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"Hmm, everyone, please stay calm, Vice Dean Lord Chen Ying is currently organizing the list and will announce it shortly. Everyone has performed quite well in the assessment..."

On the third day after the academy’s opening, Shen Yuan appeared at the outermost Ritual Court of the academy with dark circles under his eyes.

The new Yin Yang Academy took over the premises of the former Lyuzhou Academy, and the external Ritual Court, where several past Prefectural Governors and Academic Commissioners had given speeches, was quite large, accommodating over three hundred people.

At Chen Qing’s invitation, over thirty Scholar Masters along with more than three hundred and sixty students of varying ages who had signed up participated, which made the grand hall of the Ritual Court seem somewhat crowded.

Gu Beiquan and others, due to their former official status and titles as Imperial Scholars, were given priority in seating even though they arrived late.

Some younger students voluntarily gave up their front-row seats to them.

When Shen Yuan arrived late, Gu Beiquan, spotting him from afar, quickly waved him over, "Brother Shen, over here! "

As he spoke, he glanced at a young Scholar beside him. Seeing no cooperative movement from the latter, Gu Beiquan frowned and said, "Student, please make some room..."

The Scholar hesitated upon hearing this but dared not object. In the world of scholars, official titles were important. Although the others had been dismissed from their posts, they were once Imperial Scholars, and he was only a Scholar. How could he dare to confront a former Imperial Scholar?

Although he was aggrieved, he quietly stood up anyway.

However, Shen Yuan, who was some distance away, did not seem swayed by the gesture. He frowned upon seeing Gu Beiquan and the others, unwilling to join them. As he looked around, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure and quickly approached.

"Cui Yang?"

"Eh, Brother Shen?" A young boy, about ten years old, turned around and, seeing Shen Yuan, his face lit up with a happy smile, "Brother Shen, you didn’t secure a spot either?"

"Ah, I stayed up late reading last night and found it rather difficult to rise early this morning..." Shen Yuan said with a warm smile, devoid of his usual pride, and headed over to continue, "Cui Yang, that theory you proposed yesterday about ’The Three Elements of Ge Wu’s Upright Yang’ was quite interesting, but after pondering it last night, I feel the arithmetic can be further improved, look. .."

The boy, hearing Shen Yuan talk about the academic subject, immediately became very serious, listening intently.

It was only after Shen Yuan finished speaking that he had a realization, "Brother Shen, you’re brilliant.

With this change, my theory is even more substantiated.

Oh..." he said, looking around anxiously, "it’s a shame there’s no paper and pen to note this down. "

"Not to worry..." Shen Yuan smiled even more gently, "We’ll go to the Book Collection Pavilion later, and I will explain it to you again."

"Great, great, thank you so much, Brother Shen!"

"We’re classmates, what’s the trouble to begin with?"

From a distance, Gu Beiquan and the others saw that Shen Yuan ignored them and was enthusiastically discussing with a child; their faces immediately turned unsightly.

The person who had been ready to make room for Shen Yuan could hardly suppress a laugh.

Trying to ingratiate themselves with someone, only to have it thrown back in their faces, right?

"Gu Brother, look..."

"Never mind him!" Gu Beiquan waved his hand, his face dark as he addressed the people around him, "This Shen Yuan is bewitched, spending all day in the Book Collection Pavilion. He got a task of categorizing books and now treats it like a treasure. Even though he’s born to a prestigious family, it’s truly a disgrace. "

"Indeed, to be discussing fervently with a child like that... Our illustrious Second Place Scholar is truly still a child at heart..." Someone nearby couldn’t help but sneer as well.

From a distance, Shen Yuan couldn’t hear the sotto voce mockery of Gu Beiquan and the others, and he likely wouldn’t care even if he had heard it. In his eyes, the value of the kid before him was far higher than that of Gu Beiquan and the others!

At the beginning, in the Book Collection Pavilion, he actually felt some aversion to these ordinary people who could share resources with him. But after a brief interaction, he no longer felt that way.

Each person chosen by Chen Ying to enter the pavilion was extraordinarily talented, especially in the fields of Art Calculation and logical inquiry.

They had extremely ingenious thinking, and when combined with the techniques in the pavilion, they often produced astoundingly clever effects and solved complex problems with Technique, to which he felt inferior.

Since then, he knew that those ten admitted to the pavilion would surely become excellent Array Masters as Chen Ying had described, which naturally made them companions on the same path!

Magicians also needed to understand social niceties, and these young talents had immense potential. In the future, who could say that they wouldn’t become the emerging class of magicians in Lyuzhou—how could they ever be compared to Gu Beiquan’s blockheads?

"Next, please allow Vice Dean Lord Chen Ying to announce the list."

After delivering a long speech at the start, the old Master finally moved on to the main topic, making all the students instantly tense.

The situation in Lyuzhou was different; there, scholars weren’t held in high regard, and the area valued military service.

Anyone with a physical semblance could elevate their status significantly once enrolled in the military, not only receiving generous soldier pay but also rapidly accumulating virtue for deceased relatives in the netherworld.

In contrast, scholars did not have an edge in competing with robust men for military service, and working on Daqing Mountain was incompatible with their scholarly attire, making them the most suffocated group in recent months.

With the Prefectural Governor finally opening the academy and willing to grant some status to scholars, of course, all wished to stay.

After all, who wouldn’t want to live in a house in the Capital City, eating meat every day?

Who wanted to sleep on the shared beds of North Street with the newly arrived refugees?

