The technique used in the Dao Assessment was part of the examination. It was extremely easy to learn and required no advance practice; one only had to follow the instructions and circulate it. The technique had changed only three times in several hundred years, and had not changed at all in the past century.
As the technique circulated, Wei Yuan felt the cushion beneath him and the two incense burners gradually merge with his body. Threads of coolness continuously formed inside the cushion and entered Wei Yuan's body. Stirred by the chill, two formless things began to emerge within him.
The incense burners on either side produced a suction that tugged at the two formless things inside him. Both were clearly present. Though they overlapped, they remained distinctly separate. As the technique circulated, the burners' pull grew stronger, forming two channels that drew the two masses of formless matter, thread by thread, into the burners.
The burner on the left drew in his Root Bone; the one on the right drew in his fortune. Wei Yuan's Root Bone was fairly ordinary, but as the technique circulated, the formless thing representing his fortune rose like an iceberg emerging from the sea, growing larger and larger with no sign of stopping. In the blink of an eye, it had expanded beyond the limits of Wei Yuan's body and faintly connected with something deep in the unseen reaches.
Wei Yuan had no idea what would happen during the Dao Assessment. Assuming this was normal, he guarded his mind and continued circulating the technique.
As the technique circulated, the fortune within Wei Yuan gradually revealed itself to be immense and heavy. The channel began to seem narrow, no longer wide enough for it to pass through smoothly. Wei Yuan could only circulate the technique with all his might, as though lifting a small mountain and then shoving it inch by inch through the channel. As time passed, the burden grew heavier and heavier. Even his Root Bone was beginning to feel the strain.
Wei Yuan focused entirely on circulating the technique, unaware that the hall above had already erupted into commotion.
In the evaluators' eyes, the pillar of light representing Wei Yuan's Root Bone was scarlet and rising slowly. It had just passed seven feet, and its ascent was beginning to slow. That made it an upper-grade foundation, but not yet anything dazzling. His fortune, however, shone in a pillar as thick as a washbasin. In the blink of an eye, it had passed nine feet and was still climbing!
Wei Yuan's pillar of fortune was a pale, ashen white. Though it was extremely tall and thick, its substance was remarkably sparse; only by sensing with all their might could the six evaluators touch upon it at all. Had the pillar not been right before their eyes, even evaluators who were not skilled in perception might have thought there was nothing there.
Every so often, a wisp of black smoke emerged from the incense burner beside Wei Yuan and merged into the pillar of fortune, causing it to grow another section, though its substance never became any denser.
The six evaluators had never seen fortune like this before. As they exchanged baffled looks, Wei Yuan's pillar of fortune finally exceeded ten feet. Another super-grade talent.
The middle-aged Confucian turned to the Daoist and said, "Daoist Fu Feng, this is a matter within your Taichu Palace. How should we handle it?"
From the corner of his eye, Daoist Fu Feng seemed to glance casually at the empty seat. His face expressionless, he replied slowly, "Impartially."
The middle-aged Confucian nodded. "Just as it should be."
With the Daoist's answer, the other evaluators understood. Their gazes returned to the disciples below. Strangely, even now, Wei Yuan's two pillars of light were still growing slowly, while the pillars of every other examinee in this group had stopped some time ago.
Clang!
A deep, ancient bell tolled. Wei Yuan shuddered, and his connection with the cushion and incense burners broke. The formless matter that had not yet been drawn over slowly vanished as well. Wei Yuan assumed that was simply how things worked, so he rose and hurried out of the hall at the Daoist's urging.
When Wei Yuan stood, his Root Bone pillar measured seven feet nine inches, and his fortune pillar measured eleven feet.
The next group of examinees filed into the hall, and another round of the Dao Assessment began. As soon as the chime faded, two jade-colored pillars of light shot into the sky! They were so solid they seemed almost tangible. If their substance was like towering pillars carved from jade, then Wei Yuan's pillar of fortune had been no more than rising cooking smoke.
The evaluators looked down and saw a girl as delicate as a doll, with powder-white skin and rosy cheeks. She circulated the technique calmly, and a faint treasure-like glow appeared on her small face. Within each of the two jade-colored pillars, a colossal figure of a God or Devil loomed faintly.
Once the evaluators saw the girl's face, they understood: it was Miss Bao of the Bao Household.
There was little to see in this round. The girl was far ahead of everyone else, her two pillars of light heading straight for ten feet. The rest were ordinary and unworthy of mention.
The young cultivator, who looked barely twenty, broke the silence. "There should be no disagreement over Miss Bao's evaluation. But as for that child from the previous round, I'm afraid we'll need to discuss how to handle his assessment."
The young cultivator looked toward Daoist Fu Feng, but the Daoist remained silent. The young man smiled. "It seems Daoist Fu Feng wishes to avoid any appearance of bias. Then we can discuss it among ourselves!"
The old Confucian Liu Sigu thought of Wei Yuan's two striking pillars of light. By the usual standards, Wei Yuan's score would even surpass Li Zhi's.
For some reason, seeing Wei Yuan's fortune had filled the old Confucian with inexplicable disgust. Now he felt it all the more. Miss Bao had outstanding talent and was already renowned; it was only to be expected that she would surpass Li Zhi in the Dao Assessment. But Wei Yuan, with his shallow roots, dared to outrank the academy's chosen champion?
The old Confucian ran through the lists in his mind and confirmed that Wei Yuan was on none of them. He knew what to do. Stroking his long beard, he said with a solemn expression, "The child's Root Bone and fortune are both fairly good, but their substance is flimsy. His fortune contains not a shred of righteousness, either. Had he been among the common folk, he would most likely have become a rebel."
