"Lord Chen, your son is full of drive," Eunuch Feng said, watching Chen Shi as he discussed the Eight Trigrams Protection Art with Cheng Qi and Granny Sha, surprised.
Chen Tang sighed, "The more driven he is, the more pressure I feel."
" too."
Eunuch Feng's face grew grave. "We're also afraid so people will tear off the mask. Last night, at least we t face to face and kept things civil. My two lackeys didn't try to finish off. But they laid heavy bets on the Young Master."
There are too many followers of the Young Master in the Western Capital, and among them are not a few of the capital's powerful elites.
It's not guaranteed soone won't lose their mind over it.
"And does your son have any sure way to win?"
Eunuch Feng asked with concern, "Lord Chen, I wagered my fortunes on the Young Master. If he loses, my position as Seal-Holding Eunuch and even my post in the Eastern Depot could be gone. The last pure turf in the court would be theirs."
He had foresight. When the Thirteen Great Clans decided to back the Young Master, he sensed the situation was wrong. So he secretly instructed Xiao Wangsun to steal the Western King's Jade Seal and flee with it.
At that ti, he was the Seal-Holding Eunuch, and the seal he held was the Western King's Jade Seal. The seal was guarded by the Divine chanism Battalion, whose two commanders were also eunuchs and fell under the Seal-Holding Eunuch's authority.
If Eunuch Feng hadn't turned a blind eye, Xiao Wangsun certainly could not have stolen the treasure.
In the Western Capital, the Seal-Holding Eunuch and the Cabinet check and balance each other. Many major matters cannot proceed without the Seal-Holding Eunuch stamping the jade seal.
If the Western King's Jade Seal fell into the Young Master's hands, that Young Master might not have needed to borrow the title of top scholar to build his reputation.
— At that ti Eunuch Feng had his own selfish aim: to let Xiao Wangsun inherit the Western King's Jade Seal and beco the new True King. But after Xiao Wangsun returned from Qianyang Mountain, he lost interest and had no desire to restore the Zhu family.
Chen Tang considered for a mont and said, "I'll use Spirit Transformation realm strength to keep him at bay."
Eunuch Feng's heart skipped. He probed, "Beginner Spirit Transformation or peak Spirit Transformation?"
He added, "Different stages can an earth-shattering differences in power."
At the early Spirit Transformation stage, the Primordial Spirit has just combined with the soul, transitioning from Nascent Soul to Primordial Spirit. Then the Primordial Spirit is only about a foot long.
This stage is called Soul rging.
Mid-stage Spirit Transformation has the Primordial Spirit refined to equal the body.
This stage is called Body-Equal.
At the out-of-body phase of Spirit Transformation, the physical body can no longer contain the Primordial Spirit, so the Primordial Spirit must leave the body.
This stage is called Out-of-Body.
At peak Spirit Transformation, the Primordial Spirit far exceeds the height of the body, up to an ultimate stature of over fifteen feet.
This stage is called the Towering Stature.
Different stages bring imnse gaps in cultivation power.
Chen Tang hesitated, "At first I used the Soul rging strength, but when he forced out into the main hall, I used Body-Equal Primordial Spirit strength to defeat him. Later, when the fight reached a stalemate, I used Out-of-Body strength."
Eunuch Feng thought for a mont and shook his head. "The Young Master inherited a true lineage of the True King. Although he brags, he rarely uses the genuine inheritance's full might. The Eastern Depot has collected every record of his moves. All his spells, divine arts, talisman-weapons, talisman-objects, and magic treasures are logged. He draws on the best of many schools, the signature techniques of great clans, and even tricks learned from many freeholders, displaying them with ease, but he has never used the true cultivation thods."
Chen Tang said nothing and listened quietly.
Although the Young Master has vast prowess, in terms of intelligence gathering, Eunuch Feng of the Eastern Depot is more expert.
