Seeking Truth with a Sword

He really did show up. Chou Jinghuan watched Li Ang walk into the exam venue, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, and then resumed examining the wooden box shaped like a Lu Ban Lock.

This Lu Ban Lock was entirely square, with an outer frame made purely of wood and topped with a wooden sword hilt.

In the middle of the frame, there were eight uneven and twisted wooden pillars. These wooden pillars interconnected within the middle section via a mortise and tenon joint structure to form a whole. In the center of each of the four sides, excluding the top and bottom, tiny square holes were left. These holes allowed the pillars to be moved up, down, left, and right by exploiting the available space.

In addition, the examiners distributed paper and pens to the candidates, also mentioning that the final exam results depended on the progress made in unlocking the wooden box. If a candidate truly couldn't solve it, they could destroy the box, just as in the re-examination—as long as they achieved the desired effect, they could still pass the exam.

Ultimately, the examiners specifically emphasized that the paper and pen were merely tools for drawing diagrams and conjecturing the structure of the wooden box. They further clarified that the tools didn't contain any hidden tricks that could be exploited.

The entire exam lasted for twelve hours, with lunch and dinner being served by the Ministry of Rites at noon and in the evening. Candidates were to eat while seated and could not leave the exam venue, but they could use this time to rest and chat.

There was plenty of time, but the question was... How to solve it?

Li Ang tried to move the wooden bars and discovered that initially, only two were mobile. After moving the bars, vacant spaces naturally appeared, allowing other bars to be moved. However, after a few moves, they would get stuck, making it impossible to remove any single bar. He had to reverse several steps, returning to the original position to try different approaches.

One begets two, two beget four, four beget eight. The possibilities in just the first few steps numbered in the hundreds, and each subsequent deduced step spawned even more variations.

It's like a Lu Ban Lock with an incredibly complex structure, Li Ang muttered to himself. The sword hilt itself is also one of the twisted wooden pillars. Taking out the sword hilt means completely unlocking the Lu Ban Lock. Due to interference from the wooden frame and the sword hilt, it's impossible to see the specific structure of each pillar inside. I can only rely on the faint light shining through the holes, sound localization, spatial imagination, and reasoning abilities to deduce the exact shape of the eight pillars plus the sword hilt.

Li Ang slowly exhaled a breath of murky air. What's more terrifying, he thought, overwhelmed, is that drawing the shapes of the eight pillars and the sword hilt is just the beginning. I also need to deduce the specific solution based on this. Any mistake in the deduction process means I have to go back to the start.

Could this really be designed by humans?

Li Ang looked around and saw all the candidates spinning the wooden boxes. Some stared blankly, others looked frustrated, and some—particularly those recommended by the Ministry of War—were already silently squatting, pounding on the wooden boxes with their fists.

The difficulty of the Academic Palace's final exam surpassed that of the re-examination, and the wooden box's material was tougher than the re-examination's paper.

The difficulty of smashing it isn't much less than that of completely solving it, Li Ang thought to himself. The examiner said, 'The final exam results depend on the progress of unlocking the wooden box.' This means the Academic Palace doesn't expect anyone to solve the wooden box completely; we just need to progress further than others before time runs out. As for the specific method...

The final exam of the Academic Palace definitely requires Spiritual Vein Talent.

Xi Yangyu's words flashed through Li Ang's mind.

Spiritual Vein Talent, Spirit Vein...

With a serious expression, he pressed his forehead, closed his eyes, and began to meditate and sense. Nature's Spiritual Energy flowed through the Spirit Veins throughout his body, eventually reaching his head and touching the dormant, ink-black threads there. Unobstructed.

Phew...

Although he had tested it several times on his way to Chang'an, at this moment, Li Ang still felt fatigue and... relief.

Spiritual Energy filled his body. The scenery in front of him seemed to become suddenly clear. He could distinctly feel the sensation of every hair and every piece of skin being touched by the breeze.

The Qi Sensing Realm, perhaps.

Li Ang slowly opened his eyes and firmly pressed his hand on the wooden box.

