Heavenly Dao Formula

That night, in a large tent outside Qingshan Town.

The curtain was lifted with a bang, and two figures, one tall and one short, walked in.

Shen Chun, the invigilator standing by the table, looked by the candlelight, and saw that both of them were wearing dark high-collared robes, with half silver masks on their faces, which was the standard attire of Privy Council officials. Among them, there are three red lines embroidered on the shoulders of the tall man, which is already a symbol of guarding a place in the mansion, which is equivalent to a third-rank official in the Six Departments.

Obviously, the person who came was the inspector he had been waiting for for a long time, Mr. Ba Xingtian.

It's just another person... Shen Chun quietly cast his eyes on the short man. He hadn't heard before that there would be two inspectors to supervise the exam. Moreover, there was only a white line on that man's black robe, which was equivalent to a new alchemist in terms of grade, and logically speaking, he was not qualified to enter the important place of the scholar's examination.

But even his immediate superior didn't say anything, so he decided to pretend he didn't see it.

"Huh, this mask is really suffocating." The first thing the tall man did after entering the tent was to pull off the silver mask and throw it aside. "Do you have any wine?"

"Lord Ba," Shen Chun cupped his hands helplessly, "There is only tea here."

"Tsk," the latter spat, and sat down at the table. His burly figure made the chair creak almost to pieces, "Then let's have a pot of tea, let it be cold!"

And the short man neither took off his mask nor spoke, but sat down next to Ba Xingtian.

This means that the two are at least equal in status.

Shen Chun couldn't help paying more respect to the latter, even though the other party didn't say anything, he still poured him a cup of herbal tea.

Although the Privy Council is mainly responsible for dealing with evil incidents, it is different from the officials of the six departments of Zhenger Bajing, but being an official is an official, and you must have basic vision, otherwise you will not feel that you have offended someone, and you will not be arranged to die in the line of duty. Know where to go for justice.

Ba Xingtian directly brought a pot of tea to his mouth, and poured it upside down.

After drinking, he let out a long breath, wiped it casually with his sleeve, and finally asked about something serious. "What's the general situation of this examination?"

"My lord," Shen Chun replied immediately, "Qingshan Town allocated 427 examinees, and 401 actually arrived. Everything is going well so far, and nothing unusual has happened yet."

"Even Qingshan Town has 400 people?" Ba Xingtian looked satisfied, "It seems that there will be many new faces in the Privy Council this fall."

"With so many people, isn't the qualification standard raised?"

"It won't be easy if you don't lower it." He shook his head. "The impact of the locust plague last year is still there, and Qi and Gao are ready to move. People are needed everywhere. The top is also putting a lot of pressure on it."

This has already involved state affairs, Shen Chun couldn't say any more, so he nodded. The more catastrophic the disaster, the more frequent the evil spirits will appear, and sometimes the harm caused is even greater than that of soldiers and wars, and these need to be dealt with by alchemists. It's just that people who can't even pass the assessment, how can they be expected to make a difference in the face of these major threats? In addition, the cost of training an alchemist is not low, he does not think that lowering the standard can really solve the problem.

Ba Xingtian didn't talk further on this issue either, he pointed to a list spread out on the table, "Those crossed out names...are people who have already been eliminated?"

"Yes!" Shen Chun replied, "There are nine of them now."

"Nine? Were eliminated on the first day?" The short man finally spoke, his voice was unexpectedly light, and it would never be too loud for his age.

Can you be on an equal footing with Master Ba at this age? Shen Chun suddenly became a little curious about the other party's identity.

"The reasons are all written in the remarks. They were eager to inquire about clues, and spent all the money in the afternoon, and didn't notice the meaning of the money until dinner. For the soldiers, they couldn't last the seventh day without an empty stomach, so they I chose to give up the exam."

"A guy without perseverance." Ba Xingtian commented, "If I don't have one, I can go grab it from others!"

"If they have your strength, then of course they can." Shen Chun smiled, "I feel that they can give up the exam by themselves, which can be regarded as a bit of self-knowledge. Those who want to hold on will only let themselves The failure is even uglier."

The short man picked up the list and flipped through it, "So these people with lower money are facing elimination?"

"My lord, it is easier to be eliminated than others." Compared to answering Ba Xingtian, Shen Chun took his question more seriously, "Alchemists often encounter unexpected situations when performing tasks. Only reasonable and Only those who make full use of the resources at hand will have the opportunity to save themselves from danger."

"Really? But this person only has half a bag of silver from the beginning, wouldn't it be unfair?"

Shen Chun followed the position of the opponent's fingers and found that the word "Xia Fan" was filled in that column. Compared with the other candidates who had a whole row of twelve taels, his less than five taels was indeed particularly eye-catching.

"We can only guarantee that the rules are generally fair, not to mention whether the preparation is sufficient or not, which in itself also represents the degree of importance." He paused, "In addition, this person's expenses are no less than others, which proves that he is not aware of his Being in an extremely disadvantaged position, it’s normal to be eliminated.”

The short man nodded, as if agreeing with his statement.

On the contrary, Shen Chunlue felt a little pity. He still had a little impression of this candidate named Xia Fan. After all, it is extremely rare for candidates who don't get together ten taels of silver nowadays, so it's hard not to notice it. At that time, when everyone laughed in a low voice, he was not affected in the slightest. He responded quite maturely, and his character is commendable.