"During the True King's era, many cultivation thods weren't passed down. The True King's line scattered into the martial world, hiding nas and branching out. They preserved so royal techniques," Eunuch Feng said. "Among them, the most famous are the Eight Gates Reverse Life-and-Death Art and the Jade Emperor's Embryonic Breathing Scripture. These two schools are immortality arts inherited from the Jiajing Emperor. As the saying goes, train to take on the crane's form, a thousand pines beneath two scrolls. The 'two scrolls' refer to these two thods."
He paused, "If young Lord Chen can only compare with your Out-of-Body Primordial Spirit strength, it will be hard to beat the Young Master. You must be able to match his Towering Stature to have a shot."
Chen Tang's eyes flickered. "The palace examination is a month away. In a month, my son will surely break through and enter Spirit Transformation."
Eunuch Feng said flatly, "But the martial test is tomorrow. Then soldiers face soldiers, generals face generals, to decide the martial rankings. Lord Chen—your son will inevitably et the Young Master. There are two ways to secure victory. The first: you launch a night raid on Jiexiu Hall tonight and severely wound the Young Master. Last night you were injured by Shui Xuanzhi, but he was hurt too. If you go now, the outco of that fight is uncertain—life and death unpredictable. But if you injure the Young Master, you gain an opportunity."
Chen Tang's expression did not change. "And the second?"
Eunuch Feng said, "Tamper with tomorrow's martial fight so the Young Master encounters Zhang You. Zhang You is the Zhang Family's chosen next generation sect leader; he is hidden in his strength and likely no weaker than the Young Master or your son. Let him first wear down the Young Master, preferably leaving both wounded so your son can strike."
He smiled, "And Chief Grand Secretary Zhang Fuzheng—Lord Zhang—is on our side. Zhang You is precisely the move..."
Chen Tang shook his head. "Chief Grand Secretary Zhang cannot arrange Zhang You; he does not have that authority."
Eunuch Feng blinked and looked up at him.
Chen Tang said, "The next-generation sect leaders of the Thirteen Great Clans cannot be arranged by the Cabinet. Rather, the Cabinet's thirteen ministers are subject to the clan leaders' scheduling."
Eunuch Feng said, "Then you act tonight. Tit for tat is fair. Raid Jiexiu Hall at night! Don't pretend to be a gentleman; I know you're not!"
Chen Tang shook his head. "I won't go. If I did, I could indeed badly wound the Young Master, but my son would not be happy. If I were him, I'd certainly want to personally defeat the Young Master. He probably thinks the sa."
Eunuch Feng frowned and sighed. "Then this tropolitan exam, I'm afraid your son will first taste defeat. Do you think he has a chance at the palace exam a month from now?"
Chen Tang declared, "In a month, the Young Master will certainly be defeated!"
Eunuch Feng breathed out, looking at Chen Shi, who was chatting and laughing, and said, "Then we'll wait for that battle a month from now!"
Chen Tang nodded slightly.
Eunuch Feng said, "Chen Wu has already left the Western Capital and gone to Despair Slope. You've investigated a long ti and know how terrifying that opponent is. You didn't try to stop him?"
Chen Tang said, "I couldn't dissuade him. Besides, he is equally terrifying."
Eunuch Feng said, "The True King is gone. Those extraordinary cultivators of that age were no one's match, and an era has ended. What good will it do for Chen Wu to go there?"
His face was calm. "Chen Tang, when I look around, all I see is despair."
Chen Tang remained silent.
Chen Shi, Cheng Qi, and Granny Sha's conversation had just reached a pause. Granny Sha laughed, "Cheng Qi truly has great talent. His attainnts above talisman arts are profound; he'll surely achieve extraordinary things in talisman works. You should join the freeholders instead! When you get to Red Mountain Hall, I'll get you an invitation to the freeholders. In nine years the next Wanderer Gathering will et. By then, you'll qualify to attend."
Most of the earlier talk had been Chen Shi and Granny Sha; Cheng Qi mostly listened and only occasionally slipped in a word or two. Even those one or two remarks made Granny Sha look at him anew and recognize his high talent.
