by Mao Ni
"How many questions did you answer?" Tang Thirty-Six asked. He truly was rather interested in this answer, because even though he felt Chen Changsheng was just an ordinary person…in reality, he probably wasn't an ordinary person. When he saw how pale Chen Changsheng's face was, he realized that his question was inappropriate. Those problems had been like an ocean. Even a genius like him had felt somewhat strained. It was obvious that Chen Changsheng had severely consumed his mental strength. Looking at the circumstances, the final result would probably not be any good.
"There were some questions on cultivation that I really couldn't answer. Spiritual sense, true essence, and also the burning sun of Star Condensation…" Chen Changsheng answered very honestly answered. In his heart, he felt rather lucky. He had studied the Daoist Canon since he was a child, so those seemingly complex academic questions weren't very difficult at all for him. Instead, it was those questions on cultivation that he really couldn't answer. Fortunately, this was only an exam for prospective students after all, so there weren't many questions in that field.
As Tang Thirty-Six listened, he felt that something was a bit off. These were the questions that he couldn't answer…could it be that this kid actually answered all the other questions? He took note of the fact that on the other side of the lake, a teacher carrying a thick examination paper was quickly walking off to some place. That teacher's mood seemed to have been severely shaken, and he almost fell over as he climbed the stone steps. He couldn't help but be a little startled. When associating this with the words Chen Changsheng had just said, he couldn't help but get an idea that even he found hard to believe. Could it be that this fellow really wanted to give everyone a shock?
"The rest…you're sure you answered them all correctly?"
"I don't dare say for certain…there are two versions of ‘The Grand Supreme Mantra for Clearing the Heart.’ In the year the Orthodoxy was established, they released an edited version. Afterwards, everyone always used the edited version, but the era mentioned in the question was before the year fifteen-seventy-three, so I didn't know which version to use. In the end, I was forced to put down an answer for both versions. I'm just afraid that it will anger the teacher and lose points."
When Tang Thirty-Six heard these words, he couldn't help but fall silent.
He only knew one version for that question, and he had only answered for that version.
After a while, he looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "I always thought it was me and that other guy who were the most arrogant amongst this generation of youth. I didn't think that you would actually be more arrogant than me."
Chen Changsheng was puzzled. He thought to himself, just how am I arrogant?
* * *
The results were posted.
Chen Changsheng's name was actually not there.
Chen Changsheng silently stood in front of the list for a very long time.
The eyes that looked at him from the crowd were rather unkind, carrying a sense of ridicule and disdain. If Tang Thirty-Six were not at his side, many nasty words would probably have been said already.
"I don't understand," Chen Changsheng said.
Tang Thirty-Six also did not understand. He believed that this youth that could even make him feel close and sincere would not tell lies. Since he said that he had answered most of the questions correctly, he should have answered them correctly. Then even if he wasn't ranked at the very front, his score should have been more than enough to make the list.
Chen Changsheng sought out the teacher that had been responsible for the Sensory Stone assessment and said, "I would like to check my paper."
That teacher was tidying up some random miscellany and didn't look directly into that calm and resolute gaze. "Since you used the regulations to obtain the qualifications to take the exam, then you should also know…my Heavenly Dao Academy's exam papers cannot be checked again. This acts as a sign of respect to the Heavenly Dao Academy. If you did not pass, then you did not pass."
Chen Changsheng gazed silently at him for a long time, then turned and left.
* * *
"Although he didn't say anything, you knew what he wanted to say…this sort of kid who's angry, but won't say anything bad is truly amazing." Tang Thirty-Six looked to the other side of the lake at the back of the youth that was slowly fading away. He turned to some person and said mockingly, "For the Heavenly Dao Academy to not take this sort of talent is really amazing."
"You're older than him by two years, but you call him a kid. That's really interesting."
The Vice Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy said, "Even more interesting is, how did you know what he wanted to say?"
"He wanted to say, you will definitely regret this…I know this because if I were to suffer such treatment, I would definitely say these words."
"The Heavenly Dao Academy will regret rejecting a normal student?"
"He is not a normal student. He is a genius like me."
The Vice Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy was silent for a few moments, then said, "I saw that youth's exam paper. For him to be so erudite without Purification, he truly can be called a genius. Even compared to Wang Zhice back then, he's not too far off. If this were a normal situation, I absolutely would have recruited him into the academy and then personally instructed him. It's just a pity that it's not possible this time."
Tang Thirty-Six looked back at him and asked, "Why is it not possible?"
"Because someone paid a visit."
"Who?"
"The Divine General's estate."