Spiritual Energy from his body naturally permeated the wood. The seemingly smooth surface of the wood lit up with faint, thread-like glows, outlining the wood's natural grain. When he stopped releasing Spiritual Energy, the glows along the grain slowly faded.

So this is the hint for the final exam, huh.

Li Ang's mind raced. He immediately took up his pen and began to sketch the wood grain pattern he had just seen onto the paper.

The frame of the box itself did not glow; only the eight pillars and the sword hilt would flicker with light. Moreover, the direction of their wood grains seemed to follow some sort of pattern.

Infusing Spiritual Energy can make the wooden box glow briefly, illuminating its internal structure and how the pieces shift. And, if I'm not mistaken, the wood used for the different boxes must have all been carved from the trunk of a single tree. Although in their initial state, the wood grains of the eight pillars and the sword hilt don't align, if I move the wooden pieces so their grains match up, restoring them to the form of a contiguous piece of wood, perhaps I can solve half the puzzle, or even the entire thing!

Li Ang felt a surge of inspiration. He continued to channel Spiritual Energy into the wooden box, meticulously copying the illuminated patterns onto his paper.

There were no partitions set up between candidates in the exam venue. After Li Ang made his wooden box glow, He Fanshuang, seated behind him, also quickly discovered the method. Their actions were quickly noticed by the others, who began to emulate them.

The two Academic Palace Instructors at the back of the exam hall nodded to each other almost imperceptibly, exchanged glances, and then continued to sip their tea. Illuminating the wooden box was only the first step. To unlock it, there was still a very long way to go.

Time rapidly slipped away.

The Haotian Bell rang. The Academic Palace Instructors walked to the front of the exam venue, announced lunchtime, and collected the wooden boxes from each candidate's desk.

Like everyone else, Li Ang's wooden box was far from unlocked. He rubbed his face, having not rested for a single moment since yesterday.

"Chou Da, how far did you get?"

"Just started. You?"

"Same. And you, Pei Silang?"

The noble youths conversed quietly. Everyone's progress in the venue was similar. Pei Jing was the fastest among them, having reached the twentieth step. And Li Ang, at least judging from the appearance of the box collected, had just started.

"Look at his exhausted, pale face; he looks like he's about to die! And he was late this morning. He didn't realize he had no hope and go spend a wild night at Pingkang Square, did he?"

"Hmph, hard to say. Didn't Mr. Xi mention that using his Spirit Veins harms his body? That tiny bit of Spiritual Energy he just used might have been his limit."

"Tsk, what a pity, indeed. By the way, if he really faints during the exam, someone will carry him out, right?"

Li Ang, overhearing the hushed conversations from a corner, scratched his head helplessly. He really wanted to tell them his pallor and fatigue were due to lack of sleep and anemia.

The noble youths didn't chat for long. When someone began to whisper about their insights, everyone glanced at the Instructors at the back of the exam hall. Both Instructors were resting with their eyes closed, seemingly oblivious.

Could it be... that during lunch, the candidates can actually discuss their progress? Wouldn't that mean the person who solves it first could directly share the method and tricks with others?

The candidates' hearts pounded as they began to whisper to each other.

CLACK.

The sound of chopsticks tapping a porcelain plate was heard. Li Ang turned to look; He Fanshuang was holding her chopsticks, her willow leaf eyebrows slightly furrowed. She was the second candidate to think of using Spiritual Energy to illuminate the wooden box, and perhaps due to her excessive use of Spiritual Power, her complexion was also quite pale.

"..."

Li Ang thought for a moment, then whispered softly, "One, front face, upper left, Set one. Move inward two."

He Fanshuang was momentarily startled, then looked up at Li Ang. After a long while, she responded softly, "Two, front face, upper right, Set two. Move left one. Side face, lower left, Set five. Move outward one."

Li Ang nodded. "Three. Side face, lower left five, move right one. Front face, lower right, Set three, move outward one."

The two conversed with an exceptional tacit understanding, breathing a sigh of relief and whispering rapidly.

