Martial Cultivator

Chapter 138: A Literary Exam That Went Down in History

The fifth round of competition between the two concluded with the sound of the bell.

The cultivator collected the papers as usual and took them away.

This time, he was gone for a long time and did not return.

Gu Ming looked at Xie Nandu's back view and thought about many things. He was thinking that at this moment, the young girl should also be filled with curiosity about him and she should want to take a look at him too. But why did she not turn around?

But in reality, he was mistaken. At this moment, Xie Nandu was not thinking about such things. She sat by the lakeside, gazing at the grass there, and thinking about what the young man said yesterday about betting on her winning. If it were not for that, perhaps she would have conceded after the first round. It was not necessary to take first place to continue participating in the subsequent literary exams. Why would she spend so much time fighting for first place in this round?

But since the wager in play, she wanted to give it another try.

Just give it a try.

Presently, Gu Ming's desire to win had been ignited, but Xie Nandu was still very calm.

The two of them have fundamentally different mindsets.

This difference could very well be the determining factor in the final outcome.

After a while, that cultivator finally returned to the lakeside, sweating profusely, and bringing with him two new test papers.

"The two of you tied again."

Upon hearing these words, Gu Ming's expression changed a little. He knew that the previous question was extremely difficult. Even he had only come across fragments of it in a secluded record. In order to verify it, he had searched for clues in many classics and records. He originally thought that perhaps he was the only one in the world who knew the answer to this question. But he did not expect Xie Nandu to have the answer as well. Furthermore, it was correct. This made him feel a slight sense of setback.

"This question is extremely difficult. It's likely that a winner will be determined now."

That cultivator handed the two of them the test papers.

It was very quiet over in the crowd this time.

The fifth tie was already a new record.

The test setter decided to be ruthless this time and put an end to this competition.

Those on-looking cultivators had already fallen into a stunned silence. No one knew if there would be a sixth or seventh round. So, nobody spoke, they just watched silently.

By the lakeside, more and more cultivators had gathered. Those cultivators had learned about the literary exam today and decided to come, not wanting to miss this event that only occurred once in countless years.

The number of cultivators present made it seem as if the announcement of the beginning of the Myriad Willow Convention was imminent.

The clamoring by the lakeside grew louder and louder. It was likely difficult for the two individuals by the lake to calm down at this moment, but no one stopped them. Because the evaluation of the literary exam was never just about answering the questions, there were also many other factors. This noise by the lakeside had always been allowed.

Thinking and answering questions in such an environment was also part of the assessment.

Gu Ming was not affected by external distractions. It was just that when he saw the question, his mood suddenly relaxed.

He was suddenly in a great mood.

Because he had seen that question before.

Furthermore, he felt that he was probably the only one in the world who was so lame to research the answer to that question.

Of course, now that the question was presented, it meant that at least two people had been so lame.

But it was only two people, just two.

Gu Ming immediately felt a little uneasy because he suddenly felt that it seemed unfair to Xie Nandu. However, after thinking about it, there were no so-called predetermined question banks for the literary exam. Whatever one could see was what it was. No one could say anything about it. So he stopped thinking too much and began to write his answer.

The ink-soaked brush swiftly swept across the paper. Soon, he finished answering the question.

Then, he put down the brush and quietly waited for the ink to dry.

After an unknown amount of time, the bell rang again.

The cultivator came to collect his answer sheet and picked up Xie Nandu's answer sheet, then walked away towards the distance once more.

At this moment, it was already dusk.

The five ties between the two of them had postponed the written tests that were originally going to be held. On this day, it was only the two of them competing by the lakeside.

And unlike before, countless gazes were now looking over here at this moment, No one knew how many people were silently paying attention.

The attention towards the literary exam had reached its peak at this moment.

This was something that had not happened in the past century.

But now, it already happened.

It was an unexpected turn of events and a great start for the reform of the Myriad Willow Convention.

After an unknown amount of time, that cultivator returned again.

But this time, he was not alone. He was accompanied by an elderly person with gray hair.

"Bookman, these are the two people."

The cultivator saluted slightly. He looked at Xie Nandu and Gu Ming and said, "You two have tied for the sixth time."

His voice was not soft, so it quickly spread, causing a commotion.

However, Bookman approached the two and said with a slight smile, "This old man is responsible for setting the questions for this literary exam. But who could have expected such a thing to happen on the second day? I believe I have already presented the most difficult questions, but they were still unable to stump both of you. Afterward, this old man didn't know what questions to test either. I presume that if I continue setting the questions, it will likely be difficult for the two of you to determine a victor tonight. So after consulting their opinions, this old man came to inform both of you that for the remaining matches, you can challenge each other with your own questions. If the other party cannot answer, then the competition will end."

As Bookman spoke, he could not help but sigh. A situation like this already happened on the second day. If these two did not encounter each other in the final match, the ultimate showdown would not have been as thrilling as it was today.

The cultivators who got to witness today's excitement were very lucky, but for the cultivators who would only arrive here on the final day, it was not a good thing.

A cultivator placed a sheet of blank paper on the table for the two and brought a chair for Bookman.

From now on, the competition would involve both of them challenging each other with questions related to cultivation, without any restrictions on the topics.

At that time, Bookman would serve as the judge for their seventh showdown.

After bowing, Gu Ming sat down and looked at the blank paper in front of him. Countless books he had read flashed through his mind. Actually, by this point, he could not figure out which area the girl might be weak in. After a long silence, he slowly picked up his brush and wrote a question related to sword cultivation. It was something he had come across in a book by chance. He thought that the academy student opposite him should not have dabbled in it.

As he finished writing the question, the question from the other side was also delivered in front of him.

Looking at that row of small characters, Gu Ming fell rather silent.

He had not expected that the question the other person wrote was also about sword cultivation techniques.

After some thought, Gu Ming began to write his answer.

As for Xie Nandu, she had no thoughts about the question that seemed very straightforward to her.

The answer to that question was already included in the first letter written by that senior brother who was in the North.