"The present-day continent has one Dufu[6], Five Saints, the Storms of the Eight Directions, and the countless freaks on the Proclamation of Liberation, and that's not even mentioning the demon guys hidden out in the wilderness. Admittedly the thirty-eight Divine Generals are strong…but what sort of place is the Heavenly Dao Academy? Actually listening to the orders of the Divine General's estate?"
"Your father entrusted you to me, so I won't hide this from you, but you can't speak of it anywhere else…a mere Divine General's estate is naturally incapable of influencing my Heavenly Dao Academy, but that Divine General's estate is different, because it is the estate of the Divine General of the East. The master of that estate is called Xu Shiji."
"Xu Shiji…even if he's doted upon by the Divine Empress and his power is formidable, in the end, he's just a Divine General."
"But his family has a Phoenix…"
Once he heard the word 'Phoenix', the cold arrogance on Tang Thirty-Six's countenance was impossible to retain and instantly melted away. After a long period of silence, he mumbled, "…Chen Changsheng, that guy, actually managed to provoke that Phoenix? Just what sort of person is he?"
The Vice Principal calmly replied, "It's of no concern what sort of person he is, he's still only fourteen. Even if he were to be enlightened again, it would be too late. The world has too many geniuses, and so if he had even more potential, so what? Previously, I compared him to Wang Zhice. If he really does possess Wang Zhice's willpower and destiny, then what does it matter if he is or is not in the Heavenly Dao Academy?"
* * *
Chen Changsheng did not know that his failure had to do with the Xu Estate. He thought that he had most likely taken the place of some influential official's son and so had suffered under the tricks of some person. Although this was his first time wading into worldly affairs, he had seen in the Daoist Canon and the plays many unbearably dark and filthy cases of mutual deception, and so he could only remain silent. Besides remaining silent, what else could he currently do?
He left the Heavenly Dao Academy and went to the second school on the list. He still did not notice the carriage with the blood-red Phoenix crest following him in the distance.
Chapter 8 – Seizing the Stars
Presently in the world, cultivation relied mainly on the Daoist method promulgated by the Orthodoxy. The primary source of true essence was the vast sky of stars—the Faith of Light paid particular attention to
the word 'light,' and what illuminated the night sky was precisely starlight. To break through Meditation and enter Ethereal Opening, and then Star Condensation; to lean upon the energy the myriad stars spilled over the world and to remold the ordinary human body and soul: this was the ultimate goal of cultivation. From this, one could see what sort of status the word 'star' held in the world of cultivation. Every country and every sect had its own star observation platforms, and the scenic spots on the great rivers were covered with countless buildings which looked up towards the stars. Yet it was very rare to see names like 'take the stars' or 'wrest away the stars,' because this seemed rather disrespectful to the stars.
But the second school on Chen Changsheng's list was shockingly called precisely Star Seizer Academy.
Star Seizer—this academy had taken such a completely domineering name, and yet the Orthodoxy had no complaint. This matter had always been so domineering.
In the entire world, only this academy dared to use such a name, and only this academy had the qualifications to use such a name.
Because this academy was under the direct management of the Great Zhou army. Over countless years, it had nurtured countless brave and unswerving youths, and the generals it had produced were as numerous as the stars. Many years ago, in that world-shaking war with the demons, the humans had initially been forced to the brink of collapse. The entirety of Star Seizer Academy, from its principal down to the average student, rushed out to the battlefield, taking the place of their fallen comrades. Of ten that went out to the battlefield, eight or nine would die there. After the great war, the once-great academy was now decayed and desolate as a tomb. Based on this, the Star Seizer Academy obtained a respect that no man could hope to reach and possessed a nigh-unimaginable grandeur.
If such an academy wanted to use Star Seizer or even Star Burning as a name, just who would complain?
The entire world had a deep understanding of Star Seizer Academy's bloody and cruel, yet glorious, history, and Chen Changsheng was no exception. His master had placed Star Seizer Academy as second on the list, but the reality was that in Chen Changsheng's heart, Star Seizer Academy was ranked first. Although his failure to get into the Heavenly Dao Academy had upset him somewhat, he didn't care too much.
He believed that Star Seizer Academy would definitely not practice favoritism like the Heavenly Dao Academy, or at the very least it would not be so excessive about it.
Thinking like this, he arrived at the stern Star Seizer Academy and began to prepare for the second examination.
As expected, Star Seizer Academy was different from the Heavenly Dao Academy. Although the school gate was also surrounded by a dense mass of people, the entire place was very quiet without any sort of random noise. Perhaps it was because of the hawk-like gazes of those fully-armored elite troops or because of that stone monolith densely covered with the surnames of those officers that had died for the country oppressing the mood.
