"Huh?"
Several Chief Examiners exclaimed in surprise at once.
The Chief Examiner holding the calligraphy paper looked rather bewildered too. "Minister Xun, do you mean this one?"
The paper in his hands could indeed be considered a work with the potential to reach the sacred path.
But there were countless Heavenly Prodigies with such potential. How many ultimately ascended to the sage realm?
By comparison, the Go work could be called dazzlingly brilliant.
Surely something that made their eyes light up like that deserved first place?
Minister Xun was considering a few things as well.
That person doesn't seem to like this sort of thing? Minister Xun pondered silently, weighing matters in his heart.
After some thought, he gritted his teeth and said, "Place the calligraphy with the potential to reach the sage realm in the first upper position, and the Go work in the second. Calligraphy on the left, Go on the right-the two shall share the top rank!"
Although this did not single out the calligraphy, placing it first on the left among the joint winners was already quite good.
Besides, the other candidate, Kong Ru, belonged to the Kong Family. Offending him would make the situation difficult to manage.
He had to admit that concealing the names had its advantages. Even a minister of his standing had to weigh the pros and cons, let alone anyone else.
If all the names were revealed, the rankings would probably be based on something other than the examination papers.
Still, he had to make this act convincing.
Minister Xun stroked his beard and smiled. "Whether calligraphy, Go, or painting, all have one standard by which they are measured: can they lead to sagehood?"
He first set the tone for the matter, then pointed at the Go work.
"This work is