The Tang Dynasty's Imperial Examination lasted for three days.
The first two days were similar to academy examinations.
The first day consisted of the theoretical assessment: poetry, policy and demon tongue. The only difference was the Imperial Examination had no breaks in between the papers. Once the examination started, all three papers would be distributed and they had to complete them within the allocated time.
The second day involved the combat assessment, split into written and practical sections.
The third day was the core evaluation. After the core evaluation, the results would be released the next day.
The Imperial Examination was not too complicated. Truthfully, it was similar to the examination the students took in their three years in the academy. The weight of the Imperial Examination laid in the fact that it decided a cultivator's fate.
…
Brushes moved like slithering snakes across the white rice paper, eliciting rustling sounds.
Fang Lang was wholly-focused on his calligraphy. In all honesty, he was not at all anxious. Perhaps it was his personality—when the going got tough, Fang Lang's nerves became steel.
He answered a series of questions about the Tang Dynasty's history and the demon world. As long as one spent some time memorizing the notes before the Imperial Examination, the questions were easy to answer.
The questions were a breeze to Fang Lang.
He let out a short breath and let his vision slide. He stared at the poetry paper.
One could submit a poem or a vignette.
Most importantly, the writing had to bring out the main theme with a direct approach.
A vague entry would earn a candidate meager scores for the poetry section.
Fang Lang focused his mind and looked at the question. He read out the lines under his breath.
"Year 266 of the Tang Dynasty, the Loulan Demon Portal had an uprising. Those of impure blood from Xijiang joined forces with a hundred thousand demons and broke out from the portal borders. Blood drenched the lands of Xijiang and countless Tang Dynasty cultivators fell during the battle.
"Martial Arts King Jiang led his forces from Changan and engaged in a bloody battle at the Loulan Demon Portal. He invited Taihua First Sword of Mount Shu to assist in the military expedition. Hundreds and thousands of demon carcasses littered the area and the demon horde was forced back to the Jade Pass and into the demon portal.
"Then, Martial Arts King Jiang and Taihua First Sword chased after the horde commander into the portal. The Martial Arts King returned severely injured and Taihua First Sword was lost, never to be seen again. Loulan Demon Portal remains fractious and Tang Dynasty's sword mastery has stagnated since. Based on this scene, compose a poem or vignette."
Fang Lang frowned as he realized what he was reading.
A suspicious glinted flashed across his eyes. 'Who came up with this question?
'What are they trying to do?
'Martial Arts King Jiang… Which Jiang is this?
'Jiang Linglong's father?'
Fang Lang did not expect the Imperial Examination to involve Martial Arts King Jiang. The tone of the message was vague—was it praise or a condemnation?
However, the question was given to candidates throughout the empire, as if seeking judgment from the younger generation. In a way, it was akin to publicly shaming Martial Arts King Jiang for his mistake at Loulan Demon Portal.
Fang Lang did not hurry to answer. He rested his head on one palm while his other arm was folded on the desk. Ideas ran through his mind.
Surprised gasps could be heard from the students around him. They were quickly silenced by the cold-hearted head examiner.
"Is this how the Tang Dynasty treats the Jiang family?"
"For the Jiang family to appear as a topic in the Imperial Examination. It seems they've fallen from favor."
Fang Lang let out a slow breath.
He had inadvertently offended the third prince and Donglu's God of Blades. This meant if he entered the Imperial City, he would be faced with an unfriendly environment.
Fang Lang closed his eyes and calmed down. He arranged the vocabulary in his mind for the poem.
Whether the Martial Arts King Jiang was right or wrong, Fang Lang could not judge.
As the commander, the Martial Arts King Jiang's judgment was not wrong. However, he was to blame for Taihua First Sword's disappearance in the demon portal.
However, the examination asked for the candidates to use the scene as the setting. Anyone who wrote kindly about the topic would likely have fallen into the question's trap.
Although the question had an obvious angle, biting down on the proffered fruit might not end well. Who knew what would result from a slanderous work?
The main focus of the poem was important, the background included Loulan, the foreigners, demons…
He could interpret the question as a request for a poem about the battler frontiers. For many students, war poems were not easy to compose as they lacked personal experience.
