Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 81: Reading Ten Lines at a Glance, Unforgettable
"Library" is just a colloquial term.

This antique-style three-story house is built in the form of a walled village, covering several acres. Above the main entrance, there are three large characters:

Climb to a high building.

This is the real name of this place.

Couplets were hung on the left and right sides:

"Only when you reach the summit do you realize how small all the mountains are; only when you soar high do you believe the ocean waves are calm."

Chen Jin stood at the doorway, looked around for a moment, and then stepped over the high threshold.

In wealthy and powerful families, the thresholds of their residences are typically set very high, a practice rooted in feng shui principles. This also symbolizes that the gate is difficult to enter, and unauthorized individuals are discouraged from entering.

At this time, many members of the Chen family were coming and going, mostly young people, wearing robes and gowns that represented the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination); there were also a few Juren (a scholar who passed the provincial-level imperial examination) wearing official robes and hats; but there were almost no Jinshi (a scholar who passed the highest-level imperial examination) who were of a higher rank.

This is because after passing the imperial examination, regardless of their rank, the successful candidates would be assigned a place immediately, either entering the Hanlin Academy or being appointed as officials in other regions. They would take up their posts and rarely have time to read books anymore.

There seems to be no need to continue studying hard, since the exams are all over.

Chen Jin's appearance attracted a lot of attention. After all, yesterday's ancestral worship ceremony had a significant impact, and many people had gone to watch the excitement, so they recognized him.

However, noise and disturbances are prohibited in the library, and everyone maintains their manners and refrains from pointing or whispering.

Chen Jin's current access is limited to the first floor; he cannot yet access the second floor, or even the higher third floor.

I heard there's a small building inside called the "Forbidden Building," which is quite mysterious and even some of the direct descendants of the Chen family can't enter.

However, the Forbidden Tower is well-known and has a high profile, so many people know about its existence.

Yesterday, Chen Shounian specifically mentioned that Chen Jin should not run around, so as not to violate certain taboos.

The books on the first floor of the library mainly consist of classics, histories, philosophical works, and various articles and notes, all geared towards the imperial examinations; these were sufficient for that purpose.

There were countless books, row upon row, densely packed together.

Outside the book collection area, a reading room has been set up. You can take a book here, register it, and then read it.

You may only take one book at a time, and you may only excerpt from it, not copy it completely, and you are not allowed to take it out of the house.

If the book gets dirty or damaged during the reading process, there will be consequences. It's not just about paying money; in serious cases, the reader will be disqualified from reading and never allowed to set foot in the library again.

Chen Jin had never seen so many books before. His expression tightened, and he suppressed his excitement, starting with the book list provided by Chen Shounian.

Register, pick up the book, find an empty seat in the reading room, and it's all done in one smooth motion.

These books are mostly ancient and rare editions, and are very well preserved. Moreover, the total number of pages in each book is not very large; they are quite thin.

He calmed down and carefully read through the document.

At this moment, the extraordinary advantages of the Divine Soul Memory were brought into full play.

One glance and ten lines, a photographic memory.

As for understanding the annotations of the original text, it is necessary to analyze them in conjunction with various annotated versions.

That belongs to the second stage.

Finally, there is another stage, which is to thoroughly read all kinds of written texts, that is, the articles written by the successful candidates in the imperial examinations of various dynasties.

These articles are not limited to those of the Chen clan, but also include those of others. They have been collected and listed here through various channels to serve as models for future generations to learn from.

There are so many books, it's an overwhelming amount. To read them all would take countless years, hence the phrase "to spend one's hair in vain studying classics."

Chen Jin only had two or three months at that time.

Time was of the essence, so he observed very quickly.

This is hardly reading a book, it's flipping through pages.

Turning the pages one by one, it doesn't take long to finish one book, and then you can go and get another one.

In the first hour of the morning, I read a full twelve books.

Such a frequent cycle of book exchanges, and such unusual behavior, naturally attracted the attention of the old scholar in charge of registration.

