"Mm..."
After hearing the report, Wang, the Exam Supervisor, showed little expression. He merely gave a soft "Mm," neither affirming nor denying it, though it was an acknowledgment of the other man's work ethic.
Then his gaze swept over the floating islands once more. It seemed to pierce the clouds and settle on the formations standing ready within, as well as the silhouettes of a few jiaolong. No one could tell what he was looking at.
"..."
After a moment of thought, Wang spoke again in an even tone.
"I forgot to ask."
"How many candidates are there at your Jiazi examination site this year?"
The inspector was ready for the question, and immediately replied loudly, "My lord, this year's martial examination at this site has received 191 valid applications."
"Of those, 47 passed the literary examination in previous years but failed the martial examination and are retaking it. The other 144 passed the literary examination this year."
"Since that is far below this site's maximum capacity of 360 candidates, there is no need to activate the candidate-diversion plan. We have ample capacity and can ensure orderly examinations, with sufficient room and time for every candidate to demonstrate their abilities."
When he had finished, he bowed respectfully to Wang.
"Hmm..."
"Only 191."
Wang silently repeated the number to himself, unable to help feeling wistful.
Compared with the vast Divine Capital, let alone the territories of the Three Realms under the Heavenly Court's rule, those who had made it this far through the rigorous literary examination were already exceedingly rare. Those who could distinguish themselves in the martial examination would be rarer still.
After all, how many people were both scholarly and martial?
Of those who passed the "Rising Talents Examination" and went on to the "Immortal Assembly Examination" a year