Flying Colors

Needs All Under Heaven. Four exams, one character: the Children's Examination, the Provincial Examination, the Capital (Metropolitan) Examination, and the Palace Examination - and the Palace exam only opens if you score top-10 in the Metropolitan. Start via the Stamp of Approval route (a character who has never passed an exam, sitting the Children's Examination), pass the Provincial when it comes round, then build Learning and Confucian Education hard - the Study scheme, a Mentor via Request Mentorship, and Learning lifestyle perks. A well-prepared scholar can clear the Metropolitan top-10 and the Palace exam in one sitting. Rolls naturally into Upper-upper.