Under One Person: I Opened the Age of Mythology

Chapter 416: Experimental Reform
Sun Wukong patted the Earth God's shoulder approvingly and signaled him to leave.

The God of Land bowed, then slowly stepped back, tapping the ground with his cane, and his figure gradually disappeared in the morning light outside the temple.

Sun Wukong watched him leave, then turned back into the hall, sat alone on the throne, and fell into deep thought.

His fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound, as if he was sorting out his thoughts.

He thought back to the advice of the God of Land and felt that it made some sense.

The promotion system of heaven does have some drawbacks. If a competition mechanism can be introduced, it may be able to stimulate the potential of all beings in the three realms and promote further prosperity of the three realms.

A gleam flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes, his fingers stopped tapping, then he stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the three realms are still prosperous, with auspicious clouds lingering, cranes flying, and fireworks rising from the mortal world, creating a vibrant scene.

Sun Wukong looked at this familiar yet complex scene, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

He slowly closed his eyes, and the words of the God of Land emerged in his mind, especially the sentence "Let talents stand out based on their strength", which made him more determined.

After a while, Sun Wukong opened his eyes, his eyes sparkling. He turned back to the table, spread out a jade scroll, dipped the pen in ink, and began to write on the paper.

He listed the suggestions of the God of Land one by one, combined with his own ideas, and gradually improved them.

The pen tip rustled on the paper, the handwriting was vigorous and powerful, and every stroke revealed his seriousness and determination.

After finishing writing, Sun Wukong put down his pen, reviewed it carefully, and nodded with satisfaction.

He then called the guards and ordered:
"Go, invite Nezha and Yang Jian to the Qitian Palace, and pass on the order to convene a Heavenly Court meeting in three days to discuss the reform of the Heavenly Court's promotion system."

The heavenly soldier responded respectfully, turned around and left quickly, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away outside the hall.

Sun Wukong stood up, rolled up the jade slip and put it into his sleeve, with a look of anticipation and caution.

Soon, Nezha and Yang Jian walked into the hall side by side.

Nezha still looked very excited, and smiled as soon as he entered the door:
"Great Sage, what do you want to talk to us about? Is there any new mission?"

Yang Jian looked calm, clasped his fists and saluted, with a questioning look in his eyes.

Sun Wukong smiled slightly, his eyes swept over the two of them, his tone calm but with a bit of majesty:

"I have something important to tell you today."

As he spoke, he took out a jade slip from his sleeve, unfolded it and handed it to the two of them.

Nezha took the jade slip and quickly glanced through it, his eyes suddenly flashing with excitement:

"Great Sage, are you going to reform the heavenly promotion system?"

He looked up at Sun Wukong, his tone somewhat excited.

"This is great! We should have done this a long time ago!"

Yang Jian carefully read the contents of the jade slip, frowning slightly, as if thinking about something.

After a moment, he raised his head and said in a deep voice:

"Great Sage, reforming the promotion system is indeed a good thing, but it involves a lot of things and needs to be done with caution. Especially with the establishment of the 'Three Realms Grand Test', how to ensure fairness and justice, how to define the qualifications of the contestants, these are all issues that need to be resolved urgently."

Sun Wukong nodded, with some approval in his eyes:

"Yang Jian is right. This matter is of great importance and requires careful planning." He paused and continued, "I summoned you today because I want you to participate in this matter. Nezha, you are good at organization and planning, so you will be responsible for formulating the specific rules of the 'Three Realms Test'. Yang Jian, you are meticulous, so you will be responsible for evaluating the current status of the promotion system and proposing optimization suggestions."

Nezha patted his chest and said proudly:
"Don't worry, Great Sage. I will do my best!"

There was a gleam of excitement in his eyes, and he was obviously eager to show his skills.

Yang Jian clasped his fists and said:
"I will definitely live up to my trust."

Sun Wukong nodded with satisfaction, with some encouragement in his tone:

"This matter concerns the future of the Three Realms. You two must do your best. A meeting will be held in the Heavenly Court in three days. I will then submit this proposal to all the immortals for discussion. You must complete the preliminary plan before then."

Nezha and Yang Jian responded in unison:
"understand!"

After receiving the order, the two men quickly left the hall and went about their business.

As Nezha walked, he excitedly said to Yang Jian:
"Old Yang, this is a great opportunity to show off your skills! We must make the 'Three Realms Test' a grand event and let everyone see it!"

