Studying

On the Guchuan Dam side, Lin Xiao accompanied Sun Yigao, staying on the shore to closely monitor the safety of the hardworking laborers.

After not seeing each other for several days, Lin Xiao shared with Sun Yigao the recent changes and events in the sect.

Sun Yigao also showed great interest when he heard about weapon crafting, talisman making, and array inscription.

"After I finish the provincial examination and go back in a while, I'll have to study these things properly."

Lin Xiao then laughed and said:

"Now that you have Senior Liao as your second master, he will surely be very willing to impart all his experience of over five hundred years."

Sun Yigao advised Lin Xiao:

"Sect Master, you should go back first. There aren't too many people here yet; I can handle it on my own."

The laborers who have come to repair the dam now are only the first group of people closest to this Guchuan Dam. Laborers from other areas further away will arrive one after another, and by then, there will be a real large number of people.

Lin Xiao also considered that this was not something that could be resolved overnight, and besides, he had left in a hurry today and had forgotten to tell his family, so he no longer refused and nodded:

"Then I'll go back first, and come back tomorrow to relieve you."

The two parted ways abruptly, and Lin Xiao hurried back to Xiushui Village.

He needed to inform his family and sect members about his upcoming trip to Guchuan Dam, prepare more Reinforcement Formation of various sizes for backup, and assign the task of learning the four arts of immortal cultivation, asking Senior Liao to supervise everyone's studies.

He still has no clue about how to build the Heart-Questioning Road)...

There were quite a few things to do, and Lin Xiao felt he might need an assistant.

His brother and father have to take care of the fields every day, his eldest Lin Lei has to go home to help in the afternoons, Aunt Yang has recently taken over the work of copying the mental cultivation manual and those basic encyclopedias, Tietou's cultivation level is too low and he is busy taking two little girls to decorate the sect every day, Mo Yuanjiao is busy cultivating and learning the four arts, and Xiaoluan and his disciple... are not within the scope of consideration.

As for Fuzi, well, Lin Xiao felt that she must be more suitable for him than an assistant, so the assistant option was out of the question.

After much thought, it seems that the only person with strong execution skills, currently free of any problems, and of good use is the Tuzi.

So the next morning, Lin Xiao told Baldy that he hoped Tuzi could be his assistant to help him manage the sect's affairs.

Hearing his words, Liu Yunan was overjoyed.

He immediately nodded in agreement and patted his chest, promising that he would definitely do a good job as an assistant.

Meanwhile, the laborers from Xiushui Village had already set off to gather in Emerald Peak Town, preparing to head to Guchuan Dam.

For a moment, the village entrance was filled with the sorrow of parting.

The Lingxian Sect members, knowing that Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao would be guarding that place recently, felt much more at ease. Looking at the villagers who were reluctantly saying goodbye at the village entrance, they really wanted to tell everyone about it, but they held back.

Anyway, even if I told them now, not many people would believe me. I just need to know in my heart that they are probably not in any danger. Let them cry for a while. Everyone cries before.

And so, after entrusting Liu Yunan with the sect's recent miscellaneous affairs, Lin Xiao went to Guchuan Dam to take up his post with peace of mind.

With Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao protecting it, the renovation of Guchuan Dam is progressing very smoothly.

For five consecutive days, the number of people being recruited increased daily, but the number of accidental deaths remained at zero. However, some people were inevitably injured by falling debris such as dirt mounds and tools, but these injured people were mostly out of danger by the next day.

This is because whenever an injury occurs, Lin Xiao or Sun Yigao would secretly sneak into the injured person's location and use their Spiritual Power to heal them. However, the two of them also kept their distance and did not completely heal the person immediately. Instead, they would treat the injuries that would endanger the injured person's life, depending on their physical condition, and leave the minor injuries and pains to be treated as a formality.

Meanwhile, in the Liaoju Prefecture, Prefect Tong Shuzheng hurriedly took some time to return and finish grading the candidates' papers, announcing the results of the prefectural examination.

After that, he didn't even have time to go through the usual formality of the prefect summoning the top three students who had been admitted, and rushed back to Guchuan Dam overnight to personally supervise the progress of the renovation.

When the Guchuan Dam was first built, there was no question of cutting corners. However, the dam has been under construction for over a hundred years. Although there was no shoddy workmanship at the beginning, it is precisely because of this that the governors of Hufang Province have been very perfunctory in their maintenance of the dam over the years, which has led to the dam's current precarious state.

Prefect Tong was fully aware of this, but he had no way of expressing his grievances.

Because if this matter were reported and exposed, it wouldn't just involve one or two people, but all the officials who have served in Hufang Province over the years.

To be honest, he can't afford to offend him.

So he could only swallow his bitterness and do his best.

If the Guchuan Dam really breaches its banks, then it won't be too late for me to fight to the death.

As for the results of this prefectural examination...

Sun Yigao once again topped the list, becoming the newly crowned number one candidate in the prefectural examination.

Although Lin Xiao knew Sun Yigao's character, after Sun Yigao a question:

"You didn't use any cheating methods, did you?"

Hearing his teasing tone, Sun Yigao laughed and said:

"It's not entirely true that I haven't. Since I started cultivating, my memory and comprehension of books seem to have greatly improved. I have an extra layer of cultivation experience compared to ordinary people. Could that be considered a form of cheating?"

"Is there another round of provincial examinations after this?" Lin Xiao asked, recalling his vague memories of the ancient imperial examinations from his previous life and thinking that the Mortal Realm here seemed similar to before.

Sun Yigao nodded:

"Yes. After the preliminary examination, the examinations will be temporarily over. If I pass, I can participate in the provincial examination, which is held every three years. The last provincial examination was held in August the year before last, so if I want to participate, I will have to wait until next August."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something and said to Lin Xiao again:

"By the way, Brother Xiao, I'm thinking of starting a private school in our village after the exams this year. What do you think?"

"A private school? Do you have any specific plans?" Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised that he had this idea.

Sun Yigao nodded and said:

"If I pass this imperial examination, I'll get some tax-exempt land. I've already talked to my father, and he'll use the tax money to buy cheap paper and pens. I'll sell some of it at a fair price to the students at the private school, and I'll use the rest to copy books. The students will use my books for lessons. As for tuition, I want to set it as low as possible so that more children in the village can read and write."

When he was teaching people to read and understand mental techniques at the Lingxian Sect, he thought that literacy was really important, and that one didn't necessarily need to study to pass the imperial examinations.

Reading is about understanding the principles accumulated by generations of ancestors, which is extremely important.