Chapter 13: Flipping The Table
When the bell chime signalling the end of the literary test rang, all of the test papers appeared in the examiner hall. Each set of test papers was automatically bound into a booklet, its cover bearing the candidate’s name and number.
The six examiners were seated at the head of the hall. They were responsible solely for grading the essay section. As the first two parts of the literary test had fixed answers, there was no need for them to take part in the grading. A few low-level disciples could sweep through the test papers with mystic treasures and generate the scores instantly.
All six examiners possessed immense cultivation, and multitasking was just a basic skill to them. Thus, they were all simultaneously reviewing multiple sets of test papers. The less capable ones were reviewing seven or eight sets of test papers at the same time, whereas the more capable ones were reviewing more than ten sets. The Buddhist monk in particular was going through twenty sets at the same time, and it took him less than a teatime to wrap up and move onto the batch.
In the examiners’ opinions, reviewing the paper wasn’t a difficult task. The candidates were just children after all. If their answers adhered to historical facts and were reasonably written, then their performance could already be regarded as satisfactory. Originality was rare, and those who could present a coherent argument were few and far between.
The aristocratic children consistently outperformed the others by a significant margin in the literary test. It made sense. They had received instructions from renowned teachers and begun their studies at an early age. Moreover, the literary test had been conducted for centuries, so most aristocratic families possessed a clear understanding of its scope. In fact, numerous teachers had gained fame specifically through researching the questions that would appear in the literary tests, and once they became famous, the aristocratic families naturally recruited them into their ranks.
All six examiners worked at a brisk pace. It wouldn’t even take them two hours to finish grading everything.
Suddenly, the old Confucianist slammed his palm against the table and roared, “What absolute nonsense!”
The other examiners were confused. They were just grading a test. What could possibly anger the man so?
When they turned to look, they saw that the old Confucianist was reviewing Wei Yuan’s test paper. Thus, they summoned it with the wave of a hand and went through it themselves.