Chapter 35

Since the day he was found by his master by the stream, the most common phrase Chen Changsheng had heard was: "Your fate is not good." This was especially true after the night he turned ten, when his body emitted an unusual fragrance, and these five characters seemed to become a note that remained in his heart.

If one wanted to change a bad fate, there were only two methods. One was to cultivate to the realm of divine concealment, where one would naturally be outside the cycle of fate. However, the realm of divine concealment only existed in legends, and even whether the once invincible tyrant had entered this realm was a question.

The second method was to defy heaven and change one's fate. According to rumors and what his master had told him, since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there had only been three successful cases of defying heaven and changing one's fate. Those three individuals possessed extraordinary talent and the power of the world. He was just an ordinary person; how could he achieve that?

Regardless of whether it was possible, it was something he had to do. Therefore, he had to participate in the imperial examination, and he must secure the top position. Only then would he have the opportunity to enter the Lingyan Pavilion, a place strictly off-limits to everyone, to see the people depicted in the portraits and what they had left behind.

The Lingyan Pavilion housed the portraits of twenty-four meritorious officials from the reign of Emperor Taizong. Over time, other notable ministers were also depicted there after their deaths. The most important were the original twenty-four portraits, which might contain evidence and clues of the second successful case of defying heaven and changing one's fate in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Chen Changsheng woke from his deep thoughts, his gaze returning from somewhere in the palace, and he turned to look at the little girl sitting on the floor.

He liked this child, but he could not take her as a student. The girl lived in the Hundred Herbs Garden and had been targeted by the demon race the night before, indicating that she was of no ordinary background. The most likely scenario was that she was a descendant of the royal family, sent to the outer counties by Empress Dowager and secretly brought back. He could not afford to provoke such a person.

Moreover, he did not want to mislead her.

"I'm going to wash up and rest for a while. You should go home first and not follow me," Chen Changsheng said, deliberately making his tone and expression colder. Without waiting for the girl to refuse, he left the library.

He hoped she would know when to back off. When he returned to the library at night and saw that the girl was not there, he finally relaxed and continued to draw starlight to cleanse his marrow. He meditated until dawn, another night passing.

The starlight had all entered his body, but he still did not realize this. He only knew that his skin and hair had not changed, and the cleansing of his marrow had made no progress. However, he had already gotten used to this. When he opened his eyes, he felt a sense of emptiness and unfamiliarity in his right arm.

He remained silent for a moment, then left the library and returned to the small building to take a bath.

Steam rose from the hot water in the wooden tub, slowly ascending along the green vines on the wall, then breaking into countless wisps of smoke. He soaked in the hot water, leaning against the side of the tub, eyes closed, feeling somewhat tired. The campus was so quiet in the early morning, and he felt that something was missing.

Just like when he opened his eyes earlier and noticed something was missing from his right arm.

Without the clear, pleasant voice, without anyone clinging to his arm.

In just a few days, he had grown accustomed to the presence of the little girl. Thinking about this, he felt somewhat embarrassed, his face flushing, realizing that no matter how much he pursued the Way and sought inner peace, he could not completely rid himself of vanity and other emotions.

He placed a wet towel over his face, not wanting the morning light to see his slightly flushed cheeks.

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed from the side of the wooden tub, and dust and debris flew as bricks and stones crumbled.

Chen Changsheng removed the towel, shocked, and saw a large hole in the wall through the dust.

As the dust settled, Luo Luo walked through the large hole in the wall.

She turned and saw Chen Changsheng in the tub, looking particularly pleased. "I didn't miscalculate the location; it's here!"

This was not said to Chen Changsheng but to the people behind her, who were holding masons' tools.

For a moment, the quiet area behind the small building, beneath the old wall, was filled with the sounds of construction.

None of the busy people looked at the tub, as if they couldn't see the young man inside.

Watching this bustling construction scene, Chen Changsheng felt the water in the tub rapidly cooling, and his body growing cold. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak, his mouth slightly open, finding the scene absurd, and even more absurd was his presence in it.

Before long, a new wooden door appeared in the wall.

The people retreated to the Hundred Herbs Garden like a tide, and the door closed, leaving the National Teaching Academy as quiet as before.

Well, there was now a door and a person.

