Chapter 191 Approaching the Divine (Thirteen)
Liu Sheng keenly noticed: "Madam, have you encountered something?"
"My son... he's changed... but no matter what methods I've tried, he just won't change back."
As soon as she spoke of this, the madam's eyes welled up with tears, and her face was filled with agony.
But she didn't want to show too much vulnerability in front of strangers, so she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, sniffled, and forced a smile: "If there's truly a way to save him, even if it means taking my life, then so be it."
Liu Sheng took a few steps closer, her shadow falling upon the madam.
"Madam, since that's the case, why not try my God?"
She held the divine book in her hands, her voice extremely low, as if intending to bewitch.
"My God is extremely benevolent and doesn't require your life."
These words, upon reaching the madam's ears and burrowing into her heart, felt numbingly pleasant, as if taking root.
...
Just as Liu Sheng "appeared" to still be copying the book, the other candidates' missionary careers had already begun one after another...
Of course, most candidates' first thought was to start from the street, asking passersby one by one if they wanted to convert, and then being rejected repeatedly.
Occasionally, someone would be willing to learn more, but as soon as they entered the temple and felt the gloomy and strange Qi inside, they were scared away.
"What is Wen Shoufu's Young Master doing?"
Hanshan Jun hadn't paid attention for a moment, and now, upon looking, he discovered that Wen Xuanning was talking to an old man. "Who is this person?"
"He's the Old County Magistrate of this county." Li Shangshu stroked his chin, nodding in appreciation.
As expected of the child of a certain noble and Wen Shoufu, a born strategist, he could even think of starting from the top down.
It's just not easy to talk about...
As it was their first meeting, the Old County Magistrate was not easy to deal with, so how could he be persuaded?
Indeed, the Old County Magistrate kept shaking his head, refusing to agree.
As the examiners were curious about what Wen Xuanning would do, they saw Wen Xuanning whisper something to the Old County Magistrate, who suddenly looked startled.
Although the words were spoken softly, one could read from his lips: "Your family has weird objects."
"How did he know?" Yan Xueshi frowned.
Li Shangshu chuckled and said, "Isn't it obvious?"
"Please enlighten me, Li Shangshu." Hanshan Jun cupped his hands.
"Before Young Master Wen left the temple, he went to worship the divine statue." Ling Shangshu suddenly spoke, his expression unreadable.
"Yes, he was the only candidate to do so." Yan Xueshi nodded in sudden realization.
Li Shangshu nodded, analyzing: "It must be that his extremely high Spiritual Qi allowed the Supreme God to guide him, granting him some reward when he communicated with God through worship."
"It's a pity we can only see their mirages and their faith values; we have no idea what rewards they received." Hanshan Jun said with a slight regret.
"Thousands of illusions running simultaneously, and still needing to be displayed for us, to show so much is already unprecedented." Ling Shangshu said coldly, "Only a Divine Artifact can achieve that."
"Even Ling Shangshu, who is most skilled in Sky Craftsman, says so, so it must be true." Hanshan Jun said with a smile.
"However, this time, in the illusion, divine rewards actually appeared... Do you think this means..." Yan Xueshi asked.
Everyone knew what it meant, but no one dared to respond.
And Mei Yuanzheng remained silent from beginning to end.
...
In the palace, the Emperor's composed face could not hide his excitement.
"It means God has finally remembered us."
"Imperial Brother, can those words... be spoken?" Princess raised her long eyebrows, hesitating.
The Emperor chuckled softly and waved his hand: "No matter, I can speak them."
"That's true. After all, Imperial Brother is now a true divine envoy."
"In the past, we had Spiritual Qi but lacked means of control, and we even had to search for them in ancient texts, and even had to borrow the power of weird objects, which was truly shameful." The Emperor gritted his teeth, then brightened, "However, in the future, we will have more divine gifts..."
"This is still due to Imperial Brother's unremitting efforts; this act will benefit generations." The Princess's beautiful face showed genuine reverence. Only she knew how much the Emperor had sacrificed to get to this point.
"I wouldn't dare say it will benefit generations, but... there always needs to be an heir."
The Emperor sighed, not seeing the unusual glint in the Princess's eyes.
"That boy Xuanning, he's starting to show some promise."
