A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

The gates of the examination hall slowly closed behind us, the heavy wooden doors groaning as if shutting out all the noise from the outside world.

Inside the examination hall, the ground was paved with bluestone, and on both sides were rows of neat examination cells, densely packed like a honeycomb, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the high walls, casting dappled shadows on the ground, but it couldn't dispel the tense and solemn atmosphere in the air.

Gu Xiao found his spot according to the number plate.

The cell was cramped and narrow, containing only a simple wooden table, a low stool, and a few spare pens, ink, paper, and inkstones piled in the corner. There was nothing else there.

After he entered, the guards behind him locked the gate. The copper lock clicked crisply and coldly, completely isolating him from the outside world.

People were moving into the examination cells around me one after another. The sounds of coughing, the rustling of papers, and the footsteps of the patrolling officials in the distance mingled together, making them particularly clear in the quiet examination hall.

Gu Xiao sat quietly for a moment, his fingertips gently caressing the warm jade pendant in his sleeve.

Originally, he was not required to take the imperial examination; he was someone who sat atop a cloud platform, looking down upon all living beings.

However, now that he is starting from the bottom and experiencing the environment around him, he can also understand the hardships of students studying – this small examination room is their only battlefield to change their fate.

Everyone at Tiande Academy was also very nervous.

When the test papers were handed out, Xiao Jiu's hands trembled slightly as he opened them. When he saw the questions, he felt dizzy and his vision blurred; he felt as if the words were dancing on the paper.

Question 1: "Sincerity leads to self-realization, and the Way leads to self-realization. Discuss its meaning and its connection with achieving harmony and balance."

The second question: "A great man does not necessarily keep his word, nor does he necessarily carry out his actions; he only acts according to righteousness. Some say this contradicts the principle of keeping one's word and carrying out one's actions. Which is correct? Please analyze it."

The third question: "The essence of a scholar's character lies in understanding the principles and applying them effectively. However, the world is ever-changing, driven by self-interest, with some becoming obsessed with literary verses and others pursuing superficiality. How should a scholar cultivate his fundamentals and apply them effectively, so that his learning is not just empty talk?"

Today's exam questions are indeed quite difficult, much more in-depth than in previous years.

Xiao Jiu tried to calm himself down, but found that the sound of papers being flipped through all around him was even more disturbing and made him feel a little confused.

He pinched his palm hard, forcing himself to calm down.

He took another deep breath, thinking of Gu Xiao, who was injured and must be suffering a hundred times more than anyone else, yet he was still sitting in the examination hall, fighting alongside them.

"If Brother Gu can persevere, why can't I?"

Regardless of whether he passes the exam this time, he must try his best to calm down and give full play to his abilities.

Jiang Wenxuan felt a pang of anxiety upon seeing the question, but he was no longer the same person who had just left Fulin County.

During this period, he put in more effort than ever before. Moreover, with the help of two academic geniuses, Gu Xiao and Jiang Lingyang, his strength naturally increased significantly.

Although I'm a little flustered looking at this question, I'm not completely clueless.

He calmed himself down and, following the method Gu Xiao had taught him, began to draw upon the ideas he had developed over countless afternoons when the three of them had discussed the topic together. He also incorporated some thought-provoking exercises that Jiang Lingyang had recently led them in, and first scribbled down some random thoughts on scrap paper before slowly organizing them into a coherent structure.

Gu Xiao's expression remained unchanged when he saw the exam questions.

To be honest, the questions in the academy exam were all the same to him, no matter what kind of questions they were.

He had already thoroughly mastered these classic texts and policy essays, even more so than the examiners who set the questions.

A dull pain came from my left hand; it was a knife wound that had cut through the muscle and pierced the bone. Since the fingers are connected to the heart, such an injury was indeed quite painful.

He took the painkillers that Nie Qianqian had prepared for him, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and swallowed the medicine.

Soon, the pain gradually subsided until it disappeared.

After the pain subsided, he began to carefully examine the questions. He didn't make any drafts; he simply closed his eyes and thought for a while before picking up his pen, dipping it in ink, and writing on the exam paper.

His writing flows effortlessly, like clouds and water, brimming with confidence.

Every word was powerful and resonant, carrying a steady strength. Only half the time had passed by the time all three questions were answered.

The exam papers are not allowed to be submitted this early.

Even if you finish answering the questions early, you still have to wait in the examination cell for a whole day until the exam is over.

For the rest of the time, Gu Xiao closed his eyes to rest, gently stroking the jade pendant with his fingertips once again.

The jade pendant grew hotter and hotter, and he had a feeling that the person looking for him was getting closer and closer.

Then he will not be isolated and helpless; he will have available men and resources.

His mother's clan had been living in seclusion for many years, yet they were able to pinpoint his location within just a few months after he retrieved the jade pendant and dripped his blood into it. The power his mother's clan possessed was perhaps far beyond his imagination.

Gu Xiao felt that the remaining time for the college entrance exam was very long, but the other candidates did not think so.

Some racked their brains trying to solve the problem, some scratched their heads, not knowing where to begin, and some wrote and erased repeatedly, leaving the paper a mess. Everyone needed to solve the problem, break it down, think about it, then draft a draft, and finally polish the language to conform to the rigid format of the eight-legged essay.

Each of these questions takes a lot of time. Writing three such articles in a day is an impossible task for many people. They have to seize every moment to write and dare not slack off for a moment.

The examination hall was hardly a comfortable place. Dozens of students were confined in such a closed and strictly guarded area. The air was stagnant, and after a while, a faint stench would develop. Those who were near the designated toilets were even more affected by the stench.

People who draw the number next to the toilet every year tend to consider themselves unlucky, which often affects their performance.

This year, those sitting next to the toilet happened to be from Tiande Academy.

Sun Ji felt that he was unlucky to have been assigned to such a position.

People say that if you draw a number near the toilet, you're unlikely to get a spot in the exam. Just drawing that number has already dampened most of his enthusiasm for the exam today.

When the exam papers were handed out, he was overwhelmed by the questions.

His knowledge was decent enough that he wasn't completely clueless, but the smell next to the toilet grew stronger and more pungent as time went on, which was really bothering him and making him feel irritable and his thoughts were scattered.

At this moment, he remembered the scientific research equipment that Nie Qianqian had prepared for everyone. He took out one of the small jars from the examination basket, and as soon as he opened it, a refreshing fragrance wafted out, instantly making him feel refreshed.

He applied the menthol balm to his temples and around his lips. After applying it, his nose could only smell the refreshing scent of the menthol balm, and the stench of the toilet was completely gone.

The fragrance refreshed him and gradually calmed his chaotic thoughts, allowing him to answer the question smoothly.

As the competition neared its end, it wasn't until the examiners reminded them that the candidates suddenly realized how much time had passed.

However, some candidates had not yet finished writing, their faces full of anxiety and fear, their brushes writing faster and faster, some even trembling.

Many candidates were so nervous that they kept needing to go to the toilet, which wasted a lot of time. They could only frantically write at the last minute, resulting in messy and illegible handwriting.

Gu Xiao had already put down his pen and sat there quietly, like an old monk in deep meditation, completely out of place in the noisy and tense examination room.