Chapter 56

At the examination hall, divine power enveloped the area. After the three examiners offered incense to the God of Literature, they personally distributed the test papers: "The time limit is two days, and the papers will be collected at noon the day after tomorrow." They looked at the clock and instructed everyone to begin writing.

Xun Yi first scanned through the paper, his expression becoming somewhat peculiar, before he began to write.

The first part of the exam tested literary skills, including poetry, historical anecdotes, famous quotes from the past, and the ability to draw parallels with modern times and create essays.

The first section was on poetry, which included filling in ancient poems, reciting poems from memory, and interpreting the full text of poems.

The first question made Xun Yi tremble: "Recite the entire 'Wen Wang' from the 'Da Ya' section of the 'Book of Songs.'"

"Is it really the 'Book of Songs'? Fortunately, I reviewed it specifically a few days ago." The library enhanced his memory with the power of the God of Literature, and Xun Yi wrote with divine inspiration, completing the entire piece in no time.

Next were fill-in-the-blank and translation questions for ancient poems.

The second section was on idioms, requiring the explanation of the origin and meaning of each idiom. With a history of twenty thousand years, the human race had accumulated countless idioms and anecdotes. Even with a general scope, many idioms were too ancient and difficult to understand.

There were twenty idioms in total, and for each, the origin, meaning, and sometimes the entire anecdote had to be explained.

"Carefully and cautiously?" Xun Yi smiled as he saw the idiom he had just recited from 'Wen Wang': "Carefully and cautiously is just a phrase from 'Wen Wang.'" He wrote it down and continued browsing.

"If I remember correctly, 'Breaking the Cooking Pots and Sinking the Boats' should be from the pre-Qin era? Hmm, 'Hiding a Beauty in a Golden House' is from the Han Wu Emperor's time. And 'Wandering the Four Seas as Home' should also be from the Han Dynasty? Was it Emperor Gaozu?" Xun Yi recalled history and then saw idioms from the Tang, Song, and even recent dynasties like Qianming and Ancient Zhao.

The third section was on famous quotes from the past, also requiring the explanation of their origins and anecdotes.

The fourth section was on historical anecdotes, using them to reflect on the present. It included stories like the 'Hu Clothing and Cavalry' reforms. Candidates had to judge the right and wrong from a modern perspective and articulate their views.

For the 'Hu Clothing and Cavalry' question, Xun Yi's thoughts expanded, recalling the divine history he had read a few days ago. The next question directly asked: "Write about the differences and advantages of agrarian and nomadic civilizations."

"According to the classification of the Heavenly Court, we are a standard agrarian civilization. Because Emperor Yan started as the God of Agriculture, all the countries under the Heavenly Court are skilled in agriculture. The northern barbarians, however, seem to worship deities not aligned with the Heavenly Court. In other words, they are from a different continent?"

Xun Yi's thoughts grew more complex. "The northern barbarians gather in tribes, with a great chief and four major leaders, similar to the Nine Pillar Gods on the other continent. They fight endlessly, with the strongest rising to power, building their thrones with blood."

Each tribe of the northern barbarians could be seen as a replica of the myriad pantheons of the other continent. The conflicts between tribes were the evolution of pantheon struggles, and the Nine Pillar Gods were the strongest among the northern barbarian leaders.

"The Nine Pillar Pantheon, when facing the Heavenly Court, is similar to the nomadic tribes. Although they are formidable in combat, they cannot consolidate their gains, much like the northern barbarians' annual raids. Moreover, internal conflicts within the pantheon mean that a change in leadership can eliminate their threat."

This was also a common practice of the Heavenly Court, decapitating the Nine Pillar Gods and forcing them to engage in a power struggle while resisting the Heavenly Court.

"The barbarians are skilled in combat, but their strength is not enduring." Xun Yi wrote, grateful that he had read a book about the clash of civilizations to prepare for Lord Lu.

"Speaking of which, the civilizations surrounding our Great Zhou seem to be all from different races? Could there be some plan behind this?" With plenty of time, Xun Yi casually drew a map of the territories surrounding Great Zhou.

To the north of Great Zhou were the barbarians, to the east was Dolan, to the west were the Bai Rong, and to the south were the Yu Di. In terms of faith, they were entirely different from the Great Zhou, which worshipped the gods of the Heavenly Court.

"This boy is quite clever," thought the God of Literature, who had personally descended to oversee the examination due to the recent incident with the Evil God's Pen. Observing Xun Yi studying the map, he noticed the divine light of virtue on Xun Yi and the detailed comparison of the two civilizations, which revealed the shadow of the Heavenly Court and the Nine Pillar Gods.

"This boy is good. He has seen part of our Heavenly Court's strategy and may become a future God of Literature." The God of Literature sent a thread of literary energy to Xun Yi's answer sheet.

