Chapter 26

Yue Heng decided not to become a disciple of Scholar Wen.

His current situation was different from his previous humble background; he had come from another time and space, and his mind was filled with hundreds of classic articles. Scholar Wen, a third-level scholar, was ultimately not qualified to be his teacher.

As long as he could cultivate four literary symbols within his body, he would also become a third-level scholar. It wouldn't take long, so it was somewhat inconvenient for him to become a disciple now.

"Scholar Wen, this matter... perhaps we can discuss it after the re-examination?"

Yue Heng smiled bitterly and politely declined, "My mind is in chaos now, and I'm only thinking about the re-examination. In a moment of anger, I rashly boasted that I would secure the top position among the child scholars this year. Now, thinking about it, I feel like a frog at the bottom of a well, living in constant fear..."

Before he could finish, County Magistrate Qi burst out laughing, slapping his thigh, "Scholar Wen, this is the first time I've seen a student refuse to be your disciple, and with such righteous words!"

Yue Heng's face turned black. These two must have a good relationship; was it really necessary to expose this in front of everyone?

"County Magistrate Qi, you're making fun of me again..."

Scholar Wen's face was full of bitterness. Looking at the humble Yue Heng, how could he still try to persuade him to stay?

Yue Heng was clearly a person of great talent, capable of self-activating the divine palace and cultivating literary symbols. It was understandable that he didn't look up to a third-level scholar. Even his refusal was so tactful.

Moreover, he had no right to force Yue Heng to become his disciple. He knew that after this spring examination, the Ministry of Literature in Chu would definitely notice Yue Heng. Yue Heng's future path would be very long, and his desire to be Yue Heng's teacher was just a selfish wish to get a head start and gain some advantage.

With a sigh, Scholar Wen gave up the idea of taking Yue Heng as a disciple.

County Magistrate Qi didn't care about these things. He said to Yue Heng, "You are already qualified as a child scholar, and no other child scholars have appeared in Hong County this year. There's no problem in ranking you first. However, the duration of the star induction still depends on your own efforts. If you rank first in total merit, the top position will be well-deserved. If your total merit is lower, you will still be the top, but the duration of the star induction will be determined by your ranking. Do you have any objections?"

Yue Heng respectfully replied, "I have no objections!"

"Finally, do not publicly promote 'The Ballad of Mulan' again, and strictly avoid mentioning 'Early Spring.' Perhaps in a few days, the Ministry of Literature in Qi Prefecture will send someone to inspect. You must be honest and must not falsify anything, or you will be imprisoned for deceiving the Ministry of Literature, with no hope of redemption."

"I will comply!"

With nothing else to discuss, County Magistrate Qi and Scholar Wen whispered to each other and then signaled Yue Heng to leave.

County Magistrate Qi sighed, "Scholar Wen, did you see? This young man is extraordinary. Considering this, the Ministry of Literature in Qi Prefecture must hope to give him a fair competitive environment, so they suddenly changed the re-examination illusion to a rarely used war poem!"

Scholar Wen leaned back in his chair, still regretting not being able to take Yue Heng as a disciple. He sighed, "I may never encounter such a genius again in my life..."

County Magistrate Qi laughed heartily, "Scholar Wen, do you need me to point it out? We are only third-level scholars. Are we really qualified to be his teacher?"

"Cough, cough..." Scholar Wen blushed, shaking his head and muttering, "What a pity, such a pity!"

"Is the first literary symbol in this young man's body the 'Spring' symbol? This symbol is useless for this re-examination, but how far he will go in the future depends on his exam results. However, I am sure his future path will be very long, and he might even be compared to Grand Tutor Chen!" County Magistrate Qi also muttered, lost in thought.

...

The re-examination was about to begin. Wen Xinyue was anxious, as Yue Heng had disappeared. She only relaxed when she saw him walk out of the crowd and scolded him, "The re-examination is about to start. Where did you go?"

"Your father and County Magistrate Qi called me over for questioning."

"Oh!" Wen Xinyue didn't dare to ask more. Her father and his father wouldn't harm him before the exam; they might even reveal some inside information or give him some protective talismans.

But her curiosity was still there, so she asked, "What did they ask?"

Yue Heng chuckled, glanced at her, and said proudly, "Your father wanted to take me as a disciple, but I refused!"

The crowd around them almost fell over, their eyes red with envy. Was this really necessary?

If Scholar Wen wanted to take a disciple, thousands of students in Hong County would kneel to become his disciple every year. Who didn't know that his disciples always passed the child scholar exam and ranked among the top?

This person actually refused!

Was he just boasting? Yes, it must be!

"Will you die if you don't tell lies?" Even Wen Xinyue was angry and kicked him.

He didn't actually hit him, but Yue Heng exaggerated, "Lighter, it hurts!"

"Ha ha ha! I can't take the whipping~" The fat female warrior standing next to Wen Xinyue laughed at Yue Heng, causing the crowd to burst into laughter.

"Mr. Yue, 'The Ballad of Mulan' is really well-written! Even though you didn't write it, I still thank you. Seeing the illusion of Mulan joining the army just now deepened my understanding of martial arts. I have more confidence for the re-examination!" The tall female warrior bowed to Yue Heng, earning praise from the crowd.

"I have some insights too, like Sister Qing!"

