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C22

Because of the large number of people taking the exam this year, it also attracted a lot of attention. When the ranking was announced, it was like a festival had been held in the entire Qian Yuan City. The Humble Class Ye Zhiqiu was especially popular among the public and had greatly stimulated their enthusiasm. Ever since the Qian Emperor Yu Yuan had ascended the throne and changed his name to Hong Xi, the second leader of the Humble Class, the one who won the Humble Class, had appeared only once in twenty-three years and once in the eleventh big test. Now, the Humble Class offspring would once again take the top spot, and although this was just the Humble Class's ranking, it was not the same as the Humble Class's future career, it still gave the Humble Class, just like when Lu Chun and Ji Zhiheng had risen to power.

At the same time, when the name list was announced, the other teachers of the nine great academies, who had been waiting in the capital for the release of the list, also took action at the same time. Those who were ranked at the top, especially the top twelve who could directly enter the Imperial Court, were all rare geniuses. Perhaps the future President, Marshal, and Zai Fu all originated from these people, and in order to gain the prestige of their respective academies, these teachers from all over the world put forth all their effort to find out where the students were located and lay down all sorts of conditions to attract these young talents to study in their respective academies.

"Brother Duanmu, congratulations." This morning, Zhuge Yan went to the Duke of Wei's Mansion to look for Lu Que and Duanmu Ye. The three of them did not personally go to see the rankings. All this time, they were in front of Lu Que's house tasting tea and chess. After the rankings were announced, naturally, the family members of the Duke of Wei's estate informed the three of their rankings. When he found out that Duanmu Ye had entered the top twelve and could directly enter the Imperial Court, Lu Que and Zhuge Yan, who had been relieved, immediately congratulated him.

"Same to you, same to you." Duanmu Ye, who had just recovered, was stunned when he heard that he had entered the top twelve. Only when he heard Lu Que and Zhuge Yan congratulating him did he react with his mouth wide open and an excited look on his face. After getting to know Lu Que and Zhuge Yan and learning from them, Duanmu Ye had always thought that it would be good if he could get on the rankings. He never expected that he could actually get a spot in the Imperial Court.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Although his grandfather, Zhuge, was the prime minister of the imperial court and one of the examiners who had approved his ranking in the end, he had not revealed a single word to Duanmu Ye, making him feel somewhat uneasy for the past few days. The fourth place may not have been the best place in the exam for the Zhuge family, but at least he did not lose face for the Zhuge family.

"I never thought that Brother Duanmu would be so reserved and handsome. A few days ago he even said that it would be good enough if he could enter the leaderboard. Now he's in the Imperial Court. I'm sorry, I'm disrespectful." Seeing Duanmu Ye's excited and unsure expression, Lu Que picked up a teacup and made a gesture as if he was toasting, teasing Duanmu Ye.

"That's right, that's right." Putting down the boulder in his heart, Zhuge Yan picked up the teacup with a mischievous smile on his face, "I didn't expect you, Duanmu, to be so thick-looking that you actually have such a beautiful heart." "Hiding his strength, he really deserves to be punished."

"The two of you, one is third, the other is fourth. Don't make fun of me." Duanmu Ye was a bit embarrassed by their words, but he still picked up his teacup and downed it in one gulp. It was as if the cup was not tea but alcohol. The two laughed heartily when they saw this.

"I was lucky enough to get fourth place, but how did Lu Que get third? With your talent, you shouldn't be the champion." Zhuge Yan asked curiously.

Having known Lu Que for a few months, Zhuge Yan naturally knew his good friend very well. Even though Lu Que had never attended any of the country schools, counties, or counties. But look at the people who had taught him all his life. In addition to Baili Jia, who had already passed away, which of them were not famous figures, especially Baili Jia, who was the only head of the Humble Class in Hong Xi court before the Great Examination? Even his grandfather had said that if not for the fact that Ji Hengkong had gone into hiding, Baili Jia would have died a long time ago, which meant that he would be the next Prime Minister. In Zhuge Yan's eyes, Lu Que, who had been taught by these people, was a monstrous genius. He had never imagined that he would fall to third place.

