Chapter 102: Temple Exam Ends, Roster Released!

The reason Zhao Xing crouched down was to use the five-element fluctuations of the earth's veins to determine the exact hour.

Just like the final big question of the theory exam, the five elements can be matched to the four seasons.

The fluctuation patterns of the earth's veins' five elements can be used in reverse to calculate the hour.

Although it is a small world, a fragment of a small world should also have earth's veins.

However, the result was somewhat unexpected.

"I can't sense any earth's veins."

Zhao Xing shook his head. It seemed using the five-element fluctuations of the earth's veins to determine the hour was not going to work.

The dark night blocked the celestial phenomena, and the earth's veins were also cut off.

If neither heaven's timing nor earth's advantage works, then only one method remains.

"Benwo Sect." Zhao Xing's gaze fell on the distant fields. Looking at the plants one by one, he quickly walked over.

Ahead was a stretch of plants, endless and continuous, with almost no end in sight.

How does one use the Benwo Sect method to determine the hour?

"Use the Benwo Sect's 'Yin-Yang Five Elements Benwo Scripture' to determine the hour."

The Benwo Sect believes that living beings have their own internal system of heaven's timing at work.

In plain terms, it is a 'biological clock'—the five viscera correspond to the five elements, and other organs of the body correspond to the heavenly stems and earthly branches.

This theory is called the 'Small Five Elements Four Seasons Theory,' also known as the 'Inner Five Elements Four Seasons Theory.' From the name alone, one can tell it is not accepted by the mainstream; it is rather obscure and niche.

Zhao Xing had never systematically studied Benwo Sect arts, let alone the fact that inner observation of the five elements is something a clerk cannot do.

One must first cultivate the Yin-Yang Five Elements Benwo Scripture before being able to do it.

In other words, inner observation of the five elements is not feasible.

Zhao Xing searched among the plants ahead, and his gaze quickly fixed on one.

"This is a noon-hour grass, also known as mu jing."

Humans have biological clocks, and naturally plants do too.

Inner observation of the five elements is not possible, but observing external objects is not so difficult.

Besides, this is hour-grass specifically provided for clerks to observe.

"What an obscure question. First you have to recognize the hour-grass, and then you must have practiced some discernment-type art to accurately judge the hour changes through the hour-grass."

"In the past dozen years or so, it was never set up like this. Did a big shot from the Benwo Sect get involved this year?"

The reason Zhao Xing judged this way was that the twelve hour-grasses are not 'original species.'

Rather, they are artificially modified 'derived species.'

"Is the Benwo Sect trying to use this temple exam to show their presence among the clerks?"

"They've always taken the elite route, generally recruiting elite students from Dao Academies and Academies of Learning. Now they've set their sights on the group of low-level clerks?"

"But doing this—won't you really get cursed to death by clerks all over the realm?"

Zhao Xing was a bit speechless.

Because few clerks in the Benwo Sect ever amount to much. Even Zhao Xing only knew one beginner-level art, 【Robust Growth】, and one intermediate-level art, 【Wild Growth】.

These were merely the superficial aspects of the Benwo Sect, not touching the core at all.

So in his view, mixing the twelve hour-grasses into the clerks' temple exam was not about showing presence at all.

It was about inviting curses.

Because it was just too difficult.

Identifying the derived species 'twelve hour-grasses' is already a technical task.

Using them to observe and calibrate the hour is even harder—harder still, in fact it can be said to be the hardest of the five difficult points.

We barely fought our way through to the temple exam, and you give us such an obscure question?

"Using the twelve hour-grasses to pinpoint the time is simply… too grass." Zhao Xing couldn't help but curse along with the other clerks.

This question is as obscure as parsing 'a strange glint in the dead fish's eye.'

It will cause many clerks who originally had a chance to pass to perform poorly.

If they fail this round, that really would be too grass.

"Lucky I cultivated Five Elements Object Observation, otherwise one careless moment and I'd have fallen at this round."

Zhao Xing quickly found the twelve types of hour-grass, transplanted them around himself, and formed a circle.

Then he sat cross-legged in the circle, and quickly confirmed that he was between the exact hour of Mao and the first quarter.

"Looking at it now, when I came in it should have been the exact hour of Mao in this small world."

"And at the hour of Chen, thunder will strike, giving the clerks only one hour to adapt."

"Whether or not this is the Benwo Sect's intention, the clerks' venting will surely be directed at the Benwo Sect… this pot is theirs to carry for sure."

Zhao Xing could already imagine that after the exam, there would surely be a pile of clerks outside the temple going crazy shouting 'grass.'

"Five Elements Object Observation."

Zhao Xing activated the art and began observing the 'Mao-hour grass' before him.

