Chapter 4: Inner Sect Exam Paper

Chapter 4: Inner Sect Exam Paper

"*Ahem*," Xiang Rong coughed twice, glaring around. "So, you buying or not?"

"We're buying."

Nobody hesitated.

If anything, knowing even inner disciples couldn't solve these questions and got punished for them just made everyone more curious!

Some tried to haggle: "Xiang Rong, that's shady! You're making us do an inner disciple's punishment work and still charging us for it."

"Don't talk crap—what punishment? I never said that!" Xiang Rong rolled his eyes. "Besides, if it weren't for this, when would you ever get to work on inner sect papers... hold on, don't grab the papers yet. First, tell me which questions you want to copy, and I'll write it down."

"I want the first fifty? No wait, this paper's got all kinds of stuff. I want the alchemy ones."

"Then I'll take the artifact refining ones."

"I want the cultivation method ones..."

Everyone was talking at once, clearly not realizing what this exam paper really meant.

Only Gan Tang stared at the paper, deep in thought.

Just then, someone asked Gan Tang, "Gan Tang, which questions do you want? If you don't decide soon, they're all gonna be gone."

"No worries, no worries." Xiang Rong pulled another paper out of his robes. "There are more!"

"Two different papers?" someone asked suspiciously.

"Of course—since everyone's at a different level, each paper is custom-made." Xiang Rong was totally making that up.

The others, not knowing the truth, looked envious.

They figured this was an inner sect perk, something they could never dream of.

But Xiang Rong didn't let them dwell on their envy for long, adding, "But this paper only needs about twenty-something questions copied, so only one person can buy this one."

Xiang Rong then pulled out more papers, each needing a different number of questions copied.

At this point, everyone realized the so-called "punishment copying" probably didn't mean copying the whole paper, just the questions they got wrong.

But if that was the case, didn't that mean the owner of the first paper basically turned in a blank exam?

How the hell did someone like that get into the inner sect?

A slacker like that—they should just hand their spot over to me!

The top outer disciples thought bitterly, secretly hoping to find the paper's owner and take their spot.

Gan Tang couldn't care less whose paper it was. She quietly studied the paper's contents, then said to Xiang Rong, "Can I get a copy of each paper?"

Xiang Rong's eyes darted around at that. "Papers that don't require copying cost more. Each one'll be... fifty spirit stones."

"That's way too expensive. These papers all look pretty much the same, and the questions seem pretty basic. Did the Immortal Venerable really make these?" someone tried to bargain.

Xiang Rong ignored the guy, just looking at Gan Tang.

Gan Tang quickly counted her savings in her head, then gritted her teeth and said:

"I'll buy them!"

*

In the end, Gan Tang bought nine exam papers.

And that was only after shelling out an extra hundred spirit stones.

According to Xiang Rong, only four or five inner disciples were willing to hand their homework over to "outsiders" (X), so getting papers from others cost extra. Gan Tang ended up blowing every last bit of her savings to get those nine papers.

But Gan Tang thought it was worth it.

She was already at the peak of Qi Refining, just one step away from Foundation Establishment.

It felt like a jar filled to the brim with water, with just a thin paper membrane blocking the top—if she could break through that barrier, she'd flow right out.

Gan Tang wanted to break through that final obstacle on her own—though, of course, she was also flat broke. A single Foundation-building Pill cost several thousand spirit stones and was nearly impossible to find even at that price. Gan Tang simply couldn't afford one—but she didn't know how to break through on her own.

Gan Tang felt she'd done all she could prepare; further cultivation brought no progress. If she still couldn't reach Foundation Establishment, there had to be a weakness she couldn't spot.

But as an outer disciple who mostly self-studied, Gan Tang couldn't find that weakness on her own, and she couldn't ask anyone for help either.

That's when Gan Tang saw these exam papers.

She noticed the questions covered a wide range of topics with clear answers, making them super useful for testing herself and finding gaps in her knowledge. Gan Tang made her decision on the spot—even if it was grasping at straws, she'd use her meager savings to grab every paper she could get.

But getting the papers was just the start. What mattered more was organizing the knowledge points after answering them.

After getting the papers, Gan Tang did two of them first, sorting the questions she didn't know or wasn't sure about, then searched the library for answers.

Even so, it wasn't easy.

There were just too many books in the library, and finding the answer to one or two multiple-choice questions was a pain—though, of course, compared to saving up thousands of spirit stones for a Foundation-building Pill that might not even be available, it was still easier.

Today, she was diligently weaving through the shelves again:

"The influence of spirit springs on cultivation... this one's probably related to water-type techniques, right?"

