Chapter 80 Summer Festival Begins

The summer festival is a grand event held every four years on earth, so it is natural for the gods to suddenly become silent.

Candidates from all over the country pushed the door open, and in the morning light, they either boarded carriages or simply walked to the spacious square in front of the imperial city.

Along the way, the streets of the capital were no longer filled with the usual hustle and bustle of traffic. There were only candidates walking in groups or alone, as if the whole world had made way for them.

Because the day when the summer festival comes is also a day off for people.

Many people would arrive at the foot of the imperial city in advance before the morning light and when the examinees were still fast asleep, and endure their sleepiness to occupy a suitable seat, just to watch a summer festival with their own eyes and see geniuses from all over the world trying their best to reach the top.

In comparison, the mood of the officials of various government offices was obviously not so happy. This year's summer festival was a rare grand occasion. There were as many as six candidates who entered Dongzhen, not to mention the dozen or so geniuses who were only one step away from Dongzhen and could break through at any time. Even if we look back over the past hundred years, it is difficult to find a summer festival that can be compared with this year's.

The most direct impact of this was that all the major sects in the world had sent extremely important representatives. Some sects even had their heads or grand elders present in person, while those with less power also sent their own powerful elders or peak masters. In addition, many powerful independent cultivators similar to Xiu Hu Zhenren also came… How to properly arrange seats for these people and avoid conflicts among them due to past grudges is the most important task of the Ministry of Rites at present.

The Sky Patrol, as an institution set up personally by the current Saint to target practitioners, was extremely busy during this event, and their presence could be seen in almost every corner.

Even Pei Jinge, who was usually lazy, tried to control his temper today. Although he didn't dress up, he was at least unusually dignified.

As one of the most important figures standing at the highest position in the Great Qin Empire, she was not standing on the city gate at this time, overlooking the people leaping in from all over the capital, listening to others laughingly repeating to the emperor the boring flattery that all the talented people in the world are within his grasp.

This is certainly not because she has become a marginalized person and has been squeezed out of the center of power, but because she has always been trusted.

Yes, at this moment she was standing on the flying boat, standing side by side with the empress who was about to become the master of the harem.

Beside the two of them, of course, were the dignitaries that ordinary people rarely see in their daily lives.

Pei Jinge basked in the morning sun, squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. Looking at the other ten or so flying boats also hanging in the sky, he suddenly asked, "Your Majesty won't come today either?"

The empress was really familiar with her, so she smiled casually and said, "He wants to go fishing today."

Pei Jinge said: "It's not just fishing, right?"

The queen walked to the railing, looked at the endless city of gods, and said with a smile: "Then I can't say that he is waiting for a desperate dog to jump off the wall, waiting for a clown to jump out of the beam, right? That's too ungentlemanly."

The deep meaning of the words is already visible.

Pei Jinge raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking that even if that group of evil demons had not been frightened by the killings in recent days, they still had the reckless courage to stir up trouble today, but did they have the ability to do so?

Why is it that Your Majesty is waiting in person?
Thinking of this, she didn't ask any more questions and closed her eyes to rest.

The sun is shining today.

It's a pity that I couldn't get some sleep.

……

At the same time, people on the ground began to be surprised by the dozen or so flying boats.

The fact that the Ministry of Industry is developing a flying boat has been no secret in recent years. There have been many related speculations among the people, with some praising and believing it, while others are mocking and questioning it. However, the sight of the flying boat soaring into the sky and competing with the rising sun today undoubtedly shattered the latter and proved the former.

Just as people were beginning to argue about this, something unexpected happened under the flying boat.

Those are the great practitioners from various sects in the Divine Capital.

There might be flashes of swords passing through the sky, monks rising up on lotus steps, or Taoists riding on clouds...all kinds of different scenes came into people's eyes, until these representatives from various sects stepped onto the flying boat.

At this point, how could people not understand that the sects that were invited to board the flying boat were the most influential sects in the world today recognized by the imperial court.

"What kind of sects are those?"

"The monks are the easiest to recognize. The two Zen capitals, Cihang Temple and Changle Temple, each have a flying boat, and the height is also the highest, second only to the flying boat of the imperial court."

