Beyond the noble city walls, a celebrated landmark stands, known as Tiger Terrace.

In ages past, Yangling Marquis Xue Chang and Guangping Marquis Li Fu clashed here, their rivalry drawing ten thousand spectators and emptying the city’s thoroughfares. Though Tiger Terrace remains, the dukes and marquises of yore have turned to dust. Yet, in ordinary times, this place lies dormant.

For beneath Tiger Terrace lies the renowned “Si Xuan Underground Palace.” During the flourishing era of Great Xia, more than half the court officials and nobles once sought enlightenment within its depths, a testament to its profound significance. Placed outside its borders, it rivals the Jixia Academy of the Qi. This time, the South Xia Governor’s Office, in formally convening the South Border Official Examination, has chosen Tiger Terrace as the venue for the final, crucial trial.

All those within South Xia who harbored aspirations for officialdom, provided they met the basic requirements, participated in this grand examination, which comprised three stages: the city trial, the prefecture trial, and the official trial.

Finally, three hundred individuals reached Tiger Terrace. Those who have come this far are all exceptional talents; even if their performance in this final examination proves lackluster, they are assured of an official position. And from these three hundred, the most brilliant will be chosen to become the county governors of South Xia’s twenty counties.

South Xia originally encompassed the territory of twenty-one prefectures. However, during the Qi-Xia war, the border army of Jin’an Prefecture proved unyielding, repelling numerous assaults from the Qi army. It was only after the decisive battle in the central capital concluded and Guiyi City fell that the Jin’an Prefecture border army, fearing retaliation from the Qi, surrendered the entire prefecture to the Kingdom of Liang.

Of course, this is merely the surface narrative. High-ranking officials of the Qi, such as Jiang Wang, knew that this surrender was a condition for Liang to restrain Xia in its southeast.

Liang is not weak. Kang Shao’s initial success in restoring his kingdom, and his ability to maintain a firm stance against a gradually recovering Xia, speaks volumes about its strength. Firstly, it has the backing of Jian Ge. Secondly, the Liang imperial family and the Blood River Sect have long maintained close ties. These two contemporary great sects instill considerable confidence in the people of Liang.

Between the kingdoms of Liang and Xia lie towering mountains and precipitous ridges, their treacherous peaks isolating them. Only a single plank road connects them through the Wenjian Gorge. Jian Ge controls this vital pass, making it virtually impregnable, a single guardian capable of holding it against ten thousand.

The significance of Jin’an Prefecture lies in this: when it belonged to Xia, it blocked the northwest exit of the Wenjian Gorge. When it belongs to Liang, it serves as a bridgehead for Liang’s entry into Xia territory! With the loss of Jin’an, Fengli, Huiming, Shaokang, and Wanxing all became border prefectures, their border defense pressure not merely doubled? This also explains that while the Qi’s extermination of Xia was a crushing inevitability, like a mountain pressing down on an egg, the efforts expended were far from insignificant.

Of course, Qi is not Xia. Today’s South Xia, comprising Fengli, Huiming, Shaokang, and Wanxing prefectures, need not even deploy a single soldier or pawn, and the people of Liang would still hesitate to cross the border. Shi Mingli’s Winter Silence Army is not stationed in these four prefectures but garrisoned in Changluo Prefecture, further reflecting the Qi’s assessment of the threat level.

Now, the sun shines upon Tiger Terrace, and literary energy surges like clouds and mist. Three hundred candidates sit for the examination, one person per desk, spaced three steps apart, their pens flying like dragons and snakes, composing policy essays.

There are three questions for the policy essays.

Su Guanying personally set the questions, his being “I desire to greatly govern the South Border.” It is a clear yet broad question, openly inviting the candidates to offer strategies for governing the region.

Shi Mingli’s question is “How to eliminate the calamity of poisonous water, for the sake of Xia.”

Jiang Wang, urged on and unable to decline, also posed a question, stating, “Qi and Xia are originally of one lineage.” It is evident that the Marquis of Wuan has provided a question designed to award points. Candidates would find it difficult not to score, though, of course, achieving a high score on such a general topic is considerably more challenging.

Armored soldiers stand on the field, all clad in red robes, their weapons held aloft in a forest of steel. Military generals, swords at their sides, patrol each area, supervising the proceedings.

