Chapter 94

In the presence of the young scholars and candidates, the young scholar from Yuhai City was speechless. Yuhai City was a military and holy academy stronghold, and news spread very quickly. They were already aware of what Fang Yun had said.

Even without mentioning his contributions, the mere courage of Fang Yun was enough to make them feel ashamed. No one present could do what Fang Yun had done.

Xingdian's Juren Pang, who had been following Fang Yun from a distance, nodded slightly. He knew that Fang Yun had not mentioned his true great achievements. Although he did not know what great achievements Fang Yun had made, he could guess that it was a significant matter concerning the human race's fortune. Otherwise, Li Wenying would not have rushed to the Holy Academy to meet a semi-sage and then issued a gag order.

Even if Fang Yun was very angry, he did not mention the contributions of the strong soldier poem "Capturing the King" and the candidate battle poem "Arrow in the Stone." Apart from those who had witnessed it, only fewer than four people in the world knew that he had written these two poems. At least a month would pass before the poems would be announced to the world under someone else's name, allowing people to learn them at various holy temples.

Fang Yun continued, "If you had advised me kindly, I would have swallowed my pride and sought help from Lord Li to escort me to Dayuan Prefecture for the examination, and then return to Yuhai after climbing the Book Mountain. But why didn't you give me a chance to speak? Why did you defame me from the start?"

No one could refute him, and many even realized that they had been too eager to climb the Book Mountain, being used as pawns by Tong Li and others.

"If I were truly here for a spot on the Book Mountain, you could insult me all you want, and I wouldn't say a word! But I am here because of my contributions in killing demons, and I have been forced here by the demon race. Even if you, as humans, do not help me, I wouldn't say anything, even if you just watched from the sidelines. But why do you have to kick me when I'm down? You only see that my foundation is not deep, that I am neither from a powerful family nor the son of a high official, and that I have literary fame but no power, making me easy to bully! If it were the son of a prefect, would any of you dare to stand in his way?"

Many felt ashamed.

Fang Yun said, "You can doubt me, Fang Yun, but ask yourselves, would Lord Li Wenying act out of personal interest for me? If it weren't for the fact that Fengcheng Jue, one of the four great talents and a leader of the reverse breed literati, wanted to kill me, would Lord Li have to send me to Yuhai City for protection?"

Everyone was moved. Fengcheng Jue was notorious, and countless people hated him. Those who had initially disliked Fang Yun immediately changed their attitude.

A young scholar bowed to Fang Yun, "Brother Fang, you are right. In the conflict between humans and demons, even feuding families can unite. It is excessive for us to fuss over such trivial matters. We should condemn the demons who kill, not the victims being pursued by demons. I will work hard to clarify this matter for my classmates and restore your reputation. I feel ashamed and will not participate in this year's prefectural examination. Goodbye."

"Ah, you're right. A genius that even demons can't destroy, if we humans destroy him ourselves, how will we face others in the future! I apologize!"

"Driven by selfishness, I have wronged Brother Fang, please forgive me!"

Most people dispersed, but a few refused to leave. The young scholar who had initially insulted Fang Yun was both ashamed and angry but did not dare to act out. He waved his sleeve and left with others.

The clerk sighed softly, "Fang Yun, you know I am one of Lord Li's people. You must endure. Tong Li, relying on his prominent family, acts lawlessly in Yuhai City. They are probably trying to deliberately provoke you to force you to leave Yuhai City."

Fang Yun replied, "How could I not know? They believe that the position of a candidate and the spot on the Book Mountain belong to them! If a powerful family from the capital suddenly came to Yuhai City to climb the Book Mountain, would they dare to obstruct them? I have only had literary fame for less than three months, and I am from a humble background, so they think I am overstepping! If I bow down, they will think it is all justified and will not stop until they force me out of Yuhai City."

The clerk was silent for a moment, "You are right. Those who are respected or kind will be happy to see a great talent emerge for the human race. But those with evil intentions, those who think you are blocking their path to sainthood, will naturally hate you. Yesterday, I heard a Juren mock those people, saying that even without you, Fang Yun, those who hate you would never reach the path of sainthood."

Fang Yun took a deep breath, his gaze firm, "I hope they know when to stop. If they push me too far, don't blame me! I dare to kill demons, how could I fear a few mad dogs!"

The clerk was startled, thinking how fierce he was. Only those who had fought demon generals had such a presence. Could it be that Fang Yun had also fought demon generals?

Fang Yun felt a surge of heroism in his heart, which he had never felt before, making him think of Li Wenying's sword cutting through the prefectural governor of Dayuan and the slaughter of tens of thousands of demons on the Yangtze River.

The literary spirit in the Literary Palace faintly glowed.

The clerk said, "Indeed, most sages' paths are forged through killing. Killing demon savages, enemies, and foes. Let's go."

Fang Yun followed the clerk to complete his enrollment and then registered for the prefectural examination on the first day of the sixth month. However, due to the large number of people registering, he only finished by noon.

Fang Yun's hometown, Jiyuan County, had a population of 90,000, and fifty young scholars were admitted each year. Yuhai Prefecture, with one main city and nine counties, had a population of over three million, and nearly two thousand young scholars were admitted each year.

Every year, tens of thousands of young scholars came to Yuhai City to take the candidate examination, but only fifty were admitted each year. Even with the increased quota of one hundred due to the five movements of the Literary Star, the competition was still extremely fierce, with only three or four out of a hundred being admitted.

