Seven days later.
The county office.
"Your student pays respects to his examiner!"
Gan Yu blended in among a group of young scholars and saluted the magistrate in a crimson official robe.
Among the young scholars with him were children with their hair hanging in tufts, youths like himself, middle-aged men, and even elderly men whose hair had turned white prematurely.
Growing old for the sake of a degree was no empty saying!
The magistrate's surname was Xu. He had passed the Imperial Examination as a Jinshi and possessed a face fair as carved jade, with three wisps of long beard fluttering beneath his chin. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a dignified appearance and an air thoroughly befitting an official.
Magistrate Xu had once placed highly in the Imperial Examination. After wasting away for two years, he had been selected for office and assigned to Qingxi County as a Subordinate Ninth Rank secretary. Three years later, he had been promoted to the county office's registrar, followed by the county commandant, county assistant magistrate... and finally the position of Orthodox Seventh Rank county magistrate. He had endured for more than a decade before finally tasting sweetness after bitterness.
In the overstaffed Supreme Dao Court, that rate of promotion was definitely considered fast. At the very least, no one had blocked him at any step, which was enough to show that he had powerful backing behind him.
"Ahem..."
Magistrate Xu's face was somewhat pale, as though he were suffering from an illness. At that moment, he raised a hand.
Gan Yu immediately felt a gentle force surge forth and lift him up. Looking at the sickly-looking Magistrate Xu, he suddenly felt a wave of awe.
"You are all learned scholars. This official is selecting talent for the