Chapter 20

Yue Heng hesitated.

The grand drama that just unfolded was spectacular, but extremely dangerous. He indeed disliked the innkeeper of Drunken Immortal Tower, but compared to the silent and lethal civil-military soldier, he was more wary of the latter.

At least the former would never dare to harm him casually, while the background of the latter was unknown, and it was uncertain whether he would return from the military camp.

"Thank you for your care, sir, but I have already made an appointment with the second miss of the Wen family to meet at Drunken Immortal Tower tomorrow and take the exam together. I fear it would be inconvenient for me to leave the city."

Yue Heng respectfully bowed to the official and politely declined the offer.

The official clearly knew about Wen Xinyue. After a moment's thought, he no longer insisted and warned again before leaving. The civil-military soldiers behind him retracted their battle auras and scanned the crowd with eyes that could kill, causing everyone to dodge in fear.

No one dared to meet their gaze; these two were clearly seasoned soldiers who had seen blood.

Mr. Qian bowed repeatedly and instructed a quick-witted servant to wrap up some silver as a gift, saying, "May you have a safe journey, sir!"

After the three fine horses galloped away, everyone looked at Yue Heng with complex expressions. Manager Zhu was already exhausted. He felt that he had made a regrettable mistake by giving Yue Heng a bundle of incense and a metal room card from the Fuxi Wen Temple!

Cough, cough...

Manager Zhu vomited blood again, breaking the calm in front of Drunken River Tower. Mr. Qian hurriedly called for someone to support Manager Zhu back to rest and invited a healer from the clinic. He then directed others to clean up the mess. Finally, he looked at Yue Heng with a complex expression, not knowing what to say.

"Mr. Qian, where will I stay? Can I still stay in the Heavenly Room? If not, the Dry Room is fine too. If it's really full, even the firewood shed is okay; I don't mind, as long as I can sleep!"

Yue Heng's words made everyone's ears stand on end. The word "firewood shed" made Manager Zhu, who had just entered, vomit blood again and faint, causing another panic.

It wasn't until nightfall that Manager Zhu slowly woke up under the stimulation of the healer's life-saving medicine.

After listening to Mr. Qian's report, his eyes, smaller than mung beans, closed again. He tried to raise his hand but couldn't. Weakly, he said, "Let this star of misfortune... go wherever he wants..."

Mr. Qian responded with a sob. Who could control this star of misfortune? It was easy to invite a deity but hard to send it away. Accidentally inviting a star of misfortune would likely cost a fortune and even some lives before it would stop...

At this moment, the star of misfortune, Yue Heng, was drinking and chatting with Lu Changyuan and Huang Shihong, who were also on the list. Although the unlisted poor students felt bitter, listening to the advice of their seniors was a rare opportunity.

This year, three poor students from Drunken Immortal Tower entered the top thousand list, qualifying for the second round of the child scholar exam. Among them, Lu Changyuan ranked fifty-seventh, with an eighty percent chance of becoming a child scholar. He was the most elated person today, sitting at the head of the students, sharing his experience with the younger, unlisted students, enjoying their admiration and flattery.

Huang Shihong did not make the top hundred but was still listed. After the top hundred, only names were listed, not ranks. Like Yue Heng, who was admitted through special recruitment, both were grateful for their good luck.

Everyone sighed and lamented Yue Heng's treatment, criticizing the mercantile face of Drunken Immortal Tower, which made the waiters serving them very upset but dared not argue. The surrounding diners found it interesting. The sword-wielding wanderer who had persuaded Wen Xinyue to leave sat quietly in a corner, occasionally smiling at a funny story.

Yue Heng wanted to find out what the content of tomorrow's re-exam would be, but he didn't know how to ask. He had taken the re-exam last year and missed by ten places, which was quite a pity, but he couldn't remember what was tested.

Huang Shihong remembered this and asked, "Brother Yue, do you know what the difficulty of the re-exam is? Could you give us some advice so that Brother Lu and I can prepare in advance?"

Yue Heng was a bit troubled. How should he explain?

Fortunately, Lu Changyuan came to his rescue. As today's star with a high score of fifty-seventh, he should naturally be the one to take the spotlight!

"Huang Brother, you may not know, but the re-exam focuses on two points: the talent of the spring exam essay and the re-exam achievements. The two are added together, and as long as they exceed the number specified in the 'Child Scholar Ceremony' document, one can pass. Those who pass will receive varying lengths of star-guiding time, which will ensure they become child scholars. The size of the divine palace and the type of literary symbol opened will depend on personal fortune and destiny."

"Wow! So the re-exam can't directly activate the divine palace?"

"Gentlemen, you are thinking too simply. If ordinary students could easily activate the divine palace and produce literary symbols by reading and writing articles in their daily lives, how could there be so few literati in the world?"

