The next morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Chu Bai went to Zhou Changkong’s private office early.
The procedure wasn’t complicated. The White Talisman he carried was the best proof of his status.
Zhou Changkong looked at his prized student, his eyes filled with gratification. After reminding him not to slack off in his cultivation, he stamped his red seal on the graduation document that signified the end of Chu Bai’s time as a student of the Daoist School.
From that moment on, Chu Bai was no longer a first-year student of the Dayuan Prefecture Daoist School, but an Immortal Official of the Great Zhou awaiting his post.
The walls of this Daoist School could no longer hold him.
Meanwhile, news that Chu Bai, a first-year, had taken the top spot in the Immortal Official Examination spread like wildfire throughout the entire first-year class.
The students, who had been in the midst of intense preparations for their own final exams, initially reacted with disbelief. But that was quickly followed by profound shock and envy.
When Chu Bai walked out of the administrative office with his document and passed through the familiar connecting corridor, the surrounding din seemed to quiet down a few notches.
Many people stopped in their tracks, their gazes complex as they watched the figure in the green robes walk away.
There was awe, envy, and also a sense of loss from knowing he was now beyond their reach.
At the entrance to Class Two’s classroom, Li Han was leaning against the railing, clutching a yellowed book, his gaze distant.
As someone who also hailed from Anping County, he knew Chu Bai’s background better than anyone else.
Back in the county, although there had been a gap between them, they were still splashing around in the same pond. But ever since entering the Dayuan Prefecture Daoist School, everything had changed.
He was giving it his all in Class Two just to barely keep up, fading into mediocrity.
And Chu Bai...
"An Immortal Official..."
Li Han muttered, his voice tinged with bitterness.
That was a position even the third-year senior students looked up to, yet Chu Bai had claimed it so effortlessly.
Watching that calm figure walk away, even while being the center of everyone’s attention, Li Han subconsciously tightened his grip on the book in his hand, his knuckles turning white.
’If only, back then...’
He couldn’t help but recall the friction that had developed between him and Chu Bai when he first arrived at the Daoist School, all because of some ridiculous jealousy and his choice to align with a different group.
Although it never came to blows, a barrier had been erected between them all the same.
’If I had just humbled myself back then and gotten a little closer to him, even just to maintain our bond as fellow countrymen, having an Immortal Official as a backer now—or even just to get a word or two of advice—would probably make my life a hundred times better.’
’It’s a shame. I offended him over such a trivial matter...’
Li Han’s heart was a turmoil of emotions. ’Now that there’s a rift between us and he’s already soared to new heights, trying to mend our relationship will be as hard as climbing to heaven.’
He loosened his hand, and the crumpled corners of the book slowly straightened out.
’Forget it...’
Li Han let out a long sigh, the light in his eyes dimming. He turned and walked back into the noisy yet ordinary classroom.
’We’re not on the same level anymore.’
Some people, once you let them slip by, you can only watch their back as they walk further and further away, until you can’t see them at all.
For the various government offices of Dayuan Prefecture, the Daoist School’s graduation was an annual recruitment extravaganza.
Any student who graduated from the Daoist School, even one with mediocre grades, was considered a useful talent in the local regions—literate and with some knowledge of cultivation. Whether they served as government constables or became apprentices in an Alchemy Room or Artifact Workshop, they were all excellent additions.
As for a champion like Chu Bai, who held a guaranteed spot as an Immortal Official, he was a golden ticket in the eyes of every faction, causing all the different departments to scramble into action.
In just half a day, the doorway to Chu Bai’s small room was nearly worn down by visitors.
"Young Master Chu, I’m from the Prefecture City’s Construction Department. Our Director said that if you’re willing to join us, you will immediately be appointed as a Junior Ninth Grade Deputy Supervisor and be gifted a Middle Grade Artifact Refining Room..."
"Champion Chu, please consider our Dayuan Prefecture’s Water Department! The position of River Patrol Envoy is currently vacant. The perks are great, and there’s not much danger..."
There were even representatives from the subordinate counties offering extremely high Spirit Stone subsidies and a private residence.
Chu Bai received each of them politely but also rejected them one by one.
Although some of the offers were truly tempting, and some of the so-called "cushy jobs" could save a man ten years of struggle, these positions were either too specialized or located in remote areas. They were far from the path of Merit and Demerit Shape Destiny that he envisioned for himself.
However, this round of socializing was not entirely without reward.
At the very least, he now had a much clearer and more direct understanding of the departmental structures and jurisdictions of Dayuan Prefecture and its subordinate counties. He was no longer completely in the dark.
After seeing off wave after wave of recruiters, Chu Bai was just about to take a sip of tea to wet his throat when a set of steady, powerful footsteps sounded from outside his door.
The visitor was burly, dressed in the dark red uniform of a County Captain, with a long saber hanging at his waist. His brow carried the hint of Evil Qi that came from long-held authority, but right now, his stern face betrayed an ill-concealed sense of shock and urgency.
Chu Bai looked up, and the teacup in his hand paused mid-air. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, and he quickly stood up and cupped his hands in a salute.
"Lord Zhang? I didn’t expect you to come in person."
The visitor was none other than the County Captain of Anping County, Zhang Cheng.
Back during the Anping County Examination, it was this very Lord Zhang who had presided as the chief examiner. One could say he was the first witness to Chu Bai’s journey onto the immortal path.
Back then, this great figure who oversaw both the Law Enforcement and Demon Slaying departments of Anping County had been an unreachable existence in Chu Bai’s eyes.
Even now in the Prefecture City, which was teeming with powerful experts, Zhang Cheng’s rank might not compare to a high-level official from a prefecture department like Judge Li, but he was definitely a man of substantial authority in his own right.
Zhang Cheng strode into the room, his gaze as sharp as a torch, and stared intently at the upright young man before him, as if trying to find some sort of flaw.

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