Chapter 108 – The Major Exam

Chapter 108 – The Major Exam

Today’s examination tested cultivation practice. The morning session assessed everyone on Daoist Rites, while the afternoon would be split into separate cultivation level tests for the literary and martial tracks.

The scope of Daoist Rites was actually quite broad—there were forms of address etiquette, sparring etiquette, ritual-casting etiquette, and many others. Generally, one category would be selected for testing. This time, the draw landed on archery rites.

Chrysanthemum Plucking House and Bamboo Inquiry Tower completed their tests one by one and stepped aside to observe. Then it was Orchid Heart Pavilion’s four sections’ turn.

“Section One, twenty-two people—take your bows and step forward!”

The members of Section One found their respective targets. Zhan Changfeng took her position and drew an arrow, when suddenly a mocking laugh came from beside her. She turned to see Yu Zhihuai, who had shoved Li Baimao aside and was glaring at her coldly.

Zhan Changfeng didn’t pay it much mind and went about inspecting her arrow’s alignment.

The displaced Li Baimao was furious. “What are you doing? There are plenty of open spots—why are you shoving people out of the way?”

“I want to stand here. Go somewhere else.” Yu Zhihuai glanced at him, then treated him as though he didn’t exist.

“I was here first! Why should I move? You steal someone’s spot and act like you’re in the right?!”

The judge shouted sternly, “You there—get into position! What’s the holdup?”

Li Baimao stared at Yu Zhihuai, who was already fiddling with his bow and arrows, and had no choice but to swallow his anger and find another open spot.

Yu Sheng, having noticed the commotion, glanced over with a trace of worry in her eyes.

“Why is Yu Zhihuai going after Yi Zhan?” Han Zhigao found it quite surprising. Apart from that time a few months ago when she’d set up a chess endgame and made him lose face, these two had virtually no interaction.

Yu Sheng had some idea of what was going on, and found Yu Zhihuai’s behavior increasingly exasperating.

It was still about the recommendation spot for the unified examination. She’d heard that when the teachers held their second round of deliberations over candidates, somehow half of them ended up nominating Zhan Changfeng. Later, Teacher Yangming went to ask Zhan Changfeng’s opinion, and she naturally refused—she’d never had any intention of entering the Office of Celestial Affairs.

After multiple rounds of discussion, Yu Zhihuai was finally selected. After this Major Exam, he would be heading to the Office of Celestial Affairs early. And yet he still harbored resentment toward Zhan Changfeng.

Zhan Changfeng had absolutely no idea what was wrong with Yu Zhihuai, much less that she had originally been among the recommended candidates—and that the spot had nearly been taken from him by her.

“First shot—White Arrow!” the judge called.

This shot required the arrow to pierce through the target with the arrowhead showing white on the other side, demonstrating both accuracy and power.

Zhan Changfeng nocked her arrow, aimed at the bullseye of the target fifteen meters away, and struck dead center.

“Excellent!”

“Pass!”

“Miss!”

After everyone had shot, the target reports rang out one after another.

Yu Zhihuai heard the report on Zhan Changfeng’s shot and couldn’t help but seethe inwardly. Yu Sheng was one thing, but what was this nobody? She had nearly stolen the spot he’d worked so hard to secure!

“Hitting the bullseye once is nothing special. If you’ve got real skill, compete against me!” Yu Zhihuai said in a low voice.

“No.” Pointless.

Yu Zhihuai shot her a sharp look and raised his voice directly. “Judge! I’ve heard that fellow student Yi Zhan excels in both literary and martial arts. I wish to move back an additional fifteen meters and exchange pointers with her!”

An additional fifteen meters back—that would make it a hundred meters!

Ordinary people simply didn’t have the arm strength to shoot at a target a hundred meters away! They couldn’t even aim at the bullseye from that distance!

“Is he serious? A hundred meters—that’s way too far.”

“Exactly. Chrysanthemum Plucking House only had to shoot at twenty meters. I thought our eighty-five meters was already plenty far.”

“But I heard Yu Zhihuai has reached Postnatal minor completion. A hundred meters shouldn’t be a problem for him.”

“I heard from someone studying under Teacher Yao Yu that Yi Zhan is at Postnatal realm perfection, though.”

“No way. We’ve taken Body Tempering class together. She completes everything well, sure, but her aura isn’t strong. Postnatal minor completion at best.”

“Postnatal realm perfection? You’ve got to be joking!”

“Don’t disbelieve it. I heard it from—” The speaker cut himself off mid-sentence, because he’d recognized that the person who’d told him was from Wangmei Residence’s martial class. Looking further back, the entire martial class had arrived—the formidable Leng siblings, Cheng Zhigao, and Xiao Shaobai were all there!

On the other side, Fan Siyuan and the rest of the literary class members preparing for the unified examination had also arrived.

The atmosphere at the archery range was suddenly crackling with tension.

“What is your opinion?” the judge asked.

Zhan Changfeng’s brows lowered slightly, and she smiled coolly. “Then let me offer some pointers.”

Yu Zhihuai’s face darkened. He had said “exchange pointers,” and she actually dared to say she’d “offer pointers”—such arrogance! And this was the person the teachers favored?

The teachers observing from the stands, however, found it perfectly normal. After all, they were at minimum Prenatal realm cultivators and could sense Zhan Changfeng’s approximate strength.

Postnatal realm perfection offering pointers to Postnatal minor completion—that was hardly overstepping.

