A Honor!

"Alas, what a pity." Academy Director Wang had already lost count of how many times he had said "what a pity" over the past two days.

Everyone reviewed the examination papers again.

At last, County Magistrate Cai and the other two came before Fang Yun's paper and discussed it incessantly, yet ultimately found no solution.

By lunchtime, County Magistrate Cai was still unable to decide. He could only set it aside for now and go eat.

After lunch, everyone rested for half an hour before returning to the grading room.

County Magistrate Cai was still unwilling to let Jing Kingdom's only Double-A Honor Licentiate slip through his fingers.

Academy Director Wang consoled him, "There is no need to dwell on it. With State-Ringing talent and Flawless Sacred Words, his future achievements will surely surpass ours. So what if he does not have the empty title of the realm's first Double-A Honor Licentiate? Covered in wounds, he still became Case First. Passing the Provincial Examination will be no trouble for him."

County Magistrate Cai stood dumbly for a moment, then suddenly declared with righteous fervor, "We select talents for the ruler, the nation, the sages, and the Human Race. How can we cower and hesitate because of others' slander? Better to be cursed for one generation than for a hundred!"

Academic Examiner Wan and Academy Director Wang exchanged speechless looks. What County Magistrate Cai meant was that granting Fang Yun Double-A Honor would earn him the curses of one generation, while refusing would earn him the curses of a hundred. He had elevated Fang Yun to the utmost height.

Having spoken, County Magistrate Cai swept his brush grandly, crossing out the previous B-grade evaluation for Fang Yun's Appeal to the Sage's Words and writing a new evaluation:

His body bore sickness and wounds, Yet by ox cart he went to the examination hall; From a Cold Gate, with little brush and ink, He chose worthy talents for the sages. A! Appeal for Sage Judgment!

Academic Examiner Wan and Academy Director Wang were dumbfounded. They had not expected County Magistrate Cai to place such a heavy wager.

Having served as officials for many years, the two immediately realized that County Magistrate Cai had seen Fang Yun was destined for fame and was taking this chance to gamble.

If he lost, at most his salary would be docked. The court would not punish him severely, because fighting for Fang Yun's Double-A Honor would also benefit Jing Kingdom.

But if he won, he would become the first county magistrate in Jing Kingdom to produce a Double-A Honor Licentiate. Though an academy director oversaw education, the county magistrate was the chief examiner and parental official of a county. His merit would be greatest, and he would certainly be promoted.

Academy Director Wang and Academic Examiner Wan were instantly convinced beyond doubt. No wonder he was a Metropolitan Graduate. This courage and grandeur alone were beyond their match.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately declared loudly, "Appeal for Sage Judgment!"

The voices of the three passed through the Literary Academy's omnipresent Literary Qi into the Void, ultimately reaching Qufu, south of Mount Tai and beside the Eastern Sea—the Sacred Academy.

From afar, it looked like an inverted mountain: broad at the top and narrow below, its pointed peak plunged into the earth. Its summit was an enormous platform packed with towers and pavilions, amid drifting white clouds.

Confucius loved Mount Tai, yet could not bear to harm its main peak, Jade Emperor Peak. So he cut off a three-thousand-foot side peak from its base, carried it back to Qufu, and tossed it lightly. Thus came the renowned Upside-Down Peak Mountain. Then he raised his brush and painted in the air, leaving an ink-wash painting of pavilions hanging in the sky.

Confucius blew lightly, and the painted pavilions descended one after another upon Upside-Down Peak Mountain's summit, forming Qufu Academy—the present-day Sacred Academy.

At the very center of the Sacred Academy stood an immensely vast hall capable of seating a hundred thousand people. It was where Confucius had lectured, and it was called the Hall of All Sages.

Within the Hall of All Sages stood a Sage Platform, upon which rested many statues, enshrining every person who had been granted Saint Enfeoffment from ancient times to the present.

Below the Sage Platform, three refined old men sat in a row. Other than them, there was no one else.

At first glance, the three old men seemed utterly ordinary. Yet upon closer inspection, countless strange scenes flickered in their eyes.

There were revolving starry skies, changing seasons, empty valleys and secluded mountains, as well as bustling markets. From the northern frontier grasslands to the rainforests of the far south, from the westernmost deserts to the shores of the Eastern Sea, every facet of the mortal world lay within them.

At this moment, the scenes flickering most often in their eyes were those within Literary Academies throughout Saint Origin Continent.

