Gao Wu Da Qin: You don't want your secret to be known, do you?

Chapter 47, on the Astounding Ranking, [A Half-Move Victory Over Heaven]

The following morning, the heavy snow continued. (New 69 Bookstore →)

As a relevant department of the Qin Dynasty, the Court of Justice is powerful and influential, so its employees naturally enjoy good benefits and even have their own dedicated staff restaurant.

Breakfast time is the most important time of the day for all staff members of the Court of Justice. Almost all local formal employees, employees and temporary workers of the Court of Justice will come to the canteen early for breakfast. The reason is that the leaders of the Court of Justice like to give speeches in the canteen in the morning.

As usual, Zhang Beihai picked up his boxed lunch and lined up, only to hear the restaurant buzzing with excitement.

Zhang Beihai was used to this scene. The Minister of Justice! He was in charge of all sorts of messy things every day. Everyone had a lot of work to do and often had a lot to talk about.

For example, a doctor who missed the morning court session was eventually found in a brothel.

The son of the Imperial Censor was brought to justice for bullying women and men.

One of the Nine Ministers was invited for tea by the Court of Justice last night.

There are countless examples.

But as he got closer to the food window and listened more carefully, Zhang Beihai realized something was wrong!

These colleagues of the Court of Justice weren't talking about their boring work; instead, they were all discussing one thing!

In a large restaurant with thousands of people, they kept repeating phrases like "A divine move, half a move against fate, drawing everyone into the game."

This left Zhang Beihai completely baffled; what on earth was going on here?

Zhang Beihai ordered three dishes and a soup and hurriedly went straight to his seat.

The seats on both sides were already filled with colleagues, each describing their experiences vividly.

"This gentleman is truly remarkable. With a single move, like a divine intervention, he completely silenced all the old men of Xianyang! To this day, no one dares to interfere!"

"You know that guy surnamed Cui from the Five Cities Military Command last night, right? He's always been arrogant and domineering, and despite being heavily pregnant, he bullies people because of his royal status. After the incident with the gentleman last night, he was the first to say he wanted to investigate him. Then, this morning when I woke up, I found that the official announcement from the Five Cities Military Command regarding the investigation of the gentleman had been withdrawn. That guy surnamed Cui has been suspended from his duties and is under investigation for dereliction of duty! When reporters asked the Five Cities Military Command, the deputy director just gave them the runaround. The matter is still under investigation, and the specifics are unclear. We will release information as soon as we have it!"

"Holy crap, this guy's got real guts! What's his background? Even the Five Cities Garrison doesn't dare mess with him!"

"Don't you guys think about it? To cause such a huge uproar, the person behind this must have some powerful connections. This is Xianyang, and in Xianyang, even a dog within the Second Ring Road has some kind of status or background!"

Zhang Beihai was getting anxious as he watched his colleagues chatting away happily, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Finally, taking advantage of the moment when everyone was eating soup, Zhang Beihai winked at one of his close colleagues, "Who is that gentleman you're talking about?"

His colleague gave Zhang Beihai a strange look. "Didn't you watch the news last night?"

Zhang Beihai said awkwardly, "I was drinking with someone last night. ✎🎉 ➅9𝓢𝓗ⓤx.匚𝑜𝓂 🎃💜"

My colleague said, "Look at the news, this has blown up a lot! We'll probably be taking over soon! After all, we're always the ones cleaning up the messes for the Five Cities Military Command!"

Zhang Beihai took out his phone, scrolled through it, and saw nothing but posts like, "Out-of-town thugs insult Xianyang," "Thugs should be brought to justice," and "He is a disgrace to the people of Qin."

After reading it, Zhang Beihai's blood pressure soared, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "This guy is too arrogant! He's humiliating us old Xianyang people like this! It's like he's defecating on our heads and then asking us for toilet paper!"

My colleague said, "Who says otherwise!"

Zhang Beihai said angrily, "If I catch this guy, I'll break all three of his legs!"

They all laughed and joked, "Hey, Captain Zhang's all righteous and awe-inspiring again!"

"Captain Zhang, what you said is so spirited and energetic!"

"I may not admire anything else, but I admire Captain Zhang's boastful attitude!"

Just as everyone was discussing this, the sound of a gong came from outside the door, and suddenly the entire restaurant fell silent; no one dared to say another word.

But then they saw several high-ranking officials from the Court of Justice, dressed in black robes with red bird patterns, filing in one after another. Each of them had a cold expression and carried a Black Sparrow Blade from the Court of Justice at their waist.

The leaders then took their seats, and as is customary, one of them should then give a speech.

