Having finalized the new weapons, Wei Yuan returned to his residence and called up the rosters of artisans from the Weaponsmith Workshop, brocade-weaving workshops, textile mills, gunpowder factories, clinics, alchemy abbeys, and other establishments, reviewing them in detail.
The list contained more than seventy thousand names, among whom nearly ten thousand possessed template Dao Foundations and over a thousand possessed natural Dao Foundations. Every one of them had reached what the mortal world considered the standard of a skilled artisan, and some could even be hailed as master craftsmen.
Looking over this astonishingly long list, Wei Yuan felt the time was ripe. It was time to open a path to distinction for Qingming's multitude of craftsmen, researchers, and makers.
Thus, Wei Yuan spent several days drafting regulations. After the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World tested and verified them without error, he formally announced the establishment of the Qingming Academy of Sciences and the Hundred Industries Engineering Academy. Both academies would implement an academician system just like the National Academy, each establishing twelve academician seats open for recruitment across all of Qingming.
With this, the three major institutions—the Academy of Sciences, the Engineering Academy, and the National Academy—were all established. The highest academic institutional framework Wei Yuan had envisioned for Qingming was now complete.
The academicians of the National Academy were recruited primarily from the outside; after all, the Palace of Grand Beginning belonged to the Daoist tradition and did not produce great Confucian scholars. The Academy of Sciences and the Hundred Industries Engineering Academy, on the other hand, were aimed mainly at Qingming's interior. In particular, the Academy of Sciences focused primarily on various fundamental theories, which held top priority in the mind of Wei Yuan, who possessed experience from the world beyond the heavens.
Wei Yuan had consulted Xu Wenwu on the matter, and surprisingly, that ignorant fellow actually knew of an academy of sciences, though he had never heard of an engineering academy.
The Hundred Industries Engineering Academy encompassed agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, medicine, and various industrial and mining trades. Clinics, alchemy, mining, and artifact crafting could all be placed within its scope.
In Wei Yuan's initial plan, each academy would have twelve academicians. This number was sufficient to cover the direct-line dharma idol cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning in Qingming, with plenty left over to distribute among cultivators outside the palace.
In truth, Wei Yuan's original intention for the academician seats in the Academy of Sciences and the Engineering Academy was to award them to those exceptionally gifted talents outside the Palace of Grand Beginning's direct line who had contributed to Qingming, while also giving the broader populace of craftsmen something to strive for.
Once admitted into either academy, not only would one achieve fame and prestige, but there were also enormous practical benefits: the annual Qingyuan stipend alone was no small sum, and one could also apply to Qingming for funding for one's own research projects.
Yet while the plan was flawless on paper, its implementation was riddled with unexpected hiccups and total chaos.
When it came time for the academician selection, the brotherly camaraderie and polite deferral Wei Yuan had envisioned among the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning never materialized at all.
The academician selection was meant to be seen by all skilled craftsmen across Qingming who possessed Daoist cultivation talent, so it naturally could not be held behind closed doors inside the Palace of Grand Beginning. Therefore, according to the established rules, anyone meeting a few prerequisite criteria could sign up.
The enthusiasm of the applicants far exceeded Wei Yuan's expectations. Not only did every cultivator from the Palace of Grand Beginning register, but outside the palace, over three hundred applied for the Engineering Academy and over two hundred applied for the Academy of Sciences. Almost every single dharma idol cultivator registered, and many who possessed specialized skills at the late or peak stages of Dao Foundation also signed up in droves.
With so many qualified individuals applying, Wei Yuan had no choice but to heed the collective demand, altering the original regulations to hold an open Selection Assembly instead.
Furthermore, Wei Yuan had initially intended to serve concurrently as the president of both academies. However, the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning pressured him into giving up the presidency, leaving him with only the empty title of honorary president.
The first day was the Engineering Academy's Selection Assembly. The cultivators demonstrated their signature skills for the judges to evaluate. Sun Yu, Chuhe, Xu Henshui, Yu Zhizhuo, and others stepped forward without hesitation, smoothly fighting their way to the finish, with academician seats virtually in their grasp.
Yet competition for the remaining seats was fierce. No one gave an inch, and before long, matters escalated to the point where they insisted on settling things on the Dao duel platform.
The cultivators' reasoning was sound enough: no matter which craft along the immortal path one practiced, be it pill refinement or artifact crafting, it required cultivation as a foundation. Generally speaking, items refined by someone in the late dharma idol stage were superior to those refined by someone in the early stage. Thus, when craft skills were too close to call, why not step onto the platform and exchange blows?
The cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning were all bystanders who relished any spectacle, so they enthusiastically endorsed deciding things by Dao duels. Consequently, the Selection Assembly had to be relocated to the Dao duel platform.
As soon as the Dao duels began, Ji Liuli abruptly appeared. Stepping onto the stage, she declared her intention to compete for the Engineering Academy as well, then invited all the cultivators to come at her at once.
An indignant dharma idol cultivator asked what craft Ji Liuli proposed to enter the Engineering Academy with, to which she answered: "Tianji arts." She asserted that heavenly secrets and geomancy were engineering too, that a karmic luck formation was also a formation requiring the construction of formation plates and magical treasures, and therefore belonged squarely under engineering.
Unable to outargue Ji Liuli, the crowd had no choice but to yield. Two daring dharma idol cultivators from outside the Palace of Grand Beginning actually attempted to test their luck on the platform, and the result was naturally akin to eggs thrown against a rock. The swift, crushing defeat of these two dharma idols made everyone behind them fully realize how terrifying Ji Liuli was. No one dared challenge her again, and she forcefully seized an academician seat.
Wei Yuan thought that would be the end of it, but the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning had not yet had their fill. They insisted that the twelve academicians had to be ranked from top to bottom, with the First Academician automatically becoming the president, so as to convince everyone.
