Chapter 134

The next day was the official first day of enrollment; all new students had to gather in the square to choose their college and their master.

The academy had two educational models, corresponding to two selection methods.

Those who had not yet taken a master could search within the academy for one; if they took a liking, they could become disciples and study under that master within the academy.

Those who found no suitable master had to choose a college, complete a set number of courses, and accumulate sufficient credits.

Every student had at most five years to accumulate at least sixty credits, after which they could take the examination; only those who passed would receive their talisman and officially become Daoists, eligible to hold divine posts in Daoist courts and temples across the land.

For Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen, who already had masters, the first path was closed—they could only choose the second.

Of course, before their selection, the academy would test their abilities and reveal the cultivation levels of each Daoist Elder to aid mutual choice.

The academy's tests fell into three categories.

One was the Art Test, primarily assessing abilities in subduing demons and monsters, swordplay, and divination.

One was the Talisman and Array Test, primarily assessing recognition and engraving of talismans and arrays.

One was the Qi and Alchemy Test, primarily assessing internal strength, herb identification, pill identification, memorization of alchemical formulas, and basic pill refining.

Each student chose one test, received a grade of A, B, C, or D, and then the results were published for mutual selection.

Pan Yun's gaze passed over the Talisman and Array Test and settled on the Art Test; though she had studied Talisman and Array in university and graduate school, she had also mastered subduing demons and monsters' arts well, and her swordplay was formidable—after all, her school occasionally sent students on field missions.

And what could better awe the heart than direct, visible arts?

So Pan Yun decisively chose the first test.

Seeing Miao Zhen, seeing her choose Art, immediately picked Talisman and Array; Miao He followed her heart and chose Qi and Alchemy.

The three went forward to collect their tags.

Those taking different exams received tags of different colors: Art was red, Talisman and Array was blue, Qi and Alchemy was green.

The three received different tags, each marked with a number.

Pan Yun pulled out her tag and said, "I'm No. 5. What about you?"

Seeing Miao Zhen held up her tag: "No. 11."

Miao He: "No. 23."

Pan Yun mused: "Fair enough. Let's go—separate for the exams. See those Daoist Elders sitting at the tables?"

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He nodded.

"If you encounter injustice in the exam hall, don't be afraid, don't hesitate—just shout up at them. With everyone watching, they won't dare ignore you."

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but everyone nearby heard it.

All turned to look—some with complex expressions, others with disdain.

"Isn't the greatest injustice here right now them? They haven't even reached the age requirement."

"Don't talk about it—word is Long Hushan committed some offense, and Mount Sanqing caught them in the act, so they were forced to grant these three extra slots."

"What offense could possibly earn three extra slots?"

"You don't know? Pan Yun is the little disciple of Mount Sanqing's Mountain God. Long Hushan lost the letter requesting her appointment as temple priest, leaving her without talisman or divine post. Long Hushan insists she must pass the exam before receiving it, so Mount Sanqing was granted three extra slots."

"Mount Sanqing says she's the Mountain God's disciple—does that make it true?"

"Of course not—Mount Sanqing can't decide alone. But she has the divine seal on her wrist."

Someone murmured with envy: "Why does the Mountain God of Mount Sanqing love taking disciples so much? If only I could go to Mount Sanqing..."

"Do you think anyone can become the Mountain God's disciple? Countless others thought the same—hence the proliferation of Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries in Yushan County. Those who couldn't enter Mount Sanqing Temple hung their names at nearby temples, yet no one has ever won the Mountain God's favor."

"Forget outsiders—even those few inside Mount Sanqing Temple are all listed under the Mountain God's name by Master Wang, yet never truly taken as disciples. What's remarkable is Pan Yun herself—look at her young age, and she was once a servant. Suddenly, the Mountain God took her as a disciple."

"She was a servant? Is that true?"

"True—it came from Fifth Daoist of Long Hushan. How could it be false?"

"Isn't Fifth Daoist her patron at Long Hushan? Why would he spread such a rumor?"

"Little Aunt..." Seeing Miao Zhen looked at her anxiously.

Pan Yun paid it no mind, lifting her chin: "Let them talk, let them say it all. Miao Zhen, remember this: those who truly become Daoists in this age—aside from Fourth Sister, who comes from a lineage of Daoists—are all flawed in some way."

"Either fatherless, motherless, or poor—five misfortunes, three deficiencies, one of them always lacking. So don't look down on others; no need to feel inferior. Who's more pitiful? It's not about the past—it's about now and the future."

The murmurs around them fell silent; no one spoke.

