Chapter 6: Shengzu the Square-Body

Chen Shu was still quite confident about the Great Exam.

Yiguo does not divide subjects into liberal arts and sciences, nor are there comprehensive papers for them; every subject has a separate paper or testing method, only the score weighting differs.

The Great Exam lasts for a total of four days.

The first morning covers history and geography, the afternoon covers biology and physics, with physics including what was chemistry in his past life.

Two papers are handed out at once.

There is no need to mention Chen Shu's history.

Looking at human development, geography and civilization often achieve each other, so there is no need to mention that either.

Biology and physics can only be described as above average or average; it is not that he is bad at these two subjects, but after all, his day only has twenty-four hours, and other aspects occupied too much of his energy, so it was inevitable that he would neglect some subjects.

The second day covers literature and mathematics.

Chen Shu is quite good at both of these subjects.

He can probably get close to a perfect score in mathematics.

Literature is too subjective, so it is hard to say.

The third day tests physical fitness, Spirit Power Talent, and also tests morality and an elective art course; Chen Shu originally chose music.

How many points one can get in physical fitness and Spirit Power Talent depends on what the total score is.

It is very hard to get a low score in morality, and as for something like music, he had almost learned until he vomited in his past life, so it is also hard not to get a high score.

The fourth day covers Spirit Logic and Rune.

One is mainly related to Cultivation Rank, and the other is mainly related to the application of Spirit Power.

Spirit Logic also has a few subjective questions, making it hard to get a perfect score. As for the basics of Rune, Chen Shu can say that his attainments are deeper than those of professors in ordinary universities who specialize in the principles of Rune.

No foreign language test, the whole world celebrates.

The perfect score is 1350.

If one calculates the total score, it might be a bit risky for the popular majors at Yujing Academy, however, Yiguo's admissions use a Double Screening System.

That is, two rounds of screening.

For a university to admit you, it first sets a requirement for the total score; this requirement is generally lower and very easy to pass. After passing the first round of screening, the school will conduct score screening for specific subjects based on the major you applied for, and this requirement is very strict.

It sounds quite troublesome, but it is actually very simple.

The school first ensures that the people admitted are not fools who only know one subject and are completely ignorant of every other subject, and then it specifically selects the outstanding talents most suitable for this direction.

To be honest, Chen Shu could even hand in a blank paper on the first day.

After a careful check, he entered the exam room; Chen Shu yawned lazily and began to wait for the papers to be handed out, not panicked in the slightest.

Identity verification.

The history and geography papers were handed out.

Look at history first.

Question one, fill in the blank:

1. Shengzu was born in:

134 BC.

A freebie question.

Shengzu is equivalent to a figure of the level of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of his past life; at the age of 134, he unified the western part of Zhongzhou, established the Xia Dynasty, integrated the Cultivation System, and created writing and culture; he is the starting point of the Central Huaxia civilization in this world. When Chen Shu was ten or so, he took advantage of Chen Jiaoshou's convenience to frantically search through every record and item related to him; it is very difficult for anyone else in this world to know this ancestor Emperor better than Chen Shu.

It is a pity that it is now the year 5020.

Over five thousand years...

He is still too far away from Chen Shu.

Chen Shu really wants to meet him.

After finishing the history paper, there was no need to check, and Chen Shu immediately started the second paper.

At dusk.

Chen Jiaoshou and Wei Lvshi made a simple but nutritious dinner for Chen Shu, which counted as expressing their concern for their son; it was bland as hell and not tasty at all.

After the meal, Chen Shu had no intention of reviewing either; he washed the bowls and sat on the sofa to watch the news with Chen Jiaoshou.

While watching, he chatted with Qingqing.

Qingqing: How do you feel?

Chen Shu: People say that you aren't allowed to ask how someone feels before the exam is over; it easily causes the examinee's mindset to have problems.

Qingqing: So, how do you feel?

Chen Shu: It's simple as can be.

Qingqing: Did Uncle drive you to school?

Chen Shu: I walked there myself.

Qingqing: Did you get rained on?

Chen Shu: Don't I know to use an umbrella when it rains?

Chen Shu: /You idiot.

After a few minutes of silence, seeing that Qingqing was not replying to him, Chen Shu continued typing unhurriedly: What did you eat tonight?

Qingqing: Takeout.

Qingqing: Sour and spicy shredded potatoes.

Chen Shu: Suddenly I feel like this thing I'm eating is actually not bad.

While chatting, he suddenly heard the news say: "At 8:04 this morning, due to the continuous rainfall, a serious landslide occurred at Beauty Mountain, located on the opposite bank of Jinghai in Youlong District of Bai City in our province. The accident caused the western section of the coastal road to be blocked, and two cars were buried. According to life detection, all four people in the cars unfortunately perished..."

Chen Shu raised his head and glanced at the screen—

Half of Beauty Mountain had already slid away, the mudslide crossing the coastal road at the foot of the mountain directly and flowing into Jinghai.

The scene was shocking.

But what was that on the mountainside?

A very square, black, sharp corner?

Then he heard the news say: "At the same time, this landslide has also brought an ancient ruin back to light. According to expert speculation, it is highly likely to be a Saint Ancestor Cube..."

A Saint Ancestor Cube, huh...

Chen Shu was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look at Chen Jiaoshou.

"Pretty much."

Chen Jiaoshou was still watching the television, his tone very calm: "They invited me over to take a look this afternoon. If nothing goes wrong, it should be a Saint Ancestor Cube. However, only one corner of the cube is exposed right now; the specific excavation will have to wait until the rain stops."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu nodded.

