Ze Tian Ji Way Of Choices Chapter 180 – Take Care, First Rank

Chapter 180 – Take Care, First Rank

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

s.h.i.+ning upon the world and bringing the light and heat required by all living beings, yet not dazzling or fiery, the glow of sunset and that of dawn truly were not very different. One might appear later than the other, but they were equally resplendent. Chen Changsheng had only begun to cultivate after coming to the capital, not even having begun his journey though the sun was on the verge of sinking below the mountains to the west. In the end, however, he had surpa.s.sed many who had come before him, even people like Gou Hans.h.i.+, and became the first to step on the peak.

"He's the Grand Examination's first rank of the first banner for this year?"

"It's really that guy called Chen Changsheng?"

"Could there be some mistake?"

The people outside the Li Palace watched in the twilight as the youths of the Orthodox Academy slowly made their way down the Divine Avenue. Some of them conversed with each other, wearing incredulous expressions on their faces, but more were so shocked that they couldn't even speak.

After the Ivy Festival, Chen Changsheng became a famous person in the capital because of his engagement with Xu Yourong. At that time, he was the object of the capital's ridicule and hostility, and a saying even appeared just for him: a toad wanting to eat Phoenix flesh, indulging in the wildest of fantasies.

On the day in which the Proclamation of Azure Sky was updated, the archbishop had announced in Chen Changsheng's place that he intended to take first rank of the first banner. No one had taken it seriously. On the contrary, the announcement drew even more scorn and derision, with no one believing that Chen Changsheng could do it. Everyone looked forward to seeing Chen Changsheng's expression after coming up empty-handed at the end of the Grand Examination.

This year's Grand Examination was very lively and what the populace was most concerned about after its conclusion was jeering to their heart's content at that delusional Chen Changsheng who had gotten carried away with his fantasies. Yet who could have expected that the delusion had become reality, the fantasy had come to life, and the youth of the Orthodox Academy who didn't even know how to cultivate a few months ago had really taken the first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination!

Indeed, the first rank of the first banner was not Gou Hans.h.i.+, not anyone from the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws, not Tianhai Shengxue, not Zhexiu, not Zhuang Huanyu, and not a young scholar from Scholartree Manor.

It was Chen Changsheng.

No one was willing to believe this result, but it was a fact. Many people, especially those who had constantly jeered at Chen Changsheng before the Grand Examination, all felt like their faces were burning in pain.

Even if it was a fact, the crowd still found it impossible to accept, impossible to understand. The stillness within and without the Li Palace was broken by discussion as the specific details of the Grand Examination's matches quickly spread through the crowd.

Soon after, the Divine Avenue, the Li Palace, and the surrounding area grew even more still, and then exploded with noise.

Chen Changsheng had actually entered Ethereal Opening in the one-on-one match phase of the Grand Examination? And it was in the final battle against Gou Hans.h.i.+? How could this be possible! With the level Chen Changsheng had displayed beforehand, his taking of the first rank of the first banner today already felt too much like the stuff of legends, but for him to actually break into Ethereal Opening in the middle of the Grand Examination pushed it to the limit!

Ethereal Opening at the age of fifteen? Who didn't know what this signified?

The importance of this matter was on the verge of eclipsing the Grand Examination's first rank of the first banner!

The setting sun shone over the Divine Avenue, making Chen Changsheng's shadow extremely long.

On the two sides of the Divine Avenue were the schools directly under the Li Palace while even further away, beyond the stone pillars, the ma.s.ses awaited, and there were also many great personages hidden under the shade of the trees.

Regardless of who they were, none of them could hide the shock on their faces as they watched the youth proceed down the Divine Avenue.

Su Moyu sat in a wheelchair, pushed by his schoolmates of the Li Palace Academy to the forest lining the Divine Avenue.

He looked at Chen Changsheng and thought of the words he had said to him a few days ago, his mood somewhat complex.

Chen Changsheng turned to him and nodded in greeting. With everyone watching, it was not convenient to talk, so he used the look in his eyes to ask how his injuries were doing. Su Moyu indicated that they were not too bad, and then he earnestly bowed.

Chen Changsheng stopped and calmly returned the bow.

Many examinees who had finished with the Grand Examination had not left and also went to see Chen Changsheng. But not everyone had the same demeanor as Su Moyu. They had more unsightly expressions.

