Chapter 44

"Yinxing must follow your heart. The Wenfu you encountered in the illusion is rare, but don't force yourself to pursue it. What belongs to you will always belong to you. Even if you miss it this time, it will still become yours in the future. So, it's best to let things take their natural course."

The words of the Wenzhangyuan seemed to have a deeper meaning. "Jia" and "Gu" Wenfu rarely appear in the re-examination. If ordinary people see them, they must seize them. Now, it all depends on whether Yue Heng has this opportunity.

"Thank you for your guidance, Wenzhangyuan. I understand," Yue Heng respectfully thanked him.

The Wenzhangyuan said no more and moved to Jicong, saying similar words, then moved to the next person, whispering instructions.

Yue Heng looked at Jicong standing beside him, and Jicong was also looking at him. They smiled at each other.

Yue Heng had always had a good impression of Jicong, unlike the hostility from Kuang Qing and Kuang Yun. He felt his success as the top candidate was due to luck, while Jicong had true strength. At this moment, they shared a mutual admiration.

Now, Yinxing was the most important thing. Yue Heng closed his eyes and focused his mind on the divine palace within him.

His divine palace space had grown a bit larger, a natural result of the "Changwu" illusion.

Besides the "Sheng" Wenfu disk flying in a trajectory within the divine palace, Yue Heng noticed two faint, milky white light points floating in the air. He couldn't see the specific characters on them, only sensing their general direction of power.

"One is auxiliary, the other is defensive... It seems Kuang Qing was right; I'm really afraid of death, and I don't have any offensive Wenfu."

Yue Heng smiled, unsure which to choose. He decided to follow the Wenzhangyuan's advice and act according to his heart.

"Great Spirit Fuxi, in the spring of the fourteenth year of King Chuyou of Chu, in Qijun Hong County, we pray for the power of Fuxi's stars to bless the candidates, activate the divine palace, and nurture the Wenfu, to strengthen our human race and enhance the prestige of the literati!"

As the Wenzhangyuan recited the prayer, the great array of Hong County Academy activated, and a red light column shot into the vast sky, directly toward the distant Fuxi star.

Soon, the reflected red light fell on each candidate, penetrating through their foreheads. The candidates had various expressions: some in pain, some in confusion, some in peace, and some in joy.

Yue Heng, standing first, had a worried expression, which surprised the other literati examiners.

Yue Heng's consciousness remained in the divine palace. The sudden red light was like a brilliant sun, hanging outside the divine palace, illuminating the flat area of the divine palace.

"After being illuminated by the red light, the 'Sheng' Wenfu disk spins faster. This must be the light of the Fuxi star. Those two light points should be the 'nurtured Wenfu' mentioned in the literature. Nurturing, it probably won't come out without a period of gestation. The Wenzhangyuan said to follow my heart. These two Wenfu are definitely the most suitable for the light. Should I choose the auxiliary one or the defensive one?"

Yue Heng was hesitant. He carefully recalled the articles he had studied and quickly searched his mind for similar poems, trying to find the most prominent consciousness in his literary heart.

He soon gave up. The things he learned before were mostly useless, and there were too many poems and articles in his memory, making it impossible to know which oracle bone script would resonate with them.

Now, considering these things was useless. He could only take one step at a time and nurture a new Wenfu first!

"Pointing to soldiers and generals, who will be my great soldiers and generals... If this Yinxing can nurture a new Wenfu again, I will be a second-level student, not a first-level child scholar... Good! It's you!"

Yue Heng pointed to the auxiliary light point, trying to use his consciousness to control the entire divine palace to rotate, to fix the auxiliary light point and slowly move it to the place where the red light shines directly.

However, his consciousness could not move the position of the light point at all!

Not only the two nurturing Wenfu, even the "Sheng" Wenfu could not break out of its trajectory.

"What! The Wenfu is on a fixed trajectory and cannot be moved by human will?"

Yue Heng had only used the talent energy of the Wenfu before, never moving its position or changing its trajectory, so he didn't know about this.

He was stunned, realizing he knew too little about the divine palace and Wenfu. If all the Wenfu were not nurtured according to his own ideas, what would happen if dozens of Wenfu collided in the divine palace or flew out of it and lost control?

"Fortunately, the red light of the Fuxi star can be controlled in direction and intensity. Let's try it first!"

Yue Heng put aside his confusion about the divine palace and Wenfu, deciding to ask the Wenzhangyuan after Yinxing. On the path of literati cultivation, he was a complete novice and needed guidance from seniors.

The Yinxing time for the candidates varied. Some had already woken up, their faces full of excitement, as if in a dream.

Many literati examiners watched these child scholars, recalling their own scenes when they became child scholars. After activating the divine palace in their bodies for the first time and seeing the Wenfu that would accompany them for life floating in the divine palace, the excitement was the same as today's candidates.

Cui Shilang's eyes were fixed on Yue Heng, even when the second-place Jicong opened his eyes, he did not shift his gaze.

Not only Cui Shilang, but several chief examiners were also watching Yue Heng.

