Chapter Thirty-Four: Wanting to Speak but Stopping

  Chu Hao was shocked in his heart, he didn't expect Chu Yunfei to let him participate in the martial arts spring trial.

  In the system of the Yun Tian Empire, every generation of emperors attached great importance to the imperial examination. It almost became a distinctive symbol that distinguished the Yun Tian Empire from other countries. Also due to the emphasis placed by the emperor and his courtiers, local governments naturally attached great importance to the imperial examinations, whether it was the literary or martial exams, both carried extremely heavy weight throughout the empire.

  Generally speaking, those who can make it to the imperial examination in the capital have to climb up step by step. For example, from the county-level examination, to the provincial-level examination, and finally to the imperial examination. Every ordinary person or descendant of an official who wants to move upwards must climb this ladder.

  Once successful, it means transforming from a human to a dragon, with pride and glory, bringing honor to ancestors.

  So every year, countless people step onto this difficult ladder, countless people fall with a bruised face, get up and start again, and countless people climb to the top, never to be the same.

  Of course, the corruption in this is also very heavy, but it's all concentrated in the county and provincial exams. The palace exam doesn't have anyone daring to cheat or be partial, after all, that's in front of the emperor himself.

  In the empire, although the title of prince can be inherited, in a peaceful era, princes without merit will not be able to pass on their titles to their sons after they die. Their sons will no longer enjoy the privileges and their hereditary titles will automatically be downgraded to that of a duke. Further down, it would be an earl, and they would not be able to enjoy any imperial privileges.

  Only in bloodline, acknowledged as imperial, but actually just a plucked phoenix, not even a bird.

  So if you want to live a stable life, you must pass the imperial examination before the age of 18, whether it is a literary or martial arts examination. As long as you pass the top three, you can get a title at the age of 18. In theory, getting a title means that you can get a piece of land, although you still don't have a king's title, but it's enough to live a worry-free life.

  Of course, being a prince would bring many conveniences. For someone like Chu Hao, there was no need to take the imperial examination at the county or provincial level; as the son of a prince, he could directly participate in the palace examination.

  This was also the plan that Chu Yunfei had been planning for Chu Hao all along, so he invited Mr. Wanlu to be Chu Hao's teacher, hoping that after losing his martial arts skills, Chu Hao could focus on studying and taking the imperial examination to secure a stable future.

  "Father wants me to take the military exam?" Chu Hao savored the words for a moment, then understood Chu Yunfei's intention and said: "But with my current cultivation, I'm afraid I won't even pass the provincial exam. Going to the imperial exam would be too embarrassing for Father."

  In this world, Chu Hao's motto is to be low-key, even more low-key. After all, there are too many unknown powerful enemies, and revealing oneself before one's wings are fully grown is no different from suicide. It seems that the reason why the young master's body was sealed with a restriction should be because of this principle. As for something like going to the temple to try his luck, he wouldn't even have time to hide, let alone easily agree to it.

  "Cultivation can't represent everything." Chu Yunfei said lightly: "Your performance over this period of time, Old Liu has told me about it. You've added a bit of madness to your cultivation, and you're working even harder than before. It seems that the frivolity of the past three years suddenly awakened, making you more serious and cautious. This is a good thing." After pausing for a moment, he took another sip of tea and said: "However, I am your father king, I am your father. I know you have secrets, but some things don't need to be hidden from me."

  This sentence made Chu Hao suddenly break out in a cold sweat, and he inadvertently turned his head to look at the window outside where only dappled night shadows were visible, and he never thought that what he had done would be seen by Lao Liu without him even realizing it.

  In an instant, the figure of Lao Liu became even more profound in Chu Hao's heart. He didn't know what this gentle and weak old man, who had always followed his father, had seen.

  Although Chu Hao's expression was well-controlled, Chu Yunfei still saw through it and smiled lightly, saying: "Wang Er, don't worry, Old Liu just happened to see you practicing fist techniques occasionally, and that technique had some meaning, so he reported it to me, but there's no intention of monitoring you."

  Chu Hao smiled awkwardly on the surface, nodded, but in his heart he was even more determined to make Su Mei Zixi's artifact as soon as possible.

