Fog Heavy as a Thousand Pounds

Wang Fu's expression was solemn, but upon hearing this, he shook his head. "I cannot see it. Over thousands of years of development, countless Order have been established, belonging to Hundred Schools of thought. They are difficult to comprehend. People often feel that people today admire the past, but they do not know that some things connect the past and present. What we admire is not the ancients, but the things they did and the beginnings they left behind. However, I did not expect that Qiu Yan could reach this point at such a young age!"

Li Kun frowned. "However, doesn't Qiu Yan possess Divine Ability powers? Cultivators focus on themselves, and their Fortune is never leaked. How could he shake the Human Path Order? Could it be that a cultivator could become Grand Confucian?"

"The affairs of the world are mysterious and cannot be fully understood; even I cannot fathom their secrets," Wang Fu shook his head. "However, this matter will be difficult for Your Majesty to handle, given the rankings in this Palace Examination..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Kun interrupted him with laughter, "My dear minister, you are overthinking it. If it weren't for the Dragon Qi, I might still be troubled about how to name Qiu Yan. But now that Order has manifested through the dragon, it shows that Qiu Yan is genuinely exploring the Human Path and has already come into contact with Order. How could such a person be a traitor to the Daoist Sect? And how could he possibly harbor evil intentions?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Fu breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then he heard Li Kun say, "However, there is still one matter that I need you to attend to, Wang Qing, otherwise I will not be able to rest easy."

"Your Majesty, please speak." Seeing Li Kun's serious expression, Wang Fu knew that what he was about to say was extraordinary.

"You'll have to guide Qiu Yan's mind. He has a wide range of interests, and even if he's currently focused on Human Path, as time goes on and his lifespan increases, he might not be able to maintain that focus."

As Li Kun spoke, he glanced at the official Mi Feng who was walking back, then changed the subject. "Of course. There are some details, but it's not convenient to discuss them here."

Wang Fu nodded, roughly understanding the emperor's meaning.

"Is His Majesty suggesting that I guide Qiu Yan? Could it be that His Majesty intends for Qiu Yan to participate in the reforms? However, given Qiu Yan's age and education, even if he were to enter politics, it would certainly be delayed for several years. This would be beneficial for both him and the court."

As he pondered, Wang Fu suddenly realized, "That's it! His Majesty's intention is likely to have me influence Qiu Yan, thereby solidifying his resolve and ultimately leading to a decision!"

At this moment, Li Kun added, "In a few days, I will summon Qiu Yan to the palace. I want to ask him what exactly this method of 'condensing the entire nation' means. His explanation on the exam paper was vague, yet it still managed to summon the Dragon Qi Manifestation..."

Call!

Just as Li Kun was speaking, the mist filling the side hall changed again, churning and billowing upwards like a gushing spring, layer upon layer, like sesame seeds blooming, with wisps of smoke rolling and surging through the palace dome, pointing straight to the sky.

Outside the palace, Zhang Lian, who was boarding the sedan chair, froze, his face changing drastically.

As a high-ranking official, residing in the Central Pivot government, he was inherently connected to the Dragon Qi. When he was in the palace, the presence of the emperor suppressed this connection due to the presence of the True Dragon Bloodline. Now that he has left the palace, his perception of the Dragon Qi has become much more sensitive.

Sensing something, the old man stopped and looked back, his pupils reflecting the clear sky.

"Master? What's wrong?" The attendant leading the sedan chair looked puzzled. He looked up and was shocked to find his master's face filled with horror. He followed Zhang Lian's gaze and looked up at the sky.

But all he saw was an empty sky. Rubbing his eyes, the attendant focused his gaze again and finally saw a thin layer of yellow mist above the Imperial Palace. It was ethereal and indistinct, and almost impossible to spot without careful observation.

"Grown ups?"

Withdrawing his gaze, the servant called again, bringing Zhang Lian, who was slightly dazed, back to his senses. He took a deep breath, a pallor appearing on his aged face, and disbelief in his eyes.

"It's nothing, let's go!" Zhang Lian glanced at the servant, stepped into the sedan chair, and after sitting down, he couldn't calm down for a long time.

"Dragon Qi Manifestation? Could it be that someone has come into contact with the essence of Order? The mist is drifting from the Imperial Palace, where there are no Human Path, yet a Palace Examination has just been held. Could it be...?"

Thinking of this, Zhang Lian gasped and lifted the sedan curtain, asking, "Do you know where those tribute students who left the examination are now?"

The steward of the Zhang Residence, who was hurrying along with the sedan chair, quickly stepped forward and replied, "Reporting to Master, those tribute students left the palace earlier and should all be on their way back."

Zhang Lian then asked, "Do you know where the Metropolitan Laureate of this examination is now?"

"The Metropolitan Laureate?" The steward's eyes darted around. "You mean Qiu Yan, sir? We'll have to find out. But I just heard some of the tribute students paying their respects to Qiu Yan in front of the palace. I suppose he's already out. Are you going to see him, sir?"

"No need." Zhang Lian waved his hand, lowered the curtain, leaving the bewildered steward behind. A few moments later, the sedan chair turned the corner.

At the same time, Ma Yang, Xu Jin, and others also looked up at the sky with solemn expressions. Many high-ranking officials of the court also felt this and stopped what they were doing to look up at the sky.

"And now there are those who understand Order, destined to become Grand Confucian?"