"No," someone suddenly spoke up. "Spirit springs are formed by earth veins. You'd find it faster in the earth-type section."

Gan Tang jumped.

She turned and saw someone sitting under a bookshelf not far away.

The person wasn't wearing inner disciple robes or carrying an outer disciple badge. They must be a wandering cultivator who came to the Celestial Spirit Sect to read—and they'd been in the library for a while. Gan Tang had seen them a few times over the past few days as she moved around, like they practically lived in the library—but she didn't dare underestimate them because of that.

The Celestial Spirit Sect's library was famous across the cultivation world, and sometimes great cultivators would come to browse.

This person was plain and unremarkable, barely noticeable, yet Gan Tang couldn't see through their cultivation at all. They had to be at least Golden Core level.

Gan Tang said respectfully, "Thanks for the guidance, Senior."

The person nodded.

Gan Tang was about to leave when the person suddenly asked, "Is it hard to find books here?"

"...No?" Gan Tang was caught off guard. She did find it hard, but she'd never badmouth her own sect's library in front of an "outsider." "There are a lot of books, so finding things naturally takes time, but the collection here is already set up to be easy to search. They say Lord Immortal Venerable personally cast a spell, so even if people grab books and put them back carelessly, they automatically go back to where they belong."

"Yeah, I also thought this would be the most convenient library I'd ever used," the person agreed. "But why is it that coming back this time, the categorization still feels too unsystematic? It's only organized by the Five Elements techniques, without even a catalog, let alone anything like searching online. At this rate, writing teaching materials..."

The person's voice trailed off, like they were talking to themselves.

Gan Tang, seeing that the other person wasn't talking to her, quietly slipped away, no longer defending the library.

After all, she hadn't sensed any malice from him. From his tone, this Senior was probably just frustrated from hunting for books and venting to whoever was nearby.

Gan Tang could totally relate.

As wonderful as the library was, finding books here was really difficult!

When Gan Tang had first received those test papers, she shared the same sentiment as everyone else—how could these questions be so shallow that inner disciples couldn't solve them? But once she actually started working through them, trying to trace the origins of the questions she couldn't answer, she realized she'd simply read too few books and her knowledge was too shallow. She couldn't even find the source of those "shallow" questions.

At times like these, copying a passage a hundred times was nothing compared to the agony of hunting down answers.

Gan Tang's admiration for the Tireless Immortal Venerable increased another notch:

—Lord Immortal Venerable had read through so many books, and even at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, he could still craft Qi Refining Stage knowledge into such easy-to-understand test questions. He really lives up to the title Tireless Immortal Venerable!

She hoped she'd find the answers to the questions soon.

With that thought, Gan Tang followed the man's earlier advice and headed toward the earth-element technique section.

She'd barely left when a striking figure emerged from the shadows of the bookshelves.

If Gan Tang were still there, she would have recognized the person instantly—it was Qu Qianxing, the Celestial Spirit Sect's designated heir.

Qu Qianxing bowed to the plain gray-robed figure and said:

"Master."

A gentle breeze swept through the library, not stirring a single book, but as it passed over the "gray-robed man," it seemed to blow away a thick layer of dust, revealing a jade-like hue beneath.

When he looked again, Zhou Hui, the Celestial Spirit Sect's Sect Master, stood there.

The Immortal Venerable, however, continued gazing at the bookshelves in the distance, lost in thought.

Qu Qianxing had just arrived and hadn't heard the conversation between Zhou Hui and Gan Tang. He did catch a glimpse of Gan Tang as she left, so he asked, "Master, that disciple just now seemed to be at a bottleneck. Should I give her a Foundation-building Pill?"

"No need," Zhou Hui shook his head. "That child doesn't need a Foundation-building Pill. It'll be better for her to break through on her own when the time is right."

"Master has high hopes for her?" Qu Qianxing asked cautiously.

"She's a diligent disciple," Zhou Hui said, looking at his second disciple and suddenly understanding what he was really asking. "But I already have enough inner disciples." And it looked like he might not even be able to keep those, no need to give the Heavenly Dao more to devour.

Qu Qianxing let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that he opposed his master taking on new disciples, but from his experience, every time Zhou Hui brought back a new junior brother or sister, it either meant a powerful enemy or a troublesome headache.

Qu Qianxing was actually a little scared of Zhou Hui taking disciples.

But after the relief, Qu Qianxing grew curious: "Master, if it's not about taking disciples, why have you been spending all this time in the low-level technique area of the library?"

