Chapter 272 Four Great Legends

About twenty years ago, the sixty-seventh year of Emperor Qin Mings reign, the forty-second imperial examination of the Western Qin Empire that made quite a stir was publicly acknowledged as the most fruitful imperial examination since the empire rose under the rule of Emperor Guang Wu, except for that one held at the first year of Guang Wus reign. That was because from that imperial examination came forth four strongest figures who later became the governors of those major provinces of the empirethe Four Great Legends.

And Li Gang was one of the Four Great Legends back then.

These days, Li Mu had earned a title as the whiz in both poetry and martial arts and made himself the man of the moment in Changan.

But if compared with Li Gang, one of the great old legends, his fame was a far cry from Li Gangs.

Because years ago, Li Gang had caused a sensation in the entire Western Qin Empire.

During his early days, Li Gang was just a poor scholar. It was no surprise that he championed the literary examination, for it was a tradition that the deprived studied literature while the well-off practiced martial arts. After taking the champion in the literary contest, within a short span, he also gained a title as the Sword Whiz in Qin City. With a sword in hand, he first triumphed over Jianzi from the Sword Cottage in the capital, and then, challenged all the skilled swordsmen in Qin City but did not suffer a single defeat. At last, even the chief of the Sword Cottage lost to Li Gang. Ever since then, the Sword Whiz had been known all around the world.

In those years, the Secular Sword Li Gang wielded could vanquish any demons and living creatures. Rumors had it that Li Gang, who was in his twenties at that time, had the bleary air of Chen Canghai, the Sword King who had entered the Void-breaking Realm five centuries ago. Some people even suspected that Li Gang was the successor of Chen Canghai after a dozen generations.

Those years were fraught with stirring events and exciting changes.

After the imperial examination, those talents, who passed the tests stayed in the capital for some time, waiting for being assigned a position. During that period, with the legendary swordsmen of the senior generation remaining secluded from the world, Li Gang, the Secular Sword, who was starting to show the air of the top swordsman in the Western Qin, and the other three legends in that erathe Heavenly Exclaiming Broadsword, the Divinely Grievous Spear, and the Domineeringly Demonic Halberdcut a swath on the stage. They were later regarded as the Four Great Legends. Even Emperor Qin Ming had an interview with the four and granted each of them a title, complimenting them as the Sword Whiz, the Broadsword King, the Spear God, and the Halberd Demon, respectively.

After that, the four legendary figures set foot on different paths.

Except for Wu Guiren, the Divinely Grievous Spear, who withdraw from society and lived in some unknown place in Jianghu after losing to Li Gang, the Secular Sword, in the competition of pursuing a beauty, the rest of the threethe Secular Sword, the Heavenly Exclaiming Broadsword, and the Domineeringly Demonic Halberd all became the brightest stars in the political world of the Western Qin Empire.

Among the three, Li Gang, the Secular Sword, was the most gleeful as he won in both politics and love. He first was appointed a magistrate of a county subject to the Changan Mansion. Soon, he was promoted to be the highest governor of Changan. Meanwhile, Guan Minren, the Heavenly Exclaiming Broadsword, stayed in the capital and became the General Instructor of the imperial army. Years later, after being promoted several times, he was already the Grand Chancellor of the whole imperial army composed of eight hundred thousand soldiers, who held the military power over the capital and earned Emperor Qin Mings trust. As to Li Yuanba, the Domineeringly Demonic Halberd, he had joined the borderline troops and become a general at the battlefield against the North Song, who had the Heaven Inspire Army, the four hundred thousand elite soldiers, at his command.

Other than the Four Great Legends, a ton of genius and talents were also sifted out from that imperial examination, who were temporarily outshone by the dazzling Four Great Legends. But after all those years, their career developed quite good. Three of them were already the provincial magistrates; four were generals; sixteen were central officials working in the capital

Thus, it was no exaggeration to say that the result of the forty-second imperial examination actually influenced the fate of the entire Western Qin Empire during the next few decades.

It was attributable to those brilliant talents selected from that examination that the empire had survived and thrived during the past twenty years. Especially eight years ago, when Emperor Qin Ming found that he was running out of his lifespan, he forced a practice session on the Dragon-commanding Skill in the vain hope of breaking through the Sage Realm and turning immortal. He then suffered an Energy Deviation and succumbed to his Internal Demons, causing the empire to take a blow. But thankfully, those politicians from the new generation became the backbone of the Western Qin Empire and helped the country pull through the crisis.

And incontestably, Li Gang, the Sword Whiz, was the most genius one among all the examinees that year.

It could be said that the glory he had in the old days was unparalleled. Known as the Top One Handsome Man in the Empire, Li Gang was the brightest star at that time. Otherwise, Wu Guiren, the Divinely Grievous Spear, who was equally smart and elegant, would not have lost to Li Gang in love. After all, Wu Guiren was a famous, handsome man as well. He had also made a stir in the capital with his outstanding talents.

But in specifics, the fours official career somewhat differed.

Except for Wu Guiren, the Divinely Grievous Spear, who had disappeared from public sight, among the rest of the three, the Heavenly Exclaiming Broadsword had controlled the eight hundred thousand imperial soldiers, and his relatives had wedged their way into almost all the military institutions in the Western Qi. The Domineeringly Demonic Halberd was taking command at the border areas, and his Heaven Inspire Army could already rank amongst the top six on the Divine Land, which had crushed the rampant heavy-armored soldiers of the North Song Empire and made them no longer able to hold their chin up. The most glorious Sword Whiz, Li Gang, however, progressed slower than the first two. Although Changan ranked amongst the top out of the score of provinces in the Western Qin, he, the magistrate of Changan, was still in the system of civil officials, so his fame was gradually eclipsed by that of the Heavenly Exclaiming Broadsword and the Domineeringly Demonic Halberd. Adding that Li Gang deliberately kept a low profile and had not demonstrated his martial faculties for ages, many people already forgot the Sword Whiz.On the contrary, Li Gang was remembered as a considerable laughingstock who divorced his wif