Seeking Truth with a Sword

In the Honglu Temple hall, Academic Palace Instructors who had come to attend the final exam and did not have proctoring duties were casually sitting and chatting.

"...so I said, this year's final exam questions were really too difficult."

The tall and burly Academic Palace Director, Doctor of Physical Science Xue Che, shook his head helplessly. "Just listen to that banging of desks. Once the exam results are out, the Ministry of War will surely come making trouble at the Academic Palace again. They'll say we didn't recommend any career paths for the Ministry of War."

"Let them make a fuss. It's the same every year; they always feel shortchanged. They didn't protest when the final exam tasks involved physical labor."

Herbal Medicine Doctor Sun Pu said with a chuckle, "But this year's final exam was tough indeed, especially since the Mountain Master picked questions from the mutated objects at the Dongjun Tower. By the way, it took me three and a half hours to solve that wooden box; how long did it take you?"

Doctor of Hundred Beasts Wei Shanjun chuckled, "I was a bit quicker, three hours and fifteen minutes."

Military Doctor Qi Ju shook his head, "Three hours. I got a bit angry while solving it and used too much force, breaking off a corner—guess that's considered a shortcut."

"Hey, I got angry too when I was solving it."

Herbal Medicine Doctor Sun Pu couldn't help but chuckle silently as he glanced at Academic Palace Director and Sword Doctor Cui Yixian and Sacrificial Officer Chen Danqiu, who were silently playing chess nearby. He scratched his cheek, wanting to ask but not quite daring.

"Stop looking," Sword Study Master Cui Yixian said without lifting his head. "Among us here, the fastest was Brother Wenyuan. He took only seven and a half minutes."

"Ah?"

All the doctors turned their heads toward a corner where Doctor of Mathematics Chao Wenyuan, who was deep in thought and frowning, was sitting. Feeling their gaze, he looked up and answered with a smile, "I didn't use spiritual energy to reveal the wood grain patterns, but used the Great Propagation Technique to forcibly calculate it."

"Wow, the Great Propagation Technique is that powerful, huh."

Sun Pu clicked his tongue, only to hear Xi Yangyu casually say, "Brother Wenyuan is indeed in no rush..."

The relaxed atmosphere in the hall suddenly tensed; they had all witnessed the quarrel between Xi Yangyu and Chao Wenyuan outside the Vermilion Bird Gate.

"Isn't Brother Yangyu the same?" Chao Wenyuan knew Xi Yangyu's comment about 'not being in a rush' was aimed at Li Ang, who lacked Spiritual Vein Talent and might face accidents during the exam. He responded without pleasantries, "The Minister of the Left's son still hasn't come out from the examination area. Aren't you going to check on him?"

"No need." It was no secret that Xi Yangyu was a guest in many noble and ministerial households. However, he still felt uncomfortable being singled out by Chao Wenyuan in front of his colleagues.

"Since Brother Wenyuan has already solved the wooden box with the Great Propagation Technique, he should understand the difficulty involved." Xi Yangyu continued indifferently, "Only a student who is top-notch in mentality, spirit veins, willpower, and mathematics could potentially solve it. That's why this year's condition was to solve as much as possible, not to complete it all. Unfortunately, that candidate didn't appreciate your kindness and insisted on competing out of his depth..."

TAP, TAP, TAP.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor, growing closer. Xi Yangyu abruptly stopped talking, his eyes widening as he stared at Li Ang and He Fanshuang appearing at the door, and at the wooden, twisted sword hilt they were holding.

"Doctor, Master, Sacrificial Officer. Disciple Li Ang from Yizhou." Li Ang bowed to the stunned doctors in the room and held out the wooden sword hilt with both hands, presenting it before Sacrificial Officer Chen Danqiu.

"..."

Chen Danqiu glanced at the wooden sword hilt held by Li Ang and He Fanshuang and, uncharacteristically, revealed a slight smile. He waved his sleeve lightly, summoning a breeze that swept up the wooden sword hilt and deposited it into the empty bamboo basket on the table. Chen Danqiu nodded, "Very well, who solved it first?"

"He." He Fanshuang spoke first, pointing at Li Ang.

"Not bad, not bad." Chen Danqiu praised twice and said, "You can go now. Remember not to leave the city in the afternoon, and wait at home in the evening. Someone from the palace will come to invite you to attend the dinner at Liangyi Hall."

"Yes." Li Ang gratefully glanced at Chen Danqiu and Chao Wen Yuan, and along with He Fanshuang, turned and left the hall, exiting Honglu Temple.

Herbal Medicine Doctor Sun Pu glanced at Chao Wen Yuan, who had slapped the table and jumped to his feet in astonishment, and then at the even more surprised and disconcerted Xi Yangyu. Sun Pu almost couldn't help but laugh.

A moment later, Chao Wen Yuan collected himself and chuckled, "Ha, Dr. Xi, it seems that your divination of spirit vein pathways can also encounter unexpected mishaps occasionally."

"..." Xi Yangyu, with a gloomy expression, said sternly, "My divination cannot possibly be wrong." He stepped forward and approached the table, picking up the wooden sword hilt from the bamboo basket and glancing at it. "There is residual spiritual energy from the Qi Sensing Realm on both these wooden sword hilts. With his Skull-interrupted Sword trigram, it's impossible for him to have reached the Qi Sensing Realm. Either he falsely reported his spirit vein, or he is involved with Aliens, or he cheated and falsified information. No matter which it is, given that it concerns the top scorer of the final examination and the centennial reputation of the Academic Palace, it wouldn't hurt to have him come back for a thorough examination to prevent any accidents..."

"Yang Yu, Danqiu." A casual middle-aged male voice came from outside, and a middle-aged man dressed in a long robe, wearing a sword, gracefully walked into the hall.

"Elder Brother." Many doctors in the hall stood up. The middle-aged man with the sword was Shen Tuyu, an Imperial Palace Tributor and a Candle Cloud Realm cultivator. Although Shen Tuyu was now an Imperial Palace Tributor and no longer affiliated with the Academic Palace, he had been a senior to Chen Danqiu, Xi Yangyu, and others during their time there. Thus, they still addressed him as 'Elder Brother'.

"Elder Brother, why are you here?" Xi Yangyu frowned and asked. Imperial Palace Tributors had to take turns guarding the Emperor and usually did not leave the Imperial City.

"I'm here babysitting." Shen Tuyu waved his hand, casually picked up a full teacup from the table, drained it in one gulp, and said, "Where is that Li Ang from Yizhou State School? The Emperor and the Mountain Master have tasked me to absolutely ensure his safety today, to prevent the proverbial tall tree from being toppled by the wind, protecting him from shortsighted troublemakers. Tsk tsk tsk, the Mountain Master has never been this kind to me... Eh, Yang Yu, why do you look so upset?"

「The Vermilion Bird Gate.」

Li Ang and He Fanshuang stood under the Imperial City Wall, looking up at the arched city gate and the blood-red Vermilion Bird Gate.

After stepping through this gate, will I then be a disciple of the Academic Palace...

All those days and nights of sweat and toil, all the effort I've poured into this... finally, the clouds have parted to reveal the moon.

Li Ang took a deep breath. Even he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at this moment.

"Together?" Li Ang glanced at He Fanshuang and tilted his head towards the outside of the city gate.

He Fanshuang shook her head. "You go first."

"Alright." Li Ang didn't refuse. Accompanied by a CREAK, the Vermilion Bird Gate was slowly pulled open by the Imperial Guard soldiers. Li Ang soaked in the warmth of the sunlight piercing through the crevice of the city gate, taking in the gazes of thousands upon thousands of onlookers, and took a step forward.