Chapter 8: Fairness
Inside a serene hall, Zhang Sheng and Sun Yu were sitting on opposite sides of the room. The Daoist handed his junior brother a jade-colored paper and a black jade box. He said, “This is the new rules and regulations, and this is the Li Spring Powder.”
The jade-colored paper was perfectly blank when he handed it over, but countless tiny words took form on their own when it entered the scholar’s hands. The words stacked on top of each other again and again until they formed tens of layers of text. In total, the new rules and regulations numbered tens of thousands of words.
Despite this, it took Zhang Sheng only a few breaths to read it all. He then said, “This is quite the massive change. Is it the work of the Reform Party?”
Sun Yu took a sip from his teacup before replying, “You are aware the Reform Party had already taken the upper hand when you first set out to the world, yes? As more and more young disciples chose to join the Reform Party, and their influence grew across the years, the Traditional Party found it more and more difficult to push back against them. The first draft had indeed been made by the Reform Party, then the aristocratic families added their own strokes here and there. In the end, this was the final outcome.”
Zhang Sheng asked with a furrowed brow, “This martial test is specifically tailored for distinguished clans, isn’t it? They can form a group just by revealing their identities, while the ordinary folk can only become their pawns. Besides, what ordinary kid would have the opportunity to study military strategy? Even if they are interested, where are they going to find a reputable strategist who is an actual master of the craft with a string of real victories under their sash? Even if, against all odds, the ordinary kids manage to form their own group, in the end, they will only become the stepping stones of others.”
“The martial test was tailor made for the clans. If they didn’t make this compromise, the Reform Party wouldn’t have been able to push out these new rules and regulations. They have far-reaching ambitions they wish to fulfill, and this is merely the first step. That is why they needed the support of the aristocratic families.”
“But the reason the Palace offered these spots was to recruit the Chosen Ones. If they ultimately fell into the pockets of the aristocratic families, then what is the point of this exam?”
Sun Yu let out a sigh. “If it irritates you so much, you can change this once you have attained mastery of the Dao.”
The Daoist was putting it tactfully, but of course Zhang Sheng understood his meaning. He sighed and said, “Forget it. I have enough on my plate already, and the Skyblue Hall has already secured a spot for Yuan’er anyway. The sooner he finishes this exam, the sooner I’ll be able to return and save myself some heartache.”