Sure enough, one of the senior officials from the Court of Justice, who was around fifty years old and nearly two meters tall, stood up, glanced around at his colleagues upstairs and downstairs, and slowly began to speak, "Before we eat, I'd like to say a few words."

Upon hearing this, enthusiastic applause erupted from both upstairs and downstairs.

The leader raised his hand, the applause subsided, and he began to speak, "With the national civil service exam approaching, a large number of candidates have entered Xianyang. This period is the most arduous and demanding time of the year. I hope all colleagues will take our work seriously, face difficulties without fear, and persevere. You may hear that recognizing your goal will take you further, but sometimes we forget that sometimes, being down-to-earth is what takes you further! I hope all colleagues will be conscientious in their duties, do their jobs well, and serve the vast number of candidates, especially those from outside Xianyang recently! We absolutely cannot allow any serious incidents of fighting between local and out-of-town candidates! If any are discovered, every single one will be dealt with, and you all know the procedures to follow. 🍧💋 ➅➈s卄Ⓤ𝔁.ᶜⓞΜ 🐠🐯"

Upstairs and downstairs, the applause was enthusiastic!

The leader, seemingly still not finished, added, "This year's situation is vastly different from previous years. It's far more severe. In the past, fights among examinees might have been just impulsive acts by martial artists, but this year, there are quite a few unscrupulous individuals who are likely to stir up such trouble!"

"Let's not talk about anything far away, just the heinous incident at Xiyingmen Railway Station yesterday. That incident spread across the internet instantly, and the entire city of Xianyang was shocked! The Five City Garrison replaced a commander with a thousand men rather than get involved in this matter. Why? I think you all have your own answers!"

"These guys with unknown origins who grab headlines the moment they step in are extremely troublesome and dangerous! To put it bluntly, they're terrorists! And such terrorists are very difficult for our Court of Justice to deal with. First, it's hard to obtain evidence; second, if we try to outsmart them, we'll only end up getting ourselves into trouble!"

"Therefore, I advise you all that upholding justice is important, but you must assess the situation carefully and not follow the old path of the commander of the Five Cities Garrison, who ended up losing his own official position and implicating his superiors! That would be a great loss."

People upstairs and downstairs nodded and applauded.

Just as the leader finished speaking and sat down, another balding, Mediterranean-looking court official standing up next to him said, "I'd like to add something!"

"Regarding the rogue youth in the Xiyingmen incident that Lord Cai just mentioned, I've investigated him, and his identity is far from simple! According to my intelligence, just last night, the Yin-Yang School withdrew its preliminary list of the Amazing Ranking, which had been in effect for a week, and then issued a new list an hour ago. On the new list, there's a new name: 'Half a Son Who Surpasses Heaven.' Although 'Half a Son Who Surpasses Heaven' doesn't show a ranking, his identity is undoubtedly that rogue youth!"

"This boy has committed numerous evils, and no one dares to cause him trouble. Yet, in the end, the Yin-Yang School managed to add his name to the list! He's ranked on the Quasi-Amazing List! This is simply unbelievable!"

"As everyone knows, since the Yin-Yang School's Quasi-Amazing List was issued, there has never been a record of withdrawing or adding names halfway through! This person's willingness to defy the world and force the Yin-Yang School to violate ancestral rules demonstrates that his identity, background, and abilities are far from ordinary!"

"Many people now regard [Sheng Tian Ban Zi] as a master at the level of a second god, a third immortal, or a fourth dao, and some even believe that he is someone who can go toe-to-toe with a saint!"

"And this remarkable individual is also a candidate for the national civil service exam; one can foresee that his future is limitless!"

"So, regarding the Xiyingmen incident, it's fine for our people to discuss it privately, but when it comes to public matters, everyone better keep their mouths shut. Whoever touches that case is doomed!"

All the court officials bowed their heads and agreed, each of them understanding perfectly well that if their superiors pointed out that a task was a hot potato, then they absolutely could not touch it, no matter what!

Besides, the Court of Justice's salary is only three thousand yuan. With only three thousand yuan, why risk your life?

Just as the Court of Justice was beginning its work, new headlines appeared on various media platforms.

"[Breaking News] The Yin-Yang School has made a decision that goes against its ancestors: it has withdrawn the previous list of 55 top masters on the Quasi-Amazing Ranking and added one more, the 56th person, [Divine Move, Half a Move Against Heaven]!"

"【Breaking News! Breaking News!】 The Predictive Ranking has been withdrawn! Since its inception, the Predictive Ranking has been withdrawn seventeen times, and each time the prediction has been accurate. There has never been a precedent for its withdrawal. Who exactly is this person who can become the fifty-sixth person and even make the Yin-Yang School make a decision that goes against their ancestors?"