Yang Jian looked calm and replied calmly:
"This matter is of great importance and requires careful consideration. Nezha, don't be so caught up in the excitement that you forget the details."

Nezha laughed and patted Yang Jian on the shoulder:

"Don't worry, I'm here to make sure nothing goes wrong!"

The two people walked farther and farther away, and the sound gradually disappeared outside the hall.

Sun Wukong stood at the gate of the palace and watched them leave, his eyes deep and calm.

He turned back to the desk, unfolded the jade slip again, examined it carefully, and added a few details in the blank spaces with a pen.

His expression was focused and serious, as if he was drawing a grand blueprint.

After a moment, Sun Wukong put down his pen and breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood up, walked to the window, looked at the distant sky with a smile on his face.

Sun Wukong stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance over layers of clouds.

The golden sunlight shone on his body, outlining a dazzling halo.

He thought of the concern expressed by the God of Land for the grassroots gods, and couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

There are indeed some drawbacks in the promotion system of heaven, which results in many capable gods not receiving the attention and promotion they deserve.

This reform is imperative. It is necessary not only to improve the promotion mechanism, but also to stimulate the enthusiasm of all immortals and make the heavenly court more prosperous.

While thinking, Sun Wukong turned back to the desk, picked up the plan he had just revised, and read it carefully again.

He pondered for a moment, then added a sentence at the end of the plan:
“This reform focuses on fairness and justice, encourages innovation, and selects more outstanding talents for the three realms.”

After finishing, he nodded with satisfaction, rolled up the plan and tied it with a red rope.

……

……

A few days later.

Yang Jian and Nezha arrived at the Qitian Palace as promised.

The furnishings in the hall remain the same, and the green smoke rising from the incense burner makes the whole hall look quiet and solemn.

Sun Wukong sat in the main seat, holding a jade scroll in his hand, and was reading it carefully with his head down.

Hearing the footsteps, he raised his head, glanced at the two of them, smiled slightly and said:

"You are here."

Nezha strode forward with excitement on his face:

"Monkey, we can't wait any longer! Yang Jian and I have already drafted the rules for the Three Realms Test. Would you like to take a look?" As he spoke, he took out a jade scroll from his arms and handed it to Sun Wukong with both hands.

Yang Jian stood aside with a calm expression and nodded slightly.

Sun Wukong took the jade slip and read it carefully.

The jade slip was densely covered with words, and the content was comprehensive, covering everything from the eligibility criteria to the selection process and reward rules.

Nezha stood aside with his hands behind his back, his eyes sparkling, and he was obviously quite confident in his achievements.

"good."

After reading it, Sun Wukong closed the jade slip and looked at Nezha.

"The rules are very detailed, especially the selection mechanism of this 'Three Realms Trial', which is both fair and rigorous. However, I have some questions."

After hearing this, Nezha's eyes flashed with doubt, and he quickly asked:

"What ideas do you have? Just tell us and we'll change it right away!"

Sun Wukong smiled slightly and tapped the jade slip with his fingers:

"Since this 'Three Realms Grand Test' is a selection for all beings in the Three Realms, is the threshold for participants too strict? Especially the limit on the number of years of practice, will it make some truly talented people lose their opportunities?"

Nezha scratched his head and frowned:

"What the Great Sage said makes sense. However, if there is no age limit, I am afraid that opportunists will sneak in and affect the fairness of the competition."

Sun Wukong nodded and turned his gaze to Yang Jian:
"Yang Jian, what do you think?"

Yang Jian pondered for a moment and spoke slowly:
"Great Sage, Nezha's concerns are not without reason, but the limit on the number of years of practice may indeed prevent some geniuses from participating. Why don't we set up a 'special case' mechanism? For particularly outstanding talents, they can be specially recommended by the Heavenly Court and directly enter the selection stage after review. In this way, the fairness of the competition is guaranteed, and talents will not be missed."

A trace of approval flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes, and he nodded:
"Okay, this is a good idea. Nezha, what do you think?"

Nezha's eyes lit up, he clapped his hands and laughed:

"Great! Why didn't I think of that? Yang Jian, you are indeed very thoughtful!"

Yang Jian smiled faintly and said nothing more.

Sun Wukong continued:

"In addition, the content of the competition also needs to be further refined. In addition to magic and martial arts, can other aspects be included in the assessment? For example, wisdom, morality, governance ability, etc. The Heavenly Court needs not only people with strong martial arts, but also people with both moral integrity and talent."

