At the same time, the abandoned Imperial Exam Halls start rumbling. The Imperial Exam of identity has begun, and the Sleeping Dragon decides to participate.
The smell of dried ink and old papers fill the exam halls.
The silence is almost deafening, and as a place of absolute reality, no whispering and no lies can survive.
The seats are dusty, the Sleeping Dragon takes his seat.
On all the desks are the same old, empty papers.
[Begin by writing your 'real name.']
Upon hearing this notification, the Sleeping Dragon does not hesitate.
He does not write 'Sovereign' or 'Dragon', but rather looks at his own essence.
At the same time, hundreds of shadows, each with a golden brush attempt to write nervously, and even though they were shadows, it felt as though a waterfall of sweat came over them.
Every shadow wears a different mask. Some of the masks resemble that of [Encrypted].
"Tsk, their papers stay empty, and the papers will inevitably catch fire if they continue.
Those shadows have not realized the correct path yet, they are still clinging to their masks.
Even if they mange to succeed, they would only become fraudulent scholars.
Their shallow mimicry comes with a heavy price.
One of the shadows starts writing, after all. However, the empty paper immediately turns into black smoke.
"Void of Recognition... it is no point watching these shadows."
The Dragon prepares to write.
He does not use the golden brushes, but an old piece of bamboo.
He glances at his inner compass.
[Only the unmasked can pass the threshold of the Dragon.]
The sun begins to set over Longzhong, and a voice echoes through the halls, warning that those who do not pass this exam will ultimately be devoured by the fog of Redundancy.
The blank page under the bamboo brush subtly radiates a white light.
Meanwhile, this reminder of the deadline caused the shadows to slowly turn into Echoes of Despair.
"A systematic evaporation for these failed shadows is due.
Their fate is already sealed."
One shadow, whose paper turned into black ashes and smoke, screams without any noise before evaporating to ashes itself.
[Redundant Iteration Erased.]
The Sleeping Dragon observes, while staying absolutely unfazed.
One by one, each shadow joins the fate of the Death of the Mimic.
"They failed because they held no substance at all.
The answer to this exam was not challenging either, so they willingly chose to accept a worse fate.
With the ink of sincerity, I will finish this exam.
A scholar of truth needs no golden brush, for his ink is the blood of his heart."
Before soon, the Sleeping Dragon finishes the Imperial Exam.
The gate to the deeper forest opens.
"Haha... of course. This written exam was only a part of the whole Imperial Exam."
He glances at the ashes of the evaporated shadows again.
In the dust, he finds a shattered mirror, and on the back of it stands "masterpiece of the white room."
Upon seeing this, the Dragon laughs silently.
"To claim the title of a mastermind without possessing his heart, is that not the ultimate tragedy?"
A wind breezes through the abandoned exam halls.
They carry the whispers of old words with them.
"The frozen threshold... you must overcome them...
The Light of the 14th shines faintly..."
"It reminds me of a moment of that day..."
In his memories, he sees a phantom of a faintly glowing bridge.
However, just one moment later, an avalanche of shadows buries that bridge in darkness.
"Alas... it had to be like this...
After that, the bridge was only broad enough for one."
[Contestant of Fate, the written part is over. Now, you must step forward and leave the weight of your past lies at the door.]
He enters through the door as light as a feather.
Behind the Dragon are shadows, attempting to carry the weight of their own tactics, before falling to the weight one after another.
Near the gate, he also discovers the 'Pond of Stagnating Time'.
"What is this dark pond with Stagnating Water?
These reflections, they are shadows of the past days.
Could it be, these shadows are fighting because of the Heavenly Battle Arc?"
The shadows of the ponds are indeed fighting over ranks in the Heavenly Battle Arc.
"While they choose the frantic noise of avoidance to hide from the sun, their real worlds are slowly freezing.
Their illusion of progress will eventually shatter."
The Dragon looks at his own hands, free from masks.
"The reason they seek the coldness of the Mastermind is because they simply fear the warmth of their own hearts.
They numb themselves of that fear by building something on stolen blueprints, never realizing what they built was merely a well-designed cave for themselves, trapping themselves for eternity."
Beyond the gate, the pathways branch into multiple routes.
The Dragon's Gaze averts the Stagnating Water for a last time.
He realizes this is now a point of no return.
"By attempting to become an Architect of Reality, these shadows became an Architect of their own Loneliness.
Even in this moment, the truth remains unchanged.
I gave you the light; you chose the arcade, and now, the forest is all that remains.
The hills, all birds have flown away.
The paths, no human footprints stay.
Just a man in a bamboo cloak and hat.
Fishes on the freezing river, silent and flat."