Chapter 57 Written Examination: Revitalizing the Cultivation World (57% complete)
Time stood still. Xiao Tingyuan clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, using the slight pain to ease the tension in his heart.
After the crane's cry, symbolizing the start of the exam, sounded, a blue screen appeared in front of him, and a water curtain rose around him, blocking out the noise and prying eyes.
He felt as if he were in a relatively spacious private room, and the gentle ripples on the water had instilled a sense of tranquility in his tense mood.
The water curtain has the ability to soothe the mind.
He took a deep breath, not bothering to marvel at the grand gesture of the Heavenly Dao Ancestor, and lowered his head to quickly scan the questions on the screen, concentrating his mind and racing against time to answer them.
The first section contains ten multiple-choice questions.
Xiao Tingyuan was focused intently, afraid of missing any key words.
[Multiple Choice Question 1. Since ancient times, there has been a legend of "Dragon God protecting the world" in the mortal realm. However, more than ten years ago, when demonic cultivators wreaked havoc in the Southern Kingdom, the mortal realm did not receive the legendary protection of the golden dragon. The reason for this is ( ).
A. The legend itself is false.
B. The Golden Dragon is unwilling to continue its protection.
C. The power left by the Golden Dragon is exhausted.
Ding, the demonic cultivator, severed the dragon vein in advance, thus blocking the Southern Kingdom's means of self-salvation.
Oh ho.
He only heard the answer to this question a quarter of an hour before the exam, and now it's on the test.
I'm really lucky; the talisman that Shen Suqi gave me seems to be very effective.
After finding them, Shen Suqi gave each of them a talisman and told them to carry it with them at all times.
She said she had carefully studied the exam rules, and the list of prohibited items did not include any lucky charms. She also browsed the old forums on the intranet and found a post titled "Essential Items Before the Exam," which suggested that in addition to bringing paper, pen, and brain, don't forget to bring a lucky charm, as it might bring unexpected benefits.
After confirming that they did not violate the rules and knowing that the exam questions would be randomly selected from a massive question bank, Shen Suqi prepared a talisman for each of them so that they could try to randomly select content from their areas of expertise.
Xiao Tingyuan sighed.
The power of talisman cultivation is just too useful!
He couldn't help but think that Su Xiaoyao's cultivation of artifacts was also very effortless and convenient. Jiang Yun's switch to ghost cultivation would eventually allow him to see his family again.
He was the only one who cultivated both swordsmanship and cooking. He was a swordsman, a profession he could easily find, but as a cook, his side job... was of no use except for refining spiritual energy.
The stark contrast made him feel somewhat melancholy.
He quickly remembered that this was the most important exam room and he couldn't afford to be distracted and waste time, so he quickly selected option [C] on the exam question board.
He was glad he had chatted with the other student before the exam; if he hadn't known the answer to the question, he might have been misled by option [D].
The first three options are concise and clear, but the one with the most words and the most detailed explanation seems reasonable and tempting to choose from all angles.
This is a huge misconception; someone unfamiliar with this period of history could easily be misled.
He was slightly provoked by the malicious intent of the answer choices, and then he focused all his attention on the questions that followed.
[Option 2. Later generations commented that Tianyan Daozu's famous battle "Lei Zhen" was a victory against overwhelming odds. The victory in this earth-shattering battle was due to the indispensable factors of timing, location, and people. Among them, "location" refers to ( ).
A. Heavy rain poured down.
B. The terrain is flat and suitable for attracting lightning.
C. The area is adjacent to the Hehuan Sect, and the sect leader provided timely assistance.
D. All of the above options are correct.
Xiao Tingyuan's brows furrowed into a deep frown.
Every option seemed correct, but he vaguely remembered that the heavy rain during the battle was not a coincidence, but rather that the Dao Ancestor had prepared for it in advance, and that the battlefield happened to be near the Hehuan Sect because the Dao Ancestor had deliberately lured people there.
These can hardly be called "advantageous location," right? Shouldn't they be considered "advantageous personnel"? But would an exam question suddenly include a statement like "all of the above options are correct" for no reason?
