Becoming a Sage Starts From Condensing the Essence of Time - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: The Monument Moves as the Answer Is Written, Sword Qj Fills the Universe (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The rain fell on the mandarin duck tiles on the solidarity plain, and specks of soft sound accompanied them.

The cold spring breeze blew in the simple numbered room, making one’s body feel cold and goosebumps rise.

In the initial reading of the papers, An Le already had some confidence in the first question of the Spring Quarter Examination. However, the last question made him frown.

Whether to go on the North Expedition or not… This question actually appeared in the Spring Quarter Examination examination question. The answer it looked for was not really a standard answer. It could even be said to be a statement of their stand.

“Prime Minister Qin, this question… Could it be the question set by Prime Minister Qin?”

An Le chuckled and shook his head. He had roughly guessed this.

He slowly shook off the train of thought for this question in his mind. In fact, for An Le, the answer to this question was almost obvious.

This answer would definitely not be appreciated by the person who set the question. It was even possible that the person who set the question would give zero marks.

Therefore, An Le needed to obtain all the points he needed from other places. This was the safest way. If he threw away a big question and obtained all the other points, he could steadily advance to List A.

After grinding the ink, An Le dipped the wolf hair into the pen and began to answer the questions on the paper.

Perhaps it was because of his cultivation, but his memory had improved a lot. The books he had read were all imprinted in his mind. Be it the original reading memories of this body or the reading memories that had transmigrated, they all surfaced in his mind.

Dyeing the wolf hair with ink, he wrote on the snow-white paper. Rustling, he recalled softly, like a person dragging his legs in the desert, outlining and leaving all kinds of traces.

The first round of the Spring Quarter Examination was very complicated. The content of the books such as “Literary Words”, “Sacred Language”, “Element Scripture”, and “Demon Theory” were all within the scope of the questions.

“How vast was his virtue! The people could find no name for it. How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted! ”

For example, such a question came from the famous section of “Sacred Language”. The question was naturally standard and was considered a free-point question. An Le thought for a moment and understood the meaning of it. The sage was too great, and the people could not think of words to praise him. His achievements were too outstanding, like a light shining in all directions.

When answering the questions, he naturally had to praise the education of the ancient sages first. He had to name what the sages had done that was beneficial to the people and what virtuous abilities they had used. Then, he had to express his determination to learn from the sages and do great things that benefited the people.

There were actually many such questions. The main thing was to look at the topic.

For example, there was a simple question: “Water, Fire, Metal, Wood, Earth, and Crops.”

This was a question from the Element Scripture that needed to be carefully examined. It looked like a simple question, but the problem was actually quite complicated. Water could irrigate, fire could cook, metal could cut, wood could craft, earth could plant, and crops could nurture. It was the six elements that were born naturally from heaven and earth to nurture all living beings.

Therefore, he had to think about it. Good governance and politics were to support the people. The politics of the sages had to help the people deal with the six elements and arrange them. He had to get the wind and rain to be smooth and the country would be prosperous and the people would be safe. After solving this question, it was naturally easy to answer.

An Le ground the ink and dipped the pen in it. He wrote on the roll of paper. He did not use the Banqiao text, but a proper font that emphasized neatness and clarity.

The first impression was still quite important.

Every question was actually the examination of the candidate by the question setter. It was a process of secretly competing with each other, and there were even hidden thoughts of the question setter.

There were many questions that the question setter only picked a small section and let the examinee answer. If one did not read the entire text or even recite it silently, it was very easy to answer wrongly.

For example, one was titled: “Acquiring the predecessor’s weapon knowledge and obtaining the word ‘literary’.”

This question was extremely sinister. It hid the second half of the question. The original sentence was “A scholar knows his weapon before literature.” If he did not know the entire sentence, it was very likely that he would answer in the wrong direction and give the examiner the impression that the question was unclear.

Doing the questions was a process of scheming against each other. However, with An Le’s current mental strength, he did not find it difficult.

In the Niwan Palace between his eyebrows, the Sword Furnace contained a sonorous sword qi.

His mental power even slowly strengthened during the process of doing the questions again and again. Doing the questions nourished his mind. In fact, the aura of calligraphy and ink spread and was absorbed by the Ink Pool Sword at his waist.

The Ink Pool Sword was a book-scented sword. There was fragrance in the painting and in the book. It could nurture the Ink Pool Sword.

Unknowingly, time passed like sand between his fingers.

Night fell and the spring rain pattered. In the numbered room of the Literary

Department’s examination hall, the lamps prepared by the candidates lit up

one after another, like stars in the night sky.

Heavy curtains densely blocked out the lights.

The wind was unpredictable, and the people had just calmed down. Tomorrow, the peach blossoms should be full.

When the questions were distributed, the outside world also received the specific questions.

Many Confucian scholars were already analyzing the questions and answering them. After some candidates left the examination hall, they would know the answers.

Of course, most of the people were purely curious about the questions.

Lin Residence, Heavenly Wave Water Pavilion.

Li You’an, Fourth Master Lin, and Madam Hua were chatting. The three of them admired the spring rain in the Water Pavilion and watched some unique questions under the candlelight.

“Great Zhao has moved south for 500 years, but Emperor Yuan Meng is still powerful. He has countless valiant generals under him. Question: Do we continue the North Expedition or not?”

Madam Hua lazily recited the question.

A playful chuckle immediately sounded from the Heavenly Wave Water Pavilion.

“It’s indeed a question that only Prime Minister Qin can come up with..”