Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 56: Test

The Protectionists that had locked onto these targets were hoping to track down some big fish through them, but their patience instantly ran out once Dongfang Sansan issued that string of orders.

Of course, there were also some who continued to play the waiting game.

The fifth-year students of White Cloud Warrior Academy were also taking part in the operation, and they could often be seen flying over the city.

In contrast, Fang Che did nothing the entire day, using this time to observe his colleagues in the administration halls.

There were people constantly coming and going, with some people even making over a dozen trips in a day, but there were also some who remained in the hall the entire day without going anywhere.

Sometimes, someone would come in and declare: "We need backup!"

This would be instantly followed by dozens of people storming out at once.

There was virtually no need for coordination at all, and everyone seemed to be aware at all times of whose turn it was to go.

People from the battle hall were constantly coming in for backup, but there were at least fifty administrators on call at all times.

Throughout the course of the day, Fan Tiantiao visited the battle hall over ten times and the administration halls several times, barely ever getting a break in between.

Among the people calling for backup, some of them had invented secret codes that they used to communicate with members of their own cliques, and that was only further adding to the chaotic commotion.

"Black Mountain, where you at? The clouds have risen! Hurry!"

"There are fish in the North Sea! Let's go!"

Fang Che couldn't help but feel embarrassed for these people, but not only were they not embarrassed of themselves, they seemed to be very pleased with their esoteric codes, as if communicating in terms that no one else understood was something to take pride in.

Fang Che could only heave a resigned sigh.

***

As the compensation from the other branch helms began to arrive, Fang Che's branch helm was accumulating astonishing amounts of wealth.

All the while, over fifty people were frantically memorizing the White Cloud Prefecture Code with looks of concern and agitation on their faces.

All of them possessed decent aptitude and learning ability, but it was surely impossible for anyone to memorize such a thick book in a single day!

Many of them had already given up hope and were staring off into space in despair.

The sense of hopelessness was felt particularly strongly by the Grandmasters. They were all much older than the Lords from the main church, and their memorization abilities had waned considerably with age.

It felt like as soon as they flipped over a page, they would completely forget the contents of the previous page, and they were left scratching their heads in frustration and agitation.

"How about we set a goal for ourselves?" Zhao Wushang suggested. "For example, let's only focus on the first one hundred pages today. That would make things a lot easier."

"But is Helmsmaster Starlight only going to test us on the first one hundred pages?"

"Surely he can't expect us to memorize everything in one day!"

"You go talk to the helmsmaster then!"

Zhao Wushang immediately fell silent.

I'm not doing that! What if he beats me up for raising the idea?

Thus, everyone continued to toil away in despair.

"I never thought I'd have to memorize a legal code!"

"Me, neither. Come to think of it, the last time I had to memorize a book was back when I was seven years old."

In contrast with the men, the women were very quiet, gathering together to memorize the legal code in silence. They would close their eyes to recite what they had just read in their hearts, then move onto the next page.

These people were so conscientious in their studies that even a champion scholar would be put to shame! Even while they were eating, they were still flipping through the pages of the legal code!

"If only this was a jade slip. That way, we could just slap it against our foreheads, and everything would be instantly transmitted into our minds!"

Everyone's eyes instantly lit up upon hearing this. However, their excitement quickly died down again as they realized that there wasn't enough time to create any jade slips, and it wasn't like any of them possessed the ability to do so anyway.

In order to brainwash themselves into making the task feel a little easier, some people began chanting to themselves in encouragement.

"I love learning!"

"Learning makes me happy!"

"Learning makes me feel fulfilled!"

"I feel so happy and fulfilled right now!"

In the blink of an eye, it was already dusk.

"How has the day passed by so quickly? I feel like I've barely memorized anything, and it's already the afternoon!"

"I'm so screwed!"

Unfortunately, their collective wails of despair did nothing to slow down the passage of time.

As the sky began to darken, everyone became more and more anxious.

"When does Helmsmaster Starlight usually turn up?"

"Usually at around midnight."

"Oh, thank heavens! We still have some time then."

