"Cheers to Fang Yun!"
"Cheers to Fang Yun!"
…
The ten people in Room Di raised their glasses together and drank it all in one gulp.
Fang Yun had no choice but to put down his wine glass. He had agreed not to drink today, but Qiao Juze and the others said that he had to celebrate, so he had to drink.
Qiao Juze smiled and said, "When I go back tonight, I will recommend today's incident to the next issue of the Literary Newspaper. I have already thought of the title, 'Fang Yun's laughter and conversation are extraordinary, Lei Jiu flees from the Jingguo Restaurant in a panic.' Let's teach the Lei family a lesson! You can come to Jingguo, but it's not that easy to leave!"
"The Lei family has always been domineering in Jing State. Lei Yuanting doesn't even give face to ordinary Hanlin scholars. But when he saw Fang Yun, a juren, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. It's so funny."
"Why didn't I know that Lei Yuanting was so smart before! He covered his mouth, held hands, turned around, and finally jumped off the building, all in one go. I definitely couldn't do that."
"The same thing happened to Lei Jiu. When Lei Yuanting covered his mouth, his eyes went blank. He had no idea what was going on."
"Lei Yuanting must have cursed as he ran. Last time he only lost to Fang Yun on the Double Ninth Festival, which was not shameful, but this time he completely lost face. He was so aggressive when he kicked the door, but he was like a stray dog when he jumped off the building. The Lei family's enemies will definitely be grinning when they find out."
"I am sending this information to a friend of mine from Jia Country. He was bullied by the Lei family before, so he must be happy."
"You are so bad." Fang Yun said with a smile.
But everyone said in unison: "You are the worst!" and then burst into laughter.
"Brother Fang, do you have any good response for 'Smoke locks the willows in the pond'?" You Nian asked.
Fang Yun smiled without saying anything and poured himself a glass of wine.
"Keep it a secret! When this couplet is published in Wen Bao, there will surely be scholars who can match it up!"
"Not necessarily. There's a world of difference between being able to match and matching well. I've been thinking about this match. It's difficult! Difficult! Difficult!"
"Forget it, let's talk about this later. Now that we have suppressed the Lei family's arrogance, let's get to the point." After Qiao Juze finished speaking, he looked at everyone.
Everyone looked serious and had no objection to Qiao Juze's hosting of the agenda. Although Fang Yun was the most talented, he had just arrived at the academy and did not know enough about various aspects. Unlike Qiao Juze, he had been studying at the Jingguo Academy since he was a scholar, and it had been nearly ten years.
Qiao Juze continued, "For the nine of us, there are only two things to do in the next few months. The first thing is naturally the Ten-Nation Competition in October. This is the country's 'literary competition', which determines the allocation of quotas for the next year's imperial examinations and is of utmost importance. The Jinshi Spring Hunt on the Lantern Festival every year is second only to the ancient land hunting held every few years. It is a 'literary battle' competition that commends outstanding people from various countries and the rewards are always generous. Fang Yun, I'm sure you know this."
Fang Yun nodded.
Qiao Juze continued, "But you are different from us. After the Ten Kingdoms Competition, on the first day of December, you will participate in the joint examination of the Jinshi examination and compete for the 'Huiyuan' among the three top candidates. After the first month of the year, the Ten Kingdoms will hold the palace examination. You will be busier than the rest of us. In addition to the Jinshi examination, you may also have to enter the Denglongtai."
Everyone looked at Fang Yun with envy.
Fang Yun said: "I didn't know whether the Denglong Terrace could be opened this year, but Lei Jiu actually came to the capital, probably for my Denglong Stone, which means that the Lei family believes that they can go to Denglong Terrace this year."
"It should be so. However, the number of places on the Dragon Ascension Platform has been even less than that of the Holy Ruins over the years, and the number of people from the human race has never exceeded ten. This year, there are rumors that all the holy families have gathered in the Holy Academy. Then they sent several great scholars to the Dragon Palace, willing to exchange a large number of dragons' needs for more Dragon Ascension Stones, so the number of places should be more than in previous years."
Fang Yunxi said: "This is a good thing, you all must have a chance too."
Unexpectedly, the other nine people either smiled bitterly or shook their heads. Gong Yangyu said with a slightly complaining tone, "You are not us, so you naturally don't understand. It is impossible for us to get such a scarce thing as the Denglong Stone. We, the collateral branches or relatives of the aristocratic families, have some privileges and can easily enter the Imperial Academy in the capital. It is not difficult to enter the Confucius Mansion Imperial Academy. If we are outstanding, we will have the opportunity to enter the Holy Academy after becoming a Jinshi. But the disciples of the main family are eligible to enter the Holy Academy directly when they are scholars. They are taught by Hanlin or even university scholars. They can listen to lectures by great scholars every month and be nourished by the talents of the Holy Academy. How can we compare?"
Ye Shoumo added, "You are young and have heard little. Don't think that all the disciples of the main families of the Saint Family in the Saint Academy are bookworms. There are many places where they can be tempered. There are many places where the semi-saint literary world has formed a place of tempering. Before they became Jinshi, they were influenced by eloquence and paper talk, which was not much different from us. But after becoming Jinshi, they developed their own verbal battles, and the gap with us will widen rapidly."
"You have also encountered Lei Jiu's talented sword sound, and it took the three of us to suppress it. He is also among the best in the Saint Academy, but he is only at the bottom of the list. Some geniuses are mediocre in poetry, songs, and even chess, calligraphy, and painting, but they have a strong talent in literary warfare. After experiencing countless battles, they can defeat us with equally powerful battle poems and equally powerful verbal battles."
Fang Yun nodded. He listened little but read a lot. The gap between Jinshi and Juren was too big. Once the gap started from Jinshi, the gap would widen rapidly in the future, aggravating the polarization.
