"Hm?" Outside the hall, Real Person Tengqiu suddenly opened his eyes. Looking toward the Patriarch's statue, a trace of shock faintly surfaced on his face.
Inside the hall, an elderly Daoist held a brush in one hand and a register in the other, his eyes wide, not daring to let his attention wander for an instant. His sole duty was to record the Patriarch's bestowals, and in the past several decades, this was only the second time he had witnessed an anomaly of such magnitude—the previous time being twenty years ago, when Zhang Sheng entered the sect.
A spark of life suddenly appeared in the eyes of the Patriarch's statue. The entire statue seemed to come alive, looking down upon the disciples kneeling in worship.
Real Person Tengqiu appeared calm, but one of his hands instinctively clenched his sleeve.
Light coursed across the Patriarch's statue. Suddenly, a glint of radiance flew from its waist and sank into Yan Ming of the Eastern Sea.
This outcome startled everyone, including the members of the Yan clan outside the hall. Outsiders did not know and assumed Yan Ming was a disciple of the Palace of Grand Beginning just like the others. But the Yan clan knew very well in their hearts that Yan Ming was actually a disciple of a subordinate grotto-heaven, only studying at the Palace of Grand Beginning as a guest student until they could find a way to formally enroll him into the sect a few years later.
Yet now that Yan Ming had suddenly received the Patriarch's bestowal, everything changed. This was tantamount to being personally chosen by the Patriarch!
The head of the Yan clan delegation was a tall, burly, formidable man, and also Yan Ming's father. Once it registered, he was so overjoyed that he could barely contain himself. Grabbing a fistful of pearls from his waist pouch, he prepared to scatter them into the crowd.
Fortunately, he immediately remembered that this was the Palace of Grand Beginning. Most of those standing around him belonged to prominent and noble clans, among whom the Yan clan of the Eastern Sea could not even squeeze into the top ten, let alone the top three. If he were to scatter those pearls here, he would offend a vast sea of people. Luckily, his wits were sharp enough to rein in at the brink of the precipice, and he quietly pulled his hand back.
Inside the hall, the recording Daoist saw it clearly: that speck of light had come from the jade pendant at the Patriarch's waist. That pendant differed from the hair crown; it was a magical treasure with quite a pedigree, and its bestowal was naturally out of the ordinary. Thus, the old Daoist made a mark beside Yan Ming's name and murmured to himself, "Now this one has good fortune with wealth."
Several young steward disciples nearby had already pricked up their ears; hearing this, they silently committed Yan Ming's name to memory.
Next, two more motes of light flew from the statue, originating from a jasper thumb ring and a book in the Patriarch's hand, each sinking into a youth. These two objects had even greater provenance—especially the book, which could grant an extra boost to comprehension, playing a tremendous role in overcoming tribulations and breaking through bottlenecks in the later stages of cultivation. These were talents of great caliber; naturally, the old Daoist recorded every detail meticulously, filling the page with flourishing script.
Yet the Patriarch's bestowals were not over. Amidst the crowd's exclamations of admiration, one of the immortal swords suddenly grew lucid and blazed with brilliant light, after which a streak of sword intent shot into Xiaoyu!
Though the Patriarch possessed many treasures, when it came to slaughter and warfare, the four immortal swords stood unrivaled. This streak of sword intent was clearly heavier than the preceding bestowals.
The burly man slowly parted his mouth in a wide grin and let out a long laugh. Turning to Zhang Sheng, he said, "Well? Not bad for Xiao Nian's grandson, eh?"
Zhang Sheng nodded and said earnestly, "Quite good indeed! Only one immortal sword fewer than what I received back then."
Xiao Nian's smile froze on his face, everything else he had meant to say choked back down his throat.
He sized Zhang Sheng up and down, clicking his tongue in wonder. "No wonder people say every disciple under Sky Azure Hall boasts peerless combat strength! As a disciple of your hall, if your combat strength weren't peerless, I fear you wouldn't survive a few months out in the world."
Seeing that four people from Fengyuan Commandery had already received the Patriarch's bestowals, yet the anomaly around the statue still showed no sign of dispersing, a stir rippled through the onlookers. Suddenly, a beam of radiance shot from between the brows of the Patriarch's statue and sank into Bao Yun!