After filling out a simple application form and receiving a number plate, slightly over six hundred young prospective students were escorted by several military officials into the academy.
Similar to the assessment of the Heavenly Dao Academy, the Star Seizer Academy had also prepared a pre-examination, and its goal was similarly to eliminate those ordinary youths who had not yet succeeded at Purification and to relieve the pressure on the formal entrance examination. It was just that the Star Seizer Academy inevitably had a more military character to it, so its method was much simpler than the Heavenly Dao Academy's and also much more straightforward—this place had no Sensory Stone, only a stone plate.
This stone plate was very large, very much like a millstone—in fact, it was precisely the millstone from the kitchens behind the Star Seizer Academy that had been temporarily removed, and it weighed three hundred catties. Those examinees that could lift up this millstone and carry it up the thirty stone steps would be considered to have passed the first assessment and have the qualifications to take the formal entrance examination.
With a weight of three hundred catties, unless one had successfully purified and tempered the bones and muscles to be as flexible as a pine tree, it would be very difficult to lift it up, let alone carry it for so long up those steps. Upon seeing that millstone, many youths who had not succeeded at Purification suddenly paled. Many people lowered their heads in dejection as they stepped back. Even youths who had succeeded at Purification, but still had unsteady cultivations judged that they couldn't do it this year. One by one, they shook their heads, unwilling but helplessly forced to abandon their hopes. Of course, there were some ordinary youths who bravely relied on their body's natural strength to attempt to overcome this challenge, but none of them succeeded.
To not have undergone Purification, but manage to lift the millstone was not actually a rare sight in the Star Seizer Academy's new student examination. For instance, the White Tiger Divine General currently guarding Sangharama Pass had not undergone Purification in the year he entered the academy. However, relying on his inborn divine strength, he actually managed to easily take up that millstone and hurl it right over to the other side of that lake…
But this was not a common event.
The military instructor felt it somewhat regrettable. Looking at the time, he decided to quicken the process. He let the examinees voluntarily report their levels and then allowed the examinees that had succeeded at Purification to attempt the test first. Afterwards, he let the ordinary youths try.
Regrettably, by noon, there were still no ordinary youths able to produce a miracle.
Just as the crowd was beginning to lose interest and preparing to leave, a tall and sturdy youth carrying his number plate walked in. He easily lifted the millstone and then clomp, clomp, clomp, clomp, he easily climbed up those thirty stone steps. His breathing was steady and his face wasn't even red. He even brought the millstone back to its original position.
The crowd was in an uproar.
That youth raised up his hand to the crowd and then proudly walked back up the stone steps into the depths of the academy. Amusingly, he was born too simple and honest. No matter how much he tried to show off his arrogance, he just seemed rather cute in the eyes of the crowd. There was no teasing, only a warm laughter.
After the sturdy youth departed, many people began to speculate on his origins until finally some person abruptly mentioned that a green tattoo had been faintly discernible on the youth's ankle. The crowd were all so amazed that they had no words. This was because…it signified that this youth was highly likely to possess demi-human blood. There was even a high chance that he had come from the land of demi-humans in the west!
Over the past several centuries, the humans had united with the demi-humans in resisting the demons, although their relationship could not be described as friendly, it could still be described as peaceful. Some demi-human nobles that could transform even lived in the human world. There were definitely some living in the capital of the Great Zhou—but in the end, humans and demi-humans walked different paths. The government and the common people of the human world would usually refrain from mentioning this topic, thinking it fine as long as those demi-humans did not cause any trouble.
When that stalwart youth who was suspected of being a demi-human succeeded in lifting the millstone, he seemed to have pushed open a door. Soon after, two youths who were hunters from the Great Old Mountains relied on the innate strength of their bodies to lift up the millstone and walk up the stone steps. Although it seemed very arduous, it still won a wave of cheers.
That military official at the top of the steps who was keeping score with his black brush seemed to be very satisfied with this year's applicants.
As time passed, it was finally Chen Changsheng's turn. When the crowd saw this still childish youth, they gave a few kind words of encouragement and then paid no more attention. It was too obvious that this youth was too young and had not fully matured. He wasn't even as strong as those two hunters, let alone that stalwart
demi-human youth. It seemed impossible for him to lift the millstone no matter how one looked at it.
At the Heavenly Dao Academy, Chen Changsheng had relied on his familiarity with the regulations of the academy to pass through the Purification selection. Now at Star Seizer Academy, perhaps he had thought of another method, but maybe because he had been affected by the stern and yet passionate atmosphere of the academy or perhaps because he simply wanted to try, he didn't do anything strange.