The streets and alleys are bustling with people.

Here are the sons of princes and princes in the imperial court, who come and go as they please and speak in perfect order; and there are ordinary people in the countryside, who talk loudly about important matters of the country and the dynasty, and know the ordinary things.

"I heard that this spring, there may be more people coming to take the exam than ever before."

"It should have something to do with last month's red moon and shooting stars. During this period, many strange things happened in various places. Someone in my distant cousin's family went crazy."

"Yes, fortunately our Shenjing City is protected by the Immortal Formation and the red moon cannot shine in. On the fifteenth day of this month, I don't even dare to go out of the city to the countryside to buy ingredients."

"I guess the imperial court had expected it. If there were any unusual celestial phenomena this month, how could it be possible for scholars from various states to come to take the exam?"

Zhou Bai couldn't help but feel a little unnatural on his face as he listened to the chatter of a few vendors on the street. As expected of a citizen of the capital, he was really well-informed about the news.

Living in Shenjing, the most beautiful place under the emperor's feet, no matter what class of people they are, they have a temperament and self-confidence that the people in other states and counties do not have.

Even if he is just a man selling steamed buns on the street, he can hold his head high and face calmly some foreign nobles in strange clothes.

This is the high degree of self-confidence that Daxu has built for them by being far ahead in military, cultural and economic aspects for a long time.

Carrying a bag of candied fruits, Zhou Bai walked around and ate while looking at the scholars who were passing through here.

There are people from the forty-eight states of Daxu, and there are also reference examples from various vassal states coming from far away. In the long years of changes, these places naturally have a different culture from the central dynasty.

The clothing is the most obvious. For the neighboring vassal states of Daxu, the well-known scholars mostly follow the local customs, so it is not easy to identify them in the crowd.

However, in other distant foreign countries, their clothing has distinctive regional characteristics, generally following the principle of being rough and majestic in the north and bright and bright in the south.

At this time, Zhou Bai was verifying what he had learned. He had been reading picture scrolls for sixty years, and all the official volumes and miscellaneous books were not missed.

"Funan, Jimi, Bagan, Shendu, Bamboo Territory..."

"Jin, Xianbei, Kang, Yanqi, Gumo, Gouli..."

Just as Zhou Bai was leaning against a beam and commenting in a low voice to the scholars from various countries who were passing by, he suddenly noticed from the corner of his eye that there were three people walking together standing next to him, and they had not left for a long time.

I saw that the three of them were handsome and elegant, but they were not wearing comfortable and noble clothes. Instead, they were all wearing red official uniforms, and even the copper half seal was tied around their waists.

Many people may think that this is because they are afraid that people in the capital will look down on them, so they use their fame to cover up their lack of confidence.

However, Zhou Bai recognized these three people at a glance. They were the scholars who had participated in the Dragon Palace Competition with Zhou Bai not long ago.

To be valued by a dragon god, they are not ordinary people. They are either Jie Yuan Yayuan or former talents who have been famous for a long time.

Looking at the Qi, one can see that the red and yellow Qi above their heads is forming clouds, and there is even a wisp of green Qi swaying upwards. Their luck is soaring, no less than that of noble people.

It is impossible for such people to have low self-esteem and feel inferior to others.

From what Zhou Bai saw, this should be purely to avoid trouble. After all, there are crouching tigers, hidden dragons in the divine capital city.

Spring is coming soon, and they can come and go freely in Shenjing City wearing the official uniform of the people, and no one dares to harass them.

When the leader saw Zhou Bai discovering them, he stepped forward calmly, raised his hands and saluted, "It turns out to be Zhou Jieyuan. His knowledge is truly profound. No wonder he is more capable than me and the others, and won the first place in the Dragon Palace competition."

Zhou Bai naturally would not be rude, so he wrapped the candied fruit and stuffed it into his pocket, then bowed his hands and said: "Formal acquaintance, Zhou Bai, a Dingzhou scholar, has met three of them."

