658 Year-End Assessment (Thanks to the Alliance Leader, Chocolate of the Wind~)_3 658 Year-End Assessment (Thanks to the Alliance Leader, Chocolate of the Wind~)_3 If culinary skills were truly tested, with his cooking talent, he could utterly crush the entire cohort of disciples!
Unfortunately, culinary skills aren’t included in the assessment…
Not a single one of Mo Hua’s strengths were tested.
Everything tested was what he wasn’t good at.
Except for one thing: “Chess proficiency.”
Mo Hua used to think he was good at that…
Because whether he was in Tongxian City or wandering on the road, Mo Hua often played chess with Grandpa Gui, whenever he had some downtime.
Mo Hua believed Grandpa Gui was an expert, and his chess abilities must be exceptional.
Since he could go neck-and-neck with Grandpa Gui in chess and maintain a fifty-fifty win rate, that surely meant his chess skills were decent!
But when the actual assessment came, he was left dumbfounded…
The Sect’s chess proficiency test was too utilitarian, too calculated, every move painstakingly strategized, full of scheming—there was no joy in it whatsoever…
He played eighteen games and only won two…
That’s when Mo Hua realized a possibility…
Either the Sect’s chess philosophy was inherently flawed,
or…
Both he and Grandpa Gui were just terrible chess players…
*Mo Hua was a little shaken.*
*He was bad, sure, but to think even Grandpa Gui’s reputation took a hit because of him…*
Mo Hua let out a deep sigh.
The Sect valued theory over practicality.
Perhaps, it wasn’t just Taixu Gate; maybe the entire Qian Learning State Boundary operated this way.
Because of this, for the “Hundred Arts Tao Cultivation” course, Mo Hua scraped by and earned a “Grade C”…
…
This “one Grade A and six Grade Cs” report card had to be sent home to his parents.
Some other disciples who also received the same grades were visibly distressed and didn’t dare to send theirs home.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, didn’t mind.
He mailed his report card back to Li State, along with a family letter that read roughly:
Dear Father and Mother:
I did my best to learn, but the Sect is full of geniuses, and I couldn’t quite measure up. I narrowly lost and ended up with six “Grade Cs.”…
What a pity…
Fortunately, my Formation skills are still excellent!
Even among the Eight Great Gates of the Qian Learning State Boundary, in Taixu Gate, my Formation skills are not much inferior to those of the Heavenly Prides…
Elder Master Xun even praised me highly.
…
Additionally, I’ve settled quite well in Taixu Gate…
The connection with the Taoist Court has been established too! You don’t need to worry.
The new year is around the corner; Father and Mother, please treat yourselves to something delicious!
Once I achieve Golden Core, I’ll come back home!
Mo Hua.
Mo Hua sent both his report card and letter back home.
The journey to Li State was long.
Even within Li State, Tongxian City was quite remote.
He didn’t know when the family letter would reach them or when he might receive a reply…
…
Following the year-end assessment, there was a month-long New Year holiday.
Disciples within the Sect could either return home or stay at the Sect.
Mo Hua decided to stay in the Sect.
Li State was too far away; he couldn’t return home. He could only imagine his parents in his mind, along with Elder Yu and other neighbors, friends, and childhood buddies from Tongxian City…
*What were they doing right now?*
*Were they bustling about, strolling the streets, enjoying beast fights, and eating all kinds of delicious food?*