Li Hunyuan felt very bad at this time. His feet hurt as if they were not his. From time to time, a stone would fall on his head. If he was not careful, he would be hit seriously, even if he did not die.
The top of the mountain ahead still seemed far away. Li Hunyuan wanted to give up several times, but every time he would think of his father, Li Zhongyi.
After studying with Wang Gang for almost two years, Li Hunyuan became much smarter. He knew that it didn't matter whether he passed the exam or not, but if he voluntarily gave up the exam and endured the hardship, Li Zhongyi would be disappointed in him.
The price of disappointment is another step away from the throne.
At this time, Li Hunyuan had decided to fight for the throne and win Li Zhongyi's sacred heart.
"Teacher Wang Gang once said that in troubled times, if you win the hearts of the people, you will win the world, but in the prosperous times, if you win the sacred heart, you will win the world. If I want to sit on the throne of the Tang Dynasty, I must obtain the approval of my father."
Li Hunyuan gritted his teeth, took off his coat, tore the two halves apart, and wrapped each of them around one foot, so that it would be easier to step on thorns.
Maybe even Li Hunyuan didn't notice his change.
Studying under Wang Gang not only broadened his horizons, but also gave him ambition. In the past, Li Hunyuan would not suffer such hardship even if he waited to die and became an idle prince.
The desire for power changed Li Hunyuan, and Wang Gang's training gave Li Hunyuan the basis for realizing his desire, which is the quality of perseverance.
In the academy, many people watching the assessment saw Li Hun-yuan's performance. Whether they were people from the Tang Dynasty or other countries, they all looked up to Li Hun-yuan with admiration.
Li Zhongyi, the king of the Tang Dynasty, learned and performed Taoist skills through the academy, and had a panoramic view of his son's performance, with a rare look of relief on his face.
"Hunduan has grown up, and finally I have some of my demeanor back then." Li Zhongyi said excitedly to Li Yu beside him.
Li Yu had been paying attention to Li Hunyuan's feet. She found that her brother's shoes had long been torn by thorns, and the exposed toes were bloody and bloody. She felt very distressed.
"Father, my third brother has already done a good job. If he continues to force himself like this, will his feet suffer from hidden diseases?"
Li Yu is Li Hun Yuan's biological sister, and she has more things to consider than others. The Tang State absolutely does not need a crippled heir. If Li Hun Yuan's legs are really crippled, he will lose the right to inherit.
Li Zhongyi asked Wang Gang: "Mr. Wang, is the assessment on the second floor of the academy too strict?"
Wang Gang smiled and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the academy's assessment has always been very measured. Although the thorns arranged will pierce the soles of the feet, they will not hurt the muscles and bones. It only takes a few days to cultivate."
Li Zhongyi asked doubtfully: "Didn't some candidates have asthma attacks before and almost died?"
Wang Gang said: "That candidate is called Gu Changnuo, and he is actually part of the assessment."
Li Zhongyi wondered: "What do you mean by this? Is it possible that Gu Changnuo is not a candidate?"
"Yes." Wang Gang said: "I asked Gu Changnuo to take the exam. He pretended to have an asthma attack in the middle, just to see the character of other candidates. There are a few people like Gu Changnuo.
For Master’s direct disciples, their academic qualifications are secondary, but their character is the most important. Those who do nothing to save themselves are not qualified to be Master’s disciples.”
Li Zhongyi immediately understood Wang Gang's intention and couldn't help but nodded and said: "Yes, yes, Master's disciples must be of noble character, one among ten thousand."
Cao Jiaoxi said: "The three candidates currently taking exams on the mountain, except Long Qing, have all extended a helping hand to people who encountered difficulties, especially Ning Que, who saved more than a dozen people, and some of them are real candidates."
Li Zhongyi's eyes lit up and he said, "Hun Yuan has also saved people?"
Professor Cao nodded and smiled: "The third prince saved two candidates who almost fell off the cliff."
Li Zhongyi laughed and said: "Okay, okay, my son can be reborn all because of Mr. Wang."
Wang Gang said modestly: "Wang does not dare to take credit. As the son of His Majesty, the Third Prince has very good qualifications. He has inherited His Majesty's talent for prowess. In the past, he just lacked teaching. As long as he has the patience to study, he will become a great talent in the future."
