In the fifth year of Jianning, late May.

The annual performance evaluation, overseen by Xun Shuang, has come to a close.

The number of places to be admitted in this assessment is 3,000, of which nearly 2,000 are from the three colleges of engineering, agriculture, and medicine.

In an instant, the three colleges once again became the focus of attention for students across the country.

In the eyes of the students, besides the Imperial Academy, the other three academies seemed to be the best choices for those who wanted to enter officialdom.

Liu Hong then seized the opportunity and issued an edict, summoning people from all over the country who were skilled in medicine, engineering, agriculture, water conservancy, construction, and other specialties to come to Luoyang for examination in order to enter the three academies to teach.

At the same time, Liu Hong also issued an edict to the world, stating that regardless of one's background, as long as one's skills can bring practical benefits to the development of the Han Dynasty, one can not only be granted an official position and title, but also have a subject set up for one in the academy, becoming a founder of new learning.

By late June, the imperial edict was sent to various places, causing a nationwide uproar. Countless craftsmen and scholars packed their bags and embarked on the road to Luoyang.

On the official road in Nanyang, a disheveled Taoist priest, nearly fifty years old, was slowly walking towards Luoyang, leaning on a cane.

Before long, a green-canopied carriage, billowing with dust, appeared behind the Taoist priest.

Hearing the commotion, the Taoist priest walked to the side of the road, stopped, and prepared to let the carriage pass before continuing on his way.

Just as the carriage passed by the Taoist priest, the curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man looked out. He immediately noticed the extraordinary nature of the disheveled Taoist priest and quickly called for the carriage to stop.

The middle-aged man then jumped off the carriage and bowed to the Taoist priest.

"My name is Huang Chengyan. May I ask your master's surname?"

The Taoist priest returned the greeting: "I dare not accept your honorable surname. I am Zuo Ci from Lujiang, courtesy name Yuanfang!"

Huang Chengyan then asked, "May I ask, Mr. Yuanfang, what is the purpose of your trip?"

Zuo Ci smiled and said, "I have heard that the Emperor has issued an edict ordering those with special skills to go to Luoyang. I believe I have some skills, so I am going to give it a try!"

Huang Chengyan smiled and said, "I see. That was exactly what I was thinking. If you don't mind, sir, why don't you tell me?"

"That's excellent!"

Zuo Ci did not stand on ceremony when Huang Chengyan invited him, and then boarded the carriage with Huang Chengyan and headed towards Luoyang.

Zuo Ci had always lived in seclusion in the mountains and rivers. This time, he was born by chance and saw that the changes in the people had been so great in just a few years. He couldn't help but be very curious about the current emperor.

Therefore, upon learning that the emperor was summoning talented people from all over the world without regard to convention, Zuo Ci, like Mo Shang before him, couldn't help but feel a desire to carry forward his obsessive alchemy skills and all his knowledge.

After all, the group of alchemists has never been accepted by the world. If I really achieve something, I might be able to change people's views and earn a place for alchemists to survive.

As an important city connecting Jingzhou and Sili, Nanyang saw the imperial court build a cement road connecting the two places as early as last year.

Therefore, Huang Chengyan and Zuo Ci entered Luoyang City in just three days.

When Zuo Ci arrived in Luoyang for the first time, he was also shocked by the city's prosperity and wealth.

Looking at the novel shops and goods on the street, Zuo Ci couldn't help but feel as if he had entered a secluded paradise.

After following Huang Chengyan to the Luoyang government office to report for duty, the two were arranged to stay at the guesthouse together.

After settling in, Huang Chengyan found Zuo Ci and asked with a smile, "The assessment will be in two days. I wonder which academy Brother Yuanfang plans to go to?"

Zuo Ci thought for a moment and said, "I have some knowledge of alchemy, medicine, engineering, and astronomy. I'm quite sure where I should go!"

Huang Chengyan was slightly taken aback, then said, "That's alright. I've heard that Marquis Moyang holds the positions of both Director of the Research and Manufacturing Department and Doctor of Engineering."

That being said, Huang Chengyan did not believe that Zuo Ci possessed the same abilities as Mo Yanghou.

To everyone's surprise, Zuo Ci said with a straight face, "Then I'll choose the medical school and the engineering school!"

Huang Chengyan: "......."

Two days later, the medical school's assessment began first.

Zuo Ci and three hundred doctors from various places were arranged to attend medical school classes for medical examinations.

Zuo Ci, an expert in alchemy, could answer the questions of identifying medicinal herbs and describing their pharmacology with ease.

After easily answering all the previous questions, Zuo Ci turned his attention to the last big question.

This challenging question was posed by Hua Tuo, requiring the respondent to describe how to handle a broken bone in the human body, and the procedures involved.

Zuo Ci was drawn to Hua Tuo's question. Although Zuo Ci had no experience in treating such patients, he had secretly conducted corresponding human studies in order to improve his alchemy skills.

Seeing such a question appear on a medical school exam naturally piqued Zuo Ci's great interest.

After a moment's thought, Zuo Ci picked up his pen and wrote: "Human bones are hard; if broken, the pain is unbearable. One should use a sharp blade to cut open the skin and remove the broken bone..."

Zuo Ci then wrote down in detail his entire suturing process, which he had envisioned and researched, on the answer sheet.

Shortly after, the assessment ended. Zuo Ci handed his answer sheet to the person collecting the papers and then went to the entrance of the medical school to wait for the assessment results.

On the other side, Zhang Bozu, Zhang Zhongjing, Dong Gan, Hua Tuo, and more than a dozen doctors from the medical school also gathered together to grade exam papers.

Most of the test papers had excellent answers to the earlier questions, but very few people could answer the last question posed by Hua Tuo.

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