3 Content of Examination

However, Xia Fan didn't leave the teahouse directly, but stopped at the corner of the stairs and waited until the waiter brought in a new order of marinated beef before stopping him and putting the beef into his pocket.

Faced with Xia Fan's odd request, the waiter did not question him. After all, he and Wei Wushuang sat at the same table, and the latter remained seated.

After "taking away" the beef, Xia Fan left the teahouse unhurriedly. This allowed him to save his lunch money.

Anyway, Wei Wushuang said that he was from the same hometown and could order anything he wanted to eat. Moreover, he believed that Wei Wushuang wouldn't be particular over the plate of braised beef that vanished into thin air.

To be honest, he didn't have any negative evaluation of the young teenager. Wei Wushuang meant well and was able to treat him decently despite being offended. This was rare, especially since he had a relatively well-to-do family background. If he was able to work with Wei Wushuang, his life in Feng Hua County would be much better in the future. However, he told the truth. Since Wei Wushuang was forced by his family to participate in the mystic examination, there was no need for him to take the risk.

Xia Fan's master had repeatedly advised him that dealing with evil was serious work. If he didn't make up his mind and made necessary preparations, he should definitely not get involved.

He usually dealt with only small ghosts with his cheap master. Based on how his master avoided the mystic of the Privy Council, he shouldn't have lied.

The invigilator finally called everyone to assemble at the center of the town in the afternoon and informed them about the contents of the examination.

The theme was surprisingly easy. They simply had to fill up a bottle of spirit fire within the time limit.

The so-called spirit fire was the "ghost fire" known by the public. Its source was from the herbs released after being dried in the sun and grounded, which was relatively easy to make.

Xia Fan definitely didn't stand out and comment that the phenomenon should be called phosphorous fire. It burnt phosphine, which was produced from the decay of human bones. That was because the powder could indeed trigger some interesting phenomenon and could be repeated. Moreover, the latter was something particularly important amongst all scientific experiments.

His common knowledge wasn't useful here. In other words, it functioned using another method unknown to him.

Because the spirit fire wasn't considered rare and could be easily found, they simply had to dig with a shovel. Therefore, the crowd broke into a commotion after the head examiner made the announcement.

No wonder the candidates were surprised. Even if they were ordinary people, they were able to accomplish the task as long as they were brave enough.

The invigilator didn't care about the commotion and uncovered the red silk cloth beside him, revealing a notice board and a long table.

There was a large pile of porcelain bottles on the table, obviously the containers needed in the mystic examination.

The words written with ink on the notice board detailed the rules of the examination. However, it was still very short and sweet and only had three lines.

"1. The mystic examination is seven days long, during which candidates are not allowed to leave Qing Shan Town.

"2. Interfering in the daily lives of the villagers is prohibited.

"3. No sabotage can be done to other candidates."

"Candidates who violate any of the above rules will be directly disqualified!" The invigilator said loudly, "With that, the tenth mystic examination of the Qi Country will officially begin. I wish everyone good luck!" After saying that, he left and did not bother explaining further.

"Hold on, seven days?" The candidates broke out in an uproar.

"Why did they assign seven days for something that can be completed in one day's time?"

"Doesn't that mean everyone will be able to qualify?"

"Who cares, let's get the bottle first."

This sentence acted as a reminder to the candidates, and a commotion immediately broke out. The people at the front of the queue couldn't leave after taking the bottles, and the people at the back were unable to squeeze in. Meanwhile, during the process, some of the bottles dropped from the table and broke. The candidates unable to get the bottles were afraid that they would be disqualified if they were unable to get the bottles and hence pushed even harder. Some people accidentally fell, and a stampede was about to start.

"Stop immediately!"

Suddenly, a loud and clear voice was heard.

A lady leaped onto the long table and drew the wooden sword from her waist. She made a gesture of striking the sword and said, "If anyone dares to move, I will smash all of these bottles!"

Instantly, the commotion stopped.

Nobody dared to voice any concerns. That was because they realized that the rules did not state that the bottles were not allowed to be broken. If the lady really broke the bottles, not only would the candidates be offended, but they also would definitely be unable to complete the examination.

"Junior, what are you doing?"

A young man wearing the same clothes as the lady came forward and said anxiously.

"Of course, I'm maintaining the order." The lady smiled before pointing her sword at the candidates. "Hey there, please help the person who fell up! And you, you too, help him up!"

"Why should I listen to you?" someone said indignantly.

"Hmm?" The young lady pressed her sword down a little.

The stress was immediately transferred to the protester. Under the gazes of the crowd, the candidate who was pointed at obediently helped the person who had fallen down.

"Very good! The rest, come forward one by one and get your bottles from me! Rest assured, there are a few more cartons behind this table. There will definitely be enough bottles to go around. Seniors and juniors, come and help me."

