When the moonlight faded, the Jinshi master of ceremonies picked up the Mid-Autumn Festival poem written by one of the scholars and recited it aloud. Every word he said was like thunder, and half of the people in Kongcheng could hear the poem.
After the poem was read, there was thunderous applause.
The scholar smiled slightly and bowed to everyone to express his gratitude.
Then, the people behind would go up to compose poems one by one. All the poems that reached the level of Out of the County or higher would be read aloud by the master of ceremonies.
There are a total of one hundred people who have obtained the qualification to enter the Holy Ruins today, including twenty scholars and eighty juren. According to the original situation, the twenty scholars should have gone on stage to write poems in four batches, and then the eighty juren should have written poems from the back to the front according to their ranking.
However, Fang Yun passed the Shengxu Road in one fell swoop and won the fourth place. It was impossible for him to compose poems with the scholars, so he was tacitly regarded as a juren and became one of the last five people to compose poems.
Nineteen scholars wrote poems one after another, and finally four of them had their poems published in the county. People watching the literary gathering praised them one after another. Only in such a large literary gathering where elites from ten countries gathered could so many scholars have their poems published in the county.
After all the scholars finished their task, the six lowest-ranked juren came on stage together and wrote poems on the theme of the Mid-Autumn Moon, just like the scholars. These juren were the weakest, and many people had not expected much of them. In terms of talent alone, they might not be as good as the scholars.
But among these six candidates, there was an unexpected winner. One of them passed the imperial examination and received more moonlight than the others.
The success of the poem was a big deal even in Kongcheng, so the master of ceremonies invited a Hanlin to come up and appreciate the poem.
Afterwards, the master of ceremonies asked the scholar some more questions, and both of them spoke eloquently. Everyone could hear clearly that this person was neither the son of a wealthy family nor a semi-saint family, but just a son of a famous family who had fallen on hard times.
Everyone sighed and said that if a person with such talent was born into a wealthy or semi-saint family, he would probably be able to enter the top 30 of the imperial examination.
After that, the candidates came on stage one after another. These candidates also showed the highest level of candidates in the Ten Kingdoms. More than half of the candidates could write poems and lyrics in the county, and one in ten could write poems and lyrics in the prefecture, but the higher Mingzhou poems and lyrics did not appear.
Mingzhou is an extremely high dividing line. The poems and essays of Mingzhou will be recited by thousands of people. Many people of high literary status have been struggling to pursue the poems and essays of Mingzhou throughout their entire lives but have not been able to obtain them.
Most of the people present were educated people, so every time the emcee read a poem, there would be countless people who would either recite it, write it down, or discuss and judge it.
The moon rose higher and higher. As poems and essays emerged one after another, and excellent works appeared one after another, the atmosphere on the scene became more and more heated.
The guests under the stage were calmer than those outside. Only when the poems of successful candidates from their own country or family were recited did someone cheer.
Those great scholars or university officials seldom spoke, and even if they did, they would simply say something like "not bad", "okay", "worth a look", etc.
Unconsciously, the candidates ranked 26th to 30th appeared on the platform, and the literary talent of these five people was even more outstanding, and they were both from the prefecture and the county. A wave of cheers immediately rose at the scene.
The moonlight descended, and this time the bright moonlight was much stronger than before. After the moonlight disappeared, all the candidates' eyes actually emitted a faint light. It took a long time before it disappeared.
One by one, the scholars came on stage, poems appeared, and the moonlight poured in again and again. The people of Kongcheng around cheered more and more frequently.
Many people in the audience were just chatting with their relatives and friends at first. They occasionally paid attention to the people on the stage, but as time went on, they paid more and more attention to the stage. When the five candidates from the sixth to the tenth place walked onto the stage, everyone stopped talking and looked at the stage together.
These are the top ten scholars in Shengyuan Continent. Among the scholars, they may not be the most talented, or the most powerful, but they are definitely among the strongest. And every time, if the top ten people in Shengxu Road can leave Shengxu alive, they will surely become the leaders of a country in the future, and even dominate ten countries.
Even if it's not in the top five, it's enough to attract everyone's attention.
Even though there are many university scholars and even great Confucian scholars present, one has to admit that there must be some people among them whose achievements are greater than theirs.
The five scholars stood behind the desk and wrote down the results of their hard thinking over the past few days.
The five talents slowly grew on paper, and finally, one person made it to Mingzhou, and four people reached the mansion!
The talents of these five people far exceeded those of the previous candidates, and the candidate from the Kong family wrote a poem about Mingzhou, which finally became the first Mingzhou poem in the literary gathering, triggering cheers from all the people in Kongcheng.
The top ten people all received double the moonlight. After the scholar from Kong family received the moonlight, his whole body was covered with a layer of faint moonlight, which took a long time to be completely absorbed, making many people envious.
With double the moonlight from Mingzhou, things will go extremely smoothly in the Holy Ruins.
Until this time, many people understood why Mr. Kong did not fight for a higher position. Since the top ten all had to have double the moonlight, and since he had the talent of poetry to become Mingzhou, he would definitely surpass both the Mohist and the military strategist. There was no need to fight for it, and it would be better to follow the doctrine of the mean.
Zong Wude, who was ranked fifth, looked at the smile on Mr. Kong's face and suddenly realized something. He wanted to slap himself, and then looked at Fang Yun.
Because he discovered a big problem. If he got into the top five, he would have to write poetry on the same stage with Fang Yun!
Zong Wude helplessly gave Kong Juren a thumbs up.
