"Time's up, all examinees put down your pens and wait for the proctors to collect your papers."

Ming Shuiyun put down her ink pen and let out a sigh of relief. She exchanged a glance with Qian Yuya and Lin Xue, who nodded slightly, leaving Ming Shuiyun feeling both happy and a bit guilty.

According to the plan, Qian Yuya and Lin Xue would each deliberately answer one question incorrectly, ensuring their total scores would be lower than Ming Shuiyun's. If Shi Wen, the Eye of Omniscience Veteran King, didn't falter, this paper should be the highest scoring answer. However, there's only one seat for the Eye of Omniscience and it can't be shared by three students. Perhaps Cha Huan would randomly pick one of them to send out—given the old man's mischievous nature, he might intentionally keep Ming Shuiyun from getting first place.

Qian Yuya and Lin Xue were merely there to help and had no need for the Eye of Omniscience. Getting second and third place "Hearts of Universal Learning" was satisfying enough for them. If it weren't for the sake of occupying two Hearts of Universal Learning seats and lowering the Sword Masters' rankings, they might have even handed in blank papers.

The honor of the academic system is useful to motivate students who haven't faced life and death, but for those carrying deep-seated vendettas, it is meaningless. Compared to the illusory sense of honor, hatred and ideals are their motivations for learning.

However, their willingness to forgo is a favor, and Ming Shuiyun didn't take it for granted in the slightest. After all, Ming Shuiyun was just an ordinary person. It was only because those eligible for the throne had all died off that her turn came in line, and she ended up haphazardly participating in the most wonderful sword-seeking competition… It's not that she had the mind of an emperor, but having never held any power, she naturally didn't see herself as a ruler.

Not to mention that Le Yin, who wasn't cute at all, always hit her hard, making her meek and submissive. More importantly, there wasn't a dedicated follower around Ming Shuiyun, leaving her with no opportunity to develop a sense of superiority—Qin Yueshi was old money, valuing nothing but money, assessing people's worth only in terms of 'useful' and 'useless', and wouldn't respect royal authority. Kui Nianruo was a shared follower, friendly to everyone, making Ming Shuiyun feel no favoritism.

As for Qian Yuya, Lin Xue, Li Ying, and others, they either had relatives who died under the rule of the Shining Imperial Court or simply were reserves of the Backlight Organization White Night, and would have no fondness for an emperor, naturally not fawning over Ming Shuiyun, the imperial candidate.

Among the sword sheaths, Ming Shuiyun was uniquely treated.

Like Ming Shuangli, the campus star, surrounded by countless followers, other Sword Masters mostly have self-recommended Prince Consort followers, minister followers, and even a gossip follower as strong as a regiment.

Only around Ming Shuiyun, there were no followers but several White Night rebels indeed.

"Sister Qian, Sister Lin." As soon as she left the examination room, Ming Shuiyun bowed in thanks: "Thank you."

"No need to be polite," Lin Xue replied with a smile. "You should thank Teacher Qin instead. To put it honestly, we just basked in your glory and earned a Heart of Universal Learning honor for nothing."

She turned her head, glanced thoughtfully at the densely packed bullet holes above the wall, and said, "I didn't expect Teacher Qin to cause such a commotion; I thought his plan was a joke..."

"That's Hongle's older brother, after all," Qian Yuya said matter-of-factly. "Alright, Hongle's older brother is waiting for us, let's hurry over."

"Mm!"

Ming Shuiyun happily nodded vigorously and left the Nightmare Faculty teaching building with the students, only to see Qin Le Yin leaning against a tree by the road, wearing a pensive expression.

"Hongle's brother."

"Teacher Qin."

"Teacher Hongle, I checked and double-checked the exam paper three times!" Ming Shuiyun rushed over and said, "There's absolutely no deviation—it's identical to the answer you provided—not a single mistake made!"

"Mm." Qin Le Yin responded blandly, then suddenly asked, "Did you share a room with Ming Yueyan for the exam?"

Ming Shuiyun was taken aback, "No, why?"

