Since he had made a bet with the Holy Maiden Jing Xin, Jiang Li had no intention of muddling through casually. It wasn’t about bullying a bunch of juniors under twenty-five to snatch first place—it was about surpassing the Holy Maiden Jing Xin and winning first place outright. He would never fight an unprepared battle.
The first thing Jiang Li did was to review the reference books for the entrance examination. However, what he found left him a bit speechless.
He remembered that five hundred years ago, when he had been admitted, the reference books were all widely circulated texts across the Nine Provinces—titles like “Beginner’s Guide for Cultivators,” “Cultivation Outlook,” “Treatise on the Customs of the Nine Provinces,” and so on.
Now, however, the list consisted of “Comprehensive Treatise on Cultivation (written by Jiang Li),” “Three Thousand Questions on Cultivation (written by Jiang Li),” “Cultivation Is Cultivating the Heart (written by Jiang Li),” and “Comprehensive Treatise on Cultivation (Annotated Edition).”
“Ten reference books, eight were written by me, and the other two are annotations on my own books?!”
“A person looking at this would think I’m an honorary graduate of the academy, but anyone else might mistake me for the one who wrote the exam questions.”
Jiang Li muttered, half exasperated. After reaching the Mahayana Stage, Jiang Li’s understanding of cultivation had deepened greatly. He had compiled some of his insights into books, so that many cultivators could study from them.
Thinking carefully, the academy’s approach wasn’t unreasonable. Anyone who had cultivated to the Union Stage already held a comprehensive and structured understanding of cultivation. Take the Holy Maiden Jing Xin, for example—her grasp of cultivation already surpassed even the Dean of the academy.
Without a theoretical foundation, with only a shallow grasp of cultivation methods, it would be impossible to reach the Union Stage. As for the Tribulation Transcendence Stage and the Mahayana Stage, their understanding of cultivation was near the level of truth itself.
Therefore, the academy choosing to use the works of Jiang Li, a Mahayana cultivator, as reference materials was logical enough. Of course, cultivation was one thing—if you asked Jiang Li to write about alchemy or artifact refinement, then sorry, he was illiterate in that regard—no way he could write a book on it.
“How could I possibly lose this time?”
Jiang Li was already thinking about what condition he would demand from the Holy Maiden Jing Xin after winning. …… On the day of the examination, Jiang Li arrived at the examination hall full of confidence. The moment he saw the test paper, he felt completely at ease.
For example, one question asked: “According to ‘Comprehensive Treatise on Cultivation,’ how is cultivation defined?” Another asked: “In ‘Essays of the Human Emperor Jiang (Excerpt),’ the opening line reads, ‘It has rained for several days, but today the skies finally cleared.’ Why did the author write that?
What is the meaning behind this sentence?”
Cultivation’s definition?
That was simply too easy for Jiang Li. He immediately wrote down his answer: that cultivation refers to the process by which living beings absorb Spiritual Qi, nourish themselves, and gradually become stronger.
“As for ‘the sky finally clearing’?”
Jiang Li murmured, recalling the situation back then. At the time, it had been the rainy season—days of continuous rain without sunlight. Then, one day, the skies cleared, the weather became pleasant, and he simply noted his feelings at that moment.
Aside from that, the test posed a question: A cultivator with the Metal Spiritual Root at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining encounters another cultivator with Water, Fire, and Wood Spiritual Roots at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining in a forest. How could the former defeat the latter?
The question even specified the time of day, weather conditions, and Spiritual Qi density, with a note that both were standard cultivators—meaning neither had special bloodlines, physiques, or unique cultivation arts. A question testing practical combat ability like that was child’s play for Jiang Li.
He effortlessly wrote down several different methods by which the weaker could triumph over the stronger.
“Hmm, perfect!”
Jiang Li was quite satisfied with his answers. He handed in his paper first. When the proctoring Vice Dean heard that someone had handed in the paper early, he went over and glanced at it—soon breaking into an approving smile.
“This year we’ve got a good seedling—lively thinking, unfettered by the book, bold in combat simulation, adept at exploiting the opponent’s mentality. As for reading comprehension—straightforward and honest. Excellent, excellent, excellent!”
