Finally, the night passed.

On the next morning, Chen Xu heard the sounds of patrolling soldiers transporting corpses.

A clerk whispered the statistics:

"A total of three people died, and six suffered from heatstroke last night. Their condition is very poor now. Among them, only one is willing to give up the exam, while the remaining five insist on continuing."

Whether abandoning the test or dying, whether living or dead, before the provincial examination ends, they all must wait at the Imperial Examination Hall.

One patrolling soldier said angrily:

"These bookworms are really ignorant. They're clearly at their limit, yet they insist on taking the exam. If a few more die, our ice talismans will run out.

There are still eight days left. Without enough ice talismans to keep the corpses cool, won't those things start to stink?

This year's quota for sacrificing oneself will be exceeded, and we might face trouble later..."

"Bah! Stop talking nonsense." Another soldier quickly stopped him, "That's all up to the higher-ups, what does it have to do with us?

Just shut up and mind our business of carrying bodies. Come on, don't be foolish!"

The soldiers carried the bodies away.

To be honest, their voices were lowered to an extreme, truly like mosquito buzzes.

If it weren't for Chen Xu's Tri-Attribute having reached transcendence, his physique evolved to another level, it would have been impossible to hear their conversation clearly.

Moreover, Chen Xu noticed that the stern-faced youth opposite him was flushed today, his demeanor unusually excited.

This person was naturally Luo Wenhuan.

Chen Xu glanced over at him indifferently, still not very concerned.

In Luo Wenhuan's eyes, such an attitude was undoubtedly arrogant and dismissive.

Luo Wenhuan gritted his teeth secretly, Qi Blood surged, and he forcibly suppressed it.

In the examination hall, the invisible sword of fame seemed to turn into a tangible blade of light and shadows.

But no matter how dark and turbulent it was, the second day's exam still arrived as scheduled.

On this day, the test was not just on the Four Books and Five Classics; its contents expanded to include many questions on laws, farming seasons, and numerology.

The type of questions changed from Ink Meaning Scripture to essay responses and interpretations of scripture.

The good news was that the volume of questions was not as overwhelming as the previous day.

The bad news was the questions were more obscure, and their difficulty increased.

Luo Wenhuan, opposite Chen Xu, breathed a sigh of relief. He provocatively glanced at Chen Xu again, snorted coldly, and buried his head in answering the questions.

Chen Xu remained unmoved.

He was not truly slow, unable to sense the peculiarity of the person opposite him.

In fact, Chen Xu's perception was extremely keen.

Not to mention Luo Wenhuan's repeated provocations, even the various covert scrutinies from other individuals in the examination hall, he was well aware of.

Among them, a large portion came from the front, the gaze from the tower of the Observatory.

Perhaps, the examiners on the Observatory had long been aware of Chen Xu's presence, thus paying extra attention to him.

Chen Xu made no response, only realizing that all small actions in the examination hall were meaningless.

Only by suppressing everyone with absolute strength was the right path!

He dipped the pen in ink, his writing as smooth as flowing clouds, like wind passing through pine trees.

If his writing had sound, the sound of Chen Xu's brush at this moment would certainly be exceptionally pleasant.

Jewel-like, tinkling, accumulating strength over time.

Writing on the topic of laws, there was a case concerning the division of property.

Question: How should three brothers—Jia, Yi, Bing—divide the ancestral fields of thirty mu fairly? Jia being the eldest legitimate son inherits the rites, Yi is a secondary son, Bing is the youngest—how should the fields be divided fairly?

Building on this, the question further asks:

Yi, unwilling to accept only a small inheritance, sneaks into Jia's room at night, attempting to kill him, but is killed by Jia instead—how should this be judged?

Chen Xu writes:

According to the "Great Li Law".

1. Those who attempt to murder senior kin but fail are exiled for three thousand li.

2. Killing junior kin as a senior stops at three years of penal servitude.

3. The criminal forfeits inheritance rights.

He doesn't elaborate excessively, simply listing the laws first.

Then he writes: According to "Li Laws: Disputes", it states, "Those who enter others' homes without cause at night, if the homeowner kills them immediately, it is not considered."

Furthermore, additional judicial text states: "When relatives harm each other, if the junior initiates with a weapon, the senior defending to the death is not considered."

Finally concluding, "Why is causing death with injury not a crime? This is called winter's cold, the weak being restrained, kicking as a necessity... Thus, complying with the law, aligning with emotion, concordant with reasoning."

After completing the written law question, patrolling soldiers came again carrying their placards.

All around was the sound of anxious gasps.

Of course, after yesterday's ordeal, many examinees already knew that when soldiers hold placards, the first thing to do is to copy the questions uniformly.

As for answering, there's really no need to rush.

One can wait until all questions are copied, then calmly respond, so as not to be flustered and make mistakes.

But the fact is, many people knew this would be better, yet they couldn't control themselves.

Always alarmed and hesitant, unable to resist looking at the questions first and answering them.

The second day of examination, compared to the first day, was another round of difficulty.

At night, Chen Xu still slept soundly clothed.

A fine moonlight appeared in the sky.

The moonlight hung in the deep blue sky, like a meticulously groomed willow leaf's delicate eyebrow, carrying a subtle blade's edge, hanging coldly in the sky.

On the second of July, the new moon appeared faint, a common sight as well.

The yellow wind lanterns above the examination dorms were lit again, sometimes swaying in the wind, casting a halo.

Chen Xu closed his eyes, turned to internal breathing, and shut off his sense of smell.

Honestly, on this day, the smell inside the Imperial Examination Hall started to become somewhat unpleasant.

It wasn't the stench from the toilets wafting out—

The toilets had odor-reducing talismans, even if there was foul air, it wouldn't waft out.

But due to the hot weather now, examinees ate, drank, and lived in the dorms, without ample water to wash up. After two days, naturally, some people began to emit a stale odor, beyond description.

In the Imperial Examination Hall, although the participants were scholars who usually spoke the words of sages long known for their cleanliness and elegance, surpassing the ordinary.

Yet who could have foreseen that the filth inside the examination hall would be so overwhelming and hard to conceal.

And this was only the second day.

If it reaches the ninth day, it would truly be a disgrace to their erudition, perhaps even worse than a landfill outside the city.

One high, one low, one clean, one foul.

As if reflecting worldly sentiments,

And this was only the second day.

If it reaches the ninth day, it would truly be a disgrace to their erudition, perhaps even worse than a landfill outside the city.

One high, one low, one clean, one foul.

As if reflecting worldly sentiments, and this was only the second day.

If it reaches the ninth day, it would truly be a disgrace to their erudition, perhaps even worse than a landfill outside the city.

One high, one low, one clean, one foul.

As if reflecting worldly sentiments, and this was only the second day.

If it reaches the ninth day, it would truly be a disgrace to their erudition, perhaps even worse than a landfill outside the city.

One high, one low, one clean, one foul.

As if reflecting worldly sentiments,

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