Chapter 12: The Hall of Five Thousand Scholars
The dawn over Sanctuary Port did not break with the soft chirping of birds, but with the resonant, soul-stirring toll of the Great Sage Bell. It was a sound that vibrated through the white jade buildings, traveled across the mercury lake, and settled deep within the Dantians of every cultivator in the city.
Today was the day of the Annual Supreme Teacher Entrance Exam for the Sage Continent's Southern Sector.
Tian Mo stood before a floor-to-ceiling window in the West Wing guest hall. He was already dressed in his signature snow-white robes, his long black hair tied back with a simple silver ribbon. His face was a mask of tranquil indifference, but internally, the world felt… different.
[System Status: Sleep Mode — Optimization 12%...]
The golden "Active Scan" that usually highlighted flaws in real-time was gone. There were no red lines tracing the weaknesses of the walls, no pop-up windows detailing the heartbeat of the guards outside. The Divine Library was like a dormant beast, its vast shelves still accessible to his memory, but its "eyes" were shut.
"Master, the carriage is ready," Li Feng said, stepping into the room. He was wearing the formal black-and-gold uniform of a Direct Disciple, his spear strapped to his back. Beside him, Princess Ling'er adjusted her veil, her Lightning Lizard, Xiao Lei, peeking out from her sleeve with a restless spark.
"Master, Teacher Han and the others are already at the plaza," Ling'er whispered. "They are telling everyone that the 'Hung Kingdom Fraud' is too scared to show his face."
Tian Mo turned, a faint, cold smile touching his lips. "Fear is a luxury I cannot afford, and arrogance is a debt they cannot pay. Let's go. We have a hall to silence."
The Grand Exam Hall
The Grand Exam Hall of the Sanctuary was an architectural marvel. It was a massive, open-air amphitheater carved into the side of a spirit-stone mountain. Inside, exactly five thousand stone desks were arranged in perfect concentric circles, spiraling down toward a central podium where the Chief Proctor sat.
The atmosphere was thick with the scent of high-grade ink and the crackling tension of five thousand geniuses. These weren't just students; these were 4-Star and 5-Star teachers from various Middle-Tier Empires, all vying for the prestigious Sage-Candidate status.
As Tian Mo entered the hall, the sea of voices died down for a split second, then erupted into a wave of snickers and pointed fingers.
"Look, that's him. The one who arrived in the silver boat."
"He looks like a playboy, not a teacher. A 7-Star badge? From the Hung Kingdom? The examiners must have been drunk when they issued that."
"I heard he cured a Queen by slapping her. Let's see if he can slap his way through the Demon-Cursed Logic Puzzle."
Tian Mo walked past them, his gaze never wavering. He found his seat—Desk 4,901—at the very edge of the hall, the furthest possible distance from the proctor. It was a clear insult, intended to make him feel like an outsider.
The Commencement
At the center podium, the Chief Proctor, an 8-Star Sage named Elder Wu, stood up. His presence was like a mountain, his voice amplified by a powerful formation that made the air tremble.
"Candidates! The Sage Continent does not care for your past achievements or your royal bloodlines. Here, only Knowledge is king. You have four hours. There are three sections: Theoretical Flaw Analysis, The Array of Five Elements, and the final, the Demon-Cursed Logic Puzzle."
Elder Wu's gaze swept the hall, lingering for a moment on Tian Mo. "The records of this hall have stood for three hundred years. The highest score ever recorded is 98 points, held by the current Head of the Sage Pavilion. Begin!"
Whoosh—!
Five thousand scrolls unrolled simultaneously. The sound was like the fluttering of a million bird wings.
Tian Mo looked at his paper.
Section 1: Theoretical Flaw Analysis.
Question: A cultivator practicing the 'Gale-Force Saber' feels a sharp pain in their solar plexus during the 4th move. Identify the 12 possible reasons and the 3 perfect corrections.
Normally, Tian Mo would have scanned the paper, and the Divine Library would have highlighted the answer in gold. Now, he had to search his own mind. He closed his eyes, navigating the "Static Memory" of the library.
Gale-Force Saber... Third shelf, section 4... Ah, found it.
Tian Mo's brush began to move. He didn't just write 12 reasons; he wrote 24. He didn't just write 3 corrections; he wrote a new, simplified version of the move that eliminated the pain entirely.
The candidates around him were sweating, their brows furrowed, some even using their Qi to stimulate their brains. Tian Mo, however, looked like he was writing a poem. His brushwork was fluid, elegant, and terrifyingly fast.
The Sabotage
Teacher Han, the 5-Star teacher who had "welcomed" them at the port, was acting as one of the junior invigilators. He paced the aisles, his eyes fixed on Tian Mo. He couldn't believe the "trash" was writing so much.
He must be scribbling nonsense, Han thought. He signaled to a guard near the mountain wall.
Suddenly, the defensive formation near Tian Mo's desk flickered. A localized 'Gravity Distortion' hit Desk 4,901. Tian Mo's ink bottle rattled, and his arm felt as if a hundred-pound weight had been tied to it.
