Porter's Immortal Cultivation: I Have Level 5 Full Inscriptions

Chapter 217 Apricot List Emerges

More than twenty days later.

This day.

On the east wall of the South Courtyard of the Ministry of War, among the continuous blue brick walls, one wall is darker and brighter in color than the others, with a layer of patina.

Above the wall, several apricot trees were in full bloom, their blossoms filling the air with a delicate fragrance.

Outside this wall, a row of thorny hedges, reaching up to a person's calf, was temporarily built to enclose the wall.

Outside the thorny fence, a large crowd had already gathered, with hundreds of people crowding the area to the point of being impassable.

It turns out that today is the day the results of the imperial examination are released—also known as the "Apricot List".

Because this is the time when apricot blossoms are in bloom, and there happen to be several apricot trees planted in the Ministry of War compound, the apricot blossoms hang down and cover the list of candidates, which is commonly known as the Apricot List.

The people outside the fence were all well-dressed, with fleshy faces and bright eyes. They were mostly dressed in silk and satin fabrics, and many carried knives and guns at their waists.

Most of them were candidates who came to participate in this year's martial arts examination, and there were also some people who were connected with the candidates.

Some were servants of wealthy families checking the list for their masters; others were informants of aristocratic families who would first select young talents, inquire about their rankings, skills, and backgrounds, and wait for the official list to be released to determine their status as successful candidates in the imperial examinations, so that they could find a son-in-law among those listed.

Furthermore, the relatives and friends of these candidates were also concerned about the results of this imperial examination.

Three days ago, everyone had completed all the subjects of the imperial examination, namely stone picking, horse stance archery, sword dancing, and policy essays.

Today, the list of successful candidates has been released. Those who make the list are military graduates. They will participate in the palace examination a month later. At the very least, they will be awarded the third-class rank and be granted the title of "Jinshi" (a high-ranking scholar in the imperial examination). This is what the common people call a "military Jinshi".

Therefore, the list of successful candidates was also very important, as those who passed were allowed to stay in the capital and wait to participate in the palace examination a month later.

Those who fail the exam should return home as soon as possible to avoid wasting money in the capital.

Of course, there are also places that are too far away, and the journey takes years, so they simply stay in the capital, since they will have to take the exam again in three years anyway.

Aside from the travel time, I could only stay in my hometown for a year or two, so I might as well stay in the capital and hone my martial arts skills.

At this moment, the time for posting the notice was approaching.

People, disregarding the fact that they were outside the Ministry of War's main hall, gradually began to shout loudly.

"I wonder who will be the top scholar in this year's imperial examination?"

"Hey, what's there to guess? Wei Jin Jie Mo is just one of these four masters."

"Shh... Keep your voice down. Just make sure you know it yourself. Don't shout it out loud."

"Even if you pass the imperial examination for military officers, you still can't afford to offend these four families. If they just give you a second glance, we little ants will be crushed."

"Hey, why haven't the results been released yet? They've increased the number of spots this time, we really have to get in, or we'll be too ashamed to face our families and friends back home."

"Look, they're here..."

A troop of elite armored soldiers escorted several Ministry of War officials out of the main gate of the Ministry of War. A military officer followed behind them with his hands behind his back. The officer's official robe was embroidered with a tiger, indicating that he was a third-rank military officer.

In a local area, he would be a high-ranking general, but in the capital, official positions are worthless. There are plenty of first and second-rank officials, let alone third-rank ones, so nobody pays much attention to him.

This group squeezed through the surging crowd to make a path and arrived at the fence.

Keen-eyed people had already noticed that an official was holding a thick, rolled-up yellow scroll, as thick as a goose egg, which showed how substantial it was.

The soldiers stood in a circle around the thorn wall.

Then soldiers used long spears as poles to pull up red cloths, completely surrounding the wall, making it impossible to see the movements of the people inside.

The officials stepped inside and began posting the notices.

Through the light and shadow of the red cloth, I could see sheets of paper pasted on the wall, but unfortunately, I couldn't see the names on them.

It turned out that the list was made up of many sheets of yellow paper stacked in order, and the officials began to post them according to the ranking.

