A Single Word Stirs the Heart, a Single Bow Suppresses the Soul

"What... what are you saying?"

The constable froze on the spot, then looked surprised, and finally a look of fear appeared in his eyes.

"You know what I'm saying. It's always better to treat an illness early than late. If you wait until it's too late, all you'll get is a critical condition notice." Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a surge of internal True Qi, he shook the constable's hand away. A continuous force also surged out, forcing the man back two steps!

"Ugh!" The constable stopped in his tracks, looking at Qiu Yan with suspicion and uncertainty. His mind was in turmoil. Although he didn't understand what a "notification" was, the surging power within him made him tremble with fear. He knew perfectly well that he had kicked a hornet's nest!

"This Qiu Yan is actually a trained martial artist! His skill is extremely profound! This force flows through my internal organs; with just a slight movement, it would severely damage my internal organs, leaving me with hidden injuries, and my life would be out of my control!"

Upon realizing this, he immediately understood that Qiu Yan was warning him. Large beads of sweat rolled down his face as the constable stared blankly at Qiu Yan, remaining silent.

His momentary hesitation immediately displeased the candidates behind Qiu Yan.

"What's going on? Are we still searching or not?"

"What are these soldiers doing? They're making us late. What should we do?"

"Exactly, with so many people, how can we possibly investigate them all?"

The commotion attracted the attention of an inspector. Just as he was about to ask a question, the constable came to his senses, glanced at Qiu Yan cautiously, said a few words to the official, and then returned. Without saying anything about searching, he simply told Qiu Yan to come over.

Qiu Yan straightened his clothes, and as he passed the constable, he patted him on the shoulder and whispered, "The energy I left in your body can shake your internal organs, which will have its benefits. Hold a mouthful of water in your mouth, and spit it out after fifteen minutes. You'll then know if it's true or not. I still have questions for you then."

After speaking, without waiting for a response, Qiu Yan calmly stepped inside.

Watching Qiu Yan's departing figure, the constable was still filled with doubt and unease. Feeling the force coursing through his body, he muttered to himself, then felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Recalling Qiu Yan's words, he walked to the side and picked up a bowl of water from the table.

The candidates, who had been waiting for half a day, started making noise again.

The constable glared at them and shouted, "What's all the noise about? What's all the noise about? Come here one by one!" As soon as he finished speaking, he took a big gulp of water, held it in his mouth, and then walked over.

This constable was named Wang He. He was originally a soldier who had practiced martial arts since childhood, following the path of External School Fist and practicing his family's traditional Cultivation Method. However, by this generation, his family's skills had long since fallen into disrepair.

External School Fist are physically demanding, but they are also very harmful to the body. They require dietary supplements and medicinal herbs to maintain physical strength. However, Wang He's family could not afford these, so he could only train hard. In the end, he achieved some success, but he also developed chronic illnesses. He originally wanted to gain some military merits on the battlefield, but after many twists and turns, he ended up in the Imperial City and became a soldier.

The stabbing pain under Qiu Yan's ribs that he mentioned earlier was the root of the illness, which is why he was able to suppress it. Now, Wang He held a mouthful of water, continuing his search while pondering to himself. After a quarter of an hour, he found a corner, spat it out, and stared intently at what he saw. His heart skipped a beat.

The saliva was as black as ink and emitted a foul, fishy smell!

"This is..." Although Wang He was just a military officer, he had some knowledge of martial arts and quickly realized that these were impurities in his body being expelled!

"Was it Qiu Yan's force that shook my internal organs and helped me expel impurities from my body? I was disrespectful to him just now, so why is he still helping me? Does he want to know something from me?"

Wang He was not stupid; he quickly figured out the key point. Whether it was psychological or not, after spitting out the black water, he could clearly feel that his body was much lighter and his spirits were more vigorous.

However, afterwards, he was caught in a dilemma, unsure of how to deal with it. Then, a sharp pain in his ribs dispelled all his worries!

"Oh no! Could Qiu Yan have left some kind of hidden trick? No, that's not right. He doesn't need to leave any hidden tricks. As long as he doesn't completely cure my illness, it's enough to give me a headache."

With this thought in mind, Wang He still had to suppress his desire and went to check the candidates behind him, but he seemed somewhat absent-minded. Fortunately, he was not the only one being checked this time, and he was replaced not long after.

Although he wanted to find Qiu Yan and get to the bottom of things right now, the job of an examination attendant was far from simple. He had to follow orders and could not act arbitrarily. He could only enter the examination room after all the candidates were seated.

The word "tribute" in the Examination Hall originally meant that a subordinate presented something to a superior. In this context, it means to search for talented people from all over the country and recommend them to the court and the emperor.

Candidates who have reached this stage are all exceptional, but there is still one hurdle to overcome: only by passing the Metropolitan Examination can they achieve their goal of "leaping over the dragon gate" (a metaphor for achieving great success).

"This Examination Hall is truly enormous."

Qiu Yan walked along the corridor, seemingly casually, but not easily. There were guards watching him everywhere, who would take them to different examination areas according to their respective Dao Domain.

