That building was the Jia block of Tiandao Academy. Watching Ethan Brooks walk into the building, many people were indifferent, but the young man in blue, Samuel Turner, who had ended the assessment early and naturally succeeded in entering Tiandao Academy, looked at Ethan Brooks deeply twice. He also didn’t think Ethan Brooks could pass the assessment, but he greatly admired the other’s seriousness and even stubbornness, because it easily reminded him of himself. At that moment, the vice dean of Tiandao Academy appeared beside him and said with a smile, “Do you think that boy has a chance? I don’t think so. Who was the last person to enter Tiandao Academy as an ordinary person? That person was called William Parker, and on this continent, it’s been hundreds of years since someone like William Parker has appeared.”

William Parker was once a legendary figure on this continent. At the end of the Taizu era, he entered Tiandao Academy at the young age of sixteen, as an ordinary person who had never cultivated. After graduating from Tiandao Academy, he worked as a regular clerk in the court, until the age of forty, when suddenly, one night in the capital, there was a long howl; William Parker comprehended the Dao overnight and began cultivating. In just a few short years, he reached the peak, and eventually became the deputy commander of the human coalition army, playing a decisive role in the great victory over the demon race. To this day, his portrait still hangs in the Lingyan Pavilion.

The world has not seen William Parker for a long time.

Samuel Turner said, “I also don’t think he can pass the assessment, nor do I think he is the next William Parker, but I believe that if one wants to become someone as remarkable as William Parker, at the very least, one must possess the unyielding spirit that boy just showed, and live with enough rigor—I’ve never thought that talent is so impressive. The truly most terrifying people are those who are the harshest on themselves.”

The vice dean shook his head and said, “Back then, when William Parker studied at the clan school, he ate cold porridge in the freezing snow and never put his books down. How much of that can this boy learn?”

Samuel Turner said, “At the very least, that boy is far stronger than the rest of the mediocre crowd.”

The vice dean glanced at him and said, “As expected of Olivia Turner, your way of seeing things and people is always so different.”

Samuel Turner frowned slightly and said, “Please call me Samuel Turner.”

The vice dean laughed and said, “Once you enter my Tiandao Academy, I suppose your name will change again.”

Samuel Turner said seriously, “That is inevitable.”

The vice dean glanced at the building, sensing the faint fragrance wafting from the windows, and asked, “Are you going to keep waiting?”

Samuel Turner said, “Yes.”

The vice dean asked, “Why?”

Samuel Turner said, “Although it’s impossible for him to pass, I really want to know what score he’ll get.”

……

……

The test papers on the desk were extremely thick, like a small mountain. Ethan Brooks didn’t know the specific content of the papers and inevitably felt a bit nervous—everyone knew that the reason Tiandao Academy was so hard to get into was because the entrance exam covered everything: from the true meaning of Daoist scriptures to the initial debates of the Heavenly Book, to military strategy, and even often included questions about agriculture. Even those who had perfected their marrow cleansing found it difficult to finish all the questions before the incense burned out, let alone someone like him, an ordinary person.

He sat at the desk, closed his eyes and rested for five breaths, then opened them, reached out, and lifted the first page of the test paper. As he did this, his emotions were a bit complicated—there was curiosity about the unknown, a vague unease from who knows where, and yet also a bit of inexplicable anticipation.

His fingers suddenly froze, and a trace of confusion flashed in his bright, mirror-like eyes.

It was said that the Tiandao Academy’s exam questions were very difficult. If they tested the essence of the scriptures, they would often pick the most obscure passages from the most remote places. But why… did the very first question on the first page look so familiar? The debate between Censhenzi and the seventh generation Pope on the thirty-one true meanings? When had he seen this before? It seemed to be when he was three years old… It was a small, inconspicuous section in the Huainan commentary on the Nanhua Classic, but he was sure he had read it, memorized it, and had reviewed and memorized it again at ages five and eleven.

Familiar was an understatement—he knew these by heart.

Ethan Brooks was a bit puzzled, but after all, he was still a boy, and more than anything, he felt delighted. He didn’t think further, picked up the ink brush, and began copying onto the paper those passages and insights from the sages that filled his mind. Then he turned to the second page, and as expected, saw another familiar passage…

The Dao encompasses all things; the entrance exam questions for Tiandao Academy were almost all found within the three thousand volumes.

Those three thousand volumes, he could recite backwards.

How could such an exam possibly be difficult for him?

Chapter 7 Ethan Turner Meet

When the incense burned out, a golden bell sounded, signaling the end of this round of student exams. Ethan Brooks walked out of the building with the other examinees, ignoring the strange looks directed at him, and followed the instructions to the stone terrace behind the lake where the results would be posted at dusk.

Most of the others remained in front of the building, comparing answers or lamenting the difficulty of the exam. When he arrived behind the lake, the stone terrace was still quiet, with only the young man in blue, who had previously shone so brightly, standing by the lakeside. He thought that geniuses were inevitably aloof, so he didn’t approach, but unexpectedly, the other walked over to him.

“My name is Samuel Turner,” the young man in blue said.