September 1, 1993 of the Teyvat New Calendar, at the entrance of the main gate of Yunlu Academy in Liyue Harbor.
“Wow, it’s so huge!
Kuaixue, look quickly, it’s the Geo Archon statue!” 13-year-old Keqing, upon seeing the grand and magnificent gate of Yunlu Academy and the lifelike statue of the Geo Archon inside, instantly danced with excitement.
“Yes, yes, yes, you really do like the Geo Archon a lot.” Kuaixue, whose mental age was in her twenties, felt mentally exhausted.
“Eh?
Could it be that Kuaixue hates the Geo Archon?” Keqing instead looked somewhat surprised.
Hanwu at the side also looked at her in disbelief.
After all, as one could tell from the surname of the Wu Family, the ancestor of the Wu Family was none other than the very first among the early mortals of Liyue who contacted the Geo Archon, communicated with her, and begged him to become their guardian deity.
Later, after the Geo Archon began to bless the people of Liyue, the members of the Wu Family gradually transitioned from being the bridge of communication between mortals and gods back to their original profession of physicians.
Aside from referring to a shaman who realized communication between humans and gods, the character “Wu” also carried the meaning of a shaman doctor.
Later still, as times changed, relying on their reputation among the people and leveraging the favorable momentum brought by the birth of Mora, the Wu Family began to transform into a merchant lineage.
Their ancestors had also produced two members of the Liyue Qixing, making them a distinguished and prestigious family in Liyue Harbor.
To digress a bit, given their family history, the internal members of the Wu Family practically held the Geo Archon in the utmost reverence.
Oh dear, my A-Qing, I just don’t like her as much as you do, your question is practically roasting me over a fire.
Kuaixue quickly deflected with banter, “That’s not it.
I just feel that inside Liyue Harbor, there are either Geo Archon stans or twisted Geo Archon stans, which is a bit dangerous.” “Stans?
Dangerous?” “Personality, no, deity cults are undesirable, you know.” That’s right, gods.
There were 7 nations in Teyvat, each ruled by its own god, and the Seven Archons were collectively known as the Seven Archons of the mortal world.
Although the way each god ruled differed, there was no doubt that a god was the owner of the highest authority in that nation and also the embodiment of supreme military force.
Taking the Anemo Archon Barbatos as an example, rumor had it that the Anemo Archon blew away Mondstadt’s ancient snowstorms, leveled Mondstadt’s originally towering peaks, and permanently changed Mondstadt’s terrain and climate.
Upon seeing such descriptions in books, Kuaixue was completely shocked.
It was evident that the power of a single god was sufficient to produce an indelible impact on the development of an entire civilization.
At the age of 6, after begging her parents to take her to see the Rite of Descension at Yiyan Temple, looking at the Geo Archon’s serpentine true form winding and circling in the sky, and feeling the breath-stopping coercion akin to an ant facing a hundreds-meter-high tsunami, Kuaixue trembled all over with fear, every cell in her body screaming in terror.
And this Rite of Descension, which was Kuaixue’s first and perhaps last time attending in her life, completely became Kuaixue’s dark history—because she accidentally pissed her pants from fright.
Ah, pissing her pants right at the Rite of Descension amidst the crowd, her life could basically be considered over.
That day, Kuaixue’s tender young mind was left with a lifelong, incurable trauma.
After returning home, she stayed in her room for a full week.
“Sigh, Kuaixue is talking gibberish again.” Keqing indicated she was used to it.
“Alright, alright, let’s hurry along.
I can’t wait to finish the exam and then go check out Wenyuan Pavilion.” Feeling the strange gazes cast at them by quite a few people around, Kuaixue secretly thought things were looking bad, hurriedly changed the subject, and urged Hanwu and Keqing to go register for the entrance examination.
Yunlu Academy was located in Feiyun Slope, between the headquarters of Liyue’s famous Feiyun Commerce Guild and Liyue’s rising medical clinic, Bubu Pharmacy.
It was situated right below Yujing Terrace and opposite Liyue’s largest bookstore, Wanwen Bookhouse.
This geographical location could only be described as extremely superior.
Not only that, in this bustling city center of Liyue Harbor where every inch of land was worth gold, Yunlu Academy covered an area of about 14,000 square meters.
Its academic system lasted for 3 years, with the enrollment age being at least 13 years old and no more than 18 years old.
There were about 4,400 students in school.
