Chapter 179: Happiness, Anger and Sorrow
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
No one was discussing anymore. Not one dared to delay the soldiers’ time by even a second because they knew that the release of results was upon them.
Rows of anxious and nervous pairs of eyes focused on the soldiers and the inside of the Imperial Academy. The atmosphere seemed to be suffocating as some kind of pressure started bubbling up.
Some candidates were so nervous that their faces were turning green.
Although Fang Zhengzhi would not mind whatever results he got, however, that was not to say that he did not care about it at all. Therefore, he was beginning to fill up with anticipation.
Yan Xiu, at this point, abandoned his thoughts and focused his eyes on the Imperial Academy.
Soon, a team of official messengers in their black official robes appeared in their sights. Every one of the officials had the character for "Imperial" on their chest, representing their rank.
The person leading the team was someone Fang Zhengzhi knew. He was the Chief Examiner for the Huai An County County Examinations, Imperial Messenger Qin Yumin.
After Qin Yumin stepped out of the gates of the Imperial Academy, his eyes swept the crowd in front of him. He showed a slight hint of shock. It was obvious that the crowd today was greater than the crowds that showed up for the past release of results for the Theory Examinations.
However, it was not surprising if he thought about it.
Previous results release of the Theory Examinations had more candidates and palace officials while the majority of the citizens would view the results after the Combat Examinations.
However, this time it was different.
Because…
A heavenly miracle happened in this round of Theory Examinations, therefore, passing merchants and citizens with free time would come and squeeze for a look.
Everyone wanted to see the outcome of this Theory Examinations.
Qin Yumin did not stand at the gates for long. He cut through the crowd and came to the two huge Roll Tablets beside the door.
These two tablets were different from the tablets at the River of Trust Province.
The tablet had the standard features of a tablet but magnified to gigantic proportions and dark as ink. Whether it was the height or width, they were all twice in size in every dimension compared to the Roll Tablet at the River of Trust Province.
"This round of Imperial Examinations had two thousand three hundred and fifty-seven candidates. Following the rules of the previous rounds, the Theory Examination will have first and second-class rolls. The first-class roll will contain the top twenty while the second-class roll will start from the twenty-first position to the two hundredth position."
As Qin Yumin explained to this point, his eyes surveyed the anxiously waiting candidates and spectators.
When the candidates heard the number of them that participated, they were all dumbfounded. They would publicise the number of participants in every round of the examinations. However, in this round, the number of participants was a full five hundred more than the previous round.
In this case, the chance of acceptance became all the more precious.
Furthermore, this was only the Theory Examinations. If the disqualifications from the Combat Examinations were taken into account, then, in the end, those that truly passed the Imperial Examinations at most also would not exceed fifty candidates.
Every two years, the number of people in the Great Xia Empire that manage to pass the Imperial Examinations were not more than fifty. For the more than two thousand candidates, their chances were paper thin.
However, if they ever pass, it would be equivalent to the carp jumping through the dragon gate. They gain the rights to step into the palace courts.
Qin Yumin did not say anything redundant because he knew that everyone now only cared about the names on the Roll Tablets.
He swiftly took out an exquisite rectangular box made out of pure metal from his chest.
The box was black and it was hard to tell what was the exact material used to craft it. On the top and four sides of the box were different characters carved into it, there were even some archaic patterns adorning the surface.
"Ka!"
Qin Yumin removed the seal on the box.
After that, he took out an ink-black jade rock that was shaped like a cube from inside the box.
All the candidates immediately tensed up because when this ink-black jade rock was pushed into the tablet, it would determine the fate of their futures…
"Wvoom!"
The ink-black jade rock was pushed into an indentation on the Roll Tablet. After that, the enormous Roll Tablet started to shine was blinding light.
One by one, names started to appear on the rock.
The tension at the location reached saturation point. Everyone opened their eyes wide, intensely scanning the rock for names.
They were all overly anxious to the point where they forgot about their money pouch.
