Pick and choose? Confusion flickered through Angel's eyes.
Did Nomephins mean he should answer from the examiner's point of view? In other words, might he have to give answers that went against his conscience?
Angel wanted to ask, but unfortunately, he could not speak right now.
Nomephins continued, "But there's another difficulty. Once you choose an examiner, you'll find it hard to judge their stance from appearances alone."
"And only by figuring out their stance can you cater to it and give an answer that satisfies them."
Hearing this, Angel more or less understood.
"Pick and choose" really did mean changing his own stance. Even if his answer went against his conscience, he had to answer from the examiner's point of view.
But Angel still had a question. This stage was called "Heart-Questioning." If he said something he did not believe, how was that questioning his heart?
Nomephins said, "According to her, most challengers who passed the Heart Chapter in the past chose measured answers in this question-and-answer trial."
Being measured meant taking no side, or conceding a little to both.
What mattered was not stating a clear position.
For example, was human nature good or evil at birth? Not knowing the examiner's stance, a challenger might hedge, speaking at length about how human nature was neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but a mixture of both.
There was nothing obviously wrong with that answer.
If you could persuade the examiner with your words, there was still a chance they would let you pass.
"But if you happen to face an examiner with extreme views, someone who won't tolerate the slightest ambiguity, a measured answer could backfire," Nomephins said. "That's why the Heart Chapter also depends heavily on luck for many challengers."
Angel understood. Taking the middle ground was an