Chapter 133 – Listening to the Waves of the Sea of Trees (I)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

(TN: Way of Choices will be on break from December 25th, 2017 – January 7, 2018)

This scholar from Scholartree Manor was a little fat, his face a somewhat sickly white as if he didn't get much sun. When he spoke to the education overseer from the Temple Seminary, he was actually looking at Chen Changsheng and Luoluo. Although his face held no emotion, the slight curve of his lips contained a deep scorn and warning.

Chen Changsheng felt that this person was overthinking things and shook his head, brus.h.i.+ng off this gaze. He patted Luoluo on the arm, hinting that she should go and choose her own entrance. Luoluo truly had intended to a.s.sist Chen Changsheng during the martial test phase, but now that it had been so bluntly pointed out, she couldn't help but be rather angry. She gave the scholar a cold glare. When thinking of Princess Luoluo's ident.i.ty, this scholar felt rather regretful, but the words were already spoken and could not be taken back. All he could do was hold his hands behind him and put on the appearance of a proud and n.o.ble existence who dared to plead on the behalf of the common people.

After the Education Overseer of the Temple Seminary finished his explanation of the rules, the twenty-some examinees dispersed, following the stone path running along the edge of the holly forest to find their own entrances. This sea of trees truly seemed as vast as the sea. It was impossible to get a full view of the forest by standing on the edge, so it was naturally impossible to distinguish which entrance was best. One could choose based off their feelings or luck.

Chen Changsheng had never trusted in things like feelings or fate. He chose the entrance closest to him, and Luoluo without hesitation chose the entrance right next to it. He had chosen very casually and Luoluo had casually followed. At this sight, the other examinees found it difficult to suppress the turmoil in their hearts. They felt envy, jealousy, and dejection.

It didn't take long for each examinee to choose their entrance. At this point, several dozen Li Palace priests came out, brush and book in hand, and began to record the names and schools of the examinees. They then recorded the time by their names. Thus began the martial test, and it was also at this moment that the timer began running.

None of the examinees heedlessly rushed into the Dallying Forest. A maze designed by w.a.n.g Zhice could not be solved through luck alone. The examinees paused outside the holly forest, some sitting on stones by the path, some leaning on trees, and some choosing to just sit on the ground. Regardless of the posture they took, they all closed their eyes and began to meditate, releasing their spiritual sense.

Only two people did not close their eyes.

Gou Hans.h.i.+ and Tianhai Shengxue stood outside the forest, quietly looking into the sea of trees, their minds seemingly occupied.

Twenty-some spiritual senses drifted into the Dallying Forest, some strong and some weak. There was also some slight differences with regards to their Qis, but the differences in spiritual sense could only be sensed by experts of Star Condensation and above. Even someone like the Education Overseer of the Temple Seminary could not rely on his perception alone to draw a conclusion.

The education overseer looked at Chen Changsheng, as did many other people, including the Li Palace priests responsible for taking record of the proceedings, just like in the examination area for the literary test.

Chen Changsheng, as someone who had claimed that he would take first rank of the first banner, was inevitably the focus of everyone in the examination area. On the other hand, Gou Hans.h.i.+ and Tianhai Shengxue, who were both widely seen as having the greatest chance of taking first rank, were not being paid much attention. This was because everyone knew that these young cultivators who had already pa.s.sed into the Ethereal Opening Realm were very powerful, but n.o.body knew Chen Changsheng's current level of strength.

Everyone in the capital knew that, at least ten-some days ago, Chen Changsheng had not succeeded in Purification, so how strong was his spiritual sense? Did he have a Fated Star? If he had fixed his Fated Star successfully, why was he still unable to complete Purification? Wouldn't this mean that the strength of his spiritual sense was absolutely disastrous?

Everyone was very curious as to how far he could go in the Grand Examination. For instance, would he be able to pa.s.s through the Dallying Forest? Would he at least avoid elimination in the martial test phase?

Chen Changsheng had never imagined that he would be eliminated, especially after he learned the specific rules regarding this year's martial test.