Fang Lang was different from the average student. He had approximately 5,000 years of experience in him.
Loulan Demon Portal was located in Xijiang, deep within the green plains. There was a well-known lake called the Green Sea that melded with the snowy mountains and horizon.
Fang Lang spent several minutes in thought. Then, he picked up his brush and dipped it in ink. Brush strokes stained the rice paper.
'Beyond the Green Ocean, the mile-long clouds cast shadows on the snowy mountains. A lonely city guards the Jade Pass.
'Battles after battles, with weary armor we fight. If Loulan is not taken, we shan't find respite.'
A poem was born. The brush strokes were firm as Fang Lang wrote. He ended the poem with a flourish.
The Martial Arts King's actions were not for Fang Lang to judge but the story had elements beyond him. The city guarding Loulan Demon Portal, the bloodstained Jade Pass and the countless warriors of the empire were all important aspects of the scene.
Once done, Fang Lang placed the script aside for the ink to dry. He brought out the policy paper and continued answering.
The elegance of the poetry managed to clear his mind.
The policy paper was a thesis-writing paper. Compared to the poetry section, it was much easier yet it still required significant brain power.
The discussion was to be centered around the current affairs in the Tang Dynasty.
After the unification of the Tang Dynasty, the surrounding foreign cities paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty. Many foreign cities were willing to guard the demon portals to show fealty to the Tang Dynasty. This generated discussions about the empire's treatment of foreigners. A court official suggested elevating the strong cultivators into official positions—they would assist to guard the borders and minimize conflict with the outside.
That was the policy paper's main topic.
Fang Lang raised an eyebrow. He thought about the question and wrote a draft of ideas.
Luojiang Examination Tower was dead silent. Under the silencing spell, the only sound heard was the brush moving on paper. Even the sound of raindrops striking clay tiles were muted.
The head examiner was seated high above with a stony expression, dressed in an official robe.
A few examiners were walking among the rows of candidates. Their presence made candidates wary of their movements.
One of the examiners was behind Fang Lang and saw the poetry paper drying by the side of his desk. He took a second to study the work.
The examiner was surprised by the speed at which the candidate finished the poetry section.
The examiner stopped his footsteps. He did not touch the paper—he was not supposed to.
The poem was not long. He read the creation.
'Battles after battles, with weary armor we fight. If Loulan is not taken, we shan't find respite.'
This line alone reverberated with the Tang Dynasty cultivators who guarded the faraway demon portals.
The examiner was hit with flashbacks of when he and his fellow comrades fought on the battlefield.
As memories clouded his mind, he could not resist complimenting. "Excellent!"
The man's voice resounded in the silence of the hall.
Every candidate turned to look—there was a mixture of shock, wonderment and anger in the sea of faces.
Even Fang Lang was startled by the exclamation. He nearly spilled his ink onto the paper.
The examiner realized his mistake and color drained from his face. He turned to look at the head examiner who was staring daggers at him.
How f*cking excellent!
The head examiner's eyes seemed to scream at him.
However, before the examiner was escorted away, he gave Fang Lang a thumbs up.
'I like this poem! This boy has signs of an honor roll student!'
The examiner was ushered away by the head examiner. A soundless reprimand later, the examiner disappeared from the examination hall.
The Imperial Examination carried on.
Fang Lang's mind went back to the topic of foreign policy.
Putting foreigners in official positions and letting them guard the borders in order to reduce rising tensions…
Fang Lang's eyebrows furrowed as he dipped his brush in ink.
After a long while, a determined look appeared in his eyes. He wrote down the main clincher of the essay:
'Those who are not us are different in attitude and views. They are not to be considered as part of the Tang Dynasty.'
The sound of the autumn rain continued.
The head examiner took over the role of patrolling the hall. He walked past Fang Lang.
The boy's work had elicited a response from the other examiner. Curious, he glanced at the boy's opening line for the policy essay.
Huh?
'Those who are not us are different in attitude and views…'
The head examiner was shocked. His eyes twinkled and the glow grew brighter like the first light of dawn.
Blood rushed to his head and he could not resist expressing his approval.
"Good!"
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