Chapter 33: A Grand Spectacle
The Imperial Guard outside the Tian Shu Mausoleum immediately tensed up. Amidst the dense tightening of bowstrings, countless crossbows were aimed at Wang Po's back.
Dust rose in the distance, and the ground trembled slightly. Hoofbeats could not yet be heard, but it was clear that the Black Armored Cavalry was assembling.
Before these events occurred, warning signals had already been sent out, heading toward all parts of the capital.
The response of the State Religion's cavalry was also very swift. Even without receiving any orders from the Li Palace, several hundred riders galloped over and blocked the path before the stone gate of the Tian Shu Mausoleum.
Three years later, the two sides were once again locked in a tense standoff.
Wang Po acted as if he were completely unaware of what was happening outside the stone gate, walking into the already verdant Tian Shu Mausoleum.
Watching his back, a priest from the Li Palace couldn't help but ask, "Sir, where have you been these past few days?"
This was the answer everyone in the capital wanted to know.
Wang Po did not turn around. "I have been here all along," he said.
Hearing Wang Po's reply, the priest, the State Religion cavalry, and even the Imperial Guard further out were all astonished.
No one had expected that Wang Po had been inside the Tian Shu Mausoleum these past few days. Ordinary people could not enter the mausoleum, so naturally, they could not see him.
Today, he appeared before everyone to let the world know what he intended to do.
But what exactly was he going to do?
A long time had passed since Wang Po entered the Tian Shu Mausoleum to observe the steles and comprehend the Dao, but it seemed he had not forgotten those experiences.
He was very familiar with finding a path through the woods and headed southwest.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, he arrived at a small courtyard.
In the early spring orange grove, there were naturally no oranges, yet the air always seemed to carry a faint scent of green oranges.
These past few days, Wang Po had been living in this small courtyard.
The beam where cured meat once hung was now empty. The tables and chairs inside the house had been scrubbed extremely clean, free of any dust.
Wang Po did not enter the house.
Standing outside the wicker fence, he calmly said to the old friend who had lived in this house for thirty-seven years, "Today, I am going to ascend the Divine Path."
Back when Xun Mei failed to challenge the Divine Path and was about to bid farewell to this world, he had once said that if he could one day cultivate to the Saintly Realm, he would ascend the mausoleum's summit on Xun Mei's behalf to take a look.
So this was what he intended to do today.
...
...
The Grand Court Examination had officially begun, but Chen Changsheng still had not appeared.
If there is no butcher, people still have to eat pork. If the Pope does not appear, life must still go on, and the examinations must still proceed.
This year's Grand Court Examination did not deliberately introduce any novelties. It still followed the methods of previous years: the written exam, the martial exam, and the duels proceeded in order.
The written exam, held in the Xuanwen Hall, followed the old rules. It was supervised by the Papal Secretariat and the Ministry of Rites of the imperial court, but the final authority for evaluation rested in Gou Hanshi's hands.
Gou Hanshi was still very young, but no one questioned his qualifications, because he had thoroughly read the Daoist Canon and, more importantly, because he was the one who set the questions for this year's written exam.
Under the light of the morning sun, the written exam concluded smoothly, calm and uneventful, without any incidents.
The commoners and gambling house managers watching outside the Li Palace found it a bit dull and also felt the atmosphere was somewhat strange.
The martial exam that followed still had the two checkpoints of the Boiling Time Forest and the Qu River. Perhaps influenced by Chen Changsheng's crane ride across the river back then, this year's rules were even more complex and detailed, basically eliminating any chance of taking shortcuts. However, they did not prohibit blocking opponents, so flashes of sword light could occasionally be seen in the forest sea, making the danger even greater than in previous years.
The Grand Court Examination had not been held for three years, and the number of candidates participating this year was extremely large. Although the competition was relatively fierce, over two hundred candidates still managed to successfully reach the opposite bank of the Qu River. Among them, the results of the Huaiyuan Academy from the Southern Lands and the Star Picking Academy were the most outstanding.
Given that the Seven Laws of the Li Mountain Divine Kingdom were no longer participating, those few young scholars from the Huaiyuan Academy were already the hot favorites for this year's Grand Court Examination. Coupled with the fact that everyone knew their dean, Wang Po, was in the capital, those young scholars were even more emboldened, and their results naturally stood out. The officer cadets from the Star Picking Academy performed so excellently because the recent pressure on the capital had filled these future pillars of the Great Zhou military with pent-up anger, which today had all turned into motivation.
The final duels were still held in the Dust-Washing Pavilion within the Green Leaf World.
The candidates entered the Qingxian Hall one by one, walking along the patterns on the ground, and then noticed a black-clad girl with an indifferent expression.
That black-clad girl wore a cold look, holding a pot of green leaves in her arms.
Looking at her, the candidates recalled the important matters their teachers had carefully emphasized before their departure. Their expressions shifted slightly, and they quickly averted their gaze.
Only after entering the Green Leaf World and arriving outside the Dust-Washing Pavilion did the candidates breathe a sigh of relief. Their faces showed awe and delight as they began to discuss among themselves.
Even those mature-beyond-their-years scholars from the Huaiyuan Academy and the strictly disciplined young officers from the Star Picking Academy couldn't help but whisper a few words to their classmates.
"Is that black-clad girl the legendary Frost Dragon?"
"The Pope is truly remarkable. You know, the Li Palace hasn't had a dragon attendant for several thousand years."
"No wonder Qiu Shanjun couldn't compete with His Holiness the Pope..."
"Shh, be careful not to let that little one from Li Mountain overhear."
...
...
Leaving aside how the discussions among the candidates in the Green Leaf World were increasingly straying off-topic, the atmosphere outside the Li Palace was growing more and more peculiar.
Whether it was the commoners watching the excitement, the street vendors, or the gambling house employees, they were all being far too quiet.
If there was no excitement, what were these commoners watching? If no one was placing bets, what was the point of this gamble?
Everyone was watching the Grand Court Examination, but they weren't truly concerned about it. They were thinking about other things.
Because no one believed that this year's Grand Court Examination would proceed so peacefully and smoothly.
Something big was definitely going to happen today. It was just a matter of when.
Suddenly, a warning signal came.
In the azure sky, more than a dozen straight, extremely thin lines appeared. Only those with exceptionally sharp eyesight could see that the afterimages forming those lines were red.
More than a dozen red geese were flying at high speed through the sky. Some landed at the Imperial Palace and the Li Palace, while the rest headed off in various directions.
If one were familiar with the deployment of the Great Zhou military, they could tell that the destinations of those red geese were all locations where imperial troops were stationed.
The King of Linghai, who had long dealt with the imperial court, could naturally see this, but he cared less about where those red geese were flying to and more about where they had taken off from.
The traces left by the red geese in the sky had already disappeared, but they remained in his consciousness.
His gaze followed those traces and eventually settled on the southern part of the capital. His expression was extremely grave.
That was the Tian Shu Mausoleum.
Householder Thirty-Two said in a low voice, "The chief of Cijian Temple just left the Xuanwen Hall. The four Sword Hall elders from Li Mountain didn't even come today."
"The old matriarch of the Muzhe family has left the city."
Squinting his eyes, Priest Siyuan said, "If everyone is heading to the Tian Shu Mausoleum, how lively it will be."
He made no attempt to hide his ambition and fighting spirit, because anyone could see that this was an opportunity the Li Palace had to seize.
The King of Linghai turned his head to look at the quiet side hall deep within the Li Palace, feeling a trace of bewilderment.
Could it be that you are still practicing the sword?