I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 176 Bullying
Xue Xiang didn't care who Yin Tianci was, nor did he have any intention of interfering in Song Tingfang's love life. He only cared about how to get the credits and whether he still had a chance.

Xu Yifan said, "You're wasting your opportunity. You can find the answers to these common-sense questions by asking anyone."

Xue Xiangdao said, "I trust you more; after all, you're a professional."

"I won't argue with you if you put it that way."

Xu Yifan said, "Credits are the key to the academy's control over Confucian students."

If you want to cultivate your literary skills and make progress in them, you must come to the academy.

The academy uses academic credits to control power.

That's the basic logic.

The accumulation of academic credits within the academy mainly relies on these things:
First, academic assessments. Every year, the academy will release various types of assignments, and completing them will earn corresponding credits.

Second, submitting some high-value articles, especially those related to the academy's current research topics, can greatly increase your score.

Third, the academy will frequently issue tasks; completing these tasks will still earn you academic credits.

Xue Xiang raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly somewhat surprised by these rules.

"Look, there are way more people in the cafeteria today than usual."

Xu Yifan said, "Do you know why? A new points leaderboard and new tasks will be released this afternoon."

While coursework and essays are the main focus, truly breaking into the top 100, or even the top 10, requires taking on assignments, especially highly challenging ones.

How many people participated in the ranking in total?

Xue Xiang asked the crucial question.

Xu Yifan said, "There are about 20,000 people. Only the top 500 will make it onto the list."

Xue Xiang gasped, "How can there be so many people?"

Xu Yifan said, "There are many previous graduates, including a Confucian scholar who is over a hundred years old and still remembers the Wendao Stele."

Xue Xiang was dumbfounded. "How many points have you accumulated? What's your ranking?"

Xu Yifan frowned. "This is my personal privacy. Why are you asking this?"

Xue Xiang said, "In my eyes, Brother Xu has always been the epitome of professionalism. When it comes to paid Q&A, Brother Xu has always been willing to answer any questions he knows."

Xu Yifan pursed his lips and said, "Eight hundred and fifty-three points, listed as number one hundred and ninety-three."

"amazing."

Xue Xiang gave a thumbs up, "Brother Xu, do you think I still have a chance?"

"What drama?"

"Break into the top 100 and qualify for the Contemplation of the Literary Dao Stele!"

What's your score now, and what's your ranking?

"Zero points, no ranking."

"Are you kidding me?! Do you think you're some kind of invincible supreme being? Do you think you can solve a sealed-level mission just by taking action? What are you dreaming of..."

Xu Yifan felt he was being teased and started shouting. Luckily, Xue Xiang activated the boundary seal in advance, so as not to disturb the others.

Xu Yifan took a deep breath and regained his composure. "Do you have any other questions? Hurry up, there's not much time left."

That's all for now. I'll trouble you again next time, Brother Xu.

As he spoke, Xue Xiang swallowed the last mouthful of spiritual rice and got up to leave, but Xu Yifan stopped him, "Wait, what's your name again?"

"Xu Yi."

"You know Miss Song?"

"What do you say?"

"Could you, cough cough, please deliver... a letter to Miss Song for me?"

"Why don't you just give it to her yourself?"

"How could I dare? How about this, if you're willing to help me with this, I can give you three free opportunities to answer my questions."

"make a deal."

Xue responded crisply and decisively.

Xu Yifan quietly handed an envelope folded into the shape of a heart to Xue Xiang.

Xue Xiang couldn't help but smile; he seemed quite naive.

After finishing his meal, Xue Xiang did not return to his cave. Instead, he sat in the Great Library, sipping his bland tea, and picked up a collection of commentaries on "The Wrong Bride Married the Right Groom."

Xue Xiang was amazed that the author had managed to uncover the concept of women's power within the work.

Before we knew it, three bells rang, and the entire library seemed like a reservoir with its floodgates opened, with crowds pouring out like water.

Xue Xiang followed the flow of people and soon arrived at the West Square.

The shadow of Baiyu Academy fell on the stone steps of the West Square, casting a soft glow.

