Chapter 57

Yang Cai looked worried, his brows furrowed, and there was no smile on his face. He stepped forward and carefully read through the article written by Ye Qing, then sighed, "An article like this would be enough to pass the provincial examination. I feel sorry for it."

"But the court has its rules, what can we do?" At this point, Yang Cai regretfully shook his head.

For grassroots officials, the amount of luck required is minimal, and the state can afford it. As long as one has genuine talent and learning, they can turn a loss into a win. Therefore, during the county examination, the requirement for luck was not very high.

However, the provincial examination is different. Once one enters the officialdom as a provincial candidate, they start at the ninth rank and can eventually reach the fifth rank. These are the pillars of the state, and without sufficient luck, they are not qualified for these positions. The state must bear the full responsibility for this.

Each rule in the examination hall has a bloody and painful lesson behind it.

Therefore, Yang Cai sighed, "With such luck, he cannot qualify for the provincial examination. But the boy is still young, I heard he is only sixteen. He can try again next time!"

As he spoke, he was about to place Ye Qing's examination paper in the pile of rejected papers.

Fan Shan and Lan Chongwen both showed a change in expression, wanting to stop him, but they held back at the last moment.

In reality, Ye Qing's situation could either be rejected or accepted with a low score. However, as one of the examiners, Yang Cai insisted on following the rules, making it difficult to directly refuse him.

After all, Ye Qing's luck was indeed very poor, and he did not qualify for the provincial examination. The five examiners all felt sorry for him but did not intervene.

Yang Cai was handling the matter according to the rules, though he was somewhat too strict.

The real person did not interfere; he only supervised whether the rules were followed. The degree of leniency was left to the examiners to decide. Just as the paper was about to be placed in the rejected pile, a flash of green light caught his attention, and he suddenly said, "Wait!"

All the examiners were taken aback, and Fan Shan frowned. Although the real person had the right to supervise, he did not have the right to interfere. Speaking up at this moment was very inappropriate.

Although Fan Shan also felt it was a pity to reject Ye Qing, he wanted to maintain the authority of the examiners. He bowed and said, "Real person, what are your instructions?"

The real person saw through their thoughts and coldly laughed, "Don't worry, I am also following the rules."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and Ye Qing's examination paper was in his hand. The real person's eyes turned golden, and a thread of golden light followed a green light onto the paper.

In just a moment, a curse was revealed. Golden chains appeared on the paper.

The real person's face was now full of coldness. He held the paper tightly and scanned it, then looked into the distance, "What audacity, what audacity! Who dares to interfere with the imperial examination? If it weren't for the leak of green light, I wouldn't have noticed!"

Throughout the generations, although the essence of the imperial examination was absorbed by the Daoist court and the government, those with thick luck and immortal roots were still absorbed by many immortal sects.

Even though the immortal sects were suppressed, their hidden power could not be underestimated.

The imperial examination, to some extent, was also a lifeline for the immortal sects to select disciples. How could they allow others to interfere? The real person was furious.

He stretched out his hand and grabbed the chain, which instantly turned into a golden snake that bit him. However, a layer of golden light emitted sparks, and the snake could not penetrate.

In the next moment, a thunderclap sounded, and a ball of lightning emerged from his hand, shattering the golden snake chain.

As the chain shattered, the suppressed luck was immediately restored. The luck on Ye Qing's paper rapidly expanded, first turning red, then yellow, and finally green, merging with the literary aura. It quickly rose from outside the top thirty to within the top twenty, and then to the top ten, finally stopping at seventh place.

However, at this moment, the real person was not paying attention to these details. He took large steps forward, and within a few steps, clouds gathered in the hall, and the wind howled around him, faintly echoing, "Great wind! Great wind!"

All the officials were stunned, seeing the ball of lightning rapidly forming in the real person's hand.

The Daoist thunder technique, connecting to the heavenly authority and punishing evil, upholding righteousness, and cleansing all impurities, was known to all officials, but seeing it in person made them break out in cold sweat.

Originally, the officials considered themselves the orthodox of the Daoist sect, and although they had not cultivated much Daoist magic, they were not afraid of Daoist priests. However, feeling this power, they all became solemn.

The real person did not pay attention to them. Sensing the location in the distance, he shouted, "Decree!"

The lightning shot into the void and disappeared instantly.

The lightning, entering the void, devoured the power in space and rapidly grew stronger. In a blink, it crossed several miles and descended into the world through a hidden connection.

Yu Family Garden

Yu Pingzhi, dressed in blue, was sitting quietly in a pavilion, regulating his breathing. After a period of recuperation, the backlash was gradually under control.

Yu Fan was delighted and said, "Uncle, you look much better, that's great news."

Yu Pingzhi also showed a hint of joy, his face calm as he said, "I have read the Daoist scriptures extensively. Although my learning is not deep, it is orthodox. After years of exploration in various Daoist techniques, including the five qi, elixirs, and dispelling yin, I have developed a technique called 'Hibernating Dragon.'"