Li Yu said proudly: "Father, you don't know how hard my third brother has worked in the past two years. Not only is he among the best in the academy, but his practice has also reached the state of no confusion."
"Really." Li Zhongyi said in surprise: "I didn't expect that Huanyuan still has the qualifications to practice. If I really get into the second floor, wouldn't it be possible to fulfill the wish that I could not realize when I was young?"
Li Yu's face stiffened. She didn't want her brother to become a cultivator and give up the throne.
Wang Gang sighed and said: "I may disappoint His Majesty. The third prince should have no choice but to stop here."
Li Zhongyi was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Li Hunyuan and found that he had fallen into a mist and appeared halfway up the mountain in the blink of an eye.
"The fog approaching the top of the mountain is also a test. Unfortunately, the third prince's training time was too short and he was unable to break through the fog. He was teleported to the middle of the mountain. If we try to catch up now, we may not have enough time." Wang Gang said regretfully.
Li Zhongyi saw that Long Qing, who was currently ranked first, had walked out of the fog formation and arrived at the last gate.
Ning Que was about to come out of the fog, just a little slower than Long Qing. It was already impossible for Li Hunyuan to catch up.
Li Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was good this way. He would gain face in front of his father and the king, and he wouldn't have to be his master's personal disciple.
Wang Gang had been secretly observing Li Yu's expression, and he naturally guessed what she was thinking, and he laughed in his heart, laughing at Li Yu's short-sightedness.
If Li Hunyuan really became Master's personal disciple, then his position as King of Tang would be truly stable.
Although Li Zhongyi now admires Li Huanyuan, he has not yet made up his mind to make him his heir.
But if Li Hunyuan had the status of his master's direct disciple, and Li Zhongyi wanted to establish a prince, there was no way he could bypass Li Hunyuan.
Li Yu has not yet realized that it was not the Tang Dynasty that supported the academy for thousands of years, but the academy that protected the Tang Dynasty for thousands of years.
The academy can lose the Tang Dynasty, but the Tang Dynasty cannot leave the academy or the Confucius.
The status of a master's personal disciple is more important than the position of a prince of a country.
The assessment on the second floor is still going on, but Wang Gang is no longer interested. Now the result is very clear. Long Qing's character and cultivation qualifications are not in the eyes of the Master.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! He wants to be his master's direct disciple, but I am afraid that the eleven gentlemen in the back mountain will not agree.
Things went as Wang Gang expected, and Long Qing came to the final stage of the assessment, Chaimen's "Gentleman's Question."
"A gentleman does not_" is written on the chai door, and the candidates can fill in their own answers.
After Long Qing finished writing the answer, he opened the Chai Gate, but as soon as he passed through the Chai Gate, he encountered a phantom formation set up by Wang Gang himself.
This illusion formation is a hundred times more powerful than in the original work. It not only allows Long Qing to experience the things he least wanted to face in the first half of his life, but also pulls him into illusions and experiences different lives.
Sometimes he becomes a student who has been studying hard for decades without accomplishing anything.
Sometimes she is a butcher, slaughtering pigs and sheep for a lifetime, sometimes she is even a woman who is abandoned by her beloved husband and sold to a brothel.
Sometimes he will become the king of a country, with great ambitions to unify the world.
In every illusion, Long Qing has an opportunity to continue to indulge in desires, or to let go of everything and embark on the path of spiritual practice.
As long as he made the right choice, he could get out of the illusion. Unfortunately, Long Qing made wrong choices again and again and fell deeper and deeper into the illusion.
He fell into a fantasy, dominated by human emotions and desires. He completely forgot that he was still taking the test, and even forgot who he was. He stood upright for an hour, making Prince Chongming, who was watching his test at the bottom of the mountain, jump up and down anxiously.
With this hour's buffer, Ning Que came up from behind, opened the wood door, and walked in.
Ning Que walked faster and faster. Although he also fell into an illusion, a jade pendant around his waist flashed with green light and quickly broke through the illusion. Instead, he passed Long Qing and picked up the water scoop.
After Long Qing was carried down the mountain and woke up, he realized that Ning Que had won the test and became the Master's thirteenth disciple.