At the same moment, Qiu Yan, who had returned to the inn, went straight back to his room. He sat cross-legged on the bed in mid-air, his brows furrowed slightly, and his whole body trembled, making crackling sounds. Then, with a thought, his flesh began to writhe, and his pores were no longer tightly closed, with fresh blood gushing out directly from them!

This scene looked as if something inside his body was taking up space and forcibly squeezing out the blood!

Call!

The blood did not dissipate upon being drawn; instead, it transformed into a blood mist that lingered around Qiu Yan, enveloping him within it.

"With the help of the Palace Examination, I have achieved the Third Step of contacting Dragon Qi, and have even planted a Dragon Qi within my body. I can use this to condense my consciousness and rely on my thoughts to complete the fourth step, attempting to merge with the Dragon Qi! With the Palace Examination essay resonating with this Dragon Qi, I have come into contact with a vast amount of information, and can vaguely see a corner of the true nature of the Human Path Order. If I climb up and look at it, perhaps I can understand the secrets of the Order!"

The next moment, bright yellow mist emanated from Qiu Yan's body and filled the room.

A faint pressure emanated from him, instantly filling the room and causing the tables, chairs, and other ordinary objects to tremble slightly!

Even through the door, Hu Qi and Dai Guo, who were guarding outside, could still sense a certain authority.

"What is the young master doing?" Puzzled, Dai Guo mustered his courage and approached the door, peering through the crack. With his Life Cultivation level, his eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people. The moment his eyes met the crack, his pupils contracted, flashing a sharp light, and his vision suddenly expanded, but all he saw was a fog. The hazy scene startled him!

"Hmm? Why is the room fogged up?"

The doubts grew stronger, but before Dai Guo could recover, a dragon's roar suddenly came from the mist, followed by a huge mouth rushing towards him with tremendous force!

Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

Dai Guo was startled, a primal fear rising in his heart. He instinctively took several steps back, then stumbled and almost fell to the ground. At that moment, a strong hand patted his shoulder, infusing him with Qi and Blood, stopping his retreat and restoring his balance.

"What happened inside?" Hu Qi asked, steadying Dai Guo with one hand.

Dai Guo first looked around. Then he whispered, "A dragon, there's a dragon inside!" As he spoke, he pointed to the door, revealing a lingering fear in his eyes.

"A dragon?" Hu Qi frowned, channeling his Qi and Blood and qi into his eyes. He looked down and the scene before him became clear. His pupils dilated sharply as he caught sight of a slender figure on the paper covering the door. It seemed to be a shadow, swirling and dancing in the air like a long snake!

"Could it be some kind of intrusion?" This sight startled Hu Qi; in his memory, Qiu Yan had no such object nearby. Connecting this to Dai Guo's words, he wanted to go inside to investigate, but was stopped by a voice—

"Don't go in! If you go in now, the sight inside will cloud your judgment and make you unable to comprehend it—that could be fatal!"

The voice was childish, Hu Qi and his companion looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription flying through the air.

Now that things had come to this, Hu Qi and Dai Guo had a better understanding of the strange objects around Qiu Yan. They knew that the Ancient Seal Script, though seemingly bizarre, actually had an extraordinary origin and was closely related to Qiu Yan. Hearing what the other party said, they stopped their intention to enter the house and instead inquired about it.

"Wait patiently. We can't reveal everything yet, or it will affect Qiu Yan's comprehension." The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription deliberately kept him in suspense.

This slightly displeased Dai Guo, but he didn't show it. He just muttered to himself and then returned to the door. But when he glanced at the table leg, he inadvertently noticed that the stray dog was lying on the ground, trembling, with its paws covering its head.

"Has that bastard discovered something?"

Dai Guo knew very well about the origins of this mongrel dog and knew it was no ordinary creature. Seeing this, he made a quick guess and came up with a plan. He then squatted down and began to examine it carefully.

Suddenly!

Swish!

A strange ripple suddenly radiated from the room, like a ripple on water, starting from a point and spreading rapidly in a ring. As soon as it passed Hu Qi and Dai Guo, it caused their Qi and Blood and qi to fluctuate, and their strength to surge wildly, almost making them lose control!

"This is..." Dai Guo stood up, focused his senses, and detected a trace of free energy in the air.

This energy was extremely strange, almost like a living thing, yet ethereal. It contained a trace of intention. As soon as Dai Guo's perception enveloped it, something appeared in his consciousness. He realized that someone else's perception had infiltrated his mind, and he hurriedly focused his attention.

Immediately afterwards, that bit of free energy decayed and dissipated.

Beside him, Hu Qi uttered a word in surprise. "True Essence?" After saying that, he turned to look at the door, knowing that the source of the anomaly was inside.

"Young Master is at the Seven Souls Manifestation stage, how could True Essence seep from the room? Besides, his body is currently weak, and he is Nature-Life Dual Cultivation, making it difficult to distinguish between primary and secondary aspects..."

Not long ago, Qiu Yan broke through the balance of his soul and condensed his False Core, but the time was still short. In order to comprehend the City Will, he kept a low profile and his body was weakened. Hu Qi and Dai Guo sometimes knew something was wrong. Now that they have discovered that the house is the source of the anomaly, they are so puzzled.

"Is the young master about to break through again?"

Inside the room, Qiu Yan's face was pale, his clothes were crushed by the mist, revealing his skin, beneath which veins bulged and his bones trembled slightly. The wooden bed beneath him creaked under the weight of the mist!

"This Dragon Qi is indeed not something an ordinary person can withstand!"

Amidst the whispers, a dragon's shadow flew in from the side!

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