Dao Ancestor's Ultimate Interview! The Investiture of the Gods KPI, Approved!

"Nonsense!"

Primordial Heavenly Venerate's furious roar was no longer mere sound, but had transformed into substantive Great Dao Divine Thunder, detonating with a boom within the vast emptiness of Purple Firmament Palace!

That supreme saintly pressure, like a chaotic universe on the verge of collapse, bore down fiercely upon the tiny figure at the center of the hall!

Space wailed; laws twisted.

The prayer mat beneath Chen Changsheng instantly turned to dust.

His ordinary gray Daoist robe flapped and crackled, as if the next moment it would be torn to shreds by this supreme will.

"Senior Brother, how dare you!"

Sect Leader Tongtian erupted in rage, his form flickering as he moved to shield Chen Changsheng. The phantom of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation churned wildly behind him, billions of killing sword qi pushing back against Primordial Heavenly Venerate's pressure with all its might.

The entire Purple Firmament Palace was instantly torn into two distinct halves by two utterly different yet equally terrifying saintly Daos.

On one side, heavenly laws were expounded, order reigned.

On the other, life was seized, all things withered.

"Enough."

From the high platform, Hongjun's voice remained utterly devoid of emotion.

Just two words.

The saintly standoff, enough to return the Primordial World to chaos, dissipated like a phantom.

Sect Leader Tongtian grunted softly and sat back down on his prayer mat.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate's face grew even more livid, but he ultimately dared not defy the Dao Ancestor. He could only forcibly withdraw his killing intent, which had nearly overflowed, yet his gaze remained locked onto Chen Changsheng like a blade.

From start to finish, Chen Changsheng hadn't even twitched an eyebrow.

He still stood there, his spine straight as a ramrod, as if the pressure that could have crushed a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal's Primordial Spirit was nothing more than a breeze sweeping over a mountain ridge.

He faced the iron-faced Primordial Heavenly Venerate, neither humble nor arrogant, and offered a bow.

"In reply to Second Uncle-Master."

"This disciple's words are not meant to blaspheme the Heavenly Dao, but precisely to better practice its fairness."

His voice, in the absolute silence, rang out once more—clear, calm, filled with an unassailable logical force.

"May I ask Second Uncle-Master, what exactly are those of 'shallow fortune and weak affinity'?"

He did not wait for Primordial Heavenly Venerate to answer, but continued on his own.

"Are they those with low cultivation? Those with poor magic treasures? Or those with ordinary origins?"

"If judged by this, then the disciples of my Jie Sect are mostly those born with fur and horns, wet-born and egg-hatched—far inferior in origin to the various senior brothers of the Chan Sect. Does that mean they are fated to be those of shallow fortune and weak affinity, the ones destined for the list?"

"Is this what you call the 'Heavenly Dao'?"

"Presumptuous!"

Primordial Heavenly Venerate roared, yet for a moment found no words to refute.

Chen Changsheng shifted his tone, his gaze sweeping toward Hongjun on the high platform.

"Dao Ancestor above, this disciple believes that true 'fortune and affinity' do not lie in birth, but in whether one's own actions can align with the Heavenly Dao Momentum and contribute to the order of the Three Realms."

"This disciple's 'Job Matchability' system discards all innate factors."

"It looks at only one thing."

"That is, during the Tribulation, whether the candidate's actions match the 'Dao' required by the Heavenly Court's divine positions!"

"A demon cultivator with the worst origins, if he displays a righteousness comparable to thunder during the Tribulation, is the best candidate for the God of Thunder Department!"

"A disciple of the Orthodox Mystic Gate with the highest birth, if he schemes with a treacherous heart during the Tribulation and only seeks to preserve himself, then he is unmatched for any divine position and may naturally roam free and continue his cultivation."

"Rewards and punishments are clear, regardless of birth, only ability and character."

"Is this not a better way to embody the Heavenly Dao's 'ultimate impartiality' than mere slaughter?"

These words struck like a hammer!

Within Purple Firmament Palace, a pin drop could be heard.

Sect Leader Tongtian's eyes shimmered with brilliance; he nearly wanted to applaud.

Well said!

