Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 314 The bell tolls three times, all beings are equal.

The Tiannan Circuit Examination Hall had 30,000 examination rooms.

The dark blue houses stretched out in layers, and in the hazy morning light, the undulating rooftops appeared like a giant dragon.

This is an ancient building with a history of thousands of years. Long before the establishment of the present-day Dali Dynasty, the Tiannan Dao Gongyuan (Tiannan Circuit Examination Hall) already existed as a gathering place for cultural activities in the southern border region.

Even as mountains shake and the earth trembles, rivers burst their banks, winds rage and rains lash, and the sun and moon revolve, this ancient examination hall has always stood firm.

It stands high above, overlooking the mortal world.

Majestic, silent, orderly, and solemn, as if from ancient times.

thump—

But then the sound of bells rang out leisurely.

It's still that same "Jun Tian Bell"!
There are over a hundred examination halls in Dali, and each one has a Juntian Bell in its place.

As the saying goes, "When the heavens resound, all beings are equal."

The existence of this bell not only suppresses the cultivation and supernatural power of all examinees invisibly, but it is also a treasure for suppressing literary fortune!

The Juntian Bell in the Tiannan Dao Examination Hall is the strongest among the seven prefectures and can be called a divine artifact.

As soon as the bell rang, the main gate opened.

Outside the examination hall, all the noise fell silent for a moment.

The process continued until each candidate was called out by name, handed over a token, and entered the examination hall in turn.

On the steps, a clerk loudly recited:
"Qinglin Prefecture, Mo Huaizhang, age 21, seven feet tall, handsome and beardless, verified and confirmed, enter!"

Above the entrance, a bright mirror hangs high.

This mirror is called the Mirror of Universal Knowledge. Anyone who tries to cheat will have their cheating exposed simply by walking under it.

A red light flashed across the precious mirror, and that person's face was torn off in front of everyone, and he was nailed to the pillar of shame.

Such methods of physical examination far surpass the manual searches conducted during the prefectural and provincial examinations.

Mo Huaizhang stepped out of the crowd, his face humble and his demeanor elegant.

On the street outside the examination hall, a commotion arose from the crowd.

"It's Mo Huaizhang! Mo Huaizhang has entered!"

Mo Huaizhang smiled, stepped over the threshold, and entered the examination hall.

Outside, another burst of cheers and commotion erupted, as if the person was being fawned over by a huge crowd.

Yet, amidst the praise, there were also layers of discussion: "Mo Huaizhang is exceptionally talented! Hey, have you all bet on him to be the top scholar?"

"Hey, why bet on him? No matter how talented he is, it's useless. I don't want to lose money."

"So, who did you bet on?"

"Me? I bet on Chen Xu! What about you?"

“I’m betting on Ning Siyu. Although the odds of winning aren’t as high as with Chen Xu, what if I do win? Right now, Chen Xu’s odds are even lower than Ning Siyu’s. Even if I win, I won’t make much. Why not give it a shot?”

"If you're going to gamble on something with high odds, why not just bet on Mo Huaizhang or Luo Wenhuan?"

"Ha, what do you know? You only care about the high odds, what if you lose it all?"

A heated discussion immediately broke out among the crowd.

The provincial examination, held every two years, became a grand event that was highly anticipated by the entire Tiannan Road region.

This was even more true in Pingyang City.

Inside the examination hall, Mo Huaizhang, who had just entered through the first gate, instantly darkened his expression.

When he entered the examination hall, although his cultivation of inner energy was suppressed, his blood and physique were far superior to ordinary people due to his years of nourishment from spiritual foods.

Therefore, Mo Huaizhang had excellent hearing, and although the discussions in the crowd were noisy and chaotic, he was able to hear many key sentences.

A group of fools, who only know how to be instigated and guided.

This time, he will surely make the whole world look at him with new eyes!
Outside the examination hall, the excitement continued.

Some highly renowned scholars, like Mo Huaizhang, entered the examination hall, attracting admiration and discussion. Others, less famous, quietly underwent inspection and entered the examination hall, but many of them were still subject to criticism and judgment.

For example: "Hey, this student has a broad nose, a square mouth, and eyes like copper bells; he looks quite rough and uncouth."

"This one is quite handsome. If he passes the imperial examination, even if he ranks low, he would still be an excellent candidate for son-in-law."

"This person is too thin. They'd fall over in the wind. I hope they won't get sick during the exam?"

"Hiss, these... there must be seventy or eighty examinees?"

At the entrance of the examination hall, when an elderly examinee with white hair stepped across the threshold, the crowd immediately sighed in admiration.

An eighty-year-old man taking the imperial examination—is this a testament to his dedication to the imperial examination system, or a cruel joke on his own life?
"Ugh!"

Some people couldn't help but sigh.

The path to the imperial examinations was incredibly difficult.

In fact, how many young students were actually on the field?
Of the 10,000 test takers, fewer than 500 were under 20 and fewer than 1,000 were under 30.

Most of them are in their thirties or forties, or even their fifties.

Further up, however, they become scarce again.

Yes, although the Tiannan Road Examination Hall had 30,000 examination rooms, only 10,000 candidates participated in the provincial examination this year.

Don't think that 10,000 people is a lot. You should know that the entire population of Tiannandao is no less than 30 million!
And these 10,000 candidates represent the accumulated number of scholars over several years, even decades—

Of course, every prefecture in the seven prefectures of Tiannan held a county-level examination for scholars every year.

Therefore, the total number of scholars in Tiannan Road was actually far more than 10,000. However, some people, after taking the exam for many years, still could not pass and simply gave up taking the exam.

Some students felt they lacked the necessary knowledge and skills, and therefore decided to spend a few more years honing their abilities before taking the exam again.

I won't go into further details.

When Chen Xu entered the examination hall and his name was read out by the clerk, it caused a stir.

However, at the entrance of the examination hall, there were as many as twenty lines of people being checked, and the crowds of people were so dense that the slight disturbances eventually became insignificant.

Chen Xu ignored all the discussions as if they were passing by. He stepped across the threshold and felt his golden core sink slightly in his dantian.

That familiar feeling of oppression has returned!
But this time, he was at the Core Formation Realm, and what he had formed was a golden core transformed from primordial Qi.

In the past, at the examination hall in Yunjiang Prefecture, the power of the Juntian Bell was insufficient to completely suppress his innate Qi.

Now, in the Tiannan Dao Examination Hall, although the Juntian Bell is grand, heavy, and extraordinary, the power of the divine artifact is actually dispersed at this moment.

It was not deliberately targeting Chen Xu, but rather spreading its force field evenly, enveloping the entire examination hall.

As a result, Chen Xu discovered once again that he could actually utilize his cultivation level.

Of course, if it is deliberately invoked, it is very likely to provoke a strong backlash from the Heavenly Bell.

Chen Xu naturally wouldn't create trouble for himself unnecessarily, nor did he intend to break the rules.

However, the Heavenly Bell suppresses cultivation levels, so on the surface everyone is equal.

In reality, some of those who entered this examination hall grew up eating delicacies and rare foods, while others had never even seen what rare foods were.

Even though cultivation level can be suppressed, physical strength still varies.

Under different physical conditions, a person's thinking ability will inevitably be affected.

Where in this world can true equality be found?

Chen Xu remained calm and composed as he joined the other students and walked through the long corridor of the examination hall.

After passing through the ceremonial gate, they obtained the token for their assigned cell.

The bell tolls twice—

Boom!
After passing through the Dragon Gate again, Chen Xu was assigned to the Eastern Literature Field according to the token.

Until the third chime.

The entire examination room suddenly fell silent.

(End of this chapter)