Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Scholar Reaches the Realm

Song Mu opened his eyes once more, exhaling a deep, turbid breath from his mouth and nose. He rolled his neck, a series of cracking sounds sending a tingling sensation through his whole body. Taking several sharp breaths, Song Mu finally regained his composure.

Within his body, the power of literature now flowed like a gentle stream, murmuring softly. Whenever Song Mu willed it, he could sense a cool, clear current wandering throughout his form, only to slowly return to his dantian when he tried to grasp it.

That pure, white, flowing liquid within him—this was literary power.

The mark of one who had set foot upon the path of the scholar.

The sign of having achieved the rank of Xiucai.

Though the literary power within him was only as thick as his finger, Song Mu could feel the immense force it contained.

He sat quietly for a moment, marveling at this newfound strength, but soon became aware of the sticky, uncomfortable feeling clinging to his body. Flaring his nostrils, he caught a faint, unpleasant odor.

After sniffing for a while, Song Mu realized the smell was coming from himself, and his whole body seemed to be exuding it.

He felt thoroughly uncomfortable and had no desire to remain in the cramped exam cell any longer. He beckoned to the soldier who had been watching him all day.

“Excuse me, I’d like to submit my paper.”

Song Mu smiled as he spoke to the soldier, who frowned but eventually replied, “Sir, there’s still half an hour left in the exam. You can’t leave the examination grounds yet.”

“As long as I can leave this cell, that’s enough.”

Unable to endure the stench any longer, Song Mu carefully gathered his finished paper, packed all his belongings into the exam basket, and prepared to leave.

The soldier called for two minor officials, who hurried over. After confirming Song Mu’s paper and sealing his name with a slip of paper, they thoroughly searched him before finally allowing him out of the exam cell.

Even then, the two officials and the soldier stuck close to Song Mu, escorting him all the way to a row of sheds by the exam yard’s gate, where he was made to sit.

There, seven or eight others had already gathered. Glancing around, Song Mu recognized none of them. He offered a polite gesture of greeting to those nearby and sat down quietly.

The unpleasant odor still wafted from his body, but he could only grit his teeth and bear it.

This half hour was not the most agonizing Song Mu had ever endured, but it was certainly the most unforgettable. For during this time, several more scholars had emerged.

The literary star trembled, swirling vortices of light soared into the sky, and bursts of radiance flickered unceasingly, astonishing all who witnessed it.

The group near Song Mu seemed familiar with one another and began to discuss.

“The literary vortex has appeared more than thirty times. With all those tremors of the literary star, there must be twenty new scholars by now, don’t you think?”

“There’s only two quarters of an hour left in the exam. It must be ending soon.”

“Seems about right. That’s the usual number each year. But it’s odd—most years, there are more cases where the literary star trembles three times or more. Today, there have been far fewer.”

“Don’t be so sure. Just now, there was a five-fold tremor on the field. Didn’t you see that overwhelming blue light from the literary star?”

“Who didn’t notice? I’d just condensed my literary power then, and the commotion startled me. Honestly, I was lucky—if I’d finished my essay a little later, that disturbance might have unsettled my mind.”

“Maybe that’s what happened to others. The sudden shock threw everyone off, their essays suffered, and that’s why there are fewer truly outstanding candidates?”

“There’s some truth to that.”

“But on that note, who wrote the essay that caused the five-fold literary star tremor? Was it Xue Kaiwen? Zhang Yiqi? Or perhaps Cui Kexing from Yongxin County?”

After a few moments of conversation, someone ventured, “Hard to say. It’s probably Xue Kaiwen—his classical essays are always excellent. But why hasn’t he come out yet?”

“When it happened, I was closest to the surge, but the cell was narrow and dark. When I looked up, the place was filled with swirling literary power. I couldn’t make out anything. Otherwise, I’d have loved to see who wrote such a piece.”

Song Mu listened to their discussion, unconsciously touching his nose.

They had no idea—it was he who had written the essay that caused the five-fold tremor. But there was nothing to boast about just yet. Everything remained unsettled. Only after tomorrow’s exam, when the final examiners handed down the rankings, would the true results be known.

In this world, there were many formidable people besides himself.

Song Mu sat quietly, waiting for the exam to end.

Suddenly, he sensed a change in the air. Looking up, he saw the literary star atop the altar trembling again, ripples spreading out from it. Narrowing his eyes, Song Mu raised his brows in surprise.

A four-fold tremor.

Another fine classical essay had appeared.

With the emergence of a new literary vortex, the field seemed to enter a period of rapid breakthroughs.

The literary star trembled again and again, and vortices of literary power formed one after another.

In a single moment, seven or eight more people entered the scholar’s realm.

Among them, there were even two more four-fold tremors, though their literary vortices were noticeably smaller than Song Mu’s.

Those waiting in the sheds stood up, their eyes filled with both awe and confusion.

Just after discussing it, two more four-fold tremors had occurred. Who could it be this time?

But they had no answer, for as the sun set, the day’s classical essay exam at the academy drew to a close.

The sound of drums suddenly rang out, and an official on the north tower called out in a loud voice.

“Sundown! Pens down! Collect the papers!”

At the same time, the officiant on the altar stepped forward, tapping the bronze box. The seemingly unremarkable literary star was sealed away within.

The blue glow faded, and sighs and exclamations of admiration echoed through the academy. Each candidate waited for the minor officials to seal their papers and collect them, then gathered their things and left the examination cells.

Some, elderly or exhausted and unable to finish, pleaded bitterly from within, only to be dragged out and escorted from the grounds by the soldiers.

Song Mu had already left ahead of time and found Master Xun and Scholar Sun waiting for him outside the gate.

Seeing Song Mu emerge first, Master Xun excitedly approached, examining Song Mu’s aura before speaking with delight.

“You’ve reached the scholar’s realm. How many times did the literary star tremble?”

He didn’t bother to ask whether Song Mu had finished his essay, but went straight to the point: how many tremors had he caused.

For the number of times the literary star trembled was almost a direct indicator of one’s achievement in the first exam.

Song Mu pursed his lips, not hiding anything, and replied softly, “I didn’t count carefully, but it must have been four or five times.”

“Four or five? That’s quite good.” Master Xun nodded, then suddenly froze. His clean-shaven, pale face flushed with surprise. Glancing around to see only the three of them present, he quickly composed himself and said, “Very good, very good. Achieving scholar’s rank is enough for now. Let’s wait for the others and go back together.”

Master Xun immediately grasped the significance of Song Mu’s words and became more cautious. Scholar Sun, too, was visibly pleased but mixed with a trace of wariness.

Such an achievement on the very first examination was beyond what either had expected. Yet until the final results were announced, it was not something to be publicly celebrated.

After all, there had been cases in the past where, upon revealing the number of literary star tremors, hidden corrupt scholars had seized the opportunity to act, with dire consequences.

Soon, more candidates from Shiyang County emerged, some looking dejected. Seeing their classmates coming out in low spirits, sighs were heard all around.

“I just couldn’t figure out the last big question.”

“I must have recited the Four Books and Five Classics three times over in the hall!”

They chattered despondently, when Kong Zong also emerged. Song Mu looked up and noticed a hint of a smile on his face, feeling a stir in his heart.

It seemed Kong Zong had succeeded as well.

Approaching, Kong Zong answered Master Xun’s inquiry with a note of relief, “Ashamed to say, the literary star trembled three times. At least I haven’t let you down, sir.”

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