These words laid bare the very thoughts he, a saint who taught all beings without discrimination, had wanted to express but never knew how to articulate!

The Two Sages of the West, their faces of suffering and solemnity, both showed a flicker of deep thought.

They exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of being moved in the other's eyes.

Not looking at birth, only at ability.

This... wasn't this giving their Western Sect's "fated ones" a perfect opportunity to openly take up posts in the Heavenly Court?

Saintess Nuwa's gaze toward Chen Changsheng also gained a hint of genuine appreciation.

As the saint of the Demon Race, she understood better than anyone what origin and birth meant in the Primordial World.

Chen Changsheng's theory had undoubtedly shaken the deeply entrenched "doctrine of bloodline" to its very foundation.

"A pack of clever words!"

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate's voice remained as cold as ice.

"The Heavenly Tribulation is no child's play! If everyone could simply evade it by claiming 'mismatch,' then who would fill the three hundred and sixty-five divine seats of the Heavenly Court?!"

This was the core issue.

And in his eyes, it was the most fatal flaw in Chen Changsheng's theory.

Yet Chen Changsheng seemed to have anticipated this.

He smiled faintly and spoke words that left all the Sages stunned.

"Second Uncle-Master, it seems you have... misunderstood something."

"Who said that carefree wandering is necessarily better than ascending to a divine seat?"

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate was taken aback.

Chen Changsheng bowed once more toward Hongjun on the high platform.

"May I ask the Dao Ancestor, do the divine seats of the Heavenly Court come with a salary?"

Hongjun: "..."

This question was so bizarre that even the Dao Ancestor, who had merged with the Heavenly Dao, seemed to pause for a moment.

After a long silence, his emotionless voice slowly rang out.

"They do."

"They are blessed by the fortune of the Heavenly Court and enjoy the incense and merit of Immeasurable Merit."

"Good."

Chen Changsheng nodded, a look of obviousness on his face.

"Esteemed Sage-Uncles, here lies the problem."

"A job—recognized by the Heavenly Dao, blessed with fortune, with incense and merit as its salary, and possessing an official establishment within the Heavenly Dao—why is it seen by everyone as a punishment to be avoided at all costs?"

"The reason is simple."

He raised two fingers.

"First, the previous recruitment method was 'compulsory'—whoever lost had to take the post, filled with a sense of humiliation."

"Second, the job responsibilities and benefits were not transparent enough."

He looked at the Primordial Heavenly Venerate, his gaze clear.

"If we turn 'compulsion' into 'selection,'"

"And clearly list the fortune blessing quota for each divine seat, along with the year-end bonus of incense and merit, all with clear prices written in the 'Recruitment Prospectus,'"

"Your disciple can guarantee that there will be no need for slaughter."

"Within the Three Teachings, and even throughout the Three Realms, countless cultivators who feel their talents are unrecognized will fight tooth and nail for these positions!"

"The Tribulation will completely transform into... the largest and highest-level Civil Service Examination in the history of the Primordial World!"

Boom!

When the words "Civil Service Examination" left Chen Changsheng's mouth, Even the Sages seated upon the clouds felt their Dao hearts tremble in unison!

They seemed to see an utterly absurd, yet... utterly real, future tableau.

Countless cultivators, no longer slaughtering each other for treasures or legacies, But hanging their heads by a beam, stabbing their thighs with an awl, cultivating day and night, just to score well in the Tribulation and secure an Iron Rice Bowl in the Heavenly Court!

This... this aesthetic, wasn't there something terribly wrong with it?

"You!"

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate pointed at Chen Changsheng, his Sage body trembling with rage.

He felt that his proud doctrine—expounding the Heavenly Laws and conforming to Heaven's will—was being deconstructed into fragments by this man in a way he could neither understand nor refute.

"Silence."

From the high platform, Hongjun's voice rang out once more.

His eyes, which seemed to contain the birth and death of the entire universe, gazed quietly at Chen Changsheng.

A long time passed.

He asked the ultimate question that would decide the future direction of the Primordial World.

"Your Process—how will the Heavenly Dao supervise it?"

"Your KPI—how will the Heavenly Dao assess it?"

"Your 'Job Matchability'—who will ultimately make the judgment?"

This was the core.