The jade wall in the center of the square, which was thirteen feet high, slowly lit up, and the characters seemed to grow out of the stone, leaping upwards line by line.

"Hey, did you submit the letter for me? What was Miss Song's reaction? Did she blush?"

Xu Yifan appeared like a ghost, approaching Xue Xiang and startling him.

"We haven't met yet, what's the rush?"

Xue Xiang pointed to the jade-like stone wall, "What's up there?"

Xu Yifan said, "The leaderboard is being updated."

As soon as he finished speaking, three large characters came together to form a name: Gu Jianchen.

The number followed by it was 3,800.

"hiss."

Xue Xiang gasped. He had heard Xu Yifan say that he had over 800 points and ranked over 100th.

The gap between them and the first place is so huge.

Immediately afterwards, the second name appeared, and the score plummeted to 2,635 points.

"Who is this Gu Jianchen? He seems very powerful."

Xue asked quietly.

Xu Yifan said, "Of course it's impressive. I heard that it passed the academy exam back then, but I don't know why it was rejected."

I heard that he was determined to create a top-notch poem and had been diligently studying it ever since.

This person has already reached the mid-stage of Core Formation cultivation, and his literary talent has also reached the initial stage of the Sentence Realm.

He just felt that the established phrases were not effective enough, so he kept refining them.

In the past two or three years, he has accomplished many thrilling tasks, ranking first on the list, and everyone is convinced of his abilities.

As the two discussed this, more and more names appeared on the jade-like stone wall.

Xue Xiang saw Song Tingfang's name, ranked thirty-sixth, with over 1,500 points.

In the ninth position, he saw Yin Tianci, who had over 1,900 points.

Soon, the cutoff score for 100th place appeared, causing the biggest sensation.

A man named Wang Chao is ranked 100th with 1032 points.

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

"I am one thousand and twenty-seven."

"I'm only three points away."

"Keep it up..."

"........."

Xue Xiang noticed that Xu Yifan's eyes had also become eager.

"Dude, you're almost two hundred points short, what's all the fuss about?"

Xue asked in a low voice.

Xu Yifan said, "The gap isn't big, there's hope for us. Just wait and see, the task list will be released soon, and you'll understand when you see the scores."

After more than a hundred breaths, the writing on the stone wall disappeared.

A narrow band of light rose from the bottom of the stone wall, spreading out like water. Roses bloomed one after another on the stone, their colors ranging from light to dark, quickly forming four rows: blue, white, black, and purple.

“By gazing at the roses, you can enter them with your mind. Each rose represents a task, different colors represent different levels, and different levels mean different scores.”

Perhaps because he still needed Xue Xiang's help, Xu Yifan became much more friendly and took the initiative to introduce himself without Xue Xiang having to ask.

Xue Xiang then quickly focused his mind on a blue rose, and saw the following written inside: "Blue Level - Field Trial - Plant one acre of spirit rice in the East Garden of the Academy, and deliver it in three days; Score: Eight"

Immediately afterward, he focused his mind on a white rose, and saw the following written inside: "White Level - Classical Text Copying - Hand-copy ten volumes of commentaries on the *Fengya* (Book of Songs), to be submitted within half a month. Score: 75."

His thoughts shifted again, entering a black rose: Black-level - Exterminate the Mysterious Ones of Chichuan Mountain - Slay the Deep Well Succubus, obtain its alien core, ten days limit; points: 173. Then, his thoughts shifted to a purple-level rose: Purple-level - Relics of the Canglan Water Mansion - Retrieve the 'Scroll of the Dragon,' or provide concrete clues, three months limit. Retrieval points: 113; Providing clues points: 362.

Xue Xiang's thoughts flashed rapidly, and he saw all sorts of strange and unusual tasks.

The highest-scoring task he currently sees is the one within a purple rose: to strangle a phoenix-winged demon. This demon is at the late stage of Core Formation and has wreaked havoc on the two southeastern states. The task is worth as much as two thousand points.

