Chapter 7

Chen Changsheng stopped in his tracks, turned to look at his teacher, somewhat puzzled, and then he recalled the paintings he had seen earlier, finally understanding where the teacher's anger came from—those who failed the marrow washing test would usually leave dejectedly after this stage. The teacher thought he should do the same, but he had continued on his own, which must have displeased the teacher.

Unwilling to waste time on pointless arguments and misunderstandings, Chen Changsheng bowed respectfully to the teacher, who was getting up, and explained directly, "Teacher, I am not causing trouble."

The teacher was about to scold him for causing a disturbance in such a solemn examination hall but was taken aback by his words, feeling somewhat choked. He coughed a couple of times and shouted, "Then why don't you leave quickly!"

The young candidates waiting behind Chen Changsheng were already anxious and impatient. Seeing that he was unwilling to leave, they thought he was being unreasonable and became very angry, joining the teacher in scolding him. Some even mocked him, saying he had lost his mind.

Chen Changsheng heard their words and laughter but showed no change in his expression, looking far too calm for a fourteen-year-old, making people feel somewhat at a loss. He looked at the teacher and bowed again, speaking politely and orderly, "I have not practiced cultivation, but I can still apply to Tian Dao College."

The teacher was stunned, not knowing what the young man was trying to say. If he couldn't even pass the marrow washing, how could he have the qualifications to continue the exam? There had never been any exceptions in all these years. Even if there were, why should it be him?

Chen Changsheng said, "According to Article 17, Section 4, Clause 8 of the Tian Dao College regulations, the entrance exam is the only standard. There was also a precedent set by the Qingli Department eleven years ago."

Seeing his simple clothing, the teacher subconsciously prepared to scold him, not out of prejudice against the poor, but because he simply did not believe that a boy clearly from a remote and poor area could know the regulations of Tian Dao College better than himself, who had been in charge of the first stage of the exam for many years. What kind of note... Is there such a clause in the regulations? Why do I have no memory of it?

However, just as he was about to have someone take the boy away, he suddenly heard the term "Qingli Department" and was startled, retracting the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

The Qingli Department, though seemingly unimportant under the Ministry of Personnel of the Great Zhou Dynasty, had become a different entity since the Holy Empress began her rule. Managed by the famous and notorious Zhou Tong, who was favored by the Empress, countless loyal old ministers and generals of the royal family mysteriously died in those ordinary-looking buildings. Gradually, the name of the Qingli Department struck fear into the hearts of all Zhou Dynasty officials and nobles...

Although Tian Dao College was not under the jurisdiction of the Qingli Department, it still had some reservations. What made the teacher particularly uneasy was that the Qingli Department, to wash away its bad reputation, placed great emphasis on its reputation among the people. When dealing with public grievances, it emphasized so-called "reason." If the regulations of Tian Dao College really had the clause the young man mentioned, there might be real trouble...

Seeing Chen Changsheng's calm expression, the teacher suddenly felt a bit uncertain. After hesitating for a moment, he frowned and shouted a few words to the back of the queue, then turned and left, not knowing where he was going. The shouts and mocking voices of the crowd gradually subsided into whispers, not knowing what had happened.

After a while, the teacher returned, his gaze toward Chen Changsheng becoming somewhat complicated.

Chen Changsheng knew that the teacher had probably gone to check the regulations and had seen the note he mentioned. He had been reading in the temple since childhood, with the three thousand volumes of the Great Dao all in his mind, and could recite countless classics and articles by heart. He had read the regulations and etiquette details of various countries many times, so he certainly would not remember incorrectly.

"Even if you continue the exam, you have no chance, why waste time?" the teacher said, looking at Chen Changsheng with a stern expression.

Chen Changsheng replied, "The student still wants to try."

The teacher said, "You didn't pass the marrow washing, how can you solve those problems? And you will strain your mind. Are you sure you want to take the exam?"

This was not a lie. After the marrow washing, the biggest difference between those who passed and ordinary people was the strength of their bodies and their mental power, which was a matter of innate endowment and could not be changed by human effort. Without the marrow washing, it was impossible to solve those difficult problems and could even result in serious injury. Therefore, the small table and the black sensing stone in the bamboo pavilion became a necessary part of the exam. Those who could not make the black stone glow were eliminated, which had become a convention or common knowledge. That's why no one who failed had raised objections until Chen Changsheng appeared.

Chen Changsheng bowed and said, "The student is determined to take the exam."

The teacher's face turned grim, thinking that if Chen Changsheng was just wasting his time because he had coincidentally seen that regulation, and was also wasting everyone else's time, then let him go. If he really injured his mind and became a fool, it would be his own fault.

"Then go ahead."

