment when the sky was about to dawn but had not yet, but West Mountain was a hive of activity.

The mountains were full of people, a dark mass of figures busy with their work. The heat seemed to melt even the snow in the sky.

This was the venue for the All-Arts Assembly. More than one hundred thousand artisans and laborers were building it day and night.

One altar after another was nearing completion.

If someone looked from a high place, they could see that the altars here expanded from the inside out, like a blooming lotus flower.

At the core was an altar as high as twenty zhang.

Pa pa~~

A long whip cracked through the air, making a crisp sound.

A man dressed as a supervisor stood on a boulder, shouting loudly:

"Don't even think about being lazy! If the construction period is delayed, everyone will be punished, and don't even think about getting a penny!"

The cold wind howled, but the man was wearing a tight-fitting suit, and the black hair exposed on his chest fluttered wantonly in the cold wind.

Obviously, he had a strong foundation in martial arts.

And like him, there were no less than three hundred supervisors in this vast mountain forest, all standing in various places shouting loudly.

In the snow, craftsmen and laborers struggled to lift stones, or knock and carve the altars, their faces numb as they listened to the shouts ringing everywhere.

Thump~

At a certain moment, an older craftsman fell to the ground in the snow, the stone he was carrying heavily砸 (zá, smashed) on the ground, splashing snowflakes.

The people around did not react much to this scene. Some avoided it, some stepped over it and walked past, and no one dared to stop.

"Damn! Another one died!"

A burly supervisor cursed and strode forward:

"Making me收尸 (shōu shī, clean up the corpse) for you!"

He muttered a few unlucky words, picked up the craftsman's slightly stiff body, and walked to a large pit that had already been dug, throwing it in.

This pit was quite large and very deep. At this time, it was already half full, with hundreds or thousands of corpses inside.

Underneath, there were branches and dry grass, waiting to be burned after the construction was completed.

Where corpses accumulated, there would inevitably be plagues. They had been supervising the work for many years and had long been accustomed to such things, and they had a set of methods to deal with it.

"Hmm?!"

He was about to leave when he inadvertently glanced and saw a shadow in the snow in the distance.

He rubbed his eyes and saw clearly that someone seemed to be coming towards this place.

Moreover, that person seemed to be extremely fast. At first glance, it was just a vague shadow, but at the second glance, he could already see the outline.

By the time he rubbed his eyes again, he could already see clearly.

It was a Daoist dressed in white, walking towards them.

The Daoist's white clothes covered his body, blending with the color of the sky and the earth. He walked calmly and飘然 (piāorán, gracefully), each step covering dozens of zhang, as if shrinking the ground into inches.

"Someone, someone is coming!"

The supervisor's pupils shrank, and he immediately shouted loudly.

He had been following the Tianyi Sect for a long time and had naturally seen cultivators. Such a movement technique of walking dozens of zhang with each step was obviously not something ordinary people could do.

His shout spread.

A young Daoist who was meditating with his eyes closed in the All-Arts Altar opened his eyes.

He took a step, and a sword light appeared with it, supporting his steps, and he soared into the air.

The Daoist fixed his eyes and let out a long roar:

"Who comes? This place is an important site of the Tianyi Sect. Outsiders are not allowed to enter! If you are a fellow Daoist coming to participate in the All-Arts Assembly, you must wait until the day the assembly is held to come here!"

Whoosh whoosh~

Before the shout could dissipate, Daoists stepped on sword lights and rose into the sky, their auras erupting, exuding a strong sense of warning.

When they did not know the other party's intentions, they were unwilling to take action.

Because Qingdu City was now a place of mixed dragons and snakes, perhaps with many experts. As the host, they had to be cautious.

Although the Tianyi Sect was strong, it did not dare to offend the entire cultivation world.

The young Daoist's long roar was like thunder from the mountains, and the snow in the sky was shattered for a moment. The huge sound waves echoed between the mountains, lingering for a long time, and could be heard for dozens of li.

But the Daoist in white who was walking did not seem to notice it and continued to walk unhurriedly.

Before the sound had completely subsided, he had already arrived in front of the 'pit of ten thousand people'.

At this time, he stopped slowly.

Woo woo~

The north wind howled, and faint yin winds seemed to sound from the pit of ten thousand people.

Vaguely, one could seem to hear the wails of sorrow within.

Corpse after corpse lay stacked on top of each other, equally stiff, equally pale. A glance at it would give ordinary people nightmares.

"The All-Arts Assembly..."

An Qisheng murmured to himself.

'Woo woo'

On his shoulder, the little yellow dog seemed to sense something. Its tail suddenly stood up, and it growled with bared teeth.

In the long sky, the Daoists looked at each other. Then the young Daoist cupped his hands and said:

"I am Jia Zheng, a disciple of the Tianyi Sect. May I ask who you are? Which sect do you belong to?"

An Qisheng ignored the inquiry and looked at Qingdu City, a hundred li away. He seemed to see something and murmured to himself:

"The time seems to be almost up..."

Before the many Daoists in the long sky had time to ask again, they saw the Daoist in white suddenly disappear.

"What?"

The faces of the Daoists changed. They looked around and saw that in the center of the thousands of altars, on the altar that was a hundred zhang high, the Daoist in white was sitting cross-legged, not knowing when he had arrived.

While everyone's expressions changed drastically.

An Qisheng looked down at the mountains and said faintly:

"I have arrived, where are you?"