Those that grades were usually Senior Eunuchs working for the Inspection Palace Complex’ Audit Palace, making them very knowledgeable and experienced regarding many exams, so there wouldn’t be a problem if they were the graders.
Soon, the others were also finish and gave their exams back. As it was a standard exam, there were mostly only Intermediate Eunuchs that had to take exams because they were invited, so they had also taken the test before and weren’t really nervous about it.
The second exam-question was a combination of geography and art. “You shall draw the map of Lutwania, our world. Include the borders of each country, and make sure that the map is up to date. It doesn’t have to go too deep into the details.”
Ji Li was happy, as he had specifically learned about the latest news that came to the Imperial Capital, as he was sure a current event would be mentioned during the exam, he had taken in all the knowledge that circulated as of late, especially the map of the world.
There was a big event that happened just a few years ago, which had shocked the word largely. So, Ji Li took his brush and painted on the large paper very precisely. Although he was less experienced in this than Qianyu, he was still talented.
The drew the Emerald Brilliance Empire, but, unlike the previous map, the empire actually stretched to the far north of the world, having a large northern coastline. Previously, the Emerald Brilliance Empire had already possessed a large part of the ocean that separated the two continents.
The issue was that although they could reach all countries through the opening, the way up to the northernmost and the whole eastern side of the eastern continent was out of reach. There were other ways to get over it, but they wouldn’t have been worth the trouble.
Now, with the northern peak of the country, there was access to a direct way to the other northern countries while also gaining the possibility to access the eastern part of the east continent. That made the Emerald Brilliance Empire even more flexible than it already was.
The reason for the empire’s expansion was the annexation of the Frost Wind Kingdom that was previously independent. For reasons unknown to Ji Li, the kingdom had voluntarily accepted the empire’s offer to join and became one of the main regions.
Ji Li thus made the empire as large as it was currently on the official map and added the names of the main regions. There were now eight main regions, the largest being the Imperial Region that was stretching from the centre of the empire to the southern border.
To the southwest was the Grand Duchy of War, which shared a border with two countries. North of War or Northwest of the Imperial Region was the Elven Kingdom, which was the core region of the elven species in the whole world.
East of the Elven Kingdom, or northeast of the Imperial Region was the Grand Duchy of Culture, which was named because of the many influences and purposes it had. As northeast to Culture was the Dwarf Union, where the several clans of the past Ferra Kingdom united and build their council.
Northwest to Culture was the Grand Duchy of Farming, which was, as the name suggested, focused on agriculture. It had a lot of farmable land and was full of vitality, so beasts weren’t uncommon.
The last two regions were, as previously mentioned, in the far north, the Frost Wind Kingdom, which was a kingdom on its own. Then, across the central ocean, that separated the west and east continents, was the Grand Duchy of Trade, named because of the many possibilities for trade there.
Besides the main regions, there were 20 major regions, each being a duchy, controlled by dukes. Between the major regions, there were some minor regions, called march, controlled by marquises. Grand Duke, Duke and Marquis were the three high nobility ranks that were controlling the regions.
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The title of King and Kingdom was above them, being an autonomous region inside of the empire and not directly controlled, of which there were two. While the Dwarf Union didn’t personally have someone of King rank, they still had their own leading figures, several of them being of the high nobility ranks, making their region partly autonomous too.
After Ji Li had finished drawing the map, he put it to the side like he did before. He would roll it if he could, just to pass some time, but the ink was still wet so it would ruin the exam and make him fail. Anyways, there was not much time till the next question was going to be given.
As they had just gotten two sheets of paper, Ji Li assumed that the third question would be slightly different. The first was a hypothetical situation, the second a question with bounds to the cultural arts and the last would normally be practical.
Ji Li wasn’t too knowledgeable about the exams, and normally, the last task would be for the examinees to do a task for a fixed time and then they would be evaluated based on that, so Ji Li guessed that his task would be the task to slay the Demon Beast.
It didn’t take too long for the rest to also finish, although slightly embarrassed for their had lost to a youngling that was wearing Junior Eunuch rank robes. Still, they had guessed that since the person was here, it meant they took an early examination, clearly talented and not to be compared with.
The Intermediate Eunuch overseers took all papers and announced as they took out a wooden box “There are pieces of paper on which a number is written, hidden inside of the box. You may pull once. The number is the task number in the Eunuch Task Hall inside of the Mission Palace.
You may take the piece of paper and show it to a receptionist, there, you will be receiving your task and be told how you will be examined. After you absolved all tasks, you will be given your grading.”
With that, the Intermediate Eunuchs didn’t want long and took their paper pieces before leaving the room, until only Ji Li was there. He knew that his task was predetermined, so he wouldn’t need to participate in the pulling.
As expected, one of the eunuchs said, “Your task will be taking place in the backyard of the audit hall, come with us, we will bring you there.”
Ji Li followed the eunuchs and soon ended in a garden, walking down the path. At the end of the path, he saw a very large stone platform, not like those temporary ones in Ferrarius, but high-quality stone platforms that are integrated properly into the ground.
It stretched from the entrance Ji Li saw to the far north where he could barely make out a large stone building. To the sides, there were stone platforms slightly higher, most probably for spectators to watch the fight. Ji Li went up the platform, wondering where the monsters were.
As soon as Ji Li stepped up, he saw a large cell-like gate at the other end of the platform. The building he saw previously was actually a prison. He looked through and saw the floor inside a bit, there were several cells from what he could make out.
He also guessed that the cells atop were actually more likely used by the beasts that would be coming out, and that the real beasts were stationed further down. He wondered how many beasts there were in total and how high their cultivation was.
Still, Ji Li didn’t ask and just followed behind the eunuchs that guided him there. They went further down the path until they were nearly at the building, and then turned left as they said, “Wait here, you will be told what to do.”
Ji Li wondered what he meant by ‘be told’, who would tell him? Soon, his answer was presented as a man above the building, in an open balcony, one which he personally already used for the competition he held. The man looked down at Ji Li, and there seemed to be others behind him.
The man begun “Junior Eunuch Ji Li, you have applied for an early examination, and I can already tell from the first two questions given that you have not done so willy-nilly, like some had guessed. Still, this will be the true test, and if you fail, you fail fully.”
The man kept looking at Ji Li’s reaction, which was cold and indifferent, to which he internally approved and continued on “You are given four choices. Your opponent may range from low to peak, so tell us, what is it you want?”
The test was actually not only a test of strength, but also one that looked at your willpower and braveness, as well as smarts and decisiveness. There were many factors that played into the test, so the examinee had to think it through.
Ji Li didn’t need long as he replied, “I would like to challenge the high opponent.”
The examiner was surprised and asked Ji Li, as there was not too much of a distance between fellow eunuchs anyways “Why have you decided to take on an opponent of that level?”
Ji Li didn’t know whether he should answer truthfully, so he had to think it through again. In all honesty, he was a bit shameless, which he knew but never thought of as bad. Now, it might be difference, but he decided to just tell his thought process.