The Law Net gathers spiritual energy

Early the next morning.

Chu Bai stood outside the gates, his blue-green robe stirring gently in the morning breeze. He straightened his clothes and headwear, then bowed deeply toward the gates of the Zhang Residence.

The side gate slowly opened, and Daoist Zhang emerged at an unhurried pace, dressed in a plain Daoist robe.

He looked at his prized disciple. His usually half-lidded eyes held a rare, barely perceptible trace of expectation.

"Go." Daoist Zhang said nothing more, offering none of the usual lengthy instructions and warnings.

But as Chu Bai turned away, a softly spoken sentence drifted into his ears on the morning breeze: "A still mind brings clarity. Do not grasp for too much."

Chu Bai paused briefly without looking back. He merely bowed again, engraving those seemingly ordinary yet deeply meaningful words firmly in his heart.

Then he strode toward the Anping Examination Hall.

The Anping Examination Hall stood at the very center of the county town. Normally, its gates remained tightly shut, lending it a solemn, imposing air. It was the important venue where the county held its imperial examinations and Dao Academy Selection.

Today, a sea of people had gathered there.

The vast bluestone square was already packed with a bustling crowd.

There were nervous candidates making their final preparations, elders from their Lineages who had come to see them off, and even more ordinary townsfolk who had come to watch the excitement.

Conversations, words of advice, and even vendors' cries mingled together.

"Hey, isn't that the son of Master Wang from the east side of town? I heard his Household spent a fortune buying Qi-Gathering Powder for this selection!"

"What's Qi-Gathering Powder compared to that? Look over there—that's the Li Household's carriage! I heard Young Master Li is aiming for first place this time!"

Amid the boiling clamor, Chu Bai was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, utterly inconspicuous.

Yet his steady bearing made those around him unconsciously give him a little room.

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

Gu Qinghe stood beneath an old willow tree with his arms crossed, his gaze blazing like a torch.

Though his clothes were as plain as ever, there was no concealing the sharp edge he had gained after breaking through to Qi Refining.

Their eyes met across the crowd.

Neither spoke. They merely nodded slightly.

Having studied and sparred together for half a year, Chu Bai was naturally delighted by his breakthrough. Today, however, they were competitors in the examination.

A resonant bell rang from deep within the Examination Institute, instantly drowning out every noise in the square.

The hour of the Dragon had arrived, and the Examination Institute's gates slowly opened.

Two ranks of elite soldiers in black armor, carrying long halberds, filed out and swiftly brought order to the scene. An air of deadly severity spread, instantly silencing the restless crowd.

"Candidates, enter!" an official called loudly.

Chu Bai moved slowly forward with the crowd.

The entrance inspection was extremely strict. Not only did they verify the wooden identification tokens, but designated cultivators also scanned each candidate's entire body with spiritual sense. Any concealed talismans, pills, or even ornaments containing spiritual energy had nowhere to hide.

"Take off that jade pendant."

When Chu Bai's turn came, the inspecting cultivator pointed to the Tranquil Heart Jade Ring at his waist.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chu Bai untied the jade ring and handed it over for safekeeping.

Though the jade ring only helped calm his mind and had no other effect, rules were rules, and he could not break them.

After passing the inspection, the twenty-seven qualified candidates were led to the Martial Training Ground inside the Examination Institute.

The Martial Training Ground was extremely spacious, its surface paved with hard bluestone slabs.

At the front of the grounds stood a raised platform.

A middle-aged man stood upon it, dressed in black official robes with a long saber at his waist.

His sharply defined face was cold as iron, and brilliant light seemed to flash whenever his eyes opened or closed. Even from far away, the killing intent surrounding him made hearts quail.

He was none other than Anping County's renowned Iron Face—County Commandant Zhang.

His gaze swept over the twenty-seven youths below the platform without a trace of warmth, as though he were looking at lambs awaiting slaughter, or a pile of scrap iron yet to be forged into shape.

"I am Zhang Cheng, chief examiner for this Dao Academy Selection."

His voice was not loud, yet it rang like clashing metal and reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity. "I will spare you the empty talk. The Dao Academy Selection seeks talent for the Celestial Court and builds a reserve of talent for Great Zhou. Here, only strength matters. There is no room for lucky escapes."

"If anyone dares to cheat or tries to slip through under false pretenses..."

Clang!

He abruptly drew his saber half an inch from its sheath. A fierce wave of saber energy swept across the grounds, frightening several less resilient candidates until their faces turned deathly pale and their legs shook.

"My blade shows no favor!"

Having cowed them all, County Commandant Zhang sheathed his saber with a backhand motion and took a golden Official Seal from inside his robes.

The Official Seal was only palm-sized, with a lifelike strange beast carved atop it, and radiated an immense, overwhelming pressure.

He tossed the Official Seal into the sky, formed a complex hand seal, and chanted:

"Heaven above and earth below, the Law Net stretches far and wide; witness my true heart, send down spiritual power and manifest your divine might!"

"Descend!"

At his low command, the Official Seal hovering in midair suddenly blazed with golden light, as dazzling as a miniature sun.

Then, beneath everyone's astonished gazes, ripples suddenly spread across the previously clear sky above the Examination Institute.

A net woven from countless strands of golden light slowly appeared, blotting out the sky and sun and radiating supreme majesty.

That was the foundation upon which Great Zhou's fortune-bearing dynasty held the realm in check and regulated spiritual energy—the Celestial Court Law Net!

It covered Great Zhou's provinces and prefectures, spanning an immense area and wielding terrifying power.

Even a mere projection of the Law Net was enough to make every Qi Refining cultivator present feel as insignificant as an ant.

The Law Net trembled, lowering a hundred pillars of almost tangible spiritual light that landed precisely on the Martial Training Ground.

As the spiritual light dispersed, a hundred circular stone platforms, each half a person's height, appeared out of thin air on the previously empty grounds.

Each stone platform was enveloped in a faint barrier of spiritual light, isolating its interior from the outside.

It was Chu Bai's first time seeing facilities of this kind. He had heard that some formations could accelerate cultivation. Since these stone platforms isolated the spiritual energy within from that outside, might they have a similar effect?

Since this was a test of their ability to draw in spiritual energy, it was clearly connected to the Law Net. Chu Bai hurriedly probed with his spiritual sense, only to discover that it could not penetrate the stone platforms at all, so he had to give up.

"These are Spirit-Gathering Platforms, places where the Law Net draws in and gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

County Commandant Zhang swept his hand outward. The officials behind him immediately stepped forward with trays and distributed a specially made gray Jade Ring to each candidate.

"The first trial: Qi Gathering."

"The rules are simple. Over five double-hours, the attributes of the spiritual energy on the Spirit-Gathering Platforms will undergo five rounds of changes as the Law Net operates. You must ascend the platforms and cultivate, absorb the spiritual energy, circulate it through your bodies to filter out impurities, then channel it into these Spirit-Storage Jade Rings."

"Your final ranking will be determined by the total amount of spiritual energy in your Jade Ring!"

"Now, take your places!"

As the clear clang of a bronze gong rang into the heavens, the Law Net overhead trembled once more. Spiritual light surged across the hundred Spirit-Gathering Platforms, and points of light in every color began to appear.

The first trial had officially begun!