Becoming a Sage Starts From Condensing the Essence of Time - Chapter 84
Chapter 84: Listening to the Song for an Entire Day on the Flower Boat, Taking the Spring Quarter Examination (3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“That Sixth Mountain Lord knew how to play back then. He roamed the pleasure boats and won the reputation of the brothel. Many beauties looked forward to him. Tsk, in terms of flirtatiousness, he’s comparable to me.” The old man took a sip of the Drunken Flowing Clouds and ate the Eight Treasure Chicken with a smile.
An Le couldn’t help but look sideways. “Senior, you also have a good reputation in the brothel?”
“No, but some of my beauties are not human. Sixth Brother doesn’t have them.” The old man stroked his beard and smiled.
As he smiled, a trace of disappointment appeared in his eyes.
An Le was speechless. His beauties were not human… Perhaps they were demons.
There were demons in this world. Wasn’t the previous landlord of the small courtyard a squirrel demoness?
No wonder the old man of the Imperial Ancestral Temple was willing to let the squirrel demoness live so close to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. There was indeed a reason.
That night, the old man drank until he was drunk. With his cultivation, he could not get drunk at all, but he did not resist the sensation.
An Le did not send the old man back to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and let him stay in the house.
Then, he returned to the courtyard. After tidying up, he looked at the night sky that was filled with stars and began to visualize the Sword Waterfall Diagram.
Today, on the flower boat, after receiving Miss Yun Rou’s zither music, his mind, which had been refined by the Sword Furnace in the Niwan Palace, seemed to have strengthened a little. He took this opportunity to visualize the Sword Waterfall in one go.
Starlight scattered down from the sky like falling meteors and sword rain that fell into the mortal world.
In the latter half of the night, someone stepped on the starlight like an immortal.
Zhao Xianyou entered the courtyard and saw An Le visualizing the Sword Waterfall. He did not disturb him and only took out a pot of wine. He entered the house and found a cup. He floated to the roof and sat down. His luxurious clothes fluttered as he poured himself a cup and drank under the moon.
A moment later, An Le woke up from his visualization state. He was not surprised to see Zhao Xianyou.
Zhao Xianyou poured a glass of wine and flicked it to An Le.
An Le received it and took a sip. Spiritual energy filled his mouth.
“This is the Drunken Immortal Wine. It’s brewed with spiritual fruits and contains spiritual energy. Drinking it is beneficial to your cultivation. I guess you’ve already finished your wine, so I brought it here to try it with you.” Zhao Xianyou said calmly.
An Le drank a few cups and felt that it tasted good. As for the spiritual energy, it was secondary. It was better than nothing. The so-called spiritual energy was just a gimmick.
“The Spring Quarter Examination is in two days. I won’t look for you anymore. When you perform well in the Spring Quarter Examination, give me another pot of old yellow wine as a celebration.”
Zhao Xianyou looked at the moon and said.
“Okay.” An Le did not refuse.
“An Le, do you have a goal in cultivation? What’s your goal?” Zhao Xianyou asked.
An Le was stunned. He thought for a moment and said, “At first, it was because there was cultivation in this world, so I wanted to see it. I was purely curious.”
“Later, I encountered oppression and wanted to become stronger so that I would no longer be helpless in the face of oppression.”
“After that, I probably want to see the scenery from a higher place.”
Zhao Xianyou paused in his drinking. He did not expect An Le’s answer to be so simple. However, the goal of cultivation should be pure and simple.
“I don’t know what my cultivation goal is. It’s as if cultivation has been with me since I was born. The end is right in front of me. I can reach it as long as I want to. ”
Zhao Xianyou heaved a sigh of relief.
“It’s like it’s for a purpose.”
“It’s very boring.”
“It’s not as interesting as drinking with you.”
An Le was silent, but he didn’t know what to say. Zhao Xianyou changed his usual quiet image and rambled a lot. Most of the time, An Le listened while Zhao Xianyou drank and talked.
In the end, when the sun rose in the east, the light of dawn shone on the land.
Zhao Xianyou’s loose hair fluttered in the morning breeze. He turned to look at An Le and said, “Since you want to see the scenery above, I’ll wait for you there.”
An Le smiled. After clinking glasses with her, he drank it all in one gulp.
“At that time, you and I will drink together again.”
On the ninth of February, there was rain in Lin’an.
One spring rain after another finally brought about a grand event of the Great Zhao Dynasty.
Today, the Spring Quarter Examination opened. To the scholars who had traveled a long way from various places to enter the capital to take the examination, it was the most important day in their lives.
Could they laugh proudly in the spring breeze, bring glory to their ancestors, and return to their hometown in glory?
Because it was raining, the sky was gloomy. There was dim light shining on the ground, representing the arrival of day.
Qingbo Street, Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley.
An Le woke up early and practiced the Ancient Demon Five Animals as usual to refine his Qi Blood.
After the Five Animals were done, An Le circulated his Qi Blood and evaporated the rainwater on his body. He changed into a clean white robe and wore Green Mountain and Ink Pool Sword at his waist. He carried the brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and examination cards needed for the Spring Quarter Examination Imperial Examination and left the courtyard with an oil-paper umbrella.
He left Qingbo Street and passed by the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
The old man leaned on his bamboo cane and stood under the eaves of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, looking at him with a smile.
“Young Friend An, do your best in the Spring Quarter Examination and strive to enter the Scholar Ranking List A. Take the Hall Examination and fight for the top scholar position.”
The old man smiled and wished him well.
Even though this wish was very difficult to fulfill and the difficulty of this Hall Examination was incomparably great, to the old man, it was still very easy for An Le to enter the Scholar Ranking List A.
“Thank you for your wish, Senior. I’ll naturally do my best.”
An Le replied with a smile.
Under the old man’s smiling gaze, An Le walked past with an umbrella and stepped onto Qingbo Street, heading towards the Literary Department.
Stepping onto Jing Street, Lin Qingyin and Lin Zhuifeng held umbrellas and stood in the spring rain.
When they saw An Le, the two of them waved and greeted him.
“Master, good luck in the Spring Quarter Examination!”
Lin Qingyin pursed her lips and smiled.
Lin Zhuifeng clenched her fists and waved them around. “Sir, strive to become the top scholar! If you become the top scholar, our Ninth Sister can also benefit from it and become the top scholar’s disciple. It’ll be very beautiful!”
An Le could not help but be speechless. He nodded and the three of them walked on spring water to the stone monument archway outside the Literary Department.
The two girls stopped sending him off and watched An Le’s figure gradually disappear into the hazy spring rain at the foot of the Literary Department.
The stone steps of the Literary Department were long and hidden in the black and white buildings. The examination hall for the Spring Quarter Examination was set in the courtyard.
On the stone steps, many scholars carried their luggage and walked forward in the spring rain.
It was cold in spring, and there was an icy rain.
An Le had Green Mountain and Ink Pool Sword on his waist, and his eyes flickered slightly. To him, the Spring Quarter Examination was also a huge matter that could change his fate.
Clouds appeared under the sun, and colorful lights shot through the sky.
He exhaled lightly, and the world seemed to be quiet.
An Le stepped onto the stone path and prepared to challenge the Spring Quarter Examination..