Any process, without a supreme and absolutely impartial arbiter, would ultimately amount to nothing more than empty talk.

As this question was posed, the gazes of all the saints converged on Chen Changsheng.

Sect Leader Tongtian's heart also rose to his throat.

He knew this was the Dao Ancestor's... ultimate interview for Chen Changsheng.

Answer well, and the skies would open wide.

Answer poorly, and there would be no redemption.

Facing this ultimate Dao question, Chen Changsheng instead smiled.

He put away the Jade Scroll floating in midair, once again performing the most standard, most respectful deep bow toward Hongjun.

"Replying to the Dao Ancestor."

"This disciple's entire set of procedures requires no one to supervise or judge, from beginning to end."

He raised his head, a gleam of wisdom that saw through everything shining in his eyes.

"Because the one executing all of this is not this disciple, nor the Jie Sect, nor any saint present here."

"Rather, it is the Heavenly Dao itself."

He slowly spread open his palm.

The companion spirit treasure obtained from the system, the Heavenly Mandate Document, quietly materialized.

"This object is called the 'Heavenly Mandate Document.' It was bestowed by the Heavenly Dao when the Dao Ancestor personally appointed this disciple as the 'Flow Official.'"

"It is the... Central Processing Unit of the entire 'Investiture of the Gods KPI Assessment System.'"

"Within the Tribulation, the actions of all examinees will transform into the most primitive data, recorded by the Heavenly Dao and gathered into this document."

"The document will automatically perform data analysis, matching, and scoring based on the 'Job Responsibilities' we jointly established here in the Purple Firmament Palace today."

"Throughout the entire process, no one can interfere."

"The final result will be directly generated by the Heavenly Dao and... publicly displayed on the Investiture of the Gods."

"From data entry to computation to the release of the list, there is no human intervention throughout—absolute fairness, justice, and transparency."

Chen Changsheng looked at Hongjun and spoke the concluding words that moved all the saints.

"Thus, to answer your question."

"The supervisor is the Heavenly Dao."

"The assessor is the Heavenly Dao."

"The final judge is still... the Heavenly Dao."

"This disciple and my Jie Sect have, from start to finish, merely been... a Wage Earner who built this automated office system for the Heavenly Dao."

As his voice fell.

The entire Purple Firmament Palace fell into the longest silence since ancient times.

Grand Supreme Elder Lao's half-open, half-closed eyes opened fully, their depths a chaos of indistinct emotion, impossible to read as joy or anger.

The lividness on Primordial Heavenly Venerate's face transformed into profound shock.

Jieyin and Zhunti pressed their palms together, murmuring to themselves, whether reciting Dao titles or calculating something unknown.

Saintess Nuwa gazed at the calmly standing figure, a flicker of strange brilliance in her beautiful eyes, as if looking at a monster from an unknown world.

Even Sect Leader Tongtian's mouth hung open, utterly stunned by his own disciple's perfectly seamless logical closed loop.

Attributing all his actions to "Heavenly Dao authorization."

Defining himself as an insignificant "Tool Person."

This... this was pushing "lying low" to the very extreme of the Dao!

A long time passed.

A long time.

On the high platform, the figure that seemed fused with the Great Dao slowly nodded.

"Goodness."

One word.

The word followed the Dao.

Like a Heavenly Dao Charter, it drew the final period on this discussion of Dao that had overturned the Primordial World.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate's body trembled, the last trace of color draining from his face.

He knew he had lost.

Lost, utterly and completely.

"This method is feasible."

Hongjun's voice rang out once more, this time directed at all the Sages.

"The Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, from this day forward, shall be renamed the 'Investiture of the Gods Evaluation.'"

"The specific evaluation criteria shall be based on the proposal submitted by Chen Changsheng. Do any of you have objections?"

All the Sages remained silent.

Even the Dao Ancestor himself had personally approved it—who would dare to object? Who could possibly object?

"Since there are no objections."

Hongjun's gaze fell upon Chen Changsheng for the final time.

"Chen Changsheng."

"You shall serve as the... Chief Examiner for this 'Investiture of the Gods Evaluation.'"

"You are responsible for drafting the first... Job Description for the 365 Departmental Deities."