After much deliberation, he followed his own inclination and filled in option B.
This is the only factor that cannot be manipulated by humans.
The next question is still very tricky.
Of the following four herbs, ( ) is unique to the Misty Forest and has the most significant blood-clotting effect.
A. Condensed Pearl Grass
B. Blood-clotting herb
C. Fire Black Flower
Ding. Firefly]
Xiao Tingyuan gasped.
First, rule out the blood-clotting herb. Its name suggests that it has a good blood-clotting effect, but that's not actually the case.
It can be called blood-clotting grass because it is found everywhere and is extremely easy to obtain.
Almost every independent cultivator, even those who aren't medicine practitioners, recognizes it and will look for this herb nearby when they lack hemostatic pills.
As for the fire flower, he had seen it in the snow mountain; it was a very precious herb with a strong blood-clotting effect.
Two years ago, the three of them entered a secret realm in a snowy mountain. Jiang Yun was scratched by a monster, and Su Xiaoyao recognized this herb and used it to stop the bleeding from Jiang Yun's wound.
He couldn't distinguish between the remaining two options.
Although the three-person team was short of money and often had to use various herbs, this was usually handled by the meticulous Jiang Yun, while Su Xiaoyao would occasionally flip through some books on a whim.
He was the only one who knew how to use these emergency herbs, but didn't ask much about their names. It was a coincidence that he knew about the Fire Crow Flower. Su Xiaoyao was overjoyed when she recognized it and called out to it, and he listened.
Xiao Tingyuan was annoyed.
He may have seen or even used the Condensed Pearl Grass and Fire Money Flower, but he just couldn't tell them apart during the assessment.
Relying too much on partners is not a good thing either. There will always be times when the three of them act separately, like today. Knowledge must be enjoyed by oneself.
He secretly resolved to overcome his laziness and become more meticulous and serious in his cultivation and study.
Glancing at the countdown timer in the lower left corner of the screen, Xiao Tingyuan gritted his teeth and decided to think about the question one last time before continuing to look at the questions below.
He is not alone in feeling regret.
The question bank contains a mix of common and rare items. The most common situation for test takers is that they can eliminate two of the four options, but they cannot determine which of the remaining options is the correct one. This feeling of being just one step away from getting the right answer is really unpleasant.
The live-fire test will punish anyone who has only a superficial understanding; multiple-choice and true/false questions will be torture for them.
But they soon realized that the torture was not just that; the multiple-choice and true/false questions were relatively "gentle" in comparison.
At least for the multiple-choice and true/false questions, even if you don't know the answers, you have a chance of guessing correctly. But the fill-in-the-blank, material analysis, and subjective short-answer questions are the real killers.
If you don't know the answers to the later questions, you really won't get a single point!
In their despair, the test-takers seemed to have suddenly unlocked their full potential, spontaneously grasping the essence of exam-taking skills—
You can not know it, but you can't leave it blank.
And so, Rong Ling remained silent.
Lin Ming silently mourned for her for two seconds, then couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
Fortunately, he didn't get to answer the short answer questions; he was in charge of the true/false questions, which only required checking the checkmarks and crosses.
Jun Huilian, who was seated at the head of the table, spoke up: "We can't go easy on them. This isn't a final exam. We're not going to budge."
Having received clear instructions, Rong Ling raised the trident, deciding to become an emotionless, iron-faced sea god who only knew how to strike "X, X, X".
Unlike the illusion, written exams cannot provide results immediately.
Adhering to the principles of fairness, impartiality, and transparency, Jun Huilian immediately removed the blue screen and water curtain after the assessment. He also stated that the written exam would be manually graded by teachers from Tianyan Academy, and the results would be released in three days, at which time the papers of the top three scorers would be fully displayed.
The candidates were both nervous and excited after hearing the announcement.
The tension was that it would take a full three days to be judged, but the joy was that most people felt they wouldn't be able to stay after the exam, so having three days to explore and cultivate in the first level of spiritual energy was a bonus.
After Jun Huilian announced the end of the exam, the candidates stood up one after another, preparing to find their companions who had been separated due to not sitting together, and leave together.
