Chapter 11

The technique used for the Dao test is part of the examination; it is extremely easy to pick up and requires no prior cultivation—one simply operates it according to the manual. This technique has only changed three times in several hundred years, and in the last hundred years, it has not changed at all.

As the technique operated, Ji Weiwei Yuan felt the prayer mat beneath him and the two incense burners gradually merge into one with his own body. The prayer mat continuously generated wisps of coolness that entered Ji Weiwei Yuan's body, and under the stimulation of this coolness, two formless things emerged within him.

The incense burners on either side generated a suction force, drawing in the two formless things within his body. The two formless things existed clearly; although they overlapped, they were distinct. As the technique operated, the suction of the incense burners grew stronger, forming two channels that drew those two masses of formless things, wisp by wisp, into the incense burners.

The left incense burner drew in his foundation, while the right drew in his Qi luck. Ji Weiwei Yuan's foundation was normal enough, but as the technique operated, the formless thing representing his Qi luck actually emerged like an iceberg rising from the sea, growing larger and larger with no sign of stopping. In the blink of an eye, this mass of Qi luck expanded beyond the scope of Ji Weiwei Yuan's body and vaguely established a connection with the deep, dark void.

Ji Weiwei Yuan did not know what would happen during the Dao test, so he assumed this was a normal phenomenon and kept his mind focused, continuing to operate the technique.

As the technique operated, the Qi luck within Ji Weiwei Yuan began to appear vast and heavy; at this point, the channel actually began to appear narrow, no longer sufficient for the Qi luck to pass through smoothly. Ji Weiwei Yuan could only operate the technique with all his might, as if carrying a small mountain and pushing it, bit by bit, through the channel. As time passed, Ji Weiwei Yuan felt the burden growing heavier, and even his foundation was affected.

Ji Weiwei Yuan operated the technique with all his heart, unaware that the hall above was already in an uproar.

In the eyes of the evaluators, the pillar of light for Ji Weiwei Yuan's foundation appeared crimson and had been rising slowly; at this moment, it had just passed seven feet, and its speed began to slow. This counted as an upper-rank foundation, but it was not yet stunning. However, his pillar of Qi luck was as thick as a washbasin, crossed nine feet in the blink of an eye, and was still climbing!

The color of Ji Weiwei Yuan's Qi luck pillar was grayish-white; although it was extremely tall and thick, its texture was very sparse, and only by exerting their full perception could the six evaluators touch a trace of it. If this pillar weren't right before their eyes, evaluators not known for their perception might have thought there was nothing there at all.

At this time, every so often, a wisp of black energy would emerge from the incense burner beside Ji Weiwei Yuan and merge into the Qi luck pillar, causing the pillar to grow a segment, yet its texture showed no signs of becoming solid.

The six evaluators had never seen such Qi luck before; as they looked at each other, Ji Weiwei Yuan's Qi luck pillar finally exceeded one zhang—another supreme-rank.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar looked toward the Daoist and said, "Daoist Fufeng, this is a family matter of your Primordial Palace; how should it be handled?"

Daoist Fufeng's peripheral vision seemed to glance inadvertently at the empty seat, his expressionless face slowly saying, "Impartially."

The middle-aged Confucian scholar nodded and said, "That is only right."

With the Daoist saying this, the other evaluators knew what to do, and their gazes returned to the disciples below. The strange thing was that even now, Ji Weiwei Yuan's two pillars of light were still slowly growing, while the pillars of light for the other candidates in this group had long since stagnated.

Clang!

A desolate and long-lasting bell chime rang out; Ji Weiwei Yuan's body jolted, his connection with the prayer mat and incense burners was severed, and those formless things that had not yet been moved slowly vanished. Ji Weiwei Yuan assumed this was how it was supposed to be, so he stood up and, under the urging of the Daoist in the hall, walked quickly out of the main hall.

When Ji Weiwei Yuan stood up, his foundation pillar was seven feet nine, and his Qi luck pillar was one zhang one foot.