Within the fully packed crowd, some figures started to wind their way through. No matter which world, there was no shortage of such people.
This also made sure that today was a definitely a day filled with happiness and shock.
"It’s out!"
"I thought I just saw my name, where did it go? Where did my name go?!"
"Ah, that’s my name but…why is the address behind my name wrong?!"
There were more than two thousand people participating in the Imperial Examinations, there were bound to have people with the same name. As a result, after every name was the address of each individual and the index number for the examination.
This helped to facilitate the determination of passing candidates in the event of any confusion.
Surprise but after that, it turned to a heavy disappointment so the candidates that tool such a blow broke down and cried on the spot.
"Ah...Why? Why is it that I have the same name but different fortune!"
"It was obvious that I made it. How is it possible that I didn’t? There must be a mistake, a mistake…"
Sobs started to sprout from within the crowd.
"I passed! I really passed this time!"
"I made it… I made it into the roll!"
"Hahaha, ten years of hard work, ten years of poring over books. I finally passed the Theory Examinations today!"
Such exclamations would naturally exist but compared to the wails of failing, it was obviously fewer.
However, these exclamations attracted the most attention.
Whenever there was someone screaming "I passed, I passed", the surrounding people all looked towards that person with expressions of envy and jealousy.
The students that came from the same province state, after getting over their disappointment, started celebrating for those that made it onto the Roll Tablet.
As everyone was sharing their happiness and sorrows, some voices that did not fit the situation rang out.
"There is no Fang Zhengzhi!"
"Fang Zhengzhi’s name is not on the Roll Tablet!"
"Did he drop out of the roll as expected?"
"In pursuit of quantity, he neglected quality. Such an outcome was as expected. He might have had a chance to get on the second-class roll but he fell out of the rolls instead. He deserved it!"
"As a human, it’s better if we lead down-to-earth lives! Why force it out if we really cannot do it?"
As these voices grew, more people joined in. Whenever they said something, they would subtly glance over at Fang Zhengzhi.
However, Fang Zhengzhi maintained an expression free of worries.
Second-class Roll?
Fang Zhengzhi barely gave a thought about the Second-class Roll Tablet. At the very least, he felt that Yan Xiu and his name would not appear on that tablet.
Similarly, Yan Xiu did not pay much attention to the Second-class Roll Tablet despite the fact that he was only sixteen.
He was the noblelite from the Yan Clan of Western Liang. Although it was not something to be bragged about, it was his greatest source of motivation.
There was not a single noblelite from the Yan Clan that would want their names on the second-class roll.
There was no such history since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty.
As a result, Yan Xiu also would not do it. In his heart, if he got into the second-class roll, it would be equivalent to dropping out of the roll altogether.
Yan Xiu’s expression was aloof. He was waiting.
Fang Zhengzhi was waiting as well.
However, this did not mean that the citizens felt that Fang Zhengzhi should continue to wait because coming up was the first-class roll of the Imperial Examinations.
On the roll would be only twenty names.
Within these twenty names, from the top to bottom, no one was expecting to see his name.
Whether it was during or after the Imperial Examinations, no one had ever thought about this. The reason was simple. Fang Zhengzhi just entered the Heavenly Reflection State.
This was not enough reason to support their predictions.
However, when Fang Zhengzhi’s ability was compared to other candidates, there was quite a considerable gap.
The top twenty in the whole of the Great Xia Empire. Which one of them wasn’t an elite that got into the Rising Dragon Roll? There were even some that had the ability to be in the top twenty or thirty positions on the Rising Dragon Roll but because of the age restrictions, they were not on the roll.
Those people would be the fiercest competitors in this round of the Imperial Examinations.
Forty-year-olds in the Heavenly Reflection State!
They had meditated in the Heavenly State for at least ten years. Whether it was their foundation or their understanding of the Dao of All Creation, they had all reach the highest of levels.
The gap between such individuals and a fifteen-year-old who just entered Heavenly Reflection State was not even the difference between Heaven and Earth.
It was at least, the difference between worlds.