Giving Up the County Exam?!

"Chen An, are you there?!"

A booming shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

Chen An's brow lifted slightly. He focused and listened, yet for a moment, he could not tell who the voice belonged to.

His gaze flickered as he silently considered the visitor's identity. After a brief hesitation, he still suppressed the thought of continuing his comprehension of intent. Drawing in the Mountain-Crushing Fist intent that surrounded him like a mountain, he rose and slowly walked toward the courtyard gate.

When he reached the gate and opened it, he saw a young man standing outside. The man wore the black uniform of a county academy student, stood tall and straight, and carried a trace of arrogance and impatience between his brows.

"Chen An?!"

The man's gaze fell on Chen An. He sized him up, then spoke with a faintly condescending air.

"I am."

Looking at the young student, a flicker of surprise also passed through Chen An's eyes. He cupped his hands and nodded.

"I'm Liu Qingyun from the county's Fifth Jia Class. Instructor Liu of your Geng Class sent me to find you. He wants you to return to the county academy at once!" Liu Qingyun gave him a slight nod as a perfunctory greeting. His tone was crisp and direct, without any unnecessary pleasantries.

The county academy was divided into five major year groups, then further divided into twelve classes named after the ten Heavenly Stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui.

Among them, the Jia and Yi Classes were the academy's top elite classes, with the finest resources and strongest instructors. Their status was comparable to the rocket classes and advanced classes of later-era high schools.

"I wonder why Instructor Liu is looking for me at this time?" Hearing that the chief instructor responsible for Geng Class cultivation—effectively their homeroom teacher—had specifically sent someone to summon him, Chen An frowned slightly and asked.

He had already recognized that this Liu Qingyun was the son of Liu Zhixing, an instructor of Geng Class.

Liu Qingyun waved a hand, his expression indifferent. "You'll know once you return to the county academy. I still need to find others, so I'll take my leave first."

With that, without waiting for Chen An to speak again, Liu Qingyun turned and left directly.

Watching Liu Qingyun's departing figure, Chen An's eyes flickered.

The county exam was tomorrow. Why was Liu Zhixing calling him to the county academy at a time like this? And judging by Liu Qingyun's manner, it seemed he had summoned more than just him?!

Had the students been urgently gathered before the county exam because its rules had suddenly changed, turning it into the Five Prefectures Joint Exam?!

Or had Liu Zhixing learned of the changed rules and intended to arrange pre-exam intensive training?!

Yet when he thought of Liu Zhixing's character in his memories, Chen An could not help shaking his head.

Although Liu Zhixing was the chief instructor of Geng Class, he possessed no teacher's virtue. He was perfunctory in his teaching, biased and snobbish, valuing only family background and talent. Toward students like Chen An, whose family circumstances and talent were both ordinary, he had always looked upon them coldly and ignored them, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Chen An truly found it hard to believe that someone so selfish, coldhearted, and uselessly occupying his position would suddenly grow a conscience and concern himself with the county exam prospects of poor students.

"Forget it. I'll go see what Liu Zhixing wants to do!"

With a soft sigh, Chen An's eyes flickered. He straightened his clothes, casually shut the courtyard gate behind him, and then headed unhurriedly toward the county academy.

Walking at an easy pace, it took Chen An nearly two quarters of an hour to reach Martial Glory County Academy.

Martial Glory County Academy stood in the northeastern corner of the county seat, covering more than a dozen qing. High walls enclosed it, while blue bricks and dark tiles stretched out in an unbroken expanse.

Its vermilion main gate was lofty and imposing, flanked by two stone lions nearly a zhang tall. Above the gate hung a gilded plaque inscribed with the four vigorous, ancient characters: Martial Glory County Academy. It exuded the solemn scholarly air and martial spirit of the academy.

Within the academy, pavilions and towers stood in scattered order. Schoolhouses, training grounds, libraries, and more were arranged throughout. Young people in black student uniforms could be seen coming and going everywhere, and the air was steeped in the rich atmosphere of cultivation and learning.

