Chapter 4: The Heavenly Dao Academy
As he had every morning for the past fourteen years, Chen Changsheng woke at the fifth hour. He opened his eyes immediately, spent five breaths calming his mind, then turned over and got up. He slipped on his shoes, dressed, made his bed, and folded the covers. After washing up, he went to the front hall of the inn and ate a bowl of duck congee and four steaming meat buns from the first steamer. Returning to his room, he rinsed his mouth again with last night’s stale tea, adjusted his attire in front of the bronze mirror, and then walked to the small courtyard.
Now he was no longer in the small temple in Xining Town, where he would have had to chop firewood and fetch water. Facing the morning mist and the faint light filtering through from afar, he closed his eyes and began to meditate. In his mind, he silently recited the Daoist scrolls until his spirit felt refreshed and clear. Only then did he consider his morning lessons complete. He walked out through the side gate and merged into the increasingly lively streets of the capital, so inconspicuously that he became just another face in the crowd, beginning his day.
In his hand, he held a list with the names of several academies in the capital. After asking the market steward for directions to the first academy, he quickened his pace. He did not notice the carriage following behind him, nor did he realize that the horse pulling it had unicorn bloodlines. He certainly did not spot the subtle blood-phoenix emblem hidden on the carriage shaft.
Countless years ago, the Heavenly Books descended to the world, awakening the people’s wisdom and giving rise to countless schools of learning. But no matter how much they changed, their origins could all be traced back to the Daoist canon. Farming, crafts, commerce, and scholarship—all were the same. The most authoritative standard for evaluating these was now the Grand Examination, held annually by the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The Grand Examination was founded by the Great Zhou’s founding emperor. Whether one sought to become a civil official, a military general, or a divine priest in the state religion, the results of the Grand Examination were the most important criterion. Most crucially, the founding emperor decreed that only those who placed among the top three in the Grand Examination were qualified to enter the Heavenly Book Mausoleum and view the Heavenly Books. Because of this rule, countless experts from across the world came to the capital every year. During the first Grand Examination, the founding emperor stood atop the city wall, watching the geniuses from various sects stream in like carp, and uttered a famous remark that cemented the Grand Examination’s status.
The southern kingdoms, especially transcendent sects like the Longevity Sect, were naturally dissatisfied with this rule. In their view, although the Heavenly Book Mausoleum was located in the Great Zhou capital, the Heavenly Books were divine stones that had descended to the world and should be the shared wealth of the entire continent. As a result, the south had repeatedly boycotted the Grand Examination, leading to extremely tense relations.
However, the Heavenly Book Mausoleum was too important to cultivators. Although the Great Zhou Dynasty was powerful, it could not risk defying the world to monopolize it. The southern forces, for their part, could not resist the temptation of entering the Heavenly Book Mausoleum to view the steles. Even during the period after the demon race was driven back and the two sides grew distant, when the south openly boycotted, many experts from southern sects still participated in the Grand Examination under private names.
After the Holy Empress came to power, the Great Zhou finally reached an agreement with the southern forces. The southern kingdoms and sects could send their own delegations to participate in the Grand Examination, with evaluations based on mutual consensus. Southern scholars could decline official positions or titles from the Great Zhou, but otherwise, they would be treated equally. Moreover, under this new agreement, the Grand Examination received a new name.
Over countless years, the Grand Examination had selected countless experts. It was said that the most powerful figures on the continent today had all once come to the Great Zhou capital to participate. It was also widely known that the current Pope of the state religion and the elder of the Southern Holy Maiden Peak had both been outstanding participants in the Grand Examination. Not to mention the geniuses from the western demon race who had transformed into humans to take part, or even a young prince of the demon race who had once risked coming to the capital, only to be seen through by the previous Pope and reduced to smoke by a great divine technique.
Those were stories from many years ago. Now, people were more concerned about whether Qiu Shanjun of the Longevity Sect would participate in next year’s Grand Examination, how many of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom would make it into the top tier, whether Xu Yourong would break through early and return to the capital from the Holy Maiden Peak, and whether that genius expert known for his coldness and mystery in the demon wilderness would appear before the world for the first time or continue his bloody pursuit of demon experts. Besides these, the people of the capital were most concerned about which geniuses would emerge from the capital’s academies and dazzle everyone.
Yes, there were many academies in the capital. Under the Holy Empress’s rule, with strict governance, clean officialdom, and improving lives for the people, these decades had been a time of peace and prosperity, often called a golden age. Various academies had sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain. In recent years, even private academies had appeared, specifically targeting the Grand Examination and secretly taught by experts from the state religion. Of course, the most famous and powerful academies were still the oldest ones. Two of them had histories even longer than the Great Zhou Dynasty itself.
Chen Changsheng’s list contained six academies. The Heavenly Dao Academy, which he was visiting now, ranked first. In fact, across the entire continent, the Heavenly Dao Academy was qualified to rank among the very top. In the past two hundred years, students from the Heavenly Dao Academy had achieved the top spot in the Grand Examination twenty-four times. Every student who studied here was exceptionally talented. This academy had supplied the state religion with many important divine priests and contributed countless cultivation geniuses to various sects. Most importantly, the current Pope of the state religion had once been a student of this academy.
