Chapter 86: Imperial Examination, Prosperity of the Imperial Capital

Lu Yang couldn’t help feeling slightly emotional.

In his previous life, even with the top tier resources provided by the Lu Family, he had only managed to reach the peak of the First Stage of the Body Tempering Realm one year after stepping onto the cultivation path.

At that time, he had already considered that speed very good compared to his second life.

The Lu Family had also provided many resources for him to accomplish that.

Medicinal herbs, Blood Qi nourishing foods, various cultivation baths, and even guidance from experienced cultivators, although the last one wasn’t of much use to him, all of these things still allowed him to steadily progress.

Yet even with all those advantages, it had still taken him an entire year to reach the peak of the First Stage of Body Tempering Realm.

Now, he had reached the Third Stage of Body Tempering Realm in one year, and this time, he hadn’t relied on the Lu Family’s top tier resources either.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have resources in this life. In fact, it was still considerably better than his second life where he had to survive on meager sect resources and grind for the rest himself.

But when compared to his third life, the difference was enormous.

Lu Yang looked down at his small hands, slowly clenching them.

This was the compound effect of superior innate talent and two lifetimes of memories.

It wasn’t simply one advantage, but the accumulation of everything he had experienced.

In his previous life, he had only walked through the Body Tempering Realm once, and his understanding of cultivation was very shallow compared to his present self.

He didn’t understand many of the subtle relationships between cultivation, foundation, combat techniques, and the physical body.

But now, he had already cultivated through the Body Tempering Realm twice, had once reached the peak of the Spirit Awakening Realm and even briefly touched the threshold of the Essence Gathering Realm.

His vision was completely different.

Most importantly, his talent far surpassed his previous lives by an unknown margin.

One hundred points of Talent, Lu Yang still didn’t completely understand what the Script of Reincarnation meant by that or how these points corresponded to real world potential, but he could feel the difference.

His body seemed naturally suited for cultivation, his Blood Qi circulated smoothly, his meridians adapted rapidly, and his physical body could absorb the nourishment brought by cultivation at an astonishing speed.

Even his comprehension was frightening.

A cultivation method that had once required him to spend years understanding could now be grasped within a much shorter period.

Lu Yang couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

This was truly unfair.

Of course, he was the one benefiting from that unfairness, so he wasn’t complaining.

He slowly stood up from the bed.

There was no need to stabilize his cultivation. His foundation was already extremely stable.

After all, this was his third time reaching the Third Stage of Body Tempering.

Even if he had just broken through, his control over the power of this realm was already close to instinctive.

He wouldn’t accidentally destroy the floor simply because he had failed to control his strength like in his previous life.

Lu Yang walked out of the room.

Today was the day of the Imperial Examination, and he was going to see off his father.

The carriage had already arrived, Lu Yang had merely taken advantage of the remaining time to complete his breakthrough.

Before leaving, he circulated the Dust Hiding Breath Concealing Method, causing his vigorous Blood Qi to gradually become restrained.

From the outside, his aura became extremely weak, consistent with the First Stage of Body Tempering Realm.

Over the past year, Lu Yang had continued cultivating the Dust Hiding Breath Concealing Method and had now reached perfection.

At this point, unless an Essence Gathering Realm cultivator deliberately examined him, it would be difficult to see through his concealment.

Even an Essence Gathering cultivator would need to be paying attention to him.

Lu Yang wasn’t worried about that.

The Imperial Examination was important to ordinary people, but it wasn’t important enough to attract an Essence Gathering powerhouse specifically to observe one six year old child.

As for the examination itself, there would naturally be a Essence Gathering cultivator overseeing the examination hall, but that person would be stationed in one place.

Lu Yang had experienced the Essence Gathering Realm himself.

At the early stages of that realm, the range of Divine Sense wasn’t particularly terrifying, roughly a hundred meters or so, perhaps slightly more depending on the individual’s cultivation talent.

Even at its later stages, it couldn’t possibly exceed three hundred meters.

The examination hall was nearly twice as big as that. It just wasn’t enough to cover the entire examination hall simultaneously.

And the cultivator wouldn’t constantly release Divine Sense without reason as well. Doing so would be extremely exhausting.

Therefore, as long as he behaved normally, there was essentially no risk.

Of course, Lu Yang had considered all of this beforehand. He wouldn’t casually expose himself.

As he walked outside, a figure immediately approached him.

"Young Master."

Lu Yang looked up to see a young woman in her mid twenties with delicate features and a gentle expression approaching him.

The moment she saw him, she immediately extended her arms.

"Come."

Lu Yang didn’t resist, allowing her to pick him up.

This was his mother’s personal maid, the same woman who had saved him on that rainy day and essentially raised him after his mother’s death.

Lu Yang usually called her Aunt Lin.

Although, in terms of actual age, she was even younger than Lu Qingxue from his previous life.

The comparison made Lu Yang’s expression slightly strange for a moment.

But seniority was seniority.

She belonged to the same generation as his mother, therefore, in this life, she was his elder.

Lu Yang had no intention of messing up such relationships simply because of his memories.

"Aunt Lin, are we leaving now?"