In the crowd, countless people stood on tiptoe and craned their necks to peer inside, knowing full well that they couldn't see anything, yet the atmosphere remained incredibly lively.

Many candidates, though not exceptionally talented, were not bad either, possessing average abilities. Whether they passed or failed depended entirely on luck, and they all looked anxious.

Many people pushed forward, their muscles colliding, their inner energy surging, and the scene became quite heated.

As the crowd surged forward, the soldiers outside immediately used their iron spears to push them away.

These scholars, at the very least, were all master martial artists of steel, having trained their bodies to be invulnerable to swords and spears. Yet now, faced with ordinary iron, they could only yield.

It's not that everyone is particularly reasonable.

Instead, there was a stone tablet standing outside the fence.

The inscription on the monument reads: "Anyone who enters the fence before or after the announcement of the results will have their academic honors stripped and their family background revoked, even if pardoned."

Throughout history, many unfortunate individuals have violated this taboo.

He was clearly on the list, with one foot already in the door of becoming a martial arts scholar, but because he was squeezed into the fence while looking at the list, he was suspected of tearing down and destroying the list, and was therefore stripped of his academic honor.

Therefore, the closer it got to the time to see the results, the more the candidates pushed and shoved to the side to avoid being ambushed, while the servants and pageboys could push and shove forward without restraint.

Since they don't have any official titles, they just need to be careful not to get squeezed onto iron spears and skewered like meat.

Outside the crowd.

Beside a green donkey.

Fu Hongying, Wang Daniu, Zhou Mingxuan, and Xiao Qi were dumbfounded.

"How am I supposed to squeeze in?" Fu Hongying muttered softly.

Although she was also a powerful martial arts master, and her Huanxi Hand technique was highly skilled, beating Zhou Mingxuan was as easy as beating a chicken, but in front of her, hundreds of men were crammed together in close combat.

If she were to use her "Washing Stream Hand" technique to push her way in, she could manage, but what kind of decorum would that be?

I came here today to check the results for my master.

My master kept the light on all night, writing furiously. When I went to serve him breakfast this morning, I saw papers scattered all over the floor.

The paper had some writing on it, such as "restless mind" and "Buddha of Mount Ling," and large sections were covered with ink. I wonder what martial arts principles the master was researching.

The results were released today, but the master didn't care at all; with his skills, he was sure to be on the list.

As the master's eldest disciple, Fu Hongying decided to go and check the list in her master's place, but who could have imagined that so many people would come?

"Uncle Da Niu, it's up to you..." Fu Hongying looked at Wang Da Niu.

She always thought Wang Daniu was a man of few words.

Wang Daniu scratched his head awkwardly.

"I?"

"I'm not even an Iron-Bone Martial Master, how could I possibly squeeze in?"

Fu Hongying's image of the master master Uncle Niu was shattered. It turned out that he was not hiding his true strength, but was just an ordinary, unskilled martial artist.

"I'll do it..."

Zhou Mingxuan said, forcing himself to speak.

"I squeezed in to see the list."

Of the people present, Fu Hongying was unavailable, Wang Daniu was not skilled, and Xiao Qi was not even a martial artist, so there was no point in relying on him.

As for Daqing, if it were to unleash its demonic energy, it could certainly carve out a path. But if this wild demon dares to cause such a commotion outside the Ministry of War, believe it or not, it will become someone else's meat soup by tonight.

So only he can do it.

Looking at the surging crowd in front of him, Zhou Mingxuan gritted his teeth, unleashed his true energy, and used his Wind Chasing Leg technique to squeeze through.

at this time.

The red cloth covering the list was suddenly removed.

The officials stood helplessly on either side of the list.

On the wall, the names, ranks, and hometowns of the candidates were written in pale yellow paper with red ink.

Knowing that many people were looking at the list, each person wrote on the paper as big as a fist, with each stroke extremely neat and easy to read.

wow...

A commotion arose from the crowd outside, and a surge of people rushed forward.

Because His Majesty has granted more admissions this year, the number of people coming to see the results is also much greater than in previous years.

