This One Was in the Bag

A rooster's crow suddenly rang out.

Beneath the gray sky, wisps of cooking smoke curled upward.

Inside the room.

The oil lamp had long since gone cold.

Zhang Jing held the scriptures, utterly motionless.

Reading them over and over, he had sunk completely into the world within their pages.

At some point, Zhang Jing's consciousness suddenly began to blur, and the room around him faded away bit by bit.

He found himself in an old, unadorned classroom.

Before him stood a lectern, behind which three elderly figures with snowy hair and beards stood silently, their faces serene.

Zhang Jing sat below them, looking bewildered.

"What is this?"

Just as he wondered.

Character after character began pouring from the three elders' mouths, forming words of truth. Listening closely, he realized they were the contents of the Three Books and Six Classics, yet far more profound!

"Five Elements Chapter."

"The five elements are the root of creation, the source from which human relations begin. All things receive their transformations..."

"The myriad forms of existence take five as their measure. Beyond five, their numbers change. Drawing upon the five vital energies, harmonizing the four seasons, nurturing the hundred kinds, molding all things..."

"..."

Countless insights stirred towering waves in Zhang Jing's heart.

[Three Books and Six Classics · Level 9 (9999/)]

[Three Books and Six Classics · Level 9 (/)]

An intensely brilliant white light suddenly flared from the jade talisman. Then it plunged straight into the sea of consciousness behind Zhang Jing's brow, becoming a brand woven from mysterious runes.

Shaped like a seed, it took root in his sea of consciousness, giving off a faint glow.

"What is this?" Zhang Jing emerged from his insights and immediately noticed the change in himself. "...My sea of consciousness? Why has a strange seed appeared in it out of nowhere?"

Then he noticed that the skill displayed on the jade talisman had changed as well.

The original [Three Books and Six Classics], including its experience points and skill traits, had all vanished without a trace, replaced by a lone [Low-Tier Dharma Seed: Mind's Eye].

"What exactly is going on?" Zhang Jing's eyes widened. "Wait, this feeling..."

Time passed little by little.

Whoo-

A long breath broke the silence.

"So skills on the jade talisman evolve into these so-called 'Dao Seeds' after exceeding level nine? No! Rather than evolution, transformation would be more accurate."

Zhang Jing's heartbeat quickened.

He had discovered that the enhancement [Low-Tier Dharma Seed: Mind's Eye] gave him far surpassed the effects of his previous three skill traits. His thoughts were clear and lucid, and insights welled up from the depths of his heart at every moment.

This feeling of having his mind opened was simply intoxicating.

And-

Following a vague, instinctive feeling.

"Mind's Eye!" Zhang Jing shouted.

The next instant, he felt his mental energy drain away like floodwaters through an opened sluice.

Within his sea of consciousness, the previously quiet Mind’s Eye Dao Seed blazed with light.

An illusory eye abruptly opened within Zhang Jing's mind.

Outside, the paths of the wind, dust, insects on the ground, tiny cracks in the window... all manner of traces his naked eyes had once been unable to catch instantly appeared before Zhang Jing.

It was as though some barrier had been broken.

The Mind's Eye captured a constant stream of information and passed it into Zhang Jing's mind, where he digested all of it in an instant.

Things that had once seemed obscure were now clear and comprehensible.

"So this is the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed?" Zhang Jing worked to adjust to this entirely new perspective.

Before he could fully adjust, however, a profound exhaustion brutally kicked him out of the Mind's Eye state.

Zhang Jing stood dazed for quite a while before gradually coming back to his senses.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Zhang Jing began going over that strange sensation bit by bit.

The Mind’s Eye Dao Seed’s passive enhancement alone had truly raised his thinking abilities into the realm of genius, while actively opening the Mind's Eye put him into a terrifying state of rapid cycling through observation, analysis and learning, and insight.

It was remarkably like the Divine Abilities spoken of in the legends of his previous life!

One could say that apart from consuming enormous amounts of mental energy and lasting only a few breaths when actively opened, the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed had no other shortcomings.

Of course, that hardly counted for much. Zhang Jing believed that once he stepped onto the Immortal Dao, he would certainly be able to last longer. It might even be possible to keep his Mind's Eye open all the time.

Provided he passed the upcoming Dragon Lake Dao Academy examination.

"With the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed and the jade talisman, this one's in the bag!"

At that thought, Zhang Jing slumped heavily against the back of his chair, as though a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from him.

He stretched, turned his head, and looked out the window.

It was broad daylight.

"It's about time."

Zhang Jing's expression grew serious. Rousing himself, he hurriedly dressed, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Just outside was the central hall.

A busy figure came into view.

"You're up, Jing'er. I was just thinking of calling you." Mother Zhang rubbed her slightly swollen eyes and smiled. "Hurry and eat. Don't be late."

On the table.

Two peeled eggs gleamed, while millet porridge and steamed buns gave off curling steam and an aroma that filled his nose.

"Your eyes?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just the wind getting in them." Mother Zhang hastily turned away and answered quietly.

Then, seemingly to change the subject, she immediately added, "Jing'er, I've packed your bundle. There's some silver inside, so be careful with it."

"I know, Mother."

Zhang Jing's movements paused.