Yang Jian nodded in agreement:

"Well, the content of the competition should indeed be diversified to fully examine the overall qualities of the contestants."

Nezha frowned in some embarrassment:
"But this will greatly increase the difficulty of the competition and make it more complicated to organize."

Sun Wukong smiled slightly:
"It's okay. As long as it is beneficial to the future of Heaven and the Three Realms, no matter how complicated the task is, it is worth doing. Nezha, you and Yang Jian should further refine the content of the competition, especially the assessment methods of virtue and governance ability. Make sure it is fair and just."

Nezha nodded in agreement, with a hint of determination in his eyes:
"Don't worry, it will be done!"

Sun Wukong nodded with satisfaction, and then handed the jade slip back to Nezha:

"Also, we need to reconsider the rewards for the competition. A position in the Heavenly Court is certainly tempting, but in addition to that, can we add some practical rewards, such as magic weapons, elixirs, cultivation resources, etc. This way, the contestants will be more motivated."

Yang Jian pondered for a moment and continued:
"What the Great Sage said is absolutely right. Rewards should not only bring honor, but also actual benefits, so as to attract more talents to participate."

Nezha nodded excitedly:
"Okay! I'll prepare a list of rewards right away, and I'm sure everyone will be excited!"

Sun Wukong smiled and glanced at the two of them:

"You two have worked well together. I will leave the preparations for the Three Realms Test to you. Remember, we are selecting the future pillars of the Heavenly Court, so be careful."

Nezha and Yang Jian responded in unison:
"understand!"

A few more days passed.

The sunlight shines through the clouds onto the golden glazed tiles of the Qitian Hall. Inside the hall, Sun Wukong sits in the main seat, with Nezha and Yang Jian standing on both sides.

In the center of the hall stood a huge stone table, piled with scrolls and jade slips.

Yang Jian picked up a scroll, unfolded it and said:
"Great Sage, here are the preliminary rules for the Three Realms Grand Test that we have drawn up. Please review them."

Sun Wukong took the scroll and read it carefully. Nezha added:

"We divide the competition into two parts: civil test and martial test. The civil test mainly tests the contestants' virtue, wisdom and governance ability, while the martial test tests their magic power, supernatural powers and actual combat ability."

Sun Wukong nodded slightly and tapped his fingers lightly on the scroll:

"How can we ensure fairness and justice in the moral assessment of the written test?"

Nezha thought for a moment and replied:
“We plan to set up scenario simulations and let the contestants make choices in specific situations to judge their virtues.”

He paused and added:

"Of course, in order to avoid favoritism and corruption, we will invite highly respected gods to serve as judges."

Yang Jian added:
"As for the assessment of governance ability, we plan to have them simulate the governance of a piece of land to examine their governance philosophy and problem-solving capabilities."

He picked up another jade slip on the table.

"There are some specific plans here, Great Sage, you can take a look."

Sun Wukong took the jade slip and looked at it attentively.

The hall fell silent for a moment, with only the faint sound of scrolls being flipped.

The sunlight shines through the window lattices, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

After reading the jade slip, Sun Wukong raised his eyebrows slightly, looked up at Nezha and Yang Jian, and said thoughtfully:

"Your design is good, but the assessment method can be more flexible. For example, in addition to scenario simulations, the written test can also include some actual case analysis, allowing contestants to propose solutions based on actual situations. The martial arts test does not have to be limited to traditional magic competitions. Some actual combat confrontations can be added, and they can even be asked to face unexpected situations to test their ability to respond."

Nezha's eyes lit up and he immediately nodded in agreement:

"Great Sage is right! This way, the assessment will be more comprehensive and can better test the true level of the contestants."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but clench his fists, his face full of excitement.

Yang Jian hesitated for a moment, then said slowly:
"The Great Sage's suggestion is indeed valuable, but it may increase the complexity of the competition and require us to be more careful in the design and implementation of the rules."

He looked up at Sun Wukong with a questioning look in his eyes.

Sun Wukong smiled, with some encouragement in his tone:

"It is a bit complicated, but since we are selecting the future pillars of the Heavenly Court, we naturally have to put more thought into it. You can try some of these aspects first and see how they work. If there are any inappropriate areas, make adjustments in time."

Nezha and Yang Jian nodded in agreement.

"correct."

Sun Wukong suddenly asked.

"How is the promotion of the 'Three Realms Trial' going?"

(End of this chapter)