29: Chapter 29 Giving Up the County Exam?!

"Chen An, are you there?!"

A loud shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

Chen An raised an eyebrow slightly, focused his attention, and listened intently, but for a moment, he could not recognize who the voice belonged to.

His eyes flickered slightly as he secretly pondered the identity of the visitor. After a moment of hesitation, he suppressed the thought of continuing to comprehend his Concept, withdrew his mountain-like Mountain-Collapsing Fist Intent, stood up, and walked slowly toward the courtyard gate.

Arriving at the gate, he opened it to see a young man standing outside, dressed in the profound black uniform of the County Academy, with a tall and straight posture and a hint of arrogance and impatience in his eyes.

"Chen An?!"

The man's gaze landed on Chen An. He looked him over, then said with a slightly condescending tone:

"I am!"

Looking at this young student, a flash of surprise also crossed Chen An's eyes. He cupped his hands in a salute and nodded, saying:

"I am Liu Qingyun from Class Jia of the fifth year. Instructor Liu Zhixing from your Geng Class sent me to find you and tell you to return to the County Academy immediately!" Liu Qingyun nodded slightly at him as a polite greeting. His tone was crisp and decisive, with no extra pleasantries.

The County Academy was divided into five major grade levels, and then further divided into twelve classes based on the ten Heavenly Stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui.

Among them, Class Jia and Class Yi were the top elite classes of the County Academy, with the best resources and the strongest Instructors. Their status was comparable to the elite "rocket classes" of high schools in later generations.

"I wonder why Instructor Liu Zhixing is looking for me at this time?" Upon hearing that the lead Instructor responsible for guiding the cultivation of Geng Class—equivalent to a homeroom teacher—had specifically sent someone to urge him, Chen An frowned slightly and asked.

He had already recognized that this Liu Qingyun was the son of Geng Class Instructor Liu Zhixing.

Liu Qingyun waved his hand, his expression indifferent: "You will know the reason once you return to the County Academy. I still have to go find others, so I will take my leave now."

After saying this, without waiting for Chen An to speak again, Liu Qingyun turned and left directly.

Watching Liu Qingyun's departing figure, Chen An couldn't help but let his eyes flicker.

The County Exam was tomorrow. Why was Instructor Liu Zhixing calling him to the County Academy at this time? And looking at Liu Qingyun's demeanor, it seemed he wasn't the only one being summoned?!

An emergency summons of students before the County Exam—was it because the rules for this County Exam had been temporarily changed to a Five Prefectures Joint Examination?!

Or perhaps, knowing the rules had changed, Instructor Liu Zhixing wanted to arrange pre-exam training?!

However, thinking of Instructor Liu Zhixing's character in his memories, Chen An couldn't help but shake his head.

Although Instructor Liu Zhixing was the lead Instructor of Geng Class, he had absolutely no professional ethics, was perfunctory in his teaching, and was biased and snobbish. He only valued family background and Aptitude, and for students like him with ordinary family backgrounds and Aptitude, he generally treated them with cold indifference and left them to their own devices.

For such a selfish, cold, and incompetent person who held a position without doing the work, Chen An really found it hard to believe that he would suddenly show kindness and worry about the future of a group of students from humble backgrounds regarding the County Exam.

"Fine, I'll go see what Instructor Liu Zhixing is actually up to?!"

Sighing slightly, Chen An's eyes flickered. He straightened his clothes, casually closed the courtyard gate, and then walked toward the County Academy at a steady, unhurried pace.

Walking slowly all the way, it took nearly half an hour before Chen An finally arrived at the Wurong County Academy.

The Wurong County Academy was located in the northeast corner of the county town, covering an area of over a dozen hectares. It was surrounded by high walls, with rows of green-brick and dark-tiled buildings spreading out.

The vermilion main gate was imposing and grand, with two stone lions nearly a zhang tall standing guard on either side. A large gilded plaque hung above the lintel, inscribed with the four vigorous and elegant characters for "Wurong County Academy," exuding an air of solemnity, scholarly atmosphere, and martial aura.

Inside the courtyard, pavilions were scattered, with classrooms, martial arts training grounds, libraries, and so on arranged in order. Youths dressed in profound black student uniforms could be seen walking back and forth everywhere, and the air was filled with a rich atmosphere of cultivation and learning.

