Hearing the faint sounds of cheering drifting in, Mo Yu turned to Prince Chen Liu and asked: “No one dared to wager upon Chen Chang Sheng being able to place first upon the First Banner; what would you say they are cheering for?”
Prince Chen Liu was momentarily stunned, understanding the logic behind her words, the joy that had briefly surfaced within him quickly dissipated.
Mo Yu laughed without saying anything.
None of the people gathered here had wagered on Chen Chang Sheng succeeding, yet, the reason for their jovial cheering was clearly because they all knew that he had no chance in the duelling phase. Since this youth from Orthodox Academy will not cause any of them to lose money, they naturally felt magnanimous enough to cheer for him.
Having exited the forest, he was greeted by a crisp, cool wind to the face, causing the slightly beleaguered Chen Chang Sheng to feel somewhat refreshed, as for the dumbfounded or perhaps shocked stares, he intentionally ignored them.
The clergy tasked with recording results for the trial and the examinees that were outside of the sea of trees could never have guessed that he would exit the forest this quickly – Chen Chang Sheng had used very little time in crossing the Dallying Forest, faster than even Liang Ban Hu, though it was yet uncertain as to who was faster out of him and the youth that had been registered as a student of Star Seeker Academy.
Turning back to gaze at the sea of trees, he thought back to his usage of divine sense while moving through the forest, he had thought he could vaguely make out the sound of surging leaves, drifting past in waves; he remained silent for a while.
The Ivy League gathering and Proclamation of Azure Clouds had proven that he wasn’t trash, yet, being called knowledgeable, well-read, familiar with the Scripture of The Way in its entirety; in a world that revered strength, such descriptions were nothing more than empty words and phrases, dressed up to look attractive. This world still looked upon strength as the most important asset to have, or more specifically, strength that could affect life and death.
Today, he had proven to the world for the first time, that he possessed that type of strength.
But this wasn’t enough, passing through the Dallying Forest was only the first half of the Martial Trial, he still had more to do in order to enter the duelling phase.
Leaving the sea of trees and crossing a meadow, he arrived before a beautiful riverside in Spring.
The river was named the River Qu (Song/Melody/Crooked) and flowed through Li Palace before joining the River Luo Shui.
In the Garden of Dawn, due to the flat landscape and several times of overflowing, this section of the River Qu was wider than the River Luo Shui located in the Capital. The shortest distance between its shores was at least over 100 metres (~109 yards).
The waters of the River Qu were very calm, and deeply green in colour; for scholars and intellectuals, this would have perhaps inspired thoughts of poetics and arts, but for Chen Chang Sheng and most of the examinees, it was more akin to a copper mirror that had rusted over in green, a rather unpleasant sentiment.
The atmosphere of the observed, depends upon the observer’s mood.
This year’s Martial Trial for the Grand Examination really was well planned.
The first half had examinees cross a sea of trees.
The latter half had examinees cross a river in Spring.
As long as an examinee managed to cross this mirror-like river that was over 100 metres wide and reach the opposite shore, they would have passed the Martial Trial, gaining the right to enter the Duelling Stage of the Grand Examination.
The trouble was, this wasn’t so simple a task.
The rules made it very clear, apart from the soles of your shoes, any part of an examinee’s body coming into contact with the river’s waters would result in disqualification.
Chen Chang Sheng walked to the river’s edge; gazing at the forest on the opposite shore naturally made him think of the lake at Orthodox Academy.