Explosion!

"What? Did you see something?" A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the Daoist Wugou as he turned to ask.

"This person's fate is unpredictable. How can one discern his trajectory in a short time by merely observing his aura?" The old man with the braid shook his head, then turned his gaze to another pillar of Fortune.

This pillar is thick and continuous, upright and peaceful, possessing a vast momentum and the image of a child!

"I wonder who this pillar of Fortune originated from? This pillar is completely opposite to the Pillar of Di Ai, they are two extremes, yet they seem to be connected, I wonder why." Looking at the pillar of destiny, the old man with the braid asked.

Upon hearing this, the Filthy Daoist showed no surprise and calmly replied, "Which one? The source of that one is named Qiao Qing, who is indeed connected to Di Ai. The two are brothers, but not related by blood. His father is the high-ranking official who took in Di Ai."

The old man with the braid nodded. "I see. Now that you put it that way, the connection is clear. It's like a rock that wasn't underwater, slowly revealing itself, and the destiny gradually becomes clear as well."

The Immaculate Elder was slightly taken aback. "Oh? What? You observed one person but couldn't grasp the situation, yet now that you know the relationship between the two, you've actually figured out something?" He frowned. "If you have, don't play tricks. Tell me what happened."

"It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, but the fates of these two are intertwined, connected by bloodlines, and have far-reaching implications. If I were to reveal it, it might bring disaster, and even the sect behind you would be affected to some extent."

"No need to exaggerate. I won't ask. But do you still want to know about the remaining pillars of energy?" The Daoist Wugou revealed a lewd smile, feeling that he had caught the other party in a compromising situation.

Unexpectedly, the old man with the braid smiled slightly, "Of these nearly eight thousand candidates, only twelve or thirteen can become pillars of strength. The ones you just mentioned are the best among them. But one cannot judge a book by its cover. Whether they can lead the world in the future is still uncertain and will take a lot of time. Even if you don't tell me everything, I will find out sooner or later."

"Ha! Don't be so confident." Upon hearing this, Daoist Wugou fell silent and only looked at the distant pillars of energy.

Soon, a difference emerged between the pillars of energy, with the first one becoming increasingly powerful and rising steadily. It surged ahead of the others, seemingly poised to soar into the heavens!

But the next moment, a powerful force surged from around the Examination Hall, converging and actually suppressing the pillar of energy once again.

Seeing this, Daoist Wugou sighed, "What a pity, what a pity. I don't know where Qiu Yan studied, but his Literary Thought talent is far ahead of others. However, he is constrained by his own Divine Ability and will be suppressed. He should have been a top scholar, but now it seems that he will be dragged down. Whether he can even make the list is another matter. He can't withstand even the slightest change in Fortune."

"That's not necessarily true," the old man with the braid shook his head. "While Fortune does exist, it still depends on the person and is subject to their will. How far Qiu Yan can go in the imperial Metropolitan Examination is not something that a clay statue enshrined in the Examination Hall can control, even if that clay statue has undergone a thousand years of worship!"

"Oh? How so?" Daoist Wugou narrowed his eyes, looking with interest at the pillar of Fortune that had been forcibly suppressed.

The old man with the braid glanced at him. "Haven't you seen that the 'Dragon Qi,' the outward manifestation of the Dynastic Fortune, has not suppressed Qiu Yan's pillar of Fortune?"

"Hmm? Now that you mention it, it's true. Could it be that the Dragon Qi of Great Rui is favoring Qiu Yan?" Daoist Wugou frowned, then shook his head. "However, the Metropolitan Examination and the grading of papers are both conducted in the Examination Hall. The Examination Hall is the main force in reducing his Fortune, and it has a great influence! Just now, his luck was high, which means he must have finished his essay. With that kind of momentum, he could easily have won the Metropolitan Laureate, but he was suppressed. This shows that he cannot easily break free from the control."

"Whether there are any changes depends on his answers to the questions." The old man with the braid didn't argue, but quietly looked at the Examination Hall. "It's a pity that Bai Zhaoyuan didn't take the exam, otherwise there would have been some changes, and a fierce competition would have been inevitable."

The moment the Human Thoughts, the surface of the Fortune Lake above the Examination Hall suddenly boiled, and then another pillar of Fortune rose from the ground, soaring straight into the sky, as if riding the wind. In the blink of an eye, it surpassed Qiu Yan's pillar, and showed no signs of stopping!

"Oh? This pillar of energy exudes an air of untamed spirit and shrewdness; its source is none other than Wen Zhizhen!" Daoist Wugou recognized the origin of the pillar of energy at a glance.

"He's certainly good at seizing opportunities, but everything in excess is as bad as too little," the old man with the braid shook his head.

At the same time, inside the Examination Hall, Qiu Yan just looked up, put his pen aside, picked up the essay in front of him, flicked it lightly, and blew on it.

Call!

The heat spread, the ink dried quickly, and the surrounding heat dissipated.

It's unclear when it started, but a faint mist began to rise from the cells in this area. It didn't obstruct the view, but anyone who stepped inside would feel the air was warm, which was quite strange.

