Fortune Merges with a Hundred Trades, Three Sages Dye the Paper

As the pillar of energy exploded, light and shadow scattered, signifying the dissipation of Qiu Yan's Fortune!

"Huh? What is he doing? He's deliberately destroying his own Fortune! Is he trying to kill himself?"

This sudden turn of events surprised even the Daoist Wugou, who couldn't help but utter a comment.

"That's not necessarily true. You must understand that we can observe a person's aura and know their future path, but this path is not determined by their Fortune. On the contrary, their future path is determined by themselves. Fortune, most of the time, is just a superficial phenomenon."

These pillars of Fortune rising from the Examination Hall represent not only the Fortune of an individual, but also the future path of officialdom revealed by the combination of technology and the examination hall.

There's an old saying in officialdom, "Rising rapidly through the ranks." To a large extent, this "rising rapidly" describes one's Fortune or fortune. But Fortune isn't a resource; it's elusive, unpredictable, and difficult to control. Ultimately, it depends on the individual and their environment.

While one cannot easily change their environment as a test-taker, for most people, changes in their Fortune are mainly reflected in the choices they make in life.

In the examination hall, besides the classics and the interpretation of classics with certain answers, the essay and policy questions required each character written to make a choice. Each character formed a sentence, and each sentence formed an article, conveying the Way and presenting it to the examiners. If one followed their wishes, one would rise to the top; if one went against their wishes, one would fail. This is the difficulty of the imperial Imperial Examinations.

Qiu Yan's previous imposing manner was due to his ability to synthesize various factors into an article that perfectly aligned with the current situation, which enabled him to perform so well. However, while planning is up to man, success is up to fate. Because Qiu Yan possessed Divine Ability powers, his soul gradually became rounded and formed its own independent place, subtly isolated from the outside world.

The meaning of Human Path lies in harmony with all living beings, and these two ideas subtly contradict each other, hence the rejection. This manifests as unexpected factors interfering with Qiu Yan's future, which is embodied in the weakening of his pillar of Fortune.

In other words, it is precisely because of Qiu Yan's own actions and the various external factors that his future path is determined, and thus he will exhibit corresponding Fortune. This Fortune is more of an "effect" than a "cause."

For this reason, interfering with someone else's Fortune is not easy. It is tantamount to reversing Karma. On the surface, it may seem like just interfering with Fortune, but in reality, it involves many details to transform the ethereal "qi" into a real encounter or event.

The techniques involved are incredibly complex, and can only be used when the two parties are vastly different in their cultivation levels. That's why the Book of Fortune is so precious.

Just as the two old men were talking, the scattered column of energy radiated out completely, and it looked as if it was about to be drawn by the faint Dragon Qi and merge into the fertile soil.

But at that moment, the entire city suddenly trembled slightly!

"Hmm?" The old man with the braid and the Daoist Wugou were both startled, noticing the change in their surroundings.

Immediately afterward, the old man with the braid smiled, "What a brilliant example of 'putting oneself in a life-or-death situation'! Being in the Examination Hall, one's Divine Ability are restricted. Therefore, one cannot use their Divine Sense to connect with the outside world, but he has used his own Fortune to make contact with the outside world..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scattered Fortune rapidly transformed, and the strands of intent that had been gathered within it began to flow out, actively merging into the Dragon Qi!

This thought contains Qiu Yan's insights and understanding gained from his studies, which he has wholeheartedly emanated and merged with the Dragon Qi!

The Dragon Qi, though seemingly perched in the sky, actually originates from the myriad things on earth and is closely connected to the ground. Qiu Yan's insights and experiences were incorporated into it, naturally seeping into the fertile soil. Some fragments of those insights flew out, revealing the historical aura he sensed a few days ago when he came into contact with the City Will. In addition, there were also the various aspects of folk life he witnessed while walking through the streets and markets!

Street vendors, shop signs, stores, taverns, inns, all trades, all professions...

This revelation immediately resonated with the city itself, causing its City Will to tremble slightly. The city's historical atmosphere and the myriad aspects of its life blended with it, merging with Qiu Yan's insights.

"To put it simply, Fortune is still connected to me. Even if it's broken and scattered, it's just changing its form, but it can still bring me external support!"

Inside the examination hall, Qiu Yan's face was slightly pale, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, which was truly unimaginable for someone of his cultivation level.

Without a doubt, his current appearance is the result of shattering the pillar of Fortune himself. Such a strong change has a huge burden on him, not to mention that he is also enduring the rejection of the Examination Hall and being suppressed by a vast will.

The body bears a tremendous burden, while the mind must remain calm in order to continue answering the questions; it is truly an ordeal both internally and externally.

"The real problem now is being ostracized by the Examination Hall. Being treated like this within the Examination Hall, even the best essays are bound to encounter problems. However, the Examination Hall is not isolated; it is located within the city..."

The thought crossed Qiu Yan's mind, and then he turned to the last exam paper.

Policy discussion.

"Profit!"

Silently reciting this word, Qiu Yan actually closed his eyes and summoned the three fragmented spiritual energies buried deep in his heart!

These are three fragmented spiritual entities related to transactions. They were originally three fragmented Sage Spirit that Zhang Qin used when they met in the Scholar Forest. When the two sides were arguing over the Agricultural School Spirit, they debated the spirit of Sage Spirit.