In terms of courses of study, it encompassed everything from commerce, law, medicine, ritual studies, literature, to biology, embracing all kinds of knowledge.
Students independently chose relevant courses and completed exams to earn credits based on their own aspirations and Talents.
As for the source of students, the quota was 1,500 people per year, and all citizens of Liyue could apply.
Among them, 1,300 were self-funded enrollees, and 200 were free-tuition enrollees.
Free-tuition enrollees were evaluated by synthesizing entrance exam scores and background, with commoners being given priority admission under the same scores.
Children of wealthy families who obtained free-tuition qualifications were encouraged to apply for self-funded admission in exchange for a certain reward of credits.
Inside the school, there were facilities such as the Geo Archon statue, Wenyuan Pavilion, Tongren Dormitory (dormitories), martial arts dojos, and Moxian Pavilion.
Meanwhile, in Examination Hall Number One, our protagonist Kuaixue was boredly looking at the scenery outside the window, while the exam paper on her desk was already covered in ink.
“The Geo Archon says: The people of Liyue should be treated equally, (without discriminating based on differences in origin, wealth, or status.)” “The Geo Archon says: The citizens of Liyue should (take integrity as their foundation and strictly abide by the contract).
Those who break their word shall suffer the punishment of eating rocks.” “The following character meanings are:…” Whether it was a perk brought by transmigration or not, Kuaixue was naturally endowed with a photographic memory, her memory far surpassing ordinary mortals.
Coupled with the fact that she began reading poetry and books voraciously ever since learning characters at 1 year old, 13-year-old Kuaixue’s learning was now on par with graduating students of Yunlu Academy.
Had Kuaixue not lacked much interest in ideological and political books like the Geo Archon’s teachings, and instead focused more of her energy on books regarding history, humanities, and geography, her learning alone would have been sufficient right now to apply for studying abroad at Sumeru Akademiya.
Dozing off until half an incense stick’s worth of time remained before the end of the exam, Kuaixue briefly glanced at Keqing not far away.
Keqing had also just put down her brush at this moment, and judging by her expression, she seemed to feel pretty good about it.
Kuaixue was also very confident in her older brother.
Keqing, who had a strong and competitive nature, had heard the praise of Kuaixue from her parents and surrounding neighbors ever since she could remember.
As the older brother, she naturally refused to fall behind her younger sister, rising at dawn to practice sword dance and diligently studying hard since childhood, practically possessing the potential of an “involution king” from an early age.
For this “involution king” brother of hers who was different from her golden-fingered self and had walked all the way here entirely relying on diligence and Talents, Kuaixue deeply admired her in her heart.
Excluding her own cheating-enabled self, Keqing was undoubtedly among the absolute top tier of his peers.
And Keqing also looked back at this moment; the siblings’ gazes intersected, and they smiled at each other.
— I am the dividing line while waiting for the results to be announced — September 10th, at the inscription board on the right side of the main gate of Yunlu Academy.
“Grandpa, I made the list!
Look quickly, 19th place, Hu Tao, ID number 7755.” A little girl with chestnut-long hair said grinningly to the old grandfather in his fifties nearby who wore a Qiankun Taigua hat.
The girl’s biggest characteristic was her enchanting plum-blossom eyes, making her look whimsical and extremely cute.
“Hahaha, well done, little Tao!
Grandpa here can finally rest easy.” “Hehehe, even after this Demoiselle prepared so earnestly, I only managed 19th place.
I wonder what kind of sacred being this Kuaixue in first place with a full score is?” After confirming that she was on the list, Hu Tao also began to relax and carefully looked at the ranking board.
“This Kuaixue is probably that gifted little girl from the rumors a few years ago who could ‘recognize tones in three months, speak in half a year, recognize characters in a year, and write articles at three years old.’ Little Tao, you’ve also read the poems she wrote.” Hu Tao’s grandfather stroked his beard and recalled.
“?” Little Hu Tao’s small plum-blossom eyes were filled with huge confusion.
Hearing Kuaixue’s formidable battle record, she had originally shouted in her heart, “This child is just like me!” Yet she unexpectedly learned from her grandfather’s mouth that she actually had some connection with her.
“Grandpa, how do you remember so clearly?
Also, what poem is it?” “Hehe, if you hadn’t been chanting that poem “Ode to the Goose” in my ears all day long during that period, I wouldn’t remember it so clearly either.” “Ah?
