txolops Chapter 20 A First Try
Chapter 20 A First Try
Sun Fuli was very enthusiastic. He first exchanged a few pleasantries to build rapport, and then changed the subject to mention the barbarian invasion of Dayin.
"Young Master Zhao, the Four Seas Merchant Guild's previous sale of weapons to the barbarians was all done by our subordinates on their own. It's also our fault for inadequate supervision. The guild has severely punished everyone involved and will not tolerate any wrongdoing."
Sun Fuli patted his chest and assured, "To express our apology, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce is willing to donate another batch of supplies to Dayin free of charge."
Zhao Cheng'an looked at Sun Fuli and felt that this person acted somewhat frivolously. He absolved himself of all responsibility with just a few words. However, this was ultimately a mundane matter, so Zhao Cheng'an didn't say much and simply nodded calmly.
Seeing this, Sun Fuli's smile widened, and he was about to continue trying to get closer to her.
With a creak.
The heavy wooden door to the study was pushed open from the inside.
Wearing a purple robe, the chief priest Shen Yanshan walked out from inside, his body hunched over.
"Making such a racket here so early in the morning, what kind of behavior is this?"
Shen Yanshan's gaze lingered briefly on Sun Fuli, his eyes revealing a hint of dissatisfaction.
Sun Fuli immediately lowered her head and dared not speak.
"Cough cough."
Shen Yanshan coughed twice, turned around and walked inside, "Come in, everyone."
The group followed them into the house.
The rich aroma of books and ink wafts through the air.
When Zhao Chengan first came here, he only felt a sense of oppression.
But after this period of cultivation, he now feels a strange sense of familiarity when he smells this scent.
He couldn't help but think to himself how wonderful it would be to live here and immerse himself in the ocean of knowledge every day.
If one can fully comprehend the contents of these books, one should be considered a qualified practitioner. Of course, understanding the knowledge in the books is only one aspect. To apply it skillfully, sufficient spiritual cultivation is also required.
Shen Yanshan's voice interrupted Zhao Chengan's thoughts.
Everyone's eyes immediately turned towards the desk.
Shen Yanshan stood behind the desk. "This mini-test is mainly to measure your progress in cultivation over the past period. The test content is not difficult."
He pointed to the ground.
Zhao Cheng'an followed his finger and saw that the ground was engraved with winding array patterns. Several yellow talismans were pasted on the wooden pillar next to it. In each of the five directions, a red candle as thick as a baby's arm was burning.
Shen Yanshan explained to everyone.
"I have set up two formations in the room. One is a basic spirit-gathering formation, and the other is a qi-reflecting formation."
"The former, as the name suggests, is used to gather spiritual energy. The latter makes the spiritual energy visible, allowing it to be observed directly with the naked eye."
"So, you should have guessed the purpose of this assessment by now, right?"
"By combining the absorption of spiritual energy with the Qi Reflection Array, one can roughly judge the speed at which one is absorbing and exhaling spiritual energy based on the unusual phenomena that appear around each person. This allows one to determine how well each person has progressed in cultivating the basic techniques over a period of time."
The others looked at the dimly burning candles in the room with somewhat tense expressions.
Only Chen Heng stood still, her voice calm.
'This must be the confidence of someone with a superior single spiritual root,' Zhao Cheng'an thought with a touch of envy.
Among the students at the Imperial Academy, Chen Heng's aptitude was completely exceptional.
As expected, Shen Yanshan, who had been wearing a stern face just moments before, immediately showed a gentle smile upon hearing Chen Heng's reply.
"That's right."
"You should all learn from Chen Heng. While talent is innate, the ability to observe and summarize can be cultivated."
Shen Yanshan clapped his hands.
"Now that everything has been explained, the assessment can begin. Go find a place to sit down and don't waste time. Let me see whether you have been diligently cultivating over the past six months."
……
Zhao Cheng'an took a deep breath, picked up a futon from the side, and sat down in a secluded spot near the stairs.
