The sage was determined to die.

Ji Bai thought for a moment and commented, "You really are the most unique coward I've ever met."

Chu Ze sheathed his sword, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but chuckle twice, saying, "Is that so? Sometimes I feel the same way."

"What if this literary heart isn't top-grade? Why not give it a try?" Ji Bai suddenly asked.

To be honest, Ji Bai himself didn't know what grade this literary heart was.

He had never met any other writers, so naturally he didn't know how to make a judgment.

Chu Ze frowned slightly and looked at Ji Bai with some surprise.

After a moment, he shook his head and said, "For me, there's not much difference between doing something unprepared and giving up."

"What a pity."

Ji Bai sighed, "Your choice is practically the same as giving up."

Chu Ze scoffed, "A first-grade literary talent has never belonged to anyone outside the five great immortal sects and families; this was a dead end to begin with."

"But don't you have the opportunity to become a member of the immortal sect?" Ji Bai asked.

Chu Ze seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said:

"It's no use, it will only make things worse."

Chu Ze murmured, "If I weren't a citizen of Chu, perhaps I would still have a chance."

"Perhaps the person from a small country has a greater chance of obtaining the First-Rank Literary Heart."

……

"Why was I born into a small country?"

Hiding in a dilapidated hut, Gongsun Yang mocked himself, "If I were from Chen Chu, or even Qi, and had directly brought Wenxin to join Baiyujing, how could I have ended up like this?"

As a person from a small country, he thought that as long as he obtained Wenxin, he could rise to the top in one step. As it turns out, he was really wrong, terribly wrong.

"This shouldn't be happening, what should I do?"

Gongsun Yang scratched his head, which was now a mess, feeling utterly exhausted. But when he looked up, he suddenly saw that familiar red face. In that instant, he relaxed completely and collapsed onto the ground.

"So happy to see me?" Ji Bai pointed to himself, somewhat surprised.

These past few days, Gongsun Yang has fully experienced what it feels like to be hunted down. Although he hasn't died, the fear of distrusting anyone, the worry that anyone might kill him, and the tension that keeps him from closing his eyes at night have left him physically and mentally exhausted.

"That's great, that's really great!"

Gongsun Yang braced himself on the ground, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Ji Bai, his lips twitching uncontrollably: "Luckily I'm still in the Mountain of Books, luckily I haven't cleared the level yet."

Seeing that Ji Bai remained silent, Gongsun Yang, unconcerned about the dirt, collapsed onto the ground in a spread-eagle position, his voice barely audible, almost to himself: "The Shushan assessment is truly despicable. The examiners showing up at this moment is simply forcing me to give up, isn't it?"

"Fine, I give up," he resignedly said.

No, of course not.

Ji Bai immediately grabbed the other person's clothes and pulled Gongsun Yang up like a spring from dry land.

Ji Bai said with exasperation, "I came here to encourage you. If you can escape for a few more years, you will be able to escape capture, and then you will naturally win Wenxin's heart."

"This is a chance to win Wenxin's heart, how can you give it up so easily?"

Gongsun Yang's eyes lit up for a moment, then quickly dimmed again.

"Examiner, I once participated in the hidden test for this literary talent. I did not obtain it at that time."

Ji Bai loosened his grip.

He thought to himself, "Yes, if you had taken Wenxin away back then, I wouldn't be standing here now."

Gongsun Yang, like a dejected salted fish, said, "I didn't get Wenxin back then. Looking back now, maybe that was a good thing."

Ji Bai: "..."

Gongsun Yang looked at his hands and could sense the abundant power within them.

"I'm not stupid."

Gongsun Yang struggled out of his dazed state and said, "This is an illusion, or it could be the future. The envoy from Baiyujing said that my literary talent is too good, which is why I've been targeted. If it were just a low-to-mid-grade literary talent, I don't think Baiyujing would be chasing me for this."

Ji Bai remained silent.

Although he really wanted to give away this piece of literary talent, he didn't want to force anyone to buy it.

Perhaps this is the meaning of "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you"?

He thought to himself.

"I really want this Wenxin. I'd be willing to be hunted down by Bai Yujing for ten years."

Gongsun Yang sighed, and after seeing Ji Bai, he started talking non-stop.

"But I can't be that selfish. I really don't want to drag them down because of me..."

Gongsun Yang did not explicitly state who they were, but simply said, "As expected, something as good as a top-grade literary essence will attract even the most cunning dogs to snatch a bite."

Ji Bai sighed; he had lost count of how many times he had sighed that day.

"So, you're thinking of giving up?" Ji Bai asked.

Gongsun Yang was about to nod when he suddenly frowned and said, "Examiner, if I give up now, will I be killed by the Chu people after I leave?"

Ji Bai said speechlessly, "No."

Gongsun Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked reluctantly at his heart and murmured, "I will definitely have Wenxin again, but it can't be this one."

……

After a candidate is eliminated, they will be sent back to their original location.

Most of the Chu people have returned.

Chu Xi returned early, sat there with her eyes closed and a blade of grass in her mouth. She looked casual, but in reality, all her muscles were tense, and she was in a state of readiness to strike at any moment.

Upon hearing familiar footsteps, Chu Xi opened her eyes.

The moment he saw his brother, he instinctively breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had recognized the fake in the illusion, his heart only truly calmed down when he saw his brother standing alive in front of him.

But the next second, Chu Xi sprang to her feet, surprised, and asked, "Brother, why are you out here? Did you get Wenxin?"

Chu Ze's face was somewhat pale at this moment, but his expression was completely different from the calm one he had during the assessment. He did not answer the question, but instead said to Chu Xi:

"Tell me about what you went through during the assessment, don't miss any details."

Chu Xi began to describe it vividly.

"So, you recognized me as an imposter, then promptly killed me, and were thus eliminated?" Chu Ze asked.

Chu Xi scratched her neck and said awkwardly, "Brother, don't misunderstand, I did leave you a complete corpse."

"Book Mountain really does prioritize people's choices."

Chu Ze analyzed, "If you hadn't killed me back then, you'd still be inside now."

"Don't talk about me."

Chu Xi asked curiously, "Brother, why did you come out?"

Chu Ze glanced around and confirmed that the two examiners were not there.

He opened his mouth but didn't make a sound, but Chu Xi still understood what he meant.

Chu Xi's breathing quickened instantly. He tried his best to control his expression, but his wide eyes still betrayed his surprise.

Chu Ze said.

"Let's go, this examiner... is probably the same as us."