Chapter 116: The Examination Method Was Also Quite Unconventional

“Look, that must be the overseer of this provincial exam.”
“Following the Grand Tutor here, he must also be a prominent figure within the Academic Union.”
“Hey, did I see that right? Void Trace? That’s the Dragon Chart Academician!”
“Really? Void Trace? Incredible!”
“How old is he? Could he be eighteen? Truly a peerless prodigy!”

What?

Void Trace? Dragon Chart Academician? What on earth are you all talking about? I don’t understand a word. Could someone please explain? Wait, did I hear correctly? That Dragon Chart Academician named Void Trace isn’t even eighteen yet?

A peer!

At least a contemporary!

Barely two years apart in age, yet one soars in the heavens as a Dragon Chart Academician, admired by countless people, while the other stands underground as a mere ornamental model, unnoticed by all. The difference is staggering. No, I can’t resist my curiosity—I must see what kind of unparalleled figure this truly is.

I twist, I twist, I... no matter how much I roll my eyes, I can’t possibly see behind!

“Hey, you girl standing there on the grandstand, yes, the tall one taking the exam, can’t you do something a girl should do? Like take out a small mirror to touch up your makeup? That way, I can catch a reflection and observe!”

Just as Shi Tiexin’s mind was filled with drama, itching to see what was happening behind him, something the Dragon Chart Academician at the back did caused a strange and immense aura to suddenly swell and expand.

“Begin!”

Shi Tiexin heard a cold command, and then an indescribable, immense sensation burst forth from behind him like an explosion. It was like drums beating, like thunder crashing, like a cataclysmic blast splitting heaven and earth—Shi Tiexin could not articulate what kind of feeling it truly was.

There was sound, but it was more than just sound. There was light, but it was more than mere light. An immense and unfathomable aura descended upon the place, instantly overwhelming Shi Tiexin’s entire mind, leaving him frozen and clearing away all distractions into emptiness.

His mind seemed to briefly disconnect.

When Shi Tiexin regained his senses, the world before his eyes had undergone a staggering transformation.

The entire stage suddenly erupted with a glow of undefinable color, the space rippling, the boundaries rolling and expanding like glass. A temporal vortex enveloped all the examinees—they were still on the circular platform, yet no longer truly there. They were still around one another, yet simultaneously apart.

Shi Tiexin was dumbfounded.

All space and time were intimately connected yet separated, all changes natural yet breathtaking. It was as if a cosmic wonder had been born, terrifying and yet somehow perfectly fluid, as if the world had always been meant to be this way.

A secret realm.

This was a secret realm!

A secret realm created by the temporal sage, who inscribed the great path’s laws!

Shi Tiexin had seen secret realms before. He had even dueled within one. But he had never witnessed such a vast and peculiar secret realm.

“Literary Heart Secret Realm!” some knowledgeable spectators exclaimed at the perfect moment, offering an explanation: “This is the Literary Heart Secret Realm, only opened by the Grand Academicians or the Grand Tutors of the Academic Union during official examinations!”

“So this is the Literary Heart Secret Realm. I’ve only heard of it before; this is my first time seeing it with my own eyes.”

Literary Heart Secret Realm?

For examinations?

No wonder the candidates weren’t divided into separate exam rooms—they didn’t need to be.

Shi Tiexin studied everything carefully, marveling continuously. Every examinee stood on a platform, yet each existed separately within a space they could not touch one another. Each occupied an entire platform alone, ensuring no crowding or interference, yet all these secret realms existed simultaneously.

It was difficult to describe the sensation.

It was as if the small, limited space of the circular platform had suddenly been expanded into over two thousand identical layers. When you focused on one candidate, you saw not only him but the entire secret realm around him in full detail. But when you shifted your gaze to another, you immediately switched channels, observing the happenings in a different realm.

As if humanity had suddenly evolved from three-dimensional beings into four-dimensional ones—mysterious and unfathomable.

No wonder they came early to observe. Without witnessing it firsthand, Shi Tiexin thought he would never have understood what this exam hall was truly like.

But the exam hall was only a small part of the normal examination.

The voice of the Dragon Chart Academician behind rang out, low but carrying across the entire venue: “All examinees, prepare yourselves.”

“Hah—!”

“Hah—!”

Right before Shi Tiexin’s eyes, over two thousand examinees suddenly underwent astonishing changes. Not all shouted loudly, but each summoned their spirit and energy. Radiant, multicolored light suddenly blazed from each person’s mind, then burst forth, coalescing into clusters of light in the void—some dim, some bright.

Shi Tiexin was captivated, staring fixedly at the nearest short girl, trying to understand the nature of these light clusters.

“Come!”

The short girl shouted, and the clusters of light suddenly surged downward like armor, crackling as they struck her body, quickly forming a layer of dazzling, multicolored radiant armor. Shi Tiexin’s eyes widened as he studied the armor, looking back and forth in confusion.

Yet somehow, a tremor stirred within his mind, where his foundational mathematical cultivation lay, and suddenly he understood—one of these beams of light represented the level of foundational mathematical spirit cultivation.

Looking at the other radiant areas on the short girl’s body, Shi Tiexin naturally deduced that these six clusters of light corresponded to the manifestations of the six fundamental mental techniques. The brightness and dimness of the glow indicated the proficiency level of each technique.

Damn, I never expected this!

I’ve never taken an exam in this timeline before; it’s completely different from Fengming No. 1 High School!

Shi Tiexin quickly realized that his surprise was premature.

At the Dragon Chart Academician’s command, “Begin the exam!”

Swish, swish, swish—the Literary Heart Secret Realm shifted and transformed anew. Ten meters in front of every examinee, from the void materialized genderless, faceless yet fully limbed humanoid figures of radiant light.

These figures were composed entirely of six-colored radiance, their glow uniform. At first glance, each appeared identical, but upon closer inspection, the patterns and combinations of the intertwined colors differed slightly.

Without a second’s hesitation or delay, the luminous figures and the examinees lunged at one another in the blink of an eye.

Bang! The short girl delivered a fierce hook punch, striking the jaw of the radiant figure.

Across the two thousand layered secret realms, the battles erupted simultaneously, officially commencing.