"What's wrong with that? There's always someone stronger. I've seen Ye Zhiqiu and Yan Zheng's theories before. Their talents are not inferior to mine, so it's only right that they be the leaders." Lu Que said indifferently. He was calm and did not care about the title of the chief at all.

"You've read their theory?" When Zhuge Yan and Duanmu Ye heard this, they were shocked and looked curiously at Lu Que.

"A few days ago, mother came to the palace and saw two articles written by the two of them. She liked them very much, so she copied their ideas and brought them back." Lu Que said.

"Where is the article? Quick, take it out and let me take a look. " Zhuge Yan really wanted to see how Ye Zhiqiu and Yan Zheng, who were ranked in front of him and Lu Qizheng, could compose such an essay. Although he was known as Young Master Lang Lang, among his peers, other than Lu Que, who was in front of him, he had never admired anyone else's talent. Even Bai Zhiguang, who was known as a prodigy, was only on par with him. Although he was nervous, he still hoped to get into the top three, but he was still pushed to the fourth place spot. He couldn't help but feel a bit unconvinced.

Seeing the two of them looking at him expectantly, Lu Que smiled and shook his head. Then he took out two essays from his study and passed it to them. " Every time a student directly entered the Imperial Court, in order to express fairness, wasn't it announced after the announcement of the rankings? "Why are you in such a hurry?"

The two of them just picked up the essay and started reading it without replying to Lu Que. After reading the two essays, Zhuge Yan let out a long sigh and leaned back against the chair, staring at the white clouds in the sky in a daze.

"Good, good essay." After Duanmu Ye finished reading, he slapped his thighs as well, especially the article written by the chief, Ye Zhiqiu. He felt his blood boil as he watched the article. That vast and magnificent literary style had truly infected him. "Even if he's stronger than me, he's still stronger than me. Especially this Ye Zhiqiu, he is worthy of being this year's chief."

Just as Lu Que was sipping his tea and Zhuge Yan was staring blankly into the sky while Duanmu Ye was praising him, an old man dressed in butler clothing walked over.

"Young Master." The old man bowed.

"Uncle Fu, I dare not!" Lu Que hurriedly stood up and helped the old man up. This old man had followed his father for dozens of years, and after his parents went missing, the old man dismissed the servants and maids and took care of the Marquis' Mansion by himself for 12 years. What's the matter? "

"Young Master, several gentlemen have arrived at the door and said that they are teachers from the academy." Seeing Lu Que's actions, the old man smiled and looked at Lu Que as if he was his nephew.

"Oh?" Lu Que was stunned. He didn't expect that soon after the rankings were released, there would be a teacher from the Academy who would appear. Looking at Duanmu Ye, who was also a little surprised, and Zhuge Yan, who had regained his composure and was sipping his tea, Lu Que asked, "Uncle Fu, do you know which teacher is from?"

"There are even nine universities here. Not only are they here to visit young master, they are also here to visit young master Duanmu." As he spoke, the old man took out a few posts that had different colors but were all imprinted with the seal of the academy.

Lu Que took the card and looked at Zhuge Yan and Duanmu Ye.

"He should be here to look for you and Duanmu. He should be looking for me at the Crown Prince's Palace." Zhuge Yan said uninterestedly, "Actually, since we've already decided to go to Phoenix Cry Palace, it's the same even if we don't see these people. It's nothing more than giving them attractive conditions. It's not of much use to us."

"Then what about you, Brother Duanmu? See you or not?" Lu Que asked Duanmu Ye.

"Me doesn't think so either. Since I've already decided to go somewhere, it would be awkward to see them." Duanmu Ye glanced at the posts and said while shaking his head.

Lu Que nodded and passed the card to the old man, saying, "Then I'll trouble Uncle Fu and tell them that Brother Duanmu and I have chosen Phoenix Cry Palace. Let them leave."

"Young master, do we really not need to meet? Do you need to inform the duke and the Grand Princess? " The old man felt that entering the academy was an extremely important matter. He did not expect that this young master of a small country would be so disinterested. He could not help but feel somewhat anxious.

