Chapter 19: Marking This is... Mu Fuyun’s answer sheet?
In the last hour, about ten more disciples handed in their papers.
Among them, there are students in Class A who are confident and at ease, and there are also students from other classes who have completely given up because they really can't do it.
The crowd that had gathered around to watch the excitement also gradually dispersed. After all, it was just a written test, and if they stayed there, they wouldn't be able to figure out what was going on.
There were a few people who became interested in Mu Fuyun's strange behavior and decided to stay and see what trouble she was up to.
Several instructors who were guarding the scene also noticed that she was meditating with her eyes closed. They were stunned and looked at Instructor Wu for instructions.
Instructor Wu's gaze lingered on her for a moment, his serious brows slightly wrinkled, revealing a hint of indifferent displeasure.
"I didn't ask for help, and I didn't trigger the restrictions in the examination room. I didn't violate any rules, so I don't need to worry about it."
Xu Huaiyan was extremely nervous. Even though he had finished answering the questions from beginning to end, he did not hand in the paper like other students in the class. Instead, he continued to sit in his seat, paying attention to Mu Fuyun's movements from time to time.
The sand in the hourglass keeps flowing, which means the continuous passage of time.
Mu Fuyun closed his eyes and meditated, regulating his breathing for nearly half an hour, and finally suppressed the fluctuations in his body temporarily.
When she opened her eyes again, her face was a little pale, but her cheeks were flushed, making her look unusually beautiful.
There was only half an hour left in the hourglass. She looked up and took a quick glance. Without wasting any more time, she picked up her pen and continued answering the questions.
Xu Huaiyan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had recovered. He lowered his head to check his answer sheet, and after making sure that there was no problem, he stood up and handed it in.
Half an hour later, the bell of Qinglu rang again.
As soon as Mu Fuyun put down the pen, the scroll in front of him rolled up automatically and a sealing talisman was affixed to it.
She breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and left the examination room with everyone else.
The disciples who came out started discussing loudly.
"The first twenty questions have been explained in detail by the instructors. As long as you listen carefully, you should be able to do them. But the last ten are a bit difficult. I've never even heard of three of them."
"Me too. I have no idea about three of them, I only have vague memories of two, and I only remember a little bit about the remaining five."
"Hey, I'm already ranked around 70 or 80. It looks like I really have no hope of making it to the martial arts exam this time."
Although most people do not have the opportunity to enter the inner sect after entering the martial arts test, it is still a very powerful bonus when they leave Tianyan Sect and make a living on their own in various places on the mainland in the future.
Xu Huaiyan handed in his paper but didn't leave immediately. As soon as Mu Fuyun came out, he went up to her and asked, "Junior Sister Mu, how did you feel about the written test?"
Mu Fuyun knew he was worried about him. As they walked, he thought carefully and said, "I was a bit pressed for time, so I couldn't finish the last three questions. However, I answered the basics. Although I can't rank among the top, I should have no problem passing."
Xu Huaiyan carefully observed her expression. Seeing that she didn't look unsure, he smiled with relief. "That's good. The written test is just the first hurdle. You don't need to be the best, just pass it. Everything else depends on the subsequent tests. But, what happened to you in the exam room just now? I saw that you seemed a little unwell."
"Nothing wrong. I just practiced swordplay a little too hard recently. My breathing became unstable just now, so I had to stop and adjust. I'm fine now."
At this time, a disciple from Class A in front shouted to Xu Huaiyan to come over and practice sword together.
"If Senior Brother Xu has anything else to do, go ahead. I'm fine, I'll go back and rest first." Mu Fuyun said.
Xu Huaiyan gestured to those people, indicating that he would be there soon. Then he told Mu Fuyun not to try too hard and to do things within his ability, and then he left in a hurry.
Mu Fuyun stopped, looked up at the vast blue sky above her head, shook her ponytail behind her head, turned in another direction, parted ways with the many outer disciples, and went up the mountain alone to return to the thatched cottage.
This is the road to the inner gate, and it is usually sparsely populated.
She walked back and forth every day, step by step, and rarely used the talisman given by Chu Ye. Today, not only did she feel weak, but her head was also dizzy from answering questions for more than two hours, so she took out a piece of paper and stuck it on her body.
The heavy feet suddenly felt light as if they were gently supported by the breeze and floating clouds.
Just after walking around a winding path, she stopped again.
Under a towering ancient tree in front, Song Xinghe, with a bored look on his face, was leaning against the tree trunk with his arms folded over his chest.
Hearing her stop, he turned his head and looked at her first, then deliberately put on a sullen face and said, "I heard that you didn't perform well in the exam just now. Could it be that you can't even pass the written test?"
After saying that, he stared at her closely with an undisguised nervousness in his eyes.
Mu Fuyun didn't expect that such a small matter would spread so quickly. Even Song Xinghe heard about it. He said lightly: "Don't worry about this matter."
Song Xinghe was very dissatisfied with her attitude of excluding himself from everything and wanting to stay as far away from her as possible, and he couldn't help but say something without thinking.
