The capital of the Tianxuan Kingdom had been particularly lively recently.
It wasn't just because of the triennial imperial examinations, but also the recent incident in the flower king's tomb in the Viburne Flower Mountain Range in the South Region. A young disciple had caused the usually arrogant Origin Sword Sect to suffer a huge setback.
When Mo Qingkuang arrived at Jingdou City, he discovered that the commoners here were all brimming with joyful smiles.
Even the guards at the city gate were not particularly cautious when it came to the inspection of outsiders. Instead, they felt as if guests were coming from afar.
In fact, this was understandable. The Tianxuan Imperial Clan was declining day by day. Their orders did not leave the Central Plains and did not spread to the borders. Under the occupation of the four major sects, the number of talents was dwindling.
The demand for foreign talents had almost reached a level of hunger and thirst.
As long as they claimed that they were young people who came to participate in the imperial examination, they would be treated with courtesy by the soldiers and avoid the trouble of being interrogated.
With the empress overseeing the capital, he believed that there wouldn't be any trouble no matter how many people entered. According to Mo Fan's original story, the imperial examinations of the Tianxuan Kingdom were divided into two subjects, civil and martial, and they were chosen separately. The top scorers of the two court examinations would have the opportunity to meet the empress and be awarded the titles of literary and martial scholar.
After all, to conquer the world, one needed martial artists, but to rule the world, one needed scholars.
Of course, martial arts prodigies were generally good at comprehension, so they wouldn't be too bad in the theory examination. Therefore, many all-rounder talents applied for both subjects at the same time.
However, Tianxuan Kingdom had been established for thousands of years, and the imperial examination system had been passed down to this day. There had never been a person who had become the top candidate in both civil and martial arts.
The closest one was Fu Qing from a hundred years ago, who was the top scorer in the martial arts examination and also second place in the theory examination.
Everyone in the world praised him as the first genius in the history of Tianxuan. He was now the principal of the directorate, known as Principal Fu. His cultivation was unknown, but it was said that he was at least in the Martial Emperor realm.
The Imperial Academy was an organization that belonged to the imperial court. It mainly cultivated talents for the imperial court. It was divided into the civil and military departments, which were not subordinate to each other and were under the control of Headmaster Fu.
Mo Qingkuang's purpose for coming to the capital this time was to get into the martial arts academy and obtain the support of the Tianxuan Imperial Clan.
The registration office for the imperial examination was located in the government office in the south of the city. The Tianxuan Kingdom would not pursue the candidate's information. They would only ask for their names and check their ages.
Any young man under the age of eighteen could participate in the imperial examination. Only those who had excellent results in the examinations and were selected for the Imperial Academy would have their backgrounds investigated by the Imperial Court.
"Name?" In the government office, a green-robed official asked expressionlessly. There was even a professional painter who was drawing the portrait of the candidate. Mo Qingkuang had no choice but to take off his bamboo hat to reveal his "true appearance".
The entry requirements for the Tianxuan imperial examinations were extremely low, so many people signed up. Many names had to be recorded every day.
How could the officials in charge of recording remember the faces of every examinee? In order to prevent fake matches and substitute exams, every candidate's portrait would be recorded and compared during the exam. If there was any abnormality, they would be disqualified.
"Kuang Qing." Mo Qingkuang replied.
Upon hearing Kuang Qing's name, the official suddenly raised his head and carefully examined Mo Qingkuang. He said in shock, "Are you Kuang Qing from the Flower King, King Nian Hua's, Mausoleum?"
The small officer's voice was a little loud out of shock. Many people in the government office heard it and looked over it.
"You know me?" Mo Qingkuang was slightly surprised.
"Today is the first time we've met, but Young Master Kuang's name is like thunder in Jingdou and even Tianxuan Kingdom!" The official smiled.
"Ever since Young Master left with a great harvest in the Flower-King's Mausoleum and left behind the battle record of toying with the Origin Sword Sect's rookie senior brother Song Qian. You've already been ranked 49th on the Big Flag Sect's latest Young Qilin Ranking!" The official said with a fawning expression.
"Also, you helped the Ninth Princess obtain the Bottle-Breaking Pill in the royal tomb. The Ninth Princess always talks about you."
This genius far surpassed Song Qian and had even obtained King Nian Hua's inheritance. He was like a tiger with wings. Who would have thought that he would come to take the martial arts examination as a reference?
"Is that so? That's nothing." Mo Qingkuang nodded. Presumably, it was Zhong Nian from the Big Flag Sect who had spread the news.