Xue Xiang knew the power of the Living Demon. A Living Demon in the late stage of Core Formation, especially a Phoenix-winged Demon, was one that even a cultivator at the peak of Core Formation might not be able to defeat.

To kill them, it would take at least two Nascent Soul cultivators to surround them; otherwise, the chances are slim.

In the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, he carefully considered the tasks involved.

Low difficulty and low risk often require time, but the score is not high.

This task meant nothing to him.

High difficulty, high risk, often requiring risking one's life, and crucially, even risking one's life doesn't guarantee a result.

Just as Xue Xiang was feeling melancholy, the roses on the stone wall disappeared, and suddenly, golden light flowed out, gathering into nine golden roses.

Seeing Xue Xiang staring intently, Xu Yi lowered his voice and said, "Gold-level missions are also called 'sealed-up' missions here."

No one has completed one in hundreds of years, and it's useless for you to look at it. Even if you have the courage of the heavens, you have to complete a purple-level mission before you can accept a gold-level mission.

Otherwise, the academy wouldn't even issue the task tokens.

"Why is there no point for a sealed-level mission?"

Xue Xiang withdrew his thoughts and looked at the drifting clouds on the horizon.

Xu Yifan said, "A mission of the 'sealed level' is something no one has completed in hundreds of years. If you complete one, you'll be ranked number one. Is there any need to add a score?"

Xue Xiang asked, "I see a lot of people are making plans to form teams. Will the points be split evenly after forming a team?"

Xu Yifan nodded, "That's natural, but the advantage of teaming up is that it increases efficiency. Even if the cost is split, it's often more worthwhile than taking on a low-scoring task."

Xue Xiang pondered, "Is it possible that someone accepts the mission themselves and then hires a ghostwriter to complete it?"

Xu Yifan said, "If such a huge loophole really occurs, the academy will not need to implement this policy."

The academy has strict rules regarding this. Firstly, the recording flag must be activated to complete the task.

Secondly, if anyone dares to falsify information, they will not only be expelled from school, but their written records from their birth will also be destroyed.

With such severe punishment, the risk and reward are disproportionate; who would be foolish enough to court death?

Xue Xiang nodded. "I saw a purple-level mission that says Princess Yi'an is marrying into the Donglai Kingdom and is recruiting three guards."

This task seems easy, yet it has a high point value. How come?

Xu Yifan said, "This kind of task is a pre-set task, which means that the other party paid a lot of money to ask the academy to issue it."

Xue Xiang frowned. "I don't understand. If you're willing to pay such a high price, you can hire people anywhere."

Besides, how could the government not even provide enough guards for a princess marrying into the Donglai Kingdom?

Xu Yifan smiled and said, "I'll just say one thing: this kind of task is a two-way choice."

You can accept a task, but the party issuing the task has the right to choose who accepts it.

Xue Xiang instantly realized that this was a targeted training program, and exclaimed in surprise, "It can be done like this? Where is the fairness?"

Xu Yifan said, "Where can we find fairness?"
The entry barrier for this type of gameplay is extremely high; at most, there might be one or two tasks like this.

The impact on the final rankings won't be too significant.

Brother Xu estimated, "How many points will it take to break into the top ten?"

Xu Yifan said, "At least two thousand five hundred. There are still three months until the deadline, so it's not the most crazy time yet. Many people are holding back their big moves."

Xue Xiangdao said, "Compared to the credits earned by completing tasks, the credits earned by completing coursework and publishing articles are really insignificant."

Such a setting is surely too unfair to those Confucian scholars who are not skilled in combat.

Xu Yifan said, "The former has no risk, while the latter involves risking one's life at every turn. When you think about it this way, isn't it fair?"

Don't look down on those who earn credits by completing coursework and publishing articles.

Over the years, there have been many hard-working individuals who have accumulated ten years of experience and finally made it into the top 100 to complete the Guanyin Wendao Stele.

They rely on relentless perseverance, like water dripping on a stone.

"Thank you for your information, Brother Xu."

Xue Xiang bowed respectfully, then turned and left.

He needs to carefully consider and evaluate each task.