However, when Chen Shi and Granny Sha soon moved on to discussing talisman arts' connection to the Ghost and God Domain, it was too deep for him, like listening to heavenly scripture.
Chen Tang said, "Chen Shi, go eat and prepare for the afternoon's martial test!"
Chen Shi didn't hear him. He continued discussing with Granny Sha how the innate Eight Trigrams could evolve into the Ghost and God Domain.
"If there's a Heaven-Earth Variation, there must also be Wind-Thunder Variation, Mountain-Marsh Variation, Water-Fire Variation! Heaven-Earth Variation is the hardest, but these three Ghost and God Domains are the easiest. We can't fully manifest them here."
Granny Sha said, "Let's go outside the city! I don't believe our brains are worse than Creation Little Five's!"
Chen Shi suggested, "At my ho I have a mini minor heaven forged in the Realm of Emptiness. Let's test it there."
Granny Sha shook her head. "No. A Realm of Emptiness is not the true heaven and earth; when demonstrating thods, there are always many inaccuracies."
Though her cultivation wasn't very high, her insights were extrely profound.
They walked out of the city and, not far off, Xiang Yunfei craned his neck, crestfallen to see the woman he favored walk away with soone else.
Chen Shi and Granny Sha found an open place outside the city and imdiately studied the three variations. They did not start directly from the Eight Trigrams Protection Art, but began at the root, contemplating talismans like the Taishang Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman to search for the fundantals of the thods.
The two studied until afternoon. Only when Chen Tang ca to hurry them did Chen Shi realize there was an afternoon martial test.
"Sister Sha, wait for ! I'll be back after I finish!" he said.
He bid Granny Sha farewell and hurried to the Divine chanism Battalion's training field.
The afternoon martial test judged art and technique. Candidates demonstrated the skill they were most proficient in—could be talisman drawing, a spell, flight technique, swordsmanship, etc.—and examiners rated them.
This test wasn't difficult for Chen Shi. His mind was on the Wind-Thunder, Mountain-Marsh, and Water-Fire variations, so he casually perford a set of spells to get by, then left in a rush.
But the Young Master threw himself into his performance and cast the Nine Heavens Dragon-Phoenix Descent, stunning everyone at the exam. For a ti, shouts calling for the Young Master echoed inside and outside the arena.
The Young Master bead, looking around, but did not see Chen Shi, and felt slightly disappointed.
This martial test also caused a stir for another reason: over ten provincial graduates unexpectedly broke through their forr limitations during the test and entered the Spirit Transformation realm!
"Those rustic provincial graduates again!" officials in the Western Capital were astonished.
This year's examination is truly strange. In past years, the great clans' sons led the glory, dazzling in the exams and winning acclaim.
This year is different.
This ti, few great clan sons shone. Instead, many formidable talents ca from the countryside.
"Are there no clans this year?" an examiner frowned and asked.
"There are. Those at Qixia Taoist Temple sohow disappeared. People say they were taken by the female immortal at the White Jade Steps' end."
An examiner who knew the situation said, "So say the Dragon King crawled out of the well and ate them. The Thirteen Great Clans sent many experts into Qixia Temple to search. People say that at night the female immortal appeared and beckoned them. One Li Family mber who had slain Three Corps lost his mind and walked toward her, then vanished."
Another examiner leaned in. "I heard so were pulled into the Dragon-Locking Well and beaten by the well's Dragon King, barely surviving."
Everyone was amazed. "Those two evil spirits are really that powerful?"
"I heard they are evil spirits left from the True King's era. The True King couldn't even kill them back then."
A Ministry of Rites examiner looked troubled. "If those who pass are all backgroundless provincials, how do we report to the higher-ups?"
Everyone fell silent.
