What a pity. If the ruins revealed in Beauty Mountain really are the Sacred Ancestor Cuboid, then it would be the eleventh Sacred Ancestor Cuboid unearthed in the world so far, and the fifth one located within the borders of Yiguo. Some of the previous ones have already been turned into museums or cultural attractions, and Grace Brooks has already visited them all.

At present, no one seems to have discovered the remains of the Sacred Ancestor inside, at least there has been no official news, and the academic community has not defined the cuboids as tombs.

There are, however, plenty of wild rumors.

All in all, it’s like the tomb of some famous person from a previous era being discovered—surprising and worth sharing, maybe the locals will talk about it with great interest, but it’s not that big of a deal.

Grace Brooks was very interested.

At this moment, Professor Brooks spoke again, still staring at the news broadcast: “When the rain stops and the authorities decide to open the cuboid, I might need an assistant. You’d be a good fit.”

“Can I do it?”

“I’ll tell them I know someone who understands the Xia Dynasty, especially the Sacred Ancestor period, even better than I do.”

“If it works out, I’ll treat you to chicken drumsticks.”

Footsteps sounded, and Grace Brooks’s mother walked over from behind, her tone stern: “You’re talking to him about this during the big exams—what if it affects his performance?”

Professor Brooks focused on the news, not daring to make a sound.

Grace Brooks just chuckled foolishly.

After watching the news, he returned to his room, turned on the computer, and logged into “Kuanzhai Alley.”

Mr. Cat: I took a look, it’s fine

Mr. Cat: ?

Mr. Cat: Where are you?

Mr. Cat: I’m numb here

Mr. Cat: Unless you say you’re the proctor, I won’t forgive you this time no matter what

Vegetable and Pearl Soup: I forgot

Mr. Cat: Are you an educator or something?

Vegetable and Pearl Soup: /shivering

Mr. Cat: If all goes well, I’ll hire someone to place the item behind that cemetery on the night of the sixth next month. Go get it as soon as possible, don’t lose it. The item isn’t expensive, but getting it into Yiguo is a hassle, you know that.

Vegetable and Pearl Soup: Got it

Mr. Cat: Mm

……

The last day of the big exam, afternoon.

The Rune Basics test paper was really easy for Grace Brooks; the three-hour exam took him less than an hour to finish most of the questions.

The last few big questions did take a bit more time, mainly because he had to write out a lot of runes.

As he worked, something interesting happened—

The final big question was an obviously far-beyond-the-syllabus competition problem. Although it only required outlining the approach and not a full solution, it was still extremely, extremely difficult.

The kind of question where the teacher who wrote it should have a son born without an anus.

A classic “grade suppression” question.

Grace Brooks could guarantee that hardly any students would get points for it—yes, get points, not full marks.

Even for him, it took more than forty minutes to come up with an approach.

How did he know so clearly it was over forty minutes?

Because a few days ago, he’d seen this exact question in Lily Carter’s book, with only negligible differences. Back then, it took him over forty minutes to figure out the general approach, and he only managed to work out the full solution after consulting Mr. Reed.

How interesting!

Finished, checked, and handed in his paper amid the stunned faces of his classmates, feeling quite pleased.

He strode out of the exam room.

A few familiar-looking reporters were standing at the door—they were from Yuanzhou TV, ready to interview the first student to leave the exam room. Standard procedure for local TV stations, nothing surprising.

Grace Brooks just put on a mask in advance and didn’t refuse the interview.

“Could you please introduce yourself?”

“Skip that part, let’s hurry, I’m in a rush.”

“…Then, may I ask your surname?”

“No need for formalities, my surname is Ning.”

“Which school are you from, Student Ning?”

“Sixth Academy.”

“Why did you finish so early, Student Ning?”

“The questions were so easy, even a dog could do them.”

“So you’re very confident?”

“More or less.”

“Oh? May I ask which university you aspire to attend?”

“Yujing University.”

“Wow! Impressive! By the way, why are you wearing a mask?”

“Wearing a mask is a good habit, you wouldn’t understand.”

“All right, then is there anything you’d like to say to the viewers?”

“Yes.”

Grace Brooks nodded seriously, adjusted his mask, and then said to the camera what he’d wanted to say for a long time: “Why hasn’t Princess Vermilion been showing her thighs when she dances lately?”

“??”

“Don’t listen to those people online! You should wear less, wear shorter—public figures should set a good example and firmly uphold the freedom to dress as you like!”

“…Student Ning, you really have personality. Could you take off your mask so we can see your face?”

“Goodbye.”

Chapter 7: Deep Sisterly Affection

“With the end of the last subject, this year’s big exam officially concluded this afternoon. No attacks occurred anywhere in the country during the exam period, so it ended smoothly. Yuanzhou TV interviewed the first student to hand in their paper at the third exam site in Baishi. Let’s hear what Student Carter had to say—

‘Skip that part…

‘So easy, even a dog could do it…

‘Why hasn’t Princess Vermilion been showing her thighs when she dances lately…’”