Suddenly, a strange change occurred: some of the examinees' wrists were marked with a red snake-like halo.
These people were seated rather sparsely, and there was nothing particularly special about them. The only thing they had in common was that they were clearly flustered after being marked.
Jun Huilian's languid voice rang out again: "Those marked are disqualified from the exam and must leave Tianyan Academy within one day."
"Why?!" someone cried out, desperately trying to grab the light.
Jun Huilian said calmly, "You cheated, that's all."
The man was taken aback, a flicker of panic crossing his eyes, but he quickly composed himself and said with a forced smile, "What evidence do you have?"
"You haven't cleaned up the talisman ash on your cuffs yet," Jun Huilian said bluntly.
The cultivator clutched his sleeve, flustered, and said, "Even if there's talisman ash, it doesn't prove anything... This is something I left behind before, it's not cheating in the exam!"
The more he spoke, the more confident he became, as if he had brainwashed himself.
That's right, this talisman was the one he used before the exam, and it had nothing to do with cheating in the exam room!
A clear, short, mocking laugh echoed throughout the examination hall.
The sarcasm was so strong that it caused the test takers to express their dissatisfaction.
Who among them isn't a genius among the heavens? Who has ever been publicly humiliated like this? The thought that the heavens would reveal everything that happened here filled them with shame and anger.
If I admit to cheating today, I will be ridiculed by everyone when I get out.
They saw that "Jun Laiye," who was in charge of the assessments, did everything herself, which didn't seem like she had a high status in Tianyan Academy. After weighing the options, they thought that the cost of offending her was far less than losing their assessment spot, so they made a scene in one fell swoop.
At this moment, the cheaters, knowing they were in the wrong, were more united than ever before.
They would rather cheat to stay, so why would they leave in such a sorry state?
They won't admit it! They'd rather die than admit it!
Besides, many of their actions are very secretive, leaving no solid evidence. Even if they are discovered, so what? If they are not caught on the spot, is she supposed to extract their spiritual consciousness for interrogation, or reassemble the burned-out talismans?
The more guilty they felt, the bigger their reaction became; no one wanted to miss out on such a huge opportunity.
Behind the scenes, Feng Wujue's childlike face was arrogant and innocent, but his words were chilling: "If only the cultivation world could be overthrown and rebuilt."
The moment he finished speaking, Jun Huilian felt the Heavenly Dao consciousness twitching wildly.
It truly believed that Jun Huilian was capable of such a thing; he was using his clone to test the waters.
Jun Huilian was speechless: "This is my hometown, after all, and I'm an adult. I would never stoop to the level of a junior. It would be beneath me. They are ignorant, and I just need to teach them a lesson."
She "heard" the Heavenly Dao trembling as it asked how to educate.
She grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light: "The problems of our peers should be resolved by our peers. I don't need to get involved. The people I've trained are enough to set this world back on track."
After the crowd had finished arguing, she slowly amplified her voice in Jun Laiye's slightly immature tone: "The evidence you want."
The entire island was a magical artifact she had crafted; how could any unusual movement within it escape the watchful eye of its controller?
As soon as he finished speaking, the communication notification sounds echoed throughout the examination hall where tens of thousands of people had gathered.
A new link with the title "[Click to claim your cheating live stream/heart emoji]" has appeared on the intranet homepage.
Jun Huilian's voice softened, returning to his former easygoing tone:
"There's one more thing I forgot to tell you. In order to revitalize the cultivation world, the Dao Ancestor established an academy and believed that everyone in the cultivation world was entitled to know the learning progress of the people in the academy. Therefore, he set up an official website that everyone can access."
"Since you have made this request so sincerely, I will naturally grant your request."
"A group photo of the champions of the first illusionary test, the best papers from this written test, and even a compilation of your rule violations will all be released to the public."
"Ask any questions you have now, because you won't be able to ask them after today."
"Why are you so quiet now? It was quite lively just now."
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Author's note: It's that grumpy little Ah Hui!
The exam questions covered content from the outline of the pre-release novel "The Wanderer," which I'll just briefly mention here and won't go into detail.
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