Ninth Place, the Grand Prize?

The Bright Hall's competition for immortal officials began without fanfare and ended in haste.

The so-called competition was merely entertainment for the high immortals.

Competition came second; navigating immortal relationships ranked first. Every placement had been neatly arranged from top to bottom before the contest even began, according to the officials' ranks and the standing of their offices.

Who would take the laurels, who would follow close behind, and which immortal officials would receive which placements-all had already been decided.

Chen Wei had paid the competition no mind at all. For the painting and calligraphy category, he drew some chicks eating grain, stamped it with the official seal of the Folk Customs and Morals Inspection Bureau, and sent it off.

It was perfunctory in the extreme.

He only wanted something entered beside his name on the register, enough to avoid displeasing the high immortals.

And yet.

Some immortals were simply born to stumble into extraordinary luck.

Chen Wei was holding a celadon teacup, about to skim aside the floating foam, when Ma Muzhi jogged across the threshold with a Jade Slip in his hands. "Sir! Wonderful news! A heaven-sized blessing has landed on our bureau!"

"Oh?"

Without even raising his head, Chen Wei lightly skimmed the tea. "What has you so flustered?"

"Your painting won a prize!" Ma Muzhi raised the Jade Slip high and presented it before the desk. "It placed ninth!"

Chen Wei's hand paused briefly. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before his expression returned to normal.

"Ninth?"

"That's not bad. At least we've made a name for ourselves in the Bright Hall. Well, something is better than nothing."

To Chen Wei, a ninth-place consolation prize could only be some trifling keepsake. It hardly warranted all this shouting.

Ma Muzhi's expression, however, turned decidedly odd. Rather than answer, he pushed the Jade Slip closer. "Sir, you had better read it yourself."

Seeing Old Ma's unusual expression,

Chen Wei took the Jade Slip with some doubt, extended his divine sense into it, and began scanning it casually.

At the very top of the rankings, the lettering gleamed with gold.

[Painting competition, first place: Li Yin. Reward: three thousand years of merit.]

[Painting competition, second place: Baili Xin. Reward: two thousand years of merit.]

As he scanned downward, the amounts of merit decreased in order.

Third place received one thousand years, fourth place eight hundred. All conformed to the immortal court's rigid hierarchy.

Chen Wei's gaze slid swiftly downward, straight to the very bottom of the Jade Slip.

When he made out the final line of small text, he froze.

[Ninth place: Chen Wei, Chief Official of the Folk Customs and Morals Inspection Bureau. Reward: one hundred thousand years of merit.]

That string of merit dazzled his immortal eyes until they ached.

Chen Wei checked again, his face filled with shock. "Did the record keepers at the Bright Hall drink too much immortal wine?"

A ninth-place consolation prize?

One hundred thousand years of merit!

With an odd expression, Ma Muzhi leaned closer and whispered, "I was equally shocked when I first saw the rankings. I quietly asked some immortal officials I knew to look into it. It is absolutely true, with no mistakes or omissions! The annotation sent down from above said..."

"What did it say?"

"The written response said that on the day of judging, the Great Heavenly Venerable happened to be pacing through Lingxiao Palace with his hands behind his back. No more and no less, he took exactly nine steps! This secretly aligned with the course of the Heavenly Dao. Nine is the ultimate auspicious number! Thus, with a sweep of his brush, the Bright Hall's presiding official specially designated ninth place as the grand prize, to demonstrate the boundless grace of the Great Heavenly Venerable!"

After hearing this, Chen Wei could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Just because the Great Heavenly Venerable had taken nine steps, ninth place had eclipsed first and earned one hundred thousand years of merit?

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Had his great stroke of luck arrived?

Suppressing his surging emotions, Chen Wei extended his divine sense into the Jade Slip and searched through the rankings for the other categories.

Sure enough.

Ninth place in chess and ninth place in fishing were both grand prizes. Yet however grand they were, they topped out at ten or twenty thousand years of merit. Only ninth place in painting had been openly approved for a full one hundred thousand years?

The Dao fruit of a True Immortal.

Was it within reach?

"Sir!" Ma Muzhi chuckled, a keen gleam flashing in his eyes. "When merit falls from heaven, just catch it firmly. As for why it fell, subordinates like us would do well to ask fewer questions."

