Dust-Cleansing and Ordination

The carriage slowly came to a stop.

Chu Bai and Li Han had barely lifted the curtain and stepped down. Before they could even turn to look at the bustling streets of the Great Plains Prefectural City, the sight before them struck them speechless.

"This is... the Prefectural Dao Academy?"

Li Han murmured to himself. Even his usually composed face could not hide his astonishment.

If Anping County's Azure Cloud Academy still carried a touch of worldly bustle, the Prefectural Dao Academy before them already showed the first signs of an immortal's domain.

What met their eyes was no ordinary sprawling estate, but a vast complex built against a mountain.

The mountain was not tall, yet spiritual energy swirled around it, wreathed in cloud and mist.

Its towering gate had been carved from a single enormous block of pale jade. Rising dozens of feet, it stood like the gates of heaven.

On either side stood statues of strange beasts, neither quite lion nor tiger. A dim light glimmered in their eyes, and they radiated a spiritual pressure that made the heart tremble.

Now and then, white cranes threaded through the clouds, their clear cries ringing out.

Chu Bai took a deep breath. Even the air here felt several times fresher than outside, and the [Pure Bathing Spell Power] within him grew livelier of its own accord.

Now that's a grand undertaking, Chu Bai thought with admiration. This was the true threshold of the cultivation world. Compared with it, Anping County really did seem like a village schoolhouse.

Li Wenyuan had long since grown accustomed to the sight. He led them straight toward a side hall beside the mountain gate.

A desk stood there, where a middle-aged Daoist in a standard pale-green robe idly leafed through a booklet.

"Instructor Sun."

Li Wenyuan stepped forward, took a faintly glowing Official Seal from his robes, and pressed it gently onto the desk. "Anping County has completed its selection. These two are the students chosen this time. I've come to hand them over."

At that, Instructor Sun barely lifted his eyelids. He took the Official Seal and glanced at it, then said flatly, "Oh, Anping County. You're early this year... Leave them here. Take them around back to wait."

His words carried undisguised contempt for a county under the prefecture's jurisdiction.

After all, while the students sent by the seventy-two counties each year were promising, to an Instructor at the Prefectural Dao Academy who had seen plenty, most were nothing special. Compared with the children of Prefectural City's Aristocratic Clans, raised on mountains of resources, their aptitude fell far short.

Li Wenyuan did not take offense. He merely smiled and added, "Instructor Sun, Anping County produced a fine prospect this time. This is Chu Bai, the top scorer in our county examination. He earned Grade A in all three subjects."

"Hm?"

"Grade A in all three subjects?"

Instructor Sun's hand froze mid-page.

He raised his head and swept a lightning-sharp gaze over the boy behind Li Wenyuan. Surprise flickered in his eyes.

"Grade A in all three subjects?" Instructor Sun set down the booklet and looked Chu Bai over again. Much of the indifference vanished from his voice.

"Qi Gathering, Spirit Control, and Heart Inquiry, all Grade A? Results like that are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns among the seventy-two counties. Even compared with those famed Aristocratic Clan prospects in Prefectural City, he's no less impressive."

He rose and gave Chu Bai a slight nod, even showing a trace of a smile. "Not bad. You have potential. Cultivate diligently once you enter the Dao Academy."

His attitude had changed in an instant.

Chu Bai remained calm and cupped his hands. "Thank you for your praise, Instructor."

But he understood more clearly than ever: in the cultivation world, strength and results were the best way to open doors.

With the handover complete, Li Wenyuan and Zhang Wu's task was done.

"Chu Bai, Li Han, this is as far as we can take you." Li Wenyuan patted them both on the shoulder, expectation in his eyes. "You'll have to walk the rest of the road yourselves. Don't disgrace Anping County."

"Take care, sirs."

After bidding the two examiners farewell, Chu Bai and Li Han followed Instructor Sun through the gates of the Prefectural Dao Academy.

They passed through corridor after corridor and skirted several rock gardens with running water.

As they walked, Instructor Sun briefly explained the Dao Academy's rules. At last, he brought them before a magnificent hall—the [Fortune-Bearing Hall].

"Go in, find somewhere to sit, and wait for the Ordination ceremony to begin."

Instructor Sun gestured toward the hall, then turned and left.

