Ye Fan practiced hard at home behind closed doors, and in a flash, more than half a month passed.
The month-long joint examination of the ten colleges of Luyang Prefecture has completed eight series of assessments. Finally, it was time to reach the last assessment among the nine department assessments - the sacrificial department assessment.
The assessment of the Sacrifice Department of Luyang Mansion is not within the courtyard of Luyang Mansion, but at a high mountain in the countryside outside Luyang City - Luyang Mountain.
On the top of Luyang Mountain several hundred feet away, there is a three-star altar.
This is the only altar in Luyang Mansion. It is used to look up at the stars, predict natural disasters, pray to the gods, and realize wishes.
The annual sacrificial department assessment is not so much an assessment as it is a grand sacrificial ceremony, which is a major event in Luyang City.
...
This day, in the afternoon.
In Ye's house, a luxurious carriage pulled by eight snow-white horses broke the tranquility of the lane, and slowly came to the door of Ye's house and stopped.
A beautiful girl in green dress lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage.
The young general wearing sword armor and guarding the door of Ye's house was taking a nap. When he heard the sound of the carriage, he immediately became alert and saw that it was Miss Mu's personal maid who came to Ye's house in a carriage.
He couldn't help but smile and greeted him, "Miss Ah Lu, you must be here to pick up Mr. Ye so early!"
"Thank you for your hard work, General Jiang Wei!"
Alu bowed slightly towards the young general in military uniform and said with a faint smile, "I was ordered by Dean Mu to pick up Young Master Ye for the sacrifice ceremony. This is the most solemn sacrifice ceremony in this city this year, and City Lord Jiang personally presided over it. , Dean Mu and all the adults will be accompanying him, so there can be no room for any mistakes! How have Young Master Ye prepared in the past few days?"
Jiang Wei immediately said, "Master Ye has been staying at home for the past three days. He is fasting, incense burning, and bathing. Now everything is arranged and ready to go at any time."
"That's good!"
Ah Lu nodded, stepped up the steps, and knocked on the door a few times.
After a while, a young martial artist wearing clean white cloth opened the door and came out.
Ye Fan's body is slightly thin, but his appearance is delicate, his eyes are clear on his slightly childish face, and he has a calm and steady temperament.
Ah Lu's eyes suddenly lit up.
The young man in front of him has an unexplainable aura than the youthful and ordinary one a month ago, as if a peerless sword that has been hidden for thousands of years has just been drawn.
This kind of budding aura was born naturally from the most talented young man from a poor family in Luyang Mansion for thousands of years.
"Ah Lu has seen Young Master Ye. The team for the city's sacrificial ceremony has been prepared at the city gate. We will go to Luyang Mountain for the sacrifice in half an hour. The dean ordered me to pick up Young Master and set off."
She bowed her head unconsciously and said respectfully.
Ye Fan was slightly startled after opening the door. He thought it was Jiang Wei urging him to leave, but he didn't expect that Dean Mu sent Miss Mu Bing's maid Alu to pick him up.
"I have to trouble Miss Green again!"
Ye Fan smiled, holding a heavy ball of coarse cloth and a sealed box in his hand, and got on the carriage.
Ah Lu then got into the luxury carriage and curiously looked at the heavy round coarse cloth package in Ye Fan's hand.
Candidates do not need to bring anything with them for the sacrifice. All the things needed for the sacrifice will be prepared by the city lord's mansion. Why did Ye Fan bring so many things to sacrifice? !
There was doubt in her heart.
The luxurious carriage slowly headed towards Luyang City Gate.
Jiang Wei immediately gathered a team of 100 soldiers stationed around Ye's house, escorted the carriage to the city gate, and joined the team that was about to set off for the sacrifice ceremony.
In fact, the public security in the city is good, and no one would attack Mu Mansion's carriage without a good eye. He was so proactive in escorting her forward because he hoped to show his face more in front of the adults in Luyang Mansion.
A moment later, the luxurious carriage arrived at the south gate of Luyang Mansion.
At this time, the South Gate was already crowded with people, tens of thousands of soldiers and people gathered, but most of the people looked solemn, serious in speech, and made no noise.
Thousands of armored soldiers armed with spears lined up on both sides of the road to maintain order.
Dozens of important figures in Luyang Mansion, including Lord Jiang Tianpeng and Dean Mu, were either riding tall horses or sitting in carriages, solemnly and solemnly waiting at the gate of the city, quietly waiting for the moment to come.
A large number of carriages from other wealthy families in Luyang City, large and small, have gathered outside the city gate and will set off with them.
"Look, Ye Fan is actually here too! I heard he is also one of this year's sacrificers!"
