Chapter 5

Just like every morning for the past fourteen years, Chen Changsheng woke up at five, opened his eyes immediately, spent five breaths in quiet contemplation, got out of bed, put on his shoes and clothes, made the bed, and began to wash up. He ate a bowl of duck meat porridge and four steaming hot meat buns from the first batch in the inn's front hall, returned to his guest room, used the leftover tea from last night to rinse his mouth again, and tidied his clothes in front of the copper mirror. Then he walked to the small courtyard.

— Now, not in the small temple in Xining Town, he didn’t need to chop wood or fetch water. He closed his eyes, began to meditate amidst the early morning mist and the light seeping from the distance, silently reciting the scriptures in his mind until he felt refreshed and clear-headed, completing his morning routine. He then walked out through the side door onto the gradually bustling streets of the capital, blending into the crowd without drawing attention, and began his day.

He had a list in his hand, with the names of several academies in the capital. After asking the market manager for the address of the first academy, he quickened his pace, not noticing that a carriage was following him, nor that the horse had unicorn blood, and even less aware of the somewhat hidden blood phoenix emblem on the carriage shaft.

Countless years ago, the Heavenly Books descended, and the wisdom of the people was awakened, leading to the development of countless academic disciplines. However, no matter how they changed, they all traced back to the Daoist classics. Whether in agriculture, industry, commerce, or learning, the standard for evaluation was now widely recognized as the annual Great Imperial Examination of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The Great Imperial Examination was first established by the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Whether one wanted to serve as an official, a general, or a priest in the state religion, the results of the Great Imperial Examination were the most important criterion. Most crucially, the founding emperor decreed that only those who placed in the top three of the Great Imperial Examination had the资格 to enter the Book of Heaven at the Tian Shu Ling.

Because of this rule, countless strong individuals would come to the capital at the beginning of each year. At the first Great Imperial Examination, the founding emperor stood on the city wall, watching the geniuses from various sects and schools enter like a school of fish, and said a famous line, thus establishing the status of the Great Imperial Examination.

The southern countries, especially the World-Exterior Sects like the Changan Sect, were naturally extremely dissatisfied with this rule. In their view, although the Tian Shu Ling was in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Heavenly Books were divine stones that descended from the heavens and were the common wealth of the entire continent. For this reason, the south had resisted the Great Imperial Examination several times, leading to extremely tense relations.

However, the Tian Shu Ling was too important for cultivators, and the Great Zhou Dynasty, although powerful, could not monopolize it without offending the entire world. The southern forces also could not resist the temptation of entering the Tian Shu Ling to observe the inscriptions. Even during the period when the relationship between the two sides gradually distanced after the retreat of the demon race, the south openly resisted, but many southern sects still sent their strong individuals to participate in the Great Imperial Examination under private names.

During the reign of the Sage Empress, the Great Zhou Dynasty finally reached an agreement with the southern forces. The southern countries and sects could send their own delegations to participate in the Great Imperial Examination of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the evaluation would be based on a joint standard. Southern students could also refuse the titles and rewards offered by the Great Zhou Dynasty, and all other aspects would be treated equally. Additionally, the Great Imperial Examination had a new name under this new agreement.

Over the years, the Great Imperial Examination had selected countless strong individuals. It was said that the current peak-level strong individuals on the continent had all once participated in the Great Imperial Examination in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was also a well-known fact that the current head of the state religion, the elder of the Southern Holy Maiden Peak, and even some geniuses from the Western demon race who had transformed into humans to participate in the Great Imperial Examination, and a young prince of the demon race who had once risked coming to the capital but was exposed by the previous head of the state religion and suppressed with divine powers, turning into a wisp of blue smoke.

Those were stories from many years ago. Now, people were more concerned about whether Qiu Shanjun of the Changan Sect would participate in next year's Great Imperial Examination, how many of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom could enter the top three, whether Xu Yourong would break through early and leave the Holy Maiden Peak to return to the capital, and whether the talented and mysterious strong individual known for his coldness in the demon wilderness would appear before the public for the first time or continue to chase and be chased by demon strong individuals. Besides these, the people of the capital were most concerned about which geniuses would appear in the capital's academies.

Yes, there were many academies in the capital. During the reign of the Sage Empress, with strict governance and a clear political climate, the lives of the people gradually improved. In the past few decades, it had been a time of peace and prosperity, and various academies sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Even a few years ago, many private academies targeting the Great Imperial Examination, with strong individuals from the state religion secretly teaching, had appeared. Of course, the most famous and powerful academies were still the oldest ones, some of which had a history even longer than the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Chen Changsheng's list had six academies, and the Tian Dao Academy was at the top. In fact, in the entire continent, the Tian Dao Academy had the right to be ranked at the very top—over the past two hundred years, its students had won the top position in the Great Imperial Examination twenty-four times. Every student here was exceptionally talented, and the academy had produced many important priests for the state religion and countless cultivation geniuses for various sects. Most importantly, the current head of the state religion had once been a student here.

