A group of figures appeared on the tall stage, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

“Look in the middle! That must be the famous Yao Tuohai, who is highly regarded by the prime minister!”

“Thirty years ago, Lord Yao passed the district, prefecture and provincial exams in a single year. Such an unrivaled demeanor is something we should all strive towards.”

“Agreed, I’ve heard Lord Yao has already reached the Heaven Ascension stage. That makes him a top-tier individual even in the empire!”

“Look, even Donglin Academy Principal Yu Canglin, Wu Clan Leader Wu Qun, Stone Cauldron Alm’s Black Rose Mu Wansu and other influential figures are merely supporting actors to Lord Yao. This is the embodiment of true power and influence!”

On the plaza, the nine thousand participants excitedly gushed over Yao Tuohai.

Lin Xun also looked up and saw a scholarly man seated at the center of the tall stage. He wore a long black robe with wide sleeves and had a well-groomed fu manchu style moustache and beard. He was the very picture of a dao practicing immortal.

Although he was merely sitting there, he gave off an invisible pressure and made others feel he was connected to the heavens. His eyes seemed tranquil and kindly, but when his gaze swept across the crowd, it made everyone feel a heart-palpitating oppression.

This was Yao Tuohai!

An influential figure who rose to fame thirty years ago during the national exam! The only person in the southwest province who could rival the Southwest City Governor Liu Wudiao!

The Heaven Ascension stage huh. I wonder how much power such a cultivator wields… Lin Xun sighed deeply.

The more he cultivated, the more he understood how difficult it was. It was akin to climbing a mountain with only your bare hands, with each successive mountain growing taller and more dangerous.

An ordinary cultivator would be lucky to reach the Spirit Dipper stage, let alone the amazing Spirit Sea and Heaven Ascension stages.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun also took notice of the Wu Clan’s Wu Qun. The middle-aged man wearing a black hat seemed like an honest person at first glance and had no outstanding features. However, the more ordinary someone of his status looked, the more extraordinary they usually were.

The fact that he was the Wu Clan Leader and a VIP at this event were clear indicators of his status. After all, ordinary people would never have a chance to ascend this high stage.

Mu Wansu was also present but Lin Xun only glanced at her before withdrawing his gaze.

Clang!

The clear ring of a bell echoed in the sky, like a signal which announced the start of the district exam.

The atmosphere grew solemn as all the chattering died down.

Donglin Academy Principal Yu Canglin rose to his feet. He explained the significance of the district exam in a loud and clear voice before giving a simple description of the rules. He then passed the time over to Yao Tuohai.

As the chief examiner, Yao Tuohai got up with a chuckle. His gaze swept across the place as he said, “Everyone present will eventually become pillars which support the empire so I hope to see you guys perform well today. Fight for the chance to serve the empire and create your own glorious success!”

His voice contained a power that made others feel respectful as it clearly echoed in every corner of the plaza.

Thunderous cheers and clapping immediately followed.

The young participants felt their blood boil with excitement, but Lin Xun found this rather meaningless. Such cliché words could only trick immature youths.

The district exam was certainly an important event to the empire, but in the end, it was merely the most basic test among the empire’s exams. Even if someone passed, it would only mean that they had some talent and could not possibly have anything to do with glory or honor.

There were thirty-four provinces in the empire and countless cities in each province. Countless talented youths would pass the district exam each year, but only a small handful would be able to reach even greater heights. The majority, on the other hand, would soon fade back into mediocrity.

Fortunately, the boring introductory phase quickly passed and Donglin Academy Principal Yu Canglin finally announced the start of the district exam!

The exam was simple. Each participant would go forth to be probed by the Bone Measurement Aeth Tablet and Cultivation Measurement Tablet which would reveal their age and cultivation.

Subsequently, the top one thousand performing participants would pass while the others would be eliminated.

It was honestly very simple. There was no sparring, no life or death trials, and no other strange tests. It was merely a simple measurement of age and cultivation.

“Fang Xuanzhong, age fourteen, True Martial second layer!”

“Liu Gangshan, age fifteen, True Martial fourth layer!”

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“Shi Hong, age eleven, True Martial first layer!”

……

The results of every participant would be announced after the measurement. No one could cheat with everyone watching.

The exam progressed rather quickly: more than three hundred participants had their measurements taken in fifteen minutes. The results were varied but none were attention-drawing.

