Chapter 101: This Question I've Done Before

The Great Zhou's civil service examination system culminated in the Temple Examination as its final hurdle.

At Mao hour on the third day of the second month, Zhao Xing left his home and hurried to the Ministry of Agriculture. By three-quarters into the Mao hour, all fifteen candidates had arrived, including Zong Shichang, Xiao Ze, Wen Nanxing, and Ding Shan. Chen Shijie and the other assistant officials from the Ministry of Agriculture had also been waiting there for some time.

Upon everyone's arrival, Chen Shijie spoke, "Whether you are appointed as officials hinges on today's performance. You all have a good chance of passing. Just relax, maintain your composure, and perform normally. I, along with the other officials, wish you all the best and hope you achieve your aspirations."

"Thank you, sirs," the civil servants replied in unison, bowing their hands.

After these encouraging words, Chen Shijie continued: "In the washrooms at the back, a set of special examination attire has been prepared. Other than this attire, no external items are permitted. You have forty-five minutes. Please go in and change your clothes now."

The civil servants were already familiar with the Temple Examination's rules, so they promptly entered the washrooms and began changing. Zhao Xing also went inside and changed into a long robe. He had brought no external items at all; even his sixth-grade soul armor had been removed and stored within the Grand Dream Academy, entrusted to the mechanical beast Xiezhi for safekeeping. The Grand Dream Academy usually didn't offer this feature, allowing items out but not in. However, soul armor was an exception, permitted for both entry and exit. As for other items, like the Auspicious Almanac and the Thousand-Mile Communication Token, they had been borrowed and were returned to the Ministry of Agriculture's internal treasury after the Profound Heaven Sect incident. His Wind Crystal earrings were at home, leaving him virtually empty-handed.

After changing, Zhao Xing and the other civil servants came out to wait. No one conversed; they merely waited in silence.

At six-quarters into the Mao hour, a Cloud and Rain airship arrived from the south, landing at the Ministry of Agriculture in Gucheng. Four officials disembarked. Two were temple ritual officials, each carrying a statue of a princely deity. The other two were seventh-grade examination proctors.

After the rules were read aloud as usual, at precisely Chen hour, they led the fifteen civil servants from the Ministry of Agriculture into the Gucheng Temple. Led by the ritual officials, the civil servants first paid homage at the various halls within the temple, including the Hall of True Monarch Donghu, the Hall of True Monarch Caoxi, and the Hall of Saints. This ritual was to express gratitude to the Yin Gods for transmitting their teachings. Zhao Xing mainly paid homage to Caoxi and Zheng Lun, as most of his spells originated from these two Yin Gods.

Once the worship ritual concluded, the fifteen civil servants proceeded to the temple's central Heavenly Heart Plaza and took their positions.

At three-quarters into the Chen hour, the two ritual officials from the prefectural city placed the princely deity statues at the four corners of the plaza.

"Omm."

As golden light radiated, a new palace suddenly materialized in the Heavenly Heart Plaza. This was the Heavenly Heart Palace, dedicated to the Great Zhou's Grand Ancestor. It was activated only once a year for the Temple Examination and major festivals such as the Emperor's Sacrifice.

"Worship!"

The ritual officials led the candidates in burning incense and worshipping the Grand Ancestor's statue. This was to thank him for establishing temples to disseminate myriad teachings and for instituting the civil service examination system, thereby providing a path for advancement for lower-ranking officials.

At four-quarters into the Chen hour, the ritual officials tossed yellow papers, each bearing a civil servant's name, into the grand bronze incense burner before the Grand Ancestor's spirit altar.

"Omm."

The next moment, fifteen desks and chairs emerged from the ground.

"Civil servants, please take your assigned seats."

Zhao Xing located the long desk bearing his name and sat down.

"Whoosh."

As soon as he sat down, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones appeared. He looked up to find the figures of the other candidates and officials fading from view.

The theoretical portion of the Temple Examination had officially begun. It would last for a total of thirty-six hours. Leaving the designated seating area would be considered an early submission. Once time expired, no further answers could be provided.

"It's finally here," Zhao Xing slowly exhaled, then picked up the examination paper from the desk and began reviewing it thoroughly.

The examination paper consisted of forty pages. Thirty contained questions, and ten were blank. As with the previous White Dew solar term examination, these questions had been set by Chen Shijie in accordance with court standards. The first ten pages comprised basic questions that could be answered through rote memorization; compared to the White Dew examination, there was one-third fewer of these foundational questions. Since the Temple Examination concerned formal official appointments, there were fewer "easy" questions.

Zhao Xing quickly scanned the paper and began answering the basic questions.

"In which dynasty, year, and month was 'One Hundred Solutions to Heavenly Timeliness' compiled, by whom, and what was its ranking in the Hall of Saints of this dynasty?"