"Does star-guiding mean receiving the light of the Fuxi stars and connecting the divine palace with the Fuxi deity?"

"Exactly! The duration of star-guiding is closely related to the size, stability, and strength of the divine palace. The type of the first literary symbol is also related to the person's literary heart. If the person's literary heart is firm and decisive, the literary symbol will be positive and related to military combat. If the person is cowardly, the symbols produced will mostly be useless, and even if they become child scholars, they will be marginalized and considered useless."

"Indeed, it all depends on personal fortune and destiny... Resonant literature, experiencing the spirit, mindset, and opportunity are all necessary conditions for producing literary symbols. Even with star-guiding, it still depends on fortune. Being a literatus is truly difficult..."

"But what can we, from poor families, learn if not literature? Should we only sell ourselves into slavery and struggle to survive?"

Everyone discussed heatedly. Many unlisted students shook their heads and sighed, complaining about the unfair fate.

Yue Heng understood. Not all child scholars activated their divine palaces on their own. Many could not achieve "resonant literature," or perhaps other factors were not met. The self-activation of the divine palace was very selective.

Therefore, after the spring exam each year, the second round of re-exams would select talented students who met the child scholar qualifications and give them a certain amount of star-guiding time to forcibly activate their divine palaces using the power of the Fuxi stars. The length of star-guiding time determined the strength of the divine palace.

The literary symbol and the divine palace were two different things. After the divine palace was activated, it could continuously divide its spirit. For example, the "Bravery" literary symbol, if the divine palace continuously nurtured articles related to bravery, and when the resonant literature, experiencing the spirit, mindset, and opportunity all aligned, the "Bravery" literary symbol would be born at an appropriate time, becoming a powerful ability that the literatus could use at any time.

Additionally, how would the re-exam achievements be evaluated? Lu Changyuan didn't mention it, as he was busy answering questions from the unlisted students.

Yue Heng couldn't bear to listen anymore. These poor students had such poor vision, all asking about the benefits of becoming a child scholar, which literary symbols were the best, and what high treatment the Ministry of Rites would provide.

"Everyone only sees the tempting results of becoming a child scholar, not the process. It's like some people who only see the frequent goals and awards of football stars, their luxury cars, beautiful women, and advertising endorsements, but don't see their early morning training, daily sweat, numerous injuries, and immense hardships!"

Yue Heng snorted in contempt. People had been like this for thousands of years, and he was too lazy to criticize them. He asked, "Brother Lu, does the content of the second round re-exam change every year?"

Lu Changyuan replied, "Of course it changes. The re-exam questions are set by the county school and government each year, not just for literati but also for warriors and craftsmen, who all participate together."

Everyone was curious, "Why are the re-exams for first-level warriors and first-level apprentices of craftsmen also hosted by our county school and government?"

Lu Changyuan scratched his head, "I don't know. But, Brother Huang and Brother Yue, since we have met by fate and will be classmates, if we meet in the re-exam, we must support each other!"

Huang Shihong nodded repeatedly, flatteringly, "Brother Lu is right. We literati are already at a disadvantage and must unite to pass the child scholar exam. Only one in ten candidates pass, and if we fail again, we will face..."

The Blood Disaster Army!

Everyone in their hearts loudly said this name, all shuddering involuntarily. The three listed students present today all faced this danger. Whoever failed the re-exam might be conscripted into the Blood Disaster Army!

The night was deep, and the unlisted students bid farewell, either disappointed or self-encouraging, preparing to try again next year. Only Yue Heng, Lu Changyuan, and Huang Shihong remained, soon returning to their rooms to rest.

The next day, Yue Heng woke up early and burned a few incense sticks in his room for the Fuxi deity.

"Great Emperor Fuxi, although I come from another time and place, I will follow local customs and respect you as a deity, believing in you for life. This world is very special, and I am very clear about my own abilities. I have no great ambitions and do not dare to hope for much. I cannot save the world, and I have never thought of becoming a sage. I only wish for a peaceful and natural life. If my second life can occasionally resonate with the Fuxi stars, that would be best!"

After paying respects to the deity, Yue Heng tidied up his broken book box and walked out of the Heavenly Room, sitting in the hall of the wine tower to wait. He then boarded Wen Xinyue's carriage with Lu Changyuan and Huang Shihong.

The county school and government were closely connected, with powerful arrays set up by high-level craftsmen. These arrays, passed down from the Fuxi Temple ruins, protected the school and government from ordinary external forces and made it easier to communicate and resonate with the Fuxi stars.

Today, three thousand candidates were present for the re-exam: a thousand literati, a thousand warriors, and a thousand craftsmen. The three thousand people were being evaluated together, competing for the first-level qualifications in their respective professions. The county school and government were packed, and without the soldiers maintaining order, the exam might not have started by noon.