The Examination

A year later, the changes in the Xia Kingdom could only be described as earth-shattering.

From the outside, each city still retains its original antique charm.

Once inside the city, one will find that the scenery inside the city and the city walls create a strong sense of contrast.

Because the charming traditional courtyard houses have disappeared, high-rise buildings now stand on both sides of the street.

Besides pedestrians, there were many more modern vehicles on the road; bicycles, motorcycles, and even cars had become quite common.

The changes in the people are also very obvious. The loose-fitting clothes of the past are basically no longer seen, and various modern clothes have become commonplace for the people.

Let's turn our attention to the royal palace of the Xia Kingdom.

At this point, apart from the central palace and the outer city walls, nothing else that had ever existed in the imperial city could be found.

Under Liang Shi's leadership, the city's modernization efforts were implemented very thoroughly.

Moreover, from the air, the imperial city was very lively at this time, and there were even more people entering the imperial city through the city gates than usual.

Yi Xuan, who had been away for a year, had just entered the city.

Seeing the bustling activity in the capital of the Xia Kingdom, he curiously patted the young people chatting in front of him.

The man looked to be under twenty years old, a vibrant age, and his casual attire made him appear even more handsome.

Feeling someone patting him, Li Lin quickly turned around, only to see a young man who looked to be not much older than himself.

However, the young man's attire seemed out of place with his surroundings; he wore loose-fitting clothes and wide sleeves, clearly indicating that he was not a citizen of the Xia Kingdom.

So Li Lin asked curiously, "Brother, is there anything I can help you with?"

Yi Xuan noticed the strange looks Li Lin and his companions were giving him, and his own attire did seem somewhat out of place. So, he smiled and said, "Gentlemen, I am a student who has just returned to the Xia Kingdom after traveling. Seeing the capital city so bustling, I suppose there must be some festival, which is why I've come to inquire!"

Upon hearing Yi Xuan's words, Li Lin smiled and said, "Brother, what is your surname? My name is Li Lin, and these two are my classmates, Huang Ju and Han Yong!"

Seeing the three of them bowing simultaneously, Yi Xuan returned the bow, saying, "I am Yi Xuan, also Xia Kingdom, but I traveled to the Southern Frontier a few years ago and only recently returned to my homeland!"

"Oh? So you're also from the Xia Kingdom? My apologies! Brother Yi just asked me if there are any festivals in this capital! Actually, there aren't any right now. But something big is about to happen in the next few days, more exciting than any festival!"

"Oh? What's the big deal?"

Before Li Lin could answer, Huang Ju spoke up, "The Imperial University is about to open. All citizens of our Xia Kingdom who pass the preliminary exam are eligible to study at the university!"

"University? What is that? I've only heard of the Hanlin Academy, but it's not easy to get in. You have to pass the palace examination to have a chance!"

"Hanlin Academy?"

After hearing this, Li Lin and the others looked at each other and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

"Hahaha!"

"Haha, Brother Yi, the Hanlin Academy is Old Huang! You've been away for too long; the Xia Kingdom is completely different now than it was a few years ago!"

As he spoke, Li Lin pulled Yi Xuan into a tavern. Upon seeing this, Yi Xuan immediately offered to pay for the meal.

Li Lin did not refuse. After the food and wine were served, the group ate while Li Lin explained to Yi Xuan the changes in the Xia Kingdom over the past few years.

"Brother Li? So, anyone who can pass the exam is qualified to enter university?"

After listening to the stories of several people, Yi Xuan asked a question he already knew the answer to.

Upon hearing Yi Xuan's question, Li Lin shook his head and said, "Brother Yi, I don't mean to discourage you, but you've spent too much time studying abroad, focusing on the classics and historical texts. You've long since abandoned those things for university exams. I don't want to see you upset about failing, so I suggest you go home and study for another year, then try again next year!"

Yi Xuan waved his hand, indicating that he just wanted to give it a try and it didn't matter whether he got in or not.

Seeing that Yi Xuan didn't care about success or failure, the others didn't press him further.

The next morning, Yi Xuan followed the others to the Imperial University.

The entrance examination is divided into a preliminary examination and a final examination. The preliminary examination is a written test, and the final examination is an interview. Only those who pass the preliminary examination are eligible to enter the final examination.

After passing the second round of examinations, one can become a formal student at the Imperial University.

Yi Xuan, along with Li Lin and the other two, entered the examination hall smoothly and began the preliminary entrance examination.

The preliminary exam paper wasn't too difficult. Looking at the content on the paper, Yi Xuan guessed that it was Liang Shi's work.

Although the test seemed to focus on basic knowledge, Yi Xuan noticed that the biology section was more prominent than the others, suggesting that Liang Shi wanted to use this exam to start building his own research team.

This level of test paper was completely childish for Yi Xuan. In addition, Yi Xuan was a cultivator, so his writing speed was naturally far beyond that of ordinary people. He finished it in just fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, Li Lin and his two companions in the same examination room felt sorry to see Yi Xuan hand in his paper so early. But after thinking about it, they realized that Yi Xuan clearly hadn't studied the relevant material, so what else could they do but hand in a blank paper?

After the exam, the group rushed over to Yi Xuan.

"Brother Yi, it's alright! It's okay if you don't do well this time. After all, you haven't studied these things before. Just review well next time, and you'll definitely be fine!"

After saying that, the three of them pulled Yi Xuan away to drink, saying that Yi Xuan could drown his sorrows in alcohol.

But what could Yi Xuan possibly have to worry about? On the contrary, these three guys were drinking and discussing the questions on the test paper. One minute you'd find you'd gotten a question wrong, the next minute he'd find he'd missed a symbol.

By the end of the drinking session, the three of them were actually hugging each other and crying, which left Yi Xuan speechless. Were these three really there to help him calm down? It felt like he was just an excuse.

In the end, the three of them were completely drunk, Yi Xuan had no choice but to find a helper to help them back to their residence.

The next morning, before Yi Xuan had even gotten out of bed, he was woken up by urgent knocking on the door.

When they opened the door, they saw that Li Lin and the other two had already packed their bags. They all felt that they had no hope, so they didn't want to stay and wait for the final verdict. They thought it would be better to go home as soon as possible and prepare for repeating the year next year.

The reason he came to find Yi Xuan was to ask him if he wanted to leave together.

However, Yi Xuan refused with a smile, saying that she felt there was no problem.

After hearing Yi Xuan's words, the three of them began to hesitate about whether to leave.

Seeing Yi Xuan's confident expression, the three of them gritted their teeth and decided to stay and wait for news from the school.