The next group of candidates filed into the hall, and another round of the Dao test began. As soon as the chime ended, two jade-colored pillars of light shot into the sky! The two pillars were so solid they seemed tangible; if their texture was like giant pillars carved from jade, then Ji Weiwei Yuan's Qi luck pillar from just before was like a rising wisp of smoke.

The evaluators looked down and saw a girl with a delicate, porcelain-like appearance. She was calm as she operated the technique, and a faint, hidden treasure-light actually rose on her small face. Within the two jade-colored pillars, the figures of two vast gods and demons vaguely emerged.

Upon seeing the girl's face clearly, the evaluators knew: it was the young lady of the Bao family.

There was nothing to see in this round; the girl was far ahead of the rest, her pair of pillars heading straight for the one-zhang mark, while the others were mediocre and not worth mentioning.

The young cultivator, who looked no more than twenty, broke the silence and said, "There should be no objection to the evaluation of Miss Bao, but as for how to evaluate that child from the previous round, I'm afraid we need to discuss a procedure."

The young cultivator looked toward Daoist Fufeng, but the Daoist remained silent. The young cultivator smiled and said, "It seems Daoist brother Fufeng wants to avoid suspicion, so let us discuss it ourselves!"

The old Confucian scholar Liu Sigu recalled Ji Weiwei Yuan's two eye-catching pillars. If evaluated by normal standards, Ji Weiwei Yuan's score would even exceed Li Zhi's.

For some reason, when he saw Ji Weiwei Yuan's Qi luck, the old scholar felt an inexplicable disgust, and now even more so. Miss Bao's talent was outstanding and she had long been famous; that her Dao test exceeded Li Zhi's was expected. This Ji Weiwei Yuan had shallow roots—how dare he try to surpass the academy's predetermined champion?

The old scholar went over the list in his mind, confirmed that Ji Weiwei Yuan was not on any list, and made his calculations. He stroked his long beard, his face stern, and said, "This child's foundation and Qi luck are not bad, but unfortunately, the texture is flimsy, and there isn't a shred of righteous energy in his Qi luck. If left in the wilderness, he would likely be a rebel."

The young cultivator frowned slightly and said, "Since ancient times, there has been no mention of 'texture' in the evaluation criteria, and whether Qi luck is righteous or not does not affect the evaluation score. Liu Lao's words are perhaps a bit biased."

The other evaluators nodded slightly. Since ancient times, every sect has only looked at whether one has Qi luck; if one has it, it's a good thing—who cares if it's righteous or evil?

The old scholar did not argue, only saying, "That is just my personal opinion; you may decide for yourselves."

After the old scholar finished speaking, he ignored the others and directly took up his pen to write the evaluation on the roster: Earth-C, twenty!

The other five evaluators were surprised; for Liu Sigu to give this score clearly meant he wanted to push this child directly to a Blessed Land, not even intending to give him a chance at a Grotto-Heaven.

A sharp glint flashed in Daoist Fufeng's eyes, and he said slowly, "Liu Lao, isn't this evaluation a bit too much?"

The old scholar looked back at the Daoist, showing no fear, and said, "This Feng Yuan unified examination is of great significance. We bear heavy responsibilities on our shoulders—who among us isn't walking on thin ice? I heard that the person from your palace went missing for six years, but as soon as he returned, your palace gave him an evaluator's position; what kind of favor is that? But where is that person now? Does he hold you or me in his eyes? Does he hold the Immortal Sect unified examination in his eyes?"

The Daoist glanced at the empty seat, snorted, and said nothing more.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar then smoothed things over, saying, "Liu Lao is straightforward and speaks a bit directly; Daoist brother Fufeng, don't take it to heart. That said, we all bear responsibilities on our shoulders, which is different from that person—it is fine if he doesn't want to come. Everyone should know that this unified examination's top spot is particularly important for the son of Duke Hui'en. If it were Miss Bao competing, then everyone would rely on their own abilities, and we would have nothing to say if we lost. But as for others, it is better not to have any variables."

