Chapter 41: The Academy Grand Examination! Perfect!

Thousands of people entered the examination hall.

Each person had a separate exam cubicle. It was very simple, only about three square meters.

There was a chair and a desk, and nothing else.

Next, the examiners spoke.

There were three examiners in total. The chief examiner was Deputy Elder Yuan Hu of Sky Scholar City. The left vice-chief examiner was Li Wenchang, the Minister of the Bureau of Translators of the Ministry of Rites of the Great Xia Empire. The right vice-chief examiner was Du Wenlong, the Censor of the Three Southern Provinces.

The three examiners spoke concisely and powerfully.

Especially the chief examiner Yuan Hu. His few words were thought-provoking and made everyone feel excited.

“A mind for heaven and earth, a purpose for the people, continuing the lost teachings of past sages, and securing peace for all ages!” Chief Examiner Yuan Hu concluded, filling all the examinees with passion and making their bodies tremble.

“Distribute the papers!”

With the order given.

Hundreds of Examination Guards began handing out the exam papers.

At this time, the chief examiner Yuan Hu returned to his seat. His entire body trembled slightly. He even covered his heart with his hand, as if unable to contain his inner turmoil.

Vice-examiner Li Wenchang was surprised. It was just a grand examination, why be so excited? This was Deputy Elder Yuan Hu of Sky Scholar City, a great figure. For someone like Lord Yuan Hu, this Academy Grand Examination of the three provinces wasn’t a big scene.

“Grandmaster, what’s wrong?” Li Wenchang asked with concern.

“It’s nothing.” Yuan Hu waved his hand, then closed his eyes, desperately trying to suppress the shock in his heart.

“Something big has happened. Something earth-shattering has definitely happened.” His heart trembled.

Because the exam papers had already been finalized, but half an hour ago, Skyhaven Library City sent Eagle Riders to deliver a new set of Classic Texts Examination papers.

It definitely wasn’t due to a leaked exam or cheating.

Something major must have happened, leading to a last-minute change of papers.

Moreover, the final question of the Classic Texts Examination was too subversive!

So this Academy Grand Examination was not just an exam anymore. It was a major political signal.

Something big had definitely happened!

Of course, these secrets were known only to Yuan Hu alone, and he could not tell anyone.

However, he truly did not know what kind of major event had occurred.

…

In just a few minutes, eight thousand exam papers were distributed.

“Check your papers. Report immediately if there are any omissions or stains.”

All examinees quickly checked the papers in their hands.

It really was a sea of questions. The Classic Texts Examination paper had a whole sixteen pages, with over a hundred questions.

All examinees finished checking.

The examiners began checking the time.

There was a large Pedestal Clock, a sundial, and an hourglass.

Time.

“Classic Texts Examination, begin!”

“Dong!”

With the ringing of a bell.

All examinees began answering questions quickly. Although the exam time was a full four hours, over a hundred questions was simply too much.

The Classic Texts Examination was all about rote memorization. After hundreds of years of exams, the ordinary questions had all been used up.

So the questions could only become more obscure and more difficult.

Also, the eleven classic texts were not fixed. They changed every few decades.

Some texts were removed, some were added.

But for every Academy Grand Examination, the questions for the Classic Texts Examination became more and more obscure.

Sure enough, waves of groans came from the entire examination hall.

Clearly, some people had looked at the last few questions early.

The last fifteen points of the Classic Texts Examination were completely designed by the examiners to be difficult for the examinees. They were so hard you’d doubt if the content was even in the classic texts.

Those were not something rote memorization could solve. They were convoluted, with several twists and turns.

One question involved several allusions and several points of knowledge. If you missed even one, the question was finished.

…

Wuque answered the questions swiftly.

He had memorized all 1,030,000 words of the eleven classics.

So these questions were completely easy for him.

In less than half an hour.

The first one hundred and ten questions were all answered.

The last ten questions remained, the part specifically designed to be tricky for examinees, totaling twenty points.

The first, the second, the third…

The first nine questions were no problem at all.

After reading the final question, Wuque couldn’t help but freeze.

“The human heart is perilous, the Dao heart is subtle. Only with Refinement and Oneness, one can firmly grasp the Mean. This Sixteen-Word Heart Method, a thousand years ago, had its third sentence deleted. What is your view of this?”

This… this question was terrifying.

It was worth a full ten points?!

This was different from previous exams.

Before, the final question of the Classic Texts Grand Examination was worth at most three points.

This time, it took up ten points?!

But that wasn’t important. What mattered was that this question was not normal. It was absolutely not normal.

It was even subversive.

First, this question was not in the eleven classic texts!

Everyone in the world only knew the twelve-word heart method. No one had ever heard of any sixteen-word heart method.

Over the past thousand years, the eleven classic texts had been added to or deleted from several times.

But there had always only been the twelve-word heart method. There had never been any sixteen-word heart method.

Ask ten thousand people, and ten thousand would not know about a sixteen-word heart method.

But… Wuque knew.

