Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8-Chapter 189 - 128: The Empress Arrives in Person, Passing 5 Passes and Slaying 6 Generals
The second round, archery, was actually very difficult.
Out of the original two thousand participants, only about three hundred at most would pass this stage.
And after passing the second round, as long as one’s performance wasn’t too abysmal, they were basically considered to have earned a title.
At the very least, they would be a Scholar.
If they wished, they could even take up a minor official post in their home county.
Yet Li Chang’an had scored perfectly in this round without even breaking a sweat, which meant he had, at minimum, completely refined his bones and flesh.
The only question was whether he had entered the Inner Qi Realm.
...
The two of them continued forward.
Li Chang’an swept through one trial after another, breezing past all the assessments along the way as if they were nothing.
Ma Dongyang, however, wasn’t as strong and was ultimately eliminated in the fifth round.
Ma Dongyang wasn’t discouraged, though. Given his strength, it was already quite lucky for him to have made it to the fifth round.
He casually bowed to Li Chang’an and said, "Brother Li, I can’t go on any further. But I can go wait for you with the others at the life-and-death fighting arena. I hope you have a smooth journey to the top and bring the title of Martial Champion Scholar back to our Chun’an County!"
Li Chang’an stopped and smiled. "Are you still planning to join the Demon Sect?"
The corner of Ma Dongyang’s mouth twitched. "After offending the Demon Sect’s Saint Heir, how could I dare go to the Demon Sect? I’m not going!"
Li Chang’an asked again, "Then where do you plan to go?"
Ma Dongyang thought for a moment, his gaze fixed on Li Chang’an. Suddenly, he grinned. "Brother Li, if you really manage to take first place—no, even just the top three—then I’ll ride your coattails and join the Imperial Court! If you can win over *that one*, I’ll lower my standards a bit. Finding a Princess or someone like that would be fine too!"
Li Chang’an smiled, then broke into a loud laugh.
...
After passing through the fifth courtyard, Li Chang’an arrived at a vast, open field. Compared to the bustling examination grounds of the first two rounds, the sixth round’s examination ground seemed much more desolate.
Fewer than a hundred people were scattered across the huge area.
These hundred people were divided into three factions. Over thirty were Demon Sect disciples, and another thirty-plus were Buddhist Sect disciples. As for the remaining thirty, nearly twenty of them were disciples of the Taoist Sect.
The number of ordinary examinees like Li Chang’an, who carried no items signifying their affiliation, was a mere dozen or so.
Every year, these few unaffiliated individuals were the ones the major Sects fought over.
Right now, people were already trying to recruit them from the sidelines.
Seeing Li Chang’an appear in the examination ground, Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Making it this far... it seems you really do have some skill!"
Li Chang’an said nothing, simply walking to the side and closing his eyes to rest.
When Li Chang’an didn’t even lift an eyelid, Lu Sheng felt completely and utterly ignored. The anger in his heart flared, but since his wasn’t the only group present, he didn’t dare act as recklessly as before. He could only lower his head and say to the Demon Sect Disciple beside him, "Later, if that guy dares to enter the life-and-death arena, I want you to beat him to death!"
A moment later, the preliminary rounds outside had concluded.
Another dozen or so people trickled in, almost all of them disciples from the Three Major Sects.
The scene was actually a bit farcical.
This was clearly the Martial Arts Examination held by the Liyang Dynasty, yet it had become a stage for the Buddhist, Taoist, and Demon Sects—the Three Great Sects—to flex their muscles.
Li Chang’an didn’t stand with any of the factions.
Instead, he stood alone at the very edge of the crowd.
A bald monk in monastic robes walked up to Li Chang’an, put his palms together in a bow, and said, "Patron, you have an affinity with our Buddhist Sect. Are you willing to join us?"
The monk was clearly aware of the feud between Li Chang’an and Lu Sheng.
Approaching him now, he was obviously confident that Li Chang’an would seek the Buddhist Sect as a backer.
However, he had guessed wrong.
Because Li Chang’an still said nothing.
Seeing that he was unwilling to speak, the monk was about to say a few more words to make Li Chang’an understand the current situation. But just then, a clear, crisp voice came from nearby, stating coolly, "This is the examination ground for the Martial Arts Examination. Have you not heard that examinees are forbidden from whispering amongst themselves?"
Hearing this voice, everyone present was clearly taken aback.
All eyes turned in the direction of the voice, only to see a clean-shaven young master walking straight over from the direction of the examination officials. Following behind this young master was the chief examiner, Shi En.
Most of the people present didn’t know the identity of this young master.
Only Lu Sheng and the young monk from the Buddhist Sect recognized him.
The young monk put his palms together and bowed to the young master. "Amitabha!"
Lu Sheng, on the other hand, wore a smile. He snapped open his folding fan and said, "To what do we owe the pleasure? What wind has blown our great Your Majesty over here?"
His gaze toward the young master held not only mockery, but also a thick sense of disdain.
This made Shi En, who was standing to the side, frown.
The young master showed no particular emotion in response to Lu Sheng’s utterly disrespectful gaze. He simply smiled and said, "Today is the Liyang Dynasty’s triennial Martial Arts Examination. I have come to the examination grounds, naturally, to select outstanding talents. What, does Young Master Lu have an objection?!"
The young master was handsome, his voice was pleasant, and his words were flawless.
Lu Sheng chuckled, but his tone was anything but friendly. He said coolly, "Couldn’t you just leave such a trivial matter to your subordinates? Is there really a need for Your Majesty to select them personally?"
The young monk from the Buddhist Sect, who had been silent all this time, now also spoke up. "Your Majesty handles countless affairs of state every day, yet you still personally come to select the worthy and talented. I just wonder, with so many gifted individuals present, which one has Your Majesty taken a fancy to?"
The Buddhist Sect and the Demon Sect were mortal enemies.
For years, they had been at each other’s throats, fighting over territory and talent.
But fighting was one thing.
If the Li Yang Imperial Court wanted to take this opportunity to meddle, they would never allow it.
Therefore, while the two of them seemed to be making small talk, they were actually warning the Empress.
The Empress naturally understood their meaning, but she didn’t show any anger.
Her handsome, almond-shaped eyes swept over the crowd before seemingly landing casually on Li Chang’an. She said nonchalantly, "I think this young man is quite good. Are you willing to return to the capital with me?"
...