"The Taoist sect has really declined. The Tiandao Sect has closed its doors to the public, leaving only the Qingjing Temple to barely hold on. The Taoist who was riding a cloud just now should be the Free Taoist, right? Compared with the Zen Sect, this is really a world of difference. It's so shabby."

"Why do the people from these two families seem to be less numerous than the sword cultivators?"

"That's for sure. Yishui Wanjianchi Chaotianjianque... almost all the great sword sects of today are here. How can this formation be huge?"

"Ah? Why is this?"

"You're an idiot? You must be here to fight for Gu Zhuo. Have you forgotten that he used a sword when he won thirteen consecutive victories in Wangjing? He is a peerless genius in swordsmanship. Whoever can take him in will have no worries for the next hundred years."

The people standing on the ground were talking about these great practitioners who rarely appeared in the secular world. They were talking about those unattainable otherworldly inheritances. They couldn't help but feel excited and even felt that they were already involved.

At the same time, the examinees bathed in the morning light gradually came to the square and stood in their seats following the instructions of the Ministry of Rites officials.

There is no clear number of candidates for the summer festival, but normally there won't be too many people coming. However, this year is a rare year, so we can't generalize.

Logically speaking, it is quite difficult to properly arrange the positions of these young talents. After all, everyone knows that standing at the front will definitely be more likely to be noticed by the big shots. Mixing in the crowd... even if you are gold, it is difficult to shine.

However, this is actually very easy to handle, and will never lead to any complaints of injustice afterwards.

Because the list that the Sky Patrol announced to the world before the summer festival is the ranking of everyone's positions today - as long as you are better than others, you can stand in front of others, who has the right to be dissatisfied?

If you're still not convinced, you can prove yourself at the summer festival.

Under the rising sun, the young boys stand tall and straight.

Different emotions were revealed on each of their faces, some nervous, some calm... preparing to take the most important test in their lives so far.

……

Gu Zhuo is already on the way.

Today he no longer wore the bamboo hat, but simply held up an umbrella to block out the excessive sunlight.

Many people greeted him along the way, and most of them urged him to stay calm and rational and not lose his mind - because these people had bet a lot of money on him, and if he lost, his family would have to go to Weishui to collect his body.

Gu Zhuo couldn't understand why this group of people would do something with so little reward? Is it because there is no risk?

What if there’s an upset?

With this in mind, he did not have the urge to turn around and step into the gambling house to buy his losses, not because no gambling house dared to accept such a bet, but because coming first in the summer festival was something he had to do.

But he still felt a little regretful, and wondered whether he should deliberately lose a game in the future to make some money?
What if the gambling house thought he was faking it and refused to pay the bill?
Thinking about these irrelevant things, Gu Zhuo walked through the long street that attracted everyone's attention. As his vision suddenly widened, he stepped into the eyes of millions of people.

There are so many people in this vast sea of people and so many geniuses.

Gu Zhuo looked inconspicuous among them.

However, the moment he appeared, even if he was holding an umbrella, the whole world still saw him and there was no possibility of missing him.

The morning breeze is particularly cool, coming down from the distant sky.

At some point, geniuses from all over the world made way for him, the road leading to the front.

Even those talented people who had some grudges against him gave up staying where they were and gave him full respect.

This respect might not be given to Gu Zhuo, but to the rules of the past hundred years of summer festivals, but at least it proves that they can afford to lose.

In countless sights.

Gu Zhuo walked calmly and came in front of the crowd. He closed the umbrella in his hand, letting the morning breeze caress his face and the sun shine down with warmth.

Then people knew that the summer festival was about to officially begin.

……

There are many speculations about this year's summer festival.

Every summer festival, the important figures of the court would devote their heart and soul to it, trying every possible way to allow the candidates to fully display their talents and try their best not to let the candidates have any regrets.

Therefore, many practitioners who are older often put themselves into the story, thinking about and trying to solve the questions given in the summer festival, in order to gain a pleasure that only comes once in four years.

Many people will even argue about this until their faces turn red, and will not stop until the answer is announced.

The whole world went silent.

Everyone was silently waiting for the time to come and for the bell to ring.

then.