He called out to Chen Jin, "What exactly are you doing? You're so indecisive, constantly switching between things. What's the point of studying with this kind of mentality?"

Chen Jin replied, "I read it before getting a new one." The old scholar sneered, "Read it? That's incredibly presumptuous. If you continue to make trouble like this and make fun of me, I'll kick you out."

Chen Jin said, "If you don't believe me, you can come and test me."

The old scholar sized him up and immediately posed a question: "You said you've finished reading all the books you brought. What's written on page eight of that book, 'Shangzi Lunshu'?"

Chen Jin thought for a moment, then recited it from memory, word for word.

The old scholar paused, then asked, "What about page sixteen?"

Chen Jin answered fluently as always.

The old scholar was still undeterred and immediately switched to another book, testing Chen Jin with three questions in a row, but still couldn't pass the test:
"how is this possible?"

Their gazes became somewhat vacant: Could it be that the other party had already thoroughly studied it before, and now they were merely reviewing what they had learned?

That doesn't make sense.

The old scholar had been sitting on the first floor of the library for decades and was quite unfamiliar with the name "Chen Jin," only now beginning to recognize it.

Unless Chen Jin comes from a family with extensive learning and a distinguished background.

But after racking my brains, I couldn't recall any outstanding disciple from any branch named "Chen Jin." Moreover, the two-character name itself indicated that he wasn't even in the seniority category, suggesting he was from a collateral branch.

Yesterday's ancestral worship ceremony felt somewhat distant to the old scholar who was used to burying himself in old books.

Chen Jin then asked, "Old man, may I continue reading now?"

The old scholar glanced at him and waved his hand: "Go."

No further interference will be made.

After all, reading quickly doesn't violate any rules; it might be due to skimming or having a good memory.

Having extensive knowledge and a strong memory is an ability, but at the same time, it consumes a great deal of spiritual energy, so most people cannot sustain it for long.

However, Chen Jin had a breakthrough, his Niwan point was opened, and he stepped into the path of cultivation. His mental strength was extraordinary and sufficient to sustain him.

In addition, with the food problem solved, there are no worries about the future.

So in the days that followed, he practiced Qi cultivation, swordsmanship, and reading, all at the same time, all of which were high-intensity training, and his improvement in all aspects was also visible to the naked eye.

During this period, Chen Shounian acted as an examiner and asked Chen Jin to write an essay on the topic. After reading it, Chen Shounian praised Chen Jin, saying, "He is qualified for the provincial examination."

Time flies, and the Ghost Festival is here again.

The Chen family held a grand sacrificial ceremony, which Chen Jin was not qualified to participate in. However, he burned incense on the outskirts and paid his respects from afar.

For no other reason than to offer incense to our sixth-generation ancestor who bestowed upon us ancestral blessings.

July has passed, and the golden autumn of August is approaching, with the grand provincial examination just around the corner.

Chen Jin had prepared thoroughly for this major test, remaining calm and composed without any tension or anxiety.

On that day, Chen Shounian, Guo Ai, and others came to see the examinee off. Chen Hesheng, who was always carefree, also came, but it seemed that he had no choice but to come because Chen Shounian had given the order.

To be honest, Chen Hesheng was a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, so he could have taken the exams, but he failed too many times and was already quite old. He had come to terms with it and was no longer fixated on it.

The other branches of the Chen family, along with collateral branches and other lineages, have sent over a hundred candidates to take the provincial examination this year.

Of these people, if ten or eight of them pass the exam, that would be considered a very good percentage.

This shows how fierce the competition is.

Not to mention the entire state and county, where the total number of examinees was close to ten thousand.

Since it concerned the fate of the entire clan, the clan head, Chen Shouqi, led a group of clan elders to see him off. He was clearly not satisfied with the number of candidates this year, which was about 10% less than in previous years.

But there was nothing that could be done; there had been signs of this trend for some time, and it wasn't just the Chen family; other prominent families were experiencing the same thing.

In recent years, the suppression of powerful clans has become increasingly evident in government.

Fortunately, the old emperor was already very old...

(End of this chapter)