In the imperial study room of the imperial palace, Emperor Jin Geng was looking at the papers for the imperial examination.
The major exam held every three years is an important talent selection in Daxia. It is related to the country, so he attaches great importance to it.
After the imperial examination ended today, he was correcting Gongsheng's papers in the imperial study room.
"Good article!" He couldn't help but praise the paper in his hand.
The article quoted from classics, the writing was brilliant, and every word was exquisite. It was definitely the only one among the papers he had ever read.
Emperor Jin Geng turned to the candidates' names and saw the name 'Li Shiming'.
His face was slightly startled. The name Li Shiming had been mentioned many times in the intelligence recently.
The most important thing is that Li Shiming was very close to the royal minister Gu Jia. Gu Jia went to Li Shiming's house many times, and Li Shiming also attended many gatherings of monks.
From this point of view, Emperor Jin Geng determined that Li Shiming was also a monk.
Based on Emperor Jin Geng's understanding of Gu Jia, even he, the emperor, could not gain much respect from Gu Jia, let alone get along with him.
"It's a pity that such talents cannot be used!" Emperor Jin Geng shook his head. He originally planned to appoint Li Shiming as the number one scholar, but knowing that Li Shiming could not be an official, he could not choose such a person as the number one scholar.
Even as much as he liked Li Shiming's articles, he hated Li Shiming's things that he couldn't use for himself.
Emperor Jin Geng really wanted to place Li Shiming among the top three, so that he would have the lowest background with Jinshi.
Even though he thought so, Emperor Jin Geng also had to consider Gu Jia. Even if he didn't consider Gu Jia, he didn't want to annoy the monk Li Shiming over this matter.
"Then let's give it to Tanhua!" Emperor Jin Geng picked up the imperial pen and made a decision.
The next day, the grateful scholars entered the palace hall and the eunuchs read out their results.
When it was announced that Li Shiming was the top pick, the officials present and the new scholars discovered that Li Shiming, who was supposed to be here, had not arrived.
Even the eunuch who announced the decree couldn't help turning his head to look at Emperor Jin Geng, wanting to see Emperor Jin Geng's angry expression.
But what all the officials and new scholars did not expect was that Emperor Jin Geng was not angry.
"If Li Shiming didn't come, he didn't come, keep going!" Emperor Jin Geng waved his hand and said.
He also understood that this major exam was just a game in the mortal world for the monks, and he even knew that Li Shiming was visiting Gu Jia as a guest at this time.
In fact, it was not that Li Shiming didn't want to come to the palace to express his gratitude. He was called over by Gu Jia after he entered the palace.
"Li Xiaoyou, you don't really want to stay in Daxia and be an official, do you?" He smiled and said to Li Shiming in the small courtyard of Gu Jia's palace.
"Of course not, it's just that I've been studying hard for ten years, and I finally come to an end!" Li Shiming shook his head and replied.
"You are a monk and will be a monk of Tianhai Sect in the future. When you enter the hall, are you prepared to kneel down and worship the emperor?" Gu Jia said lightly with his fingers.
Li Shiming did not expect that Gu Jia valued the status of a monk more than him. Although he did not want to kneel down, he could endure it for the sake of his last wish in the mortal world.
But it's too late to say anything now. Anyway, the imperial examination has ended, and he is at least a Jinshi. This can be regarded as fulfilling his original obsession and giving an explanation to his father Li Wenyuan.
"Would you like to hear how you did on the exam?" Gu Jiaxiao asked.
As he spoke, his hand played a spiritual rune in the space, and then a picture appeared in front of the two of them.
This picture is exactly the scene of the main hall. It not only has pictures, but also real-time sounds.
The picture is not an ordinary picture, but a three-dimensional picture with a 3D effect.
Li Shiming's eyes widened and he looked at everything in front of him in disbelief.
Isn't this virtual imaging technology? In the past, the technology was so advanced that this technology was not fully mature. Although it was barely achievable, it was extremely expensive.
"The entire palace is within the scope of the magic circle arranged by the sect. I can observe what happens anywhere in the palace at any time!" Gu Jia saw his surprise and explained with a smile.
Li Shiming really wanted to ask Gu Jia, does the emperor know about the magic circle with this kind of effect?
If the emperor knew that every move he made could be observed by Gu Jia, would the emperor still be willing to live in the palace?
"Oh, that's good. My little friend has won the title of Tanhualang!" Gu Jia laughed after hearing the content of the eunuch's announcement.
Seeing that as an emperor, he didn't have any dignity in front of the monks, Li Shiming had no feeling at all about winning the top prize.
Gu Jia looked at Li Shiming's expression and felt very proud. He did this on purpose, just to dispel Li Shiming's attachment to the world.
Monks are lonely and need to stay away from the world and the hustle and bustle.
Only monks who can endure loneliness can pursue a higher realm.
The two monks sat on chairs and watched what was happening in the main hall.
Li Shiming felt that he was separated from the world, but this did not affect his pursuit of cultivation.
Living again, he cherishes life very much. He wants to live longer, he wants to travel to every corner of the world, and he wants to see the essence of the world clearly.
"Brother Gu Dao, can you live forever through cultivation?" In this atmosphere, Li Shiming asked a question.
"Guess how old I am this year?" Gu Jia asked with a smile after hearing this question.
Li Shiming carefully observed Gu Jia. Gu Jia looked about forty or fifty years old, and the monk might look younger, so he made a judgment.
"Brother Taoist, are you seventy years old?" When he said this age, he had already increased it.
"Haha!" Gu Jia laughed, and then he seemed a little lonely and continued: "I am one hundred and twenty-three years old this year. I have practiced hard for more than a hundred years, and now I am still waiting to die in the secular world!"
Li Shiming looked at Gu Jia in surprise. He did not expect that Gu Jia would be 123 years old.
You must know that among mortals, it is already a great auspiciousness to have an old man over 110 years old, let alone over 120 years old.
And looking at Gu Jia's appearance, he doesn't look like he is 123 years old. Judging from his condition, there is no problem in living for another few decades.
"The longest lifespan of a Qi Refining monk can be close to two hundred years old. However, due to various reasons in a monk's body, it would be good to live up to one hundred and fifty years old!" Gu Jia explained for him.
"Wouldn't monks with higher realms live longer?" Li Shiming asked again.
"The lifespan of a monk in the Foundation Establishment Stage is at least two hundred years. I can't know anything further, but the higher the level of cultivation, the longer the lifespan is inevitable!" Gu Jia answered with certainty.
At this moment, Li Shiming's thoughts on cultivation became extremely firm.
He has computer room space, a large server like IBMz15, and countless research results from previous lives. He firmly believes that he can go further on the road to immortality and live forever.