Academy Examination

A few days later.

Chu Ming finished his daily practice of Wind-Slapping Palm and Tiger Python Force.

[Tiger Python Force (Major Completion)]

[Progress: 21/100]

[Progress: 13/100]

[Tiger Python Force (Minor Completion)]

[Progress: 13/100]

"After Tiger Python Force advanced to minor completion, my stamina improved several times over."

"I also practiced Wind-Slapping Palm to major completion. Now, even using only three tenths of my strength, I can split a wooden post..."

Back in his room, he continued studying the three books of poetry and history.

"I slacked off on my reading quite a bit these past few days while grinding Tiger Python Force. It's still early today. Let's see if I can fill the progress bar and advance."

[Reading (Minor Completion): photographic memory]

[Progress: 82/100]

[Progress: 83/100]

...

Two hours later.

[Progress: 99/100]

Chu Ming eagerly turned to the next page.

[Reading (Major Completion): Mastery and Integration]

[Progress: 0/100]

"It advanced!"

His eyes flashed with excitement.

"I finally ground Reading to major completion after finishing the entire General Theory of the Book of Songs and half of the Collection of Classics and Histories."

"Mastery and Integration...?"

At that very moment, Chu Ming felt countless thoughts entwining in his mind: the tales from more than twenty travel journals, every poem in the General Theory of the Book of Songs, the history in the Collection of Classics and Histories...

The contents he had read were no longer simply etched into his memory. As they intertwined, they began to resonate, giving rise to ideas he'd never had before.

Insight. Understanding.

His awareness lingered on the threads of thought from the travel journal Sword Gourd Travels. Then countless colorful threads converged on it, rapidly spreading out like a spiderweb in the blink of an eye...

Buzz—

Suddenly, a wondrous sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt welled up within him.

"This is..." Chu Ming closed his eyes. "Am I looking inward at my own body?"

His flesh, meridians, and even his internal organs all came under his scrutiny.

"My body's in terrible shape. My meridians are thinned, with plenty of cracks on their surfaces. Most of my acupoints are blocked, and blood can't circulate through many places. My internal organs have suffered varying degrees of damage too..."

And this was after he'd trained Tiger Python Force to minor completion. Before that, his condition must have been even worse.

Chu Ming opened his eyes, steadied himself, and looked at the panel.

[Sword Gourd Spiritual Sense]

[Progress (Novice): 1/100]

[Evaluation: Gained through reading many travel journals. Enhances perception. When activated voluntarily, it consumes spiritual energy and allows you to look inward at your own body.]

"So that's what Mastery and Integration means."

After reading more than twenty travel journals, their contents had fermented and fused in his mind. In the end, using Sword Gourd Travels as a foundation, he'd comprehended the ability to look inward at himself.

"In other words, I can read books and comprehend special abilities!"

Reading books by rote? Reading without understanding?

That just meant you hadn't read enough!

"Let's keep reading."

At dusk, after practicing Tiger Python Force until his progress reached 23, Chu Ming sat down in the courtyard, activated Sword Gourd Spiritual Sense, and examined his body.

"Every time I finish practicing Tiger Python Force, I'm exhausted, but I feel great. So it's because some of my meridians are opening."

Only now that he could examine his body's condition did he understand the benefits of practicing Tiger Python Force. It stimulated his blood flow, which in turn battered the blocked meridians.

The more meridians he opened, the better his body recovered.

But there was an obvious problem: at minor completion, Tiger Python Force could only speed up blood flow through the meridians. It couldn't repair the damage to his meridians, acupoints, or internal organs.

That was why his body was improving, yet still couldn't compare to an ordinary person's.

In short, his foundations had been damaged.

"One step at a time."

As he thought this, the courtyard gate swung open, and Fang Xiao returned from outside.

"Old Fang, these past few days...?"

Steward Fang had been coming and going at all hours lately, nothing like the old man who used to stay cooped up in the courtyard.

Chu Ming found it a little odd, so he casually asked.

