78: No.1

Changing the world, shifting stars and constellations?

No!

It was merely the landscape of the entire Da Zhou World that was projected.

This phenomenon almost filled the entire Imperial Palace.

People looked towards the center of the phenomenon, and then saw the person within it.

— Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan was also a little bewildered at this moment.

Although he had guessed that the phenomenon caused by Sun Tzus Art of War might be somewhat astonishing, he never expected it to be astonishing to such an extent.

The entire world gathered within a great hall.

What's going on?

Is he about to become a Saint?

He himself was like this, let alone the others.

The entire Imperial Palace fell into an absolute silence.

Finally, when the mountains, rivers, sun, moon, and stars in the sky dissipated, they condensed before Qin Chuan.

It was an ancient token.

The token slowly floated down before Qin Chuan, and he reached out to take it.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that one side was engraved with the sun, moon, and stars, while the other side was inscribed with mountains, rivers, and plants.

This unique design instantly made Qin Chuan think of certain things.

He thought to himself, 'Does this thing also need a handle, with one side describing agricultural and animal husbandry techniques, and the other side describing the strategy for unifying the four seas?'

Just as he was secretly complaining, the people in the hall finally came back to their senses.

Their focus remained on Qin Chuan and the token in his hand.

With a 'buzz', exclamations of awe uncontrollably spread throughout the hall.

These candidates were still relatively restrained, but the ministers in the side hall were even more astonished when they saw the token in Qin Chuan's hand.

"A sacred artifact of the military path! This is bestowed by heaven and earth, but I wonder what its effects are."

Duke of Lu was even more excited; "Buy it, no matter the cost... Minister Wang?"

Wang Zhongshu calmly said, "This will probably depend on his own thoughts. It's just, Duke of Lu, what do you think the value of this token is? And what would you use to exchange for it?"

"This... alas..."

Duke of Lu was stunned, calculating his own assets, and finally could only sigh helplessly.

In the slightly chaotic scene, a clear and cold voice came, finally calming everyone down.

"The Palace Examination continues."

"Present the answer sheets of all the tribute scholars."

"Chen Wenyuan, put your things away."

It was the Empress's voice.

However, Qin Chuan wondered if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the Empress's voice was trembling slightly.

Qin Chuan silently put the token in his embrace, as if nothing had happened.

But the people in the hall did not have such strong psychological fortitude.

Not to mention the candidates, even the eunuchs who came forward to collect the answer sheets couldn't help but look towards Qin Chuan's embrace.

A moment later, when the dust settled.

The Empress seemed to have calmed down somewhat, and softly said, "Bestow a feast."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

— As for what the others do while these candidates eat?

Naturally, they revise their answer sheets with the ministers.

Originally, there was nothing special about this; the Emperor would at most adjust the rankings according to his preference, and might not even look at the answer sheets.

But this time... it was different.

When a large number of documents were sent to the side hall, this group of civil and military officials instantly became excited.

They searched for their target in a stack of documents—the Great Zhou's Palace Examination was different from the previous stages; it was not anonymous.

After all, in a world where the extraordinary manifests, apart from debate, the differences in ability are very obvious, and any attempt at favoritism or cheating can be seen at a glance.

However, even so, there was still a need to avoid suspicion.

For example, Wang Zhongshu could not revise Qin Chuan's answer sheet.

But at this moment, these ministers had no mind to revise the examination papers.

They quickly flipped through, and what they were looking for was naturally self-evident—

"Minister Cui, have you found it on your side?"

"No, Minister Li, what about your side?"

"None, three hundred documents, it's normal for it to be a bit hard to find."

"No matter, no matter, in the end, we will all admire, cough, revise..."

Although they said that, everyone's hearts were still scratching like cats.

They didn't want to wait a second longer.

Among these people, Wang Zhongshu appeared particularly calm; after a cursory glance, he did not touch them again.

Others thought he was confident, but Wang Zhongshu knew one thing clearly.

— His disciple's answer sheet was not among them.

Sure enough, a moment later, the statistics appeared.

The eunuch came forward at this moment and said, "All sirs, there are a total of two hundred and ninety-nine documents. We will distribute and cross-check them... The Empress's order: come up with a feasible plan as soon as possible, to evaluate the second and third place, and the second and third ranks..."

"Two hundred and ninety-nine? So the missing one..."

"Does that even need to be asked? It's naturally that top scholar..."

All officials: ...

Alright!

The Empress had intercepted it.

The fervent atmosphere in the side hall immediately quieted down, and everyone felt somewhat disheartened.

Only a few military officials quietly gathered around Wang Zhongshu.

It seemed they were planning a roundabout approach to save the situation.

Wang Zhongshu looked at the scene before him in surprise.

He didn't expect that after just one Palace Examination, he, who was once detested by gods and ghosts, would become so popular.

He shook his head and sighed, thinking to himself—was he benefiting from his disciple's glory?

Inside the main hall.

Qin Chuan and the other tribute scholars' feast lasted until evening.

During this time, many people came up to him to try and get close.

But he fended them all off.

He directly pulled Liu Yu, pretending to be busy in a corner.

But even so, a few people still didn't give up.

Qin Chuan responded with a headache-inducing 'En', 'Ah', 'Oh'.

At this moment, his main thoughts were focused on the token in his embrace.

Or rather: the military tally?

With a slight thought, the functions of this item appeared in his mind.

'Deceive the heavens to cross the sea', 'Borrow a knife to kill', 'Wait at leisure for the exhausted enemy', 'Shed the cicada's skin'...

These were: The Thirty-Six Stratagems!

Each had different functions.

Translated into in-game terms, it was equivalent to having thirty-six more skills?

Most of these were used for large-scale army operations, with limited use for individuals.

The most crucial point was: within the Da Zhou World, he could use them without consuming 'Haoran Righteousness' (mana).

Without a doubt, this was a war artifact!

So, what could he use it for?

Just as he was pondering this question, movement finally came from the front.

"The Palace Examination results are announced!"

Whoosh!

The entire hall instantly fell silent, and the area was quickly tidied up by the eunuchs.

As everyone waited nervously, a huge golden Ranking (list) unfolded from top to bottom, with countless names listed on it.

Qin Chuan's gaze went directly to the first column.

Three people in the first rank.

One hundred and forty-seven people in the second rank.

One hundred and fifty people in the third rank.

Among the total three hundred people, no one looked at the name at the very top; instead, they searched for their own names on the list.

Some were joyful, others sorrowful.

However, generally speaking, their emotions were relatively stable, as the Palace Examination did not result in demotion.

At the very least, they would still have the status of a Jinshi.

After confirming their own positions, these people then turned their gaze to the shining name at the very top.

Zhuangyuan (Top Scholar): Chen Chuan, courtesy name Wen Yuan.

Among the three hundred scholars in the hall, not a single one was dissatisfied.

On their faces, only two words could be seen—

Reasonable!