Only at the Mahayana Stage Does the Reversal System Appear - Chapter 42

Chapter 42 [Host Mission Failed]

Having made a bet with the Saintess of Pure Heart, Jiang Li wasn’t going to let things slide. He wasn’t going to bully a bunch of under-twenty-five students into first place; he was going to surpass her and win first place!

Not one to fight a battle unprepared, Jiang Li’s first step was to look at the reference books for the entrance exam.

The result left him speechless.

He remembered that when he enrolled five hundred years ago, the reference books were widely circulated works in Jiuzhou, such as “Introduction to Cultivation,” “A Prospect of Cultivation,” and “On the Customs and Folkways of Jiuzhou.

” Now, they were “General Outline of Cultivation (by Jiang Li),” “Three Thousand Questions on Cultivation (by Jiang Li),”

“Cultivating Immortality is Cultivating the Heart (by Jiang Li),” and “General Outline of Cultivation (Annotated Edition).” “Of the ten reference books, eight were written by me, and the remaining two are annotations to my books?!”

“Those who know me think I’m an honorary graduate of the academy, while those who don’t think I’m the exam preparer,” Jiang Li complained.

After reaching the Mahayana stage, his understanding of cultivation deepened, and he compiled some of his insights into books for the benefit of all cultivators.

But upon closer inspection, the academy’s approach isn’t flawed. Anyone who reaches the Fusion stage possesses a systematic understanding of cultivation. Take, for example, the Saintess of the Pure Heart, whose understanding surpasses even that of the academy’s dean.

Without theoretical support and a superficial understanding of cultivation methods, it’s impossible to reach the Fusion stage. Even more so for those at the Tribulation Crossing and Mahayana stages, whose understanding of cultivation approaches the truth. It’s no surprise that

the academy chose a book written by Jiang Li, a Mahayana cultivator.

Of course, cultivation is cultivation. If you ask Jiang Li to write about alchemy and weapon refinement, well, he’s illiterate and can’t write a book.

“How can I lose?” Jiang Li was already thinking of what conditions to offer the Saintess of the Pure Heart.

…

On the day of the exam, Jiang Li arrived at the exam room brimming with confidence. The moment he saw the paper, he felt assured.

For example, this question asked, “What is the definition of cultivation in ‘The General Outline of Cultivation’?” “‘Jiang Renhuang’s Essays (Excerpt)’ opens with the words, ‘It rained heavily for days, but today it finally cleared up.’ Why did the author write this? What does this sentence convey?” What is

the definition of cultivation? This was too easy for Jiang Li. He immediately wrote: “Cultivation refers to the process by which living beings absorb spiritual energy, nourish themselves, and gradually grow stronger.

” “Is the weather sunny today?” Jiang Li muttered, remembering the previous situation. It was the plum rain season, with heavy rain and no sun for several days. Finally, one day, the weather cleared up. Jiang Li felt the weather was beautiful and casually wrote down his thoughts.

Furthermore, the test paper asked: How could a sixth-level Qi training cultivator with gold spiritual roots defeat an eighth-level Qi training cultivator with water, fire, or wood spiritual roots in the woods?

The time, weather conditions, and spiritual energy density were given. It also noted that both cultivators were standard cultivators, meaning they had no special bloodlines, constitutions, or special techniques.

This kind of question, which tested practical skills, was easy for Jiang Li. He easily wrote down several methods for the weak to defeat the strong.

“Hmm, perfect!” Jiang Li, satisfied with his answer, handed in his paper first.

Upon hearing someone had submitted their paper early, the Vice Dean in charge of the exams took a look at Jiang Li’s and beamed.

“We’ve got a great student this year! A lively thinker, not bound by textbooks. She’s also bold in combat, knows how to exploit the enemy’s psychology, and is forthright in her reading comprehension. Excellent, excellent!”

The Vice Dean praised him three times in a row, clearly pleased with this student, Kong Li.

“Well, another one’s handed in so soon! Jiang Jingxin, you were already a celebrity before you even started.”

“Not bad, she has a deep knowledge base. This year, there were quite a few off-the-beaten-path questions, drawn from the gaps in the reference books, and she managed to memorize them. Excellent, excellent.”

…

“How did you do?” Jiang Li left the exam room, and Saint Jingxin emerged shortly after. Jiang Li quipped.

Saint Jingxin’s faint smile, revealing two adorable dimples, distracted the passing teachers, who bumped into the wall.

Fortunately, the teacher was stronger than the wall; it was unfortunate that the wall wasn’t the teacher.

“I’ve already thought of what I want you to do.” Saint Pure Heart’s smile radiated confidence, causing Jiang Li to laugh as well.

“I’ve already thought of what I want you to do.”

“Wait and see?”

“Wait and see.”

…

On the day the exam results were announced, a friendly system notification chimed.

[Host Mission Failed]

“???”

Jiang Li stood in front of the candidate ranking list, stunned, having to squat to see his name.

Kong Li, last.

Saint Pure Heart stood out from the crowd, her noble demeanor making countless others feel ashamed and keep their distance.

She also saw her own name:

Jiang Jingxin, first.

Saint Pure Heart covered her mouth slightly, in what others saw as surprise, but she was actually trying not to laugh at Jiang Li’s ranking.

No, my stomach aches.

I’m a fusion cultivator, so I need to have strong concentration.

The Human Emperor could get last place on his own exam. No, I can’t hold it back.

Hahahaha, so funny.

Saint Pure Heart struggled internally, but finally managed to stop herself from laughing.

“Laugh if you want to.”

Jiang Li’s face was expressionless, as he watched Saint Jingxin’s gloating expression dimly.

“I’m not laughing… pfft… hahahaha, you deserve this.”

“Something must have gone wrong.” Jiang Li analyzed the cause rationally. “Let’s go and settle accounts with the dean… ask if there was a mistake in the grading.”

The dean of the academy was named Li, and he was responsible for judging the papers for this year’s exams.

Dean Li stood high in the stands, scanning for any promising students this year.

Speaking of which, that student named Jiang Jingxin was quite good, and could be his student.

“Dean, someone’s looking for you.”

“Who?”

“It’s Jiang Jingxin, this year’s top student, and Kong Li, who’s ranked last. They say you made a mistake.”

Dean Li snorted, a bit annoyed.

It was ridiculous that he’d make a mistake. He remembered both Jiang Jingxin and Kong Li. Jiang Jingxin’s paper was perfect, while Kong Li’s was a mess.

“Have them come up here, in front of everyone, and tell me where I went wrong.”

If it was just the last-place student asking Dean Li, he’d definitely ignore them. But if both the last-place and the top-place student came to Dean Li together, he’d have to treat them well. He’d have to

publicly address this matter in the stands, establishing his authority in front of the students who hadn’t yet enrolled.

“You must be Jiang Jingxin, right? Not bad. You’re pretty, with delicate handwriting, and you wrote your paper well.” Dean Li treated Saint Jingxin kindly, speaking loudly to draw the attention of the students below. As for Kong Li, who was ranked last, he didn’t see.

“That’s Jiang Jingxin? She’s so beautiful.”

“Yes, yes. Even a girl like me is moved by her.”

“Who’s that person next to her? He doesn’t look very happy.”

“I don’t know him.”

“Dean Li, my name is Kong Li. I think your paper may have been graded incorrectly.”

Jiang Li took the initiative to speak.

He also knew Dean Li. Every time he came to the college to give a lecture, Dean Li would receive him and treat him with great respect.

(End of this chapter)