Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: First Venture into Jianghu
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The conditions to pass the aptitude assessment were simple.
Score fifty points on the practical and fifty on the written test, for a combined total of over seventy.
If Seoran scored just twenty on the written test, she would have her travel permit in hand.
The written exam consisted of five questions.
Each worth ten points.
Naturally, Seoran got them all wrong.
Seoran returned home with a perfect zero exam paper in hand.
"I'm back."
Yi Agum, who had been dusting and throwing out trash, greeted her.
"Sister, how'd the exam go?"
Seoran shook her head side to side.
Her lips drooped in a way that made her look utterly dejected.
She seemed like someone who had just received a terminal diagnosis.
Yi Agum liked to tease.
But she wasn't heartless enough to mock someone who had failed an exam.
So she changed the subject.
"You must have skipped meals to take the test. Want some rice cakes?"
"I just wanna sleep..."
Seoran slipped into the bathtub.
Then curled up like a pill bug.
She just wanted to be alone.
Yi Agum first returned to her lodging, then visited again early the next morning.
Having shaken off her self-loathing, Seoran stuffed rice cakes into her mouth and said,
"I got careless this time. Next time will be different."
Seoran made a bold declaration.
And set out to gather information.
The pass or fail of the exam usually came down to having information or not.
The written test was in a question bank format.
They prepared countless problems in advance and selected five for each exam.
When her prediction proved correct, Seoran grinned smugly.
Of course.
They couldn't create new questions every time someone took the test.
Just memorize all the past questions, and you're done.
So she dashed straight to the Scripture Pavilion.
"Give me every past exam collection for the Secular Conduct Guidelines."
The librarian hauled out eight boxes stacked waist-high from the warehouse.
"Huh?"
"Do you have a ferry boat?"
"Out there..."
"Then we'll load it for you."
Several Qi Building cultivators working at the Scripture Pavilion began carefully loading the boxes onto Seoran's ferry boat.
All this is past exams?
Not bamboo slips, but books—and that many?
Not some imperial exam—when am I supposed to read all this?
The Secular Conduct Guidelines were indeed a question bank format.
But they occasionally added new questions irregularly when a good judgment came along.
Over thousands of years, that resulted in an absurdly massive pile of past questions that defied common sense.
At this point, it practically wasn't a question bank anymore.
Seoran boarded her ferry boat and headed home.
It was so heavy the boat barely moved.
*****
Seoran suddenly found herself a full-time student.
She mobilized her tireless body and ever-clear mind for studying.
Time flew by like an arrow.
Summer passed, and autumn arrived.
Then came news she had forgotten about amid her studies.
Ding-a-ling!
The bell from the Scripture Pavilion started ringing on its own.
The review of "Puppet Research Studies" had finally finished, and it was time for her reward.
Seoran left home amid the bell's clamorous ringing.
At the Scripture Pavilion, Seoran met with the handler.
"Puppet Research Studies" was to be stored in the vault for now.
It was too advanced a book for Seoran to read yet.
Next came the reward.
The research tome was undoubtedly authentic, and the value of the recorded studies was immeasurable.
Seoran received an乙-grade reward token.
The Black Bamboo Sect's reward system had four tiers: 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁.
乙-grade was the second best from the top.
If it hadn't been a niche subject like puppetry, she might have gotten an 甲-grade token.
She went to the reward office and submitted the token.
An attendant led her down a long spiral staircase.
It was a grand treasure vault carved out from the inside of a mountain.
Soon, they arrived before a door engraved with "乙-grade."
The massive door, impossible to believe was man-made, opened on its own.
Countless dharma artifacts were on display.
Dharma artifacts were wondrous items made by cultivators using spiritual power.
Flying ferry boats, wooden puppets that moved like living things, talismans for crossing the Great Barrier.
Mysteries no mortal could even imitate.
Seoran followed the attendant, listening to explanations.
"What's this one?"
"That's an offensive dharma artifact. When the owner recites the incantation, it's a sword that flies unceasingly until it pierces the target."
"Is this a shield?"
"A large mirror. Reflect your opponent in it, and it burns them to ash."
"And this?"
"An incense burner that spews thick fog. It can engulf a whole city in an instant."