They had been literati for decades and had their own unique insights into the divine palace, Wenfu, personal cultivation, talent training, and literary heart cultivation. Watching others cultivate could also inspire them, especially someone like Yue Heng, who was full of secrets.

"He is a pre-exam child scholar, and his divine palace is already formed. The power of the Fuxi star has a much greater effect on him than on others. Others have to waste energy expanding the divine palace, while he can use it entirely for nurturing the Wenfu. He might nurture a second Wenfu today..."

"This is not so easy. Nurturing Wenfu is not something that happens just because you want it. I wonder if he understands the concept of splitting consciousness. He has only created one 'Resonant Text,' how easy is that?"

"Does Wenzhangyuan really think he only has one 'Resonant Text'?"

"Is a 'Resonant Text' so easy to create?"

"In the illusion, there was a strong light, wasn't there? Wenzhangyuan, your daughter and Yue Heng are a perfect match. Why not encourage the young people instead of making things difficult for them?"

"Lord Su, you misunderstand. I don't choose a son-in-law so casually. Yue Heng is not my ideal choice..."

"Lord Qi, did you hear that? You must be my witness! Wenzhangyuan doesn't want Yue Heng as a son-in-law, so I, Lord Su, will not be polite. After today, Lord Cui will take him to Qicheng, and tomorrow I will invite him with my niece. My niece is in her prime, understanding, talented, and beautiful..."

"Lord Su! You can't do this. My daughter has already made a 'hand in hand, till death do us part' vow with him!"

"Ha! Wenzhangyuan, you finally admit it! However, everyone will forget about the 'Changwu' incident. Who will remember this vow? Lord Qi, perhaps next year, I will come to Hong County again and send out wedding invitations!"

"..."

In the crowd of examiners, a few people started laughing and arguing.

The Wenzhangyuan was reluctant but couldn't show his face. Lord Su seemed to have a real intention to match his niece with Yue Heng. Lord Qi also joined in, sighing repeatedly, saying that if he had a suitable girl, he would definitely join the competition for Yue Heng, making the Wenzhangyuan's face red and neck swollen.

Everyone laughed and joked, but their eyes never left Yue Heng.

All 139 child scholars had completed Yinxing, each with a joyful expression, whispering to each other. Only Yue Heng, who had the longest Yinxing time, was still enveloped in red light, his eyes tightly closed, blue light flashing frequently on his body, alternating with red.

The examiners pondered. Cui Shilang was secretly amazed: "Most pre-exam child scholars choose to expand the divine palace space, solidify the foundation, and convert the power of the Fuxi star into talent energy. This allows them to use the Wenfu more times compared to other literati of the same level. But Yue Heng seems to be trying to nurture a Wenfu!"

Most of the examiners present had nurtured more than eight Wenfu, such as the fourth-level scholar Cui Shilang with ten Wenfu, and the third-level scholar Lord Qi with seven Wenfu. They were very familiar with the process of nurturing Wenfu. The blue light flashing wildly was a clear sign of a breakthrough.

"This boy is extraordinary. Not only did he break through before the exam, but he is trying to break through again during Yinxing. Is he trying to become a second-level student in one go?"

"He broke through! He actually succeeded!"

"Heaven! At such a young age, he can nurture Wenfu consecutively and choose to break through again during Yinxing. This is extremely rare in the history of literati and will surely break the record of the Ministry of Literature!"

Everyone watched Yue Heng, who was surrounded by a dense blue light, feeling the pressure of the elemental energy. The center of the rotating storm was Yue Heng, and the red light from the Fuxi star was condensed into a bright red beam, piercing his forehead, and finally, with the dispersion of the elemental energy, it exploded, completely replaced by blue light.

Yue Heng opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and a smile appeared on his face. He had activated his second "Spring" Wenfu during Yinxing, which must have been a seed of Wenfu nurtured by the resonance when he wrote Han Yu's "Early Spring" during the spring exam. Today's breakthrough was a natural progression!

He noticed everyone staring at him as if he were a monster, and couldn't help but touch his chin, blink, and put on an innocent, unknowing expression.

The Wenzhangyuan said, "Yinxing is over. First, congratulations to all of you for becoming child scholars and true literati!"

Low cheers continued. These teenagers around eighteen years old had finally crossed the threshold, fighting their way through the masses. Most of them tried to control their emotions, wanting to appear more composed.

The Wenzhangyuan continued, "Secondly, all child scholars must stay at the county academy to consolidate their realm, systematically learn the methods of literati cultivation, and lifelong venerate the spirit of Emperor Fuxi. Register your literary name and change into the child scholar uniform."

The candidates were extremely delighted. This was the day they had been waiting for. Once their literary names were registered, they would no longer have to worry about conscription, becoming part of the Ministry of Literature and embarking on a smooth path of literati advancement.

"Whatever! It's just a civil servant identity. The state provides a salary, arranges work, provides for old age, and medical care, and allocates housing..." Yue Heng was completely unimpressed.

The Wenzhangyuan mentioned a few more points of attention, and then someone led the candidates to register their literary names and move into the county academy.

Yue Heng was about to leave when Cui Shilang called him, "Yue Heng, follow me."

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