"Ren Character Field No. 13?"

In front of the north window of the main hall, a burly bald man over nine feet tall paced excitedly back and forth, his eyes glued to an exam paper, muttering to himself.

Inside the hall, the other teachers and students exchanged glances, probably understanding that this painting teacher had encountered a paper he liked. Although it's common to occasionally find exceptional works among the top-ranking students' exam papers, it was rare to see such a strong reaction as exhibited by Duan Jiuling.

"Mr. Duan, please calm down and return to your place. Discuss anything you wish after the grading is done, but don't disturb the other teachers' work," Meng Zhengjun advised.

The more Duan Jiuling looked at the painting, the happier he became. After Meng Zhengjun finished speaking, he didn't lift his head and might not have heard, but he kept smiling and admiring the painting as he strolled back to his seat without watching his steps.

Mr. Zhu Yourong and the other teachers smiled. Although curious about the exam paper that made Duan Jiuling lose composure, they treated it as an anecdote—a topic for later conversation over tea with friends.

On the other hand, the dozen or so female students helping to register scores in the main hall collectively focused their attention on one name.

"Ren Character Field No. 13? That paper belongs to a candidate from the Ren Character Field..."

Girls naturally love gossip, but since all the exams hadn't been graded yet, each teacher only knew the corresponding exam location and seat number, not the specific school or candidates' names. These would be matched after the exam was over when Meng Zhengjun would retrieve the sealed roster from the academy for the important task to follow.

Xiao Hongyu, taking advantage of the break while she and Li Xueyou went to deliver things to Meng Zhengjun, whispered curiously, "Xueyou, I remember you took the test in the Ren Character Field, right?"

Li Xueyou was taken aback, nodded, "Yes, the Ren Character Field had me and brother Ziyu, as well as another not so familiar brother Shulin. From the Shuaixing Hall, there were just the three of us, but brother Shulin sat far from brother Ziyu and me..."

Xiao Hongyu waved her hand, "I know, I know, you've told me, and you also said Zhao Ziyu sat not far from you... I'm asking, do you know who No. 13 is?"

Li Xueyou realized and glanced at her, whispered, "How would I remember that, and who pays attention to others' seat numbers anyway? I barely remember my own. When filling in for the exam, I had to look at the exam card... Uh, what was it again, Ren Character Seven or Nine..."

"You silly girl." Xiao Hongyu pinched the soft flesh on the young girl's slender waist.

She glanced around at the other female students nearby who were also gathered, curiously discussing.

Yet, Xiao Hongyu was understanding, "Fine, I won't ask you. It's the same examination room. You must have seen them, but you probably don't know them. How could your little mind remember students from other schools when you don't even seem to know your own classmates entirely..."

Li Xueyou was a little embarrassed.

Meanwhile, behind them, Duan Jiuling was holding the painting of the Ren Character Field No. 13 candidate, reluctant to part with it, and returned to his seat. Su Changfeng, who was head down grading papers, didn't lift an eyelid, just reached out to straighten a slightly tilted stack of papers on the table, aligning them neatly before shaking his head and saying:

"Making a fuss, tarnishing the teacher's dignity, so many students are watching; just can't contain yourself a bit."

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Duan Jiuling still didn't lift his head, his eyes constantly admiring the beautiful figure in his hands.

Su Changfeng raised his chin, "You claim I don't understand? Aren't these just some unexpected occurrences? Despite their antics, they are still just beginners. How much of a surprise could they bring?"

He said this while flipping through some of the previous exam papers, glancing at them, "Look at mine. In this exam, they wrote eight poems ranked in the worthy category laid out before me, along with a pretty good and innovative essay. Do you think I'm surprised? It's all expected... Besides, I can already guess who wrote that essay, no surprise at all. That essay is most likely from Senior Yu from Shuaixing Hall."

Next to him, busy tidying the exam papers of the two teachers, Xiao Hongyu and Li Xueyou initially responded by widening their eyes, unable to help but exchange glances because they heard Yu Huaijin's name.

And the two girls couldn't have imagined that this time, Yu Huaijin didn't write showy worthy poems because she didn't write poetry at all but chose to write a more difficult and high-level essay!

That's a literary form only explored at the scholarly stage.

Su Changfeng didn't pay attention to the subtle shock of the two girls next to him and continued in a casual tone while grading papers.

"The neat handwriting in that essay clearly belongs to a female student, which bears a resemblance to Mr. Zhu's style, along with some literary flair—easy to guess. But it's indeed well-written... Oh! Besides Yu Huaijin, there's actually another student daring to write an essay?" The 'Poetry and Prose teacher,' who had been shaking his head, suddenly let out a light exclamation, drawing out the unexpectedly discovered paper for closer examination.

"Who could it be this time... Deity's... Prose? What a strange name, what is this supposed to..." Su Changfeng muttered in confusion, beginning to flip through it curiously.

At first, Su Changfeng's subtle, puzzled exclamation didn't attract much attention due to its low volume. But quickly, his sudden silence and the peculiar calmness drew the attentions of Duan Jiuling, Xiao Hongyu, and Li Xueyou, and then the three of them paused because they noticed that the 'Poetry and Prose teacher,' who had been speaking with an indifferent demeanor, was now staring at the exam paper in his hand, his face flushed red like a basin of red ink dyeing an entire pool without leaving any corners uncolored.

Xiao Hongyu and Li Xueyou found Mr. Su's expression very familiar because they had just seen a similar... surprised look on Mr. Duan's face earlier. Only, Mr. Duan had a darker complexion, making Mr. Su's fair complexion more visibly red.

Before the two girls could react, there was a second loud slap on the table in the southeast corner of Jingchen Hall today.

Bam---!

Zhu Yourong, Meng Zhengjun, and Teacher Chen all turned their heads in surprise.

They saw Su Changfeng pressing one hand on the table edge, holding an exam paper in the other, with an uncontrollable look of joy on his face as he read.

"...Its form, so elegant as a startled swan, graceful as a roaming dragon... Like light clouds veiling the moon, floating like wind swept snow... Properly proportioned in all dimensions... Shoulders as if carved, waist slender as bundled silk... Neck extended, fine features exposed... Lips bright red, teeth fresh within... Bright eyes, gentle smile, dimples softly graced!"

The crowd heard Su Changfeng muttering after his initial pause, "So meticulously crafted a parallel couplet... paired with imaginative richness, most precious is the entire piece laden with beautiful words yet without pretension, exuding freshness, truly invigorating, invigorating!"

The newly arrived 'Poetry and Prose young teacher' at the academy, who had always been proud and aloof, lifted his head, ignoring the stares around him, leaned against the table, and sighed deeply, "Can a student produce such a prose? Impossible... impossible..."

Su Changfeng murmured a couple of times, paused, and then, as if realizing something, hastily flipped back to the front page of the mysterious exam paper, quickly scanning the section with the candidate's information. He paused again, appearing bewildered and incredulously puzzled.

Amidst the exceedingly curious gazes from those around, Su Changfeng, speechless, lifted his head, and after a moment of silence, he seemed to both affirm and question, "Ren Character Field No. 13..."

All the teachers and students: .....?

...

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