Because what she said was undeniably true.

After leveling the playing field for everyone, Pan Yun walked to the registration desk with her tag.

Soon after, everyone had collected their tags and registered; a Daoist Elder came forward to guide them to their respective exam halls.

Candidates for different exams entered different halls.

Pan Yun merely nodded to Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He, then confidently walked toward the red pavilion.

A Daoist Elder called out numbers at the front; Pan Yun didn't know the questions or the format. Beforehand, Fourth Sister had said the exam format changed every year—sometimes pure duels, sometimes duels mixed with demonstrations, sometimes interviews after skill assessments.

No one knew this year's format. But Fourth Sister had assured them: as long as the exam was fair, the three of them had nothing to fear about rankings.

Pan Yun wasn't worried anyway—because even if Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He finished last, she'd still protect them.

After all, anyone who made it this far would be admitted regardless of rank.

Pan Yun noticed the Daoist Elder at the red pavilion called a number every ten breaths. The four ahead of her entered one after another—but none emerged.

She looked up at the enclosed exam hall, unable to see inside, raised an eyebrow, and asked Pan Xiaohei on her shoulder: 【Can you go in?】

Pan Xiaohei: 【I don't want to go in, but I can't get far from you—what choice do I have?】

【This exam hall doesn't look very big. Shouldn't be a problem—unless there's spatial folding art inside.】

Pan Xiaohei: 【How do you know there isn't? I like this body. I don't want it to die because my mirror-soul leaves it.】

【When the time comes, act as you see fit. If you can't enter, find a safe place to hide. Even if the spirit-body detaches, no one will take its corpse. When I come out, maybe I can still get in.】

Pan Xiaohei:...

"No. 5." A person and a cat stood before the Daoist Elder. Pan Yun handed over her tag.

After checking, the Daoist Priest looked up at the cat on her shoulder, his brow slightly furrowed.

Pan Yun said, "This is my spirit cat, raised since it was small, never apart from me. It is my companion, my dharma artifact, my life."

The Daoist Priest: "... I wasn't saying you can't bring it in, but I'll give you one reminder—once it's inside, keep a tight hold on it. If it dies or gets maimed, the Academy won't take responsibility."

Pan Yun nodded briskly, "Alright!"

【Did you hear that? There's mortal danger inside!】

【If you don't die, I won't die.】

The corner of Pan Yun's mouth curved up slightly, and she stepped into the red canopy.

A flash of white mist before her eyes, and Pan Yun nearly lost her balance. She steadied herself before she could stand firm, but the moment she landed, a fireball came hurtling at her. Pan Yun instinctively waved her hand, a barrier rose up, and at the same time she struck out with her palm, sending the fireball flying back.

The fireball slammed into the wall with a bang and scattered, blazing up fiercely the moment it hit the ground.

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Pan Yun looked around, only then realizing she had arrived in a courtyard enclosed on all four sides by stone walls. There were flowers and trees in the courtyard, as well as a little brook and a wooden bridge.

But at this moment, the small flames scattered on the ground quickly caught fire and connected, forming patch after patch of fire.

The fire was on the verge of spreading right up to her.

Pan Yun hadn't seen the question, but instinctively knew she needed to put out the fire.

After thinking it over, Pan Yun formed a hand seal and summoned water. A water dragon rose from the brook, flew into midair, and transformed into rain that fell down. In less than half a quarter-hour, the fire was gradually extinguished.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow. 【That easy?】

Pan Xiaohei also pricked up his head, feeling it was a bit too easy.

Pan Yun looked at the stone walls and ground around her, and finally used the Plum Blossom Numerology step method: "Zhen four, Xun five, Zhen and Xun—wood flourishes in spring, spring is wood, in the east..."

Pan Yun took three steps east, stopped, and continued calculating: "Qian three unbroken lines, Kun six broken lines, Qian—metal flourishes in autumn..."

Pan Yun walked like this, taking a few steps and calculating, twisting and turning until she arrived before a stone wall.

She observed the stone wall in front of her for a moment, and finally reached out and pried a stone loose. The stone wall before her opened, and she waited a while before stepping inside.

The moment she stepped in, she sensed something was wrong—her foot sank down at once. She immediately gathered her strength and lifted her foot, but at the same time the stone walls closed together at extreme speed. She had no choice but to lift both feet inside, yet she didn't dare use force.

Because she knew this feeling and texture better than anyone—wasn't this a swamp?

Sure enough, the moment she looked up, she saw herself standing in an open space surrounded on all sides by swamp. The stone wall behind her had vanished the moment she stepped in here, and only some seven or eight hundred meters away was a single tree.

