The examiner’s expression shifted drastically, no longer as calm and unruffled as before.

There was a considerable number of cultivators among the candidates. To prevent cheating, the Imperial Examination Hall had been set up with a Spirit-Energy Nullification Array, rendering any cultivator’s methods useless.

But what array could withstand a heavenly tribulation?

“You... quickly leave!”

“It’s too late.” Man Gu was drenched in cold sweat as he looked up at the sky.

In an instant, the winds and clouds churned, lightning flashed, and thunder rolled. The heavenly tribulation had locked onto him.

“All candidates, evacuate the examination hall right away!” the examiner shouted. Since Man Gu couldn’t leave, the others must escape immediately. This was no joking matter. If those lightning bolts came down, few would survive.

The candidates had never witnessed such a sight. This was the heavenly tribulation for advancing from the Divine Transfiguration Stage to the Void Refinement Stage. Let alone seeing a heavenly tribulation, it was uncertain whether the cities they were from even had any Divine Transfiguration cultivator.

The candidates scrambled to flee the examination hall, leaving only Man Gu behind.

Man Gu gazed up at the roiling thunderclouds, his face a deathly white.

This is terrible. During a heavenly tribulation, the more people nearby, the greater its power. The tribulation has not only locked onto me but also onto the tens of thousands of candidates. This has caused its power to skyrocket far beyond my abilities!

I'm only at the Divine Transfiguration Stage, but even if I were at the Fusion Stage, I wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Moreover, it’s too late for the other candidates to escape. The tribulation has classified them all as factors affecting the tribulation, meaning they will all be struck by the tribulation lightning!

“This absolutely won’t do!”

Man Gu gritted his teeth and summoned his primordial soul. Pressing his palms together, he chanted, “May the immortal bless us. Man Gu respectfully welcomes the strongest ancestor of the Ancient Barbarian Tribe!”

His primordial soul could call upon the power that the Ancient Barbarian ancestors had left behind in the world.

Unlike the last time he had summoned an ancestor, who had been the strongest fighter at the Divine Transfiguration Stage, this time, he summoned the strongest warrior among all the Ancient Barbarians.

Crack. The brilliant heavenly lightning descended.

Unable to contain the terror in their hearts, the candidates squatted down, clutching their heads.

A tall, slender figure tore through the void and walked through the air. Facing the ferocious onslaught of heavenly lightning, he curled his lips into a contemptuous smile. With a casual wave of his hand, he repelled the lightning tribulation.

“He repelled the lightning tribulation with a single blow. What mighty expert is this?!”

“I don’t recognize him.”

“He appeared by tearing through the void just now. What kind of cultivation realm is needed to accomplish such a feat?”

The candidates and examiners buzzed with speculation, yet they still couldn’t match this figure to any of the world’s known powerhouses.

The strong cultivators of the imperial city also took notice of the commotion at the Imperial Examination Hall. In a world swallowed in darkness, only that slender white figure stood alone against the lightning tribulation, his unyielding spirit inspiring reverence in all who beheld him.

The slender figure resembled an immortal king seated high above the nine heavens, gazing down upon all living beings with indifference, paying no heed to the candidates’ chatter.

Lu Yang secretly swelled with pride. I really came to the right place. Louder, all of you, louder! This is the meaning of cultivation. If I can't show off before a crowd, wouldn’t all my cultivation have been for nothing?

He had just arrived at the Buddhist Kingdom and condensed his immortal body when he sensed someone calling out to him, much like the time Man Gu had summoned him before.

The last time Man Gu had called him, he was caught off guard and yanked straight over. But now that he was an immortal, he naturally couldn’t be dragged away so easily.

However, Man Gu couldn’t have summoned him without good reason. Lu Yang’s true body couldn’t leave the Buddhist Kingdom, so he could only split off a part of his power to assist Man Gu and see what was happening.

As soon as he had arrived, he encountered the heavenly tribulation.

Although Lu Yang only had a clone come to the imperial city, it was more than sufficient to deal with the heavenly tribulation. He could shatter it just by raising his hand.

Man Gu was also stunned. Is there someone this powerful among my ancestors?

“Junior Brother Man, it’s me.” Lu Yang transmitted an auditory message to Man Gu. Unsure of the situation, he had disguised himself before arriving.

