"Have you heard? A beautiful girl has enrolled in this year's exam!"
"A beauty? How pretty is she? Even more than the belles of our academy?"
Two senior students were chatting casually, sharing what they heard, but the latter didn't take it seriously.
Their Great Zhou Imperial Academy is the academic heart of the entire Great Zhou, attracting accomplished monks, officials, and businessmen who go to great lengths to associate with the academy, a symbol of status. These elites are keen to send their children to the academy, making it a hub for the children of the upper class.
These monks, officials, and businessmen might not be particularly handsome themselves, but leveraging their influence to marry beautiful wives isn't difficult, hence their children are often very attractive.
For instance, the daughter of the Mighty General, Li Changyue, the princess of Huailing from Prince Gong, the granddaughter of a Cabinet Grand Scholar, Nan Jin, etc., all possess unparalleled beauty and have numerous admirers.
"She's incomparable!" his companion exclaimed excitedly, lamenting his inability to describe the charm of this new girl. "You haven't seen the new junior. She's a rare beauty in this world, one glimpse of whom you'll never forget in your lifetime!"
"Hey, hey, hey, she hasn't even passed the exam yet, and you're already calling her your junior?"
"She'll definitely pass. If she doesn't, I'll help her cheat!"
The other looked at him disdainfully: "Do you have any idea how strict our academy's exams are? Talking about cheating, it's more like courting death. The deputy dean personally supervises the exams, and the dean himself grades them. With your mere eighth level of Qi cultivation, how could you possibly cheat?"
Being at the eighth level of Qi cultivation and studying at the best academy of the empire is unimaginable in other dynasties. As they say, how could those in the Qi cultivation period be worthy of studying here?
The biggest difference between the Great Zhou Imperial Academy and other imperial academies lies in this: Great Zhou values law, with less emphasis on fighting and violence. Cultivators in Great Zhou are not required to be skilled fighters, which results in a strong academic atmosphere. The admission criteria for the Great Zhou Imperial Academy do not depend on cultivation level, but rather on memory and comprehension of books.
Memory is determined by divine consciousness; the stronger the divine consciousness, the better the memory.
It is only during the late Yuan Ying stage that one can exercise their divine consciousness, and the Great Zhou Imperial Academy requires students to be under the age of 25.
If anyone can cultivate to the later stage of Yuan Ying before the age of 25, the Great Zhou Imperial Academy will not recommend them for admission, but instead suggest that they join the Daoist sect for cultivation.
However, the man was intrigued by his companion's attitude and asked, "What is that beautiful lady's name?"
"Jiang Jingxin."
Passing by, Jiang Li paused at the sound of this name, feeling it exuded an unusual aura.
"Is the woman you are talking about a gentle beauty with long flowing hair, delicate eyebrows like willow leaves, watery eyes, and skin as delicate as jade, so beautiful that she is hauntingly unforgettable once you've seen her?"
The man, as if awakened, understood his companion's reference to the beautiful female apprentice.
"Yes, yes, now you finally understand what I mean," the companion was overjoyed, then suddenly became wary, wondering if there was another competitor.
"Is that person the beautiful female apprentice you mentioned?"
Following the direction indicated by the man, the companion saw an ordinary-looking man standing with the unforgettable beauty, indicating an extremely close relationship!
Jiang Li looked at the unchanging appearance of the pure-hearted saint in front of him, feeling somewhat surprised.
"Jiang Renhuang, I didn't expect to meet here, what a coincidence," the pure-hearted saint said joyfully.
Having experienced a recent change in sect circumstances, she was not in a great mood, so she decided to visit the place Jiang Li had stayed to lift her spirits, and unexpectedly ran into Jiang Li.
What a pleasant surprise!
To prevent being recognized, Jiang Li always had to slightly change his face, as he was too well-known, with statues of him scattered everywhere in Jiuzhou.
On the other hand, the pure-hearted saint had only left the secular world and practiced on the mountain for a few years a few hundred years ago, knowing few people, so she could appear with her real appearance without fear of being recognized.
"So, you are Jiang Jingxin?" Jiang Li found the name quite strange.
"Yes," the pure-hearted saint said softly, her cheeks blushing slightly, realizing that this name had its own intentions, but who would have thought she would meet Jiang Li here, it was really embarrassing!
"What's your name now?" The pure-hearted saint didn't expect Jiang Li to use his real name.
"Kong Li, Kong Rong's yielding Kong Li."
The pure-hearted saint didn't understand the latter sentence, but she understood that Jiang Li's current name was Kong Li.
She felt she needed to be a clever girl in order to make the man she liked happy, so she didn't ask what the phrase "Kong Rong yields the pear" meant.
"Are you here to take the entrance exam?" Jiang Li couldn't understand why he would meet the pure-hearted saint here.
What was the reason for the pure-hearted saint of the Red Dust Pure Land to study at the Great Zhou Imperial Academy?
Even if there was a reason, there was no need to pretend to be a student.
The pure-hearted saint looked at Kong Li, who came to take the entrance exam, and smiled without saying a word.
Jiang Li coughed, "Remembering my childhood, remembering my childhood."
"I remember you entered the academy at the age of 20, Kong Li, your childhood must have been long."
Although she didn't know why the other party knew how old she was when she entered the academy, being so bluntly exposed, Jiang Li was a little embarrassed.
The pure-hearted saint chuckled and no longer embarrassed Jiang Li, "Since we're both here to take the exam, why not have a competition and see who can get first place?"
Jiang Li became interested and agreed, "Sure. Let's make a little bet, and the loser has to agree to a condition set by the winner!"
The two shook hands and made a contract, which the onlookers thoroughly envied Jiang Li.
"Speaking of which, has the Red Dust Fairy awakened yet?"
It had been over two months and the Red Dust Fairy should have awakened by now.
"She has woken up a few times, and each time for a longer period than before, but she still sleeps longer than she's awake. After the ancestor woke up, she didn't speak much, just walked around in the Pure Land, and spent the longest time under the Fairy Peach Tree."
"It seems that the Red Dust Fairy's condition is still unstable," Jiang Li continued, "I've greeted Emperor Mengjiang and Emperor Wei, and asked them to keep quiet. You must keep the matter of the Red Dust Fairy confidential, because if any news leaks, some old folks who saw the Red Dust Fairy in the past might rush into the Red Dust Pure Land."
"I understand. But if the ancestor wants to run away, we also can't stop her."
The two chatted casually, walking away under the envious gaze of the seniors, and then began to plot.
"Shall we kill this person?"
"I'll ask the killers from the Sky Killing Pavilion!"
"I don't have money."
"Neither do I."
"In that case, forget it."
"Oh."
A disaster from the Sky Killing Pavilion was averted in the casual conversation of the two seniors.