"Given your abysmal test scores and weak foundations, I've decided I need a set of universal teaching materials," Zhou Hui replied.

Qu Qianxing's expression grew awkward: "Master..."

"Also, I might as well reorganize this library. I never realized how hard it was to use before," Zhou Hui muttered, then turned back to his second disciple. "By the way, have you finished your 'homework'?"

The so-called 'homework' of course meant correcting the previous test papers and copying them as punishment.

"It's done, Master," Qu Qianxing replied respectfully. "It's just that the other junior disciples haven't finished yet, so I haven't collected them all—"

"Did you do it yourself?" Zhou Hui asked.

"Of course I did it myself," Qu Qianxing answered with a hint of indignation. "It's already embarrassing enough to not get a perfect score at the Golden Core stage. I wouldn't lower myself to having someone else do my corrections and copying! Master, why would you even ask—"

"Nothing," Zhou Hui didn't explain, he just said: "Since you've finished your homework, go help me clean up the fragments of the Ascension Platform!"

"The Ascension Platform?" Qu Qianxing's eyes widened.

The Ascension Platform, as the name implies, was a tall structure built to better evade the Heavenly Tribulation during Ascension and explore the path to the upper realm.

Given Zhou Hui's obsession with Ascension, the Celestial Spirit Sect could be destroyed, but the Ascension Platform was a must. Every time he reincarnated, the first thing he built was the Ascension Platform.

This time was no different.

The previous Heavenly Tribulation had been endured by Zhou Hui on the Ascension Platform.

It was the same "jade platform" where Zhou Hui had first appeared.

But no matter how meticulously constructed, no Ascension Platform could withstand the Heavenly Dao. Zhou Hui had been gravely wounded by the heavenly tribulation lightning, and the Ascension Platform hadn't fared much better—it was nearly reduced to fragments.

Zhou Hui had also learned the truth about why he couldn't Ascend during that tribulation, so he'd never repaired it.

In fact, Zhou Hui no longer intended to rebuild the Ascension Platform. But the materials used for that platform had been collected across several lifetimes, and it would be a shame to simply discard them, so he wanted to repurpose them.

However, his second disciple didn't share that view.

Zhou Hui watched as Qu Qianxing's face lit up with rare excitement.

Qu Qianxing asked excitedly, "Master, are you finally planning to repair the Ascension Platform?"

"No, not at all—"

"I knew it! When Master said that day that he wouldn't Ascend anymore, it must have been nonsense spoken in passing—ah, no, I don't mean Master talks nonsense. Anyway, Master had just gone through the Heavenly Tribulation that day, so his mind was bound to be a little muddled. Yes, that must be it." Qu Qianxing babbled incoherently.

He'd clearly been agonizing over Zhou Hui's refusal to Ascend for a long time.

Now that Zhou Hui had finally remembered to "repair the Ascension Platform," he felt relieved.

But Zhou Hui didn't understand his excitement: "No. I've already said I don't plan to Ascend anymore, haven't I? So that Ascension Platform is useless now. It can be repurposed for other things." Like fixing up the library.

"But why?!" Qu Qianxing cried out.

"Why what?"

"How could you give up on Ascension?" Qu Qianxing demanded, looking betrayed. "You're not the kind of person who gives up after a few setbacks!"

Strictly speaking, they weren't a few setbacks—they were a few deaths.

But why does this kid care so much about whether I can Ascend?

Zhou Hui looked at Qu Qianxing strangely, finally noticing his second disciple's extraordinary obsession.

Come to think of it, the "novel" had mentioned that after Qu Qianxing became the Celestial Spirit Sect's leader, he painstakingly managed the sect, turning it into a regional power through various schemes and machinations. Beyond personal greed, most of it was to gather materials for his master—Zhou Hui—to cultivate and Ascend. That was ultimately what made him offend the protagonist and get killed.

Zhou Hui had always assumed this behavior stemmed from Qu Qianxing's "filial devotion."

If Zhou Hui gave up on Ascension, Qu Qianxing would stop courting death. But now it seemed Qu Qianxing had a strange obsession with seeing his master Ascend.

Now Qu Qianxing said anxiously, "Did Master suffer some fatal injury during the Heavenly Tribulation? Can it be healed? What ingredients do you need? I can find them all!"

Judging by the look on Qu Qianxing's face, even if Zhou Hui asked him to be refined into a pill, Qu Qianxing wouldn't hesitate.

Clearly, even Zhou Hui couldn't convince him with just a few words.

Just as expected from the Heavenly Dao's script, it's not that easy to change!

