"Passion."
Chen Jiutian gave his answer in a single word.
"I'm not passionate about formations. They're merely tools and means for achieving my goal."
"Everyone in the Mortal Domain's Formation Pavilion, including its current Pavilion Master, loves formations. They'll forget to eat and sleep while researching them. I won't."
"I love peace."
"Formations are simply a means to achieve my goal."
"If I have a choice."
"I'd rather go somewhere I can pursue what I love. I believe the Strategist Pavilion is that place."
"And..."
"The Strategist Pavilion features prominently in the Mortal Domain History Book. I want to leave my name in history, not fade into obscurity."
Chen Fan calmly regarded the young man before him.
Chen Jiutian.
What an audacious name.
Youth...
How wonderful it was.
Long ago, he had struggled to choose between "Mortal Sect" and "Mortal Domain" as the name of his organization. His faction had been tiny back then, and he had worried that calling it the Mortal Domain might be too presumptuous. Only after much deliberation had he settled on that name.
But this fellow...
He was far more audacious than Chen Fan had been at his age.
"Not bad."
After a long while, Chen Fan smiled.
Time passed, little by little.
The Mortal Domain Second Spring Examination soon concluded. This time, none of the Top Rankers became a Pavilion Master outright. Throughout history, those who distinguished themselves in the first Grand Examination often reaped the greatest rewards. It was a benefit of the times, one that could not be replicated.
The Mortal Domain did not have that many Pavilion Master positions, either.
Then...
The date reached April 18, Year 03 of the Eternal Night New Calendar.
Weiwei woke up.
Chen Fan was the last to find out.
By the time he learned of