Especially for those Scholars with official titles, despised by some women on North Street, if they failed to secure a spot in the academy this time, they might truly end up farming on Daqing Mountain.

Of course, there were exceptions among the crowd, such as Gu Beiquan and others who showed little sign of nervousness.

In their view, they themselves held the title of Imperial Scholar, genuine members of the scholarly class. As long as Chen Qing wished to have scholars manage Lyuzhou, he couldn’t possibly bypass them.

Chen Ying still dressed in her white attire, her natural beauty untouched by powder or rouge, looked as delicate as ever, though her complexion was slightly pale. Similar to Shen Yuan and others, her eyes were noticeably darkened.

"Ahem..." Chen Ying stood on the high platform and, presenting a list, said straightforwardly, "The new Lyuzhou Academy is divided into the four institutes of Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.

Of the three hundred and sixty-nine examinees this time, fifty will be admitted to the Heavenly Institute, which focuses on the study of Arithmetic and Formation techniques.

The requirement is to rank among the top fifty in Art Calculation and top one hundred in the study of objects in this assessment.

Those who wish to join will register with Master Cheng later.

The Earth Institute will take fifty people, concentrating on the study of objects and Talismans.

The requirement is to be at least within the top one hundred for Arithmetic and top fifty for the study of objects in this assessment.

Those who are interested will register with Master Bai. "

"The Mystic Institute will recruit eighty people this time, primarily researching Technique and the principles of Yin and Yang, with the requirement of ranking within the top fifty for Yin-Yang Academic Studies and top one hundred for both the study of objects and Arithmetic.

The Yellow Institute will recruit one hundred people, focusing on the study of medical theories, geology, agricultural science; the research direction is mainly using Technique in medicine, agriculture, astrology, river management, and so on.

For this institute, principles dictate that both Art Calculation and the study of objects must rank within the top one hundred.

However, if there is a special proficiency, such as in agricultural or medical expertise or knowledge of astronomy and geography, the requirements for Art Calculation and the study of objects can be relaxed.

Those interested should sign up with Master Lu. "

"Now, I will announce the rankings of this examination’s results."

As the results of various subjects came out, most students reacted with joy or sorrow. However, upon seeing the published rankings, some of the titled scholars became restless and stood up to say, "Lord, the students are perplexed!"

"Speak!," Chen Ying nodded.

"Looking at this list... why is there no mention of the Classics assessment results?"

"Of course, there are." Chen Ying looked at them and said, "The primary aim of recruiting students for this academy is to study the texts from the Prefectural Governor’s collection placed in the academy. A basic understanding of foundational texts is a prerequisite, but not the focus here. If one performs exceptionally well in this area, it can contribute towards extra points, but it’s not included in the main ranking score. "

A group of students, turning pale, looked at each other: "Does this mean... the performance in the Classics is not important?"

"I didn’t say that..." Chen Ying shook her head, "I’m just saying that the academy’s admissions mainly depend on the disciplines I’ve just announced.

The Classics and policy questions are related to politics and economics and do not align with the needs of our academy.

After all, our academy is not meant to cultivate Imperial Scholars. "

"But isn’t this unfair to us?"

"How is it unfair?" Chen Ying frowned, "Selecting scholars based on their talents, the criteria is the same for everyone, where does the question of unfairness arise? If you didn’t get selected, it’s only because it’s not your area of strength. How can you claim it’s unfair?"

A group of students were left with their faces turning red with frustration: "Ridiculous, where in this world does an academy prioritize minor paths like the study of objects and Art Calculation, while dismissing the great path of the Classics? What does such an academy stand for?"

"You will understand its significance in the future!" Chen Ying simply couldn’t be bothered to explain further.

The seated Gu Beiquan and others could no longer remain still, as they realized that almost all of them were ranked among the last fifty on the list!

Is Chen Qing... really serious?

"Brother Gu, look..." Several people around him turned their eyes to Gu Beiquan.

At that moment, Gu Beiquan’s face was a complicated mix of darkness, embarrassment, and disbelief.

Gu Beiquan, a member of a scholarly family from the Capital City, was not entirely ignorant of the existence of magicians. Hearing Chen Ying’s introduction of the four academies, he realized that this academy named Yin Yang Academy, was it truly intended to cultivate magicians?

Unable to hold back, he stood up and asked, "Lord Chen, has this... this cultivation of magicians at Lyuzhou Academy been approved by the Imperial Court?"

"Of course..." Chen Ying replied coldly.

Having been with Chen Qing for a while, she too had learned to blurt things out without hesitation...

"Uh..." Gu Beiquan’s face suddenly became indescribable.

He had always thought that Chen Qing was using the guise of magicians but, ultimately, aimed to entice scholars to manage the Provincial Government Office on his behalf.

But if his assumptions were correct, why would he relegate key content like the Classics to a subsidiary role?

"Lord, does the academy not need to cultivate talent to administer the world and manage its political economy?"

Chen Ying gave him a disdainful look: "This academy is the Yin Yang Academy. Being schooled in the Classics, don’t you understand what Yin and Yang are?

As for the statesmen you speak of who deal with politics and economy, there will also be opportunities in the future, but this is not the academy’s focus.

If you have not been admitted, you should leave early and not delay other students’ registration. "

"You!!" Gu Beiquan became so angry that his face turned an iron blue, and standing up, he pointed at her and said, "By disrespecting the statesmen this way, what is Chen Qing trying to do?

Now that Lyuzhou is ridden with discontent, and warriors hold sway, is he trying to force us scholars out of Lyuzhou? "