Longzang

Chapter 11 Let nature take its course
The cultivation method used in the Taoist test is part of the exam, and it is very easy to learn. There is no need to practice it in advance; you can just follow the instructions directly. This cultivation method has only changed three times in the past few hundred years, and it has not changed at all in the last hundred years.

As he circulated the cultivation technique, Wei Yuan felt the futon and the two incense burners beneath him gradually merge with his body. Wisps of coolness continuously entered Wei Yuan's body from the futon, and stimulated by the coolness, two invisible entities emerged within him.

The incense burners on either side generated a suction force, drawing in two invisible entities within the body. These two entities were clearly present, overlapping yet distinctly separate. As the incantation was circulated, the suction force of the incense burners grew stronger, forming two channels that subtly guided the two invisible entities into the burners.

The incense burner on the left represents one's foundation, while the one on the right represents one's fortune. Wei Yuan's foundation was relatively normal, but as the cultivation technique circulated, the intangible entity representing his fortune grew larger and larger, like an iceberg emerging from the sea, showing no signs of stopping. In the blink of an eye, this fortune expanded beyond Wei Yuan's body and vaguely connected with the depths of the unseen world.

Wei Yuan didn't know what would happen during the Dao divination, so he just assumed it was a normal phenomenon and continued to cultivate his inner energy while keeping his mind focused.

As the cultivation technique circulated, the Qi within Wei Yuan's body gradually became immense and heavy. At this point, the passage began to narrow, no longer sufficient for the Qi to pass through smoothly. Wei Yuan could only exert all his strength to circulate the technique, as if carrying a small mountain and pushing it little by little through the passage. As time went on, Wei Yuan felt the burden growing heavier and heavier, even affecting his foundation.

Wei Yuan was focused on circulating his internal energy, unaware that a commotion had already broken out in the hall above him.

In the eyes of the critics, Wei Yuan's root bone light pillar was crimson, slowly rising. It had just surpassed seven feet when its speed began to slow. This was considered a superior foundation, but not yet truly astonishing. However, his luck light pillar was as thick as a washbasin, instantly exceeding nine feet, and still climbing!
The pillar of light emanating from Wei Yuan was a pale gray color. Although it was extremely tall and thick, its texture was very sparse. The six judges could only touch a tiny part of it by using their full perception. If the pillar of light hadn't been right in front of them, the judges, who weren't particularly skilled in perception, would have thought there was nothing there at all.

At this moment, every now and then a wisp of black mist would rise from the incense burner beside Wei Yuan, and then merge into the pillar of fortune, causing the pillar of fortune to grow a bit longer, but its texture remained completely solid.

The six judges had never seen such fortune before. As they looked at each other in disbelief, Wei Yuan's pillar of fortune finally exceeded one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters), making him another top-grade expert.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar looked at the Taoist priest and said, "Taoist Master Fufeng, this is a family matter of your Taichu Palace. How should it be handled?"

Master Fufeng glanced at the empty seat out of the corner of his eye, his face expressionless, and said slowly, "Upholding justice."

The middle-aged scholar nodded and said, "That is certainly the case."

With the Taoist saying this, the other commentators understood and turned their attention back to the disciples below. Strangely, even now, Wei Yuan's two pillars of light were still slowly growing, while the pillars of light of the other candidates in this group had long since stopped moving.

when!
A long, mournful bell tolled, and Wei Yuan's body trembled. He lost contact with the futon and incense burner, and the invisible objects that had not yet been moved also slowly disappeared. Wei Yuan assumed this was how it was supposed to be, so he stood up and, urged by the Taoist priests inside, quickly walked out of the main hall.

When Wei Yuan stood up, the pillar of light on his foundation was seven feet nine inches long, and the pillar of light on his fortune was eleven feet long.

The next group of candidates filed into the hall, and another round of the Daoist test began. As soon as the chime sounded, two jade-colored pillars of light shot into the sky! The two pillars of light were so solid that they seemed to have a physical form. If their texture was like a giant pillar carved from jade, then Wei Yuan's pillar of fortune was like a wisp of rising smoke.

The crowd looked down and saw a girl with delicate, jade-like features. She calmly focused her inner energy, and a faint, precious light appeared on her small face. Within two jade-colored pillars of light, the figures of enormous gods and demons faintly emerged.

Upon seeing the girl's face, the crowd immediately knew: it was Miss Bao.

This round was nothing to watch. The girl was far ahead of everyone else, her two beams of light shooting straight ahead for a full zhang. The rest were mediocre and not worth mentioning.

The young cultivator, who looked to be no more than twenty years old, broke the silence, saying, "Miss Bao's evaluation should be uncontroversial. However, we'll probably need to discuss a plan for how to evaluate that child from the previous round."

The young cultivator looked at Daoist Fufeng, but Daoist Fufeng remained silent. The young cultivator then smiled and said, "It seems that Brother Fufeng wants to avoid suspicion. Let's discuss this among ourselves!"

The old scholar Liu Sigu recalled Wei Yuan's two striking beams of light. If judged by normal standards, Wei Yuan's score would even surpass Li Zhi's.

For some reason, the old scholar felt a strange sense of disgust whenever he saw Wei Yuan's aura, and this feeling was even stronger now. The Bao family's young lady was already renowned for her exceptional talent, and it was expected that her Daoist test would surpass Li Zhi's. This Wei Yuan, with his shallow foundation, dared to overshadow the academy's predetermined champion?
The old scholar mentally reviewed the list, confirming that Wei Yuan was not on any of them, and then he made a decision. He stroked his long beard, his face serious, and said, "This child has a decent foundation and luck, but unfortunately his character is superficial, and there is not a trace of righteousness in his luck. If he were a commoner, he would most likely be a rebel."

