Dragon Canon

Chapter 42: Secret History of the Unified Exam

When the students’ shock had faded slightly, Feng Chutang resumed his lesson. “After two Chosen Ones met a terrible end one after another, even the lofty immortal sects could do nothing no longer. That is one reason, though the reason I’m about to tell you is more important. Before all this happened, while the sects were still divvying up the lands, some immortal sects barely got a handful of territories because they cared too much about how it looked, whereas other immortal sects shamelessly claimed a ton of territories because without regard for their dignity or reputation whatsoever.

“The former barely got a handful of worthy disciples despite a long wait, whereas the latter enjoyed a massive disciplebase and so rose rapidly in terms of power. Naturally, contradictions arose between the two sides. The immortal sects with few territories demanded that the regions were redistributed, whereas those with more territories refused as a matter of course. And so the two sides argued for over a century and fought overtly and covertly against one another. Heavens only know how many battles they’ve fought, and how many powerful cultivators had perished because of this.

“Finally, the immortal sects decided that enough was enough, and that change was necessary. It was at this moment an eccentric person appeared out of nowhere and proposed the concept of sharing geniuses. To be specific, he proposed that the cultivation talents of the human realm should be shared among all major sects. He proposed a unified sect examination where no cultivation geniuses will be overlooked. The sects themselves were split into tiers based on their strength. The superior sects would be given priority in the selection, whereas the inferior sects were only left with scraps.”

Over a thousand years had passed since the unified sect examination was implemented. Every student present had passed the exam to enter the Palace of Absolute Beginning. That was why they were very familiar with the rules of the unified exam and thought that this was the way it should have been. However, even they could not help but think that the eccentric person who came up with this idea in the first place was, indeed, eccentric.

Feng Chutang smiled as if he could read their minds. “I was just as disbelieving as you when I first heard about this story. Geniuses can be shared? This doesn’t make sense be it in the past or the present, and the concept of open recruitment and selection even more so. Now then, I have a question for you all. Can anyone tell me who this eccentric person is?”

“An immortal senior who reincarnated back to life?”

“A prodigy of unparalleled genius?”

“A Chosen One?”

The students made all sorts of guesses, but Feng Chutang shook his head again and again. When no one was guessing anymore, he finally answered, “He was, in fact, a denizen from another world. In his world, this method was just common sense.”

Everyone including Wei Yuan was stunned by this. Someone immediately asked, “Are there other worlds?”

“Naturally. In fact, there are a lot of them. You will learn about this when you have mastered your Dao.”

A girl perked up. “I know! You’re talking about the Imaginary World, aren’t you?”

But Feng Chutang shook his head. “No, it is a real world. You may find out the specifics yourselves when you have become World Rulers. At that level, your horizons will naturally become hundreds, even thousands of times broader than before, and you’ll come to realize that everything you’ve experienced before that point is just the experience of a frog living at the bottom of a well.”

The boys and girls couldn’t help but dream about that future. There were just too many secrets in the world that were waiting for them to explore. They only wished they could become adults right now and ride the wind and sword to explore this infinite world.

Feng Chutang picked up where he left off, “Anyway, the immortal sects and major factions naturally agreed to the proposal as it benefited them. The minor sects and factions disagreed as a matter of course, but of course their opinions didn’t matter. Still, the sects and factions fought for another century to decide who was superior and who was inferior; who was higher-ranked or who was lower-ranked. Over time, a proper procedure was beaten into existence. And so the Great Tang Immortal Sect Disciple Recruitment Unified Examination—more commonly known as the Immortal Sect Unified Examination—came to be. As for how the sects are tiered, I believe you’re already familiar with the terms—immortal sect, grotto-heaven, blessed land, and ordinary sect.”

Wei Yuan asked, “What about the sects outside of the arrangement? Are they forever unable to recruit disciples?”

Feng Chutang gave him a nod. “That is a good question. Once again, it was the eccentric person who came up with the solution: promote the capable, demote the mediocre, and ensure open pathways for both advancement and demotion. To be specific, the sects are reevaluated, and the ranking is refreshed every century. The sects with the lowest placements would be demoted a tier, and if they are already in the fourth-tier, then they will be kicked out to make space for those small, developing sects who aren’t part of the arrangement. This will give them hope and also keep their focus on joining the arrangement, not rebelling against it.”