"This way, it will be much more convenient to come over every day, no need for a carriage," Luo Luo said, hands on her hips, looking at the door with satisfaction.

Silence, no one responded.

She turned and saw Chen Changsheng, who looked like a frozen quail, hands gripping the sides of the tub, looking quite amusing.

Luo Luo said seriously, "Master, please continue, don't mind me."

Suddenly, Chen Changsheng's expression became extremely serious, his eyes filled with infinite fear.

He looked at the clear blue sky behind her, his voice trembling, "Dragon?!"

Luo Luo was startled and turned to look, but saw only a clear blue sky, no dragon.

At that moment, a splash of water came from behind her.

She turned and saw Chen Changsheng quickly putting on his clothes, flipping out of the tub, and running towards the forest, splashing water as he went, looking extremely狼狈, like a drenched dog, more like a stray dog.

Seeing this scene, Luo Luo couldn't help but laugh, waving at his back, "Master, you will come back."

Chen Changsheng's figure disappeared into the edge of the forest.

Luo Luo's smile gradually faded, looking somewhat sad, and she sighed softly, "Master, why won't you take me as a student?"

...

...

Chen Changsheng was drenched, his black hair disheveled, and he didn't even have shoes on his feet. He felt extremely狼狈 and didn't dare return to the National Teaching Academy to change clothes. In the entire capital, he couldn't find a place to go, as he was too embarrassed to face anyone and couldn't find anyone to help.

Although the inn outside the Heavenly Book Mausoleum was still there, it was too far to walk from the north of the city. He didn't want to be arrested by the city patrol soldiers for being improperly dressed and disrupting the view of the imperial city. In the end, he had no choice but to go to the Heavenly Dao Academy, which was relatively closer.

He successfully attracted the attention and ridicule of the Heavenly Dao Academy students. He could only pretend not to see or hear them until he finally found Tang Sanshi's residence and kicked the door open without hesitation, his expression solemn, "Lend me a clean set of clothes, I owe you a favor."

Tang Sanshi, seeing his appearance, was first stunned, then burst into laughter. The time gap between his reaction and the laughter made him seem somewhat slow, but the laughter was still grating to Chen Changsheng.

"Rare visitor... truly a rare visitor... what happened to you?"

"Although I never like to wear others' clothes, I have no choice now, so please be quick."

Chen Changsheng's tone was very serious.

Tang Sanshi could sense that if he was any slower, this guy might really get angry. He forced back his laughter, got up, and found a clean set of clothes, throwing two towels over, "Dry your hair and feet, don't worry, they're new towels."

"Thank you."

Chen Changsheng quickly tidied himself up, then let out a long breath, looking around. He realized that this guy, who was ranked thirty-sixth on the Green Cloud List, indeed had his own small building at the Heavenly Dao Academy. However, seeing the scattered paper balls, leftover food, and clutter on the tables, chairs, and bed, he found that the large building had no place for him to sit.

"Sit down," Tang Sanshi didn't seem to notice his discomfort.

"Where should I sit?" Chen Changsheng asked seriously.

Tang Sanshi remembered this guy's quirks and got up, saying, "Let's go eat."

Walking along the path of the Heavenly Dao Academy, Chen Changsheng again attracted many gazes, but this time it was not because of his狼狈 appearance, but because he was walking side by side with Tang Sanshi. The students of the Heavenly Dao Academy were very surprised, wondering who this young man was, to be able to chat and laugh with the proud and cold Tang Sanshi.

Sitting in a very elegant restaurant outside the Heavenly Dao Academy, Tang Sanshi suddenly remembered something, frowned, and looked at him seriously, "I went to the inn once and saw the note you left... did you really enter the National Teaching Academy?"

Chen Changsheng nodded, "What have you been doing these days?"

Actually, he wanted to ask Tang Sanshi why he knew he had entered the National Teaching Academy but didn't come to find him. After all, he only had one acquaintance in the capital, and although he believed that enduring loneliness could lead to success, it would be nice not to be lonely.

But with his personality, it was hard to ask directly.

Hearing him admit to entering the National Teaching Academy, Tang Sanshi's expression became somewhat serious, but he changed the subject, thinking that this guy didn't want to talk about his troubles. He replied, "The Green Vine Banquet is coming up. Although I'm not afraid of anyone, I still need to prepare."