The cultivators agreed among themselves to first evaluate achievements in their respective craft domains, and only take to the Dao duel platform if a winner could truly not be distinguished. Finding no objection to this rule, they began the second round of competition.
Wei Yuan had no role whatsoever in this round, nor did the cultivators consult him. He could see clearly now: everyone was bursting with competitive drive, eager to vie against one another and establish a hierarchy; perks and benefits did not matter in the slightest.
The second round of contests was exceedingly fierce. The dharma idol cultivators from outside the Palace of Grand Beginning were sensible enough to yield the Dao duel platform voluntarily. Previously, they had not known the Palace of Grand Beginning cultivators well enough; they knew only that the palace was formidable, but not how formidable.
Only today, competing on the same stage, did they finally realize the vast gulf between people. Though all were in the dharma idol realm, not a single one among them could withstand an offhand slap from Ji Liuli.
On the Dao duel platform, Sun Yu defeated Yu Zhizhuo, and Ji Liuli bested Xu Henshui. Just as the outcome seemed decided and Ji Liuli's claim to First Academician appeared nearly certain, Old Daoist Chuhe led a rooster into the ring.
The first day of the Selection Assembly thus came to a close. Perfected Chuhe became the Engineering Academy's inaugural president and First Academician, already showing the first shades of the Lesser State Preceptor of Northern Liao's style.
On the second day, during the Academy of Sciences selection, the cultivators had already argued all night without reaching a consensus on what the "fundamental theories" Wei Yuan spoke of actually entailed.
After arguing back and forth, they finally settled on a criterion: competing over the number of tasks one could process in parallel simultaneously. The greater the number, the greater the essence soul's spiritual perceptiveness—on this point, there was no dispute.
By the time this criterion was established, it was already late into the night, so they posted it overnight—cultivators hardly needed sleep anyway. Wei Yuan worked through the night to arrange four hundred sets of desks and chairs on the Dao duel platform and set up formations so that the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World could distribute tasks centrally when the time came.
During the selection, the number of tasks would gradually increase, and anyone who fell behind would be eliminated until only twelve remained, becoming the twelve academicians. Then the academicians would continue competing until only one was left standing, who would serve as the president of the Academy of Sciences and First Academician.
Only by this point did Wei Yuan realize that quite a few cultivators from the Palace of Grand Beginning had apparently been secretly cultivating the heart of invincibility.
With so many cultivating the heart of invincibility, people had gradually devised quite a few little tricks. For instance, losing occasionally did not matter—as long as one believed they could win next time. Failing to win next time did not matter either—firmly believing that one would win someday was just as good.
Besides that move, there was another way: losing was no problem so long as one went around proclaiming that they were the real victor. Whether the audience believed it was irrelevant; as long as they believed it themselves, their heart of invincibility could be maintained.
Hearing of the selection rules for the Academy of Sciences, Zhang Sheng quietly emerged from seclusion and registered in secret.
Yet just before entering the venue, she suddenly spotted the selection rules on the notice board. The final rule stated: "Only those at the dharma idol stage are qualified to serve as First Academician and President; Dao Foundation cultivators may only serve as Second Academician."
The ink on this rule was quite fresh, clearly written only moments ago. But the handwriting was sloppy, and Zhang Sheng could not tell whose hand it was.
Second place held virtually zero appeal for Zhang Sheng, so she could not be bothered to find out who had made the new rule. She quietly departed to return to seclusion.
As the cultivators filed in and took their seats, the Selection Assembly formally began. An orb of light materialized before each person; touching it with divine sense revealed the task within.
The light orbs before the two hundred-plus cultivators flickered out in an instant, their speeds roughly the same. Then, two light orbs appeared before each person, each containing a different task.
This time, a handful took half a beat longer to answer. Next came four, then eight orbs. By the time sixteen orbs appeared simultaneously, someone finally fell behind, unable to process them in parallel, and the marker above their seat dimmed. With burning cheeks, these individuals slunk off the platform in disgrace.
As the tasks multiplied, gasps of astonishment rose from the audience below in wave after wave. When the count rose to thirty-two, more than half the participants were abruptly eliminated, leaving only three Dao Foundation cultivators—a fact Wei Yuan made a mental note of.
When it reached sixty-four, all Dao Foundation cultivators were eliminated, leaving fewer than twenty upon the platform.
Then the count leaped to one hundred twenty-eight, leaving only nine people.
As the tasks climbed further toward two hundred fifty-six, both Xiaoyu and Cui Yu were defeated.
Taking advantage of the absence of restrictions against sentient dharma idols in the rules, Xiaoyu summoned Shaoyang Xingjun to share the load. Shaoyang Xingjun handled one hundred twenty-eight tasks with ease, but Xiaoyu grew a bit nervous, made an error after shouldering only one hundred and eight tasks, and was ruthlessly eliminated.
Cui Yu could now handle one hundred twenty-eight tasks on his own, and he then summoned twelve Liuren heavenly soldiers. Amazingly, each soldier could handle an additional eight tasks. As a result, he nearly surpassed Xiaoyu, giving Xiaoyu a sudden cold sweat on the spot.
Two shichen later, the Selection Assembly finally concluded smoothly, with Feng Tingyu taking the honor of inaugural president and First Academician of the Academy of Sciences.
Furthermore, Feng Tingyu had clearly not exerted her full strength; when the count reached only three thousand tasks, Ji Liuli had already conceded defeat. Such overwhelming ability left everyone in awe.
Below the platform, Xiaoyu and Shaoyang Xingjun suddenly recalled their earlier assessment of Feng Tingyu when they first entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World not long ago. Both decided that upon returning, they would promptly delete that memory.
Chapter 830