Zhao Xing quickly wrote the answer: "Qian Dynasty, July of the 149th year of Zhiyuan, compiled by Grand Minister of Agriculture Chen Yi, ranked twenty-seventh in the Hall of Saints of this dynasty."

"On the day of Great Heat, decaying grass transforms into fireflies."

Answer: "If the soil is moist and not humid, things will not be punished. If heavy rain does not fall at the right time, the country will lack grace."

Zhao Xing answered fluently, quickly completing the basic, straightforward questions. He then moved on to the advanced scenario questions designed to filter candidates.

"In Nanzheng, one wishes to extract soil. Loosening the soil is ineffective and actually helps fire generate earth. If metal is used to draw out its essence, the dry soil renders the metal brittle and hard to use. How can this be resolved?"

Zhao Xing frowned slightly upon seeing this question. He hadn't expected the first scenario question on the eleventh page to be so challenging.

"This question tests methods of soil extraction, but why would using metal to drain its essence result in brittle metal due to dry soil?" Soil extraction has specific considerations, so this question should be answered according to the principles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter soil extraction from "Monthly Soil Extraction Methods." "'Loosening the soil is ineffective and instead helps fire generate earth' suggests 'summer soil' is being extracted. Using the power of the Metal element from the earth veins to draw out its essence is a method mentioned in 'Monthly Soil Extraction Methods.' How then could the earth vein's power 'dry out the soil and make metal brittle,' making it difficult to extract?"

Zhao Xing's gaze swept back and forth over the question, settling on the characters "Nanzheng." Two seconds later, he had an epiphany. He then took up his brush to answer: "The land of Nanzheng is our dynasty's ancestral land, experiencing only summer and autumn. Without the tempering yin coldness of spring and winter, the summer fire becomes excessive. To extract summer soil, one must draw water from its source, where the earth vein's power is weak but persistent. Using the Water element of the earth veins to moisten the soil and control the fire, supplemented by the Metal element of the earth veins to draw out its essence, will achieve a successful outcome."

Only after writing his answer did Zhao Xing's brow relax. Monthly soil extraction methods were a topic within "The Benefits of Earth Vein Five Elements." However, the question had more than one layer of difficulty; it also tested the civil servants' understanding of the empire's geography. What was Nanzheng? It was the Grand Ancestor's hometown! If you don't even know that a famous place like Nanzheng experiences only summer and autumn, how can you expect to be an official? Go back home and feed pigs! Civil servants unfamiliar with Nanzheng's climate would certainly be perplexed. But knowing Nanzheng's conditions made the question much easier; recalling the suitable methods for the Five Element earth veins would provide the answer.

For the subsequent scenario questions, Zhao Xing carefully analyzed and answered each one, mostly with great fluency. Only when he reached the final major question was his smooth thought process momentarily hindered.

"There is an island in the North Sea. On the day of the Beginning of Winter, water begins to freeze. Five days later, the sea begins to freeze. Another five days later, a giant whale breaks through the ice and transforms into a Black Sparrow; a blue bird enters the water and becomes a Purple Snake. Five more days later, geothermal fire erupts from the seabed. The island has tens of millions of inhabitants, with only the Ministries of Agriculture and Public Works present. If you were the chief official of the Ministry of Agriculture, how would you resolve this natural disaster?"

Zhao Xing stared at the question and was momentarily stunned, thinking he had misread it. As the final major question in the advanced scenario section, it was indeed difficult. However, Zhao Xing's astonishment wasn't due to the question's difficulty. It was because he had encountered it when he was a player. And it had left a very deep impression, because he had answered it incorrectly back then, he had narrowly missed a professional advancement.

"This final island natural disaster question has turned into a giveaway," Zhao Xing mused, amused.

This was a "phenology question," and the phenomena mentioned were obscure centennial phenological events. The giant whale breaking through the ice to transform into a Black Sparrow, the blue bird entering the water to become a Purple Snake, and five days later, geothermal fire erupting from the seabed—these were all centennial phenological phenomena. When a natural disaster caused by centennial phenological events occurs, the question asks how you, as the island's Ministry of Agriculture official, should respond.

There were three difficult points in the question: first, recognizing these as centennial phenological events to confirm the disaster's intensity. Second, deducing one's own capabilities within the scenario based on the given conditions. Third, providing a proper solution to resolve the natural disaster.

For the first point, although centennial phenological events are obscure, well-read and intelligent civil servants would not find them difficult to recognize. Both the Black Sparrow and Purple Snake are sixth-grade exotic beasts. Furthermore, centennial phenological events cause only a single instance of species transformation, meaning there is only one Black Sparrow and one Purple Snake in this scenario.