Zhou Hui asked, puzzled, "Do you really want me to leave this world that badly?"

"Of course that's not what I mean," Qu Qianxing replied anxiously. "I just think that given how great you are, Master, there's no need to waste your energy on useless matters."

"Useless matters? You mean the exam earlier?"

"...Yes." Qu Qianxing hesitated for a moment, then honestly admitted, "Although that exam paper itself was quite innovative in question types and comprehensive in knowledge coverage, a paper that could really gauge a test-taker's skill, but! That's exactly why you shouldn't be wasting your wisdom on such pointless stuff—"

"Those question types weren't my idea..." Zhou Hui said, rubbing his temples.

He was about to explain himself, but at that moment, a ripple of spiritual energy caught his attention.

Zhou Hui's frost-tipped eyelashes fluttered. He lifted his silver-gray gaze and looked toward a particular spot in the library: "And anyway, who says it's useless? Isn't it already working?"

Qu Qianxing froze for a second, then he too sensed the flow of spiritual energy:

"This spiritual energy... it's from that kid from earlier?"

"Is she..."

"Foundation Establishment?"

*

This is... what Foundation Establishment feels like?

Gan Tang thought with delight, but didn't pause her writing on the exam paper.

She figured she was lucky today—she'd barely walked over to the earth-element bookshelf and flipped through a couple of books before finding what she needed.

Gan Tang didn't just copy the answers onto the paper and leave it at that.

She dutifully planned to copy it a hundred times, and not mindlessly, either—she copied to understand and learn. Even though she'd bought this exam paper at a steep price and wasn't obligated to do the punishment copying, Gan Tang figured that if the Immortal Venerable made inner disciples do it, there had to be a reason.

In fact, Gan Tang handled other questions she didn't know the same way.

Her hard work paid off.

Through repeated copying, Gan Tang reinforced her weaker areas and strengthened her spiritual power. Finally, at that moment, the spiritual power in her body crossed a threshold and spilled over.

At that moment, Gan Tang felt like she was soaking in a warm spirit spring—even though she'd never actually soaked in one—so cozy she nearly dozed off. But she didn't dare stop writing—she had no experience and had no idea what had triggered her Foundation Establishment or what she needed to do to pull it off. All she knew was to keep copying to hold onto that state.

Even after her Foundation Establishment was complete, she didn't dare set down her pen until she'd finished the last copy. Only then did Gan Tang let out a sigh of relief.

She set down the exam paper and looked up—and nearly jumped out of her skin.

—At some point, with her bookshelf as the center, within a hundred meters in every direction, including on top of the shelves, people were packed in everywhere. It looked like every outer disciple had swarmed in here at once.

They hadn't interrupted her earlier, clearly worried about messing up her Foundation Establishment. Now that they saw she was done, they couldn't hold it in any longer and blurted out:

"Gan Tang, you've reached Foundation Establishment? How did you do it?!"

"What cultivation method were you just reading? Did that method help you break through?"

"No, I've read that method before—it's nothing special. The key has to be what she was writing, right? She didn't stop even during Foundation Establishment, so it must be related!"

"Gan Tang, what were you just writing?"

A cacophony of voices battered Gan Tang's eardrums.

The crowd's excitement made sense.

Most outer disciples weren't all that talented, and Foundation Establishment was a huge hurdle. So whenever a disciple managed to establish their foundation, everyone would always ask how they did it.

Especially since Gan Tang had broken through right in the "public" library, it drew even more attention.

But as everyone's attention slowly zeroed in on the exam paper in Gan Tang's hands, she started to panic. After all, she'd gotten these inner exam papers through "shady methods" and had promised not to tell a soul.

Gan Tang could only hug the exam paper to her chest and try to bolt: "I—I don't know anything..."

"I know that exam paper!" At that moment, someone recognized what Gan Tang was holding.

For some reason, this person announced at the top of their lungs: "That's the inner exam paper—rumored to be personally written by the Lord Immortal Venerable!"

"Really? The Immortal Venerable wrote it?" The crowd got even more hyped, pressing Gan Tang, "You broke through using this exam paper?"

At this point, it was too late for Gan Tang to hide it or deny it anyway.

Besides, she didn't want to deny it, either.

In Gan Tang's mind, she owed her breakthrough to this exam paper—totally ignoring all her own hard work beforehand.

Gan Tang finally stammered out a confession:

"...Yeah, it was thanks to the Immortal Venerable's exam paper that I managed to establish my foundation."

In no time, word that "inner exam papers can help people reach Foundation Establishment" spread through the whole sect.