At the uppermost position, the South Xia Governor, Court Discussing Doctor Su Guanying, sits in the center. The South Xia Military Supervisor, Winter Silence Army Commander Shi Mingli, sits on the left. And the Marquis of Wuan, Jiang Wang, sits on the right. The three sit side by side. Although Jiang Wang holds no official position in South Xia, his status and influence make it no exaggeration to say he is one of the region’s top three figures. Of course, this is merely the visible situation; other significant figures from the Qi still reside in South Xia.

“Doctor Xie’s action in breaching Guiyi was truly magnificent, with thunderous momentum, first suppressing the Si Xuan Underground Palace in the first step, surrounding it but not attacking. Then, he launched a fierce assault on Guiyi, forcing the surrender of the Earl of Anle, before turning back to take possession of the Si Xuan Underground Palace, thus ensuring this place remained almost entirely undamaged. The Marquis of Wuan must know this?” Su Guanying, seated in the main position, inquired.

“I truly did not know.” Jiang Wang gave a wry smile. “I was not by Marshal Xie’s side at the time, and I had fainted.”

The fierce-looking Shi Mingli burst into laughter, his beard and hair trembling like an enraged lion. Their voices remained on the high platform, unafraid of falling into the examination field and affecting the candidates. On the surface, the South Xia Governor and Military Supervisor appeared quite harmonious, engaging in cheerful conversation and giving no one the cold shoulder.

“Jianzheng Ruan has been residing in the Si Xuan Underground Palace for so long; one wonders how things are being sorted out now,” Su Guanying remarked. That Qintian Jian Jianzheng Ruan Qu was currently in the Si Xuan Underground Palace was something Jiang Wang genuinely didn’t know, likely due to his lack of interest in such matters and his infrequent attendance at political affairs hall meetings.

Shi Mingli snorted, “The most essential collections of the Great Xia imperial palace were burned by the Xia Empress Dowager in a single blaze. Only thanks to the Earl of Anle’s understanding of affairs were some preserved. They are housed in the Si Xuan Underground Palace, but as for the treasures within, Marshal Cao at the time hauled back over a hundred carts to Qi, so there should be little remaining. Jianzheng Ruan sorting out the Si Xuan Underground Palace, isolating inside and outside, I see it more as clearing out the rotten bones, one by one dealing with those old fellows sitting in seclusion.”

“Not necessarily. Perhaps there are still some?” Su Guanying said, “When the Emperor personally led the expedition here, he only breached the Si Xuan Underground Palace once. In the past few decades, the people of Xia have painstakingly built up this fortune. To say there are still some accumulations, this Governor finds that hard to believe.”

“So, as I said, it’s about clearing out the rotten bones,” Shi Mingli insisted.

Ruan Qu secretly residing in the Si Xuan Underground Palace naturally also serves the purpose of consolidating the Qi’s foundation in South Xia. While the Qi are unwilling to overtly pressure Chu, they also cannot be completely at ease with the recently conquered land of Xia.

“Two Lords,” Jiang Wang, not understanding, asked, “Speaking of which, I have cultivated at Jixia Academy and also know of the Mu Country’s Eerde Mi. I wonder what differences they have with the Si Xuan Underground Palace?”

“To say they have differences, they are all blessed lands. To say they have no differences, they are completely different levels,” Su Guanying laughed. “The predecessor of Si Xuan Underground Palace is the Tianzhu Si Xuan Heaven, ranked fourteenth among the thirty-six small blessed lands. The people of Xia, generation after generation, managed it, and thus we have today’s Si Xuan Underground Palace.”

Blessed land and cave heaven! Jiang Wang’s heart suddenly opened, and he immediately understood a great deal of information.

Su Guanying continued, “Our Jixia Academy inherits the Sun Palace of the Old Chang Empire. Its predecessor is the Jintan Huayang Heaven, ranked eighth among the ten great blessed lands. The Old Chang imperial family operated it for a thousand years, and it became the Sun Palace, later destroyed by war. It was not until our Qi Kingdom rose, under the hands of Emperor Wu, that it was restored, and even surpassed its former glory, thus creating today’s Jixia Academy.”

Shi Mingli also added, “The predecessor of Eerde Mi is the Zuo Shen Youxu Heaven, ranked ninth among the ten great blessed lands. It is clearly a place bred by heaven and earth, a place for seeking truth, but they attribute it to that Cangtu God as his merit, calling it divine wisdom. Haha!”

