Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 304 - 186: Baseline Test, Microscopic Array

Chapter 304: Chapter 186: Baseline Test, Microscopic Array

"Junior nephew, the question you set..." Master Pang looked at the test paper Zheng Fa had produced, with an inevitable twist on his face, "Isn’t it too difficult?"

"Difficult?"

Zheng Fa was stunned for a moment, looking towards Sister Zhang beside him.

He and Sister Zhang had set the math paper together, and hadn’t intentionally increased the difficulty.

Sister Zhang shook her head, looked at Master Pang, and said: "The one I set before was even harder... It was Zheng who cut down some complex questions, even Zheng Fa’s sister could solve them."

Master Pang twitched the corner of his mouth, fell silent for a moment before speaking: "For me... that really isn’t very difficult."

"But not all Jiushan Sect disciples are as good at math as I am, right..."

He looked around, first glanced at Zheng Fa, then at Sister Zhang, and finally pointed at Yuan and said: "Take, for example, Junior Niece Yuan..."

Yuan: "???"

Zheng Fa glanced at Yuan and whispered, "Uncle Teacher, Yuan is not participating in this exam for Jiushan Sect disciples..."

"Hmm? Isn’t she considered a Jiushan Sect disciple?"

Master Pang was a bit puzzled, then he heard Zheng Fa speak somewhat speechlessly: "Aren’t we preparing for a major exam for the mortals in Heavenly Palace as well? Only testing simple mathematics and grammar."

"So..."

Master Pang pointed at Yuan, and then heard Zheng Fa say: "Yuan requested it herself."

"I remember, your sister is also participating in this exam?"

Master Pang seemed to remember something and asked.

"Yes."

"Then are they taking it together?"

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

Looking at Yuan Xiaoniao, who appeared complacent and shameless, Master Pang was tempted to say something but finally refrained.

...

Once the test papers were ready, the day of the exam soon arrived.

For the Heavenly Palace Nine Islands, this was a grand public examination—

Not to mention the Jiushan Sect disciples, the Secret Techniques written in the education syllabus were enough to make them eagerly yearn for it.

For the thirty thousand ordinary people on Paradise Island, the significance of this exam was also special.

Zheng Fa actually had quite a few ideas about testing these mortals.

The first was of course to see if there were any promising talents.

But for these mortals, the most important thing was something else: Zheng Fa wanted to use this exam to establish corresponding administrative agencies in the Jiushan Realm.

In simple terms, it was a public service examination, or a reformed civil service examination—In his view, having a certain level of mathematical ability and literacy were essential qualities for grassroots management personnel.

Of course, this didn’t mean that those with excellent grades could become officials, Zheng Fa would still conduct corresponding interviews.

Selecting mentally agile and suitable management personnel that met Zheng Fa’s standards would make the various systems of the Jiushan Realm more polished.

...

Sun Daoyu and Zhou Qianyuan headed towards the main hall on University Island.

Both were silent, seemingly engrossed in their own thoughts.

"Senior brother..." after walking for a while, Zhou Qianyuan seemed unable to hold back any longer and spoke in a low voice.

"Hmm?"

"I went to see Master a few days ago, I found that Master was in a very bad mood."

Sun Daoyu turned his head to look at Zhou Qianyuan, knowing that Zhou Qianyuan was always valued by Master and knew some insider information.

Zhou Qianyuan whispered: "It seems like it was about the exam questions we are taking... he couldn’t solve them..."

"..."

Hearing this, Sun Daoyu looked towards the main hall that lay ahead.

Because there were a lot of participants in the exam and different papers to take, Zheng Fa had made a distinction:

The mortals’ exam was to take place in various side halls.

They, as Jiushan Disciples, would answer questions in this main hall at the very center.

They had visited this main hall many times before; Zheng Fa’s "Introduction to Thunder Skills" lecture had been held here.

But today... Sun Daoyu felt a serious and solemn aura that was frightening, making it a bit difficult for him to catch his breath.

The two walked silently into the main hall.

They discovered that the arrangement inside the hall had changed.

Each examinee had an individual desk, on which there was nothing, and between each desk there was just enough space for one person to pass through.

At the entrance of the hall, there was a small light screen, on which their seating chart was drawn.

The examination time, subjects, and even examination discipline instructions were written beside it.

No need to mention people like Zhou Qianyuan who knew some of the insider information, even other disciples felt immediately silent upon seeing such a formal examination arrangement.

Today is the math exam, and in addition to Zheng Fa, Master Pang and Junior Master Huang were also invigilating.

Master Pang stood at the back of the exam hall, his eyes flashing with a silvery light, and Sun Daoyu felt as if there were needles pricking his back.

Junior Master Huang was at the front, and Sun Daoyu just needed to look up to see her stern face.

Especially during moments when everyone else had their heads down and only he was looking up, Sun Daoyu would engage in a terrifying stare-off with the Junior Master...

Who could bear this?

Sun Daoyu was trembling, not daring to lift his head, trying hard to calm his mind and focus on the questions.

But... What kind of questions are these!

Who the hell set this paper!

Looking at a test paper of which three-quarters were blank, Sun Daoyu’s heart truly sank to the bottom.

The next moment, a series of soft footsteps came from behind.

A familiar shadow stood behind him, without moving!

Even without looking back, Sun Daoyu understood that Master was staring at his test paper.

At that moment, he felt as if time was passing extremely slowly, each breath feeling as prolonged as an entire epoch...

He felt he would rather be outside the Jiushan Realm, battling to the death against the Great Freedom Demon Sect, than to endure such torture...

He didn’t know how long it was before Master’s shadow finally disappeared from beside his desk.

...

"...How much did you manage to write?"

After exiting the main hall, Sun Daoyu asked Zhou Qianyuan by his side.

Upon hearing the question, Zhou Qianyuan answered despondently: "Less than half."

Huh?

Thinking about his own paper that was more than eighty percent blank, Sun Daoyu felt hopeless.

At this point, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind: "How many questions did you manage to write?"