For the second point, one must deduce the available resources based on the provided conditions. Given a population of tens of millions, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Public Works, including their internal treasuries, must possess resources no lower than fifth-grade. This tests the civil servants' understanding of the Great Zhou's official system. While other departments aren't explicitly required, the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Agriculture are closely linked and must be understood. Furthermore, if other institutions aren't mentioned in the question, they should not be included in the answer. Otherwise, one could simply answer, "Deploy a hundred thousand troops, slay the Black Sparrow and Purple Snake, and have a barbecue," and be done with it. There was also a trap within the second point: the phrase "There is an island in the North Sea" in the first sentence. "The North Sea is a vital border region, and with over ten million islanders, the internal treasuries of the Ministry of Agriculture and Public Works must be elevated by another grade, allowing the use of sixth-grade treasures against enemies. One can select from large divine weapons such as Dragon Bone Warships and Profound Origin Ballistas, or personal divine artifacts like the 'Wind-Thunder Raincoat,' 'Hundred Flowers Bamboo Hat,' and 'Wind Fiend Pearl.' However, these treasures cannot be used indiscriminately; they must be combined and utilized appropriately. This leads to the third point: providing a proper solution."

Zhao Xing didn't rush to write; instead, he mentally organized his approach to the answer. Only when he was certain of his plan did he pick up his brush.

"The giant whale breaking through the ice to transform into a Black Sparrow, and the blue bird entering the water to become a Purple Snake, signify a centennial phenological transformation of the North Sea. Both the Black Sparrow and Blue Bird are sixth-grade exotic beasts. The North Sea is a vital stronghold with tens of millions of islanders; it must possess a sixth-grade treasury. As the natural disaster approaches, immediately order all Ministry of Public Works workshops on the island to activate the large-scale sixth-grade divine weapon, the Mo-Guard Barrier, to fully protect the populace. Then, send out Dragon Bone Warships to sea, accompanied by Dragon Head Warships, and deploy Flowing Cloud Skiffs to rescue those outside the island. The chief official of the Ministry of Agriculture should activate the treasury's sixth-grade 'Wind-Thunder Raincoat' for swift travel. The sixth-grade Hundred Flowers Bamboo Hat will enhance their spells. Invoke the texts 'Houtu' and 'Four Seas' to stabilize the earth veins and restore tranquility to the Four Seas. Cast the 'Solar Term Edict' to reverse the three phenomena of the Beginning of Winter in a cyclical manner, causing the Black Sparrow to transform back into a whale, and the Purple Snake back into a blue bird..."

Knowing the answer, Zhao Xing wrote fluently, completing the question in one go. To ensure maximum points, he even provided multiple solutions, including post-disaster relief measures. These, of course, were minor details; even without backup plans, the answer would have been sufficient. As for appeasing the populace, a brief mention was enough, as it wasn't a direct responsibility of a Ministry of Agriculture official. The question itself primarily tested the civil servants' understanding of phenology, the North Sea, the official system, and precious artifacts. It was a comprehensive assessment of a civil servant's qualities, designed to gauge their readiness for official duties. If one could answer even a couple of problems typically encountered by sixth or seventh-grade officials, then appointing them as a ninth-grade official would generally pose no issue. This was the examiner's approach.

Time slowly passed. After the advanced scenario questions, Zhao Xing found himself answering the subsequent questions with increasing fluency. He also encountered several familiar questions. Before he knew it, only one page remained before him. It contained just one question:

"Please match the Five Elements, Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and the Four Seasons, and elaborate on the underlying principles of this matching."

"Teacher predicted the question," Zhao Xing smiled slightly. The theoretical questions for the previous White Dew examination had been set by Xue Wenzhong. The final major question was exactly the same as this one.

"The old Minister of Agriculture is truly a great teacher; all fifteen from Gucheng will benefit from him today." He had tested it before, and afterward, he had even made his standard answer public for everyone to study. This would give the civil servants from Gucheng an advantage on the final major question.

Zhao Xing mused to himself, then began to answer. He didn't intend to make any changes this time; he would simply answer according to the previous standard. The previous answer had so impressed Chen Shijie, an examiner of the "Earth Advantage" faction, that it would be perfectly sufficient for this Temple Examination.

"The current mainstream theory posits that 'Earth rules in late summer.' If I were to answer 'Earth rules in all four seasons,' that would be too advanced and might even backfire."

Having made up his mind, Zhao Xing began to answer. He wasn't afraid of other civil servants surpassing him, as the previous questions were already challenging enough. Besides, his standard answer had only been seen by those from Gucheng, and the Temple Examination selections were centrally coordinated by the imperial court. As fellow colleagues, he didn't mind if others gained a slight advantage.

