Dao Field Literary Thought Condenses the Earthly Soul

After the guarantor signed and stamped the document, Qiu Yan entered the Prefectural Academy. A bailiff came forward to search him. After the check was completed and he was found to be unharmed, he took the exam paper and draft paper, entered the examination hall, sat down, took out his pen, ink and inkstone from the examination basket, placed them on the table, and poured water to grind the ink.

The seats on either side of Qiu Yan were already occupied. To his left was a robust and upright man, with an extraordinary appearance and dignified demeanor. Once seated, he sat as still as a bell. To his right was a boy, probably not even thirteen or fourteen years old. He seemed lively and active, yet he forced himself to remain still, appearing somewhat restless.

Just then, a group of people suddenly walked up ahead, led by an official surrounded by a group of clerks. They walked and stopped frequently, clearly on an inspection tour.

Qiu Yan glanced at the official and noticed an unusual aura about him. He immediately used his newly mastered Spirit Eye Art to investigate.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the soul power surged into his eyes, he felt an overwhelming force descend upon him, shattering the soul power in his eyes!

"This is?"

Qiu Yan was taken aback; the official had already arrived not far away.

The clerk next to the official glanced at Qiu Yan, then turned to the official and said something. The official then looked at Qiu Yan with a slightly cold gaze.

"Hmm? This person should be Kong, the presiding Kong, the Academic Commissioner of the Dao Examination. Why does he seem You Di towards me? Why is that? I have been studying at home for the past two years and haven't even offended the villagers. How could I have attracted the hostility of a prefectural examiner?"

As he was thinking, the official approached. He was impeccably dressed, with a serious face, appearing rigid and unreasonable. Reaching Qiu Yan, he nodded and said, "You are Qiu Yan? The Prefect values you highly, but do not become arrogant because of this favor. Focus on the exam; if your answers are poor, even with help, it will be futile. At most, you might get a promotion." With that, he led a group of clerks away to continue his inspection.

Standing still, Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.

"I see. Although I don't know what went wrong, it's clear that the prefect's good intentions backfired, causing the provincial education commissioner to have a prejudice against me, thinking I'm trying to pull strings or use connections. As a result, no matter how well I answer, I might be downgraded. I originally wanted to compete for the top spot and improve my reputation, but now it seems a bit difficult. Fortunately, since this person has a prejudice against me, I don't think he'll deliberately try to get rid of me. I should be able to pass the provincial Dao Examination and get the title of Xiucai."

Those who passed the Dao Examination were divided into two classes. The first class, the "Bing Sheng" (禀生), also known as the "Xiucai), enjoyed many benefits. The second class, the "Zeng Sheng" (增生), was less fortunate; even if one passed the examination, there were no benefits, and it would damage one's reputation.

Now, what that provincial education commissioner is clearly saying is that although the prefect has given him instructions, if Qiu Yan doesn't perform well in the exam, he can at most be considered an ineligible student.

Before long, most of the students had taken their seats, but a commotion suddenly broke out outside the Prefectural Academy gate.

The seated students were already used to this. They knew that someone had been caught smuggling something and was making a scene. In such cases, everyone else knew that the person was hopeless. Only the person involved still clung to a sliver of hope, making a scene and hoping for leniency. But before long, they were dragged out.

Then, the examination hall doors closed, and a gong sounded, indicating that Kong, the Academic Commissioner had already set the examination questions.

Although Great Rui's examination hall was similar to Qiu Yan's previous life, there were also differences. This Dao Examination, for example, was for a student to take the exam to Xiucai. It only lasted one day, and the questions were not complicated. There were ten questions on ink interpretation and one question on classical interpretation.

The "Ink Meaning" section is divided into five parts: interpretation and five parts: annotation. These are similar to the translation, explanation, and short answer questions in Qiu Yan's previous life. The "Classic Meaning" section, on the other hand, selects a passage or sentence from the Five Classics —the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Spring and Autumn Annals —as the topic. Students are asked to explain their understanding of the sentence, which is somewhat like the assigned essay in Qiu Yan's previous life, except that the text must not contain any taboos.

It can be said that the Dao Examination offered little opportunity for candidates to demonstrate their abilities; most of the questions were based on rote memorization, testing their familiarity with and understanding of Confucian Canon.