Zhao Wushang stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth while continuing to flip through the pages of the legal code with his spare hand.

With his attention completely focused on the legal code, he stuffed another steamed bun into his mouth while the first one was still in there, giving him the appearance of a hamster with its cheeks stuffed full.

All of a sudden, he extended his neck slightly, and his throat bulged as a ball of barely-chewed food slid down his oesophagus.

The women were a bit more elegant and refined, eating their food in small bites, but they weren't slow at all, either.

They had each prepared themselves a large bowl of water, and whenever the food became too difficult to swallow, they would wash it down with a gulp of water while continuing to frantically memorize the legal code.

At the same time, they were constantly stealing worried glances at the entrance of the branch helm, terrified that Starlight would suddenly show up without warning.

Finally, in the dead of night, the gates of the branch helm swung open, and Starlight came trundling in on a horse-drawn carriage.

Everyone let loose a collective groan of despair.

Fang Che jumped down from the carriage, then instructed, "Get all of the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones out of the carriage. They'll be what you use to take the test today."

In stark contrast with everyone's sullen expressions, Fang Che wore a wide smile as he made his way into the hall and asked, "How did it go? Did you all have a fruitful day of learning?"

One of the women raised the thick legal code, and tears were swimming in her eyes as she complained, "Helmsmaster, this thing is too thick! How could we possibly memorize it in one day?"

"Who told you to memorize everything? I'm only going to test you on the first quarter today!"

Everyone's eyes instantly widened in hope and elation.

"Is that true, Helmsmaster?"

"Of course it is!"

"Oh, thank you! Long live the helmsmaster!"

Everyone instantly erupted into cheers before hurriedly flipping the legal code back to the first page.

"I'll give you all another two hours to prepare before the test begins."

Everyone was extremely touched by Fang Che's repeated gestures of generosity.

"Helmsmaster Starlight is a good man!"

"Long live the helmsmaster!"

"Helmsmaster Starlight, I love you!" one of the women yelled.

"You love me? Then marry me!"

The woman immediately lowered her head and fell silent, while Starlight glowered at her in bitter disappointment.

They knew that it would be unwise to laugh at Starlight's misfortune, but everyone was still struggling to contain their amusement, particularly at the sight of Starlight's sullen and indignant expression.

Fang Che grabbed a legal code of his own, and as everyone peered at him in secret out of the corner of their eyes, they discovered that he was remaining true to his word, flipping open only the first quarter before creasing a corner of the page to serve as a bookmark.

Everyone else hurriedly did the same.

After that, Starlight sat down onto his throne and began to flip through the legal code page by page, clearly searching for questions.

Everyone hurriedly returned their attention to their own legal codes, and two hours quickly passed by.

"Close your legal codes and hand them to me!" Fang Che ordered.

Everyone began walking as slowly as they could toward Starlight with their books still open, trying to memorize just one last little bit more.

"Get your own chairs and stationery, then sit down with gaps of at least ten feet between each person."

Everyone quickly did as they were told.

"No talking or copying is permitted during the test. Anyone caught doing so will receive a hundred whip lashes before being banished from the branch helm. The test will contain a total of a hundred questions, with each question worth one point, and the pass mark is sixty. Anyone who scores over ninety-eight will get to live in a room on their own without having to share lodging with anyone else."

Everyone's eyes instantly lit up in excitement at the prospect of such a tantalizing reward. Back home, all of them had rooms to themselves, and they found it truly unbearable sleeping in the same room with others.

All the snoring, teeth-grinding, farting... It was a horrendous experience for everyone!

"I will be splitting you up into five squads, and those who score above ninety-eight will be assigned as the squad captains. As for those who score below sixty, if you score fifty-nine, you'll receive twenty whip lashes, and each point you score below that will add ten more whip lashes to that tally. Anyone who scores below forty-five will be banished outright! Understood?"

"Understood!"

"Alright, then let's begin. I'll read out the one hundred questions for all of you to transcribe, and you can then write out your answers on another sheet of paper."

Everyone immediately began listening intently.

Fang Che read out the questions one by one, while everyone else furiously transcribed the questions from brush to paper.