A Secret He Did Not Want to Uncover (Please Bookmark and Vote!)

A Secret He Did Not Want to Uncover (Please Bookmark and Vote!)

"Furthermore, based on everyone's performance during the examination, the final results have been divided into eight ranks. These rankings were determined by the Proctor Group and unanimously approved by the Prosecutor. You may consult the Red List yourselves to see your specific placement." The Proctor paused. "However, regardless of what rank you have attained, you are now members of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Your future advancement will not be limited by a single ranking. From today onward, we are comrades serving together. I hope none of you will slack off, and that you will make the contributions expected of you to the Bureau of Military Affairs!"

With that, he casually pulled aside the silk cloth, revealing the list beneath.

At the upper left corner, and the first names everyone saw, were the top-ranked candidates of this Scholar Examination. There were three first-place candidates in total: Fang Xiandao of the Fang family, Luo Qingqing of the Luo Family, and Fei Nian of the Fei Clan.

"Hmph, I knew it would turn out this way," Fang Xiandao said smugly. "The hexagrams had foretold the result long ago!"

The Fei Clan showed little reaction. As the family with the largest number of examinees, failing to crush the other two families was already a miscalculation. As for ranking near the top, that was nothing unusual.

Only Luo Qingqing revealed a look of surprise.

Yet to most of the examinees, this ranking was only natural. Whether it had been the contest for Spirit Fire collection rights in the first half or the defense of Qingshan Town in the latter half, the three great families' performances had been beyond reproach. Especially when facing Great Desolation Evil Night, not one of them had retreated. They had shouldered the responsibility of leading their respective groups and could be considered the main force against Evil Spirits.

It took Xia Fan quite a while to find his own name.

He had been assigned to the very end of the fourth rank, placed somewhere past fortieth—roughly average among the examinees.

When Xia Fan first saw his ranking, he too found it somewhat unexpected, but he soon accepted it. After all, asking the Bureau of Military Affairs' spies to stay by his side while he and Luo Qingqing fought the Demon would have been asking a bit much. If that portion was not included in the evaluation, then his performance truly had not been all that eye-catching. For him, joining the Bureau of Military Affairs was meant to further his understanding of the world's mysteries; where he went mattered far less. If the Capital Region was truly as Li had described it, rife with endless conflict, then ranking lower might not be such a bad thing.

"Proctor, I fear the order of this list... does not match the facts," Luo Qingqing stepped forward just then. "Xia Fan's rank should not be merely fourth grade!"

"Oh?" The Proctor glanced at her. "What doubts do you have?"

"Yes." Luo Qingqing said seriously, "Although the Luo Family commanded the final night, Xia Fan was the one who proposed the plan. And when we faced the Demon, it was also his decisive strike that secured victory. If the Bureau of Military Affairs failed to record it, I can provide a detailed—"

"There is no need." The Proctor cut her off. "I will repeat myself once more. This list was jointly decided by nearly ten officials of the Proctor Group and passed the Prosecutor's review. There can be no omissions or miscalculations. As for the scoring criteria, the Bureau of Military Affairs has its own rules. You have no right to meddle. Or could it be... that the Luo Family believes the Prosecutor's judgment was unfair?"

"I would not dare, but—"

"Luo Qingqing, shut your mouth already! Do you want to drag the entire Luo Family into this?" Luo Fengqing said anxiously.

Even Luo You'er tugged at her sleeve.

"Why don't we ask the person concerned what he thinks?" The Proctor looked meaningfully at Xia Fan. "Do you believe there is a problem with the ranking set by the Prosecutor?"

Xia Fan vaguely sensed that something was amiss, though he could not put his finger on exactly what. Logically, the Proctor had authority over every matter related to the examination, so why did he repeatedly drag out his superior to silence everyone? It was practically as though he were shirking responsibility...

Yet there was one thing Xia Fan could be certain of: the Bureau of Military Affairs had no intention of listening to the examinees' opinions. Whether out of laziness and convenience or a desire to preserve authority, this list was already set in stone. Continuing to question it would only make it easy to offend those above.

He shook his head.

The look Luo Qingqing gave him immediately gained a trace of confusion and disappointment.

The eyes of even more people, meanwhile, filled with astonishment. They could not understand why the Luo Family's genius would step forward to defend an ordinary Sanmen cultivator. What made it even harder for them to believe was Luo Qingqing's phrase, "decisive strike"—did that not mean Xia Fan had been the one to cast the Zhen Technique?

The problem was that this man could not even scrape together the ten taels of silver needed to enter the examination. How could he possibly produce such expensive spellcasting material as Lightning-struck Wood?

With the Proctor present, no one openly voiced their doubts. Still, such an absurd claim caused quite a few examinees to look at Luo Qingqing strangely.

"Since that is the case, I hereby announce the conclusion of this Scholar Examination!" The Proctor completely ignored the scene and cupped his hands toward the crowd. "You may arrange your own return journeys. The official appointment documents will be sent to the local government offices in your places of residence within half a month. Your reporting dates will be no later than the beginning of next month, so please plan your travel time carefully. Here, I wish you all brocade-bright futures and success the moment you arrive!"

After the examinees gradually departed, Shen Chun finally let out a breath of relief.

To be honest, he had not wanted to do something so offensive, but orders had come from above, and he had no choice but to comply.

When he finalized the preliminary list and the short man swept his brush across it, moving Xia Fan from first place to forty-first, Shen Chun did not feel the slightest surprise. Instead, he felt as though it had finally come.

It was as though the other party had been waiting for precisely this moment.

From the very beginning, the short man's purpose had not been inspection, but selecting someone.

This matter had undoubtedly received Ba Xingtian's tacit approval. Even if Shen Chun thought it inappropriate, he could only carry it out.

It was not unusual for those in high positions to recruit promising Fangshi in advance. Shen Chun had heard of it long ago. Most people, however, would do everything possible to secure the other party a good ranking, then leak the news afterward in exchange for their gratitude at being recognized. Lowering someone's rank like this was something he had never seen before.

Granted, compared to the first rank that drew everyone's attention, a lower ranking made it easier to manipulate subsequent transfers. But that also made it easy to bury hidden dangers. If the other party learned that someone had deliberately lowered his ranking, resentment might take root. When that time came, forget recruitment—even becoming bitter enemies would not be strange.

And to the short man, it seemed that keeping Xia Fan somewhere was more important than gaining his gratitude.

At the same time, lowering his ranking implied that the former's sphere of influence was not in Shangyuan.

Those two points seemed somewhat contradictory. He was not at the center of power, yet possessed enough influence to make a Bureau of Military Affairs Sentinel act. For the moment, Shen Chun could not think of anyone fitting that description.

Fortunately, the person involved had not been as hot-tempered and violent as Lord Ba had claimed, throwing the examination hall into chaos at the first disagreement. Aside from the Luo Family genius's unexpectedly strong reaction, the entire announcement process had gone fairly smoothly.

If he secretly investigated Xia Fan's movements next and found out where Xia Fan would be assigned, perhaps he could narrow down the range of possible identities for the short man.

But Shen Chun had already resolved not to investigate this matter any further.

That young Bureau of Military Affairs official was no ordinary opponent. One could see as much from Ba Xingtian's attitude toward him.

Compared to curiosity, his own life was clearly more important.

He knew that some secrets were best buried in one's heart forever.

End of Volume One