  "Let's talk about the martial arts examination again." Chu Yunfei didn't know what was on Chu Hao's mind, so he said: "The martial arts examination is not like the imperial examination or provincial examination, which only tests martial skills. There are seven aspects to be tested: physical strength, strategic thinking, bravery, horsemanship, archery, eloquence, and finally, martial skills."

  Chu Hao's head was getting bigger, just being a martial arts champion had seven items, it was really abnormal. Fortunately, this young master had been lazy for three years, if he had really worked hard to read books and got himself into participating in some literary competition, that would have been even more troublesome.

  "Wang Er was born with great strength, so you don't have to worry about his physical strength. As for the other items, Father Wang has already made arrangements in Duoluo City. After the Lantern Festival is over, Father Wang will arrange for you to go there."

  Chu Hao saw that Chu Yunfei had already made up his mind, and it seemed that there was no room for maneuvering or refuting. Thinking that after the Lantern Festival in the capital, he would likely have a complete falling out with that pair of scoundrels, and to protect Ming Zhe's safety, he said: "I will follow Your Majesty's arrangements."

  "Very good." Chu Yunfei nodded in satisfaction and continued, "When Wang Er has time, he should take a look at the Art of War and other military books. The matter of the martial arts competition is settled then."

  Chu Hao could only nod in response. Chu Yunfei chatted with Chu Hao for a while longer, then said, "Wang Er, get some rest. Father has some official documents to attend to."

  Chu Hao saw Chu Yunfei fly up and opened his mouth: "Father king..."

  "Really?"

  Chu Hao hesitated for a moment before suppressing the doubts that were about to spill out of his mouth, and bowed his head to say: "Your Majesty should not overexert yourself, and also pay attention to rest."

  "Wang Er finally understands how to care for his father, very good indeed." Chu Yunfei burst out laughing and patted Chu Hao's shoulder, then paused for a moment before saying: "If you need anything, you can look for Old Liu." Before he even finished speaking, he left Lingyue Garden with Old Liu, leaving Chu Hao to ponder the deeper meaning behind his words.

  Watching Chu Yunfei and Liu Lao's back view, Chu Hao's heart was hard to calm down for a long time.

  After standing there for a long time, Chu Hao finally calmed down and looked up at the night sky. The stars were shining brightly, but it was a rare night scene. Only, those stars were too many, and also too far away...

  Chu Yunfei's conversation accelerated Chu Hao's cultivation process. With only a month to go before facing that mysterious and powerful force, coupled with his impending departure from the capital, time was of the essence.

  After resting, Chu Hao found Liu Lao the next day and received 1,000 taels from the old man with a face full of wrinkles, whose eyes were unclear. Chu Hao hastily returned to the yard and had Xiao Si find materials, spending two days to refine Hu Jin Wan and Gu Ti Dan again.

  With the experience of the first time, the success rate of making solid pellets and tiger tendon pills has increased a lot this time, among which ten solid pellets and four tiger tendon pills were refined. Looking at the two small bottles in his hand, Chu Hao sighed, nearly a thousand taels of materials had been used up, it was really expensive.

  Fortunately, Chen Honghong's materials for this second-rate elixir were not difficult to find; otherwise, with a failure rate of one in a thousand, it would be hard to produce even two second-rate elixirs, let alone such a bountiful harvest.

  After refining two kinds of elixirs, Chu Hao didn't rush to take them immediately. The medicinal effect of the Tiger Tendon Pill he had taken earlier hadn't been fully digested yet, so he still needed to wait a bit longer.

  After coming out of the storage room, Chu Hao had breakfast and casually asked the servant to inquire about Tao Ran's movements. Sure enough, the news of auctioning off Fei Jian spread throughout the entire capital in just two short days.

  On the one hand, Chu Hao secretly admired Tao Ranju's efficiency and strength, on the other hand, he chuckled to himself, suddenly, he slapped his forehead, finally remembering what he had forgotten. After tidying up again, he hastily called over Xiao Si, and then walked out of the mansion.

  He went to the famous General Sun's mansion in the capital city.

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