Chen Changsheng wondered what the Green Vine Banquet was.

Tang Sanshi continued, "Speaking of which, how did you end up like this? During the imperial examination, I only aimed for the top three, and I was exhausted every day. Your goal is to be the top, yet you still have the mood to play water fights? Or... did something happen?"

"At the National Teaching Academy... I really can't stay there."

Chen Changsheng thought about the past few days, how he could see the little girl whether he was reading, bathing, or sleeping, and felt somewhat dejected, a rare emotion for him.

Tang Sanshi thought he was suffering from the endless coldness and contempt at the National Teaching Academy and felt some sympathy, patting his shoulder, "If it's really unbearable, just leave. I... can write a letter and send you to Wenshui."

Chen Changsheng sighed.

Seeing his worried expression, Tang Sanshi felt somewhat displeased, thinking that he had been so calm and composed when rejected by the Heavenly Dao Academy and the Star Plucking Academy, and he wouldn't have valued him if he hadn't been. Why was he like this now? Was the National Teaching Academy really cursed?

"Have some wine, sleep for a while, and you'll feel better."

He asked the owner to bring two bottles of strong wine and pushed one to Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng looked at the wine bottle, somewhat curious, then honestly said, "I've never drunk before."

Tang Sanshi broke the seal for him, "Once you drink today, you've drunk."

Chen Changsheng had something on his mind, and Tang Sanshi also had something on his mind. To be honest, the two young men weren't very familiar with each other and didn't know much about each other, so they had nothing to talk about. They could only sit silently and drink, which is what is called drinking in silence.

Drinking in silence is the easiest way to get drunk, especially for someone like Chen Changsheng, who was new to drinking.

Of course, Tang Sanshi's tolerance wasn't much better.

"Someone like me, a genius, doesn't have time to attend the Green Vine Banquet, but those idiotic capital students actually dare to doubt my strength..."

Tang Sanshi looked at the students in the Heavenly Dao Academy uniforms outside the railing and said with a cold laugh, "This time, I'm going to show them!"

Chen Changsheng held the wine bowl with both hands, eyes half-closed, clearly drunk, and slurred, "What is the Green Vine Banquet...? ...What good food...? ...Is there wine?"

...

...

The capital has the Heavenly Dao Academy, the Star Plucking Academy, the Ancestral Shrine... and five other colleges with the longest history and the highest respect.

The vicissitudes of history are all reflected in the green vines on the gates of these six colleges, so they are called the Six Green Vine Colleges. Only students from the Six Green Vine Colleges can skip the preliminary exams and directly participate in the imperial examination, which shows the status of these six colleges.

The preliminary exams for the imperial examination are usually held in summer. The Six Green Vine Colleges don't need to participate in the preliminary exams, but they don't want their students to miss the opportunity to hone themselves. Therefore, after the preliminary exam results are announced, the six colleges invite the students who passed the preliminary exams to join their own students for a grand banquet.

This banquet, with the participation of students from the Six Green Vine Colleges, is much more intense than the preliminary exams. History has proven that the rankings from this banquet are very close to the final rankings of the imperial examination, so it is gradually seen as a barometer of the imperial examination.

Of course, these rankings definitely do not include the scholars still in the south and the cultivation geniuses who don't easily show their strength.

This banquet is the Green Vine Banquet.

With Tang Sanshi's personality, he wouldn't bother with the Green Vine Banquet, but his relationship with the deputy head of the Heavenly Dao Academy was recently exposed, causing him to endure some gossip. Some young strongmen from the Six Green Vine Colleges, who were also on the Green Cloud List, showed disdain, so he decided to attend.

For this, he had been in seclusion at the Heavenly Dao Academy, and even knowing that Chen Changsheng had gone to the National Teaching Academy, he didn't have time to visit.

Chen Changsheng put down the wine bowl, covered his mouth, and belched, apologizing somewhat embarrassedly, then said, "I wish you success."

Since the Green Vine Banquet was a competition among so-called geniuses, it had nothing to do with him.

He thought this but forgot that the National Teaching Academy, where he was now studying, was also one of the Six Green Vine Colleges.

Of course, the whole world seemed to have forgotten this.