A moment later, Zhang Sheng finally looked up and asked, "Isn't there still an internal sect review? What is the margin this time?"
Sun Yu replied, "The internal sect review only looks at the unified examination scores. I've heard this year's margin is five points up or down. Within five points, there is room to maneuver; beyond five points, it is strictly by the book."
Zhang Sheng said, "Which means as long as Yuan'er scores more than five points above the fourth-place candidate, a slot will be his."
"Essentially, yes."
Zhang Sheng tapped lightly on the armrest. The charter, the backgrounds of every candidate on the roster, and Wei Yuan's specific traits and strengths flowed through his mind one by one. His thoughts paused briefly on Wei Yuan's karmic destiny, but then he shook his head.
In this world today, karmic destiny was as abundant as ox hair. The sons and daughters of prominent, influential clans all carried at least a bit of it; otherwise, how could they have been reincarnated into such favorable births while Wei Yuan was not? Even if they had none of their own, being born into a prominent clan meant someone would inevitably harvest karmic destiny from others and bestow it upon them.
Thus, it had long been said that a good birth was the supreme form of karmic destiny.
After a moment's contemplation, Zhang Sheng formed a plan. He said slowly, "Yuan'er is my direct personal disciple. For three full years, I neither cultivated the Dao nor wandered the world, teaching only him! In the literary test, he should face no rival. With his foundation and karmic destiny, the Daoist test will not be an issue either. The crux lies in the martial test."
Zhang Sheng pulled over a sheet of paper, swiftly penned an incantation formula with brisk strokes, and handed it to Sun Yu. "Senior Brother, please deliver this to Yuan'er."
Sun Yu took it, looked at it, and said in surprise, "The Southern Vermilion Bird Pre-Dawn Formula? This is Sky Azure Hall's karmic destiny secret art?"
Zhang Sheng said, "Every single one of those noble scions carries karmic destiny; how could they not know karmic destiny secret arts? Although our Sky Azure Hall's secret art cannot compare to the Four Sages Academy's Departure Chapter, let alone the Bao family's Oblivion of Fleeting Years, neither of those two factions has their sights set on the Palace of Grand Beginning this year. It will be more than enough to deal with those five clans."
Prior to the unified examination, candidates were strictly forbidden from cultivating in private to avoid contaminating their foundations. Yet powerful aristocratic clans had their own workarounds, and karmic destiny secret arts were one of them. A karmic destiny secret art could draw upon one's own karmic destiny to bolster oneself and manifest various divine abilities, which did not count as cultivation. Although the enhancement was limited without an established cultivation base, having a secret art versus not having one during the martial test was the difference between a cultivator and a mortal.
Zhang Sheng was no ordinary man. In a single glance, he had deduced the tricks the aristocratic clans would employ in the martial test, immediately moving to patch Wei Yuan's fatal vulnerability.
Holding the Southern Vermilion Bird Pre-Dawn Formula in his hands, Sun Yu said slowly, "Back when I first entered the sect, I suffered no small amount of bullying and humiliation from the clan scions. It is a pity that I was cowardly back then and lacked the courage to strike back on the spot. Looking back now, I still have many regrets. This time, I will shoulder this risk with you, Junior Brother! Why should they be allowed to do it while we cannot?"
Zhang Sheng said, "Then I leave Yuan'er in your care, Senior Brother. I am going into seclusion now; I must restore my Dao power before the martial test concludes."
Sun Yu was shocked. "How can you do that! The medicinal power of Liquan Powder is fierce; after ingesting it, you must remain in seclusion for a full three days! If your seclusion is cut short, your Dao foundation might suffer damage!"
Zhang Sheng replied calmly, "No matter what catches their eye, those people take it for granted that it belongs to them. If Yuan'er manages to break through their encirclement, we will only be taking back what is rightfully ours, but they will view it as Yuan'er snatching food straight from their plates. Given their nature, how could they possibly let the matter rest? Once Yuan'er finishes his examination, I will most likely need to have a proper 'discussion' with them. A matter like that naturally falls to me, his teacher."
***
Inside the dormitory, Wei Yuan had set the charter aside. Sitting before the desk, he began reviewing everything he had learned from the very beginning.
After Li Zhi left, three or four more groups of people had knocked on his door with similar pitches. Yet in both presence and bearing, none of them came close to Li Zhi. Wei Yuan naturally rejected them all.
