Chapter 1179: What Is Called an Ancestor of the Nine Provinces?
Translator: Lordbluefire
Nothing could be accomplished without norms or standards.
Even though Sun Mo was a supreme genius and had obtained extraordinary accomplishments, with all the examiners saying that he need not take the exam, the Saint Gate wouldn’t grant him a grandmaster license unless he did so.
Because this would be unfair to the others.
Once precedence of something like that happened, it would mean that great teachers from aristocratic clans of great power and influence could use the same method to pass the grandmaster-level examination despite not having the capabilities to do so.
In reality, there had been truly talented people that were worthy of being vied by famous schools even before they took the grandmaster-level examination and were ascertained as grandmasters.
However, all Sect Lords of the Saint Gate had held fast to their principles and had never allowed anyone to be exempted from the grandmaster-level examination if they wanted the license.
Also, the content of the examination was the same in the entire Nine Provinces.
…
At 10 a.m., the written exam started, and the duration was five hours.
Sun Mo sat in the exam venue and first glanced through the paper.
There were many questions because only by setting the exam like this would they be able to broaden the testing scope and test all aspects of an examinee’s knowledge.
Generally, the topics could be split into four parts.
The first part was the basics. It occupied 40% of the paper and as long as one depended on rote memorization, they would be able to obtain full marks here. The difficulty lay in the fact that the knowledge required was something very obscure.
So if one wanted to do well, they had to read a vast number of books and have much experience.
The second part was the advanced questions and this part occupied 30% of the paper. This was to test if the examinee could creatively apply their knowledge. To put it simply, it depended on one’s creativity and talent.
Examinees who had memorized a lot of questions were useless since they didn’t know how to apply their knowledge creatively.
A grandmaster that was publicly acknowledged by the Nine Provinces had to have creativeness. They had to be able to create new things and bring change to the subject, instead of simply being fixed in the old ways and letting themselves be restricted by old rules!
The third part was the super difficult questions. They occupied 20% of the paper.
They were all difficult questions grandmaster spirit runists had to solve daily. This included analyzing unknown spirit runes and designing new spirit runes, etc.
This part tested the examinees for their knowledge and to verify whether they had the standard of a grandmaster or not.
The fourth part was ancestor-level questions, and it occupied 10% of the paper.
It was mainly there to see if the examinee had any potential to become an ancestor or not.
“This model isn’t bad!”
Sun Mo silently praised.
Although the first part consisted of many basic questions and occupied 40% of the paper, it only took up about 10% of the total marks. The second portion also had plenty of questions, but it only took up 20%. The third part actually occupied the highest percentage of the marks.
This indicated that the examinees couldn’t waste time on basic questions. They had to clear the questions quickly in one stretch. If they wanted to get points based on the basic questions to pass the exam, they would be dreaming.
Also, in order to let the examinees save time and focus on the latter questions, the Saint Gate had decreed that if someone made five mistakes or more for the basic questions, they would be disqualified immediately.
Yes, the examinees couldn’t get more than five questions wrong for the basic questions which numbered several hundred. From this, one could see how difficult the grandmaster-level examination was.
Naturally, grandmasters who passed the exam were also relatively valuable.
As long as they could obtain the grandmaster license, it meant that they needn’t worry about food and clothes for their entire lives, and their societal position would also be extremely high.
A clamor suddenly rang out through the entire venue because when the examinees read through the paper for the first time, they discovered that the major questions at the back were all exceptionally difficult.
They completely had no idea how to answer the questions.
“It’s over. Indeed, the examiners have raised the difficulty level because of Sun Mo!”
“Isn’t this a scam?”
“Mummy, I want to go home!”
Several examinees had turned pale and secretly started to hate Sun Mo. If they wanted to be employed by any of the Nine Greats, they couldn’t have a history of failing any examinations by the Saint Gate. But this time around, they were definitely going to stumble because of Sun Mo’s presence.
However, Sun Mo didn’t care about this. He dipped his writing brush in ink and carefreely answered the questions.
(Thinking? I don’t need that!)
The answers were as though they had been branded in Sun Mo’s brain. When he saw the questions, the answers would automatically appear in his mind. Just like 1+1 = 2.
Three of the examiners immediately went over to Sun Mo. After glancing at his paper, they walked away.
Not long later, they all gathered together.
“He does live up to his reputation!”
Other than this notion, they didn’t know how to evaluate Sun Mo.
Five hours was a duration that was insufficient for many examinees. However, Sun Mo had handed his exam paper to the examiners in advance.
He nodded to the examiners and left the venue.
“It isn’t even noon yet, but he has handed in the paper?”
A middle-aged examiner was shocked. He had seen these questions before. Even a grandmaster like him wouldn’t be able to complete the paper so fast.
“Didn’t you discover something? He didn’t even do a final check. How confident must he be?”
“Being in the same era as a genius like this can be both a blessing and a tragedy!”
The examiners sighed ruefully.
It was a blessing because they could witness the birth of a legend. It was a tragedy because even if they had some achievements, they were destined to fall into the shadow of Sun Mo’s radiance.
