Book 2: Chapter 186: Baseline Exam, Microscopic Formation |
Vol 2 Chapter 186: Baseline Exam, Microscopic Formation
"Martial Nephew, the test you wrote..." Martial Uncle Pang looked at the exam Zheng Fa had prepared, his expression somewhat twisted, "Isn't it a bit too hard?"
"Hard?"
Zheng Fa was stunned and looked toward Senior Sister Zhang.
This math test was written together with Senior Sister Zhang; they hadn’t intentionally made it difficult.
Senior Sister Zhang shook her head and said to Martial Uncle Pang, "What I originally wrote was even harder... It was Junior Brother Zheng who actually removed some of the more complicated questions. Zheng Fa's younger sister can solve it."
Martial Uncle Pang twitched his mouth and stayed silent for a moment before speaking: "To me... that really isn't too hard."
"But the Jiushan Sect disciples, they’re not all as good at math as I am, right..."
He looked around, glanced at Zheng Fa, then at Senior Sister Zhang, and finally pointed at Senior Sister Yuan: "Take Martial Niece Yuan for example..."
Zheng Fa glanced at Senior Sister Yuan and said softly, "Martial Uncle, Senior Sister Yuan isn’t participating in the Jiushan Sect disciples' exam this time..."
"Hmm? She doesn’t count as a Jiushan Sect disciple?"
Martial Uncle Pang looked confused, and Zheng Fa said a bit helplessly, "Aren’t we preparing to hold a major exam for the mortals in the Heavenly Palace too? Only testing basic math and grammar."
"So..."
Martial Uncle Pang pointed at Senior Sister Yuan, and Zheng Fa said, "Senior Sister Yuan requested it herself."
"I remember, your little sister is also taking the exam?"
Martial Uncle Pang seemed to recall something and asked.
"Mm."
"So the two of them... are taking it together?"
Zheng Fa nodded slightly.
Looking at the gleeful, shameless Yuan Xiaoniao, Martial Uncle Pang held back and held back, and finally didn't say anything.
...
Once the test papers were finalized, exam day arrived quickly.
For the Nine Islands of the Heavenly Palace, this was a full-scale exam—
Not to mention the Jiushan Sect disciples, the secret techniques written in the educational syllabus were already enough to make them flock to it.
For the 300,000 mortals on Letu Island, the significance of this exam was even greater.
When it came to testing mortals, Zheng Fa actually had quite a few ideas.
The first was of course to see who showed promise.
But what mattered more for these mortals was something else: Zheng Fa wanted to use this exam to establish a corresponding administrative institution in the Jiushan Realm.
Simply put, it was a civil service exam, or a modified version of the imperial exam system—in his opinion, basic math ability and literacy were essential qualities for grassroots administrators.
Of course, that didn’t mean good grades alone could get you a post. Zheng Fa would still conduct interviews.
He planned to select a few quick-thinking individuals who aligned with his vision. Only then would the various systems in the Jiushan Realm operate more smoothly.
...
Sun Daoyu and Zhou Qianyuan walked toward the great hall on University Island.
Neither of them spoke, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts.
"Senior Brother..." After a while, Zhou Qianyuan couldn't hold it in and spoke in a low voice.
"Hmm?"
"I went to see Master a couple days ago and found him in a terrible mood."
Sun Daoyu turned his head and looked at Zhou Qianyuan. He knew Zhou Qianyuan had always been valued by their master and usually had some inside information.
Zhou Qianyuan whispered, "It seems... he was trying to do the test questions for our exam... and couldn’t solve them..."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Sun Daoyu looked ahead at the great hall.
Since many people were taking part in this exam, and the test papers differed, Zheng Fa had made a clear distinction:
The mortals would take their exams in the side halls.
As for them, the Jiushan disciples, they would take theirs in the main hall.
They had been to this hall many times before. Zheng Fa had previously taught "Introduction to Thunder Techniques" here.
But today... Sun Daoyu only felt the hall was oppressively solemn, so much that he could barely breathe.
The two of them silently walked into the great hall.
They saw the setup inside had changed.
Each examinee sat alone at their own desk. The desks were bare, and there was just enough space between each one for a person to pass.
At the entrance of the hall, there was a small light screen displaying their seating chart.
Next to it was a notice of the exam time, subject, and even the exam room rules.
Even Zhou Qianyuan and the others who knew what was going on were stunned by how formally the exam had been arranged. The other disciples were completely silenced by it.
Today was the math test. Invigilating the exam were Zheng Fa, Martial Uncle Pang, and Martial Uncle Huang.
Martial Uncle Pang stood at the back of the exam hall, silver light flashing in his eyes. Sun Daoyu felt like needles were stabbing into his back.