The Heavenly Dao Academy had the best record in the history of the Grand Examination, and naturally, it was the hardest to enter. Yet it still attracted the most applicants. When Chen Changsheng reached the Heavenly Dao Academy’s gate, he looked up at the majestic ink-black jade gate and the academy name inscribed by the founding emperor himself. A natural sense of reverence and longing arose in him. But this feeling was quickly dispelled by the chaotic, market-like atmosphere at the gate, along with the pungent smells of sweat and ink. He instinctively lowered his head.
When he left Xining, he had calculated the timing precisely. Arriving in the capital coincided with the spring enrollment period for the various academies. He had expected the Heavenly Dao Academy to have many applicants, but he had not imagined the numbers would be so terrifying. In particular, the group of young men standing at the gate, looking lazy and slouching as they pointed at the crowd and made comments, made him uncomfortable.
These young men wore similar clothes—mostly black with gold belts—which should have been the Heavenly Dao Academy’s uniform. Chen Changsheng guessed they were former students who had failed the Grand Examination earlier this year. Proud and arrogant, yet bitter about their failure, they would certainly not be kind to the new applicants coming to take the exam today. Hearing their sharp, sarcastic remarks and seeing the mockery in their eyes, he instinctively lowered his head a little more.
He lowered his head not out of fear, but because he had a slight aversion to uncleanliness, both physical and mental. He did not want to smell the sweat of the crowd or hear those words.
“Look at that idiot. He looks like a pig, with a few pockmarks on his face, and he still sticks a fan in his collar? Does he think he’s the Feather-Changing Gentleman? Doesn’t he realize the layers of fat on his neck are about to snap that fan in half?”
“Right. Look at his unsteady steps. He probably only completed marrow cleansing two months ago, and his bones and muscles haven’t even been tempered yet. And he dares to apply to our Heavenly Dao Academy? Does he think this is someplace like the National Teaching Academy? Hah... I don’t understand what these idiots are thinking. Do they really believe their pitifully weak divine sense can comprehend the Daoist canon?”
“Comprehend the Daoist canon? Even Gou Hanshi, who reads like he’s possessed, wouldn’t dare say that. You pity that idiot’s upcoming ordeal, but I pity his parents. The humiliation he’ll suffer is secondary; the money they’ve already spent won’t be coming back. If I were that fat idiot’s parents, I’d rather use that money to buy some elixirs from the altar to lose some weight. At least he could find a wife.”
“What good is finding a wife? Even if he takes Cold Plum Pills, they only work on him. If he has seventeen or eighteen sons and daughters, they’ll all be as fat and stupid as he is. Raising a whole litter of pigs—is that a good thing?”
The students laughed loudly, discussing the applicants without restraint. Their words were extremely harsh, and they made no effort to lower their voices. In fact, they might have deliberately spoken loudly so the targets could hear. It was utterly despicable. The fat young man being mocked turned bright red but dared not resist, because what the students said was true. He had only completed marrow cleansing a little over ten days ago, and his chances of getting into the Heavenly Dao Academy were virtually nonexistent. Most importantly, even if he somehow got in by a stroke of luck, he could not afford to offend these senior students.
Chen Changsheng passed through the crowd, listening to the vulgar remarks. His brows furrowed slightly as he wondered if he could endure such treatment if he were the one being mocked. Fortunately, he kept his head down, and his aura was so ordinary that he blended into the crowd, making it hard to notice him. He luckily avoided being ridiculed and smoothly passed through the ink-black jade gate, entering the academy.
Because he was lost in thought and keeping his head down, he did not notice the two massive stone walls on either side of the stone path leading into the Heavenly Dao Academy. Carved with strange flowers and divine beasts, the walls were densely covered with hundreds of names in the middle, as if it were some kind of ranking list. Many gazes fell on those names, burning with admiration.
Family members and servants accompanying the applicants were not allowed inside the Heavenly Dao Academy, so once inside, the environment became quieter. Chen Changsheng took a clean white handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and let out a breath. He felt a bit more relaxed. Following the student ahead of him, he joined the long line at the back.
The number of applicants to the Heavenly Dao Academy was enormous. The line stretched like the legendary hundred-zhang serpent of the western demon domain, winding from the distant building all the way to the grassy area. It even crossed a clear stream, with many applicants standing on a wooden bridge over the water, their faces turning blue from the early spring wind.
Soon, people began emerging from that building—young boys and girls. Their faces were as blue as those on the bridge, looking terrible. Since it wasn’t from the cold, it must have been because the exam had gone very poorly. Those still waiting in line watched their dejected expressions and grew nervous, losing all desire for idle chatter.
Chen Changsheng didn’t know anyone, so he naturally didn’t chat. He looked at the distant building with curiosity. He was now only concerned about whether the Heavenly Dao Academy’s entrance exam still used the method he had read about in books. Why had these people failed so quickly? Had the Heavenly Dao Academy’s exam really changed?
The crowd kept moving forward, past the grass and the stream, until they reached a row of bamboo sheds without yet approaching the building. Seeing the stern-faced Heavenly Dao Academy teacher behind the stone table and the pitch-black rock on the table that looked like volcanic stone, Chen Changsheng recognized what it was. Recalling a legal case from years past that he had read about in a Daoist scroll, he was momentarily stunned. (To be continued)