Chen An walked straight along the bluestone-paved path, passing through several courtyards, and before long, he arrived at the meeting and office courtyard for the County Academy Instructors.

Upon arriving here, Chen An discovered that several other students from Geng Class were already standing in front of Instructor Liu Zhixing's office.

Furthermore, Chen An noticed that these people shared a common trait with him: they were all students in Geng Class with relatively poor Aptitude, cultivation, and family backgrounds.

At this moment, these students all had different expressions. Some were whispering with their heads lowered, their eyes filled with anxiety, while others stood in place, their expressions tense, and so on.

Seeing Chen An arrive, these students were not at all surprised. They just glanced at him, had no intention of talking to him, and then looked away on their own.

The students of Geng Class had always competed with each other and had distant relationships. Coupled with the fact that Chen An's past cultivation was mediocre, even at the bottom, he had always been inconspicuous in the class, so naturally, no one went out of their way to associate with him.

Seeing this, Chen An didn't mind. He walked to the side with an indifferent expression and stood quietly, waiting patiently.

After about another incense stick's worth of time, several more Geng Class students arrived in a hurry, and the number of people in front of the office increased.

Just as the students were feeling uneasy and anxious, guessing why Instructor Liu Zhixing had suddenly summoned them, they saw Instructor Liu Zhixing walk in from outside with Liu Qingyun.

"Greetings, Teacher!" Seeing Instructor Liu Zhixing arrive, the students hurriedly stopped talking, stood up straight, bowed, and cupped their hands in salute.

"Hmm, everyone is here, right? Follow me inside!"

Instructor Liu Zhixing swept his indifferent gaze over everyone, nodded slightly, then walked over to his office, opened it, and walked in first.

The students looked at each other, but said nothing. They could only silently follow behind and walk in one by one.

Chen An's eyes flickered slightly, and then, with a calm expression, he followed behind the students and quietly walked into Instructor Liu Zhixing's office.

Instructor Liu Zhixing's office was not particularly spacious or elegant to begin with; it was just two ordinary connected rooms. Now that ten students had flooded in at once, it instantly felt cramped and crowded, and the air in the room became stuffy.

The furnishings in the room were simple and plain. A pear-wood desk was placed against the wall, piled with books, files, and writing materials. To the side stood a wooden shelf displaying a few volumes of martial arts classics. Besides that, there were only a few simple wooden chairs, with no other decorations.

"I summoned you here this time because there has been a change regarding this County Exam!"

Instructor Liu Zhixing stood in front of the desk with his hands behind his back, looking at everyone with an indifferent expression. He said, "Just yesterday, the Imperial Dynasty suddenly issued an edict deciding that this County Exam will be changed to the Five Prefectures Joint Examination for Chentian, Qingyuan, Wan'an, Changgeng, and Zhaoming Prefectures!"

"Whoa!!!~~"

The students were stunned, unable to help but whisper to each other, their faces filled with shock and panic.

Everyone knew that a normal County Exam was just a competition within one county. Now that it had suddenly been upgraded to a Five Prefectures Joint Examination, the scope had expanded to 180 counties. With Geniuses gathering, the difficulty and intensity of the competition had increased by more than ten or a hundred times?!

"Quiet!"

Watching the panic and confusion of the crowd, a faint, hidden smile curled at the corners of Instructor Liu Zhixing's mouth, and then he shouted in a deep voice.

The noise stopped instantly, and the students immediately composed themselves, standing still and quiet.

Instructor Liu Zhixing swept his gaze indifferently over everyone and spoke slowly: "This Instructor knows that you are all worried, fearing that the Five Prefectures Joint Examination will be full of experts and that it will be difficult for you to stand out."

Pausing, he spoke in a deliberately sympathetic tone: "Therefore, this Instructor has specially thought of a safe way out for you!"

As he spoke, he picked up a stack of paper from the desk and shook it gently.

"As long as you sign this voluntary withdrawal agreement for the County Exam, this Instructor can step forward and recommend you to join the Jubao Trading Firm in the county town. You will be directly hired as guards for the firm, have a stable job, receive a monthly salary, and avoid the embarrassing outcome of failing in the exam hall."