“Brother Lu?!” Man Gu’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Has Lu Yang already become the strongest existence in our Barbarian Tribe?

Boom!

The second bolt of tribulation lightning followed right after, not giving Lu Yang a chance to catch his breath.

Lu Yang flew high above the imperial city. Employing Buddhist Kingdom in Palm, he extended a single finger. The finger grew enormous, large enough to cover ten imperial examination halls with ease.

With one finger piercing the heavens, Lu Yang let the lightning tribulation strike his finger while casually chatting with Man Gu to understand the full story.

“So you accidentally broke through to the next cultivation realm while sitting for the imperial examination.” Lu Yang found the situation amusing. Countless Divine Transfiguration cultivators had spent their entire lives searching for an opportunity to break through, yet to no avail. On the other hand, Man Gu tried to suppress his cultivation realm but failed.

“The array in the examination hall suppressed the spirit qi in me.” Man Gu protested his innocence. He had originally planned to celebrate passing the examination by breaking through afterward.

“Forget it, forget it. Since this heavenly tribulation is meant for you, you are bound to undergo it sooner or later.”

Lu Yang intercepted most of the tribulation lightning, with only a small portion falling on Man Gu.

When breaking through to the next cultivation realm, being struck by lightning was necessary. It was indispensable to the body-tempering process.

Man Gu let out a roar, activating his Ancient Barbarian bloodline. Even as the tribulation lightning struck him and burst his flesh apart, he didn’t cry out in pain, not bringing disgrace to the reputation of the Ancient Barbarian Tribe.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy drifted out from the mental space. Xiao Yangzi and that Man boy are both undergoing the lightning tribulation, leaving only me with nothing to do.

“Let this immortal see what this imperial examination is testing.

“The Dao of Great Learning lies in illustrating illustrious virtue, in loving the people and encouraging reform, and in achieving a society where the highest virtue can be sustained.[1] Discuss: What is Great Learning?

“A chancellor should recruit talents from all quarters as advisors. Is it appropriate to receive guests and hold discourse in his private domicile?

“What do all these mean?”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy scratched her head. It doesn’t feel like the questions are written in human language. It’s even harder to understand than Xiao Yangzi’s way of speaking.

If our Great Dou Dynasty were to hold an imperial examination, we would certainly never set such questions.

“Xiao Yangzi would definitely...”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy wanted to humbly ask her subordinate for guidance, but when she looked up, she saw Lu Yang still performing flashy moves to fend off the lightning tribulation, eliciting waves of cheers from below and proving to be popular. At the same time, he was also regulating the amount of lightning falling upon Man Gu, leaving him unable to divert his attention.

“Never mind, I’ll find someone else.”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy eagerly sought out Jiang Ping’an, who was farming in the forbidden grounds of the imperial palace.

“Hey, so you’re the Jiang Family’s immortal, right?”

Jiang Ping’an’s hand jerked so violently that he nearly lost his grip on his hoe.

I must have seen a ghost. Someone has actually managed to approach me without a sound.

He turned around and found a very pretty female ghost.

“You are the ancient Everlasting Immortal?” It wasn’t difficult for Jiang Ping’an to deduce her identity.

“Fellow Daoist Ping’an, although you are a member of my Great Dou Dynasty, you are still a commoner without any official title or post. If you wish to become an official of my dynasty, you must possess outstanding talent.”

She whipped out the examination papers. “If you can answer these questions correctly, you may choose any official position in my dynasty as you wish.”

Jiang Ping’an took the papers and scratched his head in distress. This isn’t my strong suit.

If I had been able to pass the imperial examination back then, there would have been no need for me to rebel in the late Great Yu era.

“Wait a moment. I’ll go ask someone.”

Jiang Ping’an and the Everlasting Immortal Fairy found the Xia Emperor in the Grand Brilliance Hall, where he was reviewing court documents.

“Take a look at these questions. Do you know the answers?”

The Xia Emperor looked up at his old ancestor and the ancient immortal, then lowered his head to stare at the examination papers. He fell silent for a long while.

Aren’t these the questions I set for the imperial examination?

1. This originates from the Great Learning, one of the Four Books in Confucianism. ☜