Longzang

Chapter 42 The Secret History of the National Unified Examination

After the students' initial shock subsided, Feng Chutang continued, "The incidents involving two chosen ones of destiny have made even the usually aloof immortal sects restless. In fact, there is an even more important reason: some immortal sects were concerned about their reputation and acted hesitantly, so they didn't acquire many plots of land. Other immortal sects, on the other hand, didn't care about appearances at all and aggressively acquired land."

"In the end, the former couldn't recruit many good disciples for many years, while the latter had a large number of disciples and their strength soared. Naturally, conflicts arose between them. Those who didn't claim the land demanded a redistribution of the territory, while the immortal sects that had occupied the land first naturally refused. Thus, the two sides argued over this for over a hundred years, engaging in countless open and covert struggles, and many powerful figures perished as a result."

"At this point, the major immortal sects, after much painful reflection, all felt that reform was imperative. At this time, a remarkable person emerged and proposed the concept of sharing geniuses. Specifically, the seeds of cultivation in the human realm should be shared by all major sects, and a unified entrance examination should be held to ensure that no genius is buried. Each sect is divided into three, six, and nine grades according to its strength, with the top-grade sects having priority in selection, while the lower-grade sects only have scraps."

The sect's unified examination has been in place for over a thousand years, and all the students present have come through it. They are all very familiar with the various regulations of the examination and feel that it is only natural. However, upon hearing this secret from history, they still find it incredible that the extraordinary person back then could have such a whimsical idea.

Feng Chutang smiled and said, "When I first heard this story, I was also deeply incredulous. Genius can be shared? There's never been such a thing in history! As for open examinations and open selections, that's unheard of. Can you guess who this extraordinary person is?"

"A reincarnation of a celestial being?"

"An unprecedented genius?"

"Child of Destiny?"

The students all made guesses, but Feng Chutang just shook his head. When no one was guessing anymore, Feng Changqing said, "He actually comes from another world, and in that world, such behavior is just commonplace."

All the students, including Wei Yuan, were taken aback. One of them couldn't help but ask, "Are there other worlds?"

"Of course there are, not only are there, there are many more. You will know when you have mastered your supernatural powers."

One of the girls said, "I know! That's the world of the immortals' minds, isn't it?"

Feng Chutang shook his head: "No, that is the real world. As for the specifics, you can explore it yourselves when you reach the Imperial Realm. When you stand at a high point, you will find that your vision has naturally broadened a thousandfold, and what you saw and heard before was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well."

The young men and women were immediately filled with longing; this world truly held countless secrets waiting to be explored. Their youthful spirits stirred, and they yearned to grow up instantly, so they could ride the wind and wield swords, exploring the endless world.

Feng Chutang continued with the follow-up:

"Once this method was introduced, the major sects of the immortal sects naturally approved of it, and the opposition from the minor sects was futile. However, the various sects fought for over a hundred years over the superior and inferior grades, and the ranking of sects. In short, a set of rules was finally established, which led to the unified examination for the Great Tang Immortal Sect to recruit disciples, commonly known as the Immortal Sect Unified Examination. As for the sect ranking, it follows the same system as the Immortal Sect, Grotto Heaven, Blessed Land, and ordinary sect."

Wei Yuan asked, "What about sects that haven't entered the system? Are they forever unable to accept disciples?"

Feng Changqing nodded to Wei Yuan and said, "This is a good question, and the solution was also proposed by that extraordinary person: the capable rise and the mediocre fall, opening up channels between the top and bottom. Specifically, every hundred years, all sects will be re-evaluated and their rankings re-established. The lowest-ranked sects will be demoted to the next level, while the lowest-ranked sects among the fourth-grade sects will be removed from the unified examination system and replaced by other strong candidate sects. In this way, those rapidly developing small sects can enter the unified examination system. With hope, the small sects outside the system will only want to join the system, not rebel."