However, it did not matter. The greater the reputation, the easier it was to be valued by the Central Plains.
Seeing Mo Qingkuang admit it, the crowd started discussing.
"So he's Kuang Qing, the one who toyed with Song Qian and obtained the flower king's inheritance!"
"Rumor has it that he is handsome, but why is his face is so dark? He looks more like a peasant boy."
"What do you know? Do you think looks are more important than skills and wit?"
"Speaking of which, with his talent, if he wasn't the leader of the new generation in that sect, why would he participate in the imperial examination?"
"Shh, watch your words! This is the capital. Be careful with your words."
"Yes, yes, yes… Thank you for your reminder. However, if he came to participate in the imperial examinations, wouldn't the position of the martial arts champion be in his pocket?"
"That's right, 49th on the Young Qilin Ranking. You have to know that the previous martial arts champion was only around 70th rank!"
Most of the talents from all over the country who came to participate in the imperial examination had no hope of entering the sects. Even if they barely managed to enter, they were still the last of the disciples of the four great sects.
Therefore, they came to Central Plains to participate in the imperial examination.
The Imperial Clan treated the directorates in no way worse than the four sects. Moreover, they could become the focus of training here. It was much better than being unknown in the four sects.
Unfortunately, a big fish like Kuang Qing had appeared in this imperial examination. Everyone was under great pressure.
Mo Qingkuang, who had been a spoiled brat for many years, was already used to seeing everyone pointing fingers at him. However, in the past, everyone who talked about him was always cursing him. Today, they were all praising him.
He felt a lot better in his heart. It was good to be a genius.
"You're Kuang Qing?" Just as Mo Qingkuang was secretly enjoying himself, a voice filled with hostility rang in his ears.
Mo Qingkuang turned his head to look. It was a noble young master dressed in luxurious clothes, with powder applied to his eyebrows. He was looking at him with a scrutinizing expression.
"That's right. Is there a problem?" Mo Qingkuang didn't know who the other party was, so he cupped his hands warily.
"I am Li Ang, the son of Minister of War Li Jie. I heard that you showed off your might in the Flower King Mausoleum and have long heard of you." Li Ang replied perfunctorily with a fake smile.
"So that's Li Ang. He's a genius in the capital that's on par with the Ninth Princess. He was also going to participate in the imperial examination this year. I heard that he was also a first-grade martial master and is ranked 87th on the Young Qilin Ranking."
"There's going to be a show to watch. A mountain can't accommodate two tigers, not to mention the hatred for stealing his wife."
"Huh? Hatred for stealing his wife?" Someone asked in confusion.
"What else could it be? Young Master Li had always loved the Ninth Princess. He had asked Minister Li to propose marriage to the Ninth Princess many times, but was rejected by the Emperor because of the princess's young age."
"But Young Master Li is persistent. Two days ago, when the Ninth Princess came back from the South Region, Young Master Li expressed his love again. However, the Ninth Princess said that her husband must be a genius like Kuang Qing to be worthy of her."
"When Young Master Li returned home that night, I heard that he was so angry that he smashed a lot of things."
....
"Kid, how does it feel to be a shield for the first time?" Mo Fan's teasing voice came from Mo Qingkuang's mind.
Mo Qingkuang couldn't help but smile bitterly. He didn't believe that that meeting in the tomb would make the famous Ninth Princess feel anything for him.
In the past, he was the one who chased after women, the famous shield harvester in Celesouth City.
He did not expect that one day, he would become someone else's shield. Han Yan'er probably didn't expect for Kuang Qing, whom she had casually mentioned, would come to the capital to participate in the imperial examinations.
He had caused himself a lot of trouble.
"Ancestor, don't make fun of me. The arrows are at us."
Mo Fan smiled indifferently, "So what if he's here? Beat him up! Let me tell you, with my many years of experience, the most powerful shields will most likely win the beauty's heart. Look at Lin Yang!"
"..."
"Let me tell you a secret. I'm sure that Han Yan'er is very pretty, even prettier than Chu Yanran," Mo Fan continued to encourage.
If Mo Qingkuang could snatch Han Yan'er as his wife, they would be considered a good match. After all, Han Yan'er's ancestor, the Great Empress, was his secretly chosen wife.
Ancestors should match their ancestors, and descendants should match with their fellow descendants.
Mo Qingkuang rolled his eyes and cupped his hands at Li Ang, "So it's Young Master Li."
Li Ang pretended to be serious and smiled, "Young Master Kuang, I heard that your strength is extraordinary. Even Song Qian was played by you. I really admire you. Why don't you take some time to give me some pointers?"