Zhan Changfeng stepped back fifteen meters. Yu Zhihuai suppressed his temper and followed suit. “You can still withdraw now.”

“When I do something, I always have nine parts certainty.”

“I’m afraid today you’ve run into that one part!”

“Everyone to your positions! Second shot—Linked Succession!” the judge called.

All twenty-two people raised their bows simultaneously.

Linked Succession required each arrow to follow the last in seamless sequence, like pearls on a string—an extremely demanding test of both strength and precision. Over the course of four consecutive arrows, those who ran out of stamina were everywhere. But two trajectories never faltered, and those two arcs were twice as long as everyone else’s!

They belonged to Zhan Changfeng and Yu Zhihuai, who stood fifteen meters farther back.

“Brother, did you see Yu Zhihuai’s eyes?” Leng Yuzi asked.

“Those are fire eyes,” Leng Yi’an said, shaking his head. “Unfortunately, the quality of his fire eyes isn’t high. Besides seeing farther, they don’t do much else. If they were like his older brother’s, he’d have been taken into the Martial Arts Academy long ago.”

Leng Yuzi felt a pang of emotion. Yu Shen had entered the Community School six or seven years before them, but his talent was extraordinary—by age eight, he’d already been taken away by an instructor from the Martial Arts Academy. Unlike them, who were nearly eighteen and still scrambling to catch the tail end of the Martial Exam.

“Compared to him, Yi Zhan is more worthy of surprise.” Leng Yi’an recalled that night’s battle against the wolf pack. She hadn’t displayed any great power then either.

The judge listened to the target reports and showed approval toward the two in the back. “Third shot—Sharp Pierce!”

Sharp Pierce was the rapid-fire arrow: nock and release instantly, hit or miss with no second chance. It tested eyesight, focus, and speed. Immediately, those who missed their targets groaned and beat their chests in frustration.

Yu Zhihuai let out a heavy breath, his expression growing solemn. With his eyesight, he could clearly see that Zhan Changfeng had hit her target again.

After three consecutive arrow techniques, his arm was already aching. No—he absolutely could not lose. She couldn’t possibly be that much better than him.

In truth, Zhan Changfeng felt quite at ease. Shenzhou also had archery rites; as one of the Six Arts, it was a fundamental skill for a sovereign. And she had always pursued perfection, striving to excel at everything.

The archery rites in Daoist Rites differed somewhat from Shenzhou’s archery rites in meaning, but the form was nearly identical. She could handle this with ease.

Zhan Changfeng returned Yu Zhihuai’s earlier words to him. “You’re about to lose. Unfortunately, it’s too late to withdraw now.”

Yu Zhihuai’s heart lurched. “Stop trying to disturb my concentration! At best, we’ll tie!”

“When I do something, I always have nine parts certainty,” Zhan Changfeng said, then added, “and one part absolute.”

“Fourth shot—Yield a Foot!”

In Shenzhou’s archery rites, when a minister shot alongside the sovereign, the minister would yield one foot to the sovereign. This was called “yield a foot,” signifying deference to hierarchy.

In Daoist Rites, when one of lower cultivation shot alongside one of higher cultivation, they likewise yielded one foot—a gesture of respect toward the accomplished, expressing humility.

At this point, everyone released their cultivation auras. Martial Apprentice, Postnatal minor completion, Postnatal major completion—the distinctions were clear-cut. And Zhan Changfeng’s Postnatal realm perfection carved out a vast river among those clear divisions, making everyone’s expressions change.

The martial class students didn’t know what to say. After a long moment, someone managed to squeeze out, “How has she not been recruited by the Six Academies yet?”

“Maybe she got there through pills. She’s at perfection, sure, but her aura doesn’t feel strong.”

Setting aside what others were muttering, the remaining students on the field, despite their shock, followed protocol and stepped back one foot.

But Yu Zhihuai couldn’t move. A hundred meters was his absolute limit—one more foot back and he would certainly lose!

Was he supposed to cancel the competition between himself and Zhan Changfeng now? No—that would make him a laughingstock.

Yu Zhihuai’s face burned as he wavered in indecision.

While he hesitated, everyone else had already stepped back. His lack of movement made him conspicuous.

All manner of gazes fell upon him. Yu Zhihuai felt as though he were facing a great enemy, and ultimately, he stepped back one foot.

Suddenly, a flash of clarity struck his mind. He should have stepped back. He should have done it without the slightest hesitation!

This was an examination of Daoist Rites! What the teachers were primarily evaluating was their bearing and deportment—not their archery!

If he had stepped back with grace and poise, that would have been humility, that would have been virtue. Even if he missed the target, it wouldn’t diminish the teachers’ assessment of him.

What was wrong with him? At the crucial moment, he’d let his obsession with winning and losing cloud his judgment.

Up on the observation platform, Teacher Lin remarked, “This boy’s desire to win is too strong. He’s arrogant and impulsive. Fan Siyuan would have been a better choice.”

Qin Huan said mildly, “If Yi Zhan hadn’t led him astray, how would he have become so irrational? This time, it was Yi Zhan who was underhanded—a violation of the archery rites’ spirit of openness and integrity.”

“Verbal sparring is also a test of character for both parties. Didn’t he try to provoke Yi Zhan with words first?” Teacher Lin found Qin Huan more disagreeable the more she looked at him. “Rein it in. Don’t make your favoritism so obvious—do you think everyone else is blind?”

Teacher Yangming rubbed his temples. He coughed once. “Enough. Silence. Watch the examination.”

(End of Chapter)