Chapter 42 People of the World
Chapter 42 People of the World
The prosperity of the divine capital is unmatched in the world.
Ever since the present saint rebuilt the old mountains and rivers, defeated the coalition forces of various sects in the Heaven-shattering Battle, turned the tide, and allowed the Great Qin to enter a prosperous era again before the arrival of the second millennium, resources and talents from all over the world have formed a visible tide, constantly converging towards this city.
Sects and religions, aristocratic families, various schools of thought, merchants and scholars...all living things are in this city.
In comparison, the only thing Wangjing can be proud of today is probably its long history that has lasted for more than 3,000 years.
The capital of the gods is located in the north of Daqin, on a plain, so the roads are naturally well connected, and both water and land transportation are convenient. The number of ships and convoys entering the city every day is countless.
A month ago, Gu Zhuo and Lin Wanyi left Wangjing in a horse-drawn carriage and set out on the road to the capital.
The two of them had no time constraints for this trip, and there was no need to rush, so naturally they couldn't go fast.
In the first half of the month, Lin Wanyi was very interested in the scenery outside Wangjing, and often chose to stay overnight in a city or town to understand the local customs and practices... From a certain perspective, this was undoubtedly studying abroad.
Sometimes, she would even try to join in other people's conversations, wanting to listen to the strange stories from all over the world, but due to her usual habits as a lady from an aristocratic family, she seldom actually spoke.
Unlike Lin Wanyi, Gu Zhuo did not show much interest in these things. Most of the time he just watched and listened quietly.
By the second half of the month, Lin Wanyi's excitement finally faded with time, and he gradually felt tired. He no longer wanted to stay in various places meaninglessly, and finally chose to travel by water and boarded a passenger ship.
Until today, the capital of the gods has appeared on the horizon, striking people's eyes like a giant beast, giving people a sense of vastness and grandeur. Only then did Lin Wanyi regain his interest.
Gu Zhuo had never seen the world's most magnificent city, so he naturally would not refuse the invitation, so he went on the deck with her.
It was already afternoon and the sun was high in the sky.
The number of people on the deck was not at all reduced, there were several times more than usual, and most of them had young and fresh faces.
When Gu Zhuo and Lin Wanyi arrived on the deck, the venue was surrounded by a thick circle, as if the storyteller on the ship had finally found a new story and won back the listeners who had been tired of his story a few days ago.
Lin Wanyi had no interest in listening to the book. Just as she was about to ask Gu Zhuo to go to the bow of the boat and appreciate the majesty of the capital, a sudden noise came from the crowd.
"Who on earth made this wild list? Can you use a little common sense? Who is Song Jinglun? On his first day of cultivation, the director of the Imperial Observatory predicted that he would reach the state of unity and become an unsullied genius. How could you rank him eleventh on this wild list?"
After hearing this, Lin Wanyi realized that the storyteller was not telling stories today, but commenting on the talented people in the summer festival held every four years.
She had heard of Song Jinglun mentioned in the conversation, but not much. She only knew that he was a local genius in Shendu.
Just as she was about to ask Gu Zhuo, someone on the deck already laughed and refuted.
"It's fine if you use other people as an excuse, but who is Song Jinglun? To be honest, ranking him eleventh is already a compliment. Nowadays, who doesn't know that geniuses born in the capital of gods are most likely to be overrated?"
"Indeed, for example, some so-called geniuses in the capital of the gods. Before you fight them, you already think they are not very famous, but when they really start fighting, haha, their fame is still greater than their strength."
"You guys are so great that you say such things in front of Song Jinglun!"
"That's definitely not okay. It's very rude to do that."
Lin Wanyi was silent.
She turned her head, looked at Gu Zhuo and said, "I regret it."
Gu Zhuo hummed, expressing confusion.
Lin Wanyi said with regret: "I shouldn't have stayed in my room to practice these days. I should have gone to the deck more often to listen to their conversations."
Gu Zhuo said: "It's all nonsense."
Lin Wanyi thought about it and said honestly: "It's mainly because I feel that I don't know how to speak very well, and I want to learn a little bit... I'm not talking about the content of my words, but the courage to say them."
Gu Zhuo looked into her eyes and said sincerely, "Then I think quietness is good, too." While the two were talking, the storyteller had calmed down the dispute and continued talking.
"As for the tenth position, I will give this position to Yan Jingjun. She was born in Tiannan Taoist Temple. It is said that she was spotted by a big shot in the Taoist Taishi Palace in her early years and was wanted as a disciple. This year is her first time to participate in the summer festival, so she is obviously very confident. More importantly, it is said that she is only one step away from Dongzhen."
Just as someone said before, this is of course an unofficial list with no authority at all, but no matter how unofficial the list is, the names that appear on the list are mostly familiar ones.
Gu Zhuo doesn't care about the ranking.
Lin Wanyi was quite interested.
The reason was very simple. She thought she was stronger than Yan Jingjun and her name should be revealed soon.
However, the storyteller called out several names in succession, causing the guests present to make a lot of noise. Until the fourth name, she still couldn't hear the three words "Lin Wanyi".
"Reputations are all fake, and being number one in the world is nothing."
Gu Zhuo comforted him: "Don't take it too seriously."
Lin Wanyi listened to this and laughed, "Of course I don't care."
Having said that, her eyes became sharp and she stared coldly at the storyteller.
The next moment, the name that the storyteller said made everyone on the deck silent and showed rare respect.
The name is Bai Langxing.
Bai is the national surname. During the thousand-year history of the Qin Dynasty, there were many cases of bestowing surnames, but Bai Langxing was not one of them.
Yes, he is a prince.
Different from other princes, Bai Langxing left the capital alone five years ago, abandoning the luxurious life and wealth, and lived in hiding in the snowy wilderness, experiencing countless battles and cruelties.
It was not until last winter that he ended his journey of cultivation and returned to the capital.
However, it is said that the whole world knows that he has broken through to the level of Dongzhen and has decided to participate in this year's summer festival.
The reason why everyone present respected him was not only because they were wary of his status as a prince, but also because they admired the fact that he came from such a noble family, yet still had a firm heart to pursue the truth and fight in the endless wind and snow.
"Then you don't need to talk about the second and third. You were obviously arguing happily before, why are you so objective now?"
Someone in the room was quite bored and said unhappily, "In the whole world, among the younger generation, the only ones who are qualified to put their names before His Highness Xinglang are Wuque Fochi and Shen Jing Tiannu."
Lin Wanyi felt inexplicably annoyed after listening to this.
She stopped listening silently and quietly walked to the back of the crowd, pretending to be curious and asked, "Hey, isn't that Mr. Gu from Wangjing ranked here? He's the one who defeated thirteen Dongzhen in a row in Wangjing and was praised by Chief Pei of the Patrol Sky Division as a peerless genius who could see all the flowers in Wangjing in one day."
As soon as the words fell, the deck suddenly became quiet.
Many people listened to this with confusion in their eyes, as if they had never heard of this before.
Lin Wanyi felt embarrassed, but she thought that she was speaking for her friend and must not back down at this time.
Just as she was about to continue speaking and seriously publicize Gu Zhuo's achievements, she suddenly heard a sentence.
"Of course!"
The storyteller's eyes suddenly brightened, as if he had become several decades younger in an instant. He slammed the gavel in his hand and shouted in a loud voice: "Mr. Gu is a banished immortal. How could he be inferior to the so-called Buddha Goddess? In my opinion, Mr. Gu is the best!"
(End of this chapter)