Tian Mo didn't even look up.
Gravity interference at 1.5x. Fluctuating at 4Hz. Using the physical training he had undergone to match his students, he adjusted his grip. His brush didn't falter. In fact, he began to write even faster, using the gravity's pull to give his strokes more "weight" and authority.
Han's eyes widened. Is he even human?
The Demon-Cursed Logic Puzzle
Two hours passed. Half the candidates had already walked out, their faces pale, their spirits broken by the second section. Now, the remaining two thousand faced the final challenge.
The scroll for the third section was not made of paper, but of Obsidian Jade. To even see the question, one had to infuse their Qi into the jade.
[The Puzzle: The Silent Sect Massacre.]
Scenario: A sect of 500 people was killed in one night. There are no wounds, no poison, and no broken formations. The only clue is a single tea leaf found in the Sect Leader's hand and a painting of a mountain that has been turned upside down. Explain the logic of the death.
The hall went silent. This was the "Demon-Cursed" puzzle because it was based on a real event from the Dark Realms. Most candidates began writing about 'Soul-Aura attacks' or 'Spatial manipulation.'
Tian Mo stared at the jade. Without the Active Scan, he had to rely on his Appraiser and Physician data banks.
Tea leaf... upside-down mountain...
He recalled a jade slip he had scanned in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance's secret library—a rare text on "Environmental Resonance."
The mountain wasn't painted upside down, Tian Mo realized. The mountain IS upside down. It's a reflection.
His brush flew across the obsidian.
"The death was not an attack. It was a Resonance Collapse. The tea leaf is a 'Wind-Chime Leaf', which vibrates at the frequency of the nearby 'Singing Mountain'. By turning the painting upside down, the Sect Leader was trying to signal that the 'Mirror Formation' on the lake had been reversed. The sound of the mountain was amplified 1,000 times, shattering the internal organs of everyone in the sect instantly. The 'Flaw' was the sect's own defensive array, which trapped the sound instead of blocking it."
Done.
Tian Mo stood up. He was the first one to finish the final section.
The Reveal
Elder Wu, the Chief Proctor, watched as the young man in white walked toward the collection bin. "You are finished? You still have ninety minutes."
"The truth does not require more time, Elder," Tian Mo said, placing his jade scroll on the pile. "Only the search for it does."
Teacher Han snorted. "He probably gave up. Elder, let me grade his paper first. We can dismiss him quickly so he doesn't embarrass the academy further."
Elder Wu nodded. Han grabbed Tian Mo's scrolls and the jade, a smirk on his face. He began to read.
One minute passed.
Two minutes.
Han's smirk vanished. His face went from pale to ghostly white. His hands began to shake so violently that the jade scroll clattered against the desk.
"This... this is..." Han couldn't even finish his sentence.
"What is it?" Elder Wu asked, his voice booming. He walked over and snatched the paper from Han's hand.
As the 8-Star Sage read Tian Mo's analysis of the Gale-Force Saber, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Then he read the Demon-Cursed puzzle solution.
Elder Wu looked at Tian Mo, then at the record stone at the front of the hall.
"Chamberlain! Bring the Golden Brush!" Wu shouted.
The entire hall froze. The Golden Brush was only used when a record was broken.
Elder Wu walked to the Record Stone and, with a shaking hand, erased the 98-point score that had stood for three centuries. In its place, he carved:
[TIAN MO — HUNG KINGDOM — 100 POINTS (PERFECT).]
The silence that followed was so absolute that one could hear the mercury lake rippling miles away.
"Perfect?" someone whispered. "He solved the Demon-Cursed puzzle with 100% logic?"
Tian Mo stood at the exit of the hall. He looked at Teacher Han, who was now leaning against a pillar for support.
"Teacher Han," Tian Mo said, his voice echoing through the amphitheater. "Your gravity formation was a nice touch. But next time, if you want to sabotage someone, make sure your own heart doesn't have a 'rhythm flaw'. It's making your hands shake."
Tian Mo walked out, Li Feng and Ling'er following him.
The 5,000 scholars watched his back, their arrogance replaced by a terrifying realization. The Sage Continent hadn't just received a new candidate. It had received a Sovereign.
The Shadow in the Hall
As the crowd erupted into a frenzy, a man in the 50th row—wearing a nondescript gray robe—closed his eyes. He wasn't a teacher. He was a Void-Seeker of the Demonic Tribe.
The Anomaly has arrived, he thought, his mental message traveling through the void. He solved the massacre puzzle. He knows about resonance. Kill him before the System wakes up.
[DING!]
[System Optimization: 15%... Sleep Mode continuing...]
Tian Mo felt a chill on his neck as he reached the guest carriage. He didn't have his scan, but he had his instinct.
"Li Feng, Ling'er," Tian Mo said, his voice low. "Don't go back to the guest hall. We're going to the Market of a Thousand Wonders. If the dingoes are hunting, I need to buy some 'poison' for their lunch."
The hunt had begun, and for the first time, the "Master of All Realms" was fighting in the dark.