Chapter 289: Written exam

The exam began.

Li Qi held his brush, facing the written test paper that had been distributed, and began to answer the questions honestly.

However, he did not know that someone's gaze was fixed on him from behind.

Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor and an official of unknown identity stood together, supervising the students to prevent cheating.

However, while they were ostensibly supervising the students, their gaze was almost entirely focused on Li Qi.

"How is Li Cheng's preparation?" the mysterious person asked Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor.

"Everything is ready, not even the east wind is lacking," Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor said with a smile.

"Oh? What kind of questions did Li Cheng arrange to be so confident?" the mysterious person continued to press.

Their conversation was conducted through a secret technique, so others could not hear it, and they did not worry about gossip. The only concern was that their voices might affect the students taking the exam.

Hearing this question, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor smiled and said, "This Li Qi is the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain. He once gained fame at the state banquet, debating with Assistant Instructor Liu Junyi, Liu Junyi, without falling behind. This shows his proficiency in ancient texts, his mastery of Shaman Dao rituals and the art of governance, and his concurrent practice of Shaman Dao and pedestrian术法. He can be considered well-versed in many fields, truly worthy of being the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain. He indeed has a high level of skill."

He frankly admitted Li Qi's skill, as it was impossible to hide.

To set these questions, he even watched the video of Li Qi debating the crowd at the state banquet welcoming the Great Shaman Yun Fang of Shaman God Mountain several times, specifically trying to figure out his weaknesses.

It's just that this Young Master is truly mysterious. His first appearance was in Guangyang of Baiyue, where he reportedly presided over a Grand Ritual by himself. Before that, there had been no mention of his name whatsoever.

It must be that Shaman God Mountain deliberately concealed him.

They tried to use a Divine Ability to trace his past, but it was impossible. A Great Power had personally obscured his future and past. While Shaman Dao excels at divination, and the human Dao also dabbles in it, they are not as skilled as the Great Shamanes, so they couldn't trace him.

The mysterious person also knew the key points, so he was very curious about how Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor had arranged things, and how it was 'foolproof'.

"Nothing special, just difficult," Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor said with a smile.

"I summarized the areas Li Qi excels in and consulted a large number of ancient texts. Since he is good at these areas, I started from there, with various truncated questions. Even I would have to look up books and write as I go to finish them."

"He is someone who can contend with Liu Junyi. You know what kind of person Liu Junyi is. What if he actually answers these ancient texts and scriptures?" The mysterious person was a little uneasy.

He had even heard of Liu Junyi's reputation. This person had been pre-booked by the Ministry of Rites early on. If he could maintain such excellence after reaching the Fifth Grade, he would have a position as a Vice Minister in the Ministry of Rites.

He was only an Eighth Grade now, which showed how much the Ministry of Rites valued him.

Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor then said, "I also considered that point, so the written test is just an appetizer. For his practical exam, I chose the three lives ancient mirror for him."

The mysterious person was surprised by this.

He raised his voice slightly: "Does he have the qualifications to activate the three lives ancient mirror?"

Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor smiled and nodded: "He's a Genius, isn't he? When I compiled the data, I reported him as going from Ninth Grade to Eighth Grade in one year. If you look back a hundred cycles, how many people went from Ninth Grade to Eighth Grade in one year?"

Honestly, no one believed that this Young Master of Shaman God Mountain went from Ninth Grade to Eighth Grade in one year, but they just assumed Li Qi was newly entering Ninth Grade when he was in Guangyang.

No one believed he was newly entering Ninth Grade at that time, but he just dealt with the situation as if that were the case.

"Since the three lives ancient mirror is being used, then he should not be able to pass this hurdle." Upon hearing this, the mysterious person nodded with relief and stopped asking questions.

Both of them knew very well what that was.

Naturally called an ancient mirror, it was naturally passed down from ancient times.

From the worldview of the people of this world, to be called an ancient mirror, it was indeed very old. It was said to be from the time of more than ten generations of Human Emperors ago.

This point was quite peculiar. Although the Human Emperors of the human Dao had long Lifespans for ordinary people, they were very short-lived compared to the First Grade cultivators of other Daos. Human Emperors did not seem to be immortal, and the specific reason was unknown.

Some Shaman God of that era were still alive, but the Human Emperor had already changed more than ten times.

More than ten generations of Human Emperors ago, it wasn't even Tang Nation, but another Dynasty. In the Western Buddhist Kingdom, there was a Monk named Kasyapa Matanga, who, with great perseverance, transported scriptures and gradually spread the Buddha-Dharma from the Central Plains, translating the twenty billion scriptures of the Shramana word for word, which became widely circulated in the Central Plains and gained many followers in the human Dao lands.

