The Tian Ruo Prefecture examinations were scheduled to take place early next year. Therefore, in recent days towards the year's end, many scholars had already flooded into Tian Ruo City, beginning preparations for next year's examinations.
And so, with the prefectural exams not yet started, the book pavilions had remained completely closed off.
Yet somehow, on the highest floor of the third level of a book pavilion, somebody was leisurely sitting, braving the cold winter winds to drink hot tea.
Lu Gaosheng, wearing a white jade cloud-patterned ring on his right hand, watched Zhang San leaving and smiled, seeming to savor those parting words.
Judging from his appearance, he looked to be over forty years old, yet still retained his handsome vigor from his youth. His exposed smile, paired with his vivid and piercing eyes, exuded self-confidence.
Lu Gaosheng gave off the impression that he was someone who had always occupied lofty positions and was fully confident in his own abilities.
Just then, a man dressed like an attendant guarding the shadows in the corner of the third floor spoke up, "Sir, you've been watching that scholar in white leaving this whole time. Could something be amiss? Should I go investigate?"
Lu Gaosheng glanced at his subordinate and asked, "Scholar? Why are you so certain he is a scholar? I'm not so sure."
The attendant saluted and answered, "I was short-sighted. Although I used to be commander of the 'Feather Arrow Army' guards in the prefectural city, based on my eyesight, the man in white just now pulling a cart looked like an ordinary scholar in dress. Adding to that his thin, feeble build and strained steps pulling that cart, along with the many scholars entering the city recently, I made that judgment."
Lu Gaosheng laughed and said, "I am no warrior, but I can also tell your every word makes sense. However...did you not hear what I just said? That line about 'ten years of cold window studying'? I'm telling you, it was spoken by the one who just left."
The attendant knew that the gentleman before him was gifted with superhuman hearing, so he was not surprised that Lu Gaosheng could make out a conversation on the bustling streets from the third floor between a man and a child.
Yet the attendant did not understand, so he asked, "But subordinate does not grasp the meaning behind those words?"
Lu Gaosheng said, "The words themselves are easy to comprehend, nothing more than seeing through the so-called examination grounds of this world, which have long been existing in name only. But I could detect his tone was extremely casual, natural, seeming utterly indifferent."
The attendant was slightly taken aback, as if grasping something.
Lu Gaosheng surveyed the entirety of the third floor and continued, "A scholar, suffering bitter studies his whole life, just hopes to rely on these exam grounds to attain success and fame. A seemingly impoverished scholar pulling a cart, if he had such insights, then no matter how he tried to conceal it, his tone would inevitably contain some anger, indignance, even grief!"
But Zhang San had not; not only did he not, when he spoke his tone was as lighthearted as if the exam grounds had nothing to do with him whatsoever.
Lu Gaosheng observed people not by their external appearance, looks, or even as the attendant said, by whether their steps seemed powerful. He liked listening to how a person spoke.
Lu Gaosheng looked at the attendant and said, "You guessed he is a scholar, but I conjecture he is no scholar, not even a literatus, yet still entered the city today specifically..."
The attendant cried out in realization, "Today...isn't that the day of the executions?"
Lu Gaosheng mildly smiled, then leaned against the third floor railing to quietly watch Tian Ruo City's skies gradually clouding over.
Ten years of cold window studying?
Heh heh, ten years of cold window.
"But sir, by my reckoning, it's about time we set off too." The attendant reminded at the side.
Lu Gaosheng restrained his smile and said, "Yes, the show is about to start, yet the performer is missing, how boring. Let's be off then."
...
As master and disciple walked, they would occasionally observe this Tian Ruo City that in recent years had been increasingly prosperously constructed.
Naturally, it was Wang Xiaoer observing the prosperity, while Zhang San observed the streets.
Because Tian Ruo City had transformed virtually unrecognizably from ten years ago, Zhang San's original plans had changed. What he was most concerned with now was familiarizing himself with the layout of the city's streets as quickly as possible.
To a steady killer like Zhang San, not having full control over one's surroundings invoked a sense of unease.
Additionally, he was uncertain whether the location of Knowing Hall was the same as ten years prior.
The various major powers of the central lands were intermingled chaotically, especially Dark Building and Black Heaven Gate. Although Zhang San did not feel he had revealed any flaws thus far, just to be safe, it was necessary to figure out these two powers' sphere of influence within Tian Ge Prefecture, along with their locations.
In short, there were many things to do and consider.
Yet Wang Xiaoer had just uttered the same question for the eighth time today.
"Wow master, what's that over there?"
Zhang San silently cursed: Can't this brat just let me be quiet for a bit? Why's he acting like some country bumpkin who's never seen anything before?
But when Zhang San followed Wang Xiaoer's pointing and saw an outwardly ordinary tea house tower, he too was startled, because it was something even he had never seen before.
Of course it wasn't that he had never seen a tea house before, but rather never one that hung such an enormous banner.
The tea house was called "Wei Bo Building"!
Hung on the second floor was a tremendous banner with the inscription:
If unaware of all worldly affairs, how dare proclaim broad learning?
Wish the world could hear your voice?
Wish the world could know your writings?
Wish the world could hear your stories?
Knowing Hall offers utmost assistance - Wei Bo Building, fulfills your desires!
Zhang San thought...
Damn!
What the hell was this stuff?
This banner full of modern flair still containing a bit of domineering, with a touch of absurdity yet also giving people ample reason to place belief. Had he seen such a sight before?
Zhang San certainly had not.
Looking at Wang Xiaoer brimming with excitement seated on the cart, Zhang San said: "This...I haven't seen before either. It should be a newly emerged form of tea house. This banner though, how should I put it, has some attraction drawing people in."
Wang Xiaoer reacted with astonishment, "Even master you don't know? Wow...city folks really know how to play around."
It was then that Zhang San carefully examined this tea house, only to discover barely anybody inside. He ridiculed, "The building's name and banner seem pretty ostentatious, yet not a single customer."
Right as Zhang San finished speaking, a low curse came from a passerby behind him.
The pedestrian's voice was soft, but could not escape Zhang San's keen hearing.
"What backwater scholar with his book learning, doesn't even know Wei Bo Building? If not for everybody going to watch the excitement of the public executions issued by the prefectural administration today, how could Wei Bo Building be empty?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang San did not get angry, rather felt quite curious.
Logically, matters of sentencing people to death should happen at the execution grounds outside the city. Why would the prefectural administration have people executed within the city itself? Would an entire prefectural city establish dedicated execution grounds?
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