Saint Origin Continent had ten kingdoms and ninety provinces, each province had nine prefectures, and each prefecture had nine counties. Everything within more than seven thousand Literary Academies lay before their eyes.

One person spoke.

"Could be A, could be B."

Another spoke.

"A Heaven's Disciple, wounded and sick yet still taking the examination. His writing can be trained, but a heart turned toward the sages is rare. A!"

The last person remained silent for a long time before finally uttering a single word.

"Approved!"

The last man's voice leapt across countless mountains and rivers, exploding within the Ji County Literary Academy's grading room. Everyone felt as though they had heard Listening Thunder beside their ears, their hair tossed about as if by a violent gale.

Everyone was shocked and delighted.

"A Half-Sage's transmitted voice? It is worth a month of bitter cultivation!" one lecturer cried ecstatically.

Academic Examiner Wan said, "Ordinarily, if a Half-Sage agrees, they merely set it in advance. Yet this Half-Sage actually spoke, fearing that we would not grant him an A. This shows profound approval. It is second only to a Half-Sage's personal designation—a tremendous blessing!"

After pondering for a moment, County Magistrate Cai said, "The matter of the Half-Sage's transmitted voice must never be spread. First, he is still young. If he learns of this, he will surely grow arrogant, which would harm his future. It will not be too late to tell him once he becomes a Provincial Graduate. Second, his Double-A Honor will already make him the target of all arrows. If word of a Half-Sage's transmitted voice is added, who knows how many petty men will slander him behind his back? I will report this to the Literary Prime Minister and have him issue a gag order. Whoever dares spread what happened today will be guilty of the same crime as murdering a Metropolitan Graduate and shall suffer the punishment of being torn apart by five horses!"

County Magistrate Cai's gaze was icy. Literary Qi surged within him, and a chill spread through the grading room.

When a Metropolitan Graduate was enraged, their Literary Qi could transform into Talent-Aura Spears and swords capable of killing. It was extraordinarily terrifying.

The ten lecturers teaching at the Literary Academy hurriedly bowed and said they would not dare.

"Our families have served as Jing Kingdom's subjects for generations. We are overjoyed to see such talent; how could we possibly harm him?"

"Fang Yun and I are distant relatives. I even taught him to read. I would never harm him."

"Hmph!" County Magistrate Cai snorted unhappily. Before the name seal on the paper had been opened, that lecturer had already known it belonged to Fang Yun. It was clear that these lecturers had often eavesdropped on the three examiners.

Academy Director Wang said, "What Your Excellency says is entirely correct. He is still young, so we must not praise him to death. I have also met that Fang Zhongyong. I have always worried for him, but it is a pity that his father is consumed by greed. What happens later is difficult to say."

County Magistrate Cai nodded. "Since the rankings are settled, open the name seals and write the Golden List."

The crowd then tore open the parts of the examination papers concealing the names and brought out five large sheets of yellow paper—the so-called Golden Lists.

County Magistrate Cai remembered all fifty Licentiates after one glance. He lifted his brush and wrote in the upper-left corner of the first yellow sheet: Fang Yun, A, A.

On the second line, he wrote: Fang Zhongyong, B-middle, B-lower.

"Born at the wrong time." Academy Director Wang looked at Fang Zhongyong's name and murmured softly.

After writing the Golden List for all fifty Licentiates, County Magistrate Cai said, "I will write the invitations for today's Literary Assembly."

Academy Director Wang and Academic Examiner Wan responded with silence.

On the day the results were posted, the three examiners would always hold a Literary Assembly, inviting local people with scholarly ranks and the top ten Licentiates. They would chiefly discuss, evaluate, and appreciate the papers from that County Examination.

The invitations could have been written by someone else, but County Magistrate Cai wrote them personally, showing just how seriously he regarded today's Literary Assembly.

By the time everything was finished, it was already past three in the afternoon. The main gates of the Literary Academy opened wide, and a vast sea of people waited outside. Great numbers of examinees and their families crammed together, packing the formerly spacious area before the academy gates until not even water could seep through.

Before the Golden List could be posted, someone hurried into the Literary Academy. The crowd saw that it was Constable Lu of the county and began guessing what major event had occurred.

Constable Lu quickly found County Magistrate Cai, bowed with cupped hands, and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the matter from that night has basically been investigated, though there is no evidence."

"Speak!" County Magistrate Cai was not tall, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp as he looked sternly at Constable Lu.

