The seed of turmoil had started to brew outside, but the Guiyuan Sect remained peaceful. The sect was bustling with preparations for the upcoming inner competition, with everyone from top to bottom engaged in different tasks. In every direction, disciples could be seen honing their skills and exchanging pointers in different forms.
Many disciples were poring over textbooks and class notes in the form of spiritual jades, muttering under their breaths, eager to commit the contents into their minds. Although they could use their spiritual senses to absorb the knowledge directly, they were still required to put in effort to study, memorize, and comprehend the information in order to truly internalize it. Older disciples who had been in the sect for years but hadn’t passed the exams were now cramming desperately at the last minute.
The passing score for the written exam was notoriously difficult: of 500 questions, only one mistake was allowed. Those who made any additional errors were required to redo their classes for another three years before attempting the exam again. Since the written exam didn’t actually affect the ranking of disciples, nor did it affect the promotion to inner disciples, most focused on combat training and only crammed at the last moment.
Lu Yaoyao and her friends gathered to review together. This time, Li Dazhuang joined them as he also had to take the exam. They all worked together, sharing and summarizing the notes they made and the ones given by their senior brothers and sisters, aiming for mutual progress and success. Each of them had a cloth strip tied around their foreheads with the word ‘strive’ written in bold characters. They were burning with passion, as if they were preparing to depart for the battlefield, not the exam room.
Not long after, Yan Zihui came over, “I have a summary of the exam notes. Do you want to see it?”
Five pairs of eyes turned to him, sparkling with excitement, “Yes!” They replied in unison,
Yan Zihui was one of the most ‘veteran’ students, having taken every exam year after year without ever passing. He was once again taking the exam this year, this time with Lu Yaoyao’s batch of disciples. His peers had long since graduated, leaving him alone. Since he wasn’t familiar with the new disciples at his peak, he went to see Lu Yaoyao’s group and was instantly drawn by their passionate atmosphere. “Can I study with you?” He asked, infected by their enthusiasm.
“Sure!” Lu Yaoyao and her friends welcomed him warmly. The group of five expanded to six, and an additional stack of review materials was added to the desk. It didn’t take long for Yan Zihui to regret his decision. The way Lu Yaoyao and the others studied involved memorizing every key point from all the materials they had in hand, cross-referencing and filling in gaps, and reviewing the repeated questions from different exam summaries. This meant that instead of just memorizing his own notes, Yan Zihui had to memorize five more.
“…” Yan Zihui was frightened—is this how all kids study nowadays? Is this why he never passed the exam?
But if he was asked to memorize so many materials… he might as well take the exam again next time!
Yan Zihui’s thoughts drifted as he contemplated finding an excuse to leave, but before he could come up with a suitable excuse, Lu Yaoyao, her face half-buried behind a booklet, glanced at him and asked, “Senior Brother Zihui, are you having trouble memorizing these?”
“Of course not!” Yan Zihui immediately straightened his back, full of confidence. “This is nothing! I can memorize it all easily.”
“Wow! Senior Brother Zihui, you’re amazing!”
Looking at the admiring eyes of his junior brothers and sisters, Yan Zihui puffed out his chest and declared, “Just wait, I’ll memorize it all in no time!”
Inwardly, though, Yan Zihui was in tears—could he take back his words, please? He regretted it, regretted it severely!
Of course, having made such a bold claim, Yan Zihui couldn’t back down and lose his dignity as a senior brother. And thus, no matter how many tears he shed in private, he would faithfully attend the study sessions every day, reviewing diligently with Lu Yaoyao and the others. In the last two days, they stopped memorizing and started quizzing each other, forming three pairs to perform mock tests.
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the exam day had arrived. Lu Yaoyao’s anxiety melted away as soon as she saw the test paper. With a quick glance, she recognized the questions they had studied, and she immediately set to work, answering swiftly.
The written exam lasted only one day, with two test papers: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each paper was long and required half a day to complete. By the end of the day, Lu Yaoyao handed in her paper in order and, upon leaving the exam hall, exchanged a glance with Du Qianshan. They both saw the joy in each other’s eyes and burst into cheers.
“I knew all the answers!”
“Me too!”
“Go! Go! Let’s find Xingxing and the others!”
The exam was divided into three locations. Lu Yaoyao and Du Qianshan were in one, while the rest of the group were in another. They weren’t far apart, so they quickly regrouped. As it turned out, Wen Zixing and Chao Muxue also looked relaxed, indicating they had done well.
Wen Zixing even joked, “Thankfully, there were no questions about the relations between the humans, demons, and devils, or we would be forced to give insincere answers.”
Lu Yaoyao agreed, “Yeah, thank goodness.” Even though she had memorized the standard answers, she wasn’t sure she could write them without feeling dishonest. Luckily, those questions didn’t come up.
Yan Zihui, being a veteran who had been taking the same exam for many years, commented, “This is the only year without those questions. They usually appear every year.”
“Who cares? It’s better that they didn’t show up!” Lu Yaoyao chirped. Perhaps this matter had something to do with her grandmaster. Grandmaster’s principles clashed with the sect’s doctrine, and once his biography and past works were made public, the issue became highly sensitive, and the teacher responsible for their class stopped emphasizing these principles and even made a conscious effort to avoid them. At first, the teacher still attempted to teach the doctrine as he had done previously, but Lu Yaoyao and her friends challenged his points, leaving him frustrated to no end. After all, the person who challenged the sect’s views held high status within it—creating this complex, delicate situation.
Everything was gradually changing in the direction Lu Yaoyao hoped for. Although the progress was slow, she was still very happy.
“The exams are over, let’s have a sparring session!”
The group ran to an open area with great excitement. Yan Zihui also followed, watching their training and giving them pointers. He was in high spirits, confident that he would pass this time, thanks to the junior brothers and sisters who had taken him to their study group. As a result, Yan Zihui eagerly offered his guidance, and Lu Yaoyao and her friends were more than willing to learn. Yan Zihui might look unreliable usually, but he was still a cultivator in the Golden Core stage and one of the best among his peers. His advice was invaluable to a group of novices like themselves.
The results of the written exam were posted three days after the test, displayed on the stone wall in the square. Those who passed had their names on the list along with their scores, while those who failed were not listed. Over two thousand disciples who took the exam gathered in the square before the results were posted, filled with nervous anticipation, hoping they had passed. If they failed, they would have to continue taking the same classes for another three years.
Lu Yaoyao and her friends were also very excited, eagerly occupying the front row. She was carried on Li Dazhuang’s shoulders, giving her the best view.
As soon as the hour arrived, several disciples appeared, holding the results. Once the results were posted, the crowd surged forward.
“Don’t push, don’t push, everyone will be able to see!” Wen Zixing shouted, trying his best to shield Chao Muxue.
The disciple carrying the results unfurled the red list and posted it on the stone wall before turning to leave. Lu Yaoyao immediately scanned the list, starting from the top. She quickly spotted Chao Muxue’s name. “Muxue passed!”
Wen Zixing stood on his tiptoes but couldn’t see the names on the red list. Hearing Lu Yaoyao’s excited announcements, he eagerly asked, “What about me? Did I pass?”
“Qianshan passed!”
“Dazhuang and I passed too! — Xingxing, you passed as well!”
“I see Senior Brother Zihui’s name too!”
“Ahhh!” Wen Zixing clenched his fists in excitement. If there weren’t people crowded around him, he would have jumped for joy. After confirming their names on the list, the group squeezed out of the crowd, laughing happily together. They had all passed! Passed on their first try!
Yan Zihui was also beaming, feeling immensely proud. He had finally passed!
Lu Yaoyao grinned from ear to ear. Fortunately, I have upheld her Father’s reputation!
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