Chapter 303
The two of them remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
“Shixiong…” After walking for a while, Zhou Ganyuan seemed unable to hold back any longer and spoke softly.
“Hmm?”
“I visited Shizun a couple of days ago and noticed he was in a bad mood.”
Sun Daoyu turned to look at Zhou Ganyuan, knowing that Zhou was often favored by Shizun and had some insider information.
Zhou Ganyuan whispered, “It seems he’s been working on the exam questions for us… but hasn’t been able to come up with anything…”
“…”
Upon hearing this, Sun Daoyu glanced toward the grand hall ahead.
This exam had a considerable number of participants, and the papers were different for each group, so Zheng Fa had made distinctions:
The exams for the mortals were held in various side halls.
As for them, the disciples of Jiushan, they would be answering questions in the very center of the grand hall.
They had been to this hall many times before, especially when Zheng Fa lectured on "Introduction to Thunder Techniques" right here.
But today… Sun Daoyu felt the solemnity of the hall was almost suffocating, making it hard for him to breathe.
The two of them silently entered the hall.
They found that the arrangement inside had changed.
Each candidate had their own desk, completely bare, with just enough space between desks for a person to pass through.
At the entrance, there was a small light screen displaying their seating chart.
Next to it were the exam times, subjects, and even the rules of the examination.
Not just Zhou Ganyuan, who was in the know, but even the other disciples fell silent at the sight of such a formal setup.
Today’s exam was for mathematics, and supervising the exam were not only Zheng Fa but also Uncle Pang and Uncle Huang.
Uncle Pang stood at the back of the hall, his eyes glinting with a silver light, making Sun Daoyu feel as if needles were pricking at his back.
Uncle Huang was at the front, and every time Sun Daoyu dared to lift his head, he would find himself locked in a terrifying gaze with her…
Who could withstand that?
Sun Daoyu trembled, too afraid to look up, trying hard to calm himself and focus on the questions.
But… what kind of questions were these!
Who the hell set this paper?
Looking at the three-quarters of the exam paper that was blank, Sun Daoyu felt his heart sink to the bottom.
In the next moment, he heard soft footsteps behind him.
A familiar figure stood behind him, not moving away!
Without even turning around, Sun Daoyu understood that Shizun was staring at his exam paper.
At that moment, he felt time slow to a crawl, each breath stretching out like an eternity…
He would rather face the Great Freedom Demon Sect than endure this kind of torment…
He didn’t know how long it had been before Shizun’s shadow finally disappeared from beside his desk.
……
“... How much did you write?”
Once outside the grand hall, Sun Daoyu asked Zhou Ganyuan beside him.
Zhou Ganyuan replied dejectedly, “I didn’t even finish half.”
Hmm?
Thinking about his own paper, which was over eighty percent blank, Sun Daoyu felt a wave of despair wash over him.
Just then, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind: “How many questions did you write?”
“Maybe one out of ten,” came the reply.
“Same here,” another voice sighed. “This paper is way too hard!”
Huh?
Upon hearing this, Sun Daoyu’s heart perked up.
Listening to the discussions around him, he began to understand—he hadn’t done as poorly as he thought!
Most people could only manage to answer one or two questions.
He glanced sideways at Zhou Ganyuan.
“Shixiong… there are some things I heard when Zheng Shixiong and Zhang Shijie were discussing…”
Zhou Ganyuan understood his look and scratched his head.
Sun Daoyu realized that Zhou, who was close to those two, must have gained more insights than others.
……
“Zhou Shidi, you did quite well!”
The papers were graded quickly, and Zheng Fa looked at the top scorer with some surprise.
Uncle Pang beside him smiled proudly, clearly pleased.
“Indeed, you ranked third in mathematics, and first in talisman techniques,” Sister Zhang added her praise.
In mathematics, Zhou Ganyuan had some competition, as there were disciples in the market who were skilled in calculations.
But in talisman techniques, Zhou stood head and shoulders above the rest—he was not only Uncle Pang’s prized student but had also absorbed many concepts from Zheng Fa and Sister Zhang, giving him a solid foundation.