Zhuang Huanyu sat in the carriage of the Heavenly Dao Academy, raising a corner of the curtain to look at the figure of the youth that slowly proceeded out of the Li Palace under the gaze of thousands, and a hint of unwillingness appeared on his face.

The four scholars of Scholartree Manor, led by Zhong Hui, stood in the Monolith Hall in the northwest corner of the Li Palace. As they looked at the distant Chen Changsheng, their faces showed emotions of anger and frustration.

Yes, regardless of how angry or unwilling they were as they watched Chen Changsheng, they all ultimately felt frustrated. From this day forward, their dazzling and glittering names on the Proclamation of Azure Sky would become dark and gloomy before Chen Changsheng, and now they had also lost any right to compare themselves to Chen Changsheng.

Their names had all been carved on the highest ranks of the Proclamation of Azure Sky. After today, they would presumably continue to remain there, but Chen Changsheng's name had never once appeared in the Proclamation of Azure Sky and never would appear there.

Luoluo had gone from the ninth on the Proclamation of Azure Sky to second. From the moment Xu Yourong entered the Proclamation of Azure Sky, she had seized the first rank, just as Qiushan Jun had. These three people who had caused the Proclamation of Azure Sky to undergo impromptu revisions had shocked the entire continent.

What Chen Changsheng had accomplished was even more inconceivable.

He had never entered the Proclamation of Azure Sky, nor did he need to enter it this year. He had already reached Ethereal Opening, so if he had to enter a ranking, he could only enter the Proclamation of Golden Distinction, the same list on which Qiushan Jun and Gou Hans.h.i.+ were currently ranked.

To put it another way, his cultivation had directly leaped over the Proclamation of Azure Sky.

A normal person that did not know how to cultivate began to cultivate. Never once having entered the Proclamation of Azure Sky, the moment he appeared before the eyes of the people, he entered the Proclamation of Golden Distinction. Had the world ever seen such a person before?

People both inside and outside the Li Palace thought in shock, engaging in endless discussion.

One person vaguely remembered that many years ago, w.a.n.g Zhice had apparently done something similar.

As Chen Changsheng and the others walked out of the Li Palace, the crowd surged forward like a tide.

A powerful Qi emerged from nowhere and barred those people outside.

Jin Yulu held the reins of a carriage and expressionlessly watched the crowd yell out Chen Changsheng's name. His stance was crystal-clear: anyone who got any closer would die.

The Li Palace in the glow of sunset had become abnormally rowdy because of Chen Changsheng's presence. Jin Yulu's mighty name could intimidate the populace into not getting any closer, but it could not block their gazes and voices.

Several thousand shocked, curious, and probing gazes combined together were even more scorching than the sun. Chen Changsheng felt like even his clothes were on fire, his cheeks p.r.i.c.kling with pain.

"First Rank Chen! First Rank Chen!"

"I invite First Rank Chen to stop and rest at my tea house for a few moments."

"First Rank Chen, at this fine occasion, you must drink some wine. My master offers you wine from Huang Province!"

"Young Master Tang, you haven't visited my daughter for a long time. It's such a fine night; how can you fritter it away…"

Countless voices rose from the crowd and entered the ears of the three youths from the Orthodox Academy. As the crowd grew more and more lively, some people even disregarded Jin Yulu's frosty gaze and scooted closer, while some bold girls extended hands towards Chen Changsheng. All was chaos.

Chen Changsheng's taking first rank of the first banner was naturally not something that would be well-received, and many of these people had even lost money because of him. However, these emotions had long since been replaced by the shock at witnessing a miracle. Moreover, after warring with the demons for a thousand years, the human world had always acknowledged the strong, pursued the talented, so the common people that had come to see the Grand Examination could not possibly miss out on this opportunity.

Fortunately, the Li Palace priests and especially the officers from the Department for Purging Officials in charge of public order hurried over. Lord Zhou Tong's fearsome reputation was finally able to pacify the crowd.

Chen Changsheng walked up to the carriage. Together with Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po, he bowed to Jin Yulu.

Jin Yulu lightly stroked his beard, giving a silent and deeply satisfied smile.

