In the square, twenty boys and girls heard the summoning in their ears and entered the hall to see different numbers on the meditation cushions. Everyone hurried to find their assigned spots and sat cross-legged, circulating their cultivation techniques.
Above them, there actually hovered another hall in the sky, but when the candidates occasionally looked up, all they saw was the clear blue sky and white clouds.
Inside the hall in the sky, there were seven desks, with someone sitting at six of them. The six people were dressed differently, including one Daoist, two Cultivators, two Confucian Scholars, and one Monk. Below them, the lower hall was completely transparent, revealing the seated candidates.
The six were the judges for this unified examination, holding the power of life and death over the candidates, each with an extraordinary bearing, but they all ignored the empty desk beside them.
At this moment, in the hall below, light pillars began to rise from the incense burners beside the first batch of candidates. The thickness and brightness of the light pillars varied.
The light pillars on the left represented root bone talent, while those on the right indicated Life Grid Luck. Before even half the time had passed, more than half of the candidates' light pillars ceased growing, reaching only about a foot in height. A few moments later, there was just one remaining candidate whose root bone talent pillar continued to grow, finally reaching three and a half feet, thick as a fist, with a golden thread winding endlessly inside it. However, his Life Grid Luck pillar was only two feet high and rather dull and unremarkable.
In the upper hall, an older Cultivator said, "The root bone is average, but with the sharpness of gold, it could be slightly elevated in ranking."
The rest of the judges nodded as well. Since there was no dispute, the six judges wrote their evaluations in their respective registers. In the center of the Judgement Hall stood a stone stele, which displayed the candidates' names and final scores as the judges completed their evaluations. The final score was the average of the marks given by all the judges.
With the sound of a bell, the candidates left the hall, and the next group entered in single file, with Li Zhi among the second batch.
Li Zhi sat down, closed his eyes, and instantly two columns of light shot out from the incense burners on either side!
The light column on the left was azure, with surging waves visible within, growing to just over eight feet before finally stopping; on the right, a bright golden light column soared to nearly ten feet! Afterwards, numerous light spots appeared within the bright golden pillar, converging to form a small tripod.
In the Judgement Hall, an elderly Confucian stroked his beard with a smile, "Both root bone and Life Grid are Top-grade, and the Bell Tripod is also of a high quality. I, Liu Sigu, have not seen many talents like this in my lifetime. Duke Hui En has indeed produced a fine son!"
The older Cultivator remarked, "It seems that the Four Saints Academy will gain another excellent disciple, and he might even join Old Liu's ranks."
The elderly Confucian laughed even more cheerfully, "Well said, well said!"
In fact, each of the judges had a list indicating which child was to go to which Immortal Sect, clearly marked on the list. Li Zhi, the eldest son of Duke Hui En of Southern Qi, was set to join the Four Saints Academy. But the list and the quotas didn't always match, for instance, the three spots for Taichu Palace were contested by five different families. Who would ultimately gain the spot depended on both the candidates' performance and the judges' appraisal.
Those not on the list were left unsaid, as even the Second-class Cave Heaven quotas had been allocated, leaving only scraps for them to fight over.
Liu Sigu picked up his brush and wrote 'Heavenly Armor' and 'forty' behind the number nineteen, representing Li Zhi.
According to tradition, any Life Grid light column under three feet was considered Human Grade, four to six feet was Earth-grade, seven to nine feet was Heavenly Grade, and anything above ten feet was Superior. If a light column resonated with heaven and earth, various phenomena would appear, with common phenomena being ranked as well. The Bell Tripod Incense Burner and other sacrificial instruments were considered Top-grade. As long as a phenomenon appeared, the evaluation would be adjusted accordingly.
Liu Sigu wrote 'Heavenly Armor' as per the old system evaluation, and 'forty' was the new grading system score, giving the top marks in both. The other judges gave the same 'Heavenly Armor' rating according to the old system, but the new system scores fluctuated slightly.
Ultimately, Li Zhi's evaluation was 'Heavenly Armor', with a score of thirty-eight. Li Zhi's score might not seem perfect, but given that he was to practice the Mortal World's Imperial Path, where Luck was of paramount importance and foundation was not key, this was considered exceptional.
In the next two batches, several geniuses appeared, with either nine feet of root bone or nine feet of Luck, but none were as well-rounded as Li Zhi.
When the fourth batch of candidates began, suddenly, one person's Luck skyrocketed, breaking through ten feet in the blink of an eye!
The judges were all startled and looked intently, to see that the individual was a youth, with fine features like a girl. His root bone was only average, at five feet, but his Luck was astounding, surpassing ten feet and continuing to rise another half foot before finally stopping. The first Superior had emerged!
Indeed, there was a Child of Luck!
The six judges instantly became solemn and fell silent.
The Immortal Sect's original intention was to recruit a few Children of Luck from Fengyuan County, this converging point of fate and fortune, which is why they had allotted the quotas. But the problem was that these quotas had already been divided up before the examination began. Now this candidate wasn't on the list held by any of the judges, which was a bit awkward. If a Child of Luck emerged and the Immortal Sect did not take him, it would seem rather too conspicuous.
It was at this moment that the person's Luck underwent another change, turning the light column dark red, revealing the Floating Tomb Blood Sea!
The young Monk suddenly smiled and said, "Ah, it is the Floating Tomb Blood Sea! This Luck may be too hot for you to handle, but it does have some use for my Great Treasure Flower Pure Land. I shall take this child under my wing!"
The Taoist dressed in Taichu Palace garments looked up nonchalantly and asked, "Do you have an extra quota?"
The Monk pronounced a Buddhist chant and replied, "Naturally, I don't have any extra quotas, but I can immediately ask for one, and claim it as soon as the Dao Test concludes."
The others nodded, saying no more, though inwardly they were all admonished. The Monk could ask for quotas on demand, clearly holding deep roots within the Bao Hua Pure Land, not someone to offend lightly.
Nobody had the intention of competing for the youth. As the Monk said, this youth was indeed a Child of Luck, yet his destiny was fraught with heavy killing fates, problematic for both himself and others. Furthermore, each judge had their own lists to manage; where could they possibly fit this youth?
The judges opened their ledgers, just about to write, when the Monk suddenly said, "This child is destined to be mine, and when you make your mark, I hope you can be lenient. If his ranking is too low and he loses affinity with me, it would be rather regrettable. I may be detached from most worldly concerns, but I have one attachment—that is, I never forget a grudge."
The judges unanimously assured that they would not let the master lose his beneficial connection, to which the Monk finally relented.
The stele revealed a line: Duan Yusheng, Tian Bing, thirty-five.
After another batch of candidates, Wei Yuan heard his own number being called.
Following the other candidates into the main hall, Wei Yuan saw a cushion flashing with his number and went to sit down on it.
As the clear sound of a bell rang in his ears, the Dao Test began.
Wei Yuan calmed his spirit and began to cultivate according to the methods indicated in his techniques.