At that time, he traveled from the Western Regions all the way to Luoyang, building temples and extensively spreading the Buddha-Dharma, and was called the 'Source of Buddhism in the Central Land'.

However, being an outsider Monk after all, Kasyapa Matanga, in order to build temples and Pagodas in Luoyang, respectfully presented tribute to the Human Emperor of the time, among which was the three lives ancient mirror.

The Human Emperor at that time allowed them to spread their teachings and granted them a piece of land to build temples. That temple has now become its own sect, and its influence spreads throughout the Central Plains, the East Sea, and even the Southeastern Demon Clan. These Buddhist lineages all refer to it as the 'Ancestral Court'.

The Human Emperor at that time could not have been unaware of the consequences, yet still bestowed this land to Kasyapa Matanga to build temples. Although the reasons behind it are unknown, it shows that this precious mirror, being presented as a tribute at the time, must have played a role.

To this day, this three lives ancient mirror has reached the Third Grade, but it has not yet developed sentience, and it is unlikely to in the future, so it remains in Chang'an, serving as a public artifact for use.

This mirror has no destructive power, but it has one point: it can trace three lives, peering into one's past, present, and future, and then finding the weak points of one's Dao Heart.

As for what to do with this discovery, that depends on the holder's ability. This mirror is only responsible for finding weaknesses; how to utilize that weakness is the user's business.

And now, the people of Tang Nation use this mirror for self-reflection.

After applying and getting approval, one can go to the three lives ancient mirror, clearly see one's weak points, and then go back to self-reflect and remedy those weaknesses.

Therefore, this mirror is very popular. Although the energy required to activate it is considerable, leading to an expensive price, visitors still come in an endless stream.

This time, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor used the opportunity of the practical exam to have Li Qi look into this three lives precious mirror, then find his weaknesses. Then, as the examiner, he would personally take action, using a demonic thoughts to break through Li Qi's Dao Heart, firmly suppressing him.

For this, he took out a wisp of Demonic Qi from a Nascent Heavenly Demon of a Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations, which was also a Sixth Grade existence.

Demonic Qi from a Sixth Grade Heavenly Demon, and it was a Nascent species of a Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations, plus the Dao Heart weaknesses seen by the three lives ancient mirror—even a true Sixth Grade cultivator wouldn't dare to say they could pass steadily, let alone a mere Eighth Grade.

If the Demonic Qi invades the Dao Heart, then no matter how much of a Genius one is, it's impossible to cross such a huge chasm to resist, and it will certainly leave huge after-effects.

To have the Demonic Qi of a Nascent Heavenly Demon of a Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations attack one's Dao Heart is no ordinary injury. It just depends on whether this Young Master has the ability to walk out of it on his own.

A Dao Heart injury is something others cannot help with; even his Master cannot do anything.

This was the reason why these two were relieved.

Even if someone investigates later, there will be no problem. If someone asks, they will answer that it's because Li Qi was too outstanding, and they simply set an exam standard that an outstanding person should have. The rules of Imperial Academy have always been like this.

But they didn't expect Li Qi to be a paper tiger. How could they be blamed for this?

As for causing a diplomatic incident?

No, it won't happen.

No one died, it's just a Young Master who got injured during an exam and suffered some after-effects. Diplomatic dispute?

If Shaman God Mountain has the guts, then start a war.

Tang Nation suffered three Third Grade Great Officers killed in a surprise attack last time, and they didn't dare to lightly start a war, swallowing their anger.

Shaman God Mountain merely lost a Young Master; they will certainly have to endure it.

The cause and effect were all clearly laid out.

Everyone was smart; they wouldn't do something brainless. There were also Great Officers in the court who supported this matter, after all, Zhu Fengdan's successive slaying of three Third Grade officials had made many people gnash their teeth.

Great Shaman Yun Fang had stopped Li Qi from coming to Tang Nation precisely because he feared such things would happen.

Tang Nation's rules were strict, so attacks from outside the rules were impossible, but internal attacks within the rules were inevitable.

Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor smiled and said, "With these two layers of arrangements, let alone the three lives ancient mirror later, just the previous exam questions alone, even if Liu Junyi himself came, he might not be able to solve them..."

Meanwhile, Li Qi was completely unaware of all this.

He honestly answered the questions, honestly taking the exam.

As for the questions...

They were quite interesting, not difficult, but not that simple either.

Most of them were rote questions, though some were truncated and inverted, causing a bit of confusion. But these ancient texts...

He had basically read them all.

In Guangyang, Li Qi couldn't even remember how many books he had read.

To complete a Grand Ritual, he directly buried himself in the Shaman God Mountain's library for more than half a year, devouring various secret texts and deeply hidden ancient scrolls. He and the rabbit both dug them out and studied them, finding useful parts.

As a Ninth Grade, to hold a Grand Ritual, he had to do this because he had no room for error; any mistake meant death.

