Chapter 266: Battle!

In the valley, where numerous cultivators gathered, everyone watched in astonishment as the competition unfolded inside.

As Zhongshan, Princess Qianyou, and the others approached, the match had already ended. In the valley, three powerful individuals were trapped, emitting a faint yellow light. A bald monk stood at the center.

The monk clasped his hands together, looking very young.

"Golden Cicada wins."

The bald monk emerged victorious, accepting a jade plaque from the referee and flying slowly out of the valley, heading into the distance. Following closely behind him was another man dressed in monk's robes, wearing a lotus monk hat and wielding a purple-golden glass Zen staff.

"Princess, th-th-that's Great Power Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva." Awe filled Er and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Zhongshan also glanced at the departing monk, the one holding the Zen staff. Great Power Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva. And the one who just won as "Golden Cicada," what kind of person was he?

"Reincarnated Spirit Child?" Mr. Shuijing frowned.

"No, reincarnated spirit children are usually protected by Arhats. How did this happen? Great Power Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva personally protecting him? What's the origin of this Golden Cicada?" Princess Qianyou furrowed her brows.

"A reincarnated spirit child who can be protected by a Bodhisattva has three possibilities: either he had a good relationship with the Bodhisattva in his past life, or the Bodhisattva was entrusted by someone, or the past life of the reincarnated spirit child wasn't a Bodhisattva but a Buddha." Mr. Shuijing explained with a furrowed brow.

"People from the Blissful Pure Land are participating in the Great Luo Empire's imperial examinations. I wonder if people from the other three sacred lands are also participating. This imperial examination is becoming more and more interesting." Princess Qianyou chuckled.

"Five days later, the literary examination. Everything will be revealed then." Mr. Shuijing nodded.

Five days later, the literary examination would begin. After today's literary examination, the top three would be decided.

The location of the examination was the Literary Pavilion.

The Literary Pavilion stood to the east of the ancient capital, with a long history. Although the Great Luo Empire had been established for eight thousand years, the history of the Literary Pavilion dated back to one hundred thousand years ago. It was an ancient sacred place, a sanctuary for literati.

The Literary Pavilion was a massive floating island suspended in mid-air. On top of it was the pavilion itself, and around it floated a circle of one thousand smaller floating islands, arranged in a flat plane surrounding the Literary Pavilion.

Underneath the Literary Pavilion's floating island, one hundred thousand desks had been set up, spaced apart in a large circle, ready for the examinees to take the literary examination. And in front of each desk stood a cultivator, waiting to present the examination questions.

Underneath the floating island of the Literary Pavilion, one hundred thousand people had gathered, while above the floating island, another thousand cultivators stood.

These thousand cultivators could stand above the floating island not because of their precious status, but because during the martial examination, they defeated three opponents of the same cultivation level, the one thousand geniuses who received the jade plaques.

Among them were Zhongshan, Mr. Shuijing, General Qitian, and Golden Cicada.

The people stood neatly, waiting for the chief examiner to arrive.

Zhongshan looked around the Literary Pavilion. The numerous buildings exuded a unique and ancient atmosphere, an aura of scholars. It was a feeling that could only be understood, not described.

Around the Literary Pavilion, there were also many statues, each emitting a peculiar aura. There were a total of four thousand statues. Princess Qianyou had explained that each statue represented the top scholar of each imperial examination, each one a person of great wisdom.

After the completion of each statue, a drop of essence blood would be infused into it using a secret method. As long as the Literary Pavilion existed, there would be a constant flow of scholar's aura into everyone's body. This scholar's aura was also a type of luck, vast and powerful, and to some extent, it could cleanse one's karma.

Although most of the statues representing the past top scholars had passed away, they had never been removed. This was a form of spirit and a sign of heritage.

Everyone patiently waited as all the assistant officials took their positions, awaiting the arrival of the chief examiner.

The chief examiner was none other than the Grand Xuan King!

As the examinees anxiously waited, there was a sudden movement ahead. Following the direction of the movement, everyone looked towards the distance, where a group of people was descending from the sky.

Behind them were officials of the Great Luo Empire dressed in official robes, and at the forefront was a man exuding an aura of dominance.

He wore a golden robe, exuding boundless nobility, with long black hair flowing smoothly behind his head. His face was majestic, each step he took seemed to make his figure blur and reappear in the distance as if teleporting. Before long, he arrived at the Literary Pavilion.

As he approached, Zhongshan could see clearly. The Grand Xuan King had a slightly protruding forehead, a majestic dragon-like aura, and a face full of dignity. His face was square-shaped, and his bright eyes each had two pupils. Double pupils? With just one glance, it seemed to shake one's soul.

Zhongshan's heart tightened at the sight of the domineering eyes.

The Grand Xuan King walked in front of the examinees and glanced at everyone with a slight frown. He said in a commanding tone, "Take your seats!"