"Yes! Liu Zicheng of the Dayuan Liu Family took a fancy to Fang Yun's child bride. He deliberately befriended Fang Yun, but Yang Yuhuan was a chaste and fierce woman, utterly devoted to Fang Yun. Fang Yun likewise refused to abandon her for money. When Liu Zicheng's scheme failed, humiliation turned into rage. He once threatened Fang Yun, then ordered men to surround and beat Fang Yun in an alley near Auspicious Restaurant."

"Are you certain it was the Dayuan Liu Family?"

"There can be no mistake." Constable Lu looked at County Magistrate Cai cautiously.

County Magistrate Cai frowned and sank into thought.

After a moment, Constable Lu said quietly, "This subordinate also heard a strange tale concerning Fang Yun. I do not know whether I should speak of it."

"Speak!"

"Fang Yun said that on the night he was beaten, a mysterious person rescued him, then accepted Fang Yun as a student and taught him a great deal overnight."

"Oh? How was Fang Yun's literary talent before this? How was his learning?" County Magistrate Cai immediately asked.

"Very poor. Even I was better in those days. He absolutely could not have passed as a Licentiate."

County Magistrate Cai looked at Constable Lu.

Two hundred years ago, constables and yamen runners held very low status and had no official rank. Yet in recent years, the population had grown and Literary Qi flourished. More and more people had earned scholarly ranks, and large numbers of Academy Students and Licentiates had filled various posts. Constables had also gained the rank of Subordinate Ninth Rank, managing arrests and public order, and were even issued Literary Treasure Waist Pendants by the court.

This Constable Lu was an Academy Student who had become a constable only after losing hope of passing as a Provincial Graduate.

"I understand. Do not tell anyone else about this matter."

"Yes, my lord."

Constable Lu was about to turn and leave when County Magistrate Cai took out an invitation. "This is an invitation for him to attend the Literary Assembly at Auspicious Restaurant. Deliver it to him personally. Arrange for someone to keep watch and prevent Liu Zicheng from seeking revenge again. If Liu Zicheng dares make a move, deal with him according to the Jing Code. Fang Yun's protection is paramount. Do you understand?"

"This subordinate understands."

"Go, then. Leave Fang Yun with a good impression."

"Yes! This subordinate takes his leave."

Constable Lu's heart trembled. He knew County Magistrate Cai belonged to the Literary Prime Minister's faction and was the mortal enemy of Left Prime Minister Liu Shan. Yet the Left Prime Minister now held overwhelming power over the court, and it was said he had nearly forced the Literary Prime Minister into retirement. At such a time, County Magistrate Cai should never have offended Liu Zicheng or anyone from the Liu Household. Yet he was now protecting Fang Yun with all his strength. This proved that Fang Yun was far from ordinary.

As Constable Lu walked out, he happened upon a yamen runner on his way to post the Golden List. He asked, "Is that Fang Yun fellow on the list?"

"Ah? You do not know? This year's Case First is Fang Yun! And he is Double-A Honor Case First!"

"Case First? What? Say that again! Double-A Honor? You did not get it wrong?" Constable Lu could not believe his ears.

"See for yourself." The yamen runner unrolled the Golden List. Fang Yun stood first on the very first page, with two striking characters for "A" beside his name.

Constable Lu sharply sucked in a breath. He was a genuine Academy Student and understood better than anyone what a Double-A Honor Licentiate meant. In Jing Kingdom's two hundred years since its founding, there had not been a single Double-A Honor Licentiate!

Looking further down, he saw that the prodigy Fang Zhongyong had received merely Double-B Honor.

Constable Lu's thoughts began racing, and his steps involuntarily quickened as the little abacus in his heart clicked furiously.

"No wonder County Magistrate Cai is not afraid of offending the Dayuan Liu Family! So he is a Double-A Honor Licentiate. That means Fang Yun's Appeal to the Sage's Words did not contain a single error. Such a person is absolutely extraordinary. There is likely some colossal figure behind him. Could that mysterious person be connected to the Literary Prime Minister? Very likely! This time, having me deliver the invitation is a heaven-sent opportunity. I must seize it!"

The yamen runner whispered, "I heard those lecturers say that Fang Yun is also a Sage-front Tongsheng."

"Hiss..." Constable Lu sucked in another sharp breath. A Double-A Honor Sage-front Tongsheng—even if he had no backing whatsoever—was worthy of County Magistrate Cai's full protection.