Watching his mother's eyes redden again before she had even finished a couple of sentences, he opened his mouth, but did not know what to say.

A little while later.

Outside the medicine shop.

"Father, Mother, I'm off. Take good care of yourselves. Oh, and since you're both so healthy, why not just have another child?"

With his bulging bundle slung over his shoulder, Zhang Jing grinned and said his farewells.

"You child! What nonsense are you talking in broad daylight?" Mother Zhang's scolding came from behind him.

"Haha, my dear, I think Jing'er has a point. Why don't we..."

"Ow, my dear, be gentle! My ear's coming off-"

A sudden yelp startled two greedy little sparrows away from the eaves.

The sun had only just peeked over the horizon.

As the commandery seat of Linshan Commandery in Hui Prefecture, Yong'an City was already seething with voices.

West City Marketplace.

On a flagstone street some thirty feet wide, horse-drawn carriages and ox carts struggled through the crowded throng. Among them were plenty of traveling merchants and wandering heroes, exiles and poets, but most were villagers from nearby who had risen early to come into the city to buy and sell.

Hawkers' cries and the sounds of bargaining filled the air without end.

"Coming through! Coming through!"

Zhang Jing wove nimbly through the crowd, moving faster and faster.

Meanwhile, five li away in the eastern part of the city, inside Yong’an Academy.

Master Liu stood beneath a gnarled ancient tree with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes slightly unfocused, entirely unaware that the mist had soaked his long robe.

Not far in front of him.

A dozen or so youths of seventeen or eighteen stood quietly with packs on their backs, not saying a word.

Only a faint trace of excitement showed in their eyes.

Shifting his gaze unobtrusively away from their faces, Master Liu could not help shaking his head, a complicated, unreadable expression appearing on his face.

There was a little anticipation in it, but far more equanimity.

How could he not know what these boys were thinking?

It was just that... he had been in charge of Yong’an Academy for over twenty years.

Once every three years.

During that time, Master Liu had selected who knew how many students. None had lacked talent or aptitude, yet those who passed could be counted on one hand.

Ultimately, on the Immortal Dao, natural talent and fortunate opportunities were both indispensable.

By Master Liu's estimation, these youths had almost no chance of passing. But he had not pinned his hopes on them anyway.

Surely Yong’an Academy won't suffer another total rout this time.

Master Liu sighed inwardly as a figure flashed through his mind.

"Master!"

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

He looked toward its source.

A kindly smile immediately appeared on Master Liu's face. "You're here, Zhang Jing. Have you settled everything with your family? Didn't they come to see you off?"

"Master, everything's settled. It isn't far. I can manage on my own."

Zhang Jing answered respectfully.

He held this Master Liu, who had always looked after him, in great esteem.

"Haha, good, good. So young, yet full of ambition. The people from the Dao Academy will be here soon. Wait a little."

"Yes, Master."

At the same time.

"Master."

A youth in embroidered brocade, with thick brows, small eyes, and a somewhat frivolous air, swaggered over with a fan painted with erotic scenes of ladies in his hand, smiling in greeting.

"You're here too, Bochang. Wait a little."

"All right."

The brocade-clad youth looked around, then walked straight up to Zhang Jing, tilted his head, and said familiarly:

"Brother Zhang, you live farther away than I do, yet you always get here before me."

"Because my mother gets up early. By the way, Brother Ji, where's your luggage?" Zhang Jing asked curiously.

"Luggage? What luggage?" The brocade-clad youth tapped his fan against his palm, pointed at Zhang Jing's back, and said in realization, "Ah, you mean that? No need."

"No need?"

Remembering the master's instructions, Zhang Jing glanced at the others, who were likewise carrying luggage, but asked no further questions.

He knew Ji Bochang came from an extraordinary family. Perhaps he had arrangements of his own.

"Brother Zhang, what do you think of this painted fan I designed?"

Beside him, Ji Bochang seemed to remember something. He raised the fan in his hand and asked proudly.

"This pose? Fairly ordinary."

"Only ordinary? Damn it, I knew there were flaws... If you have time, Brother Zhang, please don't hold back your advice!"

Ji Bochang's eyes first dimmed, then filled with fighting spirit again as he earnestly made his request of Zhang Jing.

Beneath the ancient tree, Master Liu withdrew his gaze.

The youth named Ji Bochang was Yong’an Academy's hope this year.

The Ji clan was a mighty family in Linshan Commandery, with cultivators in every generation.

Ji Bochang's natural talent was exceptionally high, and he had been taught and influenced by cultivators since childhood. Passing the Dragon Lake Dao Academy examination was as certain as a nail driven into iron.

"As for Zhang Jing..." Changing the subject, Master Liu could not help sighing. "If only he had resources like Bochang's..."

In more than twenty years.

He had never seen a student as unusual as Zhang Jing.

Through cold and heat, wind and rain, he improved every day. Though his progress was not fast, it was terrifyingly steady. Moreover, once he learned something, it was as though he would never forget it.

It was just a pity that his luck fell a little short.

Just as he was lamenting this.

Kree-

A clear, lively crane's cry suddenly rang out, and a strong wind abruptly swept through the air.

"They're here!" Master Liu's expression turned solemn.