Atlas of Heaven and Earth-Chapter 30: The Entrusting Party

Chen Chuan passed through the gates of the academy and followed the crowd and signs. At every corner, there was an assistant teacher responsible for guiding, followed by two students, with campus security closely watching.

Previously, he had been informed that the location for the re-examination was still the same place where he had applied for the exam. The examination halls were four old teaching buildings standing side by side, but it was unknown which specific examination hall he would be assigned to.

Before long, the candidates arrived at the passageway in front of the old buildings. Here, the assistant teachers required each student to report their student ID number. After verification, they were assigned to various examination halls according to a form.

After reporting his number, Chen Chuan learned that he was assigned to examination hall number four and was given a number plate with the handwritten number "421'.

He had previously learned that this year's candidates might reach two thousand. According to this, each examination hall was estimated to accommodate about five hundred candidates. If the order was calculated based on a single examination hall, he seemed to be quite far back.

The two double doors of the examination hall were wide open at this moment. There was no need to queue to enter, and upon entering, there was a strong smell of disinfectant. The floor was very clean, with rows of back-to-back long chairs placed on the originally empty training ground. The curtains, which were originally hanging down, were pulled up, allowing a clear view of the outside.

A female teacher standing at the entrance said, "Boys sit on the cyan seats, girls sit on the vermilion seats. Choose your own seat, do not compete with others. The order of the exam is not arranged according to the seating order."

Chen Chuan chose a seat slightly towards the inside and sat down. He estimated that it would definitely not be his turn for a while, and the seats near the entrance were inconvenient due to candidates coming in and out.

The candidates who came in one after another also chose their seats. As one after another sat down, people around started to whisper. He heard many speaking in the dialects of the surrounding towns.

But whether they were from Yangzhi City or the surrounding towns, they all had one thing in common: they were all students from civilian backgrounds, each carrying the dream of crossing social classes to come here for the exam.

A figure passed by, and a candidate about the same age as him sat down next to him. After sitting down, he seemed a bit nervous, turned sideways, raised his hand, and greeted him, "Hello, my name is Fang Zhiming."

Chen Chuan also nodded and said, "Chen Chuan."

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"Classmate Chen, I am number 398, what about you?"Chen Chuan took out his number plate and showed it to him, saying, "Number 421."

Fang's face lit up with joy: "Hey, we're not far apart."

Chen Chuan nodded, but this was quite normal, as those with later numbers naturally chose to sit further inside.

By this time, all the candidates had entered, and the two large doors were closed.

Chen Chuan looked around and saw that the seats were fully occupied. Almost no one who had passed the initial exam gave up on the re-examination, because whether one passed the re-examination or not made a complete difference in treatment. Only by passing could one go higher, and even if one's strength was insufficient, it didn't prevent candidates from coming to try, perhaps luck would be on their side?

He glanced around but didn't see Wei Dong, thinking he must have been assigned to another examination hall.

At this moment, the female teacher who had been standing by the door walked to the front of everyone. Her skin was slightly dark, her appearance ordinary, but her braids were dark and shiny, and she walked lightly and briskly, almost without making a sound.

She stood there looking at everyone, her eyes and expression carrying an indescribable aura. Although she hadn't spoken, the candidates below felt an invisible pressure, and unconsciously, the noise ceased.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, she spoke very seriously: "The examination rules have been noted in the materials given to you a few days ago. Now I will reiterate them. Within the examination hall, no loud noise, no disturbances, no random movement is allowed.

From the moment you enter the waiting area until the exam ends, you are not allowed to leave the examination hall without permission. Violators will be immediately disqualified from the exam upon discovery, and if the circumstances are serious, the student qualification will also be revoked."

The examination hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The female teacher paused for a while, then said again: "All candidates wait here now, hold your number plates, and go to the examination point to report when your name is called."

The candidates could only wait patiently.

However, this wait lasted more than three hours, and by past ten o'clock, it still hadn't started. Chen Chuan couldn't help but think: "Is this intentionally arranged, or is there another reason?"

At the same time, in the auditorium, Master Gao from the Admissions Office, Yue Hong, Bian Feng, and six other teachers responsible for the school's exams were waiting at the steps.

As a black luxury car drove in from outside the gate and stopped in front of the auditorium, a middle-aged man in his forties with a narrow face got out. He was wearing a black imported suit, his hair slicked with gel, and he wore a pair of dark gray gloves.Master Gao said, "Commissioner Jiang, we have been waiting for a long time."

Commissioner Jiang said, "Oh? Am I late?"

A teacher surnamed Ning, responsible for communication, hurriedly said, "Just on time, Commissioner Jiang is very punctual."

Commissioner Jiang said, "That's good, shall we start now?"

"Yes, please sign here, Commissioner Jiang."