The treatment of Mingzhou's poems was quite grand. The master of ceremonies invited a university scholar to appreciate them. Every word was insightful and left everyone with endless aftertaste.
The five scholars stood on the stage for a full quarter of an hour before they went down.
Yan Yukong, Mo Shan, Sun Naiyong, Fang Yun and Zong Wude walked towards the platform. Before the five people stepped onto the platform, the whole scene was boiling. Countless people were shouting the names of the five people, and the loudest voice was Fang Yun.
In Kongcheng, where everyone is a scholar, Fang Yun is respected no less than Jingguo.
Fang Yun stood on the high platform, looking at the densely packed crowd. Wherever his eyes fell, people cheered loudly. The atmosphere in Kongcheng was more open than in other countries. Countless women screamed excitedly, making many men envious.
The emcee had originally planned to just say a few words and let the five people write poems as he had done before, but the atmosphere was so heated that before the five people even started writing, the cheers from the crowd exceeded the scene of the poems coming out of Mingzhou.
Many guests in the audience did not expect it to be so exaggerated. The Holy Ruins event was held once every ten years, and it had never been so enthusiastic. They shook their heads and smiled, helpless.
The MC continued with a loud voice, "The first five candidates to come on stage are from the Holy Ruins. They represent the best of the candidates from the ten countries and the hope of the human race. Once they enter the Holy Ruins, they will surely annihilate the monsters and barbarians and make great contributions to the human race!"
Amid the cheers of the crowd, the emcee began to introduce the five people.
"This is Yan Yukong, the number one person in Shengxu Road. He is a semi-saint disciple and a descendant of Yan Zi. He is the first in the case, the most talented, and the top scholar. He is already a three-talented person. He is the most likely person to be the first and the top scholar in the future of Qing Kingdom. If he wins the first place in the country, he will have six firsts. He is very likely to become the first six talents in the ten countries! This person..."
Next, the emcee introduced the last two people.
"Mo Shan, a descendant of the Mohist school, is not only outstanding in poetry and prose, but also in the art of mechanical engineering. The art of mechanical engineering has five realms and sixteen levels. He has already reached the middle level of the second realm, comparable to many Mohist scholars..."
"Sun Naiyong, a member of the Sun Wu family, was not outstanding before the age of twelve, but after passing the imperial examination and entering the army, he immediately rose to prominence and made continuous military achievements. Two years ago, as a successful candidate, he defeated 3,000 barbarians with only 500 men relying on a military book..."
The emcee walked up to Fang Yun and before he could say anything, the audience was already cheering and all the guests were looking at Fang Yun.
The laughter of the people of Jing, the coldness of the people of Qing, the indifference of the people of Wu... immediately formed the most bizarre atmosphere of this literary gathering.
Fang Yun was originally smiling, but suddenly his expression changed as if he was stung by a poisonous scorpion, and he looked towards the audience.
Beside the table of the Mengsheng family, on the Wuhou carriage, the evil king finally withdrew his gaze from the distant sky. He looked at the platform for the first time, truly watched the literary gathering for the first time, and looked at the people present for the first time.
The Evil King looked at Fang Yun. His eyes were obviously calm, but they were like the gaze of an eagle or a wolf. Wherever his eyes reached, they saw prey. Everyone subconsciously avoided his gaze. His ferocious power was overwhelming!
The Wolf Demon Marquis, who had been lying on the ground, immediately stood up, showing his sharp teeth slightly, and stared at Fang Yun.
The atmosphere near the platform was suddenly cold as if frost and snow had fallen, but the people of Kongcheng in the distance did not notice the changes here and were still in high spirits.
The master of ceremonies shuddered and opened his mouth, but the dignified Jinshi could not utter a word at this moment. After waiting for more than ten breaths, he secretly glanced at the fierce king, then gritted his teeth, straightened his spine and introduced Fang Yun.
"He is Fang Yun! He is the top-ranked student of Jing State! He is the only top-ranked scholar of the Ten States! He is the only one who has passed the Holy Selection! He is also the 'No. 1 Scholar of the Ten States' personally conferred by the Semi-Saint! Since April, he has submitted poems and essays to the Holy Way every month, and he is the No. 1 in all four categories! He is..."
The emcee did not use any overly embellished words, but instead enumerated Fang Yun's achievements and reputation one by one, as if reading from a script. These tangible achievements were more real than any words, so much so that everyone fell silent as he spoke.
Even those who knew Fang Yun very well were shocked when they heard the host mention so many achievements.
After the emcee finished speaking, no one in the audience spoke and the place remained silent.
The literary name is Ya Kongcheng.
When one person is present, ten thousand dare not speak!
After a long while, someone spoke. The host walked past Fang Yun and walked towards Zong Wude, ready to introduce the fifth person.
The emcee had just stopped when a passionate and deep voice like a war drum suddenly appeared from the audience, forming a spring thunder that resounded through the sky of Confucius.
"Fang Yun, I admit that I underestimated you."
Everyone within a ten-mile radius felt an invisible force descending.
The whole audience was silent.
The whole city is in danger.
However, unlike everyone before who admired Fang Yun, many people in the guest seats looked at the evil king coldly, and some people from holy families or great scholars did not hide their disgust for him at all.
Fang Yun still had a smile on his face and said, "You are too polite, Lord Xiong."
The evil king said slowly: "Look at this Wuhou carriage. In the carriage are the sacred writings of Mengzu, Yinjiangbei, and many other great Confucian treasures. There is also the position of the head of my Mengsheng family. As long as you agree to one of my conditions, I can give it to you. I don't even need your blood-dripping animal skin!" (To be continued...)