Jiang Li secretly thought himself unlucky. He just went out to buy some clothes and then ran into Jiang Yan.
"Greetings, brother!"
Although they were brothers, unlike Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yan disdained to make trouble for him.
The two of them had hardly had any contact before, and Jiang Li's attitude in response wasn't too bad either.
Jiang Yan paused in his steps, and his gaze fell on Jiang Li. With just one look, he easily saw through that Jiang Li's current martial realm was at the middle level of a warrior.
A look of contempt flashed in his eyes, and he said,"Jiang Li, don't forget your own identity. In this Jiang Mansion, you'd better behave yourself and don't cause any trouble. If I find out that you have any ill intentions, don't blame me for not considering our brotherhood!"
After saying that, Jiang Yan ignored Jiang Li and strode away.
Jiang Li watched Jiang Yan's receding figure, clenching his fists even tighter. His fingernails dug into his palms, drawing blood.
[You've only come this far by relying on Jiang Zhenting's full cultivation. Sooner or later, I'll trample you underfoot.]
In the blink of an eye, the day of the imperial examination arrived.
In front of the Gongyuan (the examination hall) in the capital city, many examinees who had come to take the exam had gathered early. Everyone had different expressions on their faces. Some were nervous, some were full of confidence, and others looked exhausted!
Jiang Li was dressed in a plain long robe, standing tall and straight among the crowd. Compared with those examinees around him who were either anxious or impetuous, he looked particularly calm.
When it was the turn for the examinees to enter the Gongyuan one by one, as was the custom, all the scholars would bow to the tall and majestic statue of the Confucian sage at the entrance of the Gongyuan.
The other examinees all bent down respectfully, with extremely pious attitudes, as if through this deep bow, they could absorb the wisdom and blessings of the sage and have good luck in the upcoming imperial examination.
However, Jiang Li didn't bow like the others. Instead, he just saluted the statue with a solemn expression.
The moment he got close to the statue, he could keenly sense the sage's aura emanating from it.
This aura was invisible and directly came from the oppression in one's mind. It permeated the surrounding air, making people feel in awe.
Jiang Li sent out his spiritual soul to observe for a while. He found that these clay sculptures of the ancient sages were filled with a powerful and upright aura, but there were no other thoughts in them, nor could they communicate.
Jiang Li stared at the tall and majestic statue for a long time, and suddenly had an epiphany in his heart.
"I thought they had really become gods! The noble and upright aura on them is just that scholars in successive dynasties have worshiped them and left their thoughts on these sages.
Over time, such noble and upright aura as bright as the sun and the moon has accumulated.
If there is no worship for a long time, this kind of thoughts will gradually dissipate.
If all the scholars have no noble spirit in their hearts and are only engaged in sordid activities, then these statues of sages are just lifeless objects after all!"
In the final analysis, the divine power on the statues of gods is just something added by the thoughts of the masses!
Jiang Li silently pondered the main ideological theme of this sage in his heart. Those Confucian doctrines that had been passed down through the ages flashed through his mind one by one: humility, the golden mean, introversion... These virtues that had been regarded as the standard by countless people, in Jiang Li's view, although had their merits, were not all that he pursued.
In this world where the strong were respected and the competition was fierce, if one blindly followed the path of modesty advocated by traditional Confucianism, one would only become an ordinary person and find it difficult to stand out.
He, Jiang Li, had ambitions and aspirations that others couldn't match. What he longed for was to shine brightly in this world and let everyone know his name and recognize his strength.
When facing this statue that symbolized the Confucian orthodoxy, Jiang Li silently rejected the much-esteemed virtue of modesty in his heart.
"I, Jiang Li, will show my edge in this imperial examination today. With my real talents and learning, I'll blaze a trail of my own. Why should I hide my light and cater to the so-called modesty?"
Having figured this out in his mind, he still sincerely bowed three more times. He was paying his respects to the noble and upright aura gathered in the hearts of all living beings.
After bowing, he followed the other scholars and poured into the examination hall.
Nobody noticed that a glint of golden light had just flashed in the eyes of the statue of the sage.
As soon as he stepped into the Gongyuan, he could feel a solemn atmosphere hitting him head-on.
"Is this an array deliberately set up to prevent examinees from cheating by restricting the exploration of soul power?"
Jiang Li secretly circulated his internal energy and found that he couldn't mobilize the soul power in his body at all.