Teacher Ning hurriedly handed over the prepared documents and materials.

An assistant next to Commissioner Jiang stepped forward to take them and then placed them in front of him.

Commissioner Jiang was a third party hired by the school council to supervise the school's external enrollment examination. The re-examination could only proceed with his presence and signature. However, by now, this role had become more inclined towards a fund donor, representing the donor in exercising power.

He saw that there were two lists in the document folder, the top one being the list of candidates for the entrance examination in the old building, and the bottom one being the list of recommended students in the auditorium.

Without even looking, he set aside the top list and directly picked up the list of recommended students, carefully browsing through it. He then looked up and asked, "Have all the candidates in the auditorium arrived?"

Teacher Ning said, "They all arrived five minutes ago."

Commissioner Jiang said, "Then let's examine the recommended students first. There must be an order of priority, and besides, there aren't many of them. It won't take much time to finish their examination."

As he spoke, he took the pen handed over by his assistant, quickly signed the list, and then directly put the cap back on the pen, leaving the second list untouched.

Teacher Ning looked at him, wanting to say something but hesitated.

Master Gao didn't say anything about it, just said, "Then let's hurry up."

Commissioner Jiang said, "Yes, we shouldn't keep the candidates waiting." He looked at his watch and said, "It's now a quarter past ten. I ask the teachers and students serving as examiners this time to be serious and responsible. Let's try to finish within an hour."

In the reception hall of the auditorium, dozens of recommended students were waiting in this well-lit room. They sat on sofas, with the aroma of tea that invigorates the spirit floating from the white porcelain teacups on the table. In the corner, there was a gramophone playing soothing and melodious music, and their attendants would occasionally come up to pour tea and add water.

A senior student sent by the school was staying with them, naturally a recommended student himself.The recommended students waited for more than ten minutes and felt quite bored. Someone asked, "Senior Jiang, I heard that many students were admitted to Wuyi this year?"

Senior Jiang said, "With the expansion of enrollment, of course, it increases year by year."

"Then there should also be many students receiving funding from the Mutual Aid Society this year, right?"

Senior Jiang chuckled and said, "That depends on personal choice; we never force anyone."

The student raised an eyebrow and said, "What, is there anyone unwilling?"

Senior Jiang smiled faintly and said, "That's quite normal. Those unwilling to accept it show they have confidence in passing the re-examination on their own, which is good. People should rely on themselves, just don't complain later."

At this moment, another candidate impatiently said, "Why is it so slow? Isn't it just a formality? What time is it already?"

Footsteps sounded outside the reception hall, and a high-ranking school official walked in. He looked at everyone and smiled, saying, "Candidates, the re-examination starts now. Please enter the examination points according to your numbers."

There were a total of six examination windows set up in the auditorium. After confirming the start of the examination, the assistant teachers began to call out the numbers.

One candidate was somewhat absent-minded. When his number was called, he didn't notice, and his attendant quickly reminded him, "Young master, it's your turn."

The candidate complained, "Why so troublesome?" He stood up from his seat and walked in along the passage, but less than five minutes later, he walked out.

Someone curiously asked, "Xiao Ran, how was it?"

Xiao Ran shook his head and said disdainfully, "What else? I didn't even warm up, and it was over."

Someone joked, "Seeing you with nowhere to vent, how about going "hunting' later?"

Xiao Ran's eyes lit up, "Alright."

The recommended students were soon called for the next batch. They went in one by one and came out quickly. In about three quarters of an hour, all the assessments were over, but the subsequent tidying up took another half hour.

Teacher Ning saw that it was almost over and found Commissioner Jiang again, saying, "Commissioner Jiang, the assessment here is over. Can the admission process in the old teaching building start now?"

Commissioner Jiang looked at his watch and said, "It's almost noon, let's go for lunch first."

Teacher Ning said, "Commissioner Jiang, look, there are so many candidates waiting over there? They came early in the morning..."“What?”

Commissioner Jiang said in surprise, “Do the candidates of Wuyi have so little patience? What we are testing is not just the martial level of the candidates.”

“This...”

Master Gao decisively spoke up from the side: “Ning Guo, Yue Hong, you accompany Commissioner Jiang to lunch.”

“Alright.”

Teacher Ning and Yue Hong had no choice but to agree.

After waiting for Commissioner Jiang to leave with his entourage, a teacher said, “Master Gao, this...”

Master Gao said, “Don’t come to me to complain, the client is just those guys sent specifically to annoy us, everyone just do your own job.”

Bian Feng said, “But so many candidates are waiting.”

Master Gao glanced at him and said, “What’s wrong with waiting a bit? He’s right about one thing, do the candidates of Wuyi have so little patience? If they can’t wait, they can leave early, no one is stopping them.”

……

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