"I'm Sijie, who is promoting people from Luozhou; I'm Pang Lesheng, who is promoting people from Liangzhou; I'm Shi Xiu, who is promoting people from Zhongzhou. We have met Brother Zhou." Upon hearing this, the three of them reported themselves to their families and bowed in unison.

In the Dragon Palace competition, everyone is a rival, and there is no time or opportunity to communicate and get to know each other.

As soon as these names were reported, Zhou Bai's information immediately appeared in his mind. Before, he knew the names but not the faces.

The three of them are all well-known talents in their respective states, and even Pang Lesheng was Jieyuan in the last provincial examination.

Of course, Si Jie and Shi Xiu are not bad either. They are both from the big states in the Central Region, and the competition in Jieyuan is too fierce.

"I've admired your name for a long time, I've admired your name for a long time, how come you guys came so fast? I rode a dragon horse day and night and stopped today." Zhou Bai asked with some doubts.

Pang Lesheng was also puzzled: "Huh? Didn't Ningjiang Dragon King take you for a ride?"

He still has a good impression of Zhou Bai, because they are from the north and both know each other well.

Zhou Bai was immediately embarrassed. He did not expect that Ningjiang Dragon King would not take the initiative to trick him.

If the Dragon King of Ningjiang takes him for a ride, Wei Jing can let the post station take care of sending him to Shenjing. He can ride a dragon horse and get a reward. I don't know how many post soldiers are rushing to do it.

Fortunately, they all wanted to make friends, and the awkward atmosphere was quickly broken. Unknowingly, the four of them came to a private room in a tea house, where they could talk more freely.

Si Jie still couldn't forget the scene he saw on the street just now, and he praised loudly: "Brother Zhou can actually identify which country he comes from just by his appearance and clothes. It's really amazing!"

Shi Xiu nodded and said: "Yes, since the Humane Dynasty established the enfeoffment and expansion system, there have been countless vassal states that have gone up and down in the world. Except for the countries that have been enfeoffed in recent years, which I have paid a little attention to, I don't know about other countries.

know."

He is a talent that Zhou Bai needs to take a closer look at. The core of Zhongzhou is Zhongzhou, and the core of Zhongzhou is Shenjing. He has to surpass many children of princes and noble families to take the exam.

Zhou Baiguang just imagined that if he started in Zhongzhou, Tong Sheng would have to struggle in the first step. It would be too difficult to accumulate luck.

"If it weren't for the great turmoil in the Jin Kingdom in recent years, I wouldn't even be able to distinguish the typical grassland characteristics of Jin people with flat faces and low nose bridges." Pang Lesheng also said with emotion.

Zhou Bai quickly stretched out his hand and made a false gesture, and said with a smile: "Let's not flatter each other, let's talk about the current imperial examination. The general examination will be on the 20th, and the palace examination will be on the 25th. I wonder what the goals of the three of you are?"

The meaning is very obvious, it is to ask them whether they want to become immortals and seek immortality, or whether they want to serve the imperial court as a fellow Jinshi, and finally take the path of gods.

The three of them looked at each other and said in unison: "I want to be a Jinshi!"

Pang Lesheng looked complicated. He took a sip of hot tea and then said slowly: "If there is no red moon and a trip to the Dragon Palace, just to be on the safe side, I might really try to be in the top ten with the Jinshi."

Si Jie was not born as a county tycoon, and his luck only took ten years to accumulate. He agreed: "Well, according to past experience, our kind of strength and luck are most likely to be in the second and lower ranks of the second class, to serve for the imperial court.

That’s not bad.”

"The main thing is that for every Jinshi, being listed in the heavenly register is just the beginning. After becoming a heavenly person, if you can't make rapid progress in the Taoist career and make meritorious deeds for the heavenly court, it will be difficult to obtain the heavenly calling."

Shi Xiu's family has the best conditions and is a county magistrate in Zhongzhou, but the county magistrate in Gyeonggi Province is not good enough. A large part of the reason for being able to win the election is also due to himself.

He stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and showed a bit of confidence on his face: "Yes, according to my talents, if I join the court and become an official in the future, I will be able to reach the third rank or above, and I might even be granted a title. In this way, I will definitely be able to do it in a hundred years."

Then you have to enter the Dragon Court."

"But……"

"It would be good to exchange a lifetime's merit for the imperial conferment of a human being or a god. Wouldn't that also lead to immortality?" Zhou Bai pretended to be puzzled and asked.

"The person who has not been in court for a long time is about to enter the Dragon Court and take a high position. Do you think Daxu will just change the head of the family this time? No, I think the change of dynasty is just around the corner. How can this dynasty be humane?

God."

"One leaf falls and the world knows autumn. The red moon and shooting stars tell us that the sky is about to change! Except for the big tree in heaven that can support it, other trees can only be reduced to firewood!"

"Brother Zhou is a VIP from the Dragon Palace. He must know the inside information. Why hide it?"

The three of them wanted Zhou Bai to tell the truth every time they said something to me.

"I can only say that you are all people with outstanding vision, and you must grab one of the heavenly places this year!" Zhou Bai said solemnly.

After a brief exchange of words, he did not analyze the core of Longting and the Humanity God, but told them straightforwardly that they wanted to be heavenly beings.

"Okay, let's just say this to Brother Zhou, even if I'm ranked last in the second class, I'm going to fight for it!"

Si Jie, who has a relatively cheerful and outgoing personality, actually bowed to Zhou Bai at this moment, as if he just came to his senses after listening to your advice.

The private room was full of laughter, but after hearing what Zhou Bai said, the three of them firmly determined in their hearts that they would pass the second-level exam.

They had only heard rumors that the prodigy in the capital was very powerful, had hundreds of splendid chapters, and had great luck.

As for Zhou Bai's performance in Dragon Palace, they had indeed witnessed it, and he was an outstanding person who could give them guidance.

After drinking a pot of tea and exchanging other information, it was almost noon outside, so Pang Lesheng suggested going to a good place to have a big meal.

The delicious food in the capital is open to all rivers, and many famous restaurants from various states have their headquarters in the city.

However, after careful Shi Xiu, he seemed to remember something, so he quickly said: "Brother Zhou hasn't settled in yet, and hasn't signed up with the Etiquette Department yet?"

Zhou Bai nodded and patted the bundle placed behind the chair.

"Then you have to register quickly. There are not many good rooms available to go to the examination center. If you are two days late, you may have to live in a temporarily expanded place."

"And you don't have to worry about the inns in Shenjing City. Those candidates from other countries are rich and have already secured the best rooms."

"These days, there are people working in the Rites Yamen even at noon..."

"I see. Then I'll go back another day and sign up first!" After hearing the three people's explanations, Zhou Bai left decisively and left.

However, he was not in a hurry, because that kid Qi Hua had a house even in the capital, so he would not bother him at all.

After all, his ancestor was a count, and Qi's father also served as a capital official, so he still had some background.

However, as long as he can solve it himself, he still adheres to the purpose of not causing trouble to others.

Therefore, when the smell of food wafted out from the streets, Zhou Bai rushed towards the inner city regardless, while Wei Jing could only be temporarily fostered at the Taipusi Racecourse. There was no place to raise horses when he went to the examination hall.

The examination center, as its name implies, is a place that provides accommodation specifically for out-of-town candidates.

When it comes to the level of examination and palace examination, generally speaking, as long as you are a candidate for the imperial examination, the court will arrange food and accommodation for you no matter what.

Even with the special circumstances of this year's Spring Festival, the Daxu Imperial Court still allowed the examination center to accommodate all the candidates who wanted to live there.

Of course, we only accept check-in one month in advance, so there is no such thing as picking up wool.

There must be a reason for the Daxu court to surpass the general three-hundred-year cycle law. What will be mentioned in the history books of later generations is the developed transportation.

For example, long straight roads leading to prefectures and counties can ensure that central troops can be deployed to local areas in time.

And now Zhou Bai is sitting on the carriage, driving straight into the inner city, running all the way without being blocked.
To be continued...