Martial Uncle Huang was at the front. When Sun Daoyu looked up, he could see her cold face.
Especially since everyone else kept their heads down, and he was the only one who looked up—every time he did, he would lock eyes in a terrifying stare-down with that Martial Aunt...
Who could take that?
Sun Daoyu, trembling with fear, dared not lift his head. He tried hard to calm down and focus on answering the questions.
But... what were these questions!
Who the h*ll came up with this test!
Looking at the test paper, three-quarters of it still blank, Sun Daoyu’s heart truly sank to the bottom.
The next moment, he heard light footsteps approaching from behind.
A familiar figure stopped behind him and didn’t move!
He didn’t even need to turn around—Sun Daoyu instantly knew that his master was staring at his test paper.
In that moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Every breath felt as long as an entire epoch...
He would rather leave the Jiushan Realm and go all out against the Great Freedom Demonic Sect than endure this torture...
He didn’t know how long it took before his master’s shadow finally left his desk.
...
"...How much did you write?"
After leaving the great hall, Sun Daoyu asked Zhou Qianyuan beside him.
Zhou Qianyuan replied in frustration, "Not even half."
Huh?
Thinking of how he had left more than eighty percent of his paper blank, Sun Daoyu was filled with despair.
At that moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind them: "How many questions did you guys answer?"
"Out of ten, I answered one."
"Same here," another person sighed. "This test is way too hard!"
Huh?
Upon hearing that, Sun Daoyu perked up.
Listening to more of the surrounding conversations, he understood even better—he didn’t do that badly!
Most people had probably only managed to answer ten to twenty percent of the questions.
He glanced sideways at Zhou Qianyuan.
"Senior Brother... I overheard some of it when Senior Brother Zheng and Senior Sister Zhang were discussing..."
Zhou Qianyuan understood his look and scratched his head as he spoke.
Sun Daoyu thought about it and agreed—Zhou Qianyuan had always been close to those two and surely picked up more than the others.
...
"Junior Brother Zhou did quite well on the exam!"
The papers were graded quickly, and Zheng Fa looked a little surprised as he saw the name at the top.
Martial Uncle Pang beside him was beaming, clearly proud.
"Not bad at all—third in arithmetic among the disciples, and first in talisman techniques," Senior Sister Zhang also praised.
In terms of pure math, Zhou Qianyuan still had some competition—after all, there were disciples from the market who were skilled in arithmetic.
But in talisman techniques, Zhou Qianyuan stood head and shoulders above the rest—he was not only Martial Uncle Pang's prized student, but had also absorbed many concepts from Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang. His foundation was undeniably solid.
"My disciple..." Martial Uncle Pang waved his hand modestly as the two praised him, smiling as he said, "still needs tempering."
...
"This time’s top scorer in the Jiushan disciples' grand exam: Junior Brother Zhou Qianyuan."
Hearing Zheng Fa say that, Zhou Qianyuan snapped his head up, feeling a bit dizzy.
He heard Zheng Fa smile and say to him, "Starting today, there will be a monthly exam each month. The top ten scorers will receive rewards, to encourage everyone to study diligently."
As he spoke, Zheng Fa took out a jade plate, on which lay several rather precious spiritual materials.
"Here, Junior Brother Zhou, this is for you."
Zhou Qianyuan walked forward in a daze and received the jade plate from Zheng Fa.
The other disciples below looked at him, their eyes full of envy, and even a hint of jealousy.
Especially when they saw the spiritual materials on the jade plate—it was as if they suddenly understood the value of knowledge.
"Now let’s have Junior Brother Zhou share some of his thoughts and experiences on learning."
"I..."
"I just... I have to thank the teachings of my elders for this result..."
Martial Uncle Pang stood off to the side nodding with a smile, clearly thinking this disciple was promising and already starting to think about the future.
"Following Junior Brother Zheng, I learned how to analyze Yuan Talismans..."
"With Senior Sister Zhang, I gained many insights into arithmetic..."
The smile on Martial Uncle Pang's face slowly faded—this disciple is no good!
Good thing Zheng Fa’s little sister also scored well this time!
...
"Martial Nephew Zheng, ever since you introduced this exam, the whole atmosphere in Jiushan Realm has changed..."
In the lab, Martial Uncle Pang said to Zheng Fa.
"Hmm?"
Zheng Fa was studying a spiritual talisman in front of him and looked a bit puzzled when he heard that.
"That ranking system of yours... it's brutal..."
Martial Uncle Pang said softly.
Zheng Fa chuckled—he had done it intentionally.