It was about one meter tall.

The stalk was straight, as thick as a thumb, with a total of twelve leaves.

Under the Five Elements Object Observation state, he could see the internal veins, with a stream of qi flowing within.

Under microscopic state, the one-meter-tall stalk was divided into seven thousand two hundred equal parts.

Like a ladder, and each rung of the ladder represented seconds.

The interval for the 'qi' to rise to the second rung was exactly one second.

Seven thousand two hundred equal parts is exactly one hour.

With an exam like this, just say whether it's absurd or not!

"Absurd? What did you say?!" Chen Shijie sprang up from his chair, staring at the clerk who had come to deliver the exam questions.

Outside the temple, it was already the third day.

By the reckoning of the hours, all the clerks had already entered the small-world fragments to undergo the field examination.

So, as Gucheng's Director of Agriculture, he too had received the contents of the exam questions.

But upon learning the topic of the field examination, Chen Shijie could not help but slam the table and rise.

"Using the Twelve-Hour Grass to test the clerks' time calibration?" Chen Shijie muttered to himself, "Is there any need to set it this hard? It's not the military Director of Agriculture's examination!"

Long Xiao stared wide-eyed: "You're the Director of Agriculture, why are you looking at me... I don't even know what you're talking about."

"I wasn't asking you." Chen Shijie said irritably.

"The Twelve-Hour Grass is a derivative species." Xue Wenzhong frowned as he listened, "A derivative species cultivated by the Shangluo Academy. I've only seen it once, twenty-six years ago."

Tang Wanchun, Gao Li, Pang Yuan and the others said nothing.

They had only heard of it, never seen it, and didn't know much about it.

"What on earth does that mean?" Long Xiao, this layman, was completely baffled. "Is the question a bit difficult?"

"It's extremely difficult." Xue Wenzhong shook his head helplessly. "It's very easy to make some clerks who had a chance to pass fall at this hurdle."

He began to worry somewhat about Zhao Xing.

"What's there to fear? If it's hard, it's hard for everyone — it's not just hard for Zhao Xing alone." Long Xiao's bottom settled back into his seat again.

"General Long doesn't understand." Xue Wenzhong said, "The field examination decides everything. If one can't even reach passing at this hurdle, no matter how strong one was before, it's useless."

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"This question is too obscure. It might well lead to..."

"I don't understand all that you're saying." Long Xiao smiled, "But I think if even that lad Zhao Xing can't pass it, then there aren't many clerks under heaven who could. Wouldn't they have to rebel?"

"If it's hard, then everyone's facing it together — what's there to fear? You must have confidence in him."

"Well said." Xue Wenzhong nodded. He had been so close to the matter that his thoughts had gone muddled — he was actually not seeing things as clearly as Long Xiao.

"Shangluo Academy is a gathering place for the Benwo Sect. I wonder why they've suddenly stuck their oar into the clerks' examination this year." Chen Shijie thought to himself, "Aren't they just asking to be cursed out?"

"It's not necessarily their own idea. They might have been used by someone."

"Right now it's still the Tianshi Sect and Dili Sect calling the shots. If the Benwo Sect wants to get involved, placing them in a position where they get cursed at is better than shutting them out at the door."

"Still, being cursed at is better than being ignored. I hear Shangluo Academy hasn't been fully staffed in recent years — no successors."

Many thoughts flashed through Chen Shijie's mind.

But very quickly he shook these thoughts away. Right now he only worried about one thing.

Whether Zhao Xing could pass the exam.

Tang Wanchun looked at the exam question and couldn't help but smile wryly: "Forty-eight drops of rain? Such a tiny amount of rain, and it has to fall for two whole hours."

"What's the problem?" Long Xiao asked.

Tang Wanchun cupped his hands in a salute and said: "What the General doesn't know is that forty-eight drops of rain, at the average level of temple-examined clerks, could be fully delivered in about a quarter of an hour at full power."

"But here's the thing — they specifically don't want you to go all out. They want you to make it last a full two hours."

"That requires the spell 'Rain-Summoning' to be controlled with extreme precision, so that the rain can be slowly delivered over two full hours."

"It can't stop in the middle, yet it has to last a long time, and the amount must be exactly right."

Long Xiao rested his chin on his hand: "Say I can finish a piss in ten breaths, but the examiner insists I squeeze it out drop by drop, pissing for a whole hour? Testing my control over the Art of Urination..."

Tang Wanchun's expression stiffened: "Ahem, General, your words are crude but the reasoning isn't wrong."

Chen Shijie glared at him: "What lousy analogy is that? My Director of Agriculture's Rain-Summoning spell — how does it end up smelling like piss when it passes through your mouth?"