He sat under a hanging cloud pine at the edge of the holly forest, his eyes shut and his legs crossed, his palms hovering slightly above his knees. His spiritual sense had already departed his body and dived deep into the sea of trees.

The barriers formed by the trees and the complicated paths woven between them were perceived by his spiritual sense and created a blurry picture in his sea of consciousness. All these real sights changed color under this perception, the light deformed. A normal person would a.s.suredly find this vision remarkably strange, but to reform the true image from this blurred perception was not very difficult at all.

This was especially the case for cultivators with a strong and stable spiritual sense.

Chen Changsheng's spiritual sense was very strong and very stable, or else his Fated Star would not have been so far away, or else Luoluo would not have jumped over the Hundred Herb Garden's wall and gone searching for him in the Orthodox Academy.

He closed his eyes and used his spiritual sense to perceive the paths of the Dallying Forest. In a short period of time, he had completely investigated the area several qing around the entrance.

It had to be said that the Grand Examination was truly marvelously designed. Using one's spiritual sense to perceive the sea of trees was very similar to searching for one's Fated Star or entering Meditative Introspection. Looking from the perspective of the test designers, it was perhaps the case that only those who had at least cultivated up to Meditation Realm would have a chance of crossing this sea of trees.

Chen Changsheng had a sudden thought. Perhaps w.a.n.g Zhice often played this in order to train the strength of his spiritual sense? Everyone on the continent knew that w.a.n.g Zhice did not possess too powerful of a spiritual sense, or else it would not have taken until his middle age for him to finally begin cultivating.

Chen Changsheng's spiritual sense floated about the Dallying Forest. At the same time, many other spiritual senses were also floating about the sea of trees. He could faintly sense the presence of those spiritual senses, but he had no means of communicating with them. As his spiritual sense continued to dive into the sea of trees, he began to sense more and more people. It turned that there were still many examinees trapped within the Dallying Forest.

The scholars from Scholartree Manor had their eyes closed in meditation, their foreheads tightly creased. The other examinees also had their eyes tightly shut, with pained expressions on their faces. Only after one completely investigated all the areas of the Dallying Forest and placed the entire map of it in one's mind could one begin calculation and find a proper path. To these youths who could only have possibly cultivated for a set amount of years, this was very difficult task.

Just then, Gou Hans.h.i.+ walked into the sea of trees. Tianhai Shengxue was just a moment behind at starting his journey. Shortly afterwards, the two vanished amongst the newborn and tender shoots of early spring.

Those at Ethereal Opening were truly different from the rest.

The Hall of s.h.i.+ning Words was very quiet.

After the literary test concluded, the archbishop, Mo Yu, Prince Chen Liu, and other important figures like Mao Qiuyu entered the hall. Occasionally, a Li Palace priest would step forward and report on the martial test's situation. Gou Hans.h.i.+ and Tianhai Shengxue's entering the sea of trees did not cause any stir, as this was how it should be for Ethereal Opening Realm cultivators. In their view, Gou Hans.h.i.+ and Tianhai Shengxue had acted a little too cautiously.

Not long after Gou Hans.h.i.+ and Tianhai Shengxue had entered the sea of trees, an examinee walked out of the Dallying Forest, completing the first half of the martial test.

This person was Liang Banhu, Fifth Law of the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws.

The important figures within the hall were also unsurprised by this development. All of them were familiar with the level of the examinees for this year's Grand Examination. Besides Guan Feibai, the remaining three disciples from the Mount Li Sword Sect also possessed outstanding strength. No matter which one of them emerged from the Dallying Forest first, it was all very normal. However, Prince Chen Liu somewhat curiously asked, "What of Guan Feibai?"

The next person to walk out of the Dallying Forest was also not Guan Feibai, but…Zhuang Huanyu.

This time, the mood in the hall finally changed a little. They all turned to Mao Qiuyu while Prince Chen Liu smiled and said a few words of congratulation. It was very obvious that Zhuang Huanyu had not slacked on his cultivation after defeating Qi Jian. Although he had dropped down to eleventh on the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets' Proclamation of Azure Sky, the strength of his spiritual sense very clearly belonged in the top ten.

