Chapter 24: Favoritism And Fraud
While the candidates who had been there before them were still scratching their heads thinking about the questions, Pei Lianxue and Feng Yu Die were already done with their tests.
Obviously, this caught the attention of Elder Wang and the white-bearded old man next to him. The old man stroked his long beard and asked, "Shouren, what's up with those two girls? You personally led them into the examination room."
Wang Shouren bowed, cupping his hands. "The silver-haired girl was recommended by Master Taixu, so I went especially to take care of her."
"Taixu? Has she accepted an apprentice?"
"Yes, this girl's name is Feng Yu Die, and she is a heavenly spiritual root. As for the other person, she is accompanying her."
The old man's eyes, hidden under his long eyebrows, widened slightly. He glanced at Feng Yu Die again and smiled lightly.
"Now that you've said that, I can see Taixu's naughty spirit in her."
The old man with a white beard was named Qi Baishi and was the chief of the *Dragon Star Academy* of the ***Black Star*** Sect. He was in the middle of the *Nascent Soul* stage, which wasn't the highest level in the ***Black Star***, but because the sect's Elders were all his students before, even the Matriarch took the initiative to greet him and call him "Mr. Qi" when she saw him.
Wang Shouren stepped forward to pour him tea, praying in his heart that Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue would answer the questions honestly and not engage in petty acts of favoritism and fraud as they had secretly discussed on the way here.
Otherwise, Mr. Qi would definitely be furious when he found out, and he would have to withstand his anger and intercede for Feng Yu Die.
However, Feng Yu Die was already thinking about how to pass the answer to Pei Lianxue.
"Xiao Tian, go and see how Miss Pei is doing and see if there is any way to give her the answer."
Helplessly, Xiao Tian put away her ***Heavenly Dao Scroll*** and flew straight toward Pei Lianxue's seat, seeing that the forbidden spell placed on the desks could not stop her.
"Let's see." Since there was quite a distance between Pei Lianxue and Feng Yu Die, it took Xiao Tian a while to reach her side.
Seeing that she was writing seriously, she thought the young master Ye of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect must have prepared her before coming here. After all, that kid had known about the ***Black Star*** Sect's test topics from somewhere.
However, when she saw the content written on her paper, Xiao Tian was completely dumbfounded---the answer written by Pei Lianxue was exactly the same as the passage he had just read to Feng Yu Die according to the ***Heavenly Dao Scroll***.
"This is..."
There were countless answers to the "*What is Dao Shin*" question, but the passage she read to Feng Yu Die just now was "***Heavenly Dao***"'s understanding of *Dao Shin*, and no one else could have exactly the same interpretation.
There might be cultivators in the world who had understood that passage, but basically, those were all powerful cultivators who had practiced for thousands of years. Moreover, it was not possible to interpret the meaning of *Dao Shin* in five hundred words as clearly as the "***Heavenly Dao***" did.
How could this girl know the answer?
Xiao Tian frowned. She didn't think Pei Lianxue could write this answer by herself, and even if the young master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect had given her the answer in advance, she would never have been able to write it accurately.
Meanwhile, Pei Lianxue had already finished the last word and signed her name at the end. Without hesitation, she simply scanned the five hundred words she had written, then softly called out, "Answer finished."
A burst of light engulfed her, and she was transported out of the exam hall ahead of schedule.
At a distance, Feng Yu Die, who had finished writing the answer with Xiao Tian's help, saw Pei Lianxue leaving. Hastily, she whispered, "Answer finished," and was sent out of the examination hall along with Xiao Tian.
Watching from the center of the venue, Wang Shouren was a little surprised to see that they both handed in the papers after only about half an hour of writing.
"Are they both that fast?"
Raising his eyebrows, he wanted to go and take a look at their papers, but before he could do that, Qi Baishi waved his hand and brought Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue's papers over with his spiritual power.
"Shouren, they both got the '*Dao Shin*' topic, right?"
"Ah... yes." Wang Shouren cupped his hands.
"*Dao Shin*'s concepts are quite vague for someone their age. And I don't know how Taixu taught her..."
"Then, please be lenient when grading, sir. Both of them are only fifteen years old. This question is probably too difficult for them."
"I know what to do."
Qi Baishi stroked his beard, took the two papers from mid-air, and looked at them.
He read Feng Yu Die's paper first, and when he saw the words on it that looked like ants crawling, he sighed, suddenly feeling tired.
"This writing is..."
Wang Shouren leaned over to take a look, then said helpfully. "Ahaha... That girl has learned her master's handwriting, and Taixu's writing has always been scribbled and unintelligible."
"Okay, since she learned from her, this is so similar to..." Qi Baishi sighed softly, then ignored his discomfort and started to read the content.
But while reading, he suddenly frowned his white eyebrows. The answer was so perfect that even if he wanted to nitpick and deduct some points, his only reason would be Feng Yu Die's unsightly writing.
Qi Baishi sighed. "As expected of Taixu to achieve this level of enlightenment."
He didn't believe that Feng Yu Die could grasp the meaning of *Dao Shin* written here, and he took it for granted that Taixu must have dictated it to her and asked her to memorize it.
Wang Shouren breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "After all, it is the Great Taixu's personal teaching."
But the next moment, when Qi Baishi saw Pei Lianxue's answer, he suddenly slapped the table.
Bang!!
"This is outrageous!"
Startled, Wang Shouren asked immediately, "What's the matter, sir?"
"Take it and see for yourself!" Qi Baishi threw the two test papers to Wang Shouren.
After glancing over both papers, he took a sharp breath.
Pei Lianxue's handwriting was neat and elegant, but the answer was exactly the same as Feng Yu Die's.
Although the examination started at the same time, the two essays written by those two were exactly the same, even the pauses in the sentences were the same.
"..."
Wang Shouren couldn't help scolding in his heart. Those two stupid girls; if you copy the answer, you should at least change something or add a few words. They copied the same exact thing. Weren't they just looking for trouble?
After a pause, he quickly found an excuse for Pei Lianxue. "Sir, maybe this is just a coincidence?"
"Coincidence?" Qi Baishi looked at him. "Whether it is the one who passed the answer or the one who received it, both will be punished with zero points and disqualified from the entry selection."
"Ah... Sir, this... Feng Yu Die is Taixu's disciple, so..."
"So what if she is? I'll never condone those who break the rules."
Wang Shouren hurriedly leaned forward, whispering to him. "Sir, Feng Yu Die is not only Taixu's disciple but also the descendent of the Holy Emperor..."
"Descendant of the Holy Emperor?" Qi Baishi slightly narrowed his eyes, but still, he did not change his decision. "So what? Could it be that the Matriarch wants to bring her in through the back door? Well, then you can ask the Matriarch to come and talk to me in person later."
"..."
Wang Shouren had nothing to say at this.
The Matriarch asked him to look out for Feng Yu Die and help her a little if he could, but now, if she really was disqualified by Qi Baishi, it would be strange if he would not be scolded to death.
After pondering for a while, he said, "Sir, whether this is a coincidence or not is not clear yet, so we should use the *Interrogation Cauldron* to check it out. What if it's really a coincidence?"
Looking at him, Qi Baishi was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Then, you bring those two back, and I will personally ask them with the *Interrogation Cauldron*."
"Oh, alright..."