Devouring Chaos

Chapter 73 Literary Examination

Most people in Changyuan City are not strong enough to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, so those with good literary talent come to take part in the literary examination, trying to gain the attention and respect of the court, and then serve the country, hoping to get a Foundation Establishment Pill to break the upper limit of their own cultivation!

Everyone basically has this idea, but only a few succeed!

Guan Xiaobai heard from those who participated in previous years that in order to make an exception and be valued by the court, the only way to meet the requirement is to ring the bells and tripods dedicated to Emperor Yan Ting in the Yan Ting Temple!

It is said that the bells and tripods were Emperor Yan Ting’s favorite toys during his lifetime. After his death, the bells and tripods were tainted with a trace of Emperor Yan Ting’s aura and could sense the level of literary talent in the outside world. The higher the literary talent, the more likely it is that the bells and tripods will resonate!

However, after so many years, among all the literati, there were only three or two people whose literary talent impressed Yan Ting, and eventually they became high-ranking officials of Yan State!

So all the literati participating today came with this idea in mind!

The gates of Yanting Temple are open today! People are coming in and out, some are watching the fun, some are participating in the competition!

When Guan Xiaobai and the others entered the Yan Ting Temple, they found that it was not as small as they had imagined!

There is a large space inside, with a courtyard paved with winding gravel roads! Small bridges and flowing water, rockery and lakes! Pavilions, small pavilions, and bamboo forests are arranged on both sides of the courtyard! Just like the emperor's palace, the layout is exquisite and sophisticated!

The contestants of previous years were in the largest pavilion in the courtyard! Only those who performed well in the martial arts test were qualified to sit in it, and the other contestants could only sit on the rows of cushions outside the pavilion!

Of course, there is a high platform next to the pavilion, with several stone benches and chairs on the platform, which are the seats for the judges!

Not far from the pavilion is the ancestral hall dedicated to Emperor Yan Ting. Above the ancestral hall hangs a bell tripod that glows with golden light. Inside the bell tripod hangs a bell pendant! It sways in the breeze! Occasionally, the bell pendant hits the wall of the bell tripod, making a pleasant and crisp sound!

It is said that whoever has rich literary talent and can answer the questions set by the court well, if it can trigger strange phenomena such as bells and tripods, he will be highly valued by the court!

Guan Xiaobai's arrival naturally caused a commotion among the people around him!

"Boss Guan is here..."

"Miss Lu is here too!"

When Guan Xiaobai walked towards the pavilion, passers-by respectfully made way for him!

When Guan Xiaobai walked to the pavilion, he found that JJ Lin, the Jiang brothers and others had already arrived! But there was no sign of Li Jian!

Maybe he is not interested in the text and won't come to participate!

Of course, JJ Lin and his friends looked gloomy at Guan Xiaobai's arrival!

Of course they felt uncomfortable because Guan Xiaobai took advantage of them in the competition!

"Humph, I'm just lucky! I won't lose this literary contest..."

JJ Lin said coldly!

Guan Xiaobai took a look at these people and then ignored them!

The pavilion is very large and has many seats for people to sit!

However, with only a few of them around, the pavilion seemed a little deserted!

Guan Xiaobai pulled Lu Yuewen and found a seat by the side and sat down!

The seats outside the pavilion are already filled with contestants who arrived early!

The scene was lively and noisy!

Soon, Chen Geng and his companions also took their seats on the platform! Of course, the white-robed scholar Yan Meili was among them!

As the city lord in the physical training stage, Chen Geng is not very powerful, but his literary talent is first-rate, otherwise he would not have been able to sit on the seat of the city lord!

After seeing the princess take the main seat, Chen Geng coughed lightly.

"Well, it seems that there are quite a few participants in this year's essay competition. I hope everyone will abide by the rules of the essay competition!"

After Chen Geng looked around, he spoke slowly!

As the words fell!

The crowd gradually stopped making noise and the voices of chatting disappeared!

The audience at the outermost edge also fell silent, waiting for Chen Geng to speak!

"This year's exam questions have changed. The poetry exam part is about things you choose around you. You have to write a poem. Those who write neat poems will pass and then move on to the next question!"

"Of course, the things you choose are decided by each of you. Whoever writes more than two poems within half an hour will pass the first round!"

When Chen Geng finished speaking, everyone was shocked!

This is a very difficult task. You only have half an hour to write poetry while looking at the things around you. It is impossible for people without a certain foundation in poetry to do this!

"Start now……"

Chen Geng starts the countdown! He no longer pays attention to the contestants with sad faces!

The contestants began to take out the prepared papers and pens, placed them in front of them, and began to look around for inspiration!

Guan Xiaobai has a calm image!

The paper and pen were handed to him by Lu Yuewen!

After a while, someone's eyes lit up and he began to write furiously on the yellow paper in front of him!

Lu Yuewen is a lady from a noble family, so of course she knows something about poetry, and she has already written a poem!

Guan Xiaobai moved his gaze to the paper!

orchid

The orchid flowers bloom in the sunset, and their fragrance drifts along the stream.

I don’t want to see you grow old, but I will make the best of the good times.

After reading it, Guan Xiaobai curled his lips slightly. He didn't know whether it was well written or not, but he felt that it was quite smooth to read, and it gave people an inexplicable feeling after reading it! Just like a girl looking forward to being loved by a sweetheart?

Of course, this is just Guan Xiaobai’s own understanding!

Seeing Guan Xiaobai peeking at the poem she wrote, Lu Yuewen pouts and mutters,

"Don't copy my copy..."

After a while, Lu Yuewen wrote another poem!

willow

The breeze blows the willow catkins flying, and the willows swaying intoxicatingly.

There are wood in the mountains and branches in the wood, and the heart is happy and the king does not know.

Guan Xiaobai rolled his eyes after seeing this!

Isn’t this a poem that expresses the naked love for someone?

I didn't expect Lu Yuewen to be so aroused!

"Hey, Yuewen, please be more tactful!"

Guan Xiaobai felt his face getting a little hot!

Lu Yuewen was very generous and said calmly,

"Why, I like you and I just want to express it, is there anything wrong with that?"

"Well, whatever you want!"

Guan Xiaobai looked embarrassed!

He didn't know what to do with this girl. As he was devoted to cultivation, he didn't take love too seriously. Wasn't this kind of ambiguous relationship good enough now?

Lu Yuewen quickly finished the three poems and saw Guan Xiaobai still standing there in a daze!

"Hey, aren't you going to write poetry? The time is almost up!"

"You can't write poetry!"

Lu Yuewen looked surprised.

If Guan Xiaobai really can't write poetry, that would be really embarrassing. Since he can't, why did he come to take the written test?

Lu Yuewen even regretted not asking Guan Xiaobai if he could write poetry before coming here!

"Xiao Bai, why don't you copy mine? I'll make two more!"

After hearing this, Guan Xiaobai came to his senses and said in surprise,

"I can, but I haven't thought about it yet!"

Regardless of whether I can do it or not, I have a lot of ancient poems remembered in my mind from my previous life, so I can just write two of them!

Looking at Lu Yuewen in front of him, who was dressed in a white brocade robe today, Guan Xiaobai's eyes lit up and a poem emerged in his mind!