Breaking news! According to sources, the thug at the Xiyingmen train station in Xianyang who is currently causing a stir is none other than "Sheng Tian Ban Zi" himself!

For the general public in Xianyang, this headline is a good thing, indicating that Heaven is blessing our Great Qin, and there are more and more talented people, about to explode!

This year's national civil service exam is sure to be exceptionally exciting!

But as the old saying goes, one man's meat is another man's poison!

This is good for the general public, but it's very difficult for a small group of experts.

It's like eating a loaf of bread, finishing it, and then you tell me there was a fly in it!

Among these distressed people are especially those who were already on the leaderboard, or those who were close to it.

This year's list of most outstanding individuals was already very difficult, and now the Yin-Yang School has added an extra name at the last minute. Moreover, the Yin-Yang School even went against ancestral rules by withdrawing the name addition, which shows how important this person is, enough to make the Yin-Yang School willingly lose face.

On a snow-covered cliff in the green mountains, a young Taoist priest sat upright atop the cliff, surrounded by auspicious clouds of five colors.

In mid-air, the melodious cry of a crane echoed. A young girl knelt on the back of a crane and cried out to the boy, "Senior brother! Something terrible has happened! The Yin-Yang School's Astounding Ranking has been withdrawn, and a new name has been added to the ranking: 'Half-Child of Heaven'. His identity and background are completely unknown, and it's said he can be on par with the Four Paths! Senior brother, you must be careful!"

The young Taoist priest opened his eyes, his cool gaze sweeping across the snow and wind outside the cliff, and murmured, "Heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river; it's truly delightful!"

The girl's beautiful eyes shone with love as she rode the crane, circling it several times before leaving.

The young Taoist priest coldly recited, "Beautiful women and fair maidens are nothing but bones and skeletons!"

In the pavilions and boudoirs, a young man lay on the ground, his shirt open, drunk and unconscious.

A maidservant whispered outside the door, "Young Master, the Yin-Yang School has withdrawn from the Astounding Ranking, but added another person, known as the 'Half-Son of Heaven,' whose status is no less than yours, and who is said to be able to rival a Sage!"

The young master laughed, "Good! This is a good thing! As long as he can cause trouble for Yi Sheng, he's my good brother, the Drunken Sword Immortal. If he can kill Yi Sheng, I, the Drunken Sword Immortal, will... will... will abstain from alcohol for three days!"

At the Imperial Guard's training ground, snow waves swirled and fiery steeds galloped. A handsome young general, with one hand holding the army's massive bow and the other holding nine arrows, strode across the snowy sky. The steed neighed, and the arrows, like rainbows, pierced the snowy heavens!

Nine flaming arrows pierced the snowy sky, leaving long trails of flame, and smashed the target to pieces!

The entire training ground shook violently!

On the opposite side, boom boom boom—

Nine loud bangs followed in succession, and nine terrifying ravines, each tens of feet long and several feet deep, appeared on the solid ground of the training ground!

Just then, a spirited horse galloped in, and an old man at the head of the group laughed, "Second Young Master, you've become even more dashing, quite like the eldest young master in his prime!"

The young general smiled modestly, "How could I compare to my elder brother! What brings you to the training ground today, old steward?"

The old butler chuckled, "Does the Second Young Master know about the Quasi-Amazing List?"

The young man laughed, "Just so you know, the Yin-Yang School ranks me as the God of War, one of the two gods! It's just a pity that there's only one person who can rival me, and only one person who can defeat me. Those ranked below me can't beat me, those on par with me won't fight me, and the only one who can beat me, I don't want to fight. This national exam is truly utterly boring for me!"

The old butler said, "Second Young Master, great news! We have one more person!"

The young general was overjoyed, his tiger-like eyes blazing with fighting spirit. "Who goes there?"

The old steward said, "Last night, the Yin-Yang School took back the old Quasi-Amazing List and issued a new one this morning. On the new list, there's a new name: 'Half a Move Against Heaven'! This person's identity has recently become famous in Xianyang, hailed as 'A Divine Move, Half a Move Against Heaven'! According to some professional assessment agencies, his strength is at least above the Fourth Path, ranking among the Three Immortals, capable of playing against two gods, and even having the strength to fight a Saint!"

The young general laughed heartily, "What a divine move! What a brilliant victory over fate! This guy who can make the Yin-Yang School lose face and even break ancestral rules to add a name to their list must be a divine being!"

"Finally, someone I can compete with in the national civil service exam! Instead of the previous ones who either couldn't beat me, wouldn't compete with me, or didn't want to compete!"

"This national civil service exam is starting to get interesting!"

"Hahaha--"

(End of this chapter)