Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 252 Of all the cultural achievements under heaven, Tiannan Road alone holds six points.
“He’s not the only one on the Xuan Ranking in our Tiannan Dao!”

When Rong Changyan finished speaking, the entire room fell silent for a moment.

After all, this man's tone was terrifyingly arrogant, but strangely, his arrogance somehow made people feel a very strong emotion erupting from him.

So much so that everyone was so agitated that no one dared to refute him for a moment.

Only beside Chen Xu, in a small basket woven from willow branches, a little hedgehog quietly peeked out and angrily stared at Rong Changyan, who was spouting nonsense.

Wei Yuan was furious. If it weren't for not wanting to cause trouble for Chen Xu, it would have retorted to Rong Changyan on the spot!

Fortunately, although it did not refute, the bearded man holding the "Records of the Splendor of Dali" said: "In our Tiannan Dao, although he is not the only one on the Xuan List, he is the only one who was on the Xuan List before becoming a Juren."

Not to mention our Tiannan Dao, but in the entire Dali, he is the only one who entered the Xuan List without becoming a Juren!
"As fellow Daoists from Tiannan, what's wrong with me feeling honored for Minister Chen? Is there anything wrong with that?"

Yes, that's absolutely right!

Wei Yuan, clinging to the small basket, nodded repeatedly.

Rong Changyan, however, remained completely unperturbed and said, "Brother, you have misunderstood what I meant."

I mean, this young master Chen is certainly remarkable.

But he slays ghosts and vanquishes evil spirits; do you all really think he did it because of his status as a scholar? Even if he is a brilliant writer, capable of producing magnificent works, and able to pioneer the literary world ahead of time.

But as a scholar, his combat power was ultimately limited. How could he possibly kill a heretical cultivator in his stronghold so easily, like this crushing force?
He killed a heretical cultivator at the Core Formation Realm and also the exceptionally talented Black Monkey King. With such strength, ha! I simply don't believe he's just a scholar.

"If not a scholar, then what is he?" the bearded man asked in a deep voice, his eyes bulging.

Rong Changyan said, "I guess he must also be cultivating a method of nourishing qi, and may have even reached the Core Formation Realm! It's just that his fame is too great, so we overlooked this point."

The bearded man immediately retorted, "But if he really is at the Core Formation Realm, how could there be no record of him in the Great Li Chronicles? After all, other geniuses at the Core Formation Realm are clearly recorded."

Hey, that sentence really hits the nail on the head.

Rong Changyan was speechless for a moment, unable to refute.

The bearded man finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said smugly, "How about that? My friend, is it really that difficult for you to admit that others are remarkable?"

Rong Changyan's face immediately turned red, and he snorted, "Where did I not acknowledge that Young Master Chen is remarkable?"

I just wanted to say that despite his formidable fighting abilities, he might not achieve great results in this year's imperial examinations!

The little hedgehog's eyes widened suddenly, almost shooting fire.

The bearded man also became angry and said, "You, you pretend to be different from others, that's fine, but you even talk nonsense and say that Minister Chen may not be able to achieve good results in this year's autumn examination."

You, you...you are utterly ignorant, foolish, and hateful!

He pointed at Rong Changyan and cursed him three times.

Rong Changyan squinted and said, "You're the ignorant, stupid, and hateful one! What, are you getting angry because you're ashamed?"

"Don't be hasty, let me finish what I have to say if you're so confident."

Seeing that the bearded man had clenched his fist as if he was about to hit someone, Rong Changyan suddenly slammed his palm down on the table.

click-

As he pressed down with his palm, a corner of the square table cracked open.

This power immediately jolted everyone watching into a state of shock, as they had never expected this seemingly refined middle-aged man with long, narrow eyes to possess such abilities. Now, who would dare disobey him?

Only the bearded man opposite him clenched his fists and glared at him with wide eyes.

Rong Changyan smiled and said, "I never said that Young Master Chen's talent is not amazing or outstanding."

Unfortunately, haha, poetry is poetic talent, and prose is prose talent.

Ladies and gentlemen, being a gifted poet doesn't necessarily mean you can write well. And writing well in the prefectural and provincial examinations doesn't guarantee you'll write well in the provincial examination.

The imperial examinations tested not only poetry and prose, but also essays, which accounted for a much larger proportion of the test.

The imperial examination is not about who has the biggest fist or the strongest magic power. Just because someone can kill a heretic at the Core Formation stage doesn't guarantee a good result in the autumn examination.

"Heh, I'm not saying that Young Master Chen will fail the exam, but for people like them, not ranking at the top is truly a failure."

The bearded man retorted, "What makes you think that Young Master Chen can't be among the top students?"

“Alas.” Rong Changyan sighed. “Brother, you should know what kind of candidates our entire Tiannan region is facing in this year’s autumn examination.”

Leaving aside Chen Xu of Yunjiang Prefecture, let's talk about Mo Huaizhang of our Qinglin Prefecture. Isn't he a first-rate talent?
At the age of twelve, he was able to compose "Ten Songs of Mengyun," exploring the simplest and most understandable path to enlightenment for children all over the world.

Nowadays, how many of the children in our Qinglin Prefecture who are beginning their education do not know the "Ten Songs of Mengyun"?
Even if you don't want to pursue further studies, you should at least memorize the "Ten Songs of Mongolian Rhyme," which is better than being completely ignorant, right?
Mo Huaizhang, after passing the county-level imperial examination, spent ten years preparing before finally setting out to take the provincial-level examination this year. Gentlemen, do you think Mo Huaizhang will be no match for Chen Xu?

This……

The scene fell silent once more, and no one dared to give a definitive answer: Mo Huaizhang simply couldn't outperform Chen Xu.

Only Wei Yuanpan, standing beside a small willow basket, gritted his teeth and whispered, "What Mo Huaizhang? Brother Chen could have easily passed the exam with just one finger!"

Chen Xu chuckled softly as he listened, and reached out to stroke the little hedgehog's bristling hair.

Fortunately, the mouse was still asleep in the spirit pouch, otherwise who knows how angry the little guy would have been.

On the other end, Rong Changyan continued in a long, eloquent manner:

"Leaving aside Mo Huaizhang from Qinglin Prefecture, let's talk about Zhou Qian, Luo Wenhuan, and Song Chengye from Pingyang Prefecture. Which of these talented men is easy to get along with?"

Zhou Qian was known for his sharp and incisive writing; he once wrote an article that literally angered an elderly scholar from his rival's family to death.

Luo Wenhuan was proficient in divination and calculation, and he once calculated that the city wall of Pingyang Prefecture would move outward by three feet.

Song Chengye's compilation of "Annotations on the Four Seasons" even received praise from great Confucian scholars...

In addition, there were several other people from Yujing who came from other parts of China, but I won't go into details about them.

Gentlemen, it is said that if the world's cultural achievements were ten parts, the capital city would have three parts, the Central Plains would have two parts, and the remaining six parts would all be in the Southern Region.

But the northern frontier owes the world a debt!
Even if Chen Xu is incredibly skilled in combat, is he certain he can defeat all these talented scholars and emerge victorious in the autumn imperial examination, earning the title of "Jieyuan" (top scholar)?

Rong Changyan spoke with a firm and sincere tone.

Even though he was arrogant, who among those present could refute him?
Even Wei Yuan, the little hedgehog, couldn't help but grit his teeth and show anxiety in his eyes after hearing his words.

Brother Chen's poetic talent is indeed unparalleled.

But becoming the top scholar in the autumn imperial examinations isn't something you can achieve just by writing poetry!
(End of this chapter)