Chen Changsheng bowed again, said no more, and walked out of the bamboo pavilion, heading toward the building deep in Tian Dao College.

The teacher said nothing more, looking at the remaining students with a frosty expression, "Next."

...

...

No one had passed the sensing stone test and continued to take the entrance exam of Tian Dao College for over a decade. The young candidates watching Chen Changsheng walk away could not understand what had happened. Those who knew the inside story did not take the matter seriously—finding loopholes was just that, and without the marrow washing, his memory and analytical skills were just ordinary, making it impossible for him to solve the entrance exam questions of Tian Dao College. Chen Changsheng's behavior was at most an interesting interlude.

The building was the Jia Number Building of Tian Dao College. Many people did not think much of Chen Changsheng walking into the building, but the young man in green, Tang Sanshiu, who had already successfully entered Tian Dao College, looked deeply at Chen Changsheng twice. He did not think Chen Changsheng could pass the exam, but he admired the young man's seriousness and even stubbornness, as it easily reminded him of himself. At that moment, the deputy dean of Tian Dao College appeared beside him and smiled, "Do you think that young man has a chance? I don't think so. Who was the last person to enter Tian Dao College as an ordinary person? His name was Wang Ce, and this continent has not seen anyone like Wang Ce for hundreds of years."

Wang Ce was a legendary figure on this continent. At the end of the reign of the First Emperor, he entered Tian Dao College at the age of sixteen, an ordinary person who had not practiced cultivation. After graduating from Tian Dao College, he worked as a clerk in the government until he was forty, when he suddenly understood the Dao one night in the capital. He began to practice and reached the peak in a short time, eventually becoming the deputy commander of the human alliance army, playing a decisive role in the great victory over the demon race. To this day, his portrait still hangs in the Lingyan Pavilion.

Wang Ce had not been seen in the human world for a long time.

Tang Sanshiu said, "I don't think he can pass the exam, and I don't think he will be the next Wang Ce, but I think that if one wants to become a great person like Wang Ce, at least one must have the spirit of not giving up and live a disciplined life. I have never thought that geniuses are that great. The most terrifying people are those who are the strictest with themselves."

The deputy dean shook his head and said, "When Wang Ce was studying in his clan school, he read frozen porridge in the icy and snowy weather, never putting down a book. How much of that can this young man learn?"

Tang Sanshiu said, "At least he is much stronger than the other mediocre people."

The deputy dean looked at him and said, "You are indeed Tang Tang, seeing things and people in a unique way."

Tang Sanshiu frowned slightly and said, "Please call me Tang Sanshiu."

The deputy dean laughed and said, "Once you enter Tian Dao College, your name will likely change again."

Tang Sanshiu said solemnly, "That is inevitable."

The deputy dean looked at the building, feeling the faint fragrance seeping through the windows, and asked, "Are you going to continue waiting?"

Tang Sanshiu said, "Yes."

The deputy dean asked, "Why?"

Tang Sanshiu said, "Although he cannot pass, I want to know how many points he can score."

...

...

The exam paper on the desk was thick, like a small mountain. Chen Changsheng, not knowing the specific content of the exam, was inevitably nervous. It was well known that Tian Dao College was extremely difficult to enter because the entrance exam covered a wide range of topics, from the true meaning of the Daoist sect to the initial interpretation of the Heavenly Book, to military strategy, and even agricultural questions. Even those who had completed the marrow washing perfectly found it difficult to finish all the questions before the incense burned out. How much more difficult would it be for him, an ordinary person?

He sat at the desk, closed his eyes to rest for five breaths, then opened them and reached out to flip to the first page of the exam paper. As he did so, his emotions were somewhat complex, a mix of curiosity about the unknown and an inexplicable unease, but also a bit of inexplicable anticipation.

His fingers suddenly stiffened, and a look of confusion flashed in his bright, mirror-like eyes.

It was said that the questions of Tian Dao College were very difficult, often seeking the most obscure and difficult passages. But why... did the first question on the first page look so familiar? The debate between Cen Canzi and the seventh generation patriarch on the thirty-one meanings of the Dao? When had he seen this? It seemed to be when he was three years old... It was a small, unremarkable section in the commentary on the Nan Hua Jing by the Huai Nan scholars, but he was sure he had seen it, memorized it, and reviewed it again at the age of five and eleven.

Not only familiar, but he knew it by heart.

Chen Changsheng was puzzled but, being a young man, was more surprised. He picked up the ink brush and began to write down the passages and segments in his mind, the profound insights of the sages and great men, and then he turned to the second page. As expected, he saw another familiar passage...

The Great Dao encompasses everything, and the entrance exam questions of Tian Dao College are almost all within the three thousand volumes.

He could recite those three thousand volumes by heart.

How could such an exam be difficult for him?