Chen An proceeded straight along the bluestone path, passing through several courtyards before arriving at the discussion and office courtyard of the county's fifth-year instructors.

Only then did Chen An discover that several Geng Class students were already standing before the teacher's quarters belonging to Liu Zhixing.

Moreover, Chen An noticed that they all shared something in common with him: they were students of Geng Class with relatively poor aptitude, cultivation, and family backgrounds.

At this moment, the students all wore differing expressions. Some stood with lowered heads, whispering to one another, unease visible in their brows. Others remained where they were, their faces tense. There was no end to the variety.

When they saw Chen An arrive, none of them seemed surprised. They merely glanced at him, with no intention of speaking to him, then shifted their gazes away again.

Geng Class students had always competed with one another and maintained distant relationships. Moreover, Chen An's cultivation had been mediocre in the past—indeed, near the bottom of the class—so he had never stood out. Naturally, no one had deliberately sought to befriend him.

Chen An did not mind. With a calm expression, he walked to the side, stood quietly, and waited in silence.

After roughly another incense stick's worth of time, several more Geng Class students hurried over one after another. The number of figures before the quarters steadily grew.

Just as the students were feeling anxious and wondering why Liu Zhixing had suddenly summoned them, Liu Zhixing entered from outside with Liu Qingyun.

"Greetings, Instructor!" At the sight of Liu Zhixing, the students quickly fell silent, straightened up, and bowed with cupped hands.

"Mm. Everyone is here, yes? Come in with me."

Liu Zhixing swept his indifferent gaze over the crowd and gave a slight nod. He then walked to his teacher's quarters, opened the door, and entered first.

The students exchanged looks, but said nothing. They could only silently follow after him and file inside.

Chen An's eyes flickered slightly. Then, with a calm expression, he followed behind the other students and quietly entered Liu Zhixing's quarters.

Liu Zhixing's quarters had never been particularly spacious or elegant. They were merely two connected side rooms. Now that ten students had crowded inside at once, the place immediately felt cramped, and the air in the room became stifling.

The furnishings were simple and plain. A rosewood desk stood against the wall, piled with books, documents, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. A wooden rack stood beside it, holding several martial arts manuals. Other than a few crude wooden chairs, there were no further decorations.

"I summoned you here because there has been a change to this county exam!"

With his hands clasped behind his back, Liu Zhixing stood before the desk and looked at everyone indifferently. "Just yesterday, the imperial court suddenly issued a decree. This county exam will be changed into a Five Prefectures Joint Exam between Chengtian Prefecture, Qingyuan Prefecture, Myriad Peace Prefecture, Changgen Prefecture, and Zhaoming Prefecture!"

Uproar!

The students' faces were filled with shock. They could not help murmuring among themselves, their expressions brimming with alarm and fear.

Everyone knew that an ordinary county exam was merely a contest within a single county. Yet now, it had suddenly been elevated into a Five Prefectures Joint Exam, its scope expanding to one hundred and eighty counties. With geniuses gathered like clouds, how could the difficulty and intensity of the competition have increased by only tenfold or a hundredfold?!

"Silence!"

Seeing the crowd's flustered panic, Liu Zhixing's lips faintly curved into a subtle smile. He immediately shouted in a low voice.

The noise stopped abruptly. The students immediately restrained their expressions and obediently stood still in silence.

Liu Zhixing's gaze swept lightly across the crowd as he spoke at an unhurried pace. "This instructor knows that all of you are deeply worried, afraid that the Five Prefectures Joint Exam is filled with powerful experts and that you will find it difficult to rise above the rest."

After a pause, he adopted a tone of concern and slowly said, "Therefore, this instructor has specially thought of a reliable way out for you!"

As he spoke, he picked up a stack of documents from the desk and lightly shook them.

"As long as you sign this agreement voluntarily forfeiting the county exam, this instructor can personally recommend you to enter the Treasure Gathering Trading Company in the county seat. You can directly apply for positions as company guards, obtain stable work and receive a monthly salary, and avoid the humiliating outcome of losing in the examination hall."