In the immortal court, rules had to be observed.

Who would insist on getting to the bottom of it?

Who would dare?

Any immortal who did would find an extra name on next year's roster for training in the lower realm, and be sent down for a little educational journey.

The Clear Pool.

Taibai Jinxing accepted a fresh cup of tea handed to him from beside him.

The one serving the tea was none other than Yang Niansan.

The Star Lord blew aside the tea leaves in his cup and took a light sip, shaking his head with repeated sighs. "Satisfied at last? With those one hundred thousand years of merit to his name, Qingquan already has the Dao fruit of a True Immortal in the bag."

"It was all thanks to your care, Star Lord." Yang Niansan smiled prettily, her shifting gaze full of slyness. "On Official Chen's behalf, I thank you for your nurturing kindness!"

"Nurturing?"

Taibai Jinxing set his teacup down heavily on the stone table and feigned anger. "A bottom-ranking ninth place in a single category, and I had to force one hundred thousand years of merit into it. Though none of the immortal officials in the hall dared speak, who knows how they're privately painting me as a muddleheaded fool! Tell me, does such an absurd affair make any sense?"

Yang Niansan was entirely unafraid, her tone assured. "If you think it makes sense, Star Lord, no one in the Bright Hall can find the slightest fault with it. The will above is the will of heaven. What could possibly be unreasonable?"

She brazenly shielded her own, without a shred of reason.

Left speechless, Taibai Jinxing shook his head and sighed. Yet there was nothing he could do about the lawless Yang Niansan before him.

She was the apple of the Great Heavenly Venerable's eye.

Whatever she wanted to do, she did.

"Enough, enough." Taibai Jinxing picked up his teacup, his tone leisurely. "That young Qingquan is tactful by nature and rather methodical in his dealings. He is indeed worth molding. Having received this favor, he will doubtless devote himself still more fully to his duties."

At this point,

the Star Lord's tone grew stern as he added a warning. "But there must be no next time! These old bones of mine cannot withstand such turmoil. If it stirs up some heaven-sized trouble, I won't be able to cover for you!"

Yang Niansan turned her head, pretending to study the fish swimming in the pool. The admonition went in one ear and out the other; she simply turned a deaf ear.

Suddenly.

Her gaze sharpened slightly, and the smile froze on her lovely face.

"Star... Star Lord!"

"How did my second brother find his way to the Bright Hall?!"

"To see you, naturally." Taibai Jinxing laughed and sipped his tea. "Could he possibly have come to discuss the Dao with me?"

Yang Niansan was too frightened to remain seated.

Her second brother was domineering and stern in all he did. If he caught her, he would surely haul her up by the ear and toss her back to Mount Hua to face the wall and reflect on her mistakes.

"Take care, Star Lord! I'll take my leave!"

Before her words had even faded,

Yang Niansan summoned the Treasure Lotus Lamp. In a sweep of lamplight, her figure abruptly turned insubstantial, and she fled in panic, vanishing in an instant.

Watching the departing light, the Star Lord stroked his beard and smiled without a word.

A short while later,

two figures approached along the bluestone path at the far end of the Clear Pool.

Leading the way was Li Yin, the Bright Hall's Left Commissioner. Usually so haughty and overbearing that his eyes seemed fixed above his head, Left Commissioner Li now walked with his back bent, not daring even to breathe too heavily.

The man following him was Yang Jian, after all.

The True Lord had a whole string of titles: King Zhaohui Lingxian; Holy Manifestation True Lord, Judicial Deity; Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Above those was yet another designation-the Great Heavenly Venerable's own nephew.

With so many exalted titles upon him,

Li Yin lacked even the courage to smile before Yang Jian. He led him to Taibai Jinxing, then hastily bowed and withdrew.

Taibai Jinxing rose, and Yang Jian lightly cupped his hands. "Your presence graces my humble abode, True Lord."

"You are too kind, Star Lord." Yang Jian's swordlike brows lifted slightly as he smiled. "Why have you summoned me here in such haste?"

"The Heaven-Reaching River is in terrible turmoil. It's a pot of porridge stirred into chaos." As Taibai Jinxing spoke, he laid the Jade Slip on the table.