"Buy what others discard, sell what others buy!"

"The Things Are Not Alike things is their nature; to treat them all the same would lead to chaos in the world!"

"The concept of 'change' is that one exchanges one for one, and people say there is neither gain nor loss. One exchanges one for two, and people say there is no loss but a gain. Two exchanges for one, and people say there is no gain but a loss."

The three fragmented spirits are all related to transactions and trade, and they originated from three Sages: the Sage of Commerce, the Second Sage, and the Sage Sun!

Because it was incomplete, Qiu Yan found it difficult to integrate into his own thought system. However, in recent days, he had occasionally explored it and found that the principles and theories contained within it were almost ingrained in his mind. Now, he could use it as easily as if it were his own arm.

However, Qiu Yan did not intend to activate the power within the three spiritual realms. Instead, he condensed it and integrated it into his brush, writing it onto the exam paper along with the ink!

Flash!

The words written out shone brilliantly. Even though it was tattered, the brilliance of the Sage Spirit could not be concealed. The paper was even so heavy that it was about to fall apart!

However, Qiu Yan seized the opportunity to use his own words to convey the artistic conception expressed by the Sage Spirit, and while maintaining the Original Edition meaning, he also elaborated on his own views.

In this way, it seems as if the intense emotions are diluted, allowing the paper to remain intact.

This article is not an isolated thought or an abstract concept summarized from Sage and books, but rather a distillation of his experiences along the way. It includes fragments of his life in Jiannan Circuit, his various observations on his journey north, his encounters in Eastern Capital, and finally, his understanding of Prosperity Capital.

As the article gradually came to fruition, it stirred up the invisible Order that permeated the surroundings.

Human Path Order!

At the same time, the insights gained from integrating the Dragon Qi and fertile soil were also influenced, and a thread was grasped in the City Intent and the various aspects of life among the people!

Boom!

A loud bang was heard, and a blinding flash of light streaked across the sky!

"Lightning? Lightning again!" Qiu Yan's mind raced. "When I fought Lü Liang, I borrowed the power of the great Grand Confucian to Human Path Order humanity into the underworld. The form that the Human Path Order manifested was vortexes and lightning. I wonder what the reason is."

The thought flashed through his mind, then was swallowed up by the surging flow of text. Qiu Yan wrote with the flow, and one after another, full-bodied characters took shape on the paper. The text gradually became clear, and a certain idea continued to settle. The three fragmented spirits gradually peeled away from his heart and merged with the paper.

As Qiu Yan put his thoughts into writing, the three Incomplete Sage Spirit lost their Original Edition form and began to completely integrate into the article, permeating the paper.

The paper underwent a slight change; its surface became increasingly lustrous and its resilience improved, but Qiu Yan, absorbed in his thoughts, did not notice these changes.

A powerful aura emanated from the ground beneath his feet, flowing into his body through the Yongquan acupoints on the soles of his feet, surging upwards along his legs, and finally settling into his thoughts.

The aura contained a myriad of ever-changing scenes of the city, from which Qiu Yan extracted the necessary parts, transformed them into sentences, and placed them on the exam paper.

Gradually, an essay related to "profit" quickly took shape on the exam paper.

The difference is that this article no longer relies solely on the classics and Sage' words from Qiu Yan's memory, but constructs a narrative based on his own words, deeds, and experiences, and finally embellishes it with the Sage Spirit.

"Human Path Lightning?"

On the artificial hill, the Daoist Wugou withdrew his gaze from the sky and then turned his attention to the Examination Hall, a look of surprise on his face.

Ahead, on the water curtain, an astonishing scene was unfolding. The seemingly peaceful Examination Hall was being battered by wave after wave of yellow tides. Various scenes gathered within those waves, intertwined with the city's history, and a thin layer of Fortune accompanied the waves.

"Qiu Yan has actually grasped the pulse of this city, aligning himself with its Fortune, and is now suppressing the Examination Hall. How long has he been in the city, yet he has already grasped its pulse!" the Daoist priest couldn't help but whisper.

The old man with the braid smiled and said, "What's so surprising? If one cannot understand the Yin-Yang of the world, one is ultimately just a scholar. Qiu Yan is in the Examination Hall, and the will of the Imperial Examination Hall is attached to the city. The Examination Hall Will oppresses him, while the City Will resonates with him. In addition, there is the harmony with the Human Path Order, and he is also faintly favored by the Dragon Qi. All these factors combined are enough to offset the suppression of Divine Ability powers by the Imperial Examination Hall. And all of this he achieved through his own strength, which is especially rare."

As he spoke, the admiration on his face grew stronger. "If this person can die and then be deified by People's Wishes, it would be a natural aid. However, we still need to see if he can see through the Human Path and the Divine Ability."

"Don't be so happy so soon." The Daoist Wugou, having calmed his surprise, shook his head and said, "Prosperity Capital is, after all, the capital. His use of such power will inevitably attract the attention of those people. I'm afraid that the Wise King has already set his sights on Qiu Yan!" (To be continued...)

P. S.: Thanks to "Rain1992" for the update request!

Thanks to "bigdove" for the monthly vote!