In the last Dao Examination, Qiu Yan's predecessor answered the questions fluently, but unfortunately, he failed to pass due to other factors. This time, after two years of accumulation, Qiu Yan had already inherited his predecessor's knowledge and learned a lot from Ma Yang. However, he only glanced at the exam questions and the answers came to mind.

However, he did not rush to write. Instead, he sat quietly, closed his eyes slightly, and as soon as a thought arose, his inner Living Soul flickered, as if it was brewing something.

It is now the fifth watch of the night, before dawn, and the Living Souls need not worry about the sunlight.

"This Dao Examination is not only about passing the Xiucai exam, but also about condensing the Earthly Soul."

Thinking this, he recalled the incident where his Spirit Eye Art had been shattered by a powerful force earlier.

"The Prefectural Academy is a place for education and nurturing people, and students often write essays there. Over time, it has accumulated a rich Literary Qi, which seems to have a certain restraining effect on Divine Ability arts. The Spirit Eye Art was shattered just by mobilizing soul power. If the Living Soul were to Spirit Projection, it would probably be even more disadvantageous. However, it is also an opportunity. The soul cultivation Cultivation Method I have summarized is related to reading..."

With this thought in mind, he didn't delay any longer, and his Living Soul suddenly leaped out from the top of his head.

But as soon as he left his Spirit Projection, a torrential downpour began to fall. However, Qiu Yan's Living Soul was incredibly concentrated, and this force could not shatter it. It could only suppress it and force him back into his body.

With one side releasing and the other suppressing, the Living Soul was caught in a state of limbo, and Qiu Yan was also in a state of half-dream and half-awake, without making a sound.

That's enough!

As his thoughts raced, his Living Soul perception spread out, instantly enveloping the entire examination hall, and the images and movements of each student immediately surfaced in his mind.

One by one, as if seen with one's own eyes, some students wrote with divine inspiration, while others pondered deeply; some wrote intermittently, some wrote furtively, some were filled with anxiety, and some simply covered their heads and slept soundly.

"The Dao Field, the Dao Field, the place for seeking the Dao, is not necessarily a fixed location, but rather refers to the setting used to embody one's own Dao. I was misled by that book of insights before. Fortunately, after a month of reading in the Prime Minister's study and calming my mind, I finally discovered the clues. My own simple study Non-Self Dao Field, nor is the Prime Minister's study with its many classics. This moment is my Dao Field!"

In a flash, all the students in the examination hall felt a stirring in their hearts, as if they had sensed something. But upon careful consideration, they found nothing and dismissed it as a momentary illusion.

Meanwhile, in the air above the examination hall, Literary Thought Aura, rarely seen by ordinary people, rose from the young students.

Each piece of Literary Thought contained a person's thoughts and understanding of the classics, some rough and some shallow, some right and some wrong. They gathered together in a mighty and mighty way, forming a huge bookshelf that was hard to see with the naked eye around Qiu Yan. It was filled with books, and there was a label on the top of the bookshelf with the word "classic" written on it!

The bookshelf exudes a vibrant and energetic feel, as if it were alive!

"Earthly Soul, Condense!"

Qiu Yan had another thought, and the bookshelf suddenly trembled, drawn into the barely Spirit Projection Living Soul, landing beside the person in the soul, and slowly circling around.

Shock!

The Living Soul trembled, releasing a powerful force that tore off several strands of energy from the overwhelming momentum before returning to its body.

Qiu Yan's body jolted violently, as if electrocuted, and he snapped back to his senses, opening his eyes.

Just then, a clerk led Kong, the Academic Commissioner over, saying, "Sir, please look, it's been almost an hour, but Qiu Yan hasn't changed a single word. He's clearly trying to cheat."

"Oh? Is that really so?" Kong, the Academic Commissioner still had that serious expression. He followed the clerk to Qiu Yan's examination booth, looked up, and indeed found that Qiu Yan's examination paper was completely blank. He shook his head and was about to reprimand him.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Yan didn't even look at the others, picked up a pen, and wrote the first character.

The moment this character touched the paper, it seemed to come alive, bringing the entire exam paper to life and filling it with charm!

"This..."

Before Kong, the Academic Commissioner could even utter a word, he saw the character, his pupils constricted instantly, and he froze on the spot.