At the edge of the light mist, a man stood there, aloof and unapproachable. The patrolling constable, seeing him, felt a jolt in his heart and quickly stepped forward, whispering, "Prime Minister, you..." As he spoke, the constable followed the man's gaze and saw Qiu Yan flipping through examination papers. He then said, "Would you like to go and take a look?"

This solitary, thin figure was none other than the chief examiner for this examination, Wang Fu, the Grand Chancellor of the Great Rui Dynasty.

After hearing those surprised words, Wang Fu pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No need."

Then, he pointed at Qiu Yan and asked, "Do you know this examinee's name?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this man is named Qiu Yan, and he is the top scholar from Jiannan Circuit." The soldier clasped his hands in response. These examination inspectors all had a method of memorization that allowed them to quickly remember the names and hometowns of the candidates.

"He's Qiu Yan?" Wang Fu looked surprised and nodded. "He's indeed not to be underestimated."

Upon hearing this, the soldier's heart skipped a beat. Recalling Wang He's previous actions, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Judging from the Prime Minister's tone, he clearly knows about Qiu Yan. Could it be that Wang He's earlier exchange with me was related to Qiu Yan? But he didn't stay long..." His thoughts were also evident on his face.

Upon seeing this, Wang Fu assumed the other party had some ulterior motive and shook his head, saying, "Don't disturb him." He was doing this to prevent the other party from misunderstanding his meaning, since the news that "Qiu Yan is Ma Yang's disciple" had already begun to circulate in high-level circles, and he had to be careful.

As a high-ranking official, Wang Fu, though disliking the Old Party, would not hold a grudge against a mere examinee.

Unexpectedly, his words were misunderstood by the constable, who, upon hearing the order, became even more certain of his guess, assuming that Qiu Yan had an extraordinary background.

After saying this, Wang Fu turned and left. As the chief examiner, he did not need to stay in the examination hall for long and could rest in the back hall of the Examination Hall.

However, having come once, he did not intend to leave so soon. He walked to the examination rooms of other Dao Domain, inspected them repeatedly, and finally came to the side room next to the examination hall, where he talked with several examiners.

The examiners were arranged by the Ministry of Rites and came from different factions, including members of the Old Party and officials who leaned towards the New Party. However, in this examination room, of course no one would discuss the New and Old Parties, and everyone carefully observed etiquette when speaking to Wang Fu.

After Wang Fu left, the atmosphere in the room relaxed, and the awkwardness between the people dissipated. They chatted casually, and as they talked, they inevitably mentioned the candidates. As fellow examinees, although they couldn't express their opinions, they would still mention the names of those they favored.

In an instant, several well-known names of the younger generation from various factions across the land were uttered by these individuals.

The name of Jiangnan Wen Zhizhen is undoubtedly the most frequently mentioned, and he is favored by many people. Regardless of whether it is the old or new party, they actually have a good impression of him.

After a while, someone suddenly mentioned, "Speaking of which, there's been a rumor lately that one of Chancellor Ma's disciples also participated in this Metropolitan Examination. Does anyone know anything about this person?"

This person spoke with a smile on their face, as if there was something deeper in their expression.

This man's name is Luo Zhongjie. Those who know him know that he recently joined Zhang Hou's faction and is a newly emerging member of the New Party. The meaning of these words is self-evident.

Someone immediately responded, "That man's name is Qiu Yan. He is the top scholar in Jiannan Circuit, and his reputation in Prosperity Capital is no less than that of Wen Zhizhen."

Upon hearing this, Luo Zhongjie asked in surprise, "Not inferior to Wen Zhizhen? Wen Zhizhen's reputation was earned through numerous literary and poetry gatherings, but I've never heard of Qiu Yan, whom you're talking about. I only know that he's a disciple of Chancellor Ma. Could it be that he gained his fame because of Chancellor Ma?"

The person who responded shook his head and did not continue to answer. Since Qiu Yan came to Prosperity Capital, he has kept a low profile. Not many people have met him, so how could others know his true talent? Even with Ma Yang's influence, it was not advisable to say too much, after all, too much talk leads to mistakes.

Seeing that he had refuted the other party, Luo Zhongjie did not press the matter further. He chuckled, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and remained calm and composed. He said these words not to offend his colleagues, but to express his attitude and to test the waters.

"It seems that Qiu Yan and Ma Yang do have some connection, but it's not close. For this Metropolitan Examination, we need to compromise with the Old Party. According to the leaders, the top scholar Metropolitan Laureate be given to the Old Party so they can gain some fame, but most of the candidates for the Jinshi degree must be brought into our camp."

As he was pondering this, he suddenly sensed something, as if something had happened.

He wasn't the only one; the other examiners in the room also seemed to sense something, and their expressions changed in that instant!

At the same time, the Daoist Wugou and the Venerable Hemp Robe, who were observing the qi on the artificial hill, were both stunned, then moved, and their gazes suddenly focused on Qiu Yan's qi pillar.

Boom!

The suppressed column of air suddenly expanded and then exploded! (To be continued...)

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