In truth, after hearing Li Zhi's words, Wei Yuan had realized his own predicament. Li Zhi's words sounded pleasant enough, but while Wei Yuan was no master of military strategy, he knew the history books by heart. He understood full well that once subsumed into a military structure, one was no longer master of one's own fate; when ordered to charge, you charged, and when ordered to die, you died. A vanguard general sounded prestigious, but when two armies clashed, if he wasn't cannon fodder, who was?
There was nothing to overthink regarding the martial test; he would simply adapt on the fly and eliminate as many enemies as he could. Thus, Wei Yuan was silently reciting the History of Tang, recalling Zhang Sheng's explanations point by point.
In the blink of an eye, dusk settled, and the room's door opened without a sound. Sensing something, Wei Yuan turned his head to look.
Sun Yu stood in the doorway, feeling somewhat astonished: *What keen spiritual perception this boy has!*
Wei Yuan recognized Sun Yu and knew he was a close friend of his master, so he hurriedly rose to salute him. Sun Yu handed over a sheet of paper and said, "This is an incantation formula from your master. Commit it to memory first. If there is anything you don't understand, you may ask me; I can stay for another half a quarter of an hour."
Wei Yuan took the formula and saw the title written at the top: *Southern Vermilion Bird Pre-Dawn Formula*, followed by several hundred characters of incantation. This was merely an excerpt of the complete secret art, meant specifically for use before one began cultivating, and was therefore very straightforward. Wei Yuan grasped the essentials after a single reading. After asking Sun Yu about one or two obscure points, he comprehended the entire text.
Seeing that Wei Yuan had mastered the formula, Sun Yu offered a few pointers on applying karmic destiny secret arts, then departed as silently as he had arrived.
As soon as Sun Yu left, Wei Yuan began to practice.
The Southern Vermilion Bird Pre-Dawn Formula was a secret art of Sky Azure Hall, prized for its balanced effects with no obvious weaknesses. Once he circulated the secret art, Wei Yuan felt something intangible within his body being stirred, transforming into trickles of warmth that spread throughout his entire frame. Soon after, he perceived the room gradually growing brighter, while surging strength welled up inside him. He reached out to grip the desk and lifted upward; to his surprise, this desk weighing several hundred jin was hoisted clean off the ground.
Setting the desk down, Wei Yuan took a single stride and crossed from one side of the room to the other. He then tested a few shifting, evasive maneuvers before terminating the secret art.
All karmic destiny secret arts drew upon the power of one's own karmic destiny as the wellspring of divine abilities, and the formula explicitly stated that it could not be sustained for long periods. Thus, having tested it, Wei Yuan brought the art to a stop. Yet even after it ended, he felt that the intangible mass within his body had not diminished in the slightest.
Wei Yuan sat cross-legged, carefully savoring the sensations he had just experienced. When augmented by the Southern Vermilion Bird Pre-Dawn Formula, his physical functions were elevated across the board, with both strength and speed roughly doubling. Wei Yuan had possessed extraordinary strength since childhood, and this enhancement made him all the more formidable.
From that point on, Wei Yuan ceased reciting history books from memory, directing his full attention toward contemplating the Southern Vermilion Bird Pre-Dawn Formula. He knew clearly that this formula was the key to the martial test.
On the celestial mountain, the passage of sun and moon went unnoticed. Amid the shifting light and shadow of the peaks, the next morning arrived.
Wei Yuan and the other examinees were summoned to the square early and issued breakfast. This so-called breakfast was in fact merely a cup of clear water, yet upon drinking it, one felt energized, all fatigue and hunger swept entirely away.
Afterward, several cultivators led the examinees out from the dormitories to a grand square. At the far end of the square stood a great hall, within which were arranged twenty jade-colored prayer mats. Beside each mat stood two incense burners, sending up wisps of light smoke.
An elderly Daoist emerged from the hall holding a stack of white paper. With a flick of his wide sleeves, a sheet of white paper appeared in each examinee's hands. As soon as the paper was touched, a cultivation method surfaced upon it.
The elderly Daoist said in a deep voice, "This is the examination formula. Read and familiarize yourselves with it first. When your number is called, enter the hall and circulate the formula upon your assigned prayer mat. This formula can awaken your destiny-pattern talents and is the key to the Daoist test; on no account must you become distracted. When you hear the bell strike, you must immediately withdraw your power and vacate the hall. Do you all understand?"
"Understood!" the examinees answered in unison.
The elderly Daoist nodded, drew out his voice, and announced loudly, "Let the Daoist test begin!" His voice rang out like the cry of a crane, soaring high into the clouds.
Chapter 9