"You want me to worry about you, do you want Senior Brother to worry about you? Let me tell you, don't expect Senior Brother to make another exception and let you pass the written test. Rules are rules. This time, even if the head master says so, it won't work."
"Okay, I got it. No need to keep repeating it." Mu Fuyun shook his head indifferently and walked towards him step by step with a smile. "But you, you care about me so much. Do you want me to pass or not?"
Song Xinghe looked at the beautiful face that suddenly approached and instinctively became a little dazed.
Naturally, I hope she passes.
As for the reason, he himself couldn't explain it clearly, so just think of it as being for his senior sister.
"With your level, the chances of passing are slim. I just don't want to see your results be too bad and embarrass Senior Sister. Back then, Senior Sister took first place in both the civil and martial arts tests in the outer sect examination."
"I see." Mu Fuyun raised the corners of his lips and gave him a knowing smile that made his head dazed. "Don't worry, I will pass it and won't embarrass anyone."
"Really?" Song Xinghe narrowed his eyes and looked at her suspiciously.
"Believe it or not, you will know the result in three days." Mu Fuyun said calmly.
…
In the Qinglu, Instructor Wu was leading several outer disciples to sort out the scrolls in the mustard seed bag.
"As expected, half of the students couldn't answer the last three questions! Of the few who did, most only had a partial understanding." An instructor flipped through the scroll in his hand and said,
"These disciples are indeed diligent, but most of them only spend their time on those few books and don't know how to study on their own. You must know that when it comes to learning sword skills, the master only guides; the ultimate level of cultivation depends entirely on the individual."
The person who said this was Teacher Han, who had set these three questions.
He has been an instructor in Tianyan Sect for many years. Although his sword skills are average, he is well-read and has read and heard of all kinds of miscellaneous schools and unconventional sword techniques.
In the early years, due to the sect's rules, the questions asked every year were all very conventional. This year, I finally have some room to show off, so I can't help but feel proud.
"Indeed, looking back at the great powers throughout history, which one didn't rely on their own practice and opportunities to leave behind a legend? If they can't even study after class, how can we expect them to make breakthroughs in the future?"
Instructor Wu was obviously very satisfied with this change. He nodded in agreement while flipping through the scroll.
At this time, Chu Ye came in from outside.
The instructors were startled and quickly stood up: "Why is Junior Brother Chu here at this time?"
Although the instructors were slightly older in seniority, their status in the sect was not as high as Chu Ye's, so they were very respectful.
Chu Ye was in charge of reviewing the grading results, so logically, he didn't need to come so early. In previous years, he would wait until they were almost done grading before coming to go through the motions.
"I heard that there are changes in the written examination this year, so I came to take a look since I happened to pass by." Chu Ye bowed slightly to a few people as a greeting, and then his eyes fell on the more than one hundred scrolls covering the table.
Instructor Wu and the others quickly moved aside and said, "Brother Chu, you've arrived just in time. We've just glanced through this year's answer sheets, and we suspect that the performance of several disciples will indeed be unexpected."
"How are the students in Class A?" Chu Ye found his seat and sat down and asked.
"The disciples in Class A are all outstanding, after all. Whether in terms of aptitude or character, they are far superior to those in other classes. Most of them are performing normally, without any flaws." Instructor Wu stroked his beard and took the initiative to hand the Class A scroll to him, nodding. "Only one—"
The only outlier in Class A is Mu Fuyun.
He was about to say it, but then he remembered that Mu Fuyu was sent in by Chu Ye, and he hesitated whether to say it directly.
Chu Ye ignored his words and just silently looked at the scrolls one by one.
Regardless of the answer, his gaze stayed on them for about the same amount of time, as if he was really concerned about the situation of the Class A disciples.
Only when he saw the last scroll did he stay there for an exceptionally long time.
However, Instructor Wu did not become suspicious because he was also shocked by the scroll in front of him.
"Is this... Mu Fuyun's answer?"
Not only is the handwriting on this answer sheet elegant and free-flowing, but at first glance, except for the last three questions which have fewer words, the first twenty or so questions are all fully answered.
I thought she was uneducated and must have written a lot of filler words and sentences. This was the case with many students in Class C who encountered questions that they had no idea how to answer.
But if you look closely, you will find that the answers she wrote are not inferior in terms of understanding the mysteries of Taoism or her knowledge of obscure classics.
Even for the last three questions, one could tell from the limited words she had, that it wasn't that she couldn't answer them, but that she was limited by time and couldn't cover everything, so she had to make choices.
If there is any shortcoming, it can be seen from the insights she wrote that compared with other Class A disciples, she has too little experience in cultivation.
Even so, it is shocking enough.
"Is this really...something Mu Fuyun, who only studied for a little over two months, came up with?"
Several instructors who noticed something was wrong and gathered around looked at each other in confusion.
Chu Ye sat in silence, browsing the elegant handwriting above, with an expressionless face, as if he didn't care at all. Only a brief flash of surprise and relief flashed in his lowered eyes.
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