"That's natural. He is the number one in the third lineage that has been rare in our Luyang Mansion for thousands of years. He is definitely the most promising to succeed in the sacrifice. If he doesn't participate in the sacrifice, who is more qualified than him?"
"It's a pity that Mr. Ye only ranked first in the four departments. However, he failed in the assessment of the business department and fell short. It is probably because of the failure of the business department that he did not dare to continue to participate in the assessment of the other three departments!"
"No matter what! The top of the four series is already the most talented boy in our Luyang Mansion for all eternity!"
Seeing the Mufu carriage coming to pick up Ye Fan, the crowd suddenly became commotion.
"Ye Fan, that's my nephew!"
In the crowd, there was a rich man from the town with a ten-year-old fat boy. He shouted excitedly to the crowd around him.
Someone in the crowd laughed and said, "Well, as soon as Mr. Ye became famous, people immediately came to be related to Mr. Ye! Why haven't I heard that Mr. Ye has any relatives before?"
The rich man's face suddenly turned red and he retorted loudly, "Nonsense, nonsense! He and I are serious relatives, how come we have a relationship?"
The crowd around them burst into laughter, and soon the voices of the rich man and the little fat boy were drowned in the crowd of tens of thousands of people.
"Ye Fan!"
"Master Ye!"
Many boys and girls cheered loudly and excitedly.
Ye Fan couldn't help but look outside the carriage curiously.
The annual sacrificial department assessment is grandly awaited by everyone in Luyang City.
All wealthy families, big and small, went to the Luyang Mountain altar with the highest etiquette.
Wealthy households with a little wealth will buy some sacrifices and go to the foot of Luyang Mountain to worship. Even the common people put on fine clothes that they would not bear to wear on weekdays to welcome and see off the sacrificial team.
Ye Fan got off the luxurious carriage in Mu Mansion and got into a larger nine-seater carriage.
This is a large carriage specially designed for sacrificing candidates.
In this large carriage, there were already seven young male and female martial arts students in brocade clothes and arrogant expressions. They looked at Ye Fan together, with strange looks in their eyes.
They are all descendants of the three great families of Mu, Jiang, and Gu in Luyang Prefecture, as well as the five great families of Zhao, Qin, Feng, Lin, and Wang. There is one person from each family... It seems that there is one missing, who has not arrived yet.
According to the practice of the past hundred years, only the children of these eight major families are eligible to go to worship.
But this year, there is a commoner like Ye Fan, and he is also the number one genius boy in Luyang Mansion in a thousand years.
They had mixed feelings about Mark. They couldn't tell whether they were envious or contemptuous.
Ye Fan boarded the giant carriage.
There are nine seats in this carriage, but only two are empty. One in the middle and one by the window.
When the young man from the Zhao family saw that Ye Fan was so popular with the crowd at the city gate, he felt jealous in his heart. He couldn't help but curled his lips and mocked, "The top of the four series is really a big one. Let so many of us wait here for you for half a day!"
A young man from the Lin family next to him laughed and said, "Ye Fan, don't listen to him. It doesn't matter whether you come early or late. The auspicious time has not yet arrived, and the sacrificial team will not set off to Luyang Mountain so quickly! Besides, there is someone more famous than you, It will probably take a while to arrive."
"Who hasn't arrived yet?"
Ye Fan asked a little strangely.
The young man from the Lin family said: "Jiang Youxi! The most beautiful boy in this city! His mother is the eldest daughter of the current head of the Gu family, and his father is the head of Jiang Tianpeng City. He is the jewel in the palm of Jiang Gu's two great families, a true direct lineage. . His reputation is no less than that of Miss Mu Bing."
"oh!"
Ye Fan thought for a moment and sat down in the empty seat by the window. A rich man like Jiang Youxi probably prefers to sit in the middle of everyone.
After a while, a Jiang Mansion carriage finally arrived belatedly.
"Master Jiang is here!"
"Jiang Youxi! I love you!"
In an instant, countless girls raised their hands and swayed, and the overwhelming cheers almost shook the entire south gate for several miles. The momentum of the cheers was several times stronger than when Mark came.
Soon, a beautiful young man gracefully got off the carriage of Jiang Mansion and got on the large sacrificial carriage.
This young man from the Jiang family is wearing a white robe and standing in the wind. He has beautiful eyes and is handsome. Even among the handsome men and beauties from wealthy families, she is still extremely beautiful, standing out from the crowd.
In the carriage, all the young people watched Jiang Youxi get on the carriage, and they were stunned and silent for a moment.
Even the wealthy young men who usually thought they were handsome and unrestrained suddenly felt ashamed and felt awkward sitting and standing.
"I've met all of you brothers and sisters!"
