Chương 14: Minh Châu! Thánh trước! (2)
Fang Yun sank into deep thought for a long while, letting out a soft sigh as he silently recalled the Heavenly Book World in his mind.
This time, no book emerged, nor did any golden characters manifest.
He surmised that because this was an open-ended prompt with no fixed answer, the Heavenly Book World could not display a precise match.
Thus, Fang Yun began setting parameters in his mind: it had to fit one of the four rhyme groups, be a frontier poem, carry a pro-war sentiment, must be the work of a renowned figure, and needed to secure a top rank to guarantee his path to becoming a Child Scholar.
Fang Yun sifted through options repeatedly, ultimately deciding on the five-character regulated poem "Half a Year" by the Poetry Saint, Du Fu. This was an exceptionally famous frontier poem, and its end rhymes aligned perfectly with the Heng rhyme group.
He did not write directly onto the exam paper, instead lifting his brush to compose a draft on a piece of scrap paper first to check for any taboo words, as examinations carried numerous prohibitions.
The contents of "Half a Year" depicted a year-end scene where war still raged in the north. Soldiers bled day and night at the front lines, yet the ministers in court failed to commit their full strength to the fight. The poet held a desire to serve his country but found no avenue, thereby striking at the incompetence of the officials.
The State of Jing and the Wolf-Barbarian clan of the Grass-Barbarians clashed frequently; year-end warfare was entirely normal, so Fang Yun did not fear drifting off-theme.
"Half a year a distant guest, the frontier just deploys its troops. Dust of war violates the snowy ridges..."
As he wrote to this point, Fang Yun abruptly halted his brush.
Right at that moment, in a pavilion resting near the examination grounds, the County Magistrate and the Academy Director of the County Literary Academy suddenly surged to their feet, staring simultaneously toward the direction of Fang Yun’s examination cell.
The two exchanged glances for a moment before breaking into wide smiles, seeing uncontainable joy in each other's eyes.
The Director of Studies from the Prefectural Literary Academy, standing beside them, slowly rose shortly after, smiling as he spoke, "Congratulations, congratulations! The literary aura is leaping; it is at least of the tier 'Poetry Accomplished, Echoing the County,' and might even reach 'Poetry Accomplished, Shaking the Prefecture.' You two have truly done well in your educational duties; this year's evaluation will certainly achieve the highest rank!"
County Magistrate Tai He smiled in response, "Not at all, not at all, Director Van flatters us. At present, the literary aura has yet to solidify; we cannot leap to conclusions too hastily."
Director Van spoke again, "It seems it must be that child prodigy, Fang Zhongyong."
Magistrate Tai hesitated for a brief moment, shaking his head, "That is incorrect. I remember distinctly, Fang Zhongyong is not seated in that direction."
Magistrate Tai hailed from a Scholar background, possessing a formidable literary aura, and had long achieved the state of never forgetting what he had seen.
As soon as those words left his mouth, all three turned their astonished gazes back toward Fang Yun’s examination cell.
"The literary aura has vanished, what a pity," Magistrate Tai remarked, revealing his disappointment as he sat back down.
The Academy Director also sighed, "A great pity indeed."
Director Van quickly offered reassurance, "Do not grieve, gentlemen. Perhaps that candidate has merely experienced a temporary break in their literary flow and will resume writing shortly. Besides, that child prodigy has not finished yet."
Suddenly, the three turned their heads toward another direction at the same time, their faces filled with anticipation.
A moment later, Magistrate Tai said with a smile, "Excellent! The literary aura is stable, 'Poetry Accomplished, Echoing the County.' That position is precisely where Fang Zhongyong is seated!"
The Academy Director stroked his beard and laughed aloud, "Truly worthy of our county's child prodigy."
"Congratulations, congratulations!" the Prefectural Director of Studies offered his praise once more, then cast a regretful glance back toward Fang Yun’s examination cell.
Inside the cell, Fang Yun placed his brush down, his brow furrowing deeply.
This poem would not do. He himself did not even hold the title of Child Scholar yet; if he recklessly criticized the ministers of the court, the three examiners might not take kindly to it. They could easily use the pretext of him speaking out of turn before attaining official status to discard his paper, rendering even the finest poetry useless. However, if even this poem could not be used, the others would fare no better. Some were not exceptional enough, while those that were brilliant did not fit the four rhyme groups, or were clearly beyond what someone of his age could realistically write.
Fang Yun weighed his options back and forth, then suddenly crumpled the draft paper and cast it aside.
He smoothed the exam paper flat before him, raising his brush as he pondered in silence. Before long, recalling the fresh spring air after the morning rain, a renowned poem naturally surfaced in his mind.
Fang Yun set brush to paper.
"Spring Dawn"
Sleeping in spring, unaware of dawn,
Everywhere, the birds are heard.
Last night, the sound of wind and rain,
Who knows how many flowers have fallen.
This was one of the most celebrated works by the Tang dynasty poet Meng Haoran.
The moment the poem was completed, literary aura erupted violently like a gushing spring.
Fang Yun instantly felt a warm current of air descend from the heavens, surging straight into the depths of his brow.
His eyes snapped wide in astonishment; he had not expected to achieve the Phenomenon of Literary Aura Crowning the Mind right within the examination cell, officially ascending to a Child Scholar!
The entire warm current coalesced within the "Literary Palace" at his brow before bursting forth, spreading to every corner of his body. The injuries from the beating he received the previous night were healing at a miraculous rate.
Fang Yun felt a slight itch in his eyes, causing him to blink involuntarily several times. His vision, which had been nearsighted, was not only fully restored but had become several times sharper than that of an ordinary person.
This was the Transformation of the Body by Literary Aura. With each rise in Literary Status, all aspects of the physical form would be enhanced, and lifespan would increase accordingly. Great Scholars could live to a hundred and twenty years, while Half-Sages reached two hundred. Once his body was fully nurtured, even as a mere Child Scholar, his physical conditioning would surpass that of elite soldiers.
At the exact moment the poem reached completion, Tai and the other two men not far away suddenly leaped from their chairs, staring fixedly in Fang Yun’s direction in utter disbelief.
"This..." Director Van was so struck with awe that he could not find his words.
The Academy Director murmured to himself, "The literary aura is 'Shaking the Prefecture,' verging on 'Bright Pearl.' Once this poem spreads abroad, it will surely become a Bright Pearl poem!"
Immediately following that, the expressions of all three changed drastically as they cried out in unison:
"Sage-Front Child Scholar!"
Typically, after passing the exam, a candidate had to enter the sacred temple to bow and pay respects before receiving the Literary Aura Crowning the Mind to officially advance. But if heaven bestowed the literary aura beforehand, that individual was a Sage-Front Child Scholar.
Ordinary Child Scholars were merely considered "disciples of the sages," but a Sage-Front Child Scholar was a "disciple of the Son of Heaven." The significance of these two titles was entirely distinct, for both Confucius and King Wen of Zhou had been "disciples of the Son of Heaven" in their time.
"The Saint Origin Continent holds a population of billions, yet a Sage-Front Child Scholar might not appear even once in three years! The sages protect the State of Jing! Heaven protects the State of Jing!" The Academy Director trembled all over with intense emotion.
Magistrate Tai drew a deep breath, speaking in a grave tone, "That position is precisely where the literary flow was severed moments ago."