Chapter 142: First Round
“How could I possibly be worthy of entering San Jing Academy? It’s merely because Senior Brother Kang and I were classmates for a few years before he enrolled,” Zhu Hui said.
“So that’s how it is!” all the children nodded in unison.
They were led to the front and saw many people in white clothes directing the crowd; these people were all disciples of San Jing Academy.
They divided the arriving people into teams, with those participating in the competition standing at the front, and those just watching standing at the back.
Gradually, the chaotic crowd became orderly and uniform.
“Actually, if you had been a little more patient, you could have entered through the front door,” Tutor Kang said. “You insisted on bothering me at the back door.”
“Old Tutor, that’s where you’re wrong. If you had said that earlier, why would we have bothered you?” Feng Tianzhu couldn’t help but retort.
Tutor Kang ignored him and turned to go inside.
“Everyone, please be patient, the first question is about to begin.” After the scene had quieted down a bit, a tall, handsome middle-aged man with a face like jade emerged from within.
The clothes he wore were gray, somewhere between the white-clothed disciples and the black-clothed tutors.
“Isn’t that Mister Hua Ying? He entered San Jing Academy twenty years ago and has never left,” someone in the know whispered to the crowd.
“He’s devoted to his studies, of course he wouldn’t leave. Is there any place in this world that allows one to focus on learning better than San Jing Academy? And are there any tutors more learned than these tutors at San Jin Academy?” someone immediately chimed in.
“I wonder what the first question will be this year?” Most people were more curious.
“Indeed! Last year’s first question eliminated more than half the people.”
“Hush, stop talking, the incense burner has already been brought out.”
Gong Changan saw two disciples on the stage with a scroll on a table, upon which sat a bronze tripod from the Three Dynasties.
“This year’s first question is: memorize an article of nearly a thousand characters within fifteen minutes, and then transcribe it within the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn,” Mister Hua Ying announced loudly from the steps.
“Oh dear, this tests the ability of eidetic memory. Difficult, difficult, difficult.”
“What’s so difficult about that? If you memorize it beforehand, it won’t even take fifteen minutes.”
“What do you think this is? Is there advance notice of the questions? Let me tell you, this must have been written by one of the tutors on the spot.”
“That’s right, these tutors are highly respected. How could they engage in such fraudulent activities?”
“Besides, even if you could somehow get through this, you wouldn’t be able to pass the subsequent questions.”
Amidst the murmuring of the crowd, two more disciples emerged carrying a large cloth, ten feet square, supported by bamboo poles. They unfurled it before everyone, revealing a freshly written prose piece in bold ink.
“Oh my, what kind of article is this? I don’t even recognize the characters in the title?” everyone panicked upon seeing the question.
It was an article titled “The Fu of Qu Jian Xiao Deng Wu”. Not only were the characters in the title difficult to recognize, but the entire nearly thousand-character text was filled with obscure words, causing a headache.
“This is too difficult, isn’t it? If the language were clear, perhaps I could remember it, but who could possibly remember such convoluted, obscure, and difficult prose?”
“As I said, San Jing Academy is known for its demanding selection process. Otherwise, how could they choose outstanding people?”
The scene was chaotic, but the people from San Jing Academy did not intervene.
The disciples they sought had to have exceptional memory and eidetic recall, and the more chaotic the situation, the better it tested true ability.
The incense had already been lit, and it was precisely timed to burn out in fifteen minutes.
Many of those standing at the front, participating in the selection, were already disheartened, their previous confident expressions gone.
“Changan, can you do it?” Feng Tianzhu asked with concern.
“I’ll try,” Gong Changan replied calmly.
“Don’t disturb him,” Qiao Ziyu pulled Feng Tianzhu back.
Because they were children, no one considered them as competitors; they were just seen as spectators.
In the blink of an eye, the incense stick burned out, and a drum sounded. The two disciples collected the white cloth with the prose on it.
“Those who wish to try, please come forward.” In the open space in front of the building, a row of tables had been set up, complete with paper and brushes.
People walked forward one after another, while others shook their heads, clearly lacking the courage to even try.
Finally, Gong Changan also walked up and took the table at the very edge.
“Hey, look! There’s a little child,” someone immediately pointed him out.
“In my opinion, he’s just here for the show. Such a young child wouldn’t even recognize all those characters, how could he memorize them?” More people assumed he was just a fearless youngster trying to attract attention.
Another stick of incense was lit, and with another drumbeat, everyone began to write furiously.
Some wrote desperately, as if slowing down would make them forget their previous memory.
Others wrote while thinking, pausing and resuming.
Of course, there were also those who looked around, trying to copy others. Those like them were escorted away by the people from San Jing Academy.
Gong Changan, however, worked at a steady pace from beginning to end. The table was slightly too high for him, so a disciple from San Jing Academy brought a small stool and placed it under his feet.
As the incense burned shorter, the atmosphere grew more tense. The spectators below held their breath, and no one spoke.
“Alas! Forget it!” Seeing that the incense had burned more than halfway, several people who hadn’t even finished transcribing half the article chose to give up.
Fewer than thirty people persisted to the end.
And this was only the first test.
With the final drumbeat, everyone stopped writing.
Some collected their transcribed papers and submitted them.
Everyone then waited for the results to be announced.
“I wonder how many of these people will pass the initial selection.”
“This question was a bit too difficult; it’s understandable if they don’t pass.”
“As I said, San Jing Academy’s selection process is very strict. Otherwise, where would its reputation of several hundred years come from?”
After waiting for another cup of tea’s time, Mister Hua Ying emerged, holding a piece of paper with the names of those who had passed the initial test.
The scene instantly became silent again, everyone eager to know who had passed.
“Those entering the second round of selection are: Yu Hanying, Lu Hong, Xiao Manlang, Lu Song…”
The people being named were already quite prominent in everyday life, many of them being the cream of the crop among the Imperial Academy students.
“…Ye Guanghan, Gong Changan.” Mister Hua Ying finally finished reading the list.
“Changan! Well done!” Feng Tianzhu was the first to jump up.
“Well done, Changan! You’ve really brought us honor!” The other children also jumped around.
“What? That youngest child also got selected?!” everyone exclaimed in disbelief.
“Oh my, this is incredible. To have such ability at such a young age!” Gong Changan instantly became the most noticed person.
“Brilliant as a child, but not necessarily as an adult,” someone immediately poured cold water.
“Exactly, he passed the first test, but the subsequent challenges will only get harder.”