The young cultivator frowned slightly. "The standards have never included the substance of one's fortune. Whether one's fortune follows the righteous path has no bearing on the evaluation, either. Elder Liu, that judgment seems unfair."
The other evaluators nodded faintly. Since time immemorial, the various sects had only cared whether a disciple had fortune on their side. If they did, that was good enough. Who cared whether it was righteous or wicked?
The old Confucian did not argue. "That is merely my personal opinion. You may all decide for yourselves."
After speaking, he ignored the others and directly took up his brush to write his evaluation in the register: Earth Grade C, twenty!
The other five evaluators were astonished. Liu Sigu's score clearly meant to send the child straight to a Blessed Land, without even giving him a chance at a Grotto-Heaven.
A flash of sharpness passed through Daoist Fu Feng's eyes. He said slowly, "Elder Liu, that evaluation seems a bit harsh, doesn't it?"
The old Confucian looked back at the Daoist without the slightest fear. "This Unified Examination is being held in Fengyuan, and it carries great significance. We all shoulder heavy responsibilities and are on tenterhooks. I heard that a certain person from your palace went missing for six years, yet as soon as he returned, your palace gave him a position as an evaluator. How great a favor is that? But where is he now? Does he take any of us seriously? Does he take the Immortal Sect Unified Examination seriously?"
The Daoist glanced at the empty seat and snorted, saying nothing more.
The middle-aged Confucian stepped in to smooth things over. "Elder Liu is forthright and speaks bluntly, Daoist Fu Feng. Don't take it to heart. That said, we all bear responsibilities. Our situation is not the same as that person's; it's just as well he chose not to come. You all know how important first place in this Unified Examination is to Duke of Grace's son. If Miss Bao wants to compete for it, then may the best person win. If we lose, we'll have no complaints. But as for anyone else, it would be best not to introduce any surprises."
The evaluators understood at once. The old Confucian had made such a harsh move because he feared Wei Yuan and did not want him to pose an additional threat to Li Zhi. The middle-aged Confucian's words also confirmed one thing: Four Saints Academy intended to use first place in the examination to build momentum for Li Zhi. If he secured first place, he could ride that wave straight into the clouds, and his path of cultivation would be smooth from then on.
Daoist Fu Feng's expression revealed nothing of his thoughts, but the other evaluators had anticipated his response and knew he would not interfere. Daoist Fu Feng had his own duty to fulfill. If Wei Yuan truly took first place, Li Zhi would suffer only a minor setback on his path of cultivation, but one of Taichu Palace's three allotted places would be taken for good. Daoist Fu Feng would then have a hard time explaining himself.
The Immortal Sect's allotted places had long since been divided up. Even a Child of Fortune was no exception, unless he went and asked for an additional place, like that monk. If this major matter of the allotted places went awry, the powerful clans and noble houses behind them would be furious. The evaluators here could not withstand their wrath. Though they held great power, how that power was used was not up to them.
Daoist Fu Feng deliberated for a moment, then finally said, "How you two choose to write your evaluations is beyond my control. But Junior Brother Zhang is not an easy man to deal with, and my Taichu Palace's authority must not be challenged. If you two look down on my Taichu Palace, then I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to experience Four Saints Academy's remarkable techniques for myself."
Seeing the tension rise, the middle-aged Confucian cupped his hands toward Daoist Fu Feng and smiled. "Please calm your anger, Daoist Fu Feng! Taichu Palace is Taichu Palace, and that person is that person. We naturally respect Taichu Palace. Besides, to be fair, whatever Elder Liu writes for Wei Yuan's evaluation won't affect Taichu Palace's larger interests. As for that Junior Brother Zhang, even if he is a Dao Foundation like us, let alone a Dharma Idol True Person, we still cannot bend the rules for him! If the higher-ups blame us, I'm afraid none of us could bear the consequences."
He had made himself perfectly clear: the two Confucians from the academy only wanted to suppress Wei Yuan. They had no intention of interfering in Taichu Palace's internal competition for places, and would leave Daoist Fu Feng in peace. As for Wei Yuan's master, they were all Dao Foundations; none of them was much better than the others.
Liu Sigu was unafraid. "I've already written my evaluation. I can't change it now!"
The middle-aged Confucian smiled. "Very well. Elder Liu is so quick to hate evil and so protective of his reputation. I'll shoulder the burden of being the smooth-talking one!"
He picked up his brush and wrote his evaluation in the register: Heaven Grade C, twenty-five.
The evaluators could not help thinking he was a sly old fox.
The middle-aged Confucian's words had been pleasant, but his brush had been no less ruthless. Heaven Grade C was an old evaluation category. Here, it served only as a reference, showing respect for the old system; what actually counted was the score that followed. Twenty-five might look much higher than the score Liu Sigu had given, but it was still just short of a Grotto-Heaven. With two of the six evaluators giving low scores, it would be very difficult for Wei Yuan to climb into a Grotto-Heaven now.
The Dao Assessment had dug such a deep pit for him that climbing back out later would be harder than scaling the heavens.
By then, a new batch of examinees had begun the Dao Assessment in the hall below. The evaluators stopped arguing and each wrote down an evaluation. A new line appeared on the stone stele:
Wei Yuan, Earth Grade A, thirty.
The old Confucian's expression darkened. He looked toward the other evaluators, wanting to see who had been so blind as to insist on opposing him. But everyone who became an evaluator was an old fox. How could he read their thoughts from their faces?
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