"No need. I've already discussed this with my father and mother long ago. You can call them back." Lu Que thought about it and said, "Since he came to visit, I can't be lacking etiquette even if I don't see him. Uncle Fu, take a look at the storehouse and see if there are any elegant and not very precious items. I'll pick out a few to show my gratitude."

"This … Alright." The old man nodded and walked out, but he still felt uneasy. He turned around and went to the backyard.

"Lu Que, Duanmu, why don't we go to Phoenix Cry Palace tomorrow?" After the old man left, Zhuge Yan suggested. However, he didn't mention anything about Ye Zhiqiu or his righteous words anymore. After reading their articles, he understood that these two were better than him by a bit. Although it wasn't by much, it was still better. Naturally, he would not talk about the essay anymore. That would simply be adding fuel to the fire.

"Is this okay? Isn't the Academy closed to outsiders? " Duanmu Ye hesitated.

"Is the academy not open to the public?" Lu Que was a little surprised. A few months ago, he had been accompanied by Gu Jianyun and Su Loyi to the Cloud Perching Academy. That serene school had left a deep impression on Lu Que, who had never returned to the mountain.

"When the Academy starts classes, it is not open to the public. However, we can go in and take a look as the academy's Xiu Mu is in the next two days, but we can't go in too deep. " The Prime Minister, Zhuge Xingzhi, had been the head of the Phoenix Cry Palace back then. When he was young, he had frequently went to the Academy and furthermore, he and Lu Que were the heirs of the dukedom.

"That's great. I've wanted to see what the academy looks like since a long time ago. A few years ago, when I followed my father to Yan Yang City, I did want to go to the Yan Yang Academy to have a look, but the guard said that he wouldn't let me in, so I only took a look from afar. " Duanmu Ye rubbed his hands together and said excitedly.

"Alright then." Hearing the two of them talking in such a manner, Lu Que also nodded his head.

The next day, Zhuge Yan came over early in the morning to look for Lu Que and Duanmu Ye. The three of them rode their horse carriage out of the city.

The Phoenix's Cry School was located south of the imperial capital of Qianyuan City. This was the only one of the nine great universities that had been personally constructed by the Great Ancestor himself. The entire academy included the three mountain peaks at the south of the city. It was known as the Three Peaks Twelve Valley.

The three peaks are the national pillar peak, the peak of Ming-De, the peak of seeing. The National Pillar Peak was like a pillar that connected the heavens and the earth. Mingde Peak, shaped like a bird with two wings, is the place where teachers train. The peak of the mountain was tall and straight, with only a flight of stone steps leading to its peak. It was where the elders and famous experts of the academy exchange their knowledge, and the library was located at the summit of the peak. As the saying goes, a teacher should be taught to dispel doubts. The teachers impart their wisdom, the teachers impart their skills, and those who are able to dispel the doubts of the students are able to correct their minds. The reason why Emperor Taizu placed his teaching location at the peak and made his students go up and down every day was to tell his descendants that true knowledge was truly hard to come by.

There were twelve valleys hidden among the three peaks. All of them were created according to the conditions of the heaven and earth due to the ingenious hand of the gardener. It could be said to be a five-step scenery for the teachers and students of the academy.

Lu Que and the other two alighted from the carriage at the entrance of the Education Palace. Lu Que discovered that the Phoenix Cry Palace was simply a small city surrounded by tall walls, with arrow towers and watchtowers on the walls. Above the front gate of the academy was the Phoenix Cry School, personally mentioned by Emperor Taizu himself. The words were written in large, golden characters.

Seeing the four words, the three youths couldn't help but feel their hearts churn. However, their feelings were different. Duanmu Ye was excited because he could study in Phoenix Cry Palace, which was reputed to be the First Academy of the Great Gan. Zhuge Yan, who had been here many times, was excited because the ancestors of the Zhuge family were basically from Phoenix Cry Palace. As for Lu Que, he was shocked. From the four words on the door, he felt a powerful presence. Moreover, this presence seemed to be familiar but he could not recall where he had seen it before.

"Lu Que, Duanmu, let's take a look inside." Zhuge Yan calmed himself down and said.

The three of them walked to the entrance of the academy. Zhuge Yan showed them a jade token bearing the symbol of the Crown Prince's Palace. The guard didn't say anything and let them in.

