"I’ve heard of it. The Qi Fortune Official Seal not only acts as a Magical Treasure, but also functions like a Qi Fortune Array, enhancing the Qi Fortune of all Soldier Generals. Under the protection of the Qi Fortune Official Seal, the Human Race’s casualty rate is only half the usual."
The two walked and chatted. Before long, they passed through the fourth gate and arrived at a training ground with a large circle drawn on it.
The large circle was over fifty zhang in diameter and could hold tens of thousands of people.
The examiner said, "This entire training ground is the Grand Arena for the fourth round: the battle for the Aoshou. Everyone who passes the third round will come here, but only those who score in the top ten are qualified to enter the arena and compete for the title of Aoshou. See that giant turtle over there...?"
Li Qingxian looked to the east of the arena and saw a giant turtle lying there. Its tail formed a staircase, its back supported a review platform, and its head was held high.
"After the Cyan Cloud Examination is over, the Aoshou will ascend the Aoshou Platform at sunset. By then, most of the people participating in tomorrow’s Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination will have arrived, as will those coming to watch it. Generally, every time an Eighth-Grade Aoshou makes their ascent, they’re watched by over a hundred thousand people." The examiner’s expression was tinged with envy.
"Since no one can watch the Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination this year, the spectators probably won’t come, will they?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Quite the opposite. Even though spectators can’t watch the Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination, its unique nature makes people from all over even more eager to be the first to find out who the Champion Scholar is. So, the crowd for a Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination is often two or even three times larger than for a regular one."
"That many?"
"The Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination ten years ago drew a crowd of half a million."
"So many people with nothing better to do." Li Qingxian shook his head.
"I used to think the same as you, that they just had too much time on their hands. But after becoming an examiner and listening to the common folk, I came to understand. They aren’t idle; they’re looking for something to believe in. I once heard an Upper-Grade chief examiner comment on this. He said that which eats only visible food is a beast. Only that which eats both visible and invisible food can be called a person. Knowledge, spirit, love for one’s home and country, emotion, willpower, magnanimity—these are the invisible foods. Can you guess who that chief examiner was?"
Li Qingxian shook his head. "I could never guess."
"Mr. Quan Jie." The examiner’s face was full of reverence.
Li Qingxian froze for a moment before it clicked. Mr. Quan Jie was one of the titles of Chief Minister Zhao Yishan.
"Chief Minister Zhao is truly a man of great talent. Such insight is far beyond my reach," Li Qingxian said.
"It’s a pity," the examiner said. "If you had taken the Cyan Cloud Examination a few years earlier, you might have had Chief Minister Zhao as your chief examiner. You’d have had the chance to call him your mentor."
"True. Now that he’s a First Grade official, the head of all civil and military officials, he can no longer serve as a chief examiner."
"However, it’s not impossible to have him as your mentor."
"But aren’t only chief examiners called mentors?"
"Remember how a Grand Scholar can bestow a poem?"
"You mean..."
"That’s right. Whichever Grand Scholar bestows a poem on the Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination Champion Scholar, that Champion Scholar can call him mentor. The chances of Chief Minister Zhao bestowing a poem are slim, but not zero."
"So, basically zero."
The two shared a laugh and sat on a wooden bench outside the Grand Arena.
Just as Li Qingxian sat down, a scholar who had passed the first three rounds walked over with a smile. "May I have your name, my fellow candidate?"
"Li Qingxian, from Jiangnan." Li Qingxian was dead set on leaving the Divine Capital.
"The son of Mr. Gangfeng?" the scholar asked, shocked.
"He was my late father," Li Qingxian said.
"Worthy of being Mr. Gangfeng’s son! That flash of Thunderbolt earlier was simply divine!" The scholar exchanged a few pleasantries with Li Qingxian before going off to gather his friends.
Nearby examinees began to gather around him.
The examiner shot Li Qingxian a meaningful glance. It took Li Qingxian a moment to understand.
’In the world of officialdom, there were many types of bonds: fellow townsmen, fellow disciples, fellow clansmen, fellow examinees, fellow graduates, fellow year-mates, and so on. The essence of it all was finding a reasonable excuse to deepen connections.’