Fang Yun said: "I have heard that the most outstanding scholar in the Holy Academy can barely fight against three of the most outstanding scholars in the ten countries, and it is almost impossible to fight more than that. However, the most outstanding Jinshi in the Holy Academy can fight against five with their powerful verbal battles, and the best can even 'break seven swords'."
"Yes, for a vicious person like Jianmei Gong, even if ten ordinary university scholars of the same rank were chasing him, they would all be killed one after another by him. So there are always people saying that every person is the foundation of the human race, but what supports these foundations are the geniuses who are as bright as the stars and the strong people who are as glorious as the sun and the moon." Qiao Juze said.
"Fang Yun, you are already as bright as a star, but we hope that you can be as brilliant as the moon!" Cui Wang looked at Fang Yun, still shy but with a firm gaze.
"I will try my best!" Fang Yun smiled, his tone equally firm.
Qiao Juze said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the Dragon Stage should be opened after the Ten Nations Competition and before the Jinshi Examination. Except for you, the only Jinshi candidate, all the others will be Jinshi candidates from the main families of the Saintly Families. Even a genius like Ji Zhibai is not qualified to enter. The Dragon Stage is part of the Dragon Realm. Even the smallest benefit is of great value and is not something that ordinary geniuses can get their hands on."
“When entering the Holy Ruins, personal strength is more important. But when entering the Dragon Platform, what matters is the family background. Even those declining semi-saint families cannot get involved.” Cui Wang sighed.
You Nian's eyes flickered, and he whispered, "Marquis Fang Wen, before you enter Denglongtai, try to stay at home as much as possible. Apart from interacting with us, the Jinshi of Shangshe, try to avoid other gatherings or literary gatherings, including gatherings of fellow townsmen in Jiangzhou. When you go to the Confucius Academy for the Ten Kingdoms Competition, try to have as little contact with others as possible."
Fang Yun's eyes narrowed, vaguely understanding what You Nian wanted to say.
The other Jinshi candidates seemed to be thinking about something.
Qiao Juze sighed and said, "Brother You can be frank about this. I have also thought about it before coming here today. Fang Yun, this Ascension Dragon Stone, especially the Lei family's Ascension Dragon Stone, is enough to make more than half of the Saint families jealous. Even without the Lei family framing you, many Semi-Saint families would like to get this Ascension Dragon Stone from you. Of course, they won't rob you, but they will certainly use intimidation and inducement in an endless stream."
Fang Yun said helplessly, "I know that. Many of the invitations that have been pouring in behind the Lingyan Pavilion are from Semi-Saint families through middlemen in the capital. If I meet them, I will definitely ask about this. So it's a headache, and I won't attend any banquets."
Cui Wang said, "Brother Fang, I don't doubt your strength, nor am I entrusted by someone. I just think rationally that you were only a juren when you entered the Denglongtai, so the gains must be very small. It is better to exchange this Lei family Denglong Stone for a valuable divine object, such as a whole dragon bone. The actual value of the Denglong Stone may not be as good as the dragon bone, but with the Denglong Stone, it means there is a chance to get a bigger treasure, so the Semi-Saint family is definitely willing to exchange the dragon bone with you."
Ke Yuan said: "I don't know what Brother Fang thinks. If it were me, I would definitely exchange it for a whole dragon bone."
Fang Yun smiled, not knowing how to answer. In fact, he didn't have much desire for Denglongtai itself, but the problem was that he had obtained the "Dragon Breath Stone Carving" from Xiong Jun in the Comet Corridor, and Yaoman was even willing to exchange it with the Star King, which happened to be related to Denglongtai.
The treasures contained in the Dragon's Breath Stone Carving can purify the bloodline of the Dragon Barbarians.
Fang Yun thought about it carefully later and realized that the treasure related to the Dragon Breath Stone must be the holy blood of the dragon clan, and it was the blood of the Dragon Saint of the ancient dragon clan. That thing is different. If the blood of the Dragon Saint can be integrated into a war poem, the power of the war poem will be so strong that having that thing is equivalent to having an extra life.
What's more, what Fang Yun really needs cannot be exchanged for the Dragon Stone, but what can be exchanged for the Dragon Stone, he has no shortage of.
"What exactly are you thinking? Don't worry, if you don't change, we will never discuss this matter again." Qiao Juze said.
Fang Yun thought for a moment and said, "I want to go to Denglongtai mainly to see the ancient land of the dragon clan. It would be better if I can gain something, but if I don't, it will also broaden my horizons. It is said that the scenery in Denglongtai is special. The ground is like floating clouds and the clouds are like the sea. It would be a pity if I can't see it in person."
"Okay, then we wish you good luck in ascending the Dragon Platform. With your ability, as long as you make friends with the children of the aristocratic families you are familiar with, no one will kill you. At most, they will suppress you." You Nian said.
"I know this clearly. Many ancient lands have almost nothing to do with the Shengyuan Continent, so they cannot be restrained by oaths or the power of the Holy Way. Some people can naturally attack their own people without scruples. However, the main enemy of my human race to ascend the Dragon Platform is still the monsters and barbarians. At least when there are many people, no one will kill me." Fang Yun said.
"In short, you just have to be careful. You have the Lei family's Denglong Stone, which gives you a huge advantage. There must be many Jinshi willing to travel with you. Just be careful of the monsters. Now that we have finished talking about the Denglong Terrace, let's talk about the Ten Nations Competition. Let me give you an overview first." Qiao Juze said.
"The Ten Nations Competition will begin on October 1st, and the venue will be set at the Confucius Academy, but in reality, the competition will rely on the literary power of the Holy Academy..." (To be continued...)