As for people of the next generations, when they spoke about the spirit runes of this era, the first thing they thought about would surely be the Skyward Spirit Rune.
The written exam finished. There was a day of rest for everyone due to the grading of papers.
The graders first looked at the basic questions. Those who got five questions wrong were directly eliminated even if they got full marks in the higher-difficulty questions behind.
The rules were simply so cruel.
On the third day, the results were released.
Sun Mo’s name was high-up in the number one position. He also got full points. The second place wasn’t too bad either, and it was someone who obtained 88 points. If it was in the past, they would be the first place. Sadly, the owner of this 88 marks encountered Sun Mo.
“Teacher Miao, congratulations. You are only 12 points lesser than Sun Mo. If you work a bit harder, you will be able to catch up to him.”
Upon facing the praises of those familiar with him, this Great Teacher Miao could only smile bitterly.
“Just 12 points lesser? You guys are wrong. Sun Mo got full marks because there are only so many marks he could get in this exam. My distance from him is far far far far far more than what the difference in points represents!”
Great Teacher Miao sighed and felt a little disheartened. He was pondering whether he should change his major?
The results were announced that afternoon, and the interview that was the second round also began then.
Sun Mo was naturally arranged to be the first interview.
At the exam venue, Grandmaster Xue saw over 60 people packed in a house and couldn’t help but scold these people.
“What are you guys doing?”
Grandmaster Xue was very angry. “Do you know that by doing this, you will affect the mental state of the examinees during their interviews?”
“Xue Pan, don’t think we don’t know what you are thinking about. You simply want to chase us away so you can ask Sun Mo your own personal questions, right?”
Everyone here was a grandmaster, so no one cared about Xue Pan.
“F*** you!”
Xue Pan’s expression turned gloomy and he pointed a middle finger. He then glanced at Ancestor Zheng, wanting him to say something.
Ancestor Zheng felt embarrassed to speak because his current position as an examiner was something he had snatched over. Besides, there were so many grandmasters here that they could constitute half of the great teacher world. He also didn’t want to offend everyone.
“Go and invite Vice Sect Lord Liang!”
Ancestor Zheng kicked the ball in his court away.
Very soon, Liang Hongda arrived. When he saw the number of people here, he was shocked.
“What are you guys doing?”
(In the past when I wanted to look for you guys to be examiners, all of you kept giving excuses. Why are you guys so active now?)
“We just want to sit in and observe Sun Mo’s interview!”
Someone spoke.
“Stop farting, I think you guys want to ask him to solve all your personal problems, right?”
Xue Pan rebutted.
Everyone knew that the Five Empires War Discussion was about to start and Sun Mo would surely be very busy. He would leave immediately once the examination was over and had no time to be visited.
And honestly speaking, given Sun Mo’s current status…even if everyone sent visiting cards to beg him for an audience, they might not be able to meet him. Hence, they wanted to use this chance to consult him on some questions that puzzled them.
The so-called interview was usually the examiners asking questions and the examinees answering. The content wasn’t fixed.
If they consulted Sun Mo in private, they naturally would owe him a favor. But now, they could use the interview as an excuse. If Sun Mo refused to answer, he would naturally have the risk of failing.
…
Outside the exam venue, the waiting examinees had waited for over 15 minutes, but the interviews hadn’t started yet. For a time, their hearts were filled with trepidation.
Could something have happened?
Luckily, a few minutes later, the door to the exam venue finally opened.
“Great Teacher Sun, please!”
The low-ranking great teacher responsible for calling out the names had a face filled with reverence.
When Sun Mo entered the exam venue, he saw over sixty pairs of eyes staring at him ravenously like how wolves looked at their prey.
“What the hell?”
Sun Mo swept his gaze around before finally landing on the three people seated behind a long table.
Swish~ Swish~
Xue Pan and that Examiner Fang subconsciously stood up and revealed very amiable smiles. As for Ancestor Zheng, his body shook and after a moment of hesitation, he still decided to stand up.
The man before him was a major character that had been invited by Bai Wenzhang to the Dragonspirit Manor. Although he was an ancestor, he didn’t have any capital to act arrogant before Sun Mo.
Liang Hongda was standing here and his lips convulsed when he saw this.
Was Sun Mo’s influence already so great in the spirit rune world?
This meant that Sun Mo’s attainment in the field of spirit runes had received their approval.
“Dear examiners, can we get started?”
Sun Mo smiled.
“Cough! Cough!”
Ancestor Zheng coughed twice and after adjusting his emotions, he asked, “Great Teacher Sun, can I ask what is the principle behind the Skyward Spirit Rune?”
Swish~
The astonished gazes of all the grandmasters directly turned to him.
(Do you still want face? You immediately asked such a question the moment you came up?)
Ancestor Zheng smiled bitterly and spread his hands wide. He also knew that this question was too much. But in his current realm of expertise, there were truly too few questions that could stump him.
He wanted to find a trace of inspiration from Sun Mo’s invention.
“It’s the application of a certain force. Through the spirit rune, the surroundings of the human body will produce a forcefield that can dispel gravity!”
Sun Mo’s inspiration came from the metallic robot inside the mysterious box that the papaya girl opened.