“Great Commander, be careful with your words,” Su Guanying said lightly. “In the current world situation, we and the Mu Country are friends, not enemies. We still need to maintain respect for their supreme deities.”

“Ha! I also don’t know if Chi is dead or alive now.” Shi Mingli was unconcerned. “The Mu Emperor is a capable person, whom this commander greatly admires.”

The ten great blessed lands are naturally far superior to the thirty-six small blessed lands; it is no wonder Su Guanying said that the Si Xuan Underground Palace and Jixia Academy are completely different levels. However, both great and small blessed lands are based on blessed lands; what are their specific differences? Although Jiang Wang had studied at Jixia Academy, he could not say he fully understood it.

At this moment, he could only furrow his brow. “Then, how is the Taixu Illusion’s seventy-two blessed lands related? As you two have said, the ten great blessed lands, the thirty-six small blessed lands, and the seventy-two blessed lands are all places bred by heaven and earth, places for seeking truth. Is the Taixu Sect actually so powerful that it exclusively occupies the seventy-two blessed lands? Or did all sides contribute their own blessed lands when establishing the Taixu Illusion?”

“With a blessed land in hand, who would lightly let it go?” Shi Mingli sighed. “Speaking of this matter, I truly greatly admire Xuyuan Zhi. That old man is a respectable figure, truly devoted to the world, without any selfish thoughts.”

“Regarding the ancestor of the Taixu Sect, I actually have no understanding,” Jiang Wang said. “How can this be explained?”

Shi Mingli said, “The value of cave heavens far surpasses that of blessed lands, not merely a hundredfold. Xuyuan Zhi, in order to promote the Taixu Illusion, contributed the Taixu Pavilion of the Taixu Sect, with fixed shares allocated to the owners of the seventy-two blessed lands, thus exchanging for these blessed lands. If there were no profit to be gained, who would be willing to open their own blessed lands?”

“The predecessor of the Taixu Pavilion is the Chaizhen Taixu Heaven, ranked twenty-third among the thirty-six small blessed lands. And the Taixu Sect managed it very well, not inferior to those ranked higher. Xuyuan Zhi’s contribution of it can be said to be an offering from his very heart, directly causing several elders of the Taixu Sect to rebel! Because he wanted to exchange a cave heaven for blessed lands, many forces competed fiercely for blessed lands, thereby participating in the allocation of the Taixu Pavilion, demonstrating its preciousness. And what Xuyuan Zhi sought was merely to use the seventy-two blessed lands to enhance the Taixu Illusion’s attraction to Shenlin cultivators, to make the Taixu Illusion grow faster.”

“But in fact, it seems not very ideal?” Jiang Wang asked.

Shi Mingli said, “No matter can be achieved overnight, especially something that innovates the era like the Taixu Illusion. The unfortunate thing is that although Xuyuan Zhi withstood various pressures and paid huge sacrifices to exchange for the seventy-two blessed lands joining the Taixu Illusion system, at that time, various decisions could not be passed, and the news of the Taixu Illusion was sealed for a long time, always only open on a small scale. So his Chaizhen Taixu Heaven was almost exchanged for nothing.”

“Isn’t it slowly opening now?” Su Guanying said. “Sometimes, acting too quickly is not necessarily good. For something that can innovate the era and benefit the present world, I think no amount of caution is excessive.”

It was very clear that Shi Mingli’s attitude towards the Taixu Illusion was supportive, while Su Guanying’s was relatively cautious. Even within the Qi Kingdom itself, attitudes towards the Taixu Illusion were not monolithic. Across the world, there were bound to be more diverse opinions. The strength of real-world resistance was something those who truly advanced could fully experience.

It was truly difficult to imagine how Xuyuan Zhi persuaded one force after another, how he gained recognition from the emperors of those towering hegemonic kingdoms, how he won the admission of those high and mighty ancient sects, how he realized his vision step by step, and how he eliminated the resistance to promote the Taixu Illusion to the present world. Without great wisdom, great courage, and great perseverance, such a magnificent undertaking would be impossible to complete.

Shi Mingli then asked, “Marquis Wuan, you are a Taixu Envoy. Domestically, the earliest Taixu Corner Tower on the surface is your property. What kind of attitude do you think we should adopt towards the Taixu Illusion?”