"Yes!" all the examinees immediately replied.

Then, all the people on the square of the Literary Pavilion flew to the one thousand small floating islands surrounding it.

Each small floating island had already been set up with desks and ink brushes, waiting for the examinees to start writing.

"The Emperor has issued the topic. Begin!"

Although the Grand Xuan King's voice was not loud, for some reason, it spread to all one thousand small floating islands and the ears of the one hundred thousand examinees below. To every ear, it sounded like a thunderclap.

Battle!

The Emperor's topic?

Battle?

A golden "battle" character, vigorous and forceful, slowly rose into the sky above the Literary Pavilion, visible to everyone. The character exuded a sense of fierce warfare, making everyone who saw it feel as if they were on a battlefield.

Battle!

All the examinees stared at the large "battle" character in the sky.

Zhongshan furrowed his brows slightly, looking at the character above. In his heart, he couldn't help but speculate. With the five empires besieging the Great Luo Empire, had the Emperor truly become angry?

Battle!

An external war, to conquer or be conquered!

Understanding the Emperor's intentions would lead to greater success.

Literature? Zhongshan considered his own literary skills to be average. It was almost impossible for him to write earth-shattering masterpieces. Even if he could write some good verses, it didn't necessarily mean he could outshine the one hundred thousand literary examinees. Were their literary skills lacking?

The literary examination would last for three hours, during which the examinees were required to write an article related to the topic.

Gradually, some people began to pick up their brushes.

Zhongshan continued to furrow his brows, pondering. He recalled the most outstanding literary works from Earth, searching for words related to "battle." Only those who had truly experienced warfare and could relate it to their own experiences could write such words, with slight modifications.

Two hours later, Zhongshan finally figured out what to write. A poem, but would just one poem be enough?

Grabbing the nearby brush, he looked at the best paper on the table, white jade paper!

Taking a deep breath, he activated the Red Phoenix Heaven Scripture. His mental power quickly infused his eyes with focus, and suddenly, Zhongshan's world once again became fragmented.

The rules of heaven and earth, endless rules! Sometimes visible, sometimes hidden, floating and unpredictable.

What Zhongshan needed to do was to write this poem on top of the rules of heaven and earth, to find their trajectories, and slowly write the poem according to the way the rules of heaven and earth operated.

However, the patterns of the rules of heaven and earth were endless. It was not easy to align the words with the rules of heaven and earth, especially since these rules were sometimes hidden, making them difficult to capture.

Zhongshan patiently looked on. As he observed, his brush slowly descended towards the white jade paper. His speed was extremely slow, very careful, as he wrote the article he had thought of according to the rules of heaven and earth.

While Zhongshan was writing, many others had already finished writing their articles.

Suddenly, to the east of the Literary Pavilion, Qitian Hou made the final stroke.

The article was complete!

"Roar~"

A golden dragon soared into the sky from Qitian Hou's manuscript. The dragon's shadow was not caused by any spell, but rather by his pride. An article filled with a prideful aura was born under Qitian Hou's pen. However, this prideful aura was so powerful that even the paper couldn't contain it. Condensing into form, it turned the energy poured into it by Qitian Hou into the form of a proud dragon, soaring into the sky.

A vast golden dragon shadow hovered and danced above Qitian Hou's manuscript, boundless and infinite.

After finishing writing, everyone revealed expressions of infinite shock. Because countless people saw that above Qitian Hou's article, a majestic golden dragon with a proud aura was intertwined with it, soaring endlessly.

"Roar~"

After circling for a while, the golden dragon left behind a long roar and plunged back into the manuscript. Suddenly, the manuscript on the white jade paper shone brightly.

Qitian Hou looked pleased and glanced around.

"Congratulations, my lord! Congratulations, my lord! Qitian Hou's literary style is majestic and proud like a dragon, invincible and bound to win," a court official flattered towards the Grand Xuan King in front of the Literary Pavilion.

"Shut up!" the Grand Xuan King said coldly.

The flattery hit a dead end, and the official immediately shut up and stood aside, not daring to say more.

The Grand Xuan King continued to look around.

Sure enough, right after Qitian Hou's glory, on the western floating island of the Literary Pavilion.

Jin Chan made the final stroke. With this stroke, a torrential sound suddenly emanated—a roaring river, the cries of beasts and birds.

"Gurgle~"

"Roar~"

"Singing~"

From Jin Chan's manuscript, a scene of mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts suddenly emerged. On that floating island, endless mountain and river shadows appeared, with the great river surging like a memory crystal recording.

Growing larger and larger, more and more, endless mountains and rivers were revealed, creating a magnificent picture of mountains and rivers, and a splendid article.

That momentum, compared to Qitian Hou's golden dragon shadow, was not inferior at all. It was endless and unbroken, making many examinees who had written their articles wide-eyed.