Chix Lin clenched his teeth tightly. He didn't know how good his memory truly was; he only knew this was his only chance to turn things around this year. Otherwise, he'd have to struggle for another year.
Soon, everyone received their transcription papers and sat at their desks to start reading.
But as soon as they saw the content on the first page, nearly everyone pulled a long face.
Military Skill!
If you can't even understand it, how are you supposed to memorize it?
Some instinctively flipped to the second page, while others remained stuck on the first, as if searching for a method to memorize.
Luu Xian knitted his eyebrows, his eyes lingering on the first page for a long while before finally turning to the second.
On stage, Luu Hong watched and secretly let out a sigh of relief, worried Luu Xian would stubbornly hang onto the military skill section and waste too much time. Thankfully, he wasn't delayed much.
He then looked back at Chu Ming, who was still on the first page, his lips curling slightly upward.
Clearly, someone who doesn't know how to adapt.
If Luu Xian can display his talent in the memory exam, Lord Feng will definitely favor him—then his future career...
My son's prospects are secured.
But as this thought came out, he saw Chu Ming suddenly shift to the second sheet.
Luu Hong's heart fluttered slightly, but he quickly returned to his usual calm.
One slow step leads to slow steps all the way!
Besides, my son already has exceptional memory. That Chu Ming kid is lagging behind in both talent and time!
Chu Ming looked at the new hint on his panel, a trace of surprise at the corner of his eye.
[Military Skill (entry-level): deploy troops and arrange formations]
[Progress: 1/100]
With the help of ten lines at a glance and photographic memory, he memorized the first page's content in a brief moment; subsequently, the [Military Skill] entry appeared on his panel.
"Military Skill...?"
He pondered quietly for a short while, then continued flipping through the papers on his desk.
The next two pages contained much more than the first, and took him a bit longer to memorize, but all three pages combined took less than half a quarter hour.
"Still have more than an hour to wait..."
Chu Ming looked somewhat boredly at the first page with military skill, which described a classic example of military maneuvers.
Commander Xiang Yue of the Tiger Armor Army in Xirong County, thirty years ago, won a battle of a thousand men against ten thousand.
At the time, Xiang Yue was only a chiliarch in the Tiger Armor Army, leading a thousand Tiger Armor soldiers deep into Southern Barbarian territory on a reconnaissance mission, only to be discovered by the Barbarian Army.
More than ten thousand barbarians gave chase to Xiang Yue, and in enemy territory no less—one could imagine, barring any surprises, those thousand Tiger Armor troops, including Xiang Yue, the chiliarch who was already at Great Success in the Strong Bone Realm, were doomed to die in the Southern Barbarians' land.
But even with the odds so dramatically stacked against him, Xiang Yue ultimately returned to the Great Qin Dynasty with over seven hundred Tiger Armor soldiers, and even carried back the head of the barbarian army's leading general.
His reliance—the path of military skill!
Familiar with military skill, flexible in application, quick on his feet in the heat of battle...
Chu Ming gazed at the [Military Skill] on his panel, lost in thought.
"Too bad there's not much content here, so it just activated [Military Skill], but didn't improve the progress."
"Looks like I really need to get my hands on that 'Poetry, Politics, and Military' book."
Military skill is different from poetry and literature; ordinary people rarely have access to it. The only known way for him to improve [Military Skill] now is acquiring 'Poetry, Politics, and Military'.
As time passed, the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly lively.
Some switched from silent memorization to whispering the text aloud; others bobbed their heads back and forth...
Feng Yuan didn't interfere. How you choose to memorize, whether you're distracted by others or can calm your mind, it's all within the scope of his test.
Luu Hong had originally wanted everyone to be quiet and not disrupt others, but under Feng Yuan's signal, he could only let it be.
Time passed, and an hour slipped by quickly.
Of course, this "quickly" only applied to everyone except Chu Ming. In the first half hour, he could still sit still; later on, he was less able to keep calm.
Mainly because he was thirsty; he'd been at the academy for most of the day, and except for some meat porridge in the morning, he hadn't drunk a drop since.
Moreover, since his cultivation improved with the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique, his body became prone to hunger.
He hadn't expected it to drag on so long; now he was hungry and thirsty...
All of this was seen by Feng Yuan.
"What's with this kid? He was so calm during the earlier exams, and still fine right before the memory test, but the longer it goes, the more impatient he gets?"
"Can't recall it?"
He sighed inwardly.
If he can't recall, then it means his talent is lacking; but to get first place in the academy exam, effort mustn't be lacking—keep at it, maybe he'll have some future success.
But if judged by the second half of the memory exam, his temperament is too restless, likely hard to achieve anything big.
Meanwhile, Luu Xian and his two companions, though also restless, managed to control themselves quite well.
"Time's up."
As Luu Hong's voice rang out, the boys hurriedly set down their papers.
"You have a quarter hour to rest."
Everyone let out a breath of relief. The break itself didn't matter; what mattered was solving their personal issues.
Chu Ming heard about the quarter hour break, slowly stood up, walked out of the academy, bought a flatcake with a few copper plates out on the street, and accompanied it with some water. Only then did the hunger fade.
When he returned, both Mr. Luu Hong and Lord Feng Yuan were already gone.
But... a scene unfolded that left him baffled—Huang Lu was surrounded by a crowd.
He saw Huang Lu clutching two root-like things tightly, while the others scrambled for them.
"Heh heh, let me tell you, Brother Chu Ming ate my dad's Huang Minggen, not only cured his sickness, but also got first place in the academy exam!"
"Only two roots, to the highest bidder."
"Hey, look, Brother Chu came back."
Chu Ming's brows twitched, but his face stayed impassive as he walked outside.
Fresh air is better out here.
Still, he could hear some of what was happening inside.
"I've got ten copper plates."
"Thirty for me."
"Fifty—can't go any higher!"
"Brother Huang Lu, give me one, I'll treat you to delicious food at Cyan Bamboo Pavilion tonight."
"Alright, alright, here you go, Brother Chix Lin."
"I'll pay sixty. Anyone gonna compete with me?"
Instant silence, then Huang Lu's voice followed: "Brother Guan Chong, here you go."
Carrying medicine everywhere?
Can't wrap my head around it.
Huang Lu's little sideshow of raising prices sitting on the floor didn't last long. The quarter hour soon passed, and all the boys returned to their desks.
"Let's begin." Luu Hong said in a steady voice, "Only a quarter hour. Write as much as you can."
Once those words fell, the boys began scribbling furiously, afraid even a moment's delay would make them forget parts of what they'd memorized.
Most, after jotting down a few paragraphs, slowed into painful contemplation, their faces visibly twisted in agony, yet their pens refused to stop.
Luu Xian wrote unhurriedly, his pace calm; Luu Hong observed this and nodded in secret approval.
Guan Chong and Chix Lin, having eaten the Enlightenment medicine, wrote quietly—the stuff must have some effect?
But looking at the vendor, Huang Lu, he was dazed at his desk, with only his name and less than two lines written.
Compared to Huang Lu's "calm", Chu Ming appeared somewhat rushed.
He had memorized all the content, but when it came to writing, he hadn't practiced much—speed wasn't his forte.
A quarter hour might not be enough to finish.
"Afterwards, I still need to grind out proper writing, and see if I can develop a related skill..."
On stage, Feng Yuan watched Chu Ming's somewhat anxious and messy expression, then looked at his stiff way of holding the pen, and grew even more disappointed.
Soon, the quarter hour ended, and all answer sheets were collected.