As he spoke, Yu Pingzhi stood up and paced, gazing at the forest, "This technique can borrow the essence of heaven and earth to refine the body... If I had realized it earlier, I could have resolved the backlash."

Just as he was speaking, he suddenly straightened up, his face changing. He pushed with his hand, but before he could react, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking in front of him.

A crackling sound was heard, and a jade figurine, now covered in cracks, shattered in the lightning.

Yu Pingzhi stared blankly, coughing, and blood seeped through his fingers. His eyes were filled with despair.

This was the last life-saving doll given by his sect. Once used, there would be no more.

Moreover, even with the doll, the residual lightning still affected him, and he felt the backlash suppressed by the Hibernating Dragon technique worsen.

This time, it was irreparable.

The clouds around the real person gradually dissipated. He coldly laughed, his anger subsiding, and turned to smile, "It's over. You can continue to determine the rankings."

Seeing that everyone was still stunned, he added, "This was an external interference. It's not your fault. Don't worry."

He then threw Ye Qing's examination paper back onto the examiner's table.

The examiners looked at each other. Although Ye Qing's paper was not the best, it was now definitely qualified for the provincial examination.

According to the luck, Ye Qing's paper could be placed at seventh place.

Yang Cai saw this and, seeing the real person close his eyes in deep thought, his heart raced. He bit his lip and said, "There's a problem with this paper. It might not be appropriate to list him. Should we reconsider?"

Upon hearing this, the five examiners all showed a change in expression. Originally, Yang Cai could be seen as handling the matter according to the rules, but now he was showing his true colors.

The real person opened his eyes and slowly said, "You can rest assured. If it passed my inspection, it proves his innocence. Do you think my Daoist cultivation is insufficient to make a clear judgment?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Yang Cai.

Yang Cai was instantly terrified. The gaze was tangible, piercing and painful. The strange looks from his colleagues were like a bucket of cold water, making him realize he had acted too hastily and exposed himself. He trembled and immediately said, "I was confused. How dare I doubt the real person's judgment? I think Ye Qing is very suitable for seventh place."

Fan Shan remained silent, giving Yang Cai a stern look before saying, "Let's continue with the rankings."

The six examiners did not make any further comments and finally ranked the top thirty. Yu Fan was first, Ye Qing was seventh, and Zhang Min's literary talent was third, but his luck was low, and he was from a humble background, so he was ranked twenty-third, a low but acceptable score.

Fan Shan reviewed the list again, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Well done. Let's follow this order. Do you have any objections?"

The examiners all nodded, saying to each other, "If that's the case, let's finalize the list."

Fan Shan put down the list and bowed deeply to the real person, saying, "Real person, what do you think? If there are no problems, let's finalize it."

"Sure, this is your responsibility. Let's do it this way," the real person opened his eyes, carefully examined the list, and agreed.

With that, there was no further dispute, and the list was finalized.

Fan Shan took out a golden yellow paper, with ancient and dignified patterns, exuding a sense of solemnity. He focused, picked up a pen, and began to write the names.

These thirty names were all in Fan Shan's memory. His calligraphy was dignified and elegant, round and graceful, filling the names in neatly, arranged in three rows of ten each.

Finally, he wrote the date: February 11, Dali Pingjing Year 12, Nan Cang Prefecture Scholar List!

After writing, Fan Shan's expression was solemn. He took out a golden seal, gathered his energy, and without ink, stamped it. As before, the paper turned golden, and the seal left a golden imprint.

At this moment, a clerk sent by the governor silently took out a golden seal and stamped it, turning the paper golden again, leaving another golden imprint.

Finally, the real person took out a seal and stamped it. With the three seals complete, the thirty names on the paper glowed golden!

This meant that the twenty names had been recognized, achieving the status of scholars.

However, although they were all scholars, there was a slight difference. The ten names in the first row, including Ye Qing, had a bright red aura, and Yu Fan, as the top scorer, had an additional three points.

The ten names in the middle row also had a bright red aura.

The ten names in the last row were less bright but still red, recognized by the state as scholars.

With the major decision made, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling exhausted.

At this moment, the hall doors opened, and twenty clerks rushed in, busily organizing the examination papers, which were valuable records that could not be mishandled.

However, this was no longer the concern of the six examiners. Fan Shan smiled, "This task has probably cost me half a year of my life. Finally, we can rest. Real person, would you like to join us for a feast?"

The real person smiled, "With this matter resolved, I will leave."

As he spoke, he turned and left. Fan Shan watched his figure disappear, stretched, and slowly stood up, saying, "Tomorrow morning, the results will be announced. Do not delay."

The clerks on both sides immediately responded, "We dare not, we dare not. As soon as tomorrow comes, we will announce the results to all counties and villages, following the usual procedures."

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