’It was just like finding a mentor. From now on, these people would be considered his cohort, addressing each other as fellow candidates, making them akin to classmates.’
’This connection wouldn’t make them sworn brothers willing to die for each other, but it meant they would be willing to help one another out if they could.’
Li Qingxian smiled and conversed with the group.
Gradually, other Cultivators made their way over.
They were all Literary Cultivators, Martial Cultivators, and Daoist Cultivators. The Demon-Evil Cultivators just watched from a distance, knowing it would be pointless to approach, while the Puppet Cultivators ignored everyone completely.
As the crowd announced their names and family backgrounds, Li Qingxian took careful mental notes, observing them all. In the end, he sighed internally.
Among the thirty-odd people, the Martial and Daoist Cultivators were all from Major Sects, prominent Clans, or large Martial Arts Halls and other powerful factions. The Literary Cultivators were also mostly from wealthy families. There were only three or four true commoners among the Cultivators.
The most eloquent speakers were all from prominent families, their social skills polished and their networking effortless. Li Qingxian, who was only pretending to be an extrovert, felt inadequate in comparison.
’That kind of confidence and conversational skill was the result of ten or twenty years of cultivation from childhood.’
In contrast, the few commoner Cultivators couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They just listened silently, only speaking a few words when spoken to directly.
Passing the third round was tantamount to passing the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination, making everyone here fellow candidates of the same year, subject, and graduating list. As they chatted, they gradually grew familiar with one another.
If he planned to stay in the Divine Capital, Li Qingxian might have spoken more with them. But since he intended to leave, he was reserved in his conversation, having no mind to form alliances.
In the eyes of the others, Li Qingxian wasn’t the least bit smug about his Three Super Armors. He had the bearing of a true gentleman, which made him seem all the more humble and composed.
As evening approached, the first three rounds of the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination officially concluded. More than thirty thousand people had participated in the exam.
The examiners began to file in from the other examination grounds, gathering at the final Grand Arena.
Li Qingxian scanned his surroundings. Only six or seven hundred examinees were left standing here—a pass rate of roughly one in fifty.
Before long, four Purple-Robed Upper-Grade chief examiners led a host of Middle-Grade, crimson-robed officials and Lower-Grade Green-Robed officials onto the Aoshou review platform.
The head chief examiner began to read the list of the top ten examinees, starting from tenth place. After announcing the runner-up, the chief examiner glanced at Li Qingxian and declared, "Aoshou, with Three Super Armors, Li Qingxian. In the three-hundred-year history of the Qi Country, the first-ever Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud."
The examinees who had arrived later and missed Li Qingxian’s performance let out soft gasps of disbelief.
Some candidates from the Demon Sects frowned. One even muttered, "The chief examiner is being too biased. Setting aside whether the Three Super Armors is even real, they’ve only selected the top ten. The Aoshou hasn’t been decided yet. What gives him the right to just declare him the Aoshou?"
The chief examiner’s gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke slowly, "The final battle for the Aoshou is open to the top ten. Li Qingxian stands alone as the Aoshou. If anyone wishes to challenge him, they must first sign a Life and Death Contract—no one will be held accountable for the outcome. However, I offer this advice out of goodwill: Li Qingxian’s power is extraordinary. To avoid excessive casualties, I do not recommend anyone challenge him."
A hubbub of discussion erupted from the crowd below.
It wasn’t just the newer examinees who were displeased; even some examiners who hadn’t witnessed Li Qingxian’s performance voiced their objections.
The four chief examiners stared straight ahead, pretending not to hear.
Suddenly, a few candidates from the Demon Sects started shouting.
"What a joke! Letting a Destiny Cultivator take the Aoshou? Are the Literary Cultivators, Martial Cultivators, Daoist Cultivators, Demon Cultivators, Evil Cultivators, and Puppet Cultivators of our Qi Country all dead?"
"And the other nine in the top ten! Are you just going to swallow this insult?"
"Everyone knows Fate Masters can’t fight! Are you all really that scared?"
"This generation of Cultivators is worse than the last. To be dominated in combat by a single Fate Master..."