"Don't forget to pass on my message."

"Can't forget."

Xue Xiang bought ten catties of meat buns from the canteen, filled two jugs with fruit wine, and walked along the plank road towards the cave as dusk fell.

The wind blows in from the mountain pass, carrying a faint scent of pine resin.

The sunlight faded inch by inch on the mountain ridge, leaving only a faint glimmer of white in the west.

His cave dwelling was located in a corner of the west wall, neither too big nor too small, with a stone door inlaid with copper rings and the rules and signs of the academy engraved on the lintel.

An old juniper stands in front of the gate, its branches and leaves spreading out at an angle, gently patting the cliff face when the wind blows.

The cave was empty and quiet; the moonlight had not yet fallen in, and only a faint shadow clung to the ground.

Xue Xiang raised his hand, about to knock on the copper ring, but before his fingers even touched the door, a sudden heaviness appeared behind him, and a rough, turbid breath blocked his way, like a wet cloth covering him.

"Xu Yi?"

A sound came, like cold air escaping from a crack in the rock.

As soon as Xue Xiang turned around, he saw the two men standing side by side at the bottom of the stone steps, one on the left and one on the right, swinging their arms as they walked towards him.

The man on the left was burly, with a short, thick neck, oily skin, a black mole on his cheek, stubble as sharp as needles, and yellowish whites of his eyes.

The person on the right was thin, as thin as a bamboo joint, with a long and narrow face, sunken eyes, and a half-smile at the corner of his lips, as if he had been keeping his words stuck between his teeth all year round.

They didn't bow; they simply stepped over the threshold, treating Xue Xiang's doorway as their own roof.

"Introduce yourself."

The skinny man spoke first, his voice high-pitched, "My name is Pan Suo, Suo as in 'death-taking'."

The man next to me is named Yue Bai, the "Bai" in "white bones".

"Just ask around the academy; everyone knows someone there."

Xue Xiang's eyes were indifferent.

Even though he lived a secluded life and devoted himself to his studies, he had still heard of the nicknames of Pan Suo and Yue Bai, those two scoundrels.

One of them made a living by ambushing people at night, while the other loved to pass on messages and punches. Relying on their powerful connections, they extorted money from people and forced them into submission.

"What's the matter with me?"

Xue Xiang got straight to the point.

Yue Bai spread his hands and threw a piece of paper on the table.

The paper was damp with sweat, and the edges were frayed.

"Write it down exactly as it is."

Yue Bai smiled, but his smile was not genuine.

Xue Xiang looked closely and saw that it was a confession document.

He claimed that on a certain night of a certain month of a certain year, he had solicited prostitutes at a certain place, was arrested by the disciplinary team, and publicly humiliated. He said he now repents and is willing to write a guarantee that he will never do it again.

Xue Xiang frowned: "What do you two mean by this? I haven't offended either of you, have I?"

Panso narrowed his eyes, as if he had seen some ridiculous reptile. "Why are you talking so much?"

He shrugged slightly. "Just write it. Writing it will keep you safe. Otherwise, hehe..."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in, swirling around the cave wall and causing the wick of the ever-burning lamp to tilt.

Xue Xiang stared intently, "Did Yin Tianci send you?"

Xue Xiang couldn't think of anyone else who would want to cause trouble for him, especially since he was a stranger in this place and had to hide his identity.

But to say it was Yin Tianci is too unbelievable. I just had a meal and chatted with Uncle Song, and I offended this guy?

Clearly, these two men's request for confessions was not merely to have leverage over themselves, but more so to smear their own reputations.

Xue Xiangcai uttered "Yin Tianci," Pan Suo's lips twitched, and Yue Bai's nostrils flared violently.

Stop spouting nonsense.

Yue Bai took a step forward, his heel landing firmly on the ground. The force of his foot caused the cave to tremble slightly. "You have to write it today, whether you like it or not. Otherwise, this is what will happen."

With that, he swung his right fist, which struck the mountain wall like a shooting star.

With a loud crash, the wall collapsed and the stone gate fell down.

(End of this chapter)