The instruction "One, front face, upper left, Set one. Move inward two," meant: for the first step, the piece at the upper left of the sword hilt's front face was designated as block number one, and it was to be pushed inward two spaces.

The instruction "Two, front face, upper right, Set two. Move left one. Side face, lower left, Set five. Move outward one," meant: for the second step, the piece at the upper right of the hilt's front face was designated as block number two and moved left one space. Simultaneously, the piece at the lower left of the side face was designated as block number five and, following block number two, moved outward one space.

Since their first few steps were identical, they could each discern which face the other was referring to. After several rounds of comparison, they were able to abbreviate their communication further.

"Twenty-four: six, seven, right three."

"Twenty-four: six, right one."

Their conversation diverged for the first time. Li Ang's eyes lit up; he didn't even care to eat anymore. He picked up his draft paper, scanned it, then turned his head and said, "Twenty-four: six, seven, right two. Twenty-five: five, up one."

"..."

After pondering for a moment, He Fanshuang nodded. "Acceptable."

The two exchanged words at a rapid pace in a language other candidates couldn't comprehend. As Ministry of Rites personnel re-entered the exam room to collect the dinnerware, Academic Palace Instructors also walked to the front to distribute the wooden boxes to each student.

This time, however, Li Ang's eyes no longer held any trace of fatigue or hesitation.

"I said,"

His fingers pressed down hard, leaving an imprint on the wooden block.

"I would,"

The wooden pieces collided within the frame, CLACKING.

"Pass,"

Spiritual Energy seeped from his body into the wood grain, its dim light illuminating his resolute face.

"And enter the Academic Palace!"

Time ticked by. The continuous, accelerating CLATTER of wooden pieces colliding prompted the students and the two Instructors at the back of the exam hall to look up in astonishment at Li Ang's back.

Twenty-seven steps.

Forty-nine steps.

Fifty-two steps.

Seventy-eight steps.

The sound of the first wooden pillar being pushed out of the frame and THUDDING onto the desk was like a clap of thunder.

Chou Jinghuan stared blankly at Li Ang's movements, his mind utterly void.

A second piece,

A third,

A fourth...

The number of pillars on Li Ang's desk increased. As he firmly pressed the wooden box onto the desk, its entire internal structure suddenly came apart, revealing the twisted wooden sword hilt within.

"Phew..."

Throughout the exam hall, only the sound of his breathing remained.

It was solved.

Li Ang took a long breath and looked back at the entire examination hall. Chou Jinghuan and the others wore stupefied expressions. Pei Jing's lips were tightly pursed. One Instructor stared wide-eyed, teacup in hand, while another was so amazed that he continued to pour tea, oblivious even as the cup overflowed.

'Congratulations.'

He Fanshuang, seated at the back, silently mouthed the word. She then made three final moves on her own wooden box, solving it, and also rose from her seat.

"Instructor, may we go now?" Li Ang picked up the wooden sword hilt and asked softly, "To whom should I hand this?"

"Ah?" an Instructor instinctively responded. Then, realizing his lapse, he coughed and said, "You've solved it... you may leave. Hand the sword hilt to Chen Jijiu on your way out."

"Thank you, Instructor."

Li Ang bowed his hands in thanks and, together with He Fanshuang, began to walk out of the classroom.

"Li Ang!"

SLAM! A hand struck a desk. Chou Jinghuan's lips trembled, his palm pressed flat on the tabletop. "Just now, you discussed the solution with her, didn't you? If you walk out of this classroom now, instead of waiting until after dinner..."

"Chou Jinghuan, isn't it?" Li Ang stopped, looking directly at the pale-faced Chou Jinghuan, and said coolly, "I think you've misunderstood something. Once I walk out of this room, I will be an Academic Palace Disciple. What do you have to threaten me with? What right do you have to threaten me? How dare you threaten me."

With these words, Li Ang no longer looked at the other party. Holding the sword hilt, he turned and stepped out of the exam hall.

A gentle breeze blew; the sun shone brightly.