“In fact, the eccentric person had proposed this solution alongside the concept of the sect unified exam. However, the immortal sects at the time were too used to the status quo and unwilling to make changes. They also wished to exist forever and rule the jianghu for eternity. Naturally, they were unwilling to allow a newcomer to join. It wasn’t until a century after the proposal where the grudges were becoming serious, and casualties were mounting, that they finally recalled this solution.”

It was at this moment the class end bell rang. Thus, Feng Chutang said, “You will write an essay on the merits and demerits of this procedure. If you believe you have a better solution, then you may put it in your essay as well. You will submit it during our next class, or bring it directly to my place in the Council Hall if you finished early. I will review it when I’m there.”

A girl suddenly stood up and asked, “Teacher, Big Senior Sister Liuli said that all cultivators must be capable fighters. Are you a capable fighter?”

Feng Chutang beamed at her. “I’m just an instructor who teaches history. In the world of mortals, I’m just a feeble scholar who can’t even wrestle a chicken. Naturally, I’m terrible at fighting and killing.”

The next day, it was Big Senior Sister Liuli’s Dao Foundation Theory again. During their first lesson, Ji Liuli had provided a concise overview of the fundamental principles of the Dao Foundation and the six universal cultivation methods. But starting today, their cultivation lessons began for real.

The students were split into six groups based on their cultivation methods. The only two students who chose to cultivate the Jade Toad Full Moon Painting besides Wei Yuan was Bao Yun and a boy who had received the Founder’s boon. His name was Cui Yu, and he was a descendant of the renowned Cui Clan.

The Jade Toad Full Moon Painting imposed exceptionally stringent demands on one’s fortune. Its advantage was that it strengthened one’s foundation, and its disadvantage was that it offered nothing else. The other five cultivation methods all possessed their own merits and were less demanding in their requirements. This was why the Jade Toad Full Moon Painting attracted the fewest number of practitioners.

Xiao Yu also carried great fate in his body, but he had planned out his path a long time ago. Thus, he chose to cultivate the cultivation method that boasted the highest killing potency, the Great Sun Sword Holding Book,instead of the Jade Toad Full Moon Painting.

The students started cultivating after they had split into groups. Ji Liuli sat at her lectern and acted as the supervisor.

By now, Wei Yuan had consumed his second Chonglou Sea Pacifying Pill and expanded the range of his image to over three zhang. But ignoring the effects of the pill, the actual size of his image was only two zhang and five chi.

Wei Yuan had cultivated for almost half a month at this point, so he knew that his cultivation speed was slow. It couldn’t hold a candle to the geniuses in the record at all. He noticed one thing, however. His image had actually shrunk by half a chi after the medicinal baths his big senior sister had given him earlier. But in exchange, the quality of his image had visibly improved.

Cultivation wasn’t something you could get results overnight, and Wei Yuan understood this principle as a matter of course. Thus, he paid no attention to his progress and just focused on consuming lunar essence every day.

On a related note, the shadow in the moon hadn’t shifted an inch since the day it appeared. Wisps of black qi were constantly seeping into Wei Yuan’s body together with the lunar essence. Slowly but surely, the speed at which he was consuming lunar essence was increasing.

From time to time, Ji Liuli would break her silence and wake a student from their cultivation. She would tell them what they did wrong and teach them a few instructions before leaving them to their cultivation.

The end of the class came quickly, and a bell chime woke every student from their focused state. Sitting not far away from Wei Yuan, Cui Yu suddenly raised his hand and said, “I’ve completed my image, Big Senior Sister.”

Ji Liuli’s eyes turned green as she walked up to him. She examined him for a moment before nodding her head. “Your image is six zhang long, and your extraordinary phenomenon is almost top-tier. Not bad at all! You may start tempering your body now.”

Cui Yu was overjoyed to receive her praise. He looked at her hopefully and asked, “Do you think I have a chance at forging an immortal foundation?”

This time, Ji Liuli shook her head and said, “You have a chance at forging a Heaven-tier Dao Foundation, but Immortal? That is up to karma. Your foundation is only eight chi tall, and it is bogging you down somewhat. When you return home, ask your family to gather as many natural treasures, immortal pills, and elixirs that can improve your innate talent as possible. Only then can you definitely create a Heaven-tier Dao Foundation. This is not something you can afford to be stingy about.”

Cui Yu clenched his teeth and declared, “No worries, Teacher! If the Cui Clan is lacking in terms of cultivation resources, then no other clan in the entire world can call themselves wealthy!”

Bao Yun rolled her eyes at him.