"Brother Xiaoxian, how much money do you have left?"

As the student picked up the ink and paper, he turned to look at Mao Jie beside him and couldn't help but ask a question.

Mao Jie said, "Hmm, I have less than a hundred coins left!"

"And you, how much money do you have left?"

The student couldn't help but turn his head to look at his other companions.

"I still have a hundred coins!"

"I still have two hundred coins!"

"......"

Several students touched their money pouches, and a bitter look appeared on their faces.

"Right now, all our money combined is only enough to buy ten pages of ink and paper. If we divide it equally, that's only two pages each. Even if we only take notes for one day, that's probably not enough!"

Looking at the crowd, the student couldn't help but frown.

"Brother Xiaoxian, do you think we could buy some ink and paper on credit?"

The student looked at Mao Jie and couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Mao Jie shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work. The assessment hasn't even started yet, and we're not the Emperor's disciples!"

"What should we do then? We can't just forget about it, can we? That knowledge is extremely useful for our assessment!"

"Yes, what if we make a mistake because of this and fail the test? Wouldn't all our efforts have been for nothing?"

Upon hearing this, several students couldn't help but discuss among themselves, their faces showing a hint of worry.

One of the students suddenly said, "I heard that if you join one of the three colleges, you can buy ink and paper on credit. I think we should give it a try...?"

"That seems so. I've heard that too. Joining one of the three academies won't affect your participation in this assessment. Even if you don't pass the assessment, you can still join the Four Departments and become an official!"

Mentioning those three academies, everyone couldn't help but feel excited. If they wanted to make a name for themselves, joining one of the three academies was undoubtedly the best choice.

"Yes, you're right. This way, we won't have to go there every day!"

Mao Jie nodded, seemingly agreeing with the suggestion to join the three academies.

"But let's buy today's ink and paper first, and finish writing down today's lessons before we talk about anything else!"

"Okay, let's go!"

Mao Jie and several students walked towards the Royal Bookstore with relaxed expressions.