Then the bell sounded.

The sound of the bell echoes leisurely in this world, announcing the official start of the summer festival.

A voice followed.

The voice was broad and gentle, as if it had a boundless and vast mind that could accommodate all the people in the world.

"There is only one criterion for judging this year's summer festival."

This is undoubtedly the voice of His Majesty the Emperor.

There was a slight commotion in the audience, because everyone remembered clearly that, except for the first few summer festivals, His Majesty the Emperor had never spoken on such occasions. Why was he making an exception today?

Then, people suddenly reacted and wondered, Your Majesty, did you forget to say something?

What are the judging criteria?
Of course, His Majesty the Emperor has not forgotten.

Just as the residual sound faded away, the scenery in front of the candidates in the square suddenly blurred for a moment. When they could see the world in front of them clearly again, they could no longer calm down.

What fell before their eyes were no longer the towering walls of the imperial city, no longer the bright summer days, no longer the attention of the crowds, and no longer the figures of their peers.

It was an ancient sacred mountain shrouded in wind and snow.

The peak is submerged in the clouds, unattainable and exudes a sacred aura.

Countless pictures constantly flash in the eyes of the candidates. They are the countless roads leading to the top and the details on those roads.

These roads are intricate and intersect with each other a lot. There are also wide stone flatlands where they meet in the mountains. It seems that there is not much difference between the roads, and they are very small.

The candidates realized that when their consciousness stayed on a certain mountain path, their body would also appear at the beginning of that path.

What a powerful magical power this is?
Many people could not help but feel deeply shocked by this, while some candidates with strong family backgrounds vaguely guessed the reason.

This is a dojo.

This is the dojo of the most powerful person who stands at the highest point in the world!

……

Even the candidates in the dojo realized that something was wrong with this summer festival, so how could the people outside not feel it?
When people watched the candidates in the square suddenly disappear as the bell rang, and a light curtain appeared under the sky that was not dimmed by the sunlight, clearly reflecting everything that happened in the dojo... almost everyone understood.

Why did His Majesty the Emperor only say so much?

Because that's where the words need to go.

Because the mountain is there.

Whoever can reach the top first will naturally be the first in this summer festival, without the need for anyone to score them.

Different from what ordinary people are thinking, the strong men from various sects and the dignitaries of the time are shocked by another fact.

If they were not mistaken, this sacred mountain covered by wind and snow all year round... was the location of the eldest princess's Taoist temple, and its name was Cangshan.

What does it mean?
The next moment, the empress spoke casually and directly explained the problem.

"She plans to take in an apprentice this year."

Everyone who heard the news was silent for a moment.

Soon after, countless words began to spread with spiritual consciousness as the bond, and the powerful people standing at the highest point in the world began to think about what kind of changes Her Royal Highness the Princess' decision would bring to the world.

At some point, someone suddenly recalled the fact that Bai Langxing had practiced the Frost Tribulation of All Things in advance, and couldn't help but open his eyes wide, thinking that he had figured out the answer.

Why did Bai Langxing abandon the Zhongtian Yinfu Jing practiced by His Majesty the Emperor?
It turns out the answer is right here.

He wants to become the apprentice of Her Royal Highness the Princess!
Thinking of this, many people subconsciously looked towards the Qin military, only to see that the expressions of those old generals seemed serious, but in fact there was a faint smile on the corners of their mouths, which vaguely confirmed this inference.

……

Unlike people in the outside world, the summer festival candidates under the Cangshan Mountain have no time to think about these things.

the reason is simple.

The Cangshan Mountain is forever surrounded by wind and snow, and the chill is penetrating.

It is midsummer now, and no candidate would brave the scorching heat and wrap himself up like a dumpling in thin clothes.

Before setting out on the mountain trail to the summit, they must first solve the problems caused by the severe cold.

This is the premise of everything.

……

In front of a remote mountain road.

Gu Zhuo stood there, silent for a long time, with a complicated expression.

Until the snow and wind covered his shoulders and turned his hair white, he finally opened the umbrella in his hand and set foot on the lonely and cold mountain path.

Start climbing the mountain.

　This chapter has 4,000 words, and there are still 6,000 words left today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)

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