Seeing Heavenly Sword's speechlessness, Qi Shiyun explained, "My lord, I call this casting a wide net to haul in more fish. Out of these ninety-one people, someone will eventually rise to the top and become an asset to me. No matter which of them wins, in the end, I win."
Heavenly Sword sighed with deep feeling. "You people of the Heaven's Chosen lineage certainly know how to play the game better than our Heavenly Sword lineage."
Qi Shiyun shook her head. "Among all the martial artists under heaven, swordsmen are, if not the most numerous, at least in the top three. Anyone within the Nine Heavens who studies the sword naturally flocks to your banner, which is why the Heavenly Sword lineage has never waned. We in Heaven's Chosen are different; we can only rely on ourselves. Back then, that was how my master selected me, too."
The Nine Heavens were nine Heavenly Rankings grandmasters, nine factions, and in truth, nine different paths of cultivation.
Only, very few in the outside world knew this last fact.
"My lord, though I've found ninety-one Chosen Sons of Heaven, compared to the swordsmen under your command, that number is still far smaller," Qi Shiyun said.
Heavenly Sword nodded.
That was true enough.
"Cultivating the path in your Heaven's Chosen lineage is simply too difficult. In your cohort, how many Chosen Sons of Heaven were there?"
Qi Shiyun looked calm. "Thirty-six. Only I broke through; all the rest died. So I took the lesson to heart from my master and chose to find a few more Chosen Sons of Heaven to spread the risk."
Heavenly Sword's gaze suddenly held a touch of sympathy.
He knew the inside story.
The ceiling of the Heaven's Chosen lineage was exceptionally high, its floor exceptionally low, and its peril extraordinarily great.
"If these ninety-one Chosen Sons of Heaven you've picked all die... will you die as well?"
Qi Shiyun shrugged. "I'll do my best to protect them and try not to let them all get killed."
"The Dragon-Supporting Immortal Art truly is the ultimate example of 'winner takes all, loser takes the fall.'"
Heavenly Sword had to grant her that.
Qi Shiyun corrected him. "My lord, there is no Dragon-Supporting Immortal Art—only the Heaven's Chosen Immortal Art."
Heavenly Sword looked at Qi Shiyun with even greater sympathy.
"Dragon" generally referred to the True Dragon, the Son of Heaven—the Emperor.
Supporting the Dragon meant backing someone to become the True Dragon, the Son of Heaven.
Rumors in the outside world ran rampant that the Nine Heavens held inheritances of the way of immortals, and indeed they did. What the Heaven's Chosen lineage inherited was precisely the Dragon-Supporting Immortal Art.
Yet to cultivate the Dragon-Supporting Immortal Art, one had to plunge into the struggle for imperial succession—and one had to win for the art to reach grand completion.
Thus, among the Nine Heavens, Heaven's Chosen underwent the most frequent upheavals, and its practitioners were the most prone to "succumbing to cultivation deviation" or "committing suicide."
Win, and you soar straight into the clouds; lose, and your entire nine kindred get wiped off the board.
The quintessential immortal path for incorrigible gamblers.
Across generations of Heaven's Chosen, far too many had perished, so in the end, the Dragon-Supporting Immortal Art was renamed the Heaven's Chosen Immortal Art.
On the surface, "supporting the True Dragon, Son of Heaven" became "supporting a Chosen Son of Heaven."
Yet Heavenly Sword knew the inside story; the higher-ups of the Nine Heavens knew the inside story; and the imperial princes knew it better than anyone.
Therefore, Heaven's Chosen remained the most dangerous lineage within the Nine Heavens—sought after, kept under surveillance, feared, and pitied.
"If Lianshan Xin proves truly useful and possesses a talent for the sword, I will grant him an opportunity to join the Heavenly Sword lineage," Heavenly Sword suddenly spoke up.
Qi Shiyun nodded. "Of course. Our Heaven's Chosen lineage never forces anyone. In fact, all true disciples of the Heaven's Chosen lineage join willingly. The world has changed drastically, and spiritual qi has grown scarce. In today's world, how difficult is it to cultivate the way of immortals? To stand atop the Nine Heavens and gaze down upon the mortal realm is inherently a matter of surviving against nine chances in ten of death. There has never been a path to immortality where one can simply sit back and reap the rewards."
