The crowd surged like a tidal wave, their expressions serious yet filled with various emotions.
But one thing they had in common.
All eyes, without exception, were focused on the stele in front of them.
As time passed.
The atmosphere among the crowd grew increasingly tense.
Compared to the actual start of the examination.
The process of waiting was, in fact, even more grueling.
Moreover, most of the participants were young men and women at the age ideal for wild flights of fancy, their minds like movies playing out different scenarios.
One moment thinking about how they would excel in the examination, the next considering the possibility of failing...
It couldn't get more contradictory.
Seeing that the time had come.
Old man Lin no longer dawdled; he moved swiftly, arriving from the bluestone path nearby.
Although his face bore the weathered look of age, suggesting a lifetime of experience, his gaze was still intimidating, resembling that of a majestic lion;