She took a look around and confirmed it—only beneath that tree was solid ground; everywhere else was swamp.

Pan Yun lowered her eyes to look at her feet, which were gradually sinking. After thinking it over, she still formed a hand seal, silently calling on her Master in her heart, borrowing His divine power to harden the swamp beneath her feet.

After confirming her feet had stepped onto something solid, she quickly lifted both feet. Two stone slabs swiftly condensed on the swamp, but the slabs were also being swiftly swallowed by the swamp.

Pan Yun dared not delay. She leapt into the air, tapped the tips of her toes on the stone slabs, and channeling her lightness skill, her feet thus quickly and lightly tapped across the swamp as she flew to the tree.

She didn't land directly beneath the tree, but stood on a branch and looked around before closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she said, "This is an Illusory Realm. Even if you know how to use spatial folding, you couldn't create a swamp this large—otherwise that courtyard just now wouldn't have been so small and square."

Pan Yun looked down at the tree beneath her feet, hardened her heart, and stomped down hard, channeling force into her hand and smashing it downward.

Her vision blurred, and she suddenly appeared in a room of antique elegance.

She spun around sharply—a little girl of five or six, her hair in double buns, was peeking in at her from outside the door, her eyes full of liveliness and curiosity.

Their eyes met, and the little girl ran up and said, "Big sister, where are you from?"

Pan Yun's gaze swept over the faint scars hidden in her collar. Before the girl could reach her, she tapped a wisp of spiritual light onto her forehead, immobilized her, then sat cross-legged on the ground and began chanting the Rebirth Mantra.

The innocent smile on the little girl's face gradually faded, the cheerfulness and liveliness vanished from her face, and her bright, pretty clothes disappeared too. A girl in tattered clothes, covered in wounds, appeared before her.

Pan Yun opened her eyes and looked at her, took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her face, and said softly, "Don't be afraid, it won't hurt in a moment."

As she spoke, a wisp of spiritual light appeared out of thin air on the little girl's body, and her form gradually grew faint.

Within the spiritual light, she stared blankly at Pan Yun for a moment, then suddenly smiled. She opened her mouth toward Pan Yun and said, "Thank you, big sister..."

When the words fell, she too slowly disappeared.

Among the Daoist Priests seated on the high platform, one suddenly stood up, his face drastically changing, and he lifted his foot as if about to go down.

"Gongze," Zhang Ziwang called out to him, "let her walk through it."

The other's face was ugly.

Lou Tong sneered, "I said long ago—even if you're testing spell techniques, you shouldn't have caught a little ghost to use as a test. Now there's trouble, isn't there?"

"It can't really be called trouble. From this we can see that this child's spell techniques are exquisite. She's been on the Dao less than a year, yet she was able to pass three trials in such a short time—truly remarkable."

Pan Yun's speed was very fast—fast beyond the expectations of all the eminent Daoists on the platform.

She soon arrived at the final trial, which tested swordsmanship. Originally, here they had only arranged for one Zhang Weiyi to hold the ring.

Against a group of little Daoists who had only recently entered the Dao, Zhang Weiyi was more than enough.

In any case, Zhang Weiyi had been waiting quite bored—nearly two quarter-hours now, and not a single one had made it to him.

Just as he thought he'd have to wait a long while longer, Pan Yun walked out from around the corner.

Seeing Zhang Weiyi standing on the platform holding a sword, Pan Yun smiled. "What a coincidence—it's actually the Head Student holding the ring."

Zhang Weiyi saw her and slowly straightened his body, sword in hand, and said, "I also didn't expect the first to make it here would be junior sister."

His gaze grew much more solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "According to the rules, you only need to walk from Qian to Li under my hand to win, or be able to receive three of my strikes to pass this ring."

"It's not strict at all. I wonder if the Academy is too confident in its Head Student, or too unconfident in us new students."

Pan Yun walked to the weapon rack, glanced at the sword in Zhang Weiyi's hand, and said, "Since the Head Student is using a sword, I'll use a sword as well."

Zhang Weiyi tightened his grip on the sword and emphasized, "What's tested here is swordsmanship, so you may not borrow divine power or spell techniques."

"Does the Head Student suspect I'm borrowing my Master's divine power?" Pan Yun gave a slight smile. "Head Student, rest assured—I absolutely won't borrow divine power. As it happens, I also want to test how my Mount Sanqing swordsmanship fares against Long Hushan swordsmanship."

End number 6

(End of chapter)