"In fact, that extraordinary person proposed this method when he put forward the unified examination of sects. However, the major immortal sects at that time were used to being high and mighty, and they all thought about eternal rule of the martial world. No one was willing to let new people join and share the pie. It was not until a hundred years later that the sects gradually started to fight each other and the casualties became increasingly heavy that they came up with this method again."

It was time for get out of class to end, so Feng Chutang said, "After you go back, write an article about the merits and demerits of this charter. If you have any better ideas, you can write them down as well. Submit them to the next class. If you finish early, you can put them directly in my council chamber. I will naturally look at them when I come."

A girl suddenly stood up and asked, "Sir, Senior Sister Liuli said that cultivators must be good at fighting. Are you also good at fighting?" Feng Chutang smiled and said, "I teach history. In the mortal world, I would be a weak scholar, the kind who can't even kill a chicken. I'm not good at fighting and killing."

The next day, it was Senior Sister Liuli's Dao Foundation class again.

In the first lesson, Ji Liuli gave a concise overview of the basic knowledge of Daoist cultivation and six common cultivation methods. The real cultivation lessons begin from this lesson.

All the students were divided into six groups according to their different cultivation methods. Only Bao Yun and another boy who had received a blessing from the patriarch, like Wei Yuan, chose the "Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon" painting. This boy's surname was Cui, and his given name was Yu; he was a member of the prestigious Cui family.

The "Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon" method has extremely high requirements for one's own fortune. Its advantage is that it can strengthen one's foundation, but its disadvantage is that it has little else to offer. The other five cultivation methods each have their own strengths and are not as demanding, so the number of people choosing to cultivate the "Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon" method has always been the smallest.

Xiao Yu also possessed great fortune, but he had already planned his path. Instead of choosing the "Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon" painting, he chose the "Great Sun Embracing Sword Book," the most powerful and lethal technique among the six cultivation methods.

After the groups were formed, everyone practiced on their own, while Ji Liuli sat high on the platform, overseeing the entire audience.

At this point, Wei Yuan had already taken the second Chonglou Dinghai Pill, and the area of ​​his visualization diagram exceeded three zhang. However, after deducting the effects of the pill, the actual visualization diagram was only two zhang and five chi.

Wei Yuan had been cultivating for nearly half a month, a pace that couldn't be considered fast at all, and incomparable to the geniuses recorded in the data. However, Wei Yuan also discovered something: after his senior sister refined his foundation last time, the visualization diagram that had originally expanded had actually shrunk back by half a foot. Although the visualization diagram was smaller in area, its quality had clearly improved.

Cultivation cannot be accomplished overnight, and Wei Yuan naturally understood this principle, so he did not care about the specific progress and simply absorbed and exhaled moonlight at regular intervals every day.

The shadow in the full moon remained unchanged. Wisps of black energy continued to enter Wei Yuan's body along with the moonlight. As more black energy was inhaled, Wei Yuan's rate of absorbing and exhaling moonlight also slowly increased.

Ji Liuli surveyed the entire scene, occasionally waking a student with problems from their meditation, offering guidance, and then allowing them to continue their practice.

The class passed quickly, and the sound of the chime brought all the students back from their trance. Cui Yu, who was sitting not far from Wei Yuan, suddenly raised her hand and said, "Senior Sister, I have completed the visualization diagram."

Ji Liuli walked over, his pupils turning blue. After looking at it for a while, he nodded and said, "The Six-Zhang Moon Gazing Diagram has an extraordinary appearance that is close to the top grade. It's quite good! We can start the body forging process now."

Overjoyed at the praise, Cui Yu looked at Ji Liuli expectantly and asked, "Can I forge an immortal foundation?"

Ji Liuli shook his head and said, "You have a chance to reach the Heavenly Rank, but your Immortal Foundation depends on fate. Your aptitude is only eight feet, which is somewhat of a burden. When you go back, you must ask your family to find a way to collect more rare and precious treasures and elixirs that can improve your aptitude. Only in this way can you stabilize your Heavenly Rank. You cannot be stingy in this regard."

Cui Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, teacher! If my Cui family is short of supplies, then no family in the world is wealthy!"

Bao Yun rolled her eyes.

(End of this chapter)