Dragon Canon

Chapter 10: Stay In Line

Twenty candidates heard the summons and rose to their feet. When they stepped into the hall, they saw numbers floating above the praying mats. No one dared to dilly dally and hurriedly sat down on the praying mat with their assigned numbers. Then, they began practicing the technique they were given.

High up in the sky, there was, in fact, another hall. None of the candidates could see anything but clouds when they occasionally looked up, however. There were seven tables in the hall, and six of them were occupied. The people occupying these tables were all wearing different attires. They were a Daoist, two cultivators, two Confucianists, and one Buddhist monk.

The hall below them was completely transparent, so they could see the candidates inside the hall clearly.

These six people were the examiners of this unified exam. They all possessed extraordinary presences and bearings, and they all held the power of life and death over the candidates. But for some reason, they were turning a blind eye to the empty table beside them.

When the first batch of candidates started practicing the technique they were given, pillars of light emerged from the censers next to their praying mats. The thickness and brightness of the pillars of light all differed from one another.

The light pillar on the left side of a candidate represented their foundation and talent, and the one on their right represented their destiny and fortune. Not even half of the time limit had elapsed, and over half of the candidates’ light pillars had stopped growing completely. These light pillars were only a little over a chi tall. A few more breaths passed, and only one candidate’s pillar of foundation and talent was still growing. In the end, it rose to about three and a half chi and was as thick as a human fist. A golden thread would be seen swimming in the pillar as well.

Unfortunately, even though his pillar of destiny and fortune was two chi tall, it was murky gray and boasted no special qualities whatsoever.

In the hall, the older cultivator remarked, “His foundation is average, but it contains the sharpness of Metal. We can increase his score slightly.”

The rest of the examiners nodded in agreement. Since there were no objections, the six examiners recorded their evaluations on their respective score sheets.

A stone tablet stood at the center of the examiner hall. When all six examiners had completed their assessment, the candidate’s name and final score appeared on the tablet. The final score was calculated as the average of all examiners’ individual scores.

The bell rang, and the candidates inside the hall took their leave. The next batch of candidates took their place, and Lee Zhi was among them.

Lee Zhi sat down on his designated praying mat and closed his eyes. The next second, pillars of light burst out of the censers beside him!

The light pillar to his left was greenish blue in color and billowing with waves. It didn’t stop growing until it was over eight chi tall. As for the light pillar to his right, it was bright gold in color and almost one zhang tall. Not only that, countless sparks of light floated out of the golden pillar and formed a small cauldron!

Inside the examiner hall, the elderly Confucianist stroked his beard with a smile on his face. He remarked, “His foundation and destiny are both of superior caliber, and same as his cauldron. In all my life, I, Liu Sigu, have only seen a handful of talents like him. Duke Hui’en sowed a fantastic son alright!”

The older cultivator said, “It looks like the Four Sages Academies will be gaining an excellent disciple this year. Who knows, he might even come under your banner.”

The elder Confucianist smiled even wider. “You jest!”

In fact, every examiner had a list in their hands. It specified who would go to which immortal sect exactly. For example, the eldest son of Duke Hui’en of Southern Qi was planning to enter the Four Sages Academies. However, the list and the number of spots available didn’t always necessarily match up. For example, there were five families fighting for the three spots offered by the Palace of Absolute Beginning. Whether a candidate would obtain their wish was dependent on their performance, and the examiner’s.

There was nothing to be said about those who didn’t appear on the list. After all, even the spots for second-rate sects—grotto-heavens—had been snapped up a long time ago. All they were going to get were the leftovers.

Liu Sigu raised his brush and wrote the rank “Heaven-A” and the score “40” on the booklet with the number 19 on it. It was Lee Zhi’s number.

According to tradition, all light pillars regardless of their type were graded based on a few criteria. First, a light pillar below three chi was graded Human, between four and six chi as Earth, between seven and nine chi as Heaven, and one zhang or higher as graded Superior.

