"Emperor Chen, everything over there has been arranged, and the time is about right!"
As noon approached, Beigong Mo personally led a group to Listening Waves Courtyard and knocked open the gate to his courtyard.
"Good. Thank you for taking the trouble to arrange this, Master. Let us head over now."
Chen An nodded slightly, rose, and beckoned to Shen Qinglan at his side. Thunder Spirit, sprawled eagerly across his shoulder, seemed ready to spring into action. Surrounded by Beigong Mo and the academy's eminent figures, the group slowly made their way toward the already prepared auction venue.
Quite a few Chengtian Prefecture Academy disciples passed through the corridors along the way.
From afar, they saw Beigong Mo, the academy head, following with a deferential bend of his body, while the academy chiefs and elders who usually held themselves high above others attended at both sides, advancing around Chen An as though stars surrounding the moon. Shock and envy immediately filled their faces.
They hurriedly stepped aside to both sides of the path, clearing a broad passage and not daring to approach and disturb them.
On the way, Chen An happened to run into Zhou Shuyan, Xiao Qiyuan, and several familiar old acquaintances who had taken the examinations from Qingyang County Academy alongside him.
They stood by the roadside, staring dumbfoundedly at this spectacle, their faces full of reverence and disbelief.
Chen An paused slightly, gave them a warm smile, and nodded lightly in greeting.
Yet that simple gesture made Zhou Shuyan and the others shudder from head to toe. Their faces flushed scarlet at once, and in their excitement, they barely knew where to put their hands and feet.
They hurriedly bowed, their voices trembling. "G-Greetings, Emperor Chen!"
Who could have imagined that only a few days ago, Chen