Fail the Civil Service Exam Three Times and Die: The State Forces Me into Its Ranks

Other people take civil service exams to secure a government job. Gu Yan takes them to save his life.

The Heavenly Dao Civil Service Exam System set its sights on Gu Yan, the master of Qingyun Temple: Enter government service to stabilize the leylines. Every exam is a trial.

Fail the national civil service exam once, and the temple's lifespan drops by a third. Fail three times, and the temple is destroyed and its people perish.

Gu Yan: ...Can I just not take the exam?

System: Detected negative exam preparation. Temple lifespan -30 days.

Gu Yan: Fine! I'll take it, okay?

He had planned to keep a low profile at the temple, living off the land until he died.

Who knew the dragon veins would fall into turmoil, evil masters would come lurking, and someone would even set a deadly trap at the provincial civil service exam site?

Forced to write his essay while suppressing the evil influence, answer aptitude questions while striking acupoints, and unearth a device for attracting evil in the archives, he fought the person behind it all from a distance.

The next day, two black government cars stopped outside his temple. A visitor handed him an official document bearing a red header:

"Master Gu, the National Dragon Vein Administration's Special Recruitment Office. No exam required. You'll be hired directly into a permanent government position to protect China's dragon veins."

Gu Yan: ???

He had risked his life for that government position, and they handed it to him with a single sentence. Who was going to compensate him for the half-life he'd already lost?