Subconsciously, he touched the position on his finger where the storage ring was originally worn. In this array, the storage ring couldn't be opened either.
He could feel that his spiritual soul seemed to be tightly locked by an invisible shackle and couldn't move at all, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.
These restrictive measures might be huge obstacles for those examinees who attempted to obtain grades by improper means, but in his view, they were an excellent guarantee for fair competition.
He had absolute confidence in his own talents and strength and disdained to use any external forces to achieve his goals.
As the examinees walked into the Gongyuan one after another, the entrance inspection officially began.
Even though they knew the inspection was strict, there were still some examinees who refused to give up and wanted to take shortcuts.
Of course, those who attempted to cheat didn't escape the detection of the experienced inspectors.
When it was Jiang Li's turn, he handed over the basket he was carrying. He waited for the inspection calmly.
In the basket, apart from the household registration certificate, the scholar's plaque, there were only writing brushes, ink sticks, paper, inkstones, candles, and simple food for the three days.
The inspection was completed quickly, and Jiang Li then followed the guidance and came to his own examination room.
The examination room was narrow and cramped, surrounded by walls on three sides. There was a simple table, a chair, and not far away, a simple bed board with unified bedding on it. Besides, there was a chamber pot. That was all the furnishings there.
Except for a small window on the door for the invigilators to check, there was only a narrow ventilation opening at the roof for the air exchange inside the room.
In the next three days, eating, drinking, relieving oneself, and sleeping would all have to be done in this tiny space.
During the examination period, strict closed management was implemented. Before the time to hand in the papers arrived, even if the sky fell, one must not step out of the room even half a step.
The invigilators would be on high alert at all times and strictly supervise every move of each examinee.
It was just the beginning of February now, a time when the weather was freezing cold. There was no heating equipment in the examination room at all, and cold wind kept pouring in through the gaps in the door and windows, making people's hands and feet freezing cold.
Staying in this small place for three days, not to mention the effort in thinking up good essays, just in terms of physical strength alone, ordinary people couldn't hold on. This was also a disguised way of testing the physical strength of scholars and preventing those weak scholars who couldn't even bind a chicken from becoming officials.
Quite a number of examinees with weak constitutions had already started shivering with cold and their faces turned pale shortly after entering the examination room. Whether they could persevere through the three-day imperial examination was really uncertain.
Fortunately, Jiang Li was already a cultivator. If it were his former body, he probably couldn't have endured it at all.
No wonder those noble children generally didn't participate in the imperial examination. How could those young masters who lived a life of luxury every day be willing to endure such hardships?
Jiang Li stood in front of the narrow examination rooms in the Gongyuan. Even when he turned around slightly, he could feel the cramped space. He couldn't help sighing secretly in his heart:
This was the examination room that determined the fates of countless scholars. Although it was simple and crude, it carried the dreams and expectations of too many poor scholars.
Jiang Li sat down properly. After the examiner distributed the examination questions, his gaze fell on the examination paper in front of him, and the title came into view clearly -"Shun's Inspection Tours to the Four Directions".
Shun was a famous and virtuous emperor in ancient times. Legend has it that during the ancient times, Emperor Shun cared about the whole world and governed the four directions with benevolence and virtue. His noble virtue was like a bright star, illuminating that ancient era and deeply imprinted in the classics of scholars, being widely praised and passed down by people.
And the topic of this examination at this moment was to interpret the profound meaning contained in this sentence and fully develop one's own insights, elaborating on the principles of governing the country and ensuring peace in the article.
After seeing the question, Jiang Li didn't rush to write. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought.
Many different schools of knowledge he had learned on a daily basis, as well as various understandings of the ways of ancient emperors in governing the country, quickly flashed through his mind.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, ground the ink, and picked up the writing brush.
On the examination paper, he wrote the opening sentence -"Emperor Shun's inspection tours were not only to show his benevolence and virtue, but actually a means to balance the forces of heaven, earth, and the hearts of the people."
Immediately after that, Jiang Li began to write freely.
When Emperor Shun inspected the four directions, although there were indeed acts of showing benevolence and virtue and understanding the feelings of the people, the deeper significance lay in achieving a delicate balance in this way.
From the perspective of the imperial court, Emperor Shun's inspection tours were a kind of deterrence and supervision over various forces.