Seeking Truth with a Sword

"The retest results for this year are out."

「Late at night, in Chang'an Imperial City, the Honglu Temple.」

A tall Instructor, smiling and holding a thick stack of papers, entered the great hall at a brisk pace.

"The scores have been tallied?"

In the hall, the Academic Palace Instructors, who had spent the afternoon grading exams and were now yawning and drinking wine, instantly perked up, rising to ask, "How many passed?"

"One thousand seven hundred."

The tall Instructor placed the sheets with the candidates' scores on the table and said casually, "Additionally, eight hundred people managed to damage their exam papers to the pre-specified degree."

An Instructor clicked his tongue. "Eight hundred? That's a bit fewer than expected."

"Well, the papers are made from the hide of fourth-class demons."

The tall Instructor waved his hand nonchalantly, then said mysteriously to his colleagues, "By the way, guess what the highest score in this year's retest was?"

"The highest score..."

The group of Instructors pondered. "Surely not two hundred and eighty?"

The maximum score for the Academic Palace retest was three hundred points, with different questions carrying different values. Questions on topics like the sayings of the sages were worth relatively few points, while those testing knowledge of Yu Law and moral concepts were worth more.

"No." The tall Instructor shook his head, feigning mystery. Only after his colleagues shot him disdainful looks did he laugh and announce, "Full marks."

"Full marks?"

The other Instructors exclaimed in astonishment, "Not a single mistake?"

"Not a single mistake." The tall Instructor smacked his lips. "And that student from Yizhou named Li Ang even turned in his paper early..."

"Li Ang... I have an impression of him. He was the one who took second place in the preliminary exam, right? Dr. Chao Wen Yuan has been praising him to the skies lately. If Dr. Chao wasn't concerned about the potential negative impact, he'd probably be at Li Ang's door right now, trying to recruit him as a disciple ahead of time."

"Haha, I remember too. During the Imperial Examination section of the preliminary exam, he was dragged across the finish line by his horse and still received an Upper Class A."

"Speaking of which, the student who came first in the preliminary exam... his name was... He Fanshuang? Why does that name sound familiar..."

The Instructors chatted idly, waiting for the staff from the Ministry of Rites to arrive and post the finalized lists in various places around Chang'an City.

"What are you chatting about?"

TAT-TAT-TAT. The sound of footsteps approached from afar.

Dressed in a long robe, Xi Yangyu gracefully entered the hall. Six three-tiered bamboo food containers, exuding a rich fragrance, floated beside him.

"My home cook just prepared these dishes. Oxtail stew, 'Hallway Lamb,' sliced raw fish, okra soup... Everyone, please eat while it's hot."

With a flick of his right hand, the lids of the floating food containers opened automatically and landed gently on the table. The dishes, bowls, plates, chopsticks, and spoons inside all flew out under the influence of his Telekinesis, arranging themselves across the entire table in the blink of an eye.

"Thank you, Mr. Xi." The Instructors were indeed hungry and didn't stand on ceremony, readily picking up their bowls and chopsticks.

Xi Yangyu's residence in Chang'an's Shengye Square was magnificent, and his daily expenditures on food and clothing were lavish, hardly befitting an Academic Palace Instructor. His home cook, for instance, was hired at great expense from a renowned Su Hang Restaurant, earning an annual salary of thousands of strings of coins.

The other three Masters of the Academic Palace, along with some highly respected Doctors, scoffed at this. However, Xi Yangyu maintained decent relations with other Doctors and Instructors. After all, he frequently invited his colleagues to dine and drink, and always presented gifts during festivals.

"Oh yes, speaking of the retest..." Xi Yangyu paused, picked up the sheet bearing the results with his right hand, and raised an eyebrow. "First place, Li Ang from Yizhou?"

"Yes. That student is indeed excellent. I've heard he even comes from a prominent medical family."

"Yizhou, hmm...?" Xi Yangyu murmured to himself. His right hand, holding the paper, tightened its grip slightly. His eyes narrowed subconsciously as the face of a familiar, refined gentleman flashed through his mind.

In the exaggeratedly long left sleeve of his garment, a breeze inexplicably began to stir. Bathed in the candlelight that illuminated the great hall, something seemed to twist and writhe within the cuff of his sleeve.

"Mr. Xi?"

A colleague's puzzled voice rang in his ears. Xi Yangyu snapped back to his senses, and the shadows under his left sleeve instantly subsided.

"What a pity, what a pity." Xi Yangyu shook his head and set down the paper, sighing softly.

The tall Master asked inquisitively, "What's a pity?"

"A pity for this student." Xi Yangyu heaved a long sigh, took two ancient-looking books from his bosom, placed them on the table, and said faintly, "His trigram is the Skull Sword..."

The Instructors instinctively looked towards the books, only to see their titles were "Taixu Miaolin Scripture" and "Spiritual Treasure Wisdom Body Observation Scripture."

"When drunk, we should sing, for life is transient!"

"To make the most of life's pleasures, let's not idle gold cups in the presence of the moon!"

「At a restaurant in Yanshou Square」

Students from Yizhou, Xuanzhou, Xiangzhou, and several other State Mansions, all relatively familiar with one another, were gathered in a private room on the top floor, boisterously raising their cups and drinking.

Yang Yu recited poetry loudly. Zhai Yiming tapped the table with his hand, and Ji Linglang accompanied him by tapping a bowl with her chopsticks. Song Shaoyuan, looking thoroughly drunk with his eyes closed and face flushed, leaned against the windowsill.

It has the air of a KTV.

Li Ang helplessly shook his head, hiding in a corner and continuing to drink juice with Chai Cuiqiao.

One could only say that no matter how times change, the essence of entertainment remains the same.

Actually, Li Ang could understand why the others were letting loose at this moment. The retest would pass two thousand five hundred out of five thousand candidates—still a fifty percent chance.

If they passed, they would be just one step away from the Academic Palace. If they failed... an entire year of effort would have been for nothing.

For some students nearing the Academic Palace's maximum enrollment age, failure meant losing the chance of a lifetime.

The mental pressure was immense, no less than what Imperial Examination candidates felt the night before their results were announced—perhaps even greater. Newly-appointed Advanced Scholars, for example, could only begin their careers as a Secretary in the Secretary Province, a Standard Ninth Rank position. Academic Palace Disciples, however, upon graduation, could choose their starting positions freely within the Three Provinces and Six Ministries if they wished to enter officialdom.

For instance, the senior disciple Cheng Juxiu had mentioned previously went directly to the Crown Prince's Palace to serve as a Left Spring Palace Middle Officer—a Lower Fifth Rank Crown Prince's Assistant. His entire family could benefit from his influence.

From any perspective, the tension, apprehension, anticipation, and unease of the students present were all understandable.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

The Haotian Bell rang out.

An attendant in the uniform of the Advanced Scholar Group hurriedly burst through the private room door and shouted to Yang Yu, "Yang Qilang! The Academic Palace retest results are out!"

The noise within the private room ceased abruptly.

Yang Yu nervously set down his wine cup, his lips turning white.

Zhai Yiming shot up from his seat, and Song Shaoyuan's eyes snapped open.

"Let's go, everyone." Yang Yu took a deep breath, quietly smoothed his rumpled collar, and walked out of the restaurant.

The group of candidates followed him out in single file. Almost simultaneously, throngs of students emerged from other workshop districts. They exchanged glances, silent, all converging towards the Vermilion Bird Gate and other designated locations.

"Young Master..."

"It'll be alright." Li Ang gently patted Chai Cuiqiao's unconsciously clenched hand and said calmly, "The Academic Palace... I'm getting in."