A few sentences helped to eliminate a potential stampede.

Squashed amongst the crowd, Xia Fan could finally breathe. He went along with the human flow and looked at the lady curiously. She looked petite and was at most 16 years old. Although she was still young, she already had the looks of a beauty. Her pair of huge eyes was especially attractive and looked like clear spring water.

Her robe was also extremely attractive. The light blue cloth looked expensive, and there was a decoration made with feathers on each shoulder. The patterns looked so clear and realistic. Looking at the other candidates who were wearing similar clothes, one could clearly deduce that these were the "wealthy disciples" mentioned by Wei Wushuang.

"They are… from the Luo family in You State?"

"Double feathers of the Vermilion Bird, it should be it."

Hearing the discussion of the people around him, Xia Fan couldn't help but interrupt. "Hey, brother, is the Luo family very famous?"

"You haven't heard of the Luo family?" The guy shot him a suspicious look. "They're known for mystics. Passing the examination means nothing for them, they will usually clinch one of the top three positions."

"Oh right, I've heard that the Luo family has a lot of talents. One of the girls is especially talented. Could it be her?" Another person continued.

"It can't be… She's acting so rashly, it doesn't seem like what a genius would do. Didn't you see that her senior was also dissatisfied with what she did?"

"Indeed. If she's not from the Luo family, the mystic examination would have ended already."

"Hmph, she offended so many people. Even if she's from a wealthy family, she will probably not be able to get through the next few days unhurt."

Xia Fan didn't take their words seriously. The reason she could control the situation instantly had nothing to do with her identity. The key was how she managed to find the candidates' weaknesses and use a few sentences to deter the crowd.

Even if it was an ordinary person, as long as he noticed the key to the matter, he would be able to do it too.

With someone maintaining order, the human flow became much smoother and faster. After a short while, Xia Fan, who was at the back of the queue, managed to get his porcelain bottle.

By this time, the girl had already left the table and was called aside by her senior.

From their expressions, there seemed to be some arguments. However, the man's expression looked more worried than angry.

As he passed them from afar, Xia Fan heard a few words of their conversation. Clearly, they did not speak softly intentionally.

"… You should know that we're not the only family taking part in the mystic examination…"

"The Fei and Fang families are all watching us, as well as the people in the palace…"

"Senior, I know."

"Then, why did you still do that?"

"All of us will enter the Privy Council… and the biggest duty of the Privy Council is to maintain the order of this world. There's nothing wrong with adapting to this in advance. Moreover…" As she said this, she tilted her head as though she knew that Xia Fan could hear her. She smiled at him and continued, "We were in the center of the commotion earlier on. If we did nothing, we might also be affected."

It seemed that her senses were very sharp.

Xia Fan didn't comment after her words.

Since they didn't lower their volume, Xia Fan wasn't considered to be eavesdropping. After smiling rightfully, he turned his attention to the content of the examination.

The porcelain bottle was pure white and had burnt marks of the Privy Council at the bottom. They should be prepared especially for the mystic examination. It was about the size of a mineral bottle, and one needed quite some bone powder to fill it up. Oh no, it was the source of the spirit fire. Considering that there were around 400 candidates this time, the total amount of spirit fire should be quite shocking. It would require a huge plot of land to deal with it.

The problem was, Qing Shan Town was only so big. Even if all the villagers were buried, they still probably wouldn't be able to get enough spirit fire for the examination requirement.

Of course, since it was an examination, it was normal for a group to be eliminated. The first test should be the sourcing ability of the newcomers.

Xia Fan also realized that while the majority of the candidates were questioning the content of the examination, a minority had already left the area silently. They probably had realized that as long as one managed to find the land for spirit fire, one would gain an advantage. Asking the locals or inviting them to lead the way would be perfect choices.

However, after thinking about it for a while, Xia Fan decided to go to the hotel first.

If the mystic examination was only one day long, he would have followed the minority. However, the invigilator gave them seven days. In other words, they probably had to settle the meals and accommodation by themselves. The small-scaled hotel did not look like it had enough rooms to accommodate everyone and could barely take 100. Therefore, the guest rooms were scarce, and most of the candidates would have to live in the old abandoned houses outside the city.

As an experienced wanderer, Xia Fan knew the difference between a comfortable house and one that only provided shelter from the wind and rain. If the mosquitoes and insects didn't let one sleep, then a variety of poisonous insects and snakes would definitely be a real threat. Moreover, they were now in the middle of the mountain and surrounded by forests. The temperature and humidity of the day and night could change drastically due to heavy rain. If one caught a cold, not only would it be close to impossible to finish the examination, but it would also be difficult to go back alive.

Therefore, he decided to rent a house first.