Several unlucky souls who were crowded at the front screamed as they were impaled on the soldiers' spears and turned into human meat skewers.

"Silence... Back off..."

The third-rank military officer, who had been standing quietly at the bottom of the list, suddenly took a deep breath, his chest bulging, and then made a thunderous roar.

Boom!

It was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, exploding in everyone's ears.

At the same time, a surge of blood and energy erupted from his mouth, rushing towards everyone.

The surging crowd suddenly felt like a wave of hot lava rushing towards them, extremely dangerous.

With a roar, the opponent unleashed the true essence of his fist technique; he was actually a Grandmaster of the Golden Marrow.

The crowd gasped and instinctively backed away.

People in front retreated hastily, while those behind continued to surge forward. Those in the middle were unlucky, as a large number of them were pushed to the ground. Fortunately, those who dared to come in to see the list were skilled in martial arts and had thick skin and flesh that could withstand the trampling; otherwise, many would have been killed or injured.

The third-rank military officer pointed to the stone tablet next to him.

"You have trained diligently for years, and by the grace of His Majesty, you have been able to be listed on the apricot list."

"The list is right here; it won't move or run away."

"If you want to read it, then read it slowly. Anyone who tries to squeeze into the thorny wall will be considered to have destroyed the list and stolen the honors. Do not make a mistake for yourself."

With this Grandmaster of Golden Marrow in charge, the place is under control.

The surging crowd was no longer as frenzied as before. Everyone bound their own hands and feet and dared not recklessly use their true energy to charge forward under the watchful eyes of the Grandmaster. They could only move forward slowly like ordinary people, tiptoeing and craning their necks.

Suddenly, someone burst into laughter among the candidates crowded at the front.

"Haha, I won... I won..."

This person has a four-character compound surname, which allowed him to quickly find himself among a crowd of names, while others were still searching desperately.

The top ranks of the apricot list are mostly occupied by scions of prominent families, while those from humble backgrounds naturally rank lower on the list.

Most of the candidates who came today came from poor families and ranked low, so finding them was naturally very troublesome.

In addition, there were many servants of wealthy families in the crowd, who came to see the list for their masters. They were dressed in fine clothes, but still in the style of servants, so they were easy to recognize.

Every now and then, someone would burst into laughter and push their way out of the crowd, clearly heading to report the good news to their master.

Wang Daniu and Fu Hongying waited anxiously outside.

Zhou Mingxuan was nowhere to be seen.

Fu Hongying simply stepped onto Da Qing's back and stood on tiptoe to look out.

Unfortunately, the distance was too far, and the words on the list were still not clear. From a distance, the words looked blurry, like blobs of ink.

She said with regret and self-blame.

"It's all because my skills aren't up to par."

"My master has a skill in archery called 'Observing Mountains and Shooting.' When he infuses his eyes with his inner energy, he can see a grain of rice ten feet away as large as a millstone."

"If I knew this archery technique, I could see the rankings clearly from here."

The two were anxious.

Suddenly, a man with wrinkled clothes whose original color was obscured, several shoe prints on his face, and who had lost one shoe ran up in front of them.

Her voice was filled with tears the moment she opened her mouth.

"Waaah... I got it! I got it..."

"I won! I'm ranked 450th!"

"Brother Yang is ranked 155th!"

"Niece Hongying, if you were a man, you would surely have a place on today's list."

Fu Hongying and Wang Daniu only confirmed that the person was Zhou Mingxuan after hearing the last sentence.

The two didn't have time to wonder how Zhou Mingxuan had become so disheveled after just squeezing through the crowd.

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with joy.

"We won! We won! Master/Fourth Brother won!"

The "One Top Scholar and Three Top Scholars" refers to three spots.

The quota for the second-class Jinshi degree was 150.

The quota for those who were granted the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the third class was 300

Yang Silang ranked 155th, which means that barring any unforeseen circumstances...

He should have been among the top three in the palace examination. As for Zhou Mingxuan, he was even luckier; if he had fallen a few places, he would have failed the exam.

And this is the result after the expansion of enrollment; if calculated based on the number of students admitted in previous years, he would have absolutely no hope of being admitted.