“My disciple…” Uncle Pang waved his hand with a smile at the praise, “still needs more honing.”
……
“The first place in this Jiushan disciple exam goes to Zhou Ganyuan.”
Hearing Zheng Fa say this, Zhou Ganyuan suddenly looked up, feeling a bit dizzy.
Zheng Fa smiled at him and said, “Starting today, there will be a monthly exam, and the top ten each month will receive certain rewards to encourage all of you to work hard.”
As he spoke, Zheng Fa took out a jade plate, which held several somewhat valuable spiritual materials.
“Here, Zhou Shidi, this is yours.”
Zhou Ganyuan walked up in a daze and took the jade plate from Zheng Fa’s hands.
The other disciples below looked at him with envy, even a hint of jealousy in their eyes.
Especially when they saw the spiritual materials on the jade plate, it seemed they suddenly understood the value of knowledge.
“Now, please share some of your thoughts and insights on studying with everyone, Zhou Shidi.”
“I…”
“I just… I owe this achievement to the guidance of my elders…”
Uncle Pang nodded with a smile, seemingly pleased with this student who was now thinking of others.
“Following Zheng Shidi, I learned how to analyze elemental symbols…”
“Following Sister Zhang, I gained many insights into mathematical thinking…”
Uncle Pang’s smile slowly faded—this disciple was going to be a handful!
Fortunately, Zheng Fa’s sister also performed well this time!
……
“Zheng Shizi, with this exam, the atmosphere in our Jiushan realm has changed…”
In the laboratory, Uncle Pang said to Zheng Fa.
“Hmm?”
Zheng Fa was focused on studying the spiritual symbols in front of him and was momentarily puzzled by Uncle Pang’s words.
“Your ranking… is quite ruthless…”
Uncle Pang said softly.
Zheng Fa chuckled; he had indeed done it on purpose.
While he only announced the names of the top-performing disciples in the hall, he didn’t hide the rankings when posting them—this was far more ruthless than in modern times.
Thus, those who didn’t perform well… naturally felt a lot of pressure.
But looking at Uncle Pang’s expression, he didn’t seem too concerned—after all, the current environment in the Xuanwei realm was such that treating Jiushan disciples like modern students would only harm them.
Zheng Fa wanted to provide a relatively relaxed environment for the Jiushan disciples, but on the other hand, he had to admit that adversity breeds strength.
If they couldn’t even handle being at the bottom of the rankings, then… they might as well give up on cultivating.
“You did well,” Uncle Pang said, “I see that some of my disciples who performed poorly are now working tirelessly to redeem themselves. A couple of them, who are usually quite lazy, seem to have found their motivation.”
Sister Zhang chimed in, “Besides the embarrassment of performing poorly, your rewards have also piqued their interest… Those who did well are now enjoying the sweet taste of success and are working hard.”
Zheng Fa smiled.
This kind of exam not only helped him understand the levels of these disciples for future tailored teaching but also seemed to have inadvertently sparked their enthusiasm for various subjects, especially mathematics.
Without needing Uncle Pang and Sister Zhang to point it out, Zheng Fa had noticed that the atmosphere in Jiushan realm was indeed heating up.
Jiushan disciples were diving into mathematics and talisman techniques, not to mention.
Even his little sister mentioned that the classmates in the academy were now much more motivated to study—after all, doing well in studies could lead to official positions and cultivation.
“The key is fairness…”
Uncle Pang offered a new insight.
“Hmm?”
“I have to admit, this kind of exam is relatively fair…” Uncle Pang said thoughtfully, “In the past, when we trained disciples, we not only looked at their talents but also followed our own moods…”
“Now, we allocate some resources based on exam results.”
“I see many disciples are actually more motivated than before.”
“If you work hard, you’ll be rewarded…” Uncle Pang sighed, “This matter sounds simple, but it’s actually quite difficult.”
Zheng Fa was taken aback; he hadn’t thought of this point.
To be honest, he was quite fortunate—due to his so-called talent, he had always been valued and hadn’t felt the pain of this issue personally.
And the exam system derived from modernity—while it couldn’t be said to be completely fair, it was certainly much more equitable than the previous methods.
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