“A certain force?”
“Forcefield?”
“Gravity?”
The grandmasters were dumbfounded. What did these terms mean? Although they couldn’t understand, they felt that they were something very deep and profound.
“There are various invisible forces in this world!”
Sun Mo wasn’t selfish and didn’t mind sharing his knowledge. He immediately shared the concept of ‘invisible forces’ with everyone.
The grandmasters all felt very clueless when they heard this, but they also felt some inspiration. It was like a corner of the dim and dark world was suddenly pierced through by the light of dawn.
“I once said before that spirit runes are a type of language and all languages contain power. The crucial point is how can we display such power?”
Sun Mo deliberated over his words before speaking. He hoped that everyone could understand this easier through his explanation.
Even for computing languages, they could display the ‘power’ belonging to them through a medium and change the world. Actually, spirit runes could do the same too.
This was impossible as of now because the wisdom of humans still couldn’t conceptualize such a thing.
After Sun Mo finished speaking, Ancestor Zheng bowed.
“Ancestor Sun, I’ve benefited from your teachings!”
As an ancestor, he understood that Sun Mo’s words had benefited him the most.
The other grandmasters hurriedly bowed as well.
Liang Hongda inhaled a breath of cold air when he heard this. Earlier, Ancestor Zheng still had pride in his heart. He felt Sun Mo was unworthy of the title Ancestor Sun, but if he addressed him as Grandmaster Sun, it would seem that he was petty. Hence, he used the title ‘Great Teacher Sun’ instead.
This was the change in the attitude of an ancestor!
What did this mean?
It meant that Sun Mo’s standard was a tier higher compared to normal ancestors!
No wonder Bai Wenzhang admired Sun Mo so much and had even written a letter to the Black-White Academy saying that if Sun Mo died, he would pay any price necessary to raze the entire academy to flat ground.
This matter wasn’t a secret among the upper echelons of Saint Gate because back then Wan Kangcheng was badly frightened and had sought help from the Saint Gate.
If Bai Wenzhang had gone ahead and organized a terrorist attack on the school, the reputation of the Black-White Academy would be finished.
Grandmaster Xue bowed and asked, “Ancestor Sun, what do you think about combination spirit runes? Will they be the future direction of development for the study of spirit runes?”
The so-called combination spirit runes were spirit runes that could generate more than one effect.
“Indeed, it is a development direction!”
Sun Mo acknowledged. “I feel that the evolution of spirit runes will appear in different forms depending on the ‘carrier’. For example, on a human body, because the skin surface is only so wide, it would be best if there’s a spirit rune that could produce as many effects as possible!
“But, if the carrier is different, things might not be the case. We have to do analysis based on actual situations in reality!”
Grandmaster Xue hurriedly clasped his fists. “Ancestor Sun, please guide me!”
“For example, my disciple Li Ziqi has thought about a type of spiritwave cannon. It is to use spirit runes to gather spirit qi before blasting it out.”
Sun Mo took the chance to help boost Li Ziqi’s fame. “For something like this, it doesn’t need a lot of combination spirit runes. Rather, it needed thinking to allow the might produced from a single-entity spirit rune to be maximized fully!”
“Spiritwave cannon? It sounds very powerful!”
“I heard that Li Ziqi used it to crush everyone in the 1-star examination!”
“Si, is it so powerful?”
The grandmasters were all shocked.
“Ancestor Sun, I have an ancient spirit rune here. Could you provide me with some guidance?”
Grandmaster Fang carefully took out a spirit rune and passed it to Sun Mo.
“This…”
Sun Mo didn’t take it. If this spirit rune was those types with rare effects, Sun Mo would have benefitted and a dispute might happen.
“It’s fine, please feel free to look at it!”
Grandmaster Fang smiled bitterly. “I’ve researched this for ten years but am still clueless about it. I don’t want to live in ignorance anymore!”
“Please pardon me then!”
Sun Mo took it and started to analyze it.
The grandmasters immediately slowed their breaths as they were deeply afraid that they might disturb Sun Mo.
“Damn, is this still an interview? It’s clearly a Q&A session!”
Liang Hongda became speechless when he saw all these grandmasters becoming as obedient as students. (Did you guys forget your actual responsibilities here?)
Ancestor Sun?
(These people are truly calling him that sincerely!)
Liang Hongda did want to give Sun Mo an ancestor-level license, but it was a pity that this title was too precious. It was not something the Saint Gate could test for.
For every subject, grandmasters who wished to become ancestors not only had to take out peak-level achievements, but they also had to tour the Nine Provinces and give lectures everywhere.
This meant that they had to lecture at ‘A’-grade schools and above in the Nine Provinces. After they convinced everyone, their reputation would spread by word of mouth and they would naturally gain the ancestor title.
Bluntly speaking, if one wanted to become an ancestor, they had to truly depend on their own capabilities because during the Q&A session, there would definitely be people asking questions.
If Sun Mo could convince all these grandmasters here, it meant that in reality, he would also be able to convince all those great teachers in the other schools of the Nine Provinces.
The current Sun Mo might not have the ancestor title but already had the capabilities of an ancestor!