The Tian Dao Academy had the best record in the history of the Great Imperial Examination, making it the hardest to enter, but it still had the most applicants. Chen Changsheng walked to the gate of the Tian Dao Academy, looking at the majestic black jade gate and the name of the academy personally inscribed by the founding emperor, naturally feeling admiration and longing. However, these feelings were quickly dispelled by the noisy and bustling environment at the gate, the pungent smell of sweat and ink, and he instinctively lowered his head.

When he left Xining, he had calculated the time, arriving in the capital just in time for the spring admissions of the major academies. He had expected that the Tian Dao Academy would have a large number of applicants, but he did not expect it to be so terrifying. Especially the group of young men standing at the gate, dressed in a similar style, mostly black with golden belts, who were pointing and commenting on the crowd, made him feel uncomfortable.

These young men were likely the old students who had failed the Great Imperial Examination at the beginning of the year. They were proud and arrogant but also bitter about their failure. They would not treat the new students applying to the Tian Dao Academy kindly. Listening to their sharp and cruel words and seeing the mockery in their eyes, he instinctively lowered his head even more.

Lowering his head was not out of fear, but because he had a slight obsession with cleanliness, both physically and mentally. He did not want to smell the sweat from the crowd or hear those words.

"Look at that idiot, he looks like a pig, with a few spots on his face, and he even sticks a fan in his neck? Does he think he's Prince Feathers? He doesn't even realize that the layers of fat on his neck are almost breaking the fan."

"Right, his steps are unsteady, he probably just washed his marrow in the past two months, and his bones haven't even been tempered. He dares to apply to our Tian Dao Academy? Does he think we're the National Teaching Academy? Ha... I don't understand how these idiots think. Do they think they can understand the Daoist classics with their weak and pitiful divine consciousness?"

"Understand the Daoist classics? Even Gou Hanshi, who is obsessed with reading, wouldn't say such a thing. I feel sorry for the idiot's parents. The humiliation he will suffer is secondary; the money they spent can't be recovered. If I were the parents of that fat idiot, I would rather use that money to buy some pills at the teaching altar to reduce some of his fat, at least to get a wife."

"What good is getting a wife? Even if it's a Cold Plum Pill, it only helps him. In the future, if he has seventeen or eighteen children, they will all be as fat and foolish as him, raising a whole litter of pigs. Is that a good thing?"

The students laughed loudly, discussing the applicants without restraint, their words extremely offensive, and they did not control their volume, possibly even deliberately wanting the subjects of their discussion to hear, which was extremely despicable. The fat young man, with a red face, did not dare to resist because what the students said was true. He had just washed his marrow a few days ago, and it was almost impossible for him to get into the Tian Dao Academy. Most importantly, even if he got in by some miracle, he could not offend these seniors.

Chen Changsheng passed through the crowd, listening to the foul words, his eyebrows slightly raised, wondering if he could hold back if he were the one being discussed. Fortunately, he kept his head down, and his aura was too ordinary, making him very inconspicuous in the crowd, so he luckily avoided being mocked and smoothly passed through the black jade gate, entering the academy.

Because he was thinking about these things and kept his head down, he did not notice the two large stone walls on either side of the stone path leading into the Tian Dao Academy, carved with strange flowers and divine creatures, and densely written with hundreds of names, seemingly a list of some kind, with many people looking at the names with admiration and enthusiasm.

The family members and servants who accompanied the applicants were not allowed to enter the Tian Dao Academy, so the environment inside became much quieter. Chen Changsheng took out a white handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and sighed, feeling more relaxed. He followed the student in front of him and joined the long queue.

The number of people applying to the Tian Dao Academy was very large, and the queue was very long, stretching from the distant buildings to the grass, even crossing a clear stream. Many applicants stood on the wooden bridge over the stream, their faces frozen by the cold spring wind.

Soon, some young men and women came out of the building, their faces as pale as those on the bridge, looking very bad. Since they were not frozen, it must mean the examination did not go well. The people still in the queue, seeing their dispirited appearance, immediately became nervous and stopped chatting.

Chen Changsheng did not know anyone, so he did not chat. He looked at the distant building with curiosity, wondering if the admission examination for the Tian Dao Academy was the same as described in the books, or if it used a different method. Why did these people fail so quickly? Or had the examination for the Tian Dao Academy really changed?

The crowd kept moving forward, passing the grass and the stream, and before they reached the building, they came to a row of bamboo sheds. Seeing the serious-looking teacher from the Tian Dao Academy behind the stone table and the black rock on the table, which looked like volcanic rock, Chen Changsheng recognized it, recalling an old case he had read in the Daoist scriptures, and was slightly surprised.