Though he only read out the names of the high scorers in the hall, when it came to posting the ranking board, Zheng Fa made no attempt to hide it—it was far more ruthless than anything in the modern world.
So naturally, those who did poorly... were under a lot of pressure.
But judging from Martial Uncle Pang’s expression, he didn’t seem too bothered—after all, given the current environment in the Xuanyi Realm, treating Jiushan disciples like modern students would actually do them more harm than good.
Zheng Fa wanted to provide a relatively relaxed environment for the disciples of Jiushan Realm, but at the same time, he had to admit that adversity breeds strength, while comfort leads to decline.
If they couldn't even handle being at the bottom of a ranking... then they might as well not cultivate.
"You did very well." As expected, Martial Uncle Pang said, "I’ve noticed that a few of my students who scored poorly are now burning the midnight oil, desperate to redeem themselves. One or two of them used to be lazy by nature, but they seem to have turned a corner."
Senior Sister Zhang also chimed in: "Aside from the shame of scoring poorly, your rewards really motivated them too... The ones who scored well got a taste of success and are now pushing even harder."
Zheng Fa also smiled.
This kind of exam didn’t just help him understand the disciples' capabilities so he could teach accordingly—it also, in an unexpected way, sparked a genuine enthusiasm for learning, especially for math.
Even without Martial Uncle Pang or Senior Sister Zhang saying anything, Zheng Fa himself had noticed it: the academic spirit in Jiushan Realm was rising.
The Jiushan disciples were grinding on math, grinding on talisman techniques.
Even his little sister mentioned that her classmates at the academy were now much more motivated—after all, good grades could lead to government posts and even to cultivation.
"The most important thing is fairness..."
Martial Uncle Pang brought up a new insight.
"Hmm?"
"I have to admit, this kind of exam is relatively fair..." Martial Uncle Pang spoke thoughtfully, "In the past, when we trained disciples, we not only looked at their aptitude, but often just went with our personal feelings..."
"Now that resources are being distributed based on test scores..."
"I’ve noticed many disciples are more motivated than before."
"Work hard, and you get rewarded..." Martial Uncle Pang sighed, "It sounds simple, but it’s actually quite rare."
Zheng Fa was stunned—he hadn’t considered that.
To be honest, he was lucky—because of his so-called talent, he had always received attention and never suffered from unfair treatment.
And this modern exam system—while not perfectly fair—was still far more equitable than what came before.
The old systems in the Xuanyi Realm had always depended on the whims of those in power.
Jiushan Sect was relatively better, but from what Zheng Fa knew—many sects treated low-level disciples like servants.
The Demonic Sects were even worse.
Especially with test answers being relatively objective, it further reduced human bias.
Martial Uncle Pang sighed:
"I don’t know where you get all these ideas, but they really work..."
Zheng Fa felt a bit embarrassed.
These... were just small bits of knowledge from the modern world.
"Like this microscopic formation..."
"Just light refraction... can really give that level of detail?"
Seeing he was still doubtful, Zheng Fa smiled, "Martial Uncle Pang, didn’t I already explain the principle once?"
Zheng Fa had been thinking of using magical tools or formations to replicate lab observation instruments.
After considering it, he realized that most instruments would need modern support—but the principle behind an optical microscope was incredibly simple—just the refraction of light.
So using a formation to achieve it was relatively easy.
Even though the resolution of an optical microscope was limited by the wavelength of light and might not surpass the Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes,
that didn’t mean it would conflict with the Spirit Eyes.
Zheng Fa was hoping that combining the two could lead to even greater precision.
Of course, since he didn’t yet understand the principles behind the Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, he couldn’t say for sure whether the two could work together—but it was worth a try.
Moreover, since Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo wasn’t adapting well to the Jiushan Realm’s environment, a microscope was a good supplement.
"The principle..." Martial Uncle Pang let out a long sigh, "To cultivate the Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, you need Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tears... And now you're telling me all you need is a couple mirrors?"
Zheng Fa laughed.
If the formation approach failed, he’d try firing up some glass—after all, the Xuanyi Realm did have glazed materials, just harder to find in Jiushan Realm.
This experiment with the microscopic formation wasn’t just about observing spiritual materials—he also wanted to further study talisman techniques and gain hands-on familiarity with talisman formations.
Martial Uncle Pang, Senior Sister Zhang, and Zheng Fa discussed for a while and finally finalized the spiritual talisman composition for the microscopic formation.
Senior Sister Zhang’s Flying Immortal Brush danced in the air for a moment, several spiritual talismans flew out, and a formation appeared before them.
Martial Uncle Pang stared at the Xuanlei Stone magnified hundreds of times in front of him, touched his eyes, and suddenly felt like crying...