Watching Wen Xuanning point out the weird objects in the Old County Magistrate's house, and then seeing the Old County Magistrate kneel and plead bitterly, finally agreeing to Wen Xuanning's demands, the Emperor nodded with a look of approval, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"If he can truly receive divine favor, perhaps... this empire..."
"Imperial Brother, don't talk nonsense. How can an outsider?" The Princess interrupted the Emperor without hesitation, placing the teapot down heavily with a face as cold as water.
"Every time I say it, you have this reaction." The Emperor chuckled and shook his head, "I've become a divine envoy, I won't have children. Your lineage isn't also..."
"Imperial Brother, stop talking. I won't agree." The Princess sulkily turned her head away, her expression unclear.
"Alright, alright, I see, you just can't bear to let that boy suffer in this position..." The Emperor heard his sister's tone was genuinely angry, and he quickly tried to coax her with jokes.
...
Meanwhile, Chu Shudu, the second earliest to leave the temple, was not as flexible. He simply honestly told people about the doctrines of the divine book he had learned. However, his Spiritual Qi was extremely high, and as he spoke, he even managed to move some people. After reciting the divine book for half a day, his body gradually underwent some changes.
"This is, divine radiance, right?" Hanshan Jun asked uncertainly.
"Yes, it seems he gained some Comprehension Ability after thoroughly reading the divine book; his Comprehension Ability is extremely high!" Yan Xueshi's research direction at the National Academy was divine radiance, so he naturally recognized it.
"After all, he was specially admitted to Chang'an Academy because of his high Spiritual Qi and Comprehension Ability." Li Shangshu said, looking at the roster, "However, this Comprehension Ability is lower than..."
Everyone's gaze simultaneously fell on the figure of candidate "Xuan Thirty-Nine" still diligently copying the book.
Never mind, let's look at the other candidates.
"And Ling Shangshu's cherished daughter, she also has some ideas." Hanshan Jun said with a smile.
Ling Yuke was seen rolling up her sleeves and using self-made tools to repair the temple, climbing up and down to mend the broken parts, getting her delicate little face covered in dust.
"This is truly 'repairing the temple.' How many candidates could think of this? How can you attract followers without a good facade?" Li Shangshu praised, "Ling Shangshu has taught her well!"
As he spoke, Li Shangshu secretly glanced at Ling Shangshu, but seeing that Ling Fu was still serious, neither looking nor saying a word, he couldn't help but feel a bit bored.
"Ling Shangshu needs to avoid suspicion, so it's naturally not appropriate for him to comment." Yan Xueshi spoke fairly.
"If he wanted to avoid suspicion, he shouldn't have allowed his daughter to participate this year." At this moment, Mei Yuanzheng suddenly spoke.
However, this single sentence was dropped abruptly and resoundingly.
Everyone immediately fell silent, knowing that Mei Yuanzheng abhorred any form of deception in academics, not even allowing for suspicion.
If he still had absolute control as before, he would never allow such a thing to happen.
At this moment, Ling Shangshu suddenly spoke, explaining: "Yuan Zheng is right, it was my fault. Yu Ke secretly signed up, and when I found out later, I didn't have the heart to stop her."
His expression was indifferent, showing no emotion.
"Ling Shangshu is an upright person; he naturally wouldn't do it intentionally." Yan Xueshi chimed in.
"Ling Shangshu, there's no need to blame yourself. When children grow up, their ideas grow too, and you can't persuade them. Look at my daughter, she's always causing trouble. What can you do?" Li Shangshu also chuckled, trying to smooth things over.
"Alas, my child is the same. Hanshan Jun is lucky; he's still a single noble Young Master who captivates countless women in Chang'an." Yan Xueshi said, passing the ball to Hanshan Jun.
Hanshan Jun was seriously watching someone copy the book and didn't expect the conversation to suddenly turn to him. He quickly waved his hand, saying he was old and so on.
"Even at an older age, he still captivates countless middle-aged noblewomen in Chang'an." Li Shangshu also joked with a smile.
Yan Xueshi glanced at Mei Yuanzheng, then chuckled softly, and quietly tugged at Mei Yuanzheng's sleeve.
Mei Yuanzheng then let out a cold snort.
The matter was considered closed.
"Oh, she finally finished copying the book? Where is she going?" Suddenly, Hanshan Jun said.