There were so many different dharma artifacts it was hard to choose.
So she asked the attendant for a recommendation.
"Investigator Ryu cultivates an earth-affinity technique, correct?"
"Yes, the Pure Earth Consolidation Art."
"Then this should be perfect."
The attendant pointed to a stone lotus.
In the center of the massively blooming lotus was space for one person to sit.
"This dharma artifact is called the Stone Lotus. Among flying artifacts, it's one of the fastest and sturdiest. It fixes the rider in place during flight, so no worry of falling even in acrobatic maneuvers. If it didn't have the drawback of only working with Pure Earth Spiritual Power, it would have been 甲-grade."
Seoran listened to the explanation while scrutinizing the lotus.
The creator must have had superb aesthetic sense; even carved from stone, it felt like a living flower.
It was practically artwork.
Only, it was a bit large.
"It's great, but looks hard to store."
The attendant smiled and recited an incantation.
The large Stone Lotus closed its petals and began to shrink.
When it became a bud, it was the size of a child's fist.
The surprised Seoran asked,
"It gets lighter too, right?"
"Of course. Try holding it."
When she took it, it really was light.
No heavier than a single potato.
"Well? Does it suit you?"
"Yes, it fits perfectly."
Seoran was already enchanted by the Stone Lotus.
The attendant had an "I knew it" expression.
*****
The Stone Lotus's performance was incomparable to a shared ferry boat.
Lightning acceleration, rapid deceleration, top speed, maneuverability—nothing lacking.
Even flying upside down, her fixed body didn't fall.
Seoran quickly developed a hobby of riding the flying dharma artifact.
Freely soaring through the open sky with no obstacles was pure joy.
This must be why people risk their lives skydiving.
Savoring her hobby let her dive even deeper into her studies.
When studying got stuffy, she'd ride the Stone Lotus.
After basking in that sense of freedom, she'd sit back down with her books.
The year ended, and spring came.
Many things had happened.
Roasting sweet potatoes with Yi Agum amid falling leaves.
Training martial arts amicably with Ho Hye-mun.
Geum Yeongyeong of the Gold Forge Sect sending a letter all the way to the Black Bamboo Sect.
And finally, acing the aptitude assessment with a perfect score.
After over half a year of effort, Seoran had memorized every past question.
It would have been impossible without her genius intellect, tireless body, and study experience from her past life.
A true triumph of the human spirit.
She could have passed the written with a casual twenty points.
There was no need to aim for fifty.
But Seoran did it anyway.
Seoran returned like a victorious general, perfect-score exam in hand.
Yi Agum and Ho Hye-mun, waiting at home, silently clapped.
They had watched up close how hard she had worked.
The three hugged and shared their emotions.
Then immediately launched into talk of the secular world.
"Sister, decided on a travel route?"
"Not yet."
"Investigator Ryu, you have to visit the Liang Kingdom capital at least once in your life."
Ho Hye-mun, who had grown close lately, chimed in.
She was no fool.
Over the past half year with Seoran, she had realized something.
Seoran didn't particularly love puppetry.
It had all been Ho Hye-mun's grand misunderstanding.
But learning the truth didn't distance them.
The initial misunderstanding was just the spark.
Seoran herself was a good friend.
Ho Hye-mun and Seoran had become true friends.
Yi Agum too, of course.
"My friend said the southwest region's famous for roast duck. So good even royals visit often."
The plan came together quickly.
The Black Bamboo Sect was in the central-western Liang Kingdom.
First, head east to tour the capital.
Then fly southwest for duck dishes.
Finally, north back to the sect.
No flaws, no matter how she thought about it.
Seoran fell asleep with excited anticipation and rose early.
She had already said goodbyes to acquaintances yesterday.
She slung her pre-packed luggage and sat on the Stone Lotus.
She shot straight into the sky and accelerated.
Mountains and clouds seemed sucked behind her.
The Great Barrier was upon her in no time.
Seoran pulled out her travel permit, talisman-shaped.
She activated the dharma artifact with a spell.
The spiritual power sucked into the talisman shot forward, punching a small hole in the Great Barrier.
Beyond it lay the secular world.
Seoran didn't hesitate and passed through the Great Barrier.
Now, off to the capital.