"Oh, I ran into an old friend and had some tea." Fang Xiao didn't plan to tell Chu Ming that he'd joined the Catching Yamen.

Chu Ming was about to ask another question, but Fang Xiao hurriedly changed the subject, saying as casually as he could, "By the way, young master, I heard today that the town's private school is about to hold its Academy Examination, and this time it'll be a little different from usual."

"They say the top three in the Academy Examination can not only take the County Examination, but will also receive a book jointly compiled by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites of the Great Qin Dynasty... What was it called? Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy."

"I wonder what's so special about that Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy?"

The private school's Academy Examination was about to be held?

Fang Xiao had mentioned it without a second thought, but Chu Ming took it to heart.

Before he'd mastered Wind-Slapping Palm and Tiger Python Force, his plan had been to pursue an official career.

With the powerful effects of his Reading skill, he couldn't say for sure that he'd become a high-ranking official. After all, simply being well-read wasn't enough to get far in the world.

But he could certainly become a minor official and live better than he did now.

And gaining martial skills hadn't changed that plan.

"I may have martial skills to rely on, but compared with the true martial artists of this world, I'm insignificant. Never mind the mighty ones who can move mountains and overturn seas."

"Living in a remote corner might keep me alive for a while, but in the end, I can't escape the fate of becoming a handful of yellow earth."

"The Great Qin Dynasty values both scholarship and martial prowess. I don't know much about the martial path yet, and it isn't clear where it leads. But if I can pass the examinations and earn an official title, I'll have a chance to learn about things on a deeper level."

"Even my original body's wealthy father had tried every means to send his son into the imperial court."

"People within the system will always be better off than commoners who have to struggle just to make a living."

"If a great upheaval really sweeps through the land, my status as an official of the Great Qin Dynasty could let me learn what's going on ahead of time. I won't be kept in the dark like the countless ordinary people..."

"At the same time, I can use my authority to investigate more about martial artists."

"But... before that, I need to finish the Collection of Classics and Histories and the Complete Treatise on Agricultural Administration."

According to past years, the material for the private school's Academy Examination was drawn from the three books of poetry and history he was studying.

Fang Xiao glanced at Chu Ming out of the corner of his eye. He'd brought up the Academy Examination partly to change the subject, but also to see if his young master was interested in taking it.

He'd gotten the three books of classics from the private school in exchange for something. It was the only place in town that had them, since they were examination texts and therefore widely circulated.

At first, he hadn't understood why Chu Ming had sold his favorite travel journals to exchange them for books of poetry and history. But after seeing Chu Ming's remarkable memory, Fang Xiao had begun to suspect there was a reason.

Perhaps his young master had planned to take the Academy Examination all along.

The following day, after practicing Wind-Slapping Palm and Tiger Python Force, Chu Ming took some silver and left the courtyard.

"Is young master going to the pleasure house to listen to music?" Xiao Shan's voice came from behind him.

"They don't have any performances in the morning." Chu Ming paused.

"Oh." Xiao Shan didn't seem convinced. "I'll help... I'll accompany you, young master."

"No need!"

Chu Ming put on a stern expression, and Xiao Shan immediately quieted down, returning to the courtyard to take care of her own tasks.

He wasn't going to listen to music. He wanted to visit the private school and find out how to take the Academy Examination.

He'd intended to ask Steward Fang to make inquiries, but he hadn't seen him all morning, so he had to go himself.

Fortunately, after all these days of practicing Tiger Python Force, his strength had improved considerably. Going out was no problem.

Willow Town was just a small frontier town with a modest population. Chu Ming walked steadily along the stone-paved road, only occasionally spotting one or two people.

Some hurried along; others wore blank expressions. Even when they brushed past him, they acted as though they hadn't seen him.

After turning down several streets, Chu Ming reached an alley entrance and collided head-on with someone.

"Brother Chu?" The newcomer looked about Chu Ming's age, around fifteen or sixteen.

Did he know him?