"Among the Five Elements, none is more noble than Earth. Earth dictates all things in the four seasons and does not share its achievements with Fire. Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water each govern a season, while Earth resides at the center, holding the reins to control all directions. The theory that Earth rules in late summer posits that..."

After writing, Zhao Xing reviewed all his answers twice. Confirming nothing was missed, he stood up and left his seat.

"Omm."

The moment he stood up, he could see the other civil servants and supervising officials once more. Yin Gods were patrolling outside, making it impossible for anyone to cheat using external means.

"Civil servant Zhao Xing, do you confirm you have completed your paper?" an official asked.

"Yes, Your Excellency, I confirm," Zhao Xing replied, bowing his hands.

"Whoosh."

No sooner had he spoken than the examination paper automatically flew up and entered the incense burner in the Heavenly Heart Palace to be burned. He saw the answer sheet dance within golden flames, but it was not consumed, merely disappearing after rolling a few times.

"You are the first to submit your paper," the proctor stated expressionlessly. "You may choose to rest for half an hour, or immediately proceed with the second half of the Temple Examination."

"I choose to immediately proceed with the practical assessment."

No sooner had Zhao Xing spoken, than the divine statue in the Heavenly Heart Palace emitted bursts of golden light. Afterwards, Zhao Xing found that the other civil servants were gone, the sky was dark, and he stood in a golden-yellow field.

Zhao Xing realized he had entered the Heavenly Heart Palace's inherent internal assessment space. It was refined from fragments of a Grotto-Heaven miniature world. Despite being a fragment of a miniature world, the area was still vast. Zhao Xing gazed with his Bright Eyes, but could not see its end.

"Omm."

As he was observing, a golden document floated down from the sky, landing in front of Zhao Xing and opening automatically.

"Civil servant Zhao Xing, the spatial scope for this assessment will be based on the standard of a lower county. The assessment time is twelve hours. You must observe the heavenly timing, earthly advantages, and precise hours yourself, and complete the assessment according to the following requirements."

Zhao Xing took the document and read the assessment requirements: "At Chen hour, deploy clouds. At Si hour, generate thunder. At Wu hour, cause rain. At Wei hour, ensure sufficient rain, achieving a total of forty-eight 'rain points.' And it must cover the entire assessment space?"

Zhao Xing frowned, realizing the task was not simple.

"The sky is dark; without having cultivated the universal spell Bright Eyes, one wouldn't be able to see anything, greatly increasing the difficulty of spellcasting. This is the first challenge. Deploying clouds at Chen hour, generating thunder at Si hour, causing rain at Wu hour, and ensuring sufficient rain at Wei hour—this sequence lasts for a total of four hours, testing the civil servant's endurance. This is the second challenge. To cover the area of a lower county, one's cultivation level in the Four Heavenly Timing Arts cannot be too low. This is the third challenge. Achieving forty-eight 'rain points' with absolute precision tests one's spell control ability. This is the fourth challenge. Civil servants haven't brought almanacs, and this place is in a dark environment, making it difficult to determine the current hour by external means. Missing the correct hour will result in a significant deduction of points! This is the fifth challenge."

A total of five challenges, each one formidable. For civil servants to become regular officials, it was truly like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge. Furthermore, the practical assessment carried significant weight. No matter how excellent one's theoretical knowledge, if the practical assessment score was too low, one absolutely could not become an official of the Ministry of Agriculture. If one couldn't even pass, becoming an official of the Ministry of Agriculture could lead to the populace under their charge becoming displaced and suffering major disasters. How could such a person be entrusted with an official position? Wouldn't that bring harm to both others and oneself?

"If civilian agriculture officials face such difficulties, one can imagine the challenges military agriculture officials endure," Zhao Xing mused. "However, this won't stump me."

With his Bright Eyes spell at max level, darkness was no obstacle for Zhao Xing. He quickly jumped to a high vantage point to survey his surroundings, discovering only flat plains and fields with no significant distinguishing features. By assessing the air's humidity and temperature, and observing the plant growth in the fields, he deduced it was early summer. The environmental rainfall was at a relatively balanced level. For civil servants, this provided neutral conditions for spellcasting. Thankfully, the examiners hadn't manipulated the terrain; otherwise, extreme geography and weather conditions would truly exasperate the candidates. Covering a lower county's area, maintaining spells for four hours, and precise spell control were not difficult for Zhao Xing. The only slightly troublesome aspect was accurately calculating the precise hours.

"No almanac, no sunrise; even the darkness was intentionally set, obstructing most of the civil servants' methods for judging time. Deploying clouds, causing rain, and generating thunder must all begin and end precisely on the hour; even a slight error will result in point deductions. If one doesn't know the hour, one cannot begin; one must first determine the current hour."

Zhao Xing thought for a moment, then immediately knelt down and felt the soil.