The young cultivator frowned slightly and said, "Since ancient times, there has never been a concept of 'quality' in the evaluation criteria. Whether one's fortune is righteous or not has no impact on the evaluation. Elder Liu's words are somewhat biased." The other judges nodded slightly. Since ancient times, sects have only looked at whether someone possesses good fortune when accepting disciples; if they do, it's a good thing. Who cares whether it's righteous or evil?
The old scholar didn't argue, but simply said, "This is just one person's opinion; you can decide for yourselves."

After the old scholar finished speaking, he ignored everyone and directly picked up his pen to write the evaluation on the roster: Earthly Class C, number twenty!

The other five judges were all surprised. Liu Sigu gave this score, clearly intending to push the child directly to the blessed land, not even giving him a chance to enter the grotto heaven.

A glint flashed in Fufeng Daoist's eyes, and he said slowly, "Isn't Elder Liu's evaluation a bit excessive?"

The old scholar looked back at the Taoist without fear and said, "This unified examination by Feng Yuan is of great significance. We all bear heavy responsibilities, and who is not trembling with fear? I heard that the person from your palace had been missing for six years, but upon his return, he was given the position of evaluator. What an honor! But where is that person now? Does he take you and me seriously? Does he take the unified examination of the Immortal Sect seriously?"

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

The middle-aged scholar then smoothed things over, saying, "Old Liu is straightforward and speaks a bit bluntly; Brother Fufeng, please don't take it to heart. On the other hand, we all bear responsibilities, and we are different from that other person. It's better if he doesn't want to come. As you all know, the top spot in this unified examination is especially important for the son of Duke Hui'en. If it's Miss Bao who wants to compete, then everyone should rely on their own abilities, and we can accept defeat without complaint. But for others, it's best to avoid any unforeseen circumstances."

The commentators immediately understood: the old Confucian scholar's sudden and drastic action stemmed from his fear of Wei Yuan, who posed an additional threat to Li Zhi. The middle-aged scholar's words also confirmed that the Four Sages Academy intended to use the top score in the unified examination to build momentum for Li Zhi. If he truly secured first place, Li Zhi could leverage this momentum to soar to great heights, making his future path of cultivation incredibly smooth.

Master Fufeng remained expressionless, revealing nothing of his inner turmoil. However, the other judges had anticipated his attitude and knew he wouldn't actually obstruct the process. Master Fufeng also had a task to complete. If Wei Yuan truly won first place, Li Zhi would only suffer a minor setback on his cultivation path, but one of the three spots for the Taichu Palace would be firmly taken. At that point, Master Fufeng would be in a difficult position to explain himself.

The spots for the Immortal Sect have long been allocated, even for those chosen by destiny, unless they, like the monk, request another spot. If they mess up this crucial matter of the spots, the powerful clans behind them will be furious, and these judges won't be able to withstand that. Although they wield great power, how that power is used is not up to them.

After pondering for a moment, Fu Feng Dao Ren finally said, "I cannot interfere with how you two intend to proceed. However, Junior Brother Zhang is not an easy person to talk to, and the dignity of my Tai Chu Palace cannot be offended. If you two look down on my Tai Chu Palace, then I have no choice but to experience the unique skills of the Four Saints Academy."

Seeing the tense atmosphere, the middle-aged scholar cupped his hands to Daoist Fufeng and said with a smile, "Brother Daoist, please calm down! Taichu Palace is Taichu Palace, and that person is that person. We naturally respect Taichu Palace, and frankly speaking, whatever evaluation Elder Liu gives Wei Yuan will not affect the overall situation of Taichu Palace. As for that Junior Brother Zhang, even if he were a True Person of the Dharma Aspect, let alone the fact that he is at the Foundation Establishment stage like us, we cannot show favoritism! Otherwise, if the higher-ups blame us, I'm afraid none of us can bear the consequences."

The message was quite clear: the two scholars from the academy only intended to suppress Wei Yuan and had no intention of interfering in the internal competition for places within the Taichu Palace. They would keep to themselves and not interfere with Daoist Fufeng. As for Wei Yuan's master, they were all at the Dao Foundation stage, and neither was significantly inferior to the other.

Liu Sigu, confident and fearless, said, "I have already put pen to paper, and there is no way to change it!"

The middle-aged scholar laughed and said, "Alright, Old Liu hates evil and cherishes his reputation, so I'll take the blame for being smooth-talking!"

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

The crowd thought him cunning and treacherous.

This middle-aged Confucian scholar spoke eloquently, but his writing was anything but vague. The "Tian Bing" score was based on the old system and was only included here as a reference to show respect for the ancient system; the actual effect came from the score itself. This score of twenty-five seemed significantly higher than Liu Sigu's, but in reality, it was still a step below reaching the "Cave Heaven" level. With two out of six giving low scores, it would be extremely difficult for Wei Yuan to climb to the "Cave Heaven" level again.

The road survey team has dug such a huge hole here; it will be incredibly difficult to turn things around later.

At this moment, a new batch of candidates had begun their Taoist examinations in the hall below. The judges stopped arguing and each wrote down their evaluations, thus adding a new line to the stone tablet:

Wei Yuan, Earthly Class A, Thirty.

The old scholar's expression darkened. He glanced at the other commentators, wondering who was so foolish as to deliberately make trouble for him. However, since they were all seasoned and cunning individuals, how could he possibly discern their true intentions from their expressions?

(End of this chapter)