"Guan Feibai could not get first or even second. It's hard to imagine how angry he will get."

The Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace Academy lightly mocked. The people of Zhou had always had rather complex impressions regarding the disciples of the southern sects.

The first half of the martial test was not ranked by who was the first to come out of the Dallying Forest, but ranked according to how much time was spent within. At this moment, the people within the Hall of s.h.i.+ning Words had already obtained the starting times for the examinees, so they knew that Liang Banhu, Guan Feibai, and Zhuang Huanyu had all entered at the same time. Now that Zhuang Huanyu had come out, he would naturally be ranked in front of Guan Feibai.

Just then, the chief examiner for the literary test shook his head and said, "Liang Banhu is not first, so naturally, Zhuang Huanyu isn't second. Guan Feibai won't even be able to get into the top three now."

The Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace slightly frowned. "Are you actually counting Gou Hans.h.i.+ and Young Master Tianhai?"

The chief examiner replied, "Before all of you entered the hall, someone had already left the Dallying Forest, and the time he took was shorter than Liang Banhu's by one-third."

Everyone was shocked at this information and began to cast questioning gazes. Only the archbishop in the very center kept his eyes shut, seemingly asleep.

Someone was actually faster than Liang Banhu, and this much faster? Just how powerful was his spiritual sense?"

"Who is it?" the Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace Academy asked in shock.

"The registered name is Zhang Tingtao. Of course, everyone knows who he is." (TN: Tingtao '聽濤' translates to 'listening to waves')

The chief examiner turned to the Princ.i.p.al of Star Seizer Academy and teased, "Even if it's a fake name, this name is a little too ordinary."

The Princ.i.p.al of Star Seizer Academy carried the consistent style of the Great Zhou Army. Without concealing anything, he declared, "If he's willing to fight for Star Seizer Academy, he can call himself whatever he wants."

The crowd silently agreed.

"The furious Zhexiu…" Prince Chen Liu gave a rueful sigh. "I'm really quite curious as to just how he grew up."

The Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace Academy countered, "I'm even more curious as to how Chen Changsheng is doing right now."

At this question, everyone turned to look at the archbishop.

The chief examiner replied, "Chen Changsheng's grade in the literary test is bound to be extremely high. It's just a question of who gets first and second between him and Gou Hans.h.i.+."

The crowd thought that this was only to be expected.

The Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace Academy looked at the seemingly asleep archbishop and mocked, "No matter how good his grades in the literary test are, what does it matter if he can't even pa.s.s the Dallying Forest? At that point, he would be directly disqualified and won't even be able to enter the third banner, and he's thinking about first rank of the first banner? I really don't know if someone will still be able to continue sleeping so soundly when that time comes."

The hall was completely quiet. n.o.body replied.

In the capital and in the Orthodoxy itself, the princ.i.p.als of the Six Ivies had very special status. Powerful personages like Mao Qiuyu and the Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace Academy had no need to fear anyone. Moreover, everyone in the hall knew that the Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace belonged to the new faction of the Orthodoxy, just like the Bishop of the Temple Seminary, so he had always had a close relations.h.i.+p with the Tianhai clan.

The archbishop's making that declaration in place of Chen Changsheng was a very serious challenge to him, the Li Palace Academy, the Heavenly Dao Academy, and all the other Ivy Academies. It was obvious that the Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace Academy was already preparing his counterattack. As long as Chen Changsheng could not take first rank of the first banner, the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education and its archbishop would be harshly called into question, even directly attacked.

Just like he had said, if Chen Changsheng couldn't even pa.s.s the Dallying Forest, what need was there to discuss first rank of the first banner?

Time slowly pa.s.sed, and after quite a while, a priest entered the hall and reported, "The Orthodox Academy's Chen Changsheng has entered the forest."

Everyone was slightly startled at this report. The eyebrows of the Princ.i.p.al of the Li Palace Academy shot up extremely high, almost about to take flight off his face, and his eyes filled with astonishment and doubt.

"How can he be even faster than those people from Scholartree Manor?!"