The Heavenly Court governed the vast territories of the Nine Provinces, and the Great Zhou was merely a coastal nation in the eastern part of the Central Province. The true center of the Central Province was the Heavenly Peak, where the Central Kingdom, with its formidable strength and flourishing divine path, was located. The second most powerful nations were in the other eight provinces, and these were the main forces in external wars.

Currently, the Heavenly Court faced two major conflicts: the first was with the foreign gods, and the second was with the Abyss.

The Abyss was sealed deep within the earth by the gods, so the Heavenly Court's main focus was on the foreign gods.

The Nine Pillar Pantheon was not a single civilization but a combination of countless civilizations. The northern barbarians worshipped the Heavenly God of Power, a deity of the Sixth Heaven. This pantheon revered nature and beasts, considering mountains, rivers, and animals like wolves, bears, tigers, and leopards as gods.

After the pantheon was destroyed by the Heavenly Court, its world was transformed into mountains and rivers and incorporated into the Central Province. However, the barbarians still worshipped their ancestral gods and would need thousands of years to be fully assimilated by the Heavenly Court.

The northern barbarians, however, looked similar to the people of Great Zhou, with yellow skin and black hair, unlike the Dolan Empire across the Eastern Sea.

The Bai Rong in the west revered music and birds, using birds as their totems. They were similar to the Bird Kingdom of the Yellow Emperor's era, even considering the Golden Crow as their supreme deity. Although they were also of foreign gods, they had been assimilated by the Heavenly Court and now worshipped the Golden Crow deities of the Heavenly Court as their main gods.

Among the foreign gods, there were many civilizations similar to those of the Heavenly Court. For example, the Dawn Lord, who once ruled the Donglin Pantheon, was a complete replica of the era of Emperor Yan. It was said that the yellow-skinned, black-eyed Donglin people used a script similar to that of a certain era of the Heavenly Court. The Dawn Lord once led the Donglin Pantheon to dominate a large part of a foreign world, but was eventually besieged and defeated by other gods, preventing the establishment of a Heavenly Court in that world.

Because of the similarities in civilization, the Heavenly Court's attitude towards these enemies from different pantheons varied.

Civilizations with similar or close paths could be incorporated into the Heavenly Court system, with deities sent to integrate or educate them. Civilizations with completely different ideologies were placed around a dynasty and destroyed using the dynasty's power.

Cultural assimilation was the true goal of the Heavenly Court.

Xun Yi thought hard and drafted an essay comparing the two civilizations. Looking at the sky, he prepared to start copying it the next day.

Next, he looked at the last section of the paper, which required a 3,000-word essay. Xun Yi, being experienced, thought for a moment and wrote an outline.

"Alright, today is just the initial answering. Tomorrow is when I really start copying the essay." Feeling a bit hungry, Xun Yi frowned at the food beside him.

The examination hall provided meals, but the quality was poor—two steamed buns, a plate of pickled vegetables, and a bowl of millet porridge.

"Alright, I'll endure it!" Xun Yi sighed. Li Junde and others clearly were not used to this food either. They barely warmed it by the stove, and Xun Yi curled up to sleep.

...

Li Xinghong and others stood guard all day, and seeing it was late, they returned to the Xun family's small building to rest. Li Lan hurriedly asked, "Prince said the imperial examination uses a dual-examination system?"

"Yes, one examiner oversees while the other grades." Li Xinghong smiled bitterly. "I thought Uncle Xun could gain an advantage with Lord Zhu Tu as the examiner. Unfortunately, one of the graders is surnamed Song, who had a bad relationship with Uncle Xun in the past."

"If he recognizes Uncle Xun's identity through the writing, it might be... difficult." Given the relationship between Song Baode and Xun Yuan, would he let Xun Yi win easily?

Li Xinghong hurried to find help, but the examination hall was closed, and he could not contact Zhu Tu and others. He could only wait until the third day when Xun Yi was released.

After three days in the examination hall, Xun Yi was mentally and physically exhausted. Although he had finished the exam in the morning and rested for a while, the cramped space made it impossible to sleep. The weather was also getting warmer, and there was no ice to cool down, so Xun Yi had lost a lot of weight.

Returning home, he washed up and fell asleep immediately.

Li Xinghong wanted to ask about the situation, but seeing Xun Yi's state, he could do nothing.

At the examination hall, Zhu Tu sealed the names and sent all the test papers to the back. Song Baode and the other examiners received the papers. Zhu Tu could not help but taunt, "I hope this dual-examination system in Longchuan and Lushan counties, proposed by Lord Song, goes well."

"Lord Zhu can rest assured. I will maintain fairness and impartiality, unlike certain people." Song Baode smiled coldly, holding the papers and entering the room to grade them with his five companions.

"Xun Yuan, Xun Yuan, you took my position as the top scholar, preventing me from achieving the three consecutive victories. This time, I will definitely get back at your son."