The Imperial Academy was heaven for grindlords and hell for slackers.
The Imperial Academy belonged to the Imperial College. It offered a wide variety of disciplines and flexible programs. Students could earn points through monthly and seasonal exams. Those who reached the required number of points could graduate early, while those who failed to meet the target by the end of the academic year had to repeat the year. Points had another wonderful use, too.
Meeting the point requirement could also earn students a recommendation for official service.
They could fill vacant posts in the capital or the provinces.
Graduates of the various large academies could join the Imperial Academy by passing an entrance exam, while special admissions were reserved for exceptionally talented students from the middle and small academies, such as the two Wei siblings. Neither route discriminated by birth or family status; only ability and talent mattered.
The sooner they showed their talent, the sooner they could join the Imperial Academy.
Students with more ordinary talents could graduate from the large academies through years of hard study, earn their diplomas, and then decide whether to sit for the imperial examinations or apply to the Imperial Academy. Even if they failed the examinations, they could still earn credits through further study at the Imperial Academy and gain a chance to enter officialdom.
Though entering officialdom through points started at a lower level than passing the imperial examinations, the bar was lower, making it another path forward for ordinary students.
Today, two new students had arrived at the Imperial Academy.
Neither was even seven years old.
The girl, Wei Sheng, had set a new record for the youngest student ever admitted.
Wei Cheng was worried sick about it. "How old is Asheng, really? Can she keep up with the Imperial