However, for now, everyone's route is the same: they all need to go to the main hall and the Hall of Literature first.

The Hall of Literature is spacious and occupies a considerable area, but it is not for human use. Instead, it is used to enshrine Sage Worthies Clay Statues, hence it is also known as the Confucian Temple.

However, even the largest temple cannot hold a thousand people in one hall. Therefore, Qiu Yan and the other candidates were led to the square outside the hall and had to stop and watch from a distance.

There were people standing inside the Confucian Temple, but they weren't examinees; they were examiners.

From afar, Qiu Yan could see several figures standing in the hall, but the one in the lead looked rather thin and lonely. Even though he was standing in the crowd, he still gave off a sense of solitude.

"That must be the chief examiner for this Metropolitan Examination, Prime Minister Wang Fu. Beside him are several other examiners. Judging from the atmosphere, this Metropolitan Examination is likely to be turbulent."

Inside the Confucian Temple stood several examiners, who were currently offering prayers to the clay sculptures within the temple.

The temple enshrines only one clay sculpture.

The Supreme Sage revered teacher.

Throughout history, Confucian scholars have taken it as their source and ritual as their Order. Although there have been many changes since then, they have never deviated from the original principle.

"In my past life on Earth, there was also a tradition of Literary Dao, and the name of Confucianism has been passed down for thousands of years. The way of Human Path in this world still takes this as its source. Even the sages and Sage of the past can be vaguely traced in my past life. I don't know why. These thoughts have always been buried in my heart, but in the past, people were insignificant and their words were not important. But after the Metropolitan Examination, I will be able to climb step by step and comprehend the way of Human Path in other ways. I just don't know when I will be able to access the secrets behind it."

While Qiu Yan was pondering, a considerable number of examinees had already gathered around. Seeing that the crowd had swelled, the bailiff who had led the way spoke up—

"Worship the saint!"

Qiu Yan bowed and bent over along with the others, while simultaneously clearing his mind of all distractions and making his thoughts clear.

However, as he bent over, the situation suddenly changed, and an invisible aura descended, penetrating his body before he could react!

Boom!

Qiu Yan sensed the rumbling and was about to resist when a vast and powerful force pressed down upon him, overwhelming and righteous!

"This is..."

Their Fleshly Body were instantly compressed to the point of near solidification, making it difficult for them to move!

The Divine Spirit Body, thousands of miles away, was controlled by a unified consciousness. It wanted to channel its divine power into the Soul Aperture, but then it remembered the secrets of the Examination Hall and the Human Path of denouncing the gods, so it stopped. Then, strange light and shadow surged up in its heart, blurry and uncertain, filling its thoughts!

This is light and shadow originating from within the Fleshly Body!

Boom!

In the distance, a loud explosion came from the foot of Stove Mountain, followed by cheers from girls.

The sound that had been bothering Qiu Yan lately was now completely irrelevant to him, as his mind was entirely absorbed in the light and shadow.

At the same time, his Fleshly Body was stinging with pain, and his Divine Soul and False Core trembled as if they were being held and pulled out of his body!

These two things are the foundation of the Way of Nature and Life. How could Qiu Yan let them go? With a thought, his firm will enveloped them, stabilizing his Divine Soul and nascent False Core.

But the next moment, the blurry, shifting light and shadow in his mind slowly became clear. It wasn't a clear scene, but rather a kind of light and shadow, similar to a thought or idea, that appeared in Qiu Yan's mind!

Immediately afterward, Qiu Yan understood the meaning behind it.

"Many people have said before that cultivating Divine Ability will have a great impact on the Imperial Examinations, but they haven't explained the specific impact or manifestations. Now, with the imperial Metropolitan Examination approaching, I have personally experienced it during the worship of the sages, and it has finally become clear to me."

Thinking this, Qiu Yan's Divine Soul revealed the aura of Literary Dao and the Sage Spirit, which merged with his vast will and canceled each other out. However, the influence was still there, as if there was a sharp blade standing in his body, which could hurt him at any time.

But Qiu Yan didn't seem to care. He straightened up, glanced at the Confucius Confucian Temple in the distance again, and then turned around and followed the signs to his examination room.

The dramatic change just now didn't last long; it was only a matter of a breath, and it was invisible and intangible. To outsiders, there was nothing unusual about it.

However, this gave Qiu Yan a new idea. A strange aura enveloped his body, causing him to tremble slightly with each step and his bones to vibrate. He was actually being rejected by the Examination Hall!

"So that's how it is. This Metropolitan Examination was fraught with danger, but at least it confirmed my Original Edition suspicion: cultivation is about pursuing one's own path, and in the end, it inevitably leads to a separation from the Human Path..."

Here, Qiu Yan was pondering when another group of candidates were led to the square to pay homage to Supreme Sage —although the square was large, it could not accommodate all the candidates at the same time, so they had to worship in batches.

In the distance, inside the Confucian Temple, after Wang Fu and the others finished paying their respects to the sage, they turned around. A hint of doubt flashed across the face of this Black-faced Chancellor, and his gaze shifted to the direction Qiu Yan had left. (To be continued. Please search for the novel for better and faster updates!)