"She left halfway through the exam, and her sword sheath 'Chameleon' disguised as her to continue," Qin Le Yin said. "I caught Ming Yueyan sneaking out, and then Chameleon disguised as you to take her away. Chameleon's disguises are so masterful, even I can't see through them..."

"At that time, I vaguely felt something was amiss. Why was Ming Yueyan so calm? Turns out she was certain Chameleon would come to her rescue, so she wasn't worried at all..."

Though Qin Le Yin didn't mean to blame, Ming Shuiyun instinctively bowed her head slightly, "I'm sorry..."

Qin Le Yin shook his head, "It's not your fault, Chameleon is just too cunning."

"Um, Teacher Hongle, didn't we agree not to use that term in front of others?" Ming Shuiyun pleaded embarrassedly, avoiding eye contact with Qian Yuya and Lin Xue.

"Mm, it seems you are indeed the real one." Qin Le Yin turned to Qian Yuya and asked a bizarre question, "Do you know the meaning of life? Do you truly want to... live?"

Qian Yuya answered without hesitation, "The most precious thing for a person is life; each person only has one life..."

"Stop." Qin Le Yin turned to Lin Xue, pondered for a moment, then asked, "When the Lin family swordsman begins training in 'Condensing Light in Scabbard,' how many days apart must the sword blade be exposed to sunlight?"

Lin Xue was startled, instinctively answering, "Exposed once every ten days, stopping after three years... How do you know this, Teacher Qin——"

"Money can make the devil turn the mill; the wealthy have distant relatives even in the deep mountains. You're a friend of my sister. Spending a little money to investigate you is entirely reasonable. After all, the technology for disguising as women is so advanced now, it's possible there's a guy dressed as a close-to-the-moon maiden..."

Qin Le Yin said calmly, "Very good. It seems neither of you is disguised by Chameleon. The existence of Chameleon sword sheaths means we can't completely trust others. When discussing important matters, we need to exchange passwords to eliminate Chameleon's existence."

"Lin Xue, the Eye of Omniscience appreciates your assistance this time. I guarantee you can pass 'The Downfall of Silver Blood' with full marks. If you have other requests, you can propose them as well." Qin Le Yin suddenly said, "Li Ying just wished to intern at the Steam Chamber of Commerce, and I gave her permission. So long as your requests aren't unreasonable, I can agree—money, opportunity, anything."

Qin Le Yin's implication was unmistakable: take the reward and you can go; your usefulness has ended.

Lin Xue contemplated for a moment, looked at Qian Yuya, who didn't return her gaze, showing no inclination to exchange looks with her close friend. She glanced at Ming Shuiyun and said, "What if I say I wish to join your ranks and work for Shuiyun Palace?"

"Interesting." Although he said this, Qin Le Yin's face showed not a hint of surprise, "What do you think, Shuiyun Palace?"

"Huh?" Transparent Ming Shuiyun lifted her head.

"Lin Xue wants to work for you, seeking a future. Will you accept this attendant? What kind of future will you promise her?"

"Well, um…" Ming Shuiyun was somewhat flustered, "If Sister Lin is willing to help me, that's certainly great…"

"You make the decision." Qin Le Yin said, "Based on my current understanding of Lin Xue, her six attributes are: medium combat power, high cognitive power, high decision-making ability, high willpower, extremely high learning capacity, and high execution ability, making her a rare four-high talent."

"Then… agree?" Ming Shuiyun tentatively asked, "But I'm not sure what position would suit Sister Lin..."

"No need to plan that far. If Shuiyun Palace truly becomes the new emperor, I believe there will indeed be a place for me." Lin Xue said, "It seems Shuiyun Palace is willing to accept me. What about you, Teacher Qin?"

"If Shuiyun Palace has no objections, naturally neither do I," Qin Le Yin said. "Since we're all on the same side here, I'll set a password, which we'll change regularly. Before discussing important matters, we must confirm the password, understood?"

"Understood!"

"The first password will be… Imperial jade liquid wine, one hundred eighty-one a cup."

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