"Yes." Aunt Lin smiled as she spoke.

"We will leave once the master gets ready."

Lu Yang nodded and didn’t say anything else.

His grandfather was already waiting outside.

Lu Hai looked at his grandson before glancing towards Aunt Lin.

"Take good care of Yang’er."

"I know, Old Master Lu."

She replied quickly.

Lu Hai nodded. He wouldn’t be going with them for the entire journey.

He had his own duties at the Imperial Prison, and besides, with the Imperial Examination being held, the capital was extremely crowded.

There was plenty of work for him to deal with.

Lu Shishui was also preparing to leave.

Today, he wore a clean azure scholar’s robe. His expression was calm, but there was a trace of nervousness hidden deep within his eyes.

Even someone like him couldn’t completely remain calm before an event that would determine the next stage of his life.

Lu Yang looked at his father, not saying anything.

His father had prepared for this day for many years.

From the age of twenty, when he became a Xiucai, to the Provincial Examination at twenty-three where he failed, then another attempt at twenty-six where he failed again, and finally, last year, where he passed to become a Juren.

Now, he was finally facing the Imperial Examination.

If he succeeded, he would become a Jinshi and his future would completely change.

If he failed... then perhaps he would try again for one last time three years later.

Lu Shishui looked at his son, "Yang’er, be good while I’m gone."

Lu Yang nodded.

"I will."

Lu Shishui smiled, reaching out to rub his son’s head. Then, he turned around and entered the carriage.

Next, Aunt Lin and Lu Yang also entered the carriage following Lu Shishui.

Since Lu Yang was going, Aunt Lin naturally had to accompany him.

After all, he was only six years old in the eyes of others, a child who needed someone to look after him.

The Imperial Examination would take more than ten days. They couldn’t possibly have him wander around alone during that period.

The carriage slowly began moving.

Lu Shishui was sitting opposite the other two, his eyes closer as he adjusted his state of mind.

At first, Lu Yang didn’t pay much attention to the outside.

He had lived in the Imperial Capital for six years and seen its streets many times before.

But today was different.

Today, the entire capital seemed to have come alive.

The Imperial Examination had brought scholars from every corner of Great Qian’s vast territory in one place.

Countless carriages were moving towards the examination area.

The streets were crowded, yet they weren’t chaotic.

The roads of the Imperial Capital were extraordinarily wide, and even the smaller streets in residential districts were spacious enough for three carriages to travel side by side.

As the carriage moved forward, Lu Yang lifted the curtain and looked outside, his eyes slowly widening.

The prosperity of the Imperial Capital finally entered his vision in its entirety.

Merchants stood on both sides of the street, restaurants were packed, tea houses were filled with scholars, and bookshops had placed examination related texts and historical records outside their doors.

There were pavilions and buildings stretching dozens of floors into the sky, and the Forbidden City in the distance appeared like a towering mountain.

Somewhere in the distance, a scholar was arguing loudly about the policies of Great Qian while another group was discussing poetry.

Cultivators could also be seen among the crowds.

Some wore sect robes and some ordinary clothes, some carried swords and sabers while others simply walked empty-handed.

The secular world and cultivation world were intertwined here.

Unlike the smaller cities he had lived in during his previous lives, this was the Imperial Capital, the center of Great Qian Dynasty.

Lu Yang quietly watched, taking in everything before him.

Such prosperity, he was afraid only the modern world from his first life could compare.

This was the first time he was truly experiencing the Imperial Capital at its greatest height since arriving in this world.

Especially today, where it was far more lively than usual, perhaps even more lively than the new year.

The new year brought ordinary people together once every year, but the Imperial Examination brought scholars together from the entire dynasty once every three years.

The difference was obvious at a glance.

Lu Yang looked at the countless carriages around him, both simple and luxurious.

There were also several carriages bearing family insignias, surrounded by guards on all sides.

The people inside were probably young masters or young misses from prominent clans coming to see off their relatives or friends, or perhaps participating in the examination themselves.

There were also scholars walking on foot with varying expressions on their faces, some nervous, some excited, and some completely calm.

But without exception, all of them were cultivators at least in the middle stages of Body Tempering Realm, with some at the later stages of Body Tempering Realm also mixed in.

Lu Yang watched them silently, musing in his heart.

Every one of them had their own story.

Some had studied for ten years and some for twenty. One had failed multiple times while another was participating for the first time. Many were already extremely old, and many were still extremely young.

For many people, this examination was their life’s turning point.

The carriage continued forward one street after another.

The distance between their residence and the examination hall was more than a hundred miles.

For a Body Tempering cultivator, that distance was naturally nothing, and even walking would not take particularly long.

But Lu Yang was still a child, and the Lu Family wasn’t lacking money.

Therefore, they naturally chose a carriage.

It wasn’t just their family, but almost every road leading towards the examination area was crowded with carriages.

The closer they got, the more scholars Lu Yang saw.

They carried books, held writing brushes, some like Lu Shishui were also quietly meditating in their carriages.

There were even scholars reciting passages from the classics aloud on the road.

It was almost like an army preparing for battle.