Fang Yun glanced at the people behind him, who had brought dry rations to queue, and left the Literary Academy to return home.

Fang Yun's current status was extraordinary. Many wealthy merchants, prominent families, and officials in Yuhai City sent him invitations and letters of respect, but he rejected them all and focused on reading at home.

As before, he still slept only two hours a day.

After the thunderous holy sound, the five movements of the Literary Star, and three descents of talent, Fang Yun was stronger than an ordinary candidate, both in the Literary Palace and physically, and was not weaker than an ordinary Juren, as ordinary Juren had only experienced three descents of talent.

With the nourishment of the Dragon Palace blood ginseng, he remained energetic even with only two hours of sleep each day.

Fang Yun did not attend the Literary Academy, but he wrote an essay on the classics every morning, noon, and evening, which he submitted to his neighbor, Juren Pang, for evaluation.

On the fifth day of the fifth month, Fang Yun, holding Li Wenying's invitation, went to the Yudai River to watch the dragon boat race with Yang Yuhuan and Nunu. They were accompanied by Juren Pang's family and another neighbor, Lai Pianjiang's family.

They chatted and laughed as they walked, arriving at the Yudai River by eight in the morning.

Fang Yun looked out and saw the clear Yudai River running through the city, dividing the main city from the northern auxiliary city. The Yudai River, though not grandly named, was very wide, with its widest point being two hundred zhang, and even a small sandbank in the middle.

On both banks were rows of lush willow trees, with their branches hanging down, creating a pleasant scene.

The streets were bustling with people, including literati, children, beautiful young women, and graceful matrons, all smiling and enjoying the festive atmosphere.

The sounds of selling zongzi, sachets, mugwort, and calamus were continuous, and there were also street performers, making it incredibly lively.

Nunu was very excited, looking around curiously at everything.

Fang Yun looked at the sandbank in the river, which was already crowded with people and some dragon boats.

Lai Pianjiang explained, "That sandbank is the starting point for the dragon boat race each year, and the finish line is the famous Jinghai Tower. The owner of the tower is related to Sage Chen. Before Sage Chen became a sage, he inscribed words in the tower, and Jinghai Tower was named by Sage Chen. Therefore, it has grown larger, with a tower on each side of the Yudai River, making it the first-class restaurant in Yuhai City. Outside the Jinghai Tower is a dragon head bridge, with a dragon head and a silk banner hanging from its mouth. The first person to reach there and pick up the banner wins. You can see it if you look closely."

Fang Yun nodded and took out Li Wenying's invitation, "What is this place? Could you please lead me there, Lai Pianjiang?"

Lai Pianjiang looked at it and smiled, "You are indeed a candidate before the sage. The Jinghai Tower is the finish line, and the Yuhai Tower, where this invitation is for, is directly opposite the sandbank, the starting point of the dragon boat race each year. Not many people get invited. Let's go, I'll accompany you."

The three families went to the Yuhai Tower, and Fang Yun, fearing that Yang Yuhuan would get lost, held her hand.

This gesture, though not considered out of line in this era, was not entirely proper. Yang Yuhuan blushed and struggled a bit but eventually let Fang Yun hold her hand as they walked forward.

Under Lai Pianjiang's lead, they arrived at the entrance of the Yuhai Tower, where they saw many large men standing guard.

Fang Yun and the others could tell that these men were young scholars and clearly from the military, all skilled in close combat and capable of fighting demon soldiers.

Lai Pianjiang whispered, "This year's dragon boat race is a bit unusual. It's usually not so heavily guarded. A big figure must be here, but I don't know if it's from our Jing country or the neighboring Qing country."

Fang Yun walked to the entrance and handed the invitation to a guard. The guard, seeing that Fang Yun had brought so many people, said, "You can enter, but please don't let the others go upstairs."

Lai Pianjiang immediately smiled, "I serve in the military and understand these rules."

The guard nodded and let them in.

After a few steps, away from the guard, Lai Pianjiang whispered to Fang Yun, "It's a Beijing accent."

Fang Yun understood, Lai Pianjiang was suggesting that there might be a big figure from the capital here.

The Yuhai Tower was very spacious. On the first floor, many people were chatting and listening to music, and the door at the back was open, leading to a garden. Beyond the garden was the Yudai River. Fang Yun saw the green willow branches, and through them, the sandbank in the Yudai River, which Lai Pianjiang had mentioned.

Lai Pianjiang said, "You go upstairs, where you can see clearly. We'll stay downstairs."

Fang Yun looked at Juren Pang, who nodded slightly. Fang Yun felt reassured and, holding Yang Yuhuan's hand, went upstairs.

On the way, many people secretly looked at Yang Yuhuan, whether they were elegant young men or romantic literati, even the singing girls playing music were distracted by her beauty.

---

The Yuhai Tower was extremely spacious. On the first floor, many people were chatting and listening to music, and the door at the back was open, leading to a garden. Beyond the garden was the Yudai River. Fang Yun saw the green willow branches, and through them, the sandbank in the Yudai River, which Lai Pianjiang had mentioned.

Lai Pianjiang said, "You go upstairs, where you can see clearly. We'll stay downstairs."

Fang Yun looked at Juren Pang, who nodded slightly. Fang Yun felt reassured and, holding Yang Yuhuan's hand, went upstairs.

On the way, many people secretly looked at Yang Yuhuan, whether they were elegant young men or romantic literati, even the singing girls playing music were distracted by her beauty.