Chapter 27 - Zheng Tao

Drinking at his house? Whether or not he could come out alive was another story. No! No!

Mo Qingkuang shook his head and ignored the admiring gazes of the crowd. He turned around and said to the little official who was stunned on the spot, "Continue."

The small official finally came back to his senses and nodded hurriedly, "Aye, I'll handle the registration for you, Young Master Kuang."

The registration procedure was not complicated. All they needed to do was to report some information and let the artist finish drawing the portrait.

Next was the most important test: age.

The martial arts examination was for young talents, and only those below the age of eighteen could participate. However, there were always some people who were older and wanted to use their age to fight for a reputation.

Therefore, many people were eliminated from the age category.

Many were afraid that after three years, they would be over 18 years old and would not be qualified to participate in the martial arts examination. This type of examinee could only say that their luck was bad.

However, how could there be so much fairness in the world? Being born at the wrong time was also a manifestation of your lack of luck.

The small official led Mo Qingkuang into the side hall. When Mo Qingkuang was queuing up, he saw that many examinees who had finished recording their information were led there. It must be the place to test one's age.

After entering the side hall, Mo Qingkuang saw that there were still quite a number of people waiting in line. There were two channels for age detection, one on the left and one on the right. The male was on the left and the female was on the right.

Just as Mo Qingkuang was about to queue up, he saw a manservant running to the side of the minor official and whispering something to him.

The small official's expression changed when he heard this. Then, the smile on his face widened. He came to Mo Qingkuang and bowed deeply, "Young Master Kuang, there's a long line here. I'll take you to another place for testing."

Mo Qingkuang was stunned and asked warily, "Another place?"

He didn't like queuing either. Ever since he was young, there weren't many things that he could do personally, let alone queue himself.

"Young Master Kuang, special people deserve special treatment," The official said with a smile, "Look at the Ninth Princess and Young Master Li. They didn't need to register themselves."

Mo Qingkuang thought that he would also be relieved. Nobles had their own specializations. He had been the same in Celesouth City.

After defeating Li Ang with a single palm strike, he believed that his talent had received enough attention. It was understandable that the Tianxuan Imperial Court would give him some preferential treatment.

"Then let's go."

The small official led Mo Qingkuang around the side hall and into the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard was not big. Under normal circumstances, it was a resting place for the head of the government office. It was just a courtyard with a few houses.

At this moment, there was no one in the courtyard. There was only a door that was half-closed. The light inside was dim, and it was impossible to see what was going on.

The small official looked at the half-closed door in fear, then turned to Mo Qingkuang and bowed, "Young Master Kuang, I'll send you here. You can go to that room for the age test."

After he finished speaking, the small official hurriedly left. Mo Qingkuang did not even manage to stop him.

Mo Qingkuang slowly approached the house. The silence here seemed to completely separate the noise outside the government office, and the atmosphere seemed to be stagnant.

Unconsciously, Mo Qingkuang felt an inexplicable pressure from his heart.

"There's a master inside," Mo Fan slowly warned him in his mind. He sensed that there was no one else in the courtyard. But there was only one powerful aura hidden behind the half-closed door.

Mo Qingkuang stopped in his tracks when he heard that. "Ancestor, what realm is this stranger?"

"I think he's at least a king-tier. Probably a high-ranked king realm," Mo Fan had recovered his strength. Although he could not use much of it, his senses were still fine.

The aura in the room was at least a fifth-grade Martial King.

"Then, should I go in?" Mo Qingkuang was a little nervous. A Martial King expert was waiting on the other side. A figure who could dominate an area. With a breath, his meager cultivation would be reduced to ashes.

Looking at it now, the room was quiet and dark. Not even a breath of sound could be heard.

Mo Qingkuang vaguely felt as though a prehistoric beast was hiding inside, which made him flinch.

"Go, he has no hostility towards you." Mo Fan whispered.

The Central Plains was a territory controlled by the Tianxuan Kingdom, and the capital city was the political center of the kingdom. All of the officials and nobles there possessed superb strength.

Due to the length of the book, Mo Fan did not focus too much on the experts of the Tianxuan Kingdom. He only briefly described the people who died or were demoted after the kingdom was conquered.

Among them, only a few characters he had used for the story.

The one who lured Mo Qingkuang here should be one of them. As for which one it was, he was curious.

Mo Qingkuang listened to his ancestor's words and firmly trusted him. He calmed down his perturbed emotions and came to the door to knock respectfully, "Junior Kuang Qing greets senior."

It was silent for a moment. After a while, a gentle voice came from the room, "I haven't seen you yet. Come in."

His voice was soft and gentle, like a spring breeze. The fear in Mo Qingkuang's heart dissipated quite a bit.

He pushed open the door and stepped into the room. He saw a man sitting in the middle of the hall.

He looked at the man under the sunlight outside the door. The man had a fair face and no beard. His skin was smooth and his sideburns were half white. He did not look young.

He was wearing coarse linen clothes, and there was a pot of tea on the table beside him, emitting white smoke. He looked like a reclusive expert.

Although his clothes were not obvious and his appearance was young, his eyes seemed to have experienced many vicissitudes of life. They were like dazzling stars as if they could see through Mo Qingkuang.

"Junior Kuang Qing greets senior." Mo Qingkuang bowed respectfully once again. This was the first time he had seen a King level expert alive.

"No need to be so polite. This old man is Zheng Tao, the headmaster of the Imperial Academy's Martial Arts Department. With your abilities, it won't be a problem for you to enter my academy. You'll be considered my student in the future." The man smiled warmly and waved his hand to indicate Mo Qingkuang to ease up.

"So it's him?" Mo Fan was surprised.

Zheng Tao was the director of the Martial Arts Department of the Imperial Academy. He was an eighth-grade Martial King and was ranked second in the Martial Arts Examination when Fu Qing became the headmaster of the Imperial Academy. He was a character that Mo Fan had described in detail. He died with Fu Qing during the battle of Tianxuan.

In their batch, there was also the current dean of the Imperial Academy, Hua Ge. The top scorer of the literary examination and Tanhua of the martial examination. The three of them were the top three in both the civil and martial examinations. They were known as the three heroes of Tianxuan, the golden generation.

The period of their rise was also the period when the Tianxuan Kingdom was rising. Later on, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the Tianxuan Kingdom did not continue to rise. Instead, it declined even more.

Zheng Tao was the first person Mo Fan had chosen to support Mo Qingkuang. He was already the principal's disciple after entering the academy. If Qingkuang could become a direct disciple, not many people in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom would dare to offend the Mo Clan.

"Come and sit. I just brewed some good tea," Zheng Tao lowered his eyes and pointed at the seat on the other side of the table.

Mo Qingkuang hesitated when he heard this.

 Zheng Tao saw that Mo Qingkuang was a little afraid and could not help but laugh, "Young man, why are you so restrained? I told you to sit, so you sat. This old man isn't some ferocious beast. Can he eat you?"

"Then... Then this junior will respectfully obey."

  1. Tanhua (探花) A title give to a person who won third place in the highest imperial examination in the Ming and Qing dynasty.