And the habit of reading wasn't a day or two's work.

Li Qi read whenever he had nothing to do. Even on the journey back from Baiyue to Shaman God Mountain, he meticulously read for six to seven hours every day.

When he was in Great Deer Kingdom, he sometimes read for ten hours a day, reading while walking.

As a former researcher, Li Qi knew one thing deeply.

Knowledge is power.

Moreover, he also had True Knowledge. Reading was directly infused into his brain; he never forgot what he read and could even retrieve information.

Under such a habit, these purely memorization-based questions posed no difficulty for him. He didn't feel there was any problem, and simply finished answering and submitted his paper.

He felt no problem, but the two people watching him answer from above discovered a big problem.

"Li Cheng?! These are the difficult questions you set!?" The mysterious person became anxious.

But within two quarters of an hour of entering the examination hall, Li Qi had already finished answering and left.

Thousands of candidates, the first one out of the examination hall!

Where were the promised ultimate difficult questions?!

"Don't worry, he might have just given up because he couldn't answer. Let me go check his paper." Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's heart was filled with surprise and uncertainty; he couldn't believe Li Qi's submission speed, so he could only guess that he knew nothing at all and just scribbled something down to get it over with.

So he quickly went down and looked at Li Qi's test paper.

He saw that the scriptures served as the outline, and the sentences as the details. The outline was clear, and the meaning of the text was self-evident. It incorporated the theories of ancient and modern Daos. Although what was recorded was only a few words, the main idea did not deviate from the sages, and its purity and firmness showed great skill.

Looking further down, regarding practical skills, it incorporated the words of a hundred schools of thought, including turtle divination and calendrical phenomena, subtle and precise techniques, profound numerology, historical records and insect scripts, and even miscellaneous music, harmonious rhythms, agriculture, industry, medicine, water conservancy, and various crafts and trades.

It covered geographical mountains and classics, profound texts and Buddhist scriptures, extensively referencing various records, and studying the theories of the nine schools and a hundred Masters.

The richness of his classics and arts, the specialization of his techniques, and his broad and insightful wisdom were indescribable. He was also proficient in various skills, truly knowing answers to all questions and mastering all arts!

Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor was dumbfounded.

How was this possible? How could there be such a polymath in the world?!

In reality, it was indeed impossible.

Li Qi was just a armchair strategist; he spoke eloquently about these things, but in reality, he had never even seen what many of these things specifically looked like.

For example, for the method of forging and ironworking, he wrote: "Entering the fire and wielding the hammer, the dross becomes hollow and is removed, taking its Divine Qi as a medium. After bonding, it can never be broken unless it is glowing red and cut by an axe. When raw iron's water and fire are not balanced, its quality is not firm. When it comes out of the fire, it is quenched in clear water. When water and fire meet, iron becomes steel, named 'Strong Steel'."

It sounded very logical, but he had never even seen what 'taking its Divine Qi as a medium' meant. He probably wouldn't even recognize the Divine Qi of iron casting if it were placed in front of him.

But it didn't matter.

This was originally a written exam, to be answered on paper. What's wrong with being an armchair strategist on paper?

Knowing a lot isn't a bad thing, and Li Qi doesn't show off all day; he just loves to read.

His dream, his goal, was to explore this endless myriad heavens and see what this wonderful world truly looked like.

Seeing it with his own eyes was too costly and too risky. He would wait until his cultivation was higher to see it.

At this point in time, reading was quite good.

But Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor didn't know.

He looked at Li Qi's retreating back in a panic.

"Don't worry... Don't worry, the three lives ancient mirror is not something that can be compensated by knowledge. Knowing more is useless..." He comforted himself.

But looking at the test paper in his hand, his heart trembled again.

Shaman God Mountain, is it really that powerful?

At this moment, Li Qi didn't care about these things, because as the first one out of the examination hall, he was being interviewed by reporters.

It was a custom, perhaps. The first one out of the examination hall would be surrounded by everyone, and many people would come to interview them, to see if the questions were difficult this time.

This question was pure nonsense, but everyone just loved to hear it.

Li Qi, surrounded by a crowd, took the microphone: "Ahem, the questions for this exam were actually very simple. I hope everyone can relax, respond calmly, be full of confidence, and strive to achieve a result they are satisfied with."

The media beside him looked bored.

They wished a mad scholar would come out, crying and shouting, accusing the examiners, or revealing some questions, preferably complaining about some injustice, to create a big news story.

Unfortunately, no. This kid's officialese was more practiced than theirs.

After Li Qi finished speaking, the disappointed media let him go.

He was too lazy to bother with these people. He retrieved his terminal in front of the examination hall and quickly rushed to the next examination hall.

The next examination hall... Huh? In a Buddhist temple?