"Whether it's marching to war or governing a region, the amount of rainfall and its duration each serve different purposes. It's only been five years since we last worked together — have you forgotten all your old training? Or did you simply not listen carefully when I explained things back then?"

Long Xiao gave a sheepish grin: "How could I? I remember everything you said! I was just looking at you all with your serious faces, so I cracked a joke. How could I not know what rain does? You don't need to give me extra drills when we get back, really you don't..."

Inside the small-world fragment.

Zhao Xing held up his cloud-walking, while keeping his eyes on the Noon-Hour Grass.

At this moment, lightning flickered unceasingly among the clouds in the sky.

The 'Qi' of the Si-Hour Grass had already risen to the seven thousand one hundred and ninetieth division.

As Zhao Xing watched, he was also silently counting down in his heart.

"Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one!"

"Rain-Summoning!"

As Zhao Xing sent a streak of Jin Guang striking into the cloud layer.

Pitter-patter~

Raindrops began to fall.

At the same time, from the base of the stem of the Noon-Hour Grass, 'Qi' began to climb upward.

"Rain summoned right on the hour, not a fraction off." Zhao Xing let out a breath of relief.

What came next was waiting for Noon-Hour to pass, and stopping the rain at the end of Wei-Hour.

"There's an art to raining too. It has to fall for a full two hours, but the number of drops can only be controlled to forty-eight."

Compared to setting the hour, this point wasn't really difficult.

Of course, that was only how Zhao Xing felt.

The other clerks probably all found it extremely trying.

But having difficulty was only natural.

Otherwise, wouldn't just anyone be able to pass?

One hour later, the Qi in the Noon-Hour Grass vanished, seeping out from the leaves.

Immediately after, the Qi within the Hour-of-Wei grass began to rise.

Zhao Xing sat cross-legged on the ground, his heart utterly undisturbed.

The rain count had been calculated from the very start; he only needed to maintain a constant value.

"A normal clerk trying to pass this stage would find it hard to keep it consistent the whole time—short bursts are manageable."

"Over a longer stretch, problems are bound to crop up."

"A more flexible clerk wouldn't use this method; they'd 'adjust' the spell's effect every now and then."

"Calculating rainfall to fine-tune the Rain-Summoning spell—but I haven't made a single mistake so far. After my Life Soul strengthened, my spell control has improved again." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

If he hadn't seized the soul force of the Blood Spirit Venerable beforehand, he might have considered the approach of adjusting the spell to get through this stage.

But once the Life Soul was enhanced, the unity and coordination of the Seven Souls rose with it, and naturally his mastery over spells grew stronger as well.

Right now Zhao Xing was nothing but a heartless rain machine—start to finish, not a single fluctuation.

The Rain-Summoning spell at the Hour-of-Wu start was exactly the same effect as now; by calculation, stopping the rain at the Hour-of-Wei would deliver precisely forty-eight drops.

Time ticked by, second by second.

When the Qi of the Hour-of-Wei grass rose to its final segment.

Zhao Xing's mind stirred.

Rain spell, Thunder spell, Cloud spell—all withdrawn.

He rose to his feet with confidence.

"The Hour-of-Wei has passed. Clerk Zhao Xing, your field assessment is a perfect score. Please return to the Divine Temple in three days to await the results."

As this solemn voice rang out, Zhao Xing's vision flashed, and he was shifted out of the assessment space.

The next moment, he appeared outside the Heavenly Heart Plaza.

At this moment, outside the plaza, he was the only one there.

Because he had gone in first, naturally he came out first as well; the other fourteen were still in the midst of the assessment.

"No loud chatter. Leave on your own."

"Yes."

Zhao Xing cupped his hands in a salute, turned, and left.

The field assessment's score was judged on the spot—because rainfall and the hour were precise data with clear standards, so the calculation was naturally easy.

The theory exam, however, was graded by people. Some essay questions could be marked generously or stingily, still influenced by the graders' personal preferences, so three days were needed to complete the cross-review.

Chen Shijie and the others had long been waiting outside.

He came out first again?

Gao Linong recalled Bai Lu's assessment back then and couldn't help feeling a touch of surprise.

But this time he didn't dare guess wildly that Zhao Xing had failed.

The slap in the face from last year still stung.

"How did it go?" Chen Shijie asked. "Did you pass the field assessment or not?"

"Passed." Zhao Xing showed a faint smile.

Chen Shijie and Xue Wenzhong both let out a breath of relief.

They had been afraid Zhao Xing might fail the field assessment.

After all, the question had been rather obscure.

It was entirely possible Zhao Xing might not pass.

"With what score?" Chen Shijie asked.

