554 Updates on Various Matters in the World

The Grand Examination was about to begin. It was still at the Li Palace. A sea of people was still outside the Li Palace. Each of the gambling markets had long since made their preparations. Thestorytellers used the finest Maojian tea to rinse their mouths. (TN: Maojian is a famous type of green tea, named after the shape of its tealeaves: "mao" (毛) means ‘furry’, which describes the fuzz that forms on thesurface of the tea when brewed, and "jian" (尖) means ‘sharp’.) In the end, however, there were still a few places that were different. Forexample, the expressions and eyes of those people that had come to see thespectacle were not as passionate and excited as last year's. Many people wereconstantly yawning, and those tourists that had come from the outlying countiesand provinces had clearly decreased when compared to last year. The reason for this was that last year's Grand Examination was a great year,with many of the young geniuses on the upper ranks of the Proclamation of AzureSky attending. Compared to last year, there was nothing exceptional about thisyear's Grand Examination, with barely anyone of note taking part. As for thehighly anticipated Xu Yourong, with her becoming Holy Maiden, any hope of herattending was lost. In truth, at present, it was simply impossible for either Qiushan Jun or XuYourong to attend the Grand Examination. There had originally been no need forthem to attend the Grand Examination to affirm themselves, and moreover, thosepeople that were worthy of competing with them on the same level, such as ChenChangsheng, had already taken part last year. Of course, Chen Changsheng had still come to the Li Palace, attracting thefervent cheers of the crowd. Naturally, these cheers were also accompanied bythat commentary which had not slackened in the slightest over these past fewdays. Could Little Principal Chen really be a descendant of the Imperial clan? Couldhe really be Crown Prince Zhaoming? Fine, this sort of theory was far tooabsurd. Then was he really attempting to rejoin the engagement? I hear that hestood outside the Holy Maiden's palace all night like a fool, is it true?Wasn't the snowfall that night very large? …… …… Tang Thirty-Six and Su Moyu brought the three new students that had managed toarduously pass the pre-examination to the testing site in the Li Palace. On the other hand, Chen Changsheng, under the guidance of a cardinal, was ledto that palace hall in the deepest parts of the Li Palace. It wasn't because hewasn't willing to take up the responsibility of principal. In truth, this firstbatch of new students of the Orthodox Academy was quite lacking in foundation.To pass the pre-examination was already a pleasant surprise, but it was simplyimpossible for there to be much hope of them succeeding in the GrandExamination. Adding on the fact that the Li Palace was essentially the OrthodoxAcademy's home court, Chen Changsheng was not concerned about encountering anyof the problems from last year. He had an even more important task. As he watched a seemingly endless and limitless amount of water fall from thewooden ladle onto the Green Leaf, he was once more nagged by those questions ofthe past. The Green Leaf World was the same as the Garden of Zhou. Since it could notgrow larger, what need was there to assiduously tend to it, to have itincessantly grow healthy and strong? The Pope placed down the wooden ladle and then took out a soft towel to wipehis hands. He indicated that Chen Changsheng should sit, then said, "There aresome rules that perhaps really are too stale and require changing, but you mustalso understand that without rules, nothing can be accomplished. How can livingunder the starry sky not require veneration? For everyone to live their liveslike Su Li is naturally joyous, but do not forget that although rules are likefetters to experts, to the weak, they are at times safeguards. We must placemore consideration on how the world operates and not merely consider our ownpoints of view." Previously, Chen Changsheng had brought the problems of the Black Dragon andthe Monolith Guardians. For the latter, the Pope had produced a clear-cutresponse, but he did not even mention the former, making his stance on itexceptionally obvious. "Martial Uncle, isn't it because your view of the world is different from theDivine Empress's that we currently have these problems?" "You can believe this to be so." "But…" Chen Changsheng still wished to fight on for a while. The Pope raised his hand, indicating he no longer needed to speak. Gazing athim, he advised, "Even if you wish to put into practice your view of the world,there is no need to rush to do it all at once." Chen Changsheng thought of the shadow that lay before him and thought, I amforced to be in a rush. "Once you become Pope, you can do whatever you wish, and at the time, you willnot need to come and ask me." "Martial Uncle…" "Upon hearing this, do you not deeply wish that I would be like Mei Lisha anddie a little earlier?" the Pope smiled and said. Chen Changsheng had simply no idea how to respond to this. "Relax, you will not have to wait too long." The Pope walked to the pot and used his handkerchief to very carefully wipethe beads of water off the Green Leaf. Within the serene palace hall, Chen Changsheng did not receive a single bit ofgood news. Not long after leaving, however, he heard an unexpected piece ofgood news: the Grand Examination had formally concluded and glad tidings hadcome that two students of the Orthodox Academy had actually entered the threebanners. Chu Wenbin, the transfer student from the Heavenly Dao Academy, hadeven managed to place seventeenth on the second banner. On that night, the restaurants of Hundred Flowers Lane were brightly lit asthe teachers and students of the Orthodox Academy happily celebrated. As for who was this year's first rank of the first banner for the GrandExamination, besides those gambling addicts, no one really much cared. The world was still primarily concerned with the confluence of the north andsouth. Not long after the Grand Examination concluded, the two sides finallyobtained a nigh perfect result from their negotiations. Next autumn, theconfluence of the north and south would finally be signed and the sects andnoble families of the south, possessing countless cultivating experts andriches, would finally be incorporated into the domain of the Great ZhouDynasty. Although in many aspects, this was only a nominal incorporation, thiswas still a task that not even Emperor Taizong had managed to accomplish. For amoment, the