This was content not found in any of the classic texts. It came from the memories of the Great Xia Empire’s former top traitor, Grandmaster Mu Yuan’ai.

Over a thousand years ago, it was indeed a sixteen-word heart method. Later, because of the leader of the Phantom Society, the Scholarium deleted this sentence and destroyed all related classic texts.

The Phantom Society, or rather, its founder Ji Xin of the Dark Academy, always upheld Refinement and Oneness.

Whenever he taught, he often spoke the phrase “Refinement and Oneness,” and he even wrote a special book about it. Even in the texts of the Dark Academy, many parts upheld the spirit of Refinement and Oneness, as if it had become one of his trademarks.

Later, the Dark Academy brought chaos to the world, triggering a civil war within the Scholarium and igniting a great war of civilizations in the Eastern World. After decades of fighting, with countless costs and lives lost, Skyhaven Library City finally won the War of Light, destroyed the Dark Academy, and became the only legitimate authority.

All content related to the Phantom Society and the Dark Academy was destroyed.

The four words “Refinement and Oneness” were erased from all texts.

From then on, there was only the Twelve-Word Heart Method, and no longer the Sixteen-Word Heart Method.

But now, in the Academy Grand Examination, they openly brought back “Refinement and Oneness.”

This… this was not normal!

Wuque closed his eyes, entering thought and reflection.

Next, he began to answer the final question.

Because he knew that for this Classic Texts Examination, all the essence, the very core, lay in this one question.

The answer had to be careful, it had to be stunning, unforgettable at first glance.

Wuque wrote several hundred words. First, he criticized the Dark Academy’s misuse of these four words, which was a firm and correct stance.

This was actually not taboo; although few knew these four words, anyone with access to the Scholarium’s higher-ups would know.

Moreover, the reason this question appeared in the Academy Grand Examination was clearly to correct past mistakes and restore the Sixteen-Word Heart Method.

Among the eight thousand candidates in this examination hall, fewer than five could understand this high-level shift in Sky Scholar City.

But this wasn’t the most crucial part.

The key to this question was to propose a new interpretation of these four words, because Skyhaven Library City wanted to use them.

The leader of the Dark Academy used this phrase every day, so you had to give a completely new explanation and definition, branding their version as heresy.

Thus, this new explanation, this new definition, was extremely important and critical.

It was entirely about the authority and truth of Sky Scholar City.

And regarding this new definition, Wuque had almost the perfect answer in mind.

It was Master Wang Yangming’s annotation from the “Record of Practice.”

Oneness is the intent of Refinement; Refinement is the effort of Oneness. There is no Oneness outside of Refinement.

There is no Oneness outside of Refinement. The character “Refine” comes from “rice.” Using rice as an analogy: to make the rice pure and white is the intent of Oneness; however, without the work of pounding, winnowing, sifting, and selecting—the effort of Refinement—it cannot become pure and white. Pounding, winnowing, sifting, and selecting are the efforts of Refinement, yet all aim to make the rice pure and white.

This was the wisdom of Master Wang Yangming’s entire life.

He was a philosopher of unmatched talent in China for a thousand years, even called the last sage of China.

This answer was truly exceptional!

After writing the last word, Wuque let out a long sigh of relief.

This Classic Texts Examination paper had over a hundred questions, but the core essence was only in this final one.

And Wuque used the essence from the “Record of Practice” to reinterpret these four words!

Perfect!

Absolutely perfect! Stunning!

…

Next, Wuque checked the examination paper from beginning to end.

He confirmed there were no mistakes; at least the first ninety points were spot on.

They were all rote memorization, and Wuque’s answers were exactly the standard ones.

For the final question, Wuque used Master Wang Yangming’s answer.

If this couldn’t get a high score, no one could.

Although Fu Tieyi was clever, Wuque firmly refused to believe his attainment could surpass Master Wang Yangming’s.

With that, Wuque’s first subject, the Classic Texts Examination, was over.

He did not hand in his paper early; instead, he flipped it over on the desk and quietly pondered.

At that moment, almost all the candidates in the hall were writing feverishly, except for two people.

The other was Fu Tieyi, who had also finished his paper and looked confident.

But his expression was a mix of excitement, seriousness, and agitation.

Because he, too, sensed something groundbreaking from the final question.

And he was thinking about the same issue as Wuque.

A very advanced issue, one that not only concerned the upcoming Academy Grand Examination but also the future direction of Sky Scholar City.

Among all the candidates, only Wuque and Fu Tieyi felt the terror of this final question.

No matter how smart the other candidates were, they were ordinary in this aspect.

This tested not just intelligence but political insight and strategic thinking.

Several hours later!

“Dong dong dong…” The bell rang once more.

“The examination is over. All candidates, stand up and turn around.”

“Anyone who disobeys will be treated as cheating.”

All the candidates stood up and turned their backs to their papers.

Then, the Examination Guards came forward, one by one, to seal each candidate’s name on the paper, put it in a bag, and finally collect the papers.

“All candidates, leave the examination hall!”

The first day of the examination officially ended.

…