Real Person Tengqiu raised his brows, a flash of shock crossing his face.
The old Daoist responsible for the records gave a start, nearly dropping his brush to the floor. Between the brows lay the sea of consciousness, where Scenery Command would be achieved—one of the most crucial parts of the Dao body. It followed that a bestowal originating from between the Patriarch's brows had to be extraordinary.
Yet racked as his brain was, searching his memory, the old Daoist could not recall anyone ever receiving such a bestowal. In other words, a bestowal from between the brows was very likely appearing for the very first time.
The Bao family possessed extraordinary discernment and was ecstatic; even the elderly man, who had always remained impassive, stroked his beard with a rare smile. The significance of Bao Yun's bestowal was most likely even greater than Xiaoyu's immortal sword. But whether it was superior or inferior to Zhang Sheng's two immortal swords was difficult to say.
Yet after Bao Yun received her bestowal, the anomaly around the Patriarch's statue still had not faded! Consequently, everyone's gaze fell upon Wei Yuan.
Among those present, there was no lack of figures with immense reach and insight, who knew more or less about the unusual nature of Fengyuan Commandery. That Wei Yuan had been able to overpower so many scions of prominent and noble clans and break out from the unprecedentedly brutal competition of Fengyuan Commandery proved his extraordinary talent. Moreover, it was common knowledge that Wei Yuan's only backing was Sky Azure Hall—which was practically equivalent to having no backing at all—making his first-place finish in the unified examination all the more impressive.
Therefore, everyone was curious to see what bestowal Wei Yuan would receive, and whether he would surpass the record Zhang Sheng had set twenty years ago. If so, master and disciple would truly become the stuff of legend.
High in the void at this moment, the two terrifying auras had been locked in confrontation for who knew how long, with Wei Yuan's consciousness trapped between them, entirely immobilized. The gaze from on high was no longer scrutinizing Wei Yuan, but rather watching that desolate, ancient behemoth. And that behemoth seemed to exist in another world, slowly drawing closer now, as if trying to find a path into this world.
High above, a faint sigh seemed to echo. Wei Yuan's consciousness was no longer bound; like a fledgling swallow returning to its nest, it slipped back into his own body. All illusions vanished.
By now, everyone had long finished reciting their sacrificial eulogies, but because the anomaly of the Patriarch's statue had not subsided, this batch of disciples had to remain waiting. When Wei Yuan opened his eyes, he saw a hazy gray mist drift out from the giant boulder beneath the statue's feet and sink into his body.
Real Person Tengqiu looked puzzled, and the recording Daoist was stunned as well. This time, he could be certain: no bestowal had ever come from the boulder under the statue's feet.
A young ceremonial Daoist whispered to his companion, "Isn't that stone part of the natural ground? Could it also be part of the Patriarch's statue?"
His companion hesitated as well. "A statue is a statue, and the foundation is the foundation... right?"
Not only were the young Daoists perplexed, but the recording old Daoist was also in a dilemma, unsure whether this counted as the Patriarch's bestowal. He knew full well that the boulder at the statue's feet was not an isolated rock, but part of the entire mountain itself, with most of it lying beneath the hall's floor flagstones. In other words, the boulder was actually part of Hanging Azure of the Empty Valley; the Patriarch's statue did not include it.
Just then, however, Real Person Tengqiu seemed to remember something and suddenly announced in a clear voice, "All six disciples of Fengyuan Commandery have received the Patriarch's bestowals! Next batch."
With a Real Person speaking, the matter was beyond dispute. The old Daoist's brush flew across the paper, and Wei Yuan was officially counted as having received the Patriarch's bestowal. But as his final stroke landed, the old Daoist suddenly recalled something, and his brush trembled.
Three thousand eight hundred years ago, when the Patriarch came west with a single sword and founded the Palace of Grand Beginning, the boundary stone he set down seemed to be right beneath the statue.
This time, all six disciples from Fengyuan Commandery had received the Patriarch's bestowals simultaneously, a number surpassing the combined total of the previous four provinces. Thus, no one dared question the number of spots allotted to Fengyuan Commandery anymore; they could only marvel at the immense reach and far-sighted machinations of the noble clans.
Chapter 33