"Impossible! You never even took the Great Qian Imperial Examinations!"
Annoyance showed on Lin Yunwen's face, and he rebuked Li Chen furiously, as though determined to expose his lie.
Li Chen said, "The rank of Grand Confucian requires no imperial examination!"
Everyone froze at his words.
Li Chen said, "What you call scholarly honors are merely shackles Great Qian fastens upon you. Lower ranks can be condensed on your own, or attained through the conversion of other mighty powers."
Even the mundane world allowed official posts to be purchased. Admission to the Imperial Academy and the title of Equivalent Jinshi were not difficult to obtain for those with wealth, influence, or other outside assistance. The Great Qian dynasty had turned this into a grand ceremony for selecting talent, using the imperial examinations to sift out gifted people useful to itself. Only then had it established its rule at the most fundamental level.
Li Chen was a false Confucian of the Outer Dao. What he cultivated were spells; what he valued were doctrines. He had effectively "purchased" his Scholar rank through the sheer strength of his Core Formation cultivation. To advance another step, he would have to submit to the educational authorities and enter the system.
Great Qian's Recommended Scholars were gentlemen entitled to tax exemptions. Given the right opportunity, they could even take office directly. Their status was no small matter.
Above them, however, those of Grand Confucian rank had already cultivated the mighty power of divine abilities into themselves, making it difficult for Great Qian to restrict them any longer.
This concerned the very foundation of the Dao lineage, and was also a means for the Confucian Dao to protect itself.
Although Li Chen could not take Great Qian's imperial examinations for the time being, and had no desire