Chu Bai and Li Han entered. The hall was vast, large enough to hold thousands. Smooth jade paved the floor, with cushions set at regular intervals.

Over a hundred young men and women had already gathered inside.

With one sweep of his gaze, Chu Bai sensed the stark divide running through the crowd.

The best seats at the center of the hall were occupied by a group of richly dressed, relaxed-looking youths.

They stood in small groups, chatting and laughing like old acquaintances. They were clearly students from Prefectural City.

Scattered through the out-of-the-way corners, meanwhile, sat youths in plainer clothes, their expressions reserved.

Most said little. Some huddled together and spoke in low voices, watching the central group with both envy and wariness. These were likely the students from the counties.

Each place had few spots, after all, and only a handful came from the same academy. Most had never met before and had only just arrived in Prefectural City, so their reserve was natural.

Chu Bai said nothing. He gave Li Han a look, and the two found an inconspicuous corner and sat cross-legged to wait.

Another incense stick's worth of time passed as more people trickled in. Only when a bell rang through the hall did the chatter fall silent.

Dong—

As the bell's last note faded, a figure appeared out of thin air on the dais at the front of the hall.

He was an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face. His purple Daoist robe had billowing sleeves, and though he had not spoken, an invisible pressure already covered the hall.

"I am Lu He, deputy head of the Prefectural Dao Academy."

The old man did not speak loudly, yet his voice rang clearly in everyone's ears.

The crowd's hearts tightened, and they hurriedly sat up straight.

Lu He swept his gaze across the hall. Rather than begin with rules and prohibitions, he asked slowly, "Do you know why this Dao Academy was established? Why you must receive Ordination?"

The youths below exchanged glances. None dared answer.

Lu He's expression turned solemn, and his voice grew resonant. "Long ago, when the founding emperor established Great Zhou, he saw demons running rampant and humankind reduced to their food. The suffering was beyond measure. So he made a grand vow: all under heaven would have the chance to cultivate immortality, and every person would rise like a dragon!"

"To that end, Great Zhou devoted the strength of the entire nation to weaving the Law Net. It brought order to the violent spiritual energy between heaven and earth and suppressed Killing Intent. Only then did we gain the stable cultivation environment we enjoy today."

Here, Lu He changed tack, and a hard realism entered his voice. "But the resources of heaven and earth are limited. Not everyone can truly rise like a dragon. Thus we established the Dao Academy and the Heavenly Examination, so the strong might advance and the weak be weeded out."

"To enter my Dao Academy is to enter the Law Net system. From this day forth, you are no longer rootless duckweed, insignificant Rogue Cultivators. You are the foundation of Great Zhou's dynasty of fortune!"

His words set the blood of many youths below boiling. Even Chu Bai felt a stir in his heart.

This was the scale of cultivation under a dynasty of fortune.

"The hour has come. Open the Law Net. Begin Ordination!"

At Lu He's sharp command, he swept out his hand.

The dome above the [Fortune-Bearing Hall] slowly opened. It revealed not the sky, but a dazzling expanse of golden light.

That light was no physical thing. It was the visible manifestation of a vast set of rules—a projection of the Law Net!

Hum!

Golden beams descended from above, each one falling precisely upon a student in the hall.

Chu Bai felt warmth bloom between his brows. A vast, majestic will, upright and serene, swept through his entire body.

The spiritual power within him leaped for joy beneath that will, as though it had found its source.

Then the will gathered deep within his sea of consciousness, forming a dull-gray talismanic mark that slowly revolved.

[Ordination successful]

[Status acquired: Great Zhou Dao Registry (Gray Ordination)]

As the talisman took shape, Chu Bai's eyes flew open.

The world had changed.

Before, looking at the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had been like seeing it through a thin veil. Now that veil had been lifted.

He sensed the surrounding spiritual energy much more clearly, as though all of heaven and earth had grown friendlier toward him.

This was the privilege of Ordination: the Law Net's blessing.

Chu Bai touched the space between his brows. The mark had vanished from sight, but he could sense it clearly in his sea of consciousness.

As the Gray Ordination mark between his brows settled fully into place, a familiar tremor suddenly ran through Chu Bai's sea of consciousness.

He knew that feeling all too well. It meant his panel was about to change.

This feeling... Is it Fate Destiny?