Chapter 42: Good Child Lin Mo (Requesting Follows)

“Who’s that?”

Many people suddenly noticed Lin Mo.

“Don’t know him—never heard of him before. Maybe a classmate? Three spiritual seedlings from one school?!”

“What’s the name of this school? Its foundation is too deep!”

“So handsome. Why does he look so well-matched standing next to Chu Wange?”

“Indeed, but I’m still better-looking.”

“Is it possible you two aren’t even on the same level?”

“Three people—except the one beside them looks completely out of place.”

“Haha, like a… cough, cough.”

“…”

Ye Chen, standing just behind Lin Mo, heard these remarks and his expression darkened. Did he really want to stand right next to Lin Mo?

The teleportation spots on the Ascension Platform are divided by region.

All the spiritual examination candidates around here are from Sichuan Province.

Together, they barely numbered over a hundred, and since he and Lin Mo had both been teleported here via the Qingchen Daoist Temple’s array, their positions were naturally close.

Seeing Lin Mo’s teasing expression, Ye Chen’s face turned even darker. He let out a cold snort and walked away, unwilling to be Lin Mo’s sidekick.

Lin Mo smiled and asked curiously, “So what do we do now?”

Chu Wange said, “Wait.”

She added, “At ten o’clock, the spiritual examination will begin automatically.”

Lin Mo nodded—he knew the procedure well.

He just hadn’t expected the Heavenly Dao Spiritual Examination to have no examiners overseeing discipline. The noise around him never ceased, and some candidates were even glaring at each other, on the verge of fighting.

Chu Wange seemed to sense his thoughts and said, “They won’t fight.”

“Huh?”

“Only spiritual examination candidates can enter the Ascension Platform, but every movement here is monitored by the Nine Great Dao Academies’ Immortals. Nothing will go wrong.”

Chu Wange explained.

Lin Mo understood—it made sense…

In other words, had the Nine Great Dao Academies’ “screening” already begun the moment they stepped onto the Ascension Platform?

…

…

Qinzhou, Great Ming Mountain, Scenic Overlook.

Strange peaks and bizarre rocks towered sharply; clear, winding streams trickled below; several scenic pavilions stood atop the mountain.

Immortals in Daoist robes arrived, some riding swords, others riding clouds, descending from the sky.

Principal Zhu and the two teachers who had been waiting on the mountain since morning hurried forward to greet them.

“Immortal Meng, Immortal Feng!”

Principal Zhu bowed in Daoist fashion.

The two recruitment teachers from the Nine Great Dao Academies were still familiar faces.

Immortal Meng smiled warmly and gave him a slight nod.

Immortal Feng merely nodded in acknowledgment.

Principal Zhu, long accustomed to their personalities, wasn’t surprised.

At that moment, Immortal Feng glanced at one of the teachers behind Principal Zhu and frowned slightly: “Why are you here?”

The one singled out was no one else but Li Xiang, homeroom teacher of Class 10, Senior 3 at Nanshan High.

Immortal Feng remembered him well—last time, in the principal’s office, it was Li Xiang who had consistently defended Lin Mo.

At that moment, Immortal Meng also noticed him, his eyes showing a hint of surprise:

“Li Xiao you is here too? Could it be…?”

Li Xiang looked embarrassed. Principal Zhu stepped forward to defuse the situation:

“That’s right. This kid Lin Mo has been somewhat diligent—he barely reached Qi Refining Level 7 before the spiritual examination, meeting the Heavenly Dao Spiritual Examination’s threshold.”

Hearing this, both Immortals’ expressions showed surprise.

Immortal Meng said, “His progress is so rapid—I clearly underestimated Xiao Lin.”

Immortal Feng was more direct: “His cultivation advancement is abnormal. Did he take some illicit elixir?”

In past spiritual examinations, there had always been candidates who, to meet the qualifying threshold, consumed large quantities of elixirs that temporarily boosted their cultivation.

But such gains were illusory—they would quickly collapse under the Heavenly Dao system.

Old Li frowned at this and said, “Lin Mo’s character… well, he’s sometimes rebellious, but he wouldn’t go so far as to take banned elixirs.”

You can look down on Lin Mo, but accusing him outright is going too far.

Principal Zhu coughed a few times and said, “That’s true. This kid did exceptionally well on the written exam—he’s well-read, polite, and well-mannered. A good child.”

A good child… Immortal Meng recalled Lin Mo’s earlier “green tea” demeanor and twitched his lips, saying:

“Heh, I trust Lin Mo. Anyone Chu Wange—a good child herself—chooses to associate with can’t be a bad one.”

After speaking, he deliberately glanced at Immortal Feng, a faint smile on his lips.

Immortal Feng: “...”

Immortal Meng smiled and said, “Enough standing. Let’s sit and chat.”

Principal Zhu smiled and agreed, sitting beside Immortal Meng in the pavilion.

Old Li sighed in relief. Even though he knew Immortal Feng was just like this, if Lin Mo got branded with the accusation of taking banned elixirs, things would get serious.

Not only would his spiritual examination eligibility be revoked immediately, but even his next three generations would be barred from taking any spiritual examination—including the ordinary ones.

Once everyone sat down, the shrewd Principal Zhu opened the conversation:

“We owe our thanks to the two Immortals for accepting our invitation—otherwise, how could we ever get such a close view of the Heavenly Dao Spiritual Examination?”

Immortal Meng smiled and replied, “The thanks should go to Principal Zhu and the two teachers for cultivating such outstanding spiritual candidates and consistently supplying our Wenda Academy with top talent.”

The two exchanged compliments, quickly falling into mutual flattery.

In contrast, Immortal Feng from Qingshan Sect, having made an earlier misstep, had now lost all control of the conversation and could only sit quietly on the sidelines, unable to interject.

From the atmosphere, he looked as if he’d been deliberately isolated.

There were several pavilions atop Great Ming Mountain, designated fixed viewing spots for the Nine Great Dao Academies’ annual observation of the spiritual examination.

As time passed, more and more Immortals arrived, and soon all the pavilion seats were filled.

These Immortals were all the “proctors” sent annually by the major Dao Academies, responsible for maintaining order on the Ascension Platform.

But beyond proctoring, they had another crucial task: recruiting students.

It was clear that many of the pavilion occupants were school administrators from the mortal world, like Principal Zhu, invited by the Immortals.

Some had already reached agreements before the examination—today, they were merely spectators.

Others, like Qingshan Sect and Wenda Academy, had not yet finalized their choices, so now they had to employ every trick in the book.

Of course, this was the spiritual examination site.

If any candidate performed exceptionally well during the exam, these Immortals wouldn’t remain so politely cordial as they were now.

But typically, the “recruitment battles” occurred near the end of the spiritual examination.

Just as the atmosphere remained peaceful, a deep, resonant bell tone descended from the heavens, echoing into everyone’s ears and instantly stirring their spirits.

Immediately after, a beam of golden light poured down from the dome, dispersing the clouds and revealing the Ascension Platform, previously hidden by mist.

Immortal Meng chuckled and said, “The Heavenly Dao Spiritual Examination is about to begin.”