With a light flick of the reins, the carriage started. The surrounding crowd voluntarily gave way. Just as it had come in like a tide, it now went out, forming a path and symbolizing a sort of att.i.tude.

Of course, the enthusiastic cries from the crowd had never stopped.

Chen Changsheng sat in the back of the carriage. He raised up the curtain of the back window and looked at where they had come from. He saw the Hall of Pure Virtue at the end of the Divine Avenue, basking in the last glimmer of twilight atop the stone steps, seemingly ablaze. A figure could vaguely be made out on the balcony of the upper floor. He guessed that this was probably Luoluo and smiled. And then he saw the archbishop standing under an old tree at the side of the avenue, his body stooped and his old age evident. No one approached him, making him seem very lonely. As a result, Chen Changsheng's lips which had just perked up loosened, his smile gradually fading.

The wheels rolled across the flagstones, but the surrounding noise never once decreased in volume. The people of the capital seemed intent on sending off the carriage until it returned to the Orthodox Academy, and so the people in the carriage naturally did not dare to lift up the curtains and look out again.

"Hey…what was up with that person's daughter?" Chen Changsheng asked Tang Thirty-Six.

Tang Thirty-Six was somewhat incensed and roared back, "Who knows what's up with that!"

Seeing his att.i.tude, Chen Changsheng naturally would not continue asking. Thinking of the crowd outside the Li Palace, he sighed, "Only today do I understand how Zhou Dufu's little brother could be looked to death…the power of all these people staring gathered together is even more frightening than Gou Hans.h.i.+'s Secret Sword of the Golden Crow."

Tang Thirty-Six teased, "You should consider yourself lucky. If this were a few years ago, the moment you exited the Li Palace, you probably would have been abducted by some n.o.ble of the capital, and we could follow behind and gain a few advantages for ourselves."

Chen Changsheng was puzzled. "Why is that?"

Tang Thirty-Six explained, "The Grand Examination's first rank of the first banner naturally makes for the ideal son-in-law. How could those n.o.bles miss out on such an opportunity? How could those impa.s.sioned girls possibly let you go?"

Chen Changsheng comprehended what he meant. He thought of those slender jade hands filled with adoration and longing stealthily reaching out towards Tang Thirty-Six from the crowd and smiled. "If they were to s.n.a.t.c.h away someone, it's probably you."

Tang Thirty-Six angrily replied, "I really don't like chatting with you."

Chen Changsheng asked, "You said that it would be the case several years ago, so why is this year different?"

Tang Thirty-Six stared into his eyes and sullenly said, "Do you really not understand or are you just pretending? You have an engagement with Xu Yourong, and who would dare steal from her?"

Xu s.h.i.+ji emerged from the Li Palace and returned to the Divine General of the East's estate. The expression on his face remained unchanging as if frozen by the icy winds of early spring, making it impossible for others to tell his true mood.

He basked in the warm winds of the garden pavilion for a few moments, and his mood, just like his body, somewhat relaxed. But when he thought of the words in the side hall of the Li Palace from those ministers and bishops, his complexion turned even icier.

The rankings had already been decided for the Grand Examination, but the formal release would not be until the day after tomorrow, so the ministers of the Imperial Court and great personages of the Orthodoxy did not need to present themselves. Instead, they had sipped tea and chatted in the side hall. After the matches concluded, he had also sat there for a while, but had been unexpectedly met with no less than ten calls of congratulations.

Congratulations, congratulations…congratulations for what? It was naturally for Chen Changsheng taking first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination. How could the Divine General of the East's estate not be happy to obtain such a fine son-in-law?

Of course, Xu s.h.i.+ji was not happy, and those congratulations were clearly jeers, so how could he possibly have a good complexion?

He sat in the chair, closed his eyes, and did not say anything for a very long time.

It was already night and the candles in the pavilion lightly flickered. Suddenly, a drizzle fell over the courtyard. The rain of early spring was often colder and more desolate than the snow of winter, yet his expression actually grew warmer.

This rain had reminded him of the rain in the Hall of Was.h.i.+ng Away Dust. He looked to his wife and said, "On the day the rankings are released, prepare a banquet. It doesn't haven't to be too rich; something homely is fine."

Madam Xu vaguely understood his intentions and was so startled that she couldn't reply.

A homely dinner was naturally a family dinner.