The Saint Ancestor Cube is a cubic ruin, with length, width, and height all around two hundred meters. If it landed on the ground, its footprint would be larger than a common university Sports Field.

There is no consensus yet on what it specifically is, and everyone has different guesses about it.

Some believe this was the Saint Ancestor's treasure vault back in the day;

Some believe that the Saint Ancestor was afraid his deeds would be lost in the long river of history in the future, so he specifically built them to store his relics;

Others believe that the Saint Ancestor built these special monuments all over the world to manifest his power and awe the universe;

Still others say these are mausoleums the Saint Ancestor built for himself, and that one of the cubes must contain his remains.

A Saint Ancestor mausoleum, huh...

In the novels Chen Shu had read before, the opening of such a figure's mausoleum usually meant the world was about to change, signifying the appearance and rise of a protagonist.

It's a pity, though; if the ruin revealed in Beauty Mountain really is a Saint Ancestor Cube, it will be the eleventh Saint Ancestor Cube unearthed in the world to date, and the fifth one located within the territory of Yiguo. Some of the previous ones have been turned into museums or cultural attractions, all of which Chen Shu has already visited.

Currently, no one should have discovered the Saint Ancestor's remains inside; at least, no official news has been released, and the historical community has not defined the cubes as mausoleums.

There are, however, many messy rumors.

All in all, it's like discovering the tomb of some celebrity from a past life; it's worth being surprised and sharing, and perhaps the locals will talk about it with relish, but it's far from being that exaggerated.

Chen Shu was very interested.

At this moment, Chen Jiaoshou spoke again, but he was still staring at the news screen: "After the rain stops and they confirm the opening of the cube, I might need an assistant, and you are very suitable."

"Can I do it?"

"I will tell them that I know someone who understands the Xia Dynasty, especially that period of the Saint Ancestor's history, better than I do."

"If it works out, I'll add a chicken leg to your meal."

A burst of footsteps came, and Chen Shu's mother walked over from behind, her tone stern: "You're talking to him about this during the Great Exam; what if it affects his exam?"

Chen Jiaoshou focused on watching the news, not daring to make a sound.

Chen Shu also chuckled foolishly.

After watching the news, he returned to his room, opened his computer, and logged into "Wide and Narrow Alley".

Mao Xiansheng: I've looked into it, it's doable.

Mao Xiansheng:?

Mao Xiansheng: Where are you?

Mao Xiansheng: I'm speechless.

Mao Xiansheng: Unless you tell me you're an exam proctor, I won't forgive you for this no matter what.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: I forgot.

Mao Xiansheng: You're an educator, right?

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: /shivering

Mao Xiansheng: If nothing goes wrong, I will hire someone to place the item behind that graveyard on the night of the sixth of next month. Go get it as soon as possible, don't lose it. The item isn't expensive, but getting it into Yiguo is very troublesome, you know that.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Logging off.

Mao Xiansheng: Mm.

The last day of the Great Exam, afternoon.

For Chen Shu, the difficulty of the Rune basics paper was truly very low. With three hours of exam time, he finished the vast majority of the questions in less than an hour.

The last few big questions required a bit more time, but that was mainly because he had to write out many Runes.

As he was doing them, something interesting happened—

The final big question was a competition problem that was clearly far beyond the syllabus. Although it only required writing out the thought process and not a specific analysis, the difficulty was still very, very high.

The "the teacher who wrote this has no descendants" series.

The "score suppression" series.

Chen Shu could guarantee that not many students would be able to get points—yes, get points, not get a perfect score.

Even for him, it would take over forty minutes to figure out the approach.

Why did he know so clearly that it was over forty minutes?

Because he had seen this exact problem in that book of Ning Qing's a few days ago, with only negligible, tiny differences. He had spent over forty minutes figuring out the general approach back then, and only after asking Shi Qian for guidance did he specifically resolve it.

How interesting!

Finished, checked, handed in his paper amidst the stunned expressions of his classmates, feeling wonderful.

He walked out of the exam hall with long strides.

Standing at the entrance were several familiar-looking reporters from Yuanzhou Satellite TV, preparing to interview the first candidate to walk out of the exam hall. It was standard procedure for local satellite TV stations; he was used to it.

Chen Shu simply put on a face mask beforehand and did not refuse the interview.

"Student, could you please introduce yourself?"

"Skip these parts, hurry up, I'm in a rush."

"……Then, what is your honorable surname?"

"No need for honorifics, my surname is Ning."

"Student Ning, which school are you from?"

"Sixth Talent School."

"Student Ning, why did you come out so early?"

"The questions were too simple, even a dog could do them."

"So you are very confident then?"

"It's alright."

"Oh? May I ask which academy you have your heart set on?"

"Yujing Academy."

"Wow! Impressive, impressive! By the way, why are you wearing a mask?"

"Wearing a mask is a good habit, you wouldn't understand."

"Alright, then is there anything you would like to say to our audience?"

"There is."

Chen Shu nodded earnestly, adjusted his mask, and then said to the camera the words he had wanted to say for a long time: "Why hasn't Crown Princess Zhusha been showing her thighs while dancing lately?"

"？?"

"Don't listen to those people online talking nonsense! You should wear less and wear shorter clothes; as a public figure, you must set a good example and firmly uphold the freedom of dress!"

"……Student Ning really has a unique personality, could you pull down your mask and let us see your face?"

"Goodbye."