Because the quality of one's spiritual root directly affects how well those around them absorb spiritual energy, Chen Heng sat alone on the outermost edge. The remaining four people formed a large circle around her.
Sun Fuli and Xu Baiheng both looked very nervous.
Although they entered the Imperial Academy relatively early, their spiritual aptitude was the worst. They had consistently ranked last in previous preliminary exams. Now that Zhao Cheng'an had joined, Sun Fuli couldn't help but feel a sense of comparison.
He felt that Zhao Chengan had only been a student at the Imperial Academy for less than half a year, so he should still have a chance to beat him.
Sun Fuli judged others by his own standards.
Thinking that he had only just condensed his first rune in the same six months, his cultivation speed was incredibly slow. Even if Zhao Cheng'an had better talent than him, he probably wouldn't be much faster.
As he gathered his energy, he subtly glanced in the direction of Zhao Cheng'an.
"Holy crap—"
Sun Fuli was stunned for a moment, and even found it hard to believe her eyes.
Zhao Cheng'an sat cross-legged at this moment and quickly entered a state of selflessness, completely immersed in cultivation.
The three runes of the Azure Wood Spirit Absorption Scroll in the Dantian shone brightly, first forming a blue halo on the abdomen, and then spreading outward to form a network, attracting the scattered spiritual energy around and converging on Wang Jizhen's body.
In the projection of the Qi Reflection Array, it looked like a blazing blue flame.
Sun Fuli also has a wood-attribute spiritual root, and she is closer to Zhao Chengan's location, so she even feels that the spiritual energy around her is much thinner.
Looking at the others, Chen Heng's phenomenon was the most exaggerated. The golden spiritual energy shot up four or five meters high like a drawn blade, shining brightly and even being somewhat dazzling at first glance.
The remaining Xiang Yunyuan and Zhao Chengan were similar, but their aura was somewhat dimmer.
After that, Xu Baiwei was only covered by a thin layer of spiritual mist.
Zhao Cheng'an's progress was so rapid that Sun Fuli had not anticipated it.
Considering that the Four Seas Merchant Guild had previously sold weapons to the barbarians, potentially leading to a feud with them, Sun Fuli felt uneasy.
Just as he was about to steal another glance, his gaze suddenly met that of Shen Yanshan standing in front of him.
The dissatisfaction in Shen Yanshan's eyes was almost overflowing.
Sun Fuli felt a jolt of fear and quickly looked away, forcing herself to clear her mind and immerse herself completely in cultivation.
The assessment process lasted for a full two hours.
The event continued until the spiritual energy within the spirit-gathering array was completely depleted.
Zhao Cheng'an opened his eyes, feeling refreshed.
Two hours of cultivation was equivalent to two or three days of hard work in the past; the effects of the Spirit Gathering Array were immediate.
Zhao Chengan realized that this assessment itself was a good reward for them.
At the same time, he secretly rejoiced.
Fortunately, he managed to complete the sketching of all three runes on the Aoki Soul Scroll the day before the assessment. Otherwise, his efficiency would have been significantly lower, potentially impacting his score with the Priest.
As expected, Zhao Cheng'an got up and stretched his shoulders slightly, and then he heard the voice of the libationer.
He clapped his hands, his gaze first falling on Chen Heng, his face full of admiration:
"Chen Heng, you've done well and maintained your progress. At this rate, you'll definitely pass the Dao Court's assessment and enter a Dao lineage above the entry level. But you should have higher goals and not waste your talent."
As he spoke, Shen Yanshan took out a heavy bag filled with spirit stones and handed it to Chen Heng.
Chen Heng accepted the gift with both hands, then bowed to the Chancellor and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your teachings, Master. I will keep them in mind."
Immediately afterwards, Shen Yanshan's gaze fell on Zhao Chengan, his face also showing a hint of appreciation.
"Zhao, you did very well too, to be honest, it even exceeded my expectations."