The Vice Dean said three “excellents” in a row, clearly pleased with this student named Kong Li.
“Hmm, someone else just handed in the paper as well—Jiang Jingxin. She was already famous even before entering the academy.”
“Not bad at all. Her academic foundation is solid; there were quite a few tricky, unorthodox questions this year, tucked between the lines of the reference materials, yet she remembered them all. Quite good, quite good.” ……
“How’d it go?” asked Jiang Li as he left the hall, just as the Holy Maiden Jing Xin emerged.
Jiang Li chuckled teasingly at her. The Holy Maiden Jing Xin gave a faint smile, two dimples appearing on her cheeks, looking adorably charming. Even passing instructors couldn’t help spacing out—and walked straight into the wall.
Fortunately, the instructors were tougher than the wall. The poor wall, however, was not tougher than the instructors.
“I’ve already decided what you’ll have to do,” the Holy Maiden said with that confident little smile, which made Jiang Li smile in return.
“And I’ve already decided what you’ll have to do.”
“Then, we’ll see who wins?”
“We’ll see.” ……
On the day when results were announced, a friendly chime sounded from the system.
[Host Mission Failed] “???”
Jiang Li froze, standing before the Examinee Ranking Board. He had to squat down to find his own name at the very bottom. Kong Li—last place.
Meanwhile, the Holy Maiden Jing Xin stood out splendidly amid the crowd. Her temperament was so pure and untainted that countless people felt ashamed in comparison and automatically kept their distance out of reverence. She, too, found her own name.
Jiang Jingxin—first place. The Holy Maiden covered her mouth lightly. To others, it looked like a polite sign of surprise, but in truth, she was struggling not to burst out laughing after seeing Jiang Li’s rank.
No good, her stomach hurt. I’m a cultivator in the Union Stage; my composure must be strong. But a Human Emperor taking his own books as exam references and still ending up in last place—this was too much.
Hahahaha, how could this not be hilarious? After an inner battle, the Holy Maiden somehow succeeded in keeping her laughter in.
“You want to laugh, then just laugh.”
Jiang Li’s face was expressionless as he gazed quietly at the Holy Maiden’s barely concealed schadenfreude.
“I didn’t laugh… pfft… hahaha, serves you right, you finally have a day like this!”
“There must be a mistake somewhere,” Jiang Li said, thinking it over calmly.
“Come on, let’s go find the Dean… maybe it was graded wrong.”
The Academy’s Dean was surnamed Li; he was the one responsible for grading this year’s examination papers. Dean Li stood atop the high platform overlooking the field, scanning to see if there were any outstanding new students this year. That student named Jiang Jingxin wasn’t bad at all; perhaps he could accept her as a disciple.
“Dean, someone seeks an audience below.”
“Who?”
“It’s this year’s first place, Jiang Jingxin, and the last place, Kong Li. They say you graded wrong.”
Dean Li let out a heavy snort through his nose—clearly displeased.
He, misgrade? Ridiculous!
He remembered both Jiang Jingxin and Kong Li quite clearly. Jiang Jingxin’s paper was flawless; Kong Li’s was a complete disaster.
“Let them come up then. In front of everyone, I’ll have them explain exactly where they think I went wrong.”
If it had only been the last-place student complaining, Dean Li wouldn’t have bothered to respond. But since both the first and last places came together, this matter was worth addressing publicly. He might as well take the opportunity to display his authority before all the new students.
“You must be Jiang Jingxin? Not bad, good looks, fine handwriting, and a well-written paper.”
Dean Li addressed the Holy Maiden kindly, deliberately raising his voice so that the students below would pay attention. As for the last-place Kong Li—he didn’t even glance over.
“That’s Jiang Jingxin?”
“So pretty.”
“Right? Even as a girl I can’t help but be moved.”
“Who’s that one beside her? Doesn’t look too happy.”
“No idea.”
“Dean Li, my name is Kong Li. I think maybe there was a grading error on my paper.”
Jiang Li was the one to speak first. He knew Dean Li very well. Every time Jiang Li visited the academy to give a lecture, Dean Li had been the one to host him—always with the utmost respect.
(To be continued)