Most of the disciples of this session were personally introduced to the academy by Xu Qingfeng, so they were on close terms with him on a daily basis. Looking at these junior brothers and sisters who instantly wilted, he couldn't help finding it amusing and consoled them gently:
"Don't worry too much. The preliminary round is designed to test your foundation, and the questions are all very basic. As long as you haven't been slack in your practice on a daily basis, it's not difficult to pass. The real dividing line of the Tian Shu Canon lies in the second and third rounds later."
He paused for a moment. Thinking of his own experience back then, he added considerately, "It's common to have trouble sleeping before a competition. If you're really restless or need any calming incense, you can come to me at any time."
Xu Qingfeng's consolation was like a gentle breeze, slightly dispelling the gloom in everyone's hearts. After chatting for a while longer, the disciples gathered themselves and went back to their rooms one after another to get some rest for the competition the next day.
Although Shen Cuiyu had never participated in such a grand event in her previous life, she thought she would be full of thoughts, but unexpectedly, she felt calm both physically and mentally. She fell into a deep sleep less than a quarter of an hour after lying down.
Early the next morning, she got up early. After tidying herself up neatly, she went downstairs for breakfast.
But she saw that there were obvious dark circles under Xu Qingfeng's eyes. He looked listless, which startled the disciples.
"How about it?" He forced himself to cheer up, with a solemn look on his face as if saying "I understand you all". He first looked at Shen Cuiyu, the most composed one, "Are you very nervous?"
Shen Cuiyu held the porridge bowl and thought seriously for a moment, then answered honestly, "It's... okay."
Xu Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, then he took it easy. Given Shen Cuiyu's usual disposition, it was normal for her not to be nervous.
His gaze then shifted to Zhong Shengwan beside him. Seeing that his complexion was not good and there was a trace of tiredness between his eyebrows, Xu Qingfeng immediately felt as if he had found a kindred spirit. He quickly stepped forward with concern:
"Junior Brother Zhong, did you have trouble sleeping last night? It's okay. I was like this back then too. Tossing and turning..."
Zhong Shengwan lifted his eyelids and sneered coldly, "Hehe."
Xu Qingfeng:.....?
Just then, Dongfang Xiao rubbed her slightly swollen forehead and walked down the stairs pouting. As soon as she saw Xu Qingfeng, she complained aggrievedly:
"Senior Brother! I just snored a bit louder, but Zhong Shengwan actually folded a talisman paper into a hard block and woke me up with it!"
Xu Qingfeng:.......
It turned out that all these disciples who were going to take the formal competition had a good sleep and were full of energy, while he, the caring and busy senior brother, was the only one who worried and stayed up all night!
"It's really like the emperor is not in a hurry..." Halfway through his words, he suddenly realized that he had said something inappropriate. He quickly shut up and buried his head in shoveling the porridge in the bowl.
............
At dawn, after all the contestants received their unique identity tags, they hung them on their waists as required. Then, the competition officially began.
There was a huge crowd around. Shen Cuiyu thought they would be dispersed to different examination rooms, but unexpectedly, so many people were all led into a semi - enclosed arena. It was empty all around, with only neatly laid bluestone tiles.
"Are so many people taking the exam together??" A disciple whispered in doubt, "How will the scores be calculated?"
The ancient trees here were towering, and the branches and leaves blocked most of the sunlight, giving the arena a natural sense of solemnity.
The crowd that was still lively yesterday didn't talk to each other at this moment. There were only the soft sounds of footsteps on the fallen leaves and the occasional sound of someone clearing their throat.
An invisible pressure permeated the air. It seemed that even the birdsong deliberately stayed away from this area.
It was only at this moment that Shen Cuiyu smelled a hint of nervousness.
Soon, a middle - aged invigilator in official robes and with a refined face slowly walked onto the high platform in front of the arena. His gaze swept across the hundreds of young and nervous faces below, and his voice was calm but clear enough to spread throughout the arena:
"Welcome, everyone. All of you here are the future stars of the mysterious sect. May you have a smooth journey and be free from all taboos."
Without any extra greetings, he got straight to the point. With a wave of his arm, several strong men steadily carried in a huge iron box from the entrance.
"This is the first round - Covered Guessing."
There was immediately a low murmur in the crowd. The so - called "Covered Guessing" was originally a common guessing game among the people. It involved covering something and asking others to guess what it was. The one who guessed correctly would win.
No one expected that the first round of the Tian Shu Canon would be in such a unique form!
"It doesn't seem that complicated..." Someone said.
Many disciples showed eager expressions on their faces.
Shen Cuiyu's gaze also fell on the box. The box was heavy, and it made a dull sound when it hit the ground. The box was pitch - black, and there were talismans drawn in cinnabar pasted all over it haphazardly. The yellow paper and red characters faintly glowed with spiritual light in the dim light.
Zhong Shengwan frowned and looked at the iron box. He explained to Shen Cuiyu and Dongfang Xiao beside him:
"An iron box? Iron doesn't interact with yin and yang and can best isolate the two vital energies. Using such a precious iron box and pasting so many talismans to suppress it, could it be that..."
Before he could finish his words, a corpse - driver with a gong hanging on his waist stepped out from the crowd.
He quickly walked to the iron box. Instead of being afraid, he reached out and gently wiped a drop of dark red, viscous liquid that was oozing out from the gap in the box with his fingertip.
Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, he brought the liquid to his nose and sniffed it. Then he squinted his eyes and said firmly, "The smell of blood is mixed with the smell of earth and... the stench of corpses. I guess there's a corpse inside."
Hearing this, the invigilator showed a little approval on his face. His gaze swept across the corpse - driver's identity tag and he announced loudly, "Jia Zhong, sharp - eyed and correct in basic judgment. Ten points." He paused for a moment, still smiling, but his eyes sharply swept across the whole arena:
"But he's only right in the general direction and didn't elaborate. The rules of the first round, 'Covered Guessing', are as follows: The first one to point out 'corpse' will get ten basic points. However, the real gap is in accurately distinguishing its type, cause, and even deeper details. For each additional accurate truth revealed, an extra ten points will be added, with no upper limit."
As soon as he finished speaking, the little eunuch beside him immediately picked up a pen and clearly wrote the character "ten" after Jia Zhong's name.
At the same time, another eunuch erected a huge score - recording water board on the side of the arena, on which the scores had already started to be updated in real - time.
Everyone was in an uproar. They understood that the first round was not just about guessing correctly, but also required keen observation and a clear explanation!
After these rules were announced, the atmosphere in the arena instantly became even more solemn. Everyone's gazes were once again focused on that strange iron box, and their minds were all stirred up!
A disciple from the Talisman School stepped forward and tentatively answered:
"I guess there's a blood corpse inside. This kind of corpse becomes evil after death and needs to suck blood to survive."
"Wrong!"
The disciple shrank back dejectedly. It was really too difficult to sense the aura through this sealed iron box!