Translator: CinderTL
Xu Sanyan sat obediently in his chair, gazing at the unchanging sky outside the window. Here, the weather never varied: perpetually clear blue skies during the day and utterly silent, pitch-black darkness at night.
There was no transition between day and night, no twilight or dawn—only an abrupt shift from one to the other, as if the world operated like a pre-programmed machine, rigidly following its predetermined course.
Time seemed to flow at an unnatural pace. Though it felt like only a short while had passed, the sky had already turned black.
Xu Sanyan glanced at the panel and froze. His lifespan had jumped from nineteen to twenty!
Had he aged a year?
A chill ran down his spine. Since his last birthday, barely six months had passed in the outside world. Yet here, in just one month, half a year had elapsed outside?
Time was behaving strangely!
But it clearly felt like time moved faster here than outside. The panel couldn't lie, so his perception must be flawed.
A wave of urgency washed over Xu Sanyan. His physical body was still out there.
Though his current cultivation level allowed him to survive without food or water, the longer he remained, the more he feared some unforeseen catastrophe.
This place felt eerily unsettling.
The old man surveyed the room, placing his ever-present discipline ruler on the wooden table before him. In a sharp, thin voice, he announced, "Today's academy examination will consist of two parts. The first will test your knowledge of the Holy Words, and the second, your mastery of the Six Arts of the Gentleman."
He paused, his gaze lingering briefly on Xu Sanyan before slowly moving on. "Those who pass the examination may become nominal disciples of the Sage, gaining free access to the academy."
Xu Sanyan's heart involuntarily tightened with anticipation. His hunch had been right all along!
As an academy, it naturally had examinations and graduations.
In the mortal world, scholars graduated through the Prefectural, Metropolitan, and Palace Examinations. Those who passed gained opportunities to enter government service, transforming their fortunes and realizing their grand ambitions.
Here, where they studied the Sage's teachings, the examinations would naturally align with the Sage's ideals. Xu Sanyan had long anticipated this and prepared accordingly.
He had already memorized the entire Holy Words verbatim. Moreover, his mastery of the Six Arts of the Gentleman, enhanced by his Vitality cultivation, was already advanced. He had no fear of the upcoming tests.
"No whispering, no disturbing others, and no unauthorized movement. Violators will be expelled from the academy and permanently barred from readmission."
Xu Sanyan pursed his lips, unconvinced that the old man's "expulsion from the academy" meant mere dismissal. He suspected a far grimmer fate: the annihilation of their souls.
As the old man finished speaking, he waved his hand. The books on their desks vanished, replaced by exam papers. Then, from seemingly nowhere, he produced a copper gong and gently struck it.
Clang...
The resonant tone jolted everyone awake.
"Where am I...?" someone murmured instinctively. Before he could finish, the old man, who had been sitting on his wooden chair, materialized beside him. With a swift motion, he brought the discipline ruler crashing down on the man's head.
Terror gripped the man's face as his body dissolved into nothingness, as if he had never existed in this world at all.
The onlookers exchanged uncertain glances and fell silent, their expressions a mixture of shock and dread.
Some had been here for years, participating in these trials multiple times. Elder Lu of the Lu Clan, for instance, was taking his seventh exam.
Yet even after seven attempts, the exam papers remained incomprehensible. He struggled with phrases like "A gentleman should be cautious in his conduct" and "The sage's words," finding them utterly baffling. The text seemed deliberately opaque, swimming before his eyes like fog.
Each time he awoke, he felt younger than before. He estimated that he had at most three more trials before his existence would completely fade away.
A Soul Refinement Cultivator like me, he thought, with a solidified divine soul, has barely managed to endure this long. Someone with a weaker cultivation level would likely fail after just three rounds of testing.
The Lu Clan would never suspect that their elder, who had been missing for nearly a decade, was still alive.
Xu Sanyan glanced at the exam paper and let out a long sigh of relief. The questions were all based on textbook material, child's play for him. He lowered his head and began writing furiously, his brush flying across the page.
The students around him exchanged bewildered glances, none knowing where to begin. In the vast school, only Xu Sanyan's brush scratched against the paper.
The young man beside him furtively glanced at the elderly proctor, then quickly stole a peek at Xu Sanyan's paper, his face pale with panic. He feared the proctor would materialize beside him at any moment and shatter him with a strike of his ruler.
But the proctor seemed oblivious, letting the young man copy freely. The rules didn't explicitly prohibit cheating.
Seeing this, Xu Sanyan's neighbors brightened and grew bolder, some even standing to peer over shoulders. One clumsily bumped his chair, producing a sharp squeak that echoed through the hall.
The old gentleman materialized beside the cheating student and, without a word, brought down his discipline ruler. The student vanished in a puff of smoke.
The examination continued. Xu Sanyan glanced around and noticed everyone staring at him. He smiled broadly, nodded slightly to the crowd, and flipped his exam paper face down.
He was finished.
The other students were stunned. He's not letting us see?
They had no idea if Xu Sanyan's answers were correct, but at this point, they had no other choice but to rely on him. To them, he was like a slender vine clinging to the edge of a deep abyss—something they had to grasp desperately and gamble on.
Some glared at Xu Sanyan with murderous intent, as if they wanted to tear him apart alive. Others pleaded with clasped hands and repeated bows, but he ignored them all.
Xu Sanyan felt no fear. They were like caged tigers, powerless behind their iron bars.
Letting them copy wouldn't matter anyway, he thought, but Xu Sanyan never does anything without a purpose, not even the simplest favors.
Defeated, the students dared not move or make a sound, instead burying themselves in desperate thought.
As time passed, the old gentleman waved his hand, and all the exam papers flew into his grasp. "Next round: Six Arts of the Gentleman. Follow me."
With that, Xu Sanyan turned and strode out of the room, the others scrambling to follow.
Some glared daggers at Xu Sanyan, still seething that he hadn't let them cheat.
Xu Sanyan curled his lip dismissively. Unless a miracle happens, they'll never escape this place, he thought. Why should I care about a bunch of dying men?
In the courtyard, the old scholar stood tall. "The examination begins," he announced.
Meanwhile, outside Great Solitary Mountain, the Yue Clan had long since withdrawn. Initially, they had sent over a dozen members into the mountain, exhausting every conceivable method.
Whether it was magic artifacts or secret techniques to protect their divine souls, or mechanical devices and puppets, the moment they entered Great Solitary Mountain, all contact was instantly severed.
Not a single person emerged, nor did any message return. The Yue Clan had long since given up hope.
But one person refused to surrender: Qin Manyang.
She had remained stationed outside Great Solitary Mountain for nearly a year, guarding the entrance.
Her unwavering persistence, however, had nothing to do with love.
Qin Manyang lay on the ground, her fiery red robes spread around her, gazing up at the sky, her mind swirling with countless thoughts.
(End of the Chapter)
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