That poem was written by her?” “Hehe, according to market rumors, that “Ode to the Goose” was written when she was merely 5 years old.” “…” Hearing these words, Hu Tao became extremely curious about this top-ranked scorer.
“Xingqiu, A-Jin, over here, over here.” Hu Tao accidentally caught sight of the two companions walking together and hurriedly jumped up to wave.
“Good morning, little Tao.” Yun Jin smiled and ran over to greet her.
Her parents behind her quickly followed.
“Little Tao, did you pass the exam?” “Of course!
With this Demoiselle’s clever wisdom, it was practically in the bag.
A-Jin, you passed too, right?
What place did you get?” “Blessings of the Geo Archon, 9th place.” “Wow~, as expected of the future head of the Yun-Han Opera Troupe, you actually edged this Demoiselle out by a notch.
Xingqiu, how about you?” “Hm?
My Demoiselle, you finally remembered me?
15th place.” Xingqiu, walking over slowly, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and put down the martial arts book he was reading.
“I wonder what rank our clever and wise Big Miss Hu scored?
Let me think, it seems to be 19th place, right?” Because their rankings were close, Xingqiu had seen Hu Tao’s ranking.
“You rascal Xingqiu, this Demoiselle is 2 years younger than you guys.
So what if my ranking is a bit lower?
See if this Demoiselle doesn’t teach you a hard lesson.” Hearing this, Hu Tao’s little face flushed red on the spot, and her hands made a gesture to pinch Xingqiu’s face, scaring Xingqiu into hurriedly hiding behind his eldest brother.
Seeing this, the parents of the three sides smiled at each other, congratulated one another, and chatted about daily life.
Hu Tao, Yun Jin, and Xingqiu nearby also gathered together to chat.
Because their family addresses were close to one another, the three of them had known each other since childhood and hit it off well.
After chatting for a while, the brothers Keqing and Kuaixue passed by from the side.
“Hmph, I made a mistake this time.
I didn’t expect you, Kuaixue, to really ‘remain silent of a master stroke, but stun everyone with a single call.’ Next time I will definitely defeat you and make you willingly call me older brother.” “Yes, yes, yes, study hard and make progress every day, my older brother Keqing.” The word “brother” was pronounced with extra heaviness.
“You…
If you are like this, I will have to bring up someone’s trip to see the Rite of Descension.” “…
Wuwuwu, A-Qing, you’ve changed, you’ve gone bad.
You weren’t such a bad child before.
This younger sister of yours is very sad, so sad that I recall when my A-Qing was three years old, on that birthday…” “Shut up!!!” Compared to the shameless Kuaixue, Keqing’s skin was still much thinner.
Hearing what Kuaixue said, her face flushed red in a flash, and with lightning-fast speed, she used her hand to cover Kuaixue’s mouth.
Just like that, amidst the soft laughter of their parents, the two siblings mutually exposed each other’s shortcomings along the way and slowly walked away.
“Keqing, that name, I have an impression of it.
She is the runner-up of this exam,” Yun Jin pondered.
“Mm, I also have an impression, she is indeed the second place.
Then the boy called ‘Kuaixue’ by him who looks identical is probably the top scorer of this exam—Kuaixue.
I didn’t expect it to actually be her, no wonder.” Xingqiu gently supported her chin with her hand and sighed.
“Eh, eh, eh, that lazy-looking person is the author of Ode to the Goose?
Xingqiu, do you know that Kuaixue?” Hu Tao indicated that this severely clashed with the image she had imagined of someone wearing glasses, with flowing long hair and full of intellectual aura.
“Mm, that’s right.
I witnessed with my own eyes back then when she composed Ode to the Goose by the pond below Yujing Terrace.
The younger generation is truly to be feared.” Xingxia, the eldest young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild who came to look at the list posting on behalf of her busy parents while bringing his younger brother along, also heard their discussion and added, “What surprises me is, Xingqiu, how do you know that little girl?” Facing everyone’s curious gazes, Xingqiu explained, “It doesn’t count as knowing her, I’m just familiar with her face.” “Every month when I go to Wanwen Bookhouse to buy new books, I can always see that girl picking out and reading new books on Wanwen Bookhouse’s new book shelves, and the books she picks are all rather professional texts.
Over time, I naturally remembered that girl’s face.
I only found out her name today as well.” “Thinking about it, it’s not surprising at all that such a book-loving person secured the top spot.” Xingqiu naturally had a deep impression of this unconventional girl.