Lin Xun could not help but feel somewhat bored and decided to do some calculations: there were 9300 participants; at a rate of 300 per 15 minutes, it would take nearly 8 hours!

At the thought of having to stupidly stand around for eight hours, Lin Xun felt a wave of helplessness. Why is there only one set of measuring tablets? It would be much more efficient if there were more.

Regretfully, Donglin City was a remote city on the empire’s southwest border and could not have more sets of measuring tablets.

“Wu Feichong, age nine, True Martial fifth layer!”

While Lin Xun was thinking about random things, a certain result drew his attention.

He was not the only one. The entire place seemed to stir at this announcement as an uproar quickly swept through the crowd. Nine-years-old! True Martial fifth layer cultivation! This was basically an extremely rare cultivation genius!

With such results, there was no need to wait for the final outcome. This outstanding participant was obviously going to pass.

“Wu Feichong? I heard he’s a genius from the Wu Clan who was born with strong spirit power. He’s the hope of the Wu Clan and they’ve declared their intention to nurture him into an excellent rune master at all cost!”

“The Wu Clan is so lucky. When Wu Feichong grows up, the Wu Clan’s status in Donglin City will definitely increase!”

Amidst the discussions, Wu Qun’s face was practically glowing with pride on the tall stage because Wu Feichong was his grandson.

Wu Qun felt especially happy when he heard Yao Tuohai praise ‘what a rare talent’.

Oh, so he’s from the Wu Clan. I wonder how much it will hurt them if I cripple him.

Lin Xun rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner. If Wu Qun were to know the teenager’s thoughts, he would have immediately murdered the kid!

The testing continued. It was not long before an eleven-year-old boy called Xiao Hen and a ten-year-old girl called Yu Miao caused uproars again with their True Martial seventh layer and sixth layer cultivation.

Although they could not compare to Wu Feichong, their talent was already considered top-notch.

One thing to note was that Xiao Hen was Boundless Treasure Pavilion Manager Xiao Yuanzhong’s nephew, and had been enrolled into Donglin Academy at a young age.

Yu Miao’s identity was even more impressive. She was the Donglin Academy Principal Yu Canglin’s granddaughter!

Lin Xun was not surprised by any of this.

Although Wu Feichong, Xiao Hen and Yu Miao might be quite talented, they were, more importantly, from powerful factions. They had teachers to guide them from a young age and had access to plentiful cultivation resources. Their cultivation education was far better than any of the underprivileged disciples.

At the very least, although nearly four hours had passed and more than four thousand participants had been tested, not a single underprivileged cultivators’ results had caused a stir in the crowd!

It was not that Lin Xun looked down on the underprivileged. After all, he also came from a poor background.

He knew that even if these underprivileged cultivators had amazing talent, due to the lack of cultivation resources, it would already be too late for them once they formally began their cultivation journey. This was undoubtedly burying their talent.

This was the cruel reality. It might be unfair to say the poor could not produce talent, but compared to the privileged disciples, it was honestly much more difficult for the underprivileged to succeed.

Moments later, Lin Xun put aside his thoughts. His turn had finally arrived!

Swish!

When Lin Xun arrived in front of the measuring tablets, Mu Wansu, who had been bored out of her mind, suddenly sat up. Her eyes were tinged with conflicting emotions as she looked over.

Upon observing Mu Wansu’s reaction, several influential figures on the stage secretly wondered if this boy had some relation to Stone Cauldron Alms.

Wu Qun’s eyes narrowed as an almost undetectable hint of iciness flashed in his eyes, Little shitbag, you won’t be able to escape this time no matter how well you do!

There was no reaction from Yu Canglin and Yao Tuohai.

Meanwhile, Lian Fei and Yao Susu also looked over. Lian Fei’s expression darkened while a sneer rose from the corners of Yao Susu’s lips.

In a lonely corner far from the plaza, Xia Zhi, who had paid no attention to the exam since the beginning, abruptly raised her gaze to look at Lin Xun.

A familiar feeling of irritation soon rose in her heart, making her instinctively shift her gaze to the academy entrance. However, there was nothing noteworthy there besides a few guards.

This frustrated Xia Zhi, causing her to frown.

Lin Xun was oblivious to all of this. He stepped forward and did his measurements before returning to the plaza. He remained composed from start to end, not even glancing at the tall stage.

“Lin Xun, age thirteen, True Martial sixth layer!”

The announcement of the results immediately made several people gasp.