“You have to be at the academy by five every morning, and during the morning lessons, we’ll be taught by the teachers of the Prosperous Scholar Pavilion. For the rest of the day, we’ll be taught martial arts by the instructors of the Thriving Martial School. If you need to be absent for some reason, you have to apply for leave. The entire cohort is taught together in the Prosperous Scholar Pavilion, but the Thriving Martial School is divided into the outer school, the inner school, and the advanced school...”

Chu Qiguang nodded along as he listened. Even though the martial examination was primarily a test of martial arts, there was an academic element to it as well. However, it was far easier than the academic examination, and it was essentially just a formality.

The outer school was for students who were first-state martial artists. The curriculum mostly consisted of building a solid foundation and acclimating to cultivation in the academy, and the instructors were only second-state martial artists.

Upon reaching the second state, a student would advance to the inner school, where they would be taught by third-state martial artist instructors.

The advanced school was reserved for students who were third-state martial artists, and Principal Wang Yan personally served as the instructor of the advanced school. He was once a wujuren, but had retired more than twenty years ago. He was one of the most respected figures in the county, and he had been teaching at Wise Hero Academy ever since he returned to the county after his retirement.

Only the students in the advanced school were eligible to take part in the imperial martial examination, so they were naturally regarded as the academy’s most important students.

Of course, Wang Cailiang and Chu Qiguang had to start off in the outer school.

The academic lessons of the academy began at five every morning, and the martial arts lessons started two hours after that. Those lessons would then continue until the end of the school day at three in the afternoon.

Lunch could be had in the cafeteria, or students could bring their own lunches if they chose to do so.

The academy’s daily schedule is really packed, and given that most of the day is spent on martial arts lessons, it’s probably not going to be any easier than the training of a professional athlete.

Song Yixuan led Chu Qiguang and Wang Cailiang into a lecture hall in the Prosperous Scholar Pavilion, where a lesson was currently underway.

Song Yixuan introduced Chu Qiguang and Wang Cailiang to the instructor on the stage, then ushered the two into the hall before leaving.

Perhaps because martial arts and Dao arts existed in this world, the literary content in the Great Han Empire wasn’t as diverse as what it had been back on Earth.

I suppose the wealthy and powerful people of this world are too busy pursuing cultivation to try and live a bit longer, so there are bound to be fewer people studying things like philosophy and politics.

For their academic lessons, martial students only had to study a single book simply named “Rites”. It contained content pertaining to etiquette, aesthetics, morality, and the politics and ideas of notable figures throughout history, but the entire book was only a little over twenty thousand characters long.

The questions in the academic segment of the martial examination would be taken solely from this one book, and this had been the case for the entire history of the Great Han Empire.

Over the years, the book had been studied extensively and thoroughly dissected, and all possible questions had already been compiled. As a result, students didn’t even have to actually read the book. Instead, they just had to practice answering sample questions until they memorized all of the answers.

At this point, the academic segment of the martial examination was really nothing but a formality, and martial arts ability was essentially the sole determining factor in whether one passed the examination or not.

After the lesson, all the students split up into groups to chat with one another.

Chu Qiguang didn’t know a single one of them, so he could only remain in his seat and watch in silence.

Wang Cailiang was familiar with a few of the students, and Chu Qiguang could already hear him bragging to them.

“You all know about my aptitude for martial arts. I actually reached the first state a long time ago, but I thought I’d hide my power for a few years. I only came to the academy because I couldn’t stand my father’s constant nagging. Man, what’s wrong with this uniform? It feels really uncomfortable! Then again, that’s only natural, considering I’m used to wearing robes that cost at least fifty taels of silver each.”

Chu Qiguang couldn’t help but roll his eyes in exasperation, then requested inwardly, Master Qiao, tell me about the students here.

Qiao Zhi was resting on the rafters, and he yawned lazily, then replied, The ones talking to Wang Cailiang are all children of wealthy landowners from other villages...

Through Qiao Zhi’s descriptions, Chu Qiguang quickly familiarized himself with the students and discovered that they had all split into factions based on their backgrounds.

The students around Wang Cailiang were of similar status to him, while the second faction consisted of the children that came from households that ran businesses in the county town.

The third and final faction consisted of the children of past and current officials.

Chu Qiguang felt rather intrigued as he observed these three factions and the different behaviors that they exhibited.

Wang Cailiang and the children of the other village landowners were essentially the bottom feeders of the academy. Most of them were only aiming to reach the third state so that they could pass the local martial examination to gain the wusheng title, and very few believed they had any real chance of passing the provincial martial examination.

The children of the county town’s business households chatted among themselves while occasionally trying to get close to the children of the officials. At the same time, they were subtly keeping their distance from Wang Cailiang’s group, seemingly looking down on them. They were stuck in the middle, despising the bottom feeders while simultaneously aspiring to surpass the upper elites above them.

As for the children of the officials, they carried themselves with an air of arrogance, and they were all imitating how the seniors of their clans spoke to their colleagues in the officialdom. Their circle had an untouchable air, and they clearly thought themselves to be above everyone else.

Despite their diverse backgrounds, everyone had bright futures ahead.

Among the children of the officials, one person in particular caught Chu Qiguang’s attention.

He was a tall, handsome young man. Unlike most of his peers, he appeared much more approachable, treating everyone in a calm and easygoing manner. Many of the other students were trying to get close to him, and while he still made sure to keep his distance, he also ensured that no one felt slighted or looked down on.

That’s Ding Daoxiao, Qiao Zhi sighed.

Aside from Ding Daoxiao, there was also a well-built, dark-skinned young man who appeared to be an important figure in the group.

That’s Hao Yongtai of the Hao Clan, the same Hao Clan that’s trying to secure a plot of the Wang Clan’s land as the site for their clan’s ancestral tomb, Qiao Zhi introduced.

Chu Qiguang nodded in response.

Twenty years ago, the leader of the Hao Clan was Hao Zhiyuan, Qiao Zhi continued. At the peak of his political career, he was the governor general of the Dian Province. Unfortunately, the Hao Clan has been on a steady decline ever since his passing. None of his descendants have been able to secure the title of wujinshi, and the clan’s influence in the officialdom has waned significantly.

That said, the Hao Clan is still a force to be reckoned with in Azure Sun County, and they own at least a hundred thousand acres of farmland. What you’re seeing right now isn’t even the best of the county’s upper elite. There are some very important people who aren’t here right now.

Who are they? Chu Qiguang asked.