“Young and inexperienced, not enough to understand worldly affairs; shallow in talent, what is there to discuss about the world?” Jiang Wang waved his hand. “What I have seen and heard is still too narrow. If Shi Li Shuai asks me now, I may not know how to answer. Let’s discuss this kind of important matter when I can truly see the reality of the world.”

He had come to South Xia immediately after returning to Linzi partly to avoid the small court meeting of the Qi court concerning the Taixu Scroll. During the mission to the grassland, Xu Zeming of the Taixu Sect had stopped his carriage halfway and asked him to support the creation of the Taixu Scroll in the Taixu Illusion.

He did not agree in his heart, but at the same time, he could not confirm whether his thoughts on this matter were entirely correct or incorrect. On the one hand, the creation of the Taixu Scroll carried the risk of the Taixu Sect strongly interfering with its will. But on the other hand, the greatness of the Taixu Illusion was beyond doubt, and the creation of the Taixu Scroll would undoubtedly specifically strengthen the construction of the Taixu Illusion and accelerate its evolution.

The stronger one is, the more one knows how to revere this world. Therefore, in such a grand affair, he simply remained silent, believing that those truly great figures would have their own insightful responses to the passage of time.

“Marquis Wuan is too modest,” Su Guanying laughed. “The smooth conduct of this South Border Official Examination is entirely due to Marquis Wuan’s thunderous methods. The Tijin patrol strikes fear into ghosts and monsters alike. If you are shallow in talent, is this Governor’s Office not full of useless people?”

Jiang Wang bowed slightly. “Just killing a few people, it’s not worth mentioning.”

To complete the task of this South Border Official Examination and ensure the official examination was conducted in a fair atmosphere, Jiang Wang personally formed a Tijin force of two thousand, whose riders were all his old subordinates who had fought with him in the Qi-Xia war. A single conscription order brought a multitude of respondents. He selected the best from the excellent to form this team. This detachment of riders only obeyed him and had no relation to the South Xia Governor’s Office. As the Great Qi Marquis of Wuan, he naturally had the qualification to establish a mansion and form his own guard. Forming a guard team of less than ten thousand people was in accordance with court regulations and did not require separate application.

Taking advantage of supervising the official examination, he could also be said to have conveniently laid the foundation for his power base in the land of Xia. Of course, raising such a Tijin was a huge expense; the current income of the Chitan fief was fundamentally insufficient to support it. Jiang Wang was currently using the name of supervising the official examination to request a large allocation of resources from the South Xia Governor’s Office. After the official examination ends, he would need to use his own funds to raise them.

But by that time, Dugu Xiao should also have the management of the fief on the right track. It would be just right to connect the business of Desheng Trading Company to the land of Xia to raise soldiers and horses. A scale of less than ten thousand people would not be a big problem. It is worth mentioning that Xue Rushi, after careful consideration, chose to resign from his position as Fengli Prefect and gave up the official examination, wholeheartedly joining Jiang Wang and being responsible for leading this branch of the Tijin. The people of the time called them the “Lao Mountain Iron Riders.”

The guard soldiers all wore red robes, a hundred people per unit, with one unit monitoring one prefecture. The Tijin were scattered throughout various locations, patrolling the examination fields in various cities. Anyone caught cheating, or invigilators who were not strict, were all subject to criminal punishment. Jiang Wang himself personally held his sword and patrolled the various prefectures, killing quite a few self-serving individuals – regardless of whether they were from the Governor’s Office or the Military Office, they were all killed without mercy. In the first large-scale official examination after Xia surrendered, there might have been individuals the Tijin could not handle, but there were none Jiang Wang could not handle. His strong stance and thunderous methods almost eradicated malpractices in this official examination.

The fairness of the South Border Official Examination was of long-term benefit to both Su Guanying and Shi Mingli, so they were quite cooperative. Even if some of their subordinates were dealt with by Jiang Wang as if killing chickens and slaughtering dogs, regardless of their inner thoughts, on the surface they only applauded and praised him.

“Killing people is not a skill. Knowing when to kill and knowing who to kill is the rare skill.”

At this moment, Shi Mingli, looking at the candidates below writing furiously, his eyes deep and profound, said, “Chen Zhisheng, the only son of Jiang Yong Prefect Chen Tingqian, disappeared five days ago. There has been no news up to now. Does the Marquis of Wuan know about this matter?”