entire continent proclaimed the Divine Empress's glory. As for those hidden currents that many people were worried might appear, theywere strictly controlled by the Imperial Court. The number of fingers cut offand the number of ghosts added in the principal alley of the Northern MilitaryDepartment were uncountable. Zhou Tong and those officials loyal to the TianhaiDivine Empress had added on innumerable vile deeds to their record ofachievements. As for the most worrisome southward invasion of the demons, it also,fortunately, failed to come into reality. It was said that this year, the snowyplains of the demon realm were ravaged by blizzards. The Demon Imperial clanand the noble clans of Xuelao City had placed all their thoughts on providingrelief for their own tribes and annexing others, having no spare attention togaze south. Just like the common people, Chen Changsheng was also very happy, because thismeant that when the human world confronted the demons, they would be moreunified, more powerful, and more difficult to defeat. This also meant that XuYourong's status would become even more transcendent. At the same time, it wassaid that the White Emperor couple would attend the signing ceremony, so Luoluoshould also be accompanying them, right? The southern diplomatic missions gradually departed the capital. South StreamTemple's group was the last to leave, but they still had to leave. To Xu Yourong, the capital was her hometown, but Holy Maiden Peak was theplace where she would pass her many years of cultivation. Wind and snow blew over the Bridge of Helplessness, almost like it hadreturned to that day. "See you again at the Boiling Stone Summit." "See you again." On the snowy bridge, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong wished each other well,and then said goodbye. Holding the Yellow Paper Umbrella, he watched as her figure gradually fadedinto the wind and snow. He did not feel much sorrow over this parting. The Boiling Stone Summit would be this summer and they would quickly reunite,and there would inevitably come a day in which he went to South Stream Temple. On the contrary, his attitude became even calmer and more composed. Not merely towards her, but also towards himself. He firmly believed that he could defy the heavens and change fate, that hecould live past twenty, and then past two hundred, and then year after year. Because now, he was no longer alone. He wanted to live a long life togetherwith her. In the past, he only thought that he must live, but he had never thought, andnaturally had never experienced, that living itself was a very beautiful thing. Only that day on the Bridge of Helplessness when the white gauze fell and hesaw her eyes did he finally understand. From that day, he changed greatly. He was still calmly focused on survival,but he lived life much more naturally and spontaneously. To put it another way, the current Chen Changsheng lived much more vibrantly,no longer the oppressive and even wooden self of the past. This sort of change in his spiritual world also affected the efforts he madeto survive. He continued to read, study, meditate in cultivation. Although the five stonepearls on his wrist failed to emit even the slightest trace of Qi, they werefar more useful than the most precious of crystals. He continued to practicethe swords Su Li had taught him, as well as all the swords of the world, and healso did not forget to practice those one hundred and eight blades. His cultivation continued to grow more and more stable, getting ever closer tothe peak of Ethereal Opening. Every night, he would draw in the radiance of thestars, gradually accumulating it in the meridians and orifices of his body,waiting for the future day in which he would release a great light, and hisfuture would inevitably be bright. It had been almost two years since he had come to the capital. It had been one year since he had entered the Lingyan Pavilion and read WangZhice's notebook. He still had three years. Over the course of this year, he had never once thought about defying theheavens and changing fate in accordance with the method outlined in WangZhice's notebook, even though he was now recognized by the entire world as thenext Pope. Logically, this was his best opportunity, the best circumstances, tomake the entire world dance and thus change the appearance of the sea of stars. But he would not do this, because too many people would die. He believed that he could reach the Saint Realm in three years, enter theDivine Domain, and attempt to reconnect his meridians. This sounded like an inconceivable, unaccomplishable task, but since he hadgone from being a young and ignorant Daoist from the countryside to the nextPope and an expert that could see the threshold of Star Condensation in thecourse of only two years, what couldn't he do? The word 'impossible' had no meaning to him. Because he was not allowed to think it impossible. …… …… As Chen Changsheng advanced, the entire world advanced as well. Worthy of being called the generation of blooming flowers, after thegeneration of geniuses that included Wang Po, Xiao Zhang, Xun Mei, and LiangWangsun, even more geniuses surged forth. In the spring, the various proclamations issued by the Pavilion of HeavenlySecrets were formally updated. This time, the proclamations underwent massive changes. First of all, the Tier of Legendary Weapons that had remained unaltered for somany years was finally changed. The Frost God Spear was still ranked first. The Halving Blade was still second. The Wooden Sword Little Phoenix was ranked third. The Heaven Shrouding Sword that had reappeared in the world was ranked fourth! Everyone knew that this was because the wielder of the sword was tooexcessively powerful. It was also a fact that no matter how strong the divine weapon, only in thehands of a powerful person could it display its true might. Because that magical artifact of the Orthodoxy that had been lost and thus hadits name scrawled out into gray, the Vault Sheath, had once again ascended thecultivation world's stage, the new ink seemed abnormally vivid. The swordcalled Stainless was ranked ninety-fifth, in front of the Six ProtectionsDivine Armor but still far from the sixty-ninth ranked Dragonscale Sword,perhaps also by the same reasoning for the Heaven Shrouding Sword. The divine weapons and tools of the Tier of Legendary Weapons naturallyattracted the notice of the crowd, but what people were truly concerned aboutwas still people themselves. Liberation, Golden Distinction, and Azure Sky—these three Proclamations hadalso been updated. ……