Many small clans exist across the land, and though their family secrets can be unique, their inherited techniques still don't match the martial arts those rustic graduates learned while fighting evil spirits day in and day out as talisman masters for Red Mountain Hall. Their spells might be less potent and their cultivation only sowhat higher, but the practical experience gave the country bumpkins an edge.
This problem plagued not just the examiners but also the Cabinet and other senior ministers.
Aside from the core youths who disappeared from Qixia Temple, other great clan youths still attended the Spring Examinations, but these great clan sons were not particularly outstanding. Once they arrived in the Western Capital, they lingered in brothels and beca the idle "pure stream" scholars, neglecting cultivation.
anwhile, the rustic provincial graduates had taken work as talisman masters for the Red Mountain Hall Talisman Master Association, fighting evil spirits daily, honing real skills, and their cultivation rose.
Thus the provincial graduates shone at the Spring Examinations, while few great clan scions impressed.
That night, Chen Shi and Granny Sha continued their tireless study of the three Ghost and God variations, forgetting to sleep and eat, and hadn't returned ho.
Chen Tang personally carried a lantern to find them. "No need to study tonight. Tomorrow is the last day of the tropolitan examination. Don't delay it."
Chen Shi had to go ho with Chen Tang.
Even at dinner, his mind was on the Ghost and God three variations. He often forgot to chew; water and fire flickered beside him, drifting in the air and suddenly changing. Sotis thunder would appear, whipping up great winds that made the Chen residence seem haunted.
That night passed safely amid frightened stares from the Chen household's maids and servants.
On the third day, the third literary test was question-and-answer.
First question: In past sages' succession, to unify and rule, to establish principles and record, to make rites and music manifest, when the ruler hangs his robe and governs, why does discontent arise? When the young abandon their duty, internal chaos afflicts China, and the frontiers are defended. Ask: Is this nature to slay and thus these conditions arise?
Second question: For an emperor to govern the realm, the Way is necessary. Ask: What is the Way to govern the realm?
...
Chen Shi had no desire to answer. He picked the shortest question, copied the prompt, wrote his na and hotown, and let the minor official write the rest.
He was imrsed in the evolution of the Eight Trigrams' Ghost and God three variations and lost himself in thought.
The Young Master and Zhang You repeatedly glanced his way. Seeing him distracted, each felt both surprised and relieved.
In the afternoon ca the third martial test: the martial combat.
If Chen Shi remained in that state, he would clearly not be a match!
After finishing the third literary test, Chen Shi stumbled out of the Ministry of Rites office in a daze. Eunuch Feng saw his condition and frowned.
The afternoon combat was crucial. In such a state, Chen Shi would easily be defeated!
Not far off, Shui Xuanzhi, Chief Administrator of the Fu Zheng Pavilion, saw this from a distance, breathed a long sigh, and smiled, "The Young Master is secure."
At noon Chen Shi still seed out of sorts, often daydreaming.
By afternoon, the Five Armies' soldiers raised banners, opened the void, and split the Yin and Yang realms to reveal a great realm between them. This was the Western Capital's martial arena, where tropolitan martial combats had been held through the ages.
Legend says this realm that crosses Yin and Yang was left by a half-immortal from the True King's era, refined into a blessed land called the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land, a bridge crossing the Yin and Yang realms.
Many candidates were escorted by the Five Armies' soldiers and flew into the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land.
Chen Tang and the others watched. Granny Sha rushed over, shouting, "I understood it! Little Ten, I've grasped the Water-Fire Variation! Little Ten, channel the sun and moon, gather qi into smoke. Cycle water and fire back, all transformations within the body! The key is the sun and moon and the cycling wheel!"
Chen Tang shook his head. "Sister, you're late. He's already entered the blessed land. He was among the first taken in."
Granny Sha froze. "What now?"
Inside the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land, the Young Master relaxed and smiled, "Today I can finally use the family's secret arts."
— Brothers, thanks for the support. The monthly vote rankings in the Great Way list shot into the top five (actually fifth)! Please vote monthly; I really want to improve!
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