But in just one night, he spent a lot of money on hand, even the dinner he chose was the most expensive one, as if he didn't know that he only had half of other people's property, so he was not vigilant at all.

It can only be said that he lost his eye.

"There is nothing to discuss about these incompetent people." Ba Xingtian waved his hand, "Why don't we talk about the top three candidates this time. Who do you think they will be?"

The short man also turned the list to the front, and Shen Chun noticed that the time he stayed on each page was obviously longer, as if he wanted to write down the names of these candidates.

"Not surprisingly, Fei Nian from the Fei family, Fang Xiandao from the Fang family, and Luo Qingqing from the Luo family will be the top three in the Qingshan Town examination." Shen Chun reported word by word.

"One family?" Ba Xingtian showed a playful smile, "You are also a qualified invigilator."

"My lord, thank you." Shen Chun cupped his hands and bowed his head. After many years of invigilation, he already understood that the scholar's examination is not only for the selection of talents, but also for the distribution of benefits. What's more, these three people are indeed extremely talented, and they have been exposed to the cultivation of qi earlier than other candidates, so their performance cannot be much worse, and it is difficult to pick out the thorns inside and outside. "Of course, the final result has to be decided by adults after the exam."

"Is there no one from a non-noble family?" The short man suddenly asked, "Not to mention the top three, even if it is within the top ten or twenty."

"This..." Shen Chun hesitated for a while, he seemed to hear some dissatisfaction in the other party's tone, "The ranking of the list does not represent the actual results, and in the end it has to be based on the performance of the exam..."

"Hehe, it's normal if you don't have one." Ba Xingtian interrupted him with a smile, "Think about it, if they are both good seedlings, one person comes from a poor background and can only read at the age of ten; Which one has the greater prospect? If the former is stronger than the latter, it would be too much to think of the word genius."

The short man didn't answer any more, as if lost in thought.

The Inspector cleared his throat and stood up.

This is something important to order, Shen Chun hurriedly stood up and clasped his hands.

"I don't care about the ranking of the exam, you can do it as you see fit." Ba Xingtian turned his back to him and said, "Compared with the scholar exam, the more important thing is to eliminate hidden dangers. You should know that the Privy Council sent us to supervise Purpose."

Shen Chun's heart skipped a beat, he licked his lips, and then tentatively said, "Because of the "listener"? "

"Hmph, you already know." Ba Xingtian's tone suddenly sank, "Ten years ago, just knowing the word was a felony for the proctor."

"The lower official has surpassed..."

"It's okay, there is no secret that will never be revealed—unless everyone who knows it is dead." Ba Xingtian waved his hand, and returned to the previous tone of indifference, "You must keep your mouth shut and be on guard at all times. How can there be such a good thing in the world. If you find any abnormalities, no matter good or bad, you must report to me immediately."

"Yes, my lord!" Shen Chun bowed his head in promise. "However... I only heard the word listener mentioned by others. I don't know what his characteristics are and how to distinguish them. I wonder if the adults can give some more detailed clues?"

"Nothing. Because the listener is not a person, but a class of people."

Ba Xingtian picked up a talisman and waved it casually, and then a breeze blew by, and the sounds of insects around him disappeared without a trace.

Shen Chun realized that it was a soundproof note.

"Actually, I don't know much about the listener. Only the four heads of the Privy Council know the details."

"You... can't either?"

"I only know that they can hear some...unbelievable things, such as secrets that no one in this world should know, or spells that have never been seen before." Ba Xingtian said slowly, "But more, It's a completely incomprehensible raving. That's where the name of the listener comes from."

"Raving?"

"It's the kind of words that don't matter when they are alone, but the meaning is unclear when they are connected together. So they usually don't live long, either they are murdered, or they fall into madness. It's just that before they go crazy, they are enough to cause amazing damage. If I am enlightened Words from unregulated listeners appear..."

"What will happen?"

Ba Xingtian took a deep look at him, "The country is in danger of subjugation."

Shen Chun shuddered involuntarily.

He began to regret asking about it.

"Although anyone who can perceive Qi is likely to become a listener, the possibility is the highest between the ages of ten and twenty - after all, it is during this period that most alchemists can stably grasp the absorption and use of Qi, so The Privy Council will start to watch from the scholar examination." Ba Xingtian stared at him, "Do you understand now?"

"Yes! I will do my best!" Shen Chun bowed.

"Don't worry too much," the inspector patted his shoulder with a fan-like palm, "I'm just following the routine. As far as I know, there hasn't been a suspected listener in the past ten years, so The restriction on news will be relaxed. Marking belongs to marking, and Shikao still has to concentrate on hosting."

After hearing this, I am afraid that it would be difficult to ignore it any longer, Shen Chun smiled wryly in her heart. The only thing he is glad about is that he has passed away, and it is unlikely that he will go crazy one day. But that short guy...

He couldn't help but glanced at the other party - according to the age of the tone, this person was probably within twenty years old, and he was clearly in the high-risk range, but he didn't respond at all from the beginning to the end, as if he didn't care about the listener at all. This kind of mentality can no longer be described as calm and composed.

Who the hell is he?

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Chun finally pressed this question into his heart.