Faceted Jade a.k.a Carven Jade [ENG Translation]

CHAPTER 29

ೋ❀❀ೋ

What if he didn't bother to wait?

ೋ❀❀ೋ

All of the examinees who had been discussing the examination's questions looked over and greeted Qin Yan with a salute after hearing the loud call from Fu Changling. Qin Yan nodded, said nothing more, then walked off.

Fu Changling's gaze remained fixed on Qin Yan as he walked away. Seeing this, Shangguan Mingyan couldn't help but wonder, "Does Shen Xiōng know Qin Daojun?"

"Hm?" When Fu Changling heard Shangguan Mingyan's words, he hastily turned around and responded, "No, I just admire Qin Daojun. I couldn't resist taking a longer look at him."

"Shen Xiōng is right." Shangguan Mingyan, too, cast a glance into the distance with a hint of yearning in his eyes. "Who wouldn't admire someone like Qin Daojun?"

Fu Changling didn't utter a word. He took a discreet step to the side, blocking Shangguan Mingyan's field of vision.

Shangguan Mingyan couldn't see anything since he was blocked by Fu Changling, who was already taller and a few years older than him.

Shangguan Mingyan looked up in bewilderment at Fu Changling, who hurriedly said, "Shangguan Xiōng, your seventh question..."

After all examinees had finished exchanging answers and had a proper meal provided by the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace, it was time for the afternoon literary examination, which focused on the examinees' own personal hidden wisdom and insights. They were assigned a topic to write or paint about, and their works were to be turned in on time.

This wasn't a difficult task for Fu Changling.

He was, after all, born into one of the Four Great Clans. Although he ordinarily came off as a bit outlandish and inappropriate, he had honed the Six Arts of Virtuous Men since childhood. Naturally, he was a far cry compared to these ordinary people from various folk regions who had come to take the examination.

The topic was different for each person. Yun Yu brought him a box and asked him to reach in and draw from it. Fu Changling reached in and rolled out a slip of paper, and after unfurling it, he couldn't help but be stunned.

"Beauty" was his examination topic.

The purpose of such a topic in a sect examination should be to find out what beauty looked like in his eyes, so as to examine the quest his heart craved for. Only if this quest was in line with the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace's target would he qualify for admission.

Fu Changling speculated on the abstruse intention of the person who came up with the topic and then mulled over the selection criteria preferred by the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace for its sect.

In terms of origin, the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace was quite different compared to other cultivation sects.

Other sects were founded either due to their specific cultivation methods' cores, such as the Tao, Sword, and Confucian sects, which cultivate the Tao, the sword, and benevolence, respectively, or due to inherited unique bloodlines, such as the Fu, Su, Yue, and Lin clans. However, this wasn't the case with the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace, which had neither a specific cultivation method nor a unique bloodline heritage.

Hongmeng Heavenly Palace was founded three thousand years ago. Yunze was a barren landscape following the epic battle between the immortals and demons back then, with all that had fallen into ruins now being rebuilt. The Immortal Sects were drained of talents, and there were many hardships owing to the scarcity of resources. Therefore, Sword Master Ye Lan gathered a hundred clans and elected seven Elders to jointly establish the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace.