Chapter 34

Kyoto City Gate.

As a notice was posted, it drew a crowd of onlookers.

It was the admission notice for the Daxia Academy.

The appearance of the notice caused the entire Kyoto to boil with excitement.

At the Marquis of the State's residence.

The butler quickly ran to the residence of the crown prince.

"Your Highness, Crown Prince."

"The admission notice for the Daxia Academy has been posted."

Manager Wang quickly approached, holding a copy of the notice, and came to Gu Jinnian's residence.

Inside the room.

Gu Jinnian, who had just taken a short nap, opened his eyes.

Manager Wang's voice was very penetrating, waking Gu Jinnian up.

"What's the matter?"

After opening his eyes, Gu Jinnian stretched his waist, yawned, and then walked out of the room.

"Your Highness, Crown Prince."

"The admission notice for the Daxia Academy has been posted. Please review it."

Manager Wang handed the copied notice to Gu Jinnian.

Taking the notice, Gu Jinnian glanced at it.

The content of the notice was quite simple.

Anyone aged between sixteen and thirty, regardless of gender, family background, or social status, could go to Xiaoxi Village to participate in the admission examination.

This single piece of information surprised Gu Jinnian.

"Is this really the admission notice for the Daxia Academy?"

Gu Jinnian looked at Manager Wang, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Your Highness, Crown Prince, it is absolutely true. This is what the old servant personally copied, without a single word altered."

Manager Wang replied.

He was also curious, as the previous notices for the Daxia Academy were always elaborate and filled with numerous conditions.

But this time, it was different.

Regardless of gender, anyone who met the age requirement could go, which was quite unusual.

Is this about teaching without discrimination?

"What is the reaction of the people in Kyoto?"

Gu Jinnian asked.

"Your Highness, Crown Prince, the people have already flocked to Xiaoxi Village, and the nobles of Kyoto have already prepared their carriages."

"We have also prepared the jade carriage. Should the Crown Prince go now or wait a few days?"

Manager Wang replied.

Although it was just a few words, Gu Jinnian could imagine the scene in Kyoto.

It seemed that carriages would be flooding into Xiaoxi Village.

"No."

"The actual admission will start in three days. There's no need to rush. Let's see how things develop."

"Send someone to observe and report back directly to me."

Gu Jinnian shook his head.

As expected, Xiaoxi Village would be overcrowded at this moment.

But the Daxia Academy, being the highest institution of learning in Daxia, would not admit people casually.

There must be rigorous assessments.

So going now wouldn't make a difference.

Let's wait and see.

"Alright."

"Then the old servant will continue to prepare the carriage. If the Crown Prince needs it, just let me know."

Manager Wang said.

"Alright."

Gu Jinnian nodded and then returned to his room to read ancient books.

As he continued reading, the fruit of the ancient tree became increasingly mature, reaching the second stage.

Gu Jinnian discovered that the fruit of the ancient tree had three stages of maturity.

The first stage was golden, the second stage was bright golden, and the third stage was pure golden, not a dull yellow, but a radiant gold like the sun.

The current talent fruit had reached the second stage, bright golden.

One more step, and it would be pure golden.

However, as he read, Gu Jinnian found that the talent gained from reading was very little.

Reaching the third stage would be extremely difficult.

Even now, the fruit in the ancient tree had only just reached the second stage, not yet fully mature.

The more mature the fruit, the better the reward.

Gu Jinnian, of course, wanted to wait until it was pure golden before picking it, but based on the current situation, it might take about a month.

Even this was just an estimate, and whether it would succeed was another matter.

Therefore, Gu Jinnian planned to pick the fruit in a few days to satisfy his curiosity.

Time passed slowly.

After the admission notice for the Daxia Academy was posted, the entire Kyoto was in a state of excitement. All the city gates were already overcrowded, with families bringing their children to the scene.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If selected to enter the Daxia Academy, the future prospects were limitless.

After all, every scholar of the Daxia Academy was a high-ranking official in the court. Even a slight connection could lead to a bright future.

A long queue was heading towards Xiaoxi Village.

Xiaoxi Village was 300 miles away from Kyoto, more like a town than a village.

Some high-ranking officials had already prepared their horses and were heading to Xiaoxi Village.

Even among the crowd, there were no shortage of immortal cultivators, flying with their swords, drawing the attention of many people.

In less than two hours.

Xiaoxi Village was already overcrowded.

Soon.

The news also returned to Kyoto.

Inside the Marquis of the State's residence.

A servant stood outside the courtyard.

"Your Highness, Crown Prince."

"Outside Xiaoxi Village, there are soldiers guarding all sides, not allowing anyone to enter, with strict control."

"However, at the eastern entrance, there are lanterns hanging, and only those who answer the questions correctly can enter the village."

"At the southern entrance, there is a poetry street, guarded by scholars, and those who gain their approval can also enter the village."

"At the western entrance, soldiers are stationed, and no one is allowed to enter."

"At the northern entrance, several blind and deaf old men are guarding, and no one is allowed to enter."

The servant informed about the situation in Xiaoxi Village.

"Indeed."

Inside the room, Gu Jinnian did not seem surprised, but rather had a sense of expectation.

If there were no restrictions, the Daxia Academy could easily admit tens of thousands of people just based on its reputation.

Having restrictions was reasonable.

"Blind and deaf? Are you not afraid that someone will sneak in?"

Gu Jinnian asked curiously.

He was not particularly interested in the other three entrances, but the northern entrance piqued his curiosity.

"Your Highness, indeed, some people have sneaked in."

"So now, more people are going to the northern entrance, several times more than the other three entrances."

The servant replied.

This made Gu Jinnian even more curious.

He thought those blind and deaf people were all martial experts, but it turned out they could be sneaked past.

"Unusual events must have a reason."

"Mr. Wenjing must have thought of this and set some traps."

Gu Jinnian thought to himself.

"Alright, continue to investigate and report any news immediately."

He spoke and then returned to reading without further thought.

After the servant left.

The Marquis of the State's residence was unusually quiet.

Inside the Daxia Academy.

Dozens of people were seated in a pavilion.

These were the teachers of the Daxia Academy, not all of them were great scholars, but most were scholars of high moral standing.

At this moment, they were seated, their faces not very friendly.

"Teachers."

"I admire Mr. Wenjing, but the notice he wrote this time was not even communicated to us. Is this not a bit disrespectful?"

Someone spoke, his voice calm, but the dissatisfaction was almost written on his face.

"Skipping us is not a big deal, but this time, the notice states that anyone, regardless of gender or background, can apply, and I understand that. However, choosing Xiaoxi Village as the admission site is what I do not understand."

"Moreover, I heard that there are soldiers guarding Xiaoxi Village, and checkpoints are set up at the east, south, west, and north entrances. The east and south directions, with poetry and riddles, I understand."

"But the west and north directions, with martial experts and several disabled old men guarding, what is the meaning of this?"

Another person spoke, seemingly magnanimous, but still full of resentment.

"I heard that many people are now sneaking into the northern entrance, and having a few disabled old men guarding, I wonder what Mr. Wenjing is doing?"

"The prestigious Daxia Academy's admission process is so irregular that it might become a laughingstock if it gets out."

Another voice sounded.

It was clear that the people present were extremely dissatisfied with Su Wenjing's actions.

"Enough."

"Since the emperor values Mr. Wenjing, we have no choice."

"However, Minister Yang has already negotiated with the emperor, so we will not be completely sidelined. We just need to follow Mr. Wenjing's lead, and you all should not be too anxious."

"We have to bow to the circumstances."

The voice made the pavilion extremely quiet.

"I know this, but there is one thing I want to mention to all of you."

"Regardless of what Mr. Wenjing wants to do, after the admission process, regular classes must be established. This is a long-standing rule and cannot be changed."

"Even if Mr. Wenjing does not agree, as long as we are united, he cannot do anything to us."

"The way of education is extremely important. We can admire, but we cannot lose our integrity as scholars."

At this moment, someone stood up and spoke about an important matter.

In the end, it was still a matter of power.

Everyone listened and nodded, reaching a consensus.

Thus.

In the blink of an eye, two more days passed.

During these two days, the most popular topic in the Daxia Dynasty was the admission process of the Daxia Academy.

No one knew what Su Wenjing was up to.

Xiaoxi Village was already overcrowded, not just the people of Kyoto, but also from all the surrounding counties and prefectures, as long as they met the conditions, they came to try their luck.

As a result, a large number of vendors flooded in, and it was said that just by selling snacks, they could earn a hundred silver taels a day.

The surrounding inns were also in high demand, with prices increasing tenfold.

However, despite the excitement, the admission process of the Daxia Academy also revealed its cruel side.

At the eastern entrance, there were riddles to solve. One had to solve three riddles to enter.

One wrong answer, and you were immediately rejected, no matter who you were.

Just yesterday, the son of the Daxia状元 (top scholar) was rejected for getting one riddle wrong, causing a huge controversy.

After all, who would have thought that getting one riddle wrong would mean missing the chance to enter?

This top scholar's son was a hot favorite, and according to the previous admission standards of the Daxia Academy, he had a very high chance of getting in.

But he failed in the preliminary selection, which sparked a lot of debate.

And it wasn't just him; many others were also rejected, including high-ranking officials and scholars from prestigious families.

Many people came, but even more were rejected.

The selected candidates were already lining up, and the assessment was extremely difficult, giving