Second, there were grades for light pillars that resonated with the world and manifested some sort of phenomenon. Ritual vessels such as bells, cauldrons, censers and more were considered top-tier. That said, any light pillar that could manifest a phenomenon would be graded favorably.

Liu Sigu’s grade was based on the old criteria, whereas the score was based on the new criteria. In either case, he had given Lee Zhi the highest grade possible. Everyone else’s assessment under the old criteria was the same as well. They were all “Heaven-A”. Only the new scoring criteria with its finer grading system, showed slight variations.

In the end, Lee Zhi’s final grade was “Heaven-A”, and his score was 38 points. It looked like his score had room for improvement, but the Dao he was planning to cultivate was the Dao of Humanity’s King. Fortune was the most important aspect of this Dao, foundation not so much.

Two more batches showed up, and a couple more geniuses showed their faces. They either boasted a foundation or fortune of nine chi. However, none of them were as comprehensive as Lee Zhi was.

When the fourth batch of candidates arrived, one person’s fortune suddenly shot into the air. It exceeded one zhang in just the blink of an eye!

Caught off guard, the examiners all turned to look at the candidate. He was a young man, though his countenance was as pretty as a girl’s. His foundation was just an average five chi, but his fortune was stunning to put it mildly. Despite reaching the level of one zhang, it kept growing for another two-third of a chi before finally coming to a halt. The first Superior-grade child had appeared!

There actually is a Chosen One in this commandery!

The atmosphere between the six examiners immediately grew tense. No one said a thing for a time.

The reason the immortal sect had opened up a couple spots was to pick up a few Chosen Ones from Fengyuan, a place where the winds and clouds had gathered. However, the aristocratic families had claimed them long before the exam had even begun. Now, a Chosen One had actually shown up. This would not be a problem if the candidate was actually on the list, but he wasn’t. So, they had a problem. Should they recruit this Chosen One or not? If they did, it would screw up their plans. But if they didn’t, it would become blatantly obvious that they were abusing their power.

It was at this moment the candidate’s fortune underwent a change. The pillar of light turned dark red in color and manifested a sea of blood!

The young Buddhist monk suddenly cracked a grin and said, “It’s the Buddhist Ocean of Blood! This fortune would be a headache in your hands, but not so much for the Exquisite Blossom Pure Land. I will take him!”

The Daoist wearing the colors of the Palace of Absolute Beginning asked calmly, “You have spare quotas?”

The Buddhist monk chanted a Buddhist prayer before replying, “Not right now, but I can ask. I will get one as soon as the aptitude test is over.”

Everyone nodded and said no more. Internally though, they were wary. The Buddhist monk had made it sound like grabbing a spot when none was available was nothing. Clearly, his roots in the Exquisite Blossom Pure Land were pretty deep. He wasn’t someone they could afford to offend without good cause.

Besides, it was as the Buddhist monk had said—none of them really wanted the boy. Although he was a Chosen One, it was clear from his fortune that he was also destined to face a terrible, bloody tribulation. It would be a supremely difficult problem to solve for both the boy and his handlers, not to mention that they really didn’t have any spot to spare.

The examiners opened their score sheets and prepared to record their assessment. It was at this moment the Buddhist monk spoke up again. “My mind is set on this boy, so I humbly request some leniency when you assess him. I would be unhappy if his rank is too low, and the karmic ties we would have shared are undone. Although the world is an illusion to me, I still haven’t let go of an impurity called holding grudges, you see.”

His examiners immediately assured him that they wouldn’t cost him his opportunity. It was only then the monk settled down.

When all was said and done, the stone tablet displayed a line of text: Duan Yusheng, Heaven-C, 35.

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan heard his number being called after the group after Duan Yusheng’s had left the hall. When he followed the candidates inside, he saw a praying mat with his number flashing above it. So, he went over to it and sat still.

The crisp chime of a bell entered his ear and signalled the start of the aptitude test.

Wei Yuan focused his mind and began practicing the mystic art he was shown.