"Perfect score." Zhao Xing said.

"What?!" Gao Linong's eyes went wide at once. "Perfect score?"

He's bluffing, right?!

Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan were also a bit skeptical—on a question like that, you still got a perfect score?

"Using the Twelve-Hour grass to keep time is admittedly a bit tricky, but I've cultivated the Five-Element Observation Method and recognized the twelve Hour-grasses early on, so I grouped them together for observation."

"Once you can confirm the time, the subsequent cloud-summoning, thunder, and rain aren't that difficult." Zhao Xing said.

"Eat something first." Xue Wenzhong brought over a food box. After the theory exam and then the field assessment back-to-back—it was a grueling tug-of-war; just thinking about it was exhausting.

"Thank you, Teacher." Zhao Xing didn't stand on ceremony. There was nothing to replenish in the small-world fragment, not even a ley line in sight; he really was somewhat worn out.

"Sit down and eat, chat while you eat." Chen Shijie beckoned him to sit. A makeshift shed had been set up outside the Divine Temple; they still had plenty they wanted to ask Zhao Xing.

"How did you answer the theory questions? How many did you feel were difficult?"

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said: "Two."

"Oh?" Chen Shijie's eyes lit up; Xue Wenzhong was heartened with old-age comfort.

Gao Linong, Tang Wanchun, and Pang Yuan were somewhat shocked—you only found two questions difficult?

"Tell us which two."

Zhao Xing took a sip of ginseng soup, ate a piece of chicken, and said unhurriedly: "The Southern Zheng question, and the Northern Sea question."

Chen Shijie nodded: "The Southern Zheng question involves geographical location and the Five-Element four-season soil-taking method. It's not exactly obscure—either you don't know it, or you can't answer it fully; there aren't really any traps."

Zhao Xing said: "The practical application of the Soil's Monthly Extraction Method—water moistens the soil, controls its fire; metal drains its essence; guided by the dual ley-line forces in combination, the summer soil of Southern Zheng, which lacks spring and winter, can be successfully extracted."

Tang Wanchun listened, stunned: "Can't you just use water to control the fire?"

Zhao Xing explained: "Southern Zheng's summer soil lacks the yin-cold balance of spring and winter; its fire burns so fiercely that relying on the local ley-line water alone is hard to extinguish the earth-fire. If you don't first moisten the soil and try to douse it directly, the water will instead feed the fire, trapping yourself in the earth, and the work will hardly succeed."

"Only by using the ley-line water to moisten the soil—weak yet unceasing—can metal drain its essence and bring the summer fire back to normal. At that point the soil can be taken and put to use; otherwise, nothing planted will survive."

Tang Wanchun was suddenly enlightened, Pang Yuan fell into thought, and Gao Linong felt a complicated mix of emotions.

On this single question alone, Zhao Xing had surpassed the three of them. From their earlier discussions, none of them had thought it through this completely; there would have been at least some points deducted.

And Zhao Xing's answer, in their view, could not possibly have any points deducted.

"What about that North Sea question?" Gao Li asked.

"It tests knowledge of seasonal phenomena, official systems, the Agricultural Bureau, and the divine weapons of the Heavenly Craft workshop — this question really is full of traps." Zhao Xing said modestly, "I'm not certain I can get full marks."

In truth, Zhao Xing was sure he had answered quite well, but one could never tell what mindset the examining officials were in. Suppose the examiner felt he had been grandstanding in some places — deducting a few points would be perfectly normal.

Chen Shijie didn't even ask about this question. Zhao Xing's knowledge of things like Purple Sky Island and military realm army exercises far surpassed that of an ordinary clerk — clearly he set his sights high, which was why he read books in those areas. The key point was that he genuinely knew them, not just a little.

There was nothing left worth asking after that, because the last major question had been guessed in advance — the model essay at the time had been written by Zhao Xing himself. Thanks to him, the other fourteen from Gucheng would all have an advantage on that question.

"From now on we'll have to call him Lord Zhao." Watching Zhao Xing speak with such ease and confidence, Tang Wanchun could not help feeling a surge of emotion — he had the sense of being washed away on the beach by the rising tide of the younger generation.

"That's enough, go back and wait for news — come back in three days." Chen Shijie smiled, then walked off with Long Xiao. Apart from Zhao Xing, he could not be bothered to pay attention to anyone else.

Three days later, Zhao Xing arrived outside the Divine Temple. The other fourteen clerks from the Agricultural Bureau who had taken the examination had long been waiting there.

Besides these, there were also many officials, clerks, curious onlookers, and peddlers setting up their stalls… because today was the day the list of appointed officials was released. It was not only the Agricultural Bureau — every other bureau would also be posting their results today.