From White Deer Academy to the Confucian Academy, Xiao Mo's group spent approximately one month in total.
This wasn't to say that the journey alone took a month.
Rather, during this month-long journey, Xiao Mo's group traveled intermittently, encountering many incidents along the way.
Minor matters included helping a lost little girl in town find her mother, while larger matters included exorcising evil spirits for some families.
Although exorcism was mostly done by Daoist priests and monks, Confucian scholars could also perform it.
Upon encountering such situations, they would lend a hand, nothing more.
As for whether this was part of the Confucian Academy's assessment, the three didn't know and didn't care.
Additionally, the three of Xiao Mo went up mountains to suppress bandits and eliminate demons that devoured and harmed people.
The three had quite the air of scholars descending from mountains to travel the world.
However, during these days of travel, Xiao Mo learned that the entire world was gradually changing.Although the great war between humans and demons had not yet erupted, the tense atmosphere before the great battle was gradually spreading.
Not to mention the various sects large and small, every mortal dynasty was preparing to face that life-or-death battle.
This atmosphere naturally spread to the common people.
When the great war between humans and demons would truly erupt, no one knew.
How long this great war would last, no one knew either.
When the three approached the Confucian Academy, they encountered a rabbit spirit.
In the end, Luo Yang let her go.
"You could say Senior Brother is kind, but when Senior Brother faces those demons that harm and devour people, he draws his sword without ever blinking, just like an executioner," Shang Jiuli said, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, smiling as she looked at Luo Yang.
"But if you say Senior Brother is decisive in killing, Senior Brother has now spared a rabbit spirit. Isn't Senior Brother afraid she might harm people in the future?"
"What do I have to fear?"
Luo Yang sheathed his long sword.
"She has harmed no one, only diligently absorbed the essence of sun and moon to cultivate until now. If I were to kill her, how would I differ from those demons that harm people?
If she harms people in the future, that is a matter for the future, but who can predict future matters?
I only care about the present."
With these words, Luo Yang continued walking forward.
Shang Jiuli shook her head and said to Xiao Mo beside her, "Your Senior Brother just likes to act cool."
Xiao Mo smiled, "Setting other things aside, I do agree with one thing Senior Brother said."
"Which thing?"
"I only care about the present," Xiao Mo repeated.
Shang Jiuli blinked her eyes and looked at Xiao Mo with an ambiguous smile, "Is Junior Brother expressing romantic feelings to Senior Sister? That's not impossible, but Junior Brother should think carefully about how to explain this to Miss Bai when you return."
"..." Xiao Mo was stunned for a moment before realizing what Senior Sister was saying.
Xiao Mo shook his head and also walked forward.
"Hey? Junior Brother, don't walk so fast. I'm being serious, won't you really consider it?" Shang Jiuli jogged to catch up, though her playful words didn't sound serious at all.
Three days later, the three of Xiao Mo arrived at the mountain gate of the Confucian Academy.
Besides Xiao Mo's group, there were also scholars from other academies who had come.
Not just scholars from the four great academies, but from academies throughout the world.
The so-called "four great academies" were merely the four most famous academies outside of the Confucian Academy.
Besides these, there were thousands of large and small Confucian academies.
All these academies were under the jurisdiction of the Confucian Academy.
"Let's go up."
Luo Yang looked up at the thick scholarly fortune atop the mountain and led his junior brother and sister into the academy.
The territory of the Confucian Academy was extremely vast.
These rolling mountain ranges and this plain were all where the academy was located.
After Xiao Mo's group registered with their jade tokens, they separated from Senior Brother and Senior Sister.
Luo Yang and Shang Jiuli went to participate in the "Academy Dean" assessment. After passing, they could establish peaks at any Confucian academy to teach and take disciples.
Xiao Mo was participating in the "Gentleman" assessment. Those who qualified could receive the title of "Gentleman," and if they achieved the highest grade, the words "Righteous" would be added before "Gentleman."
The other half had been deemed "unqualified" on their way to the academy and had returned to their academies to continue cultivation.
After two quarter-hours, the whispered conversations among everyone gradually stopped.
An elderly scholar from the academy flew over, standing in mid-air and bowing to everyone.
The examinees hurriedly returned the bow.
The jade token hanging at the elder's waist bore the four characters "Academy Administrator."
"Thank you all for coming from afar. Our assessment consists of two parts."
The elder surveyed everyone and spoke slowly.
"The first assessment tests everyone's Confucian learning. Please enter the study hall and find seats as you wish. After one hour, we will distribute the examination papers."
After the elder finished speaking, he left. Xiao Mo found a study hall to enter and sat down casually.
One hour later, several senior brothers from the academy came in and distributed the examination papers one by one.
Xiao Mo looked at the examination paper.
The questions on these papers were indeed profound and presented some difficulty but this wasn't the most crucial point.
With every word Xiao Mo read, he could feel his spirit being consumed by one part.
When Xiao Mo picked up his brush to answer questions, he could also feel the weight of the brush and ink.
This brush was none other than the scholarly qi brush from when he participated in White Deer Academy's selection several years ago.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Mo lifted his brush to write his answers.
The examination time was a total of three incense sticks.
When the first incense stick was halfway burned, some examinees were already sweating profusely with increasingly pale faces.
When the first incense stick was completely burned and the supervising senior brother lit the second incense stick, scholars began collapsing at their desks one after another, unable to persist.
Watching the scholars fall one by one, the senior brother couldn't help but shake his head, seeming to lament that this was the worst group he had ever seen but it wasn't as if no one persevered.
The supervising senior brother looked toward the scholar at the back by the window. His brush moved neither fast nor slow, his expression was calm, and although he had some perspiration, it wasn't to the point of being drenched in sweat.
One could tell his usual cultivation was very solid.
However, what the supervising senior brother found strange was why he faintly carried dragon's might about him?