"Yes, but this illusion seems to only affect female warriors. Those men are all regretful!"

"Mr. Yue, thank you so much. You are truly a friend to women!"

More and more female candidates gathered around, expressing their gratitude to Yue Heng.

Yue Heng smiled humbly, bowing to everyone, saying he didn't deserve it, but he felt a bit uneasy inside.

County Magistrate Qi and Scholar Wen had warned him not to easily reveal 'The Ballad of Mulan,' saying it was a primary war poem that could activate the illusion and was of similar status to the 'Resonance Symbol,' allowing the warriors entering the illusion to gain a slight improvement!

No wonder they were so cautious!

But he really didn't want the title of 'friend to women.' These green-eyed female warriors might drain his weak body dry!

"Mr. Yue, when will you sing that song for me? 'How many female heroes have built their merit, fighting for the country, generation after generation...' Mr. Yue, let's be friends!" The fat girl put her hand on Yue Heng's shoulder, scaring him and making him lean to one side, causing another round of laughter.

Since 'Who Says Women Are Inferior to Men' wasn't 'The Ballad of Mulan,' Yue Heng said helplessly, "After the exam, miss, female hero, I'm weak, please spare me..."

"Ha ha ha..." The crowd laughed, even Wen Xinyue rolled her eyes at him, then covered her mouth, blushing slightly.

The time had come, and the chief examiner walked out, officially announcing the start of the exam.

The entire county academy was covered by the Illusionary Spirit Array, with the Yin Mountain stone as the core energy source. The chief examiners checked the array's central hub and found that the 'The Ballad of Mulan' illusion had not consumed much energy, enough to support the re-examination illusion.

All the examiners took their seats, waiting for the illusion to begin.

Yue Heng and Wen Xinyue stood side by side, holding their waist badges, slightly nervous.

Chief Examiner Scholar Wen held the Fuxi Literary Disk, led the students in a ceremony to worship the Great Emperor Fuxi, and then announced loudly, "In the fourteenth year of King You of Chu, the second re-examination in Hong County of Qi Prefecture, the exam question 'The Book of Songs - Great Odes - The Regular Army' officially begins. Candidates enter the illusion!"

"The Regular Army! Why this one?" A warrior examiner exclaimed.

"Not 'Praying Father' or 'Broken Axe'? Who can tell me why it's 'The Regular Army'?" Another literary examiner looked strange, as if someone had wronged him, reacting the most strongly.

"Zhou Wendian, don't get excited. 'The Regular Army' was a temporary change by the Ministry of Literature in Qi Prefecture. We officials in Hong County dare not make such changes!" Scholar Wen stroked his beard and smiled. How could he not know Zhou Wendian's intentions? It was just about passing on information in advance and preparing details. He had done such things before!

Some examiners looked worried. The child scholar exam in Chu had not tested 'The Regular Army' for decades, and most of the three thousand candidates had not prepared for it. This re-examination would test their true abilities!

So some people were definitely in danger!

...

Ding!

Yue Heng found himself instantly teleported into the illusion, arriving in a light blue enclosed space.

He was slightly surprised. This illusion seemed to have a similar effect to the divine palace within his body, but the size and shape of the divine palace were very different.

His divine palace was a flat disk, while this space was a three-dimensional rectangle.

The literary symbol running in his divine palace was the 'Life' symbol, a single disk-shaped symbol with a regular orbit. In this space, four literary symbols floated in the air, square in shape, with different oracle bone characters carved on them.

"Each literary candidate can choose one literary symbol ability. Touch it and think about it to learn its description!"

A voice prompted, and Yue Heng noticed that it only mentioned literary candidates.

He couldn't help but think, "If a warrior candidate like Wen Xinyue were here, what would she choose? It should be a warrior's first-level ability. I should have asked her what abilities she had, so I could make a better choice! Oh right, the waist badge!"

"Yue Heng, what literary symbols do you have?" As if on cue, Wen Xinyue's voice entered Yue Heng's mind, the voice transmission function of the waist badge earning his praise.

"Let me check!" Yue Heng took a step forward and reached out to examine the four literary symbols.

The four literary symbols were 'Knife,' 'Armor,' 'Drum,' and 'Spear.' Looking at these unfamiliar oracle bone characters, Yue Heng was glad he had brushed up on some oracle bone knowledge before the exam, saving him from embarrassment.

"The 'Knife' symbol, with the oracle bone character showing the handle at the top and two strokes for the blade, can enhance my understanding of knife weapons."

"The 'Armor' symbol, with the oracle bone character showing four square pieces of armor, similar to the character 'field,' can enhance my understanding of armor and defensive weapons."

"The 'Drum' symbol, with the oracle bone character showing a hammer in the left hand and a drum in the right, can slightly enhance battlefield morale in a small area."

"The 'Spear' symbol, with the oracle bone character showing both hands holding a long handle and a sharp spearhead, can enhance my understanding of spear weapons."

After reading these descriptions, Yue Heng was puzzled. Except for the 'Drum' symbol, the others were related to weapons. Did this mean that literary candidates also had to fight on the front lines?

It seemed so. Master Ji of the Literary Sect had once killed many demon kings alone, capable of destroying a cave or a mountain. The direct combat power of high-level literary figures was terrifying, and at the level of Literary Sage, they could almost exterminate a clan or a country.

End of AD

End of AD