Jiang Youxi's eyes were as bright as stars as he glanced at the young men and women in the car. With a smile on his lips and a sense of self-evident pride, Jiang Youxi bowed his hands to the young men and sat down in the middle seat of the car.
"I've met Brother Jiang Shi!"
The young men quickly returned the gift.
The eight major families in Luyang Mansion have close internal relationships and have been friends for generations. For example, the Jiang Gu family, the Feng Lin family, etc. all have marriages, and the others have side branches and so on. Jiang Youxi has a very high status. According to their seniority, they should all respect Jiang Youxi as their elder brother.
Of course, with the exception of Ye Fan, there is no need to call Jiang Youxi this way.
Jiang Youxi looked at Ye Fan, looked at him curiously, and said with a smile: "Are you Ye Fan? Recently, your reputation is the best in Luyang Mansion. I didn't expect that you would also come to participate in the assessment of the sacrifice department! "
The young man from the Zhao family was angry and said with disdain: "Who knows which connections he had through, and he actually got an exam spot in the sacrificial department from Dean Mu as an exception! This is something that has not happened in hundreds of years."
Only a few people know about the deal between Feng Lin and Ye Fan.
The other teenagers didn't know the inside story of this matter, and they were a little confused. They didn't know how Ye Fan got this examination card.
Jiang Youxi waved his hand and said: "There is no need to have any connections, Ye Fan is qualified to participate in the sacrificial system assessment! The sacrificial system assessment originally relies entirely on good luck to have a chance to succeed in the sacrificial ceremony!
The few of us rely on our family's luck, and the eight major families in Luyang Mansion have extremely strong luck. But Ye Fan, as the top four candidate in the joint examination of Luyang Prefecture's ten colleges, also had extremely strong luck, but he relied on pure luck. His luck is not weaker than ours, so he is naturally qualified to participate in the sacrifice!
The sacrificial ceremony is a grand ceremony of a country and a dynasty. It is related to the fortune of a country and a dynasty. People who are not blessed with great fortune cannot bear the sacrificial ceremony! The fate of the vassal states lies with the princes and kings, and the fate of the dynasty lies with Emperor Zixuan. If they go to offer sacrifices, they will succeed eight or nine times out of ten.
Although this is just a sacrificial ceremony for Luyang Prefecture, it also affects the fate of millions of people in Luyang Prefecture. How can ordinary people be qualified to affect the fate of millions of people?
In the Luyang Mansion, only the eight major families were qualified to affect the fate of millions of people. Now that there is one more Mark, it may change the fate of millions of people in Luyang Mansion in the future. "
When the young man from the Zhao family saw that Jiang Youxi was not hostile to Ye Fan, but rather admired him, he immediately shut up.
"Brother Jiang is too praised. My luck in the past was average, not great!"
Ye Fan cupped his hands and thanked him, smiling bitterly.
He spent the previous fourteen years in a long trough of martial arts training. It was only when he encountered Shang the day before the exam that everything changed drastically.
"I'm not saying that you have good luck! That's the truth. All nine of us have great luck! I just don't know who among the nine of us has better luck!"
Jiang Youxi shook his head, looked at Mark meaningfully, and said with a smile.
"Of course Brother Jiang Shi has the best luck!"
All the young men complimented one after another.
"That's natural!"
Jiang Youxi smiled brightly and said without hesitation: "My mother is the eldest daughter of the Gu family. The Gu family is a sacrificial family that has been passed down for thousands of years. Every generation of the Gu family must have at least one priest. This sacrificial system is where the sacrificial system is established. It is a system of praying on the altar, looking up at the vast starry sky, observing the map of the star path, predicting disasters and blessings, and praying for the blessings of the saints. My deep understanding of the sacrificial system can be said to be one of the few in the entire Luyang Mansion."
At this point, Jiang Youxi sighed slightly and laughed at himself: "But then again, our Luyang Mansion has not had a successful sacrifice for more than ten years. Every year, the sacrifices yield nothing, and very few people are successfully promoted to priests. I hope this time ...We can create a sacrificer!"
The young men were silent.
Although Jiang Youxi is the son of City Lord Jiang, he majored in the sacrificial department following his mother. If this sacrifice is unsuccessful, I am afraid I will be forced to change to other departments.
...
The sun sets over the west mountain.
It's time to head to Luyang Mountain. The time of worship is late at night, when the countless stars in the sky are the brightest.
Jiang Tianpeng, the lord of Luyang City, who was presiding over this sacrificial ceremony, riding on a handsome red horse, said in a deep voice to the huge team behind him: "The auspicious time has come! The sacrificial team sets off!"
Suddenly, a huge convoy of tens of thousands of people rumbled towards Luyang Mountain in the southern suburbs of the city.