"Why are the guards of both the Phoenix Cry School and the Cloud Perching School so tight?" Lu Que looked at the patrolling soldiers on top of the city wall, feeling puzzled. Back then when he was visiting the Cloud Perching Palace, he was also so heavily guarded. Could it be that someone dared to offend the Holy Land of the Imperial Students?

"Do you really not know or are you just faking it?" Seeing how both Lu Que and Duanmu Ye were at a loss, Zhuge Yan sneered and said, "Putting aside the historical records of the past generations, even the one hundred and eight cultivation techniques that the Great Ancestor left in the academy were enough to make many people take the risk. You probably don't know this yet, but there are still a few attacks on the academy every year." At this point, Zhuge Yan looked left and right, lowering his voice and saying, "Legend has it that there are supreme experts overseeing this academy."

"Person?" Duanmu Ye exclaimed and quickly covered his mouth. He whispered, "Are you saying that there's a supreme expert here?"

"What's so strange about that?" Zhuge Yan curled her lips, unfolding the fan in her hands with a "pa" sound, and fanned it twice. "The Nine University Palace has a Wordless Monument which is said to contain the True Meaning of the Ancient Sacred Emperor. Every single expert who has failed to advance in their cultivation level would request to become a Dao Protector of the Academy, hoping to comprehend a trace of the True Meaning of the Ancient Sacred Emperor from the Wordless Monument in order to break through to the next level."

This was the first time Lu Que had ever heard of such a thing. After hearing Zhuge Yan's explanation, he nodded his head in understanding.

"Look, that's the Wordless Monument." In the middle of the plaza stood a huge monolith made of some unknown stone. The surface of the monolith was like a mirror, and it did not contain a single letter or a single word, just quietly standing there. Even so, the three of them could still feel an eternal aura gushing from it.

"Motherf * cker, this height must be more than ten Zhang, right?" Duanmu Ye was flabbergasted as he stared at the stone tablet.

"It's nine Zhang nine feet nine inches." He had seen a similar monolith in the Cloud Perching Palace, but even so, when he saw this monolith again, he couldn't hide the shock in his heart. Every time he saw this monolith, he felt that he was very small.

"Lu Que was right. It was indeed 99 feet 9 inches. But Grandfather said before that this stone tablet was also the heart of a massive array." Zhuge Yan nodded.

"What formation?" Lu Que asked curiously.

"I have no idea. For over two hundred years, no one has ever triggered a great array. The only thing that has been recorded is this." Zhuge Yan shook his head. The Zhuge family was quite knowledgeable about formations, but even their grandfather, Zhuge Xingzhi, who had been the first in the academy for ten years, was unable to figure out what kind of formation it was.

Upon hearing Zhuge Yan's words, Lu Que too started scrutinizing the Wordless Monument. He then followed the monument and carefully observed the surrounding terrain. The thumb and forefinger of his right hand continuously rubbed against each other.

Looking at Lu Que's expression, Zhuge Yan glanced at Lu Que's right hand and shook his head with a smile. He did not say anything. Although he acknowledged Lu Que's talent, he did not believe that he could see through a formation that even his grandfather could not comprehend.

After a while, Lu Que shook his head helplessly. He had lived in the Unreturning Mountain for more than ten years, but he could still see some clues. However, this formation did not match up to the one he had learned in his heart and he did not know what kind of array it was. Releasing the curiosity in his heart, Lu Que said to the two who had been waiting for a long time, "Let's take a look at the front."

"Alright, I'll lead the way. The Red Leaf Valley is up ahead, and the Huan Flower Valley and Hidden Bamboo Valley are just ahead." As he spoke, Zhuge Yan's eyes lit up.

"These valleys are for the students to stay in, so can we enter too?" Duanmu Ye asked in surprise.

"I've also heard that the Twelve Valley doesn't allow outsiders to enter." Lu Que was also puzzled.

"We can already be considered people of Phoenix Cry School, how can we be considered outsiders?" Zhuge Yan pulled the two of them forward with an anxious expression on his face.

"Lu Que, why are you here?" Just as the three of them walked into Red Leaf Valley, a woman's voice sounded from behind them.

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