The evaluators then saw the light; the old scholar had suddenly dealt such a heavy blow because he was wary of Ji Weiwei Yuan, fearing he would pose an extra threat to Li Zhi. The middle-aged Confucian scholar's words also confirmed one thing: the Four Sages Academy intended to use the first place in the unified examination to build momentum for Li Zhi. If he truly took first place, Li Zhi could borrow that momentum to soar, and his future cultivation path would be incomparably smooth.

Daoist Fufeng was expressionless, his thoughts unreadable, but the other evaluators had long anticipated his attitude, knowing he would not actually intervene. Daoist Fufeng also had a mission; if Ji Weiwei Yuan truly won first place, it would only be a small setback for Li Zhi on his cultivation path, but one of the Primordial Palace's three quotas would be occupied in reality. At that time, Daoist Fufeng would have a hard time explaining himself.

The Immortal Sect quotas had long been carved up, and even children of Qi luck were no exception, unless they went to ask for another quota like the monk. If they messed up this major matter of quotas, the high-ranking noble families behind them would be furious, and the evaluators present could not bear that. Although they held great power, how that power was used was not up to them.

Daoist Fufeng pondered for a moment and finally said, "I cannot interfere with how the two of you write. However, Junior Brother Zhang is not a man who is easy to talk to, and the dignity of my Primordial Palace cannot be offended. If the two of you look down on my Primordial Palace, then I have no choice but to learn a thing or two about the Four Sages Academy's unique arts."

Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, the middle-aged Confucian scholar bowed to Daoist Fufeng and smiled, "Daoist brother, calm your anger! The Primordial Palace is the Primordial Palace, and that person is that person. We naturally respect the Primordial Palace, and in all fairness, whatever evaluation Liu Lao gives Ji Weiwei Yuan will not affect the overall situation of the Primordial Palace. As for that Junior Brother Zhang, let alone that we are all at the Dao Foundation stage like him, even if he were a Dharma Form True Person, we could not practice favoritism! Otherwise, if the higher-ups blame us, I fear none of us could bear it."

This was already very clear: the two scholars from the academy only wanted to suppress Ji Weiwei Yuan and did not intend to interfere in the Primordial Palace's internal quota struggle, keeping their affairs separate from Daoist Fufeng's. As for Ji Weiwei Yuan's master, they were all at the Dao Foundation stage, and no one was much better than the other.

Liu Sigu was fearless and said, "I have already put pen to paper and cannot change it!"

The middle-aged Confucian scholar smiled and said, "Fine, Liu Lao is intolerant of evil and cherishes his reputation; I shall bear the name of being slick!"

He picked up his pen and wrote the evaluation on the roster: Heaven-C, twenty-five.

The other evaluators thought to themselves: how cunning.

This middle-aged Confucian scholar spoke nicely, but his actual writing was not ambiguous at all. Heaven-C was an old-system evaluation, placed here only as a reference to show respect for the ancient system; what actually mattered was the score behind it. This twenty-five points seemed much higher than what Liu Sigu gave, but in reality, it was still a line away from a Grotto-Heaven. With two out of six people giving low scores, it would be quite difficult for Ji Weiwei Yuan to climb back up to a Grotto-Heaven.

Having dug such a big pit in the Dao test, it would be as hard as ascending to heaven to turn things around later.

At this time, a new batch of candidates had already begun the Dao test in the hall below, and the evaluators stopped arguing, each writing their own evaluations, so a line of text appeared on the stone tablet:

Ji Weiwei Yuan, Earth-A, thirty.

The old scholar's face looked a bit ugly as he looked toward the other evaluators, wanting to see who was so blind that they had to go against him. However, since they could become evaluators, they were all old, cunning foxes; how could he see their thoughts on their faces?

(End of chapter)