The King of the Ergen Kingdom was the first to break the silence. "What was his score?"
The Imperial Scholar responded instantly. "Adjusted for age, 83."
"And the talent score?" The Emperor asked.
The Imperial Scholar smiled. "Out of 100, 97."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
"Did you not say that there was a margin of error of five points?" The King of the Ergen Kingdom asked.
"Of course. So either he could be a little worse, which is still incredible, or he could be even better."
The test taken at the noble gathering was not only to compete in intelligence, but for first timers, to test their mental talents.
Intelligence could be obscure and in many different forms. Someone considered a genius may not learn things the fastest, but their speed of understanding could be terrifying if in the right situation.
A score of 97, though with a margin of error of 5, had never once been seen before since the test was developed 400 years ago.
The current Imperial Scholar, Fei Luzi, had set the record at 96. This was also with a margin of error of five. However, Skymender had even surpassed that.
"So what do you think should be done?" The Emperor asked the Imperial Scholar.
The Imperial Scholar only thought for a moment before responding. "I won't be around forever. If nothing goes wrong, perhaps you'll have a new Imperial Scholar."
Him saying these words would be shocking to anyone who heard them. He had never genuinely praised a person's intelligence before, much less suggesting a successor.
"Then should he be let in on the plans?" The King of the Ergen Kingdom asked.
"No. Not yet. It is unknown where his loyalties truly lie as of now. Besides, he does not need to know such a thing for now." The Emperor said without hesitation.
The room fell into a silent agreement.
Sword Master Shang broke it. "And what if he is not deemed fit to be the Imperial Scholar."
He understood that with Skymender's talent score, they would not let him live freely.
"If he simply has no interest in involving himself with politics and focuses solely on something such as research, or perhaps wastes his talent, then he can live freely while monitored."
Sword Master Shang did not need to ask a follow up question. Nor did anyone else
If he were to show signs of betraying the Empire or even just leaving it, his fate would not be a good one.
The only variable was his sister, a potential Sword Master.
However, as long as Sword Master Shang took action, even the sun and moon would pale in comparison.
Skymender left the throne room looking at the card. There seemed to be nothing special about it. It was pure white with only a few words written on it.
"Scholar Ticket."
Whatever this was supposed to mean, he did not understand it.
Skymender soon returned to the ballroom. It was slowly emptying, but Li Youcai and his aunt's family were waiting for him.
Li Youcai bowed upon seeing him.
"Congratulations, Master Skymender."
Servants had not been a big part of the noble gathering, only showing up in between events.
At other times, they simply stood off to the side, patiently waiting.
"Thank you." Skymender responded.
He then received congratulations from his aunt and her family.
Afterwards, people came up and congratulated him further. Skymender gave a polite thank you to everyone. By the time 11 pm rolled around, he was back in his carriage and on the way back.
Upon returning, he entered his room and fell asleep.
The next morning, he woke up refreshed.
Instead of relaxing all day, he took Li Youcai and returned to the research institute.
Now that the noble gathering had passed, his reputation had soared. It would be difficult to grow it any further at his current age.
There was no future event to wait for, and it was not necessary to take actions around the Imperial Capital.
He had firmly planted his feet within these grounds.
Skymender knocked on the door and the old man from before answered.
Seeing Skymender, he was surprised. "Welcome back Young Master Skymender. Congratulations on your victory in the intelligence test, as well as your showing in the Sword event."
Skymender thanked him.
"I'll go see old Lee now." Skymender said.
The old man nodded and let Skymender in.
Skymender did not need to be accompanied, soon returning to the familiar division of research.
Old Lee and his apprentice, Tara, were still here, doing the same thing as always.
Hearing footsteps, they turned around and were equally surprised at Skymender's presence.
They bowed and spoke words similar to the old man's. Skymender did not care about their praise and soon found himself in the basement, reading books. He studied and studied, and the day soon passed.
He found enjoyment in studying, though he was not sure why.
Perhaps seeing his results on the intelligence test had made him appreciate his own talent more. It would be a pity to see it wasted.
Between the hours of studying, he would also continue to read fantasy books, his still favorite form of entertainment.
As night fell, he returned to his aunt's house and slept.
Upon waking, he planned to once again return to the research institute, but found that his aunt had a letter for him.
He looked at it, and saw it signed by the Crown Prince of the Ergen Kingdom.
He sighed, wondering if he was going to have to deal with annoyances after besting the Crown Prince.
He opened up the letter and read it.
"Hello, Skymender. Meeting you has caused me to be interested in hearing more about you. Tomorrow, I invite you to attend a small gathering with some of my fellow nobles. Please, feel free to come or not. Signed, Crown Prince of the Ergen Kingdom."
Although giving room for refusal, the fact that it was signed by the title of the Crown Prince, instead of his name, showed that he was more or less required to attend.
It was a distraction, but perhaps not that bad of one.