Heavenly Sword nodded slightly.
He agreed with that view.
Yet he would never choose such a path.
Using the imperial clan of Great Yu, with its thousand-year heritage, as mere cultivation material was truly the God of Longevity hanging himself—tired of living.
***
Meanwhile, on the other end.
Lianshan Xin was feeling quite pleased.
Opening the door to his room, he saw Kong Ningyuan with a worried look on his face.
"How did it go?" Kong Ningyuan asked immediately.
Lianshan Xin thought for a moment and gave an equivocal answer. "Not bad, I suppose. Lord Heavenly Sword wants to test me a bit more and left the door open."
Only by bringing down the Qu household would he truly cling to the thighs of the Nine Heavens.
Kong Ningyuan was somewhat surprised by this answer; he had assumed Lianshan Xin would be turned away entirely.
"Worthy Brother, if in the end you don't pass Lord Heavenly Sword's test, your elder brother will surely find a way for you to enter one of the other Three Great Academies next year."
Kong Ningyuan offered Lianshan Xin a safety net.
Yet Lianshan Xin declined. "No need. If I fail Lord Heavenly Sword's test, I'll simply take the academy's civil examination as a regular candidate."
Lianshan Xin wasn't qualified to participate in the martial examination; that required reaching the Meridian Connectivity realm.
"That won't do."
Kong Ningyuan glanced inside the room, then pulled Lianshan Xin aside and asked, "Worthy Brother, if you really pass the civil examination and get assigned to the martial stream, what will you do?"
Lianshan Xin didn't understand. "If I pass the civil examination, I'll surely be assigned to the civil stream, won't I?"
Kong Ningyuan gave a wry smile. "I knew you wouldn't know the inside reality, Worthy Brother. The Four Great Academies are different from ordinary academies. In the Four Great Academies, the civil students can fight better than the martial students."
"Huh?"
Lianshan Xin was stunned.
"Not just in the Four Great Academies—within the imperial court, civil officials can fight better than military officers as well. In our Great Yu, being able to fight is the prerequisite for becoming an official. Only those who know nothing but how to brawl become military generals; those who can both fight and strategize become civil officials."
Lianshan Xin: "..."
Great Yu truly overflowed with martial prowess.
No wonder it had held dominion over the world for a thousand years.
"You're only a Body Tempering realm martial artist; the civil stream will definitely turn you down. But if you end up in the martial stream, you won't be able to beat anyone. Worthy Brother, take my advice: if this doesn't work out, wait another year and enter one of the other academies," Kong Ningyuan urged.
Lianshan Xin was puzzled. "Brother Kong, even if I enter the other three academies, wouldn't I face the exact same problem?"
Kong Ningyuan explained, "It's different. There's an internal rule in the Four Great Academies: recommended students won't be expelled even if their year-end assessment scores are abysmal. What's more, their assessments are far easier than those for ordinary students. This is the special consideration the Four Great Academies grant to such worthy talents."
*It's the special consideration the Four Great Academies grant to privileged scions, more like,* Lianshan Xin griped inwardly. Still, he kept his mouth shut—after all, he had a shot at becoming one of those privileged scions himself.
He was an ordinary, mundane man: he didn't resent privilege; he only resented not being the one with privilege.
"Worthy Brother, if you take the recommendation route, with your wits and intellect you will certainly be able to remain in the academy and earn yourself an official standing. But if you take the regular examination, even your elder brother won't be able to help you much. The martial stream is full of reckless brutes; your life will genuinely be at risk," Kong Ningyuan warned in all earnestness.
Lianshan Xin nodded. "Thank you for the warning, Brother Kong. I understand. Right now, I still have a chance to become a 'worthy talent,' so I'll give it all my might first. Brother Kong, I suggest you give it all your father's might, too, and leave the academy to enter officialdom as soon as possible. That way, we'll both have a bright future."
Chapter 9