Chen Xu opened his eyes inside the examination cell, listening to all the sounds within the examination hall.

He realized that on the surface, everything seemed flawless.

For example, a fire in the examination hall.

Such an event, though not common, is never surprising.

After all, it's a prolonged examination lasting nine days and eight nights.

During some sessions, some examinees, striving to perfect their answers, would even work through the night, burning the midnight oil.

But examinees are, after all, mere mortals, and if they exhaust themselves too much, they naturally cannot escape fatigue and drowsiness.

Thus, knocking over candlesticks and causing a fire could be considered "reasonable."

Of course, the examinee who causes a fire is usually disqualified.

Moreover, due to the structure of the Imperial Examination Hall, any small-scale fire within a single examination cell is generally extinguished immediately.

Affecting the entire Imperial Examination Hall and causing a widespread fire is essentially unlikely.

The first odd point that struck Chen Xu arose precisely because of this.

Firstly, this fire was not caused by some examinee "burning the midnight oil."

After all, the answer sheets for the second examination had already been collected, with no questions left to solve, who would still be "burning the midnight oil"?

According to Chen Xu's perception, this fire was actually caused by a wind lantern falling in a certain examination cell.

This is somewhat baffling.

The wind lanterns in the Imperial Examination Hall of Celestial South Dao were in such a pathetic state, suddenly falling during the night?

Before the provincial exam started, shouldn't all facilities within the Imperial Examination Hall have been carefully inspected and repaired if necessary?

And even if it was due to the negligence of relevant personnel, causing the wind lanterns not to be checked properly, leading to this fire—

Theoretically, this fire should not have spread broadly.

Indeed, while listening carefully, Chen Xu clearly counted that the number of examinees affected by the fire surged to as many as twelve.

Don't assume that the number "twelve" seems insignificant when compared to the scale of ten thousand examinees.

In reality, with a fire in an examination cell, even when only two or three are affected, it's considered numerous.

Its failure to be extinguished promptly constitutes the second oddity.

Finally, the Heaven-Equalizing Bell tolled.

Seemingly, all chaos was dispelled, even the invisible pressure shrouding the Imperial Examination Hall seemed entirely wiped away, which appeared to be a good thing—

But, was it really a good thing?

Chen Xu had no definitive evidence to support his suspicions, but he just felt uneasy, something was not right.

On the sixth of July, the crescent moon hung obliquely in the sky.

Within the Imperial Examination Hall, all sounds of chaos disappeared.

Patrolling soldiers marched in rows through the corridors between the examination cells, uttering low shouts: "Silence, maintain silence!"

"The fire has been extinguished, nothing will happen tonight, rest well!"

Meanwhile, examinees not affected by the fire couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Many exhaled gently, letting out long sighs of relief.

The majority felt a subtle sense.

If a few unfortunates appear among their peers, those less unfortunate tend to feel lucky instead.

And when people are lucky, their mood improves.

But there's still that question: Is all of this really good?

Chen Xu suppressed his inner suspicions, calming his mind and spirit.

He concealed all vigilance deep within his heart, once more closing his eyes, lying down for a light sleep.

No matter what, as long as the examination could continue, one should first complete the examination.

What Chen Xu didn't know was that his suspicions, in a certain sense, were indeed coming true.

At the same moment, while chaos erupted inside the Imperial Examination Hall, even leading to fatalities due to the fire, a massive shadow beneath the Yuan Cang River swayed its long tail, suddenly emitting a satisfied, prolonged sigh—

Its sigh was silent.

But every time it raised its head, the undercurrents of the riverbed would rage and roll fiercely, intensifying collisions.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

This was silent chaos, yet it seemed as though it would flip the whole world upside down.

The water level of the Yuan Cang River, that night, unbeknownst to anyone, dropped by three centimeters.

The next day, the seventh of July.

The third examination of the provincial exams finally arrived.

The third examination was actually the most important in the entire process of the provincial exams.

Because this examination tested strategy essays!

In the early morning, the rising sun leaped out from behind the clouds.

As sunlight poured over the layered roofs of the Imperial Examination Hall, faint sighs of examinees echoed within each examination cell.

The topics for the strategy essays were handed out!

This examination had even fewer questions, only three in total.

One was large, the other two small.

In other words, the truly significant strategic essay question was only one.

But the point remains: In the imperial examinations, the fewer questions there are, the more difficult they often are.

According to previous conventions, the third examination of the provincial exams should have consisted of three major questions, of equal difficulty and weight.

This seemed to require more Heart and Spirit, but in reality, having three questions of equal weight meant a higher margin for error.

After all, each examinee has a different experience, different talents, and different focuses.

It is very hard for examinees to cover all bases and excel in everything.

Thus, with three equally weighted questions, an examinee would be considered lucky if they found a question they excelled at.

In other words, out of three major questions, you should at least find one you can write well.

If you can't write a single one well, then there's no need to take the exam at all.

But now, the three major questions have become one large and two small, which means examinees had to focus most of their attention on that single large question.

When the big question for this provincial exam was issued, even Chen Xu was stunned on the spot, involuntarily falling into deep thought.

Likewise, the early renowned scholars of Celestial South Dao, like Mo Huaizhang, Ning Siyu, Song Chengye, were all the same.

As for Luo Wenhuan, seated diagonally opposite Chen Xu, he widened his eyes suddenly upon opening the exam paper.

Then, Luo Wenhuan's breath became heavy.

His eyes widened, with strands of red appearing in the corners of his eyes due to excitement.

Why was Luo Wenhuan excited?

Because, because this question, before this examination, his elder in the family,

Then, Luo Wenhuan's breath became heavy.

His eyes widened, with strands of red appearing in the corners of his eyes due to excitement.

Why was Luo Wenhuan excited?

Because, because this question, before this examination, his elder in the family,

Then, Luo Wenhuan's breath became heavy.

His eyes widened, with strands of red appearing in the corners of his eyes due to excitement.

Why was Luo Wenhuan excited?

Because, because this question, before this examination, his elder in the family,

Then, Luo Wenhuan's breath became heavy.

His eyes widened, with strands of red appearing in the corners of his eyes due to excitement.

Why was Luo Wenhuan excited?

Because, because this question, before this examination, his elder in the family,

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