After leaving the restaurant, Chu Bai didn’t linger in the bustling, decadent downtown of the Prefecture City. Instead, he deftly found a quiet, private room at a post station near the Government Office to rest.
「The next morning.」
The Examination Department in the center of Dayuan Prefecture City was already thronged with people. Many White Talisman Cultivators from the various subordinate counties had gathered here.
The entire Government Office was enveloped in a heavy, dignified aura. It was a node of the Law Net, and everyone who stepped inside could feel a scrutinizing pressure, as if they were treading on thin ice.
Chu Bai’s expression was normal as he walked steadily into the main hall, took out a well-sealed document, and handed it over the counter.
The two Clerks handling registration, dressed in Junior Ninth-Grade Official Robes, had grown accustomed to seeing so-called "prodigies" from all regions and were feeling rather bored.
However, when one of them took Chu Bai’s document and his eyes fell on the words "Anping County" and "three years in service," his previously nonchalant movements abruptly froze.
"This... Chu Bai, an Immortal Official from a Daoist School, appointed to the Demon-slaying Department for just over three years?"
The Clerk looked up, staring at Chu Bai as if he were some unbelievable monster. He subconsciously swept his Divine Thought over him and let out a soft gasp of shock. "Qi Cultivation Perfection?!"
The other Clerk leaned in, repeatedly checking the County seal and Zhang Cheng’s personal signature on the document.
As far as they knew, in the Great Zhou Bureaucracy, wasn’t it normal for an ordinary Cultivator to spend over a decade, or even several, of painstaking effort to grind from the Early Stage of Qi Cultivation to Perfection?
They had never even heard of the children of the top Noble Races in the Prefecture City making such progress, let alone someone like Chu Bai, who had leaped several stages in just three years to reach the Peak of Qi Cultivation.
Shocked as they were, the documents were all in order and backed by the endorsement of Zhang Cheng, a Foundation Establishment County Captain. The two Clerks didn’t dare to cause any trouble. They quickly completed the process and handed over a dark cyan Exam Token engraved with Chu Bai’s name.
Chu Bai accepted the Exam Token, nodded slightly, and turned to leave.
Only after Chu Bai’s figure vanished around a corner of the hall did the two Clerks gather and begin discussing in hushed voices.
"Tsk, tsk. To cultivate so rapidly despite coming from a small county... a truly formidable junior."
The first Clerk sighed, his tone laced with an indefinable sourness.
"Not necessarily a good thing."
The other man curled his lip, his eyes revealing the characteristic arrogance of a Prefecture City Official. "If I remember correctly, there should be three applicants from Anping County this year."
"Aside from this Chu Bai, the other two are far more normal. Both are old-timers who have honed their skills for over a decade. Plenty of people fail the Celestial Examination multiple times. Don’t we see enough geniuses from our own Dayuan Prefecture fall on the ’Heaven-Scaling Ladder’ every year?"
"One’s background often determines their foundation. Even if his Cultivation level is up to par, how many decent Magic Techniques could he have possibly mastered in a mere three years?"
"The Spiritual Qi flowing through his meridians is probably just the most common Pure Qi. Compared to the scions of the Prefecture City’s Noble Races, who possess Five Elements Mutated Spiritual Qi and master secret Magic Techniques, this kind of rapid advancement usually results in a shallow foundation."
"Exactly. The Celestial Examination is a test of life-and-death combat, of survival in a Secret Realm."
"If he has the Realm but no foundation, I’m afraid he won’t last three days in a Wild Secret Realm beyond the Law Net’s reach before ending up as food for a Demon Beast. It would be a shame for such talent to become a shattered dream due to a weak foundation."
Their voices were extremely soft, nearly inaudible in the bustling hall.
However, they had no idea that Chu Bai, who had already walked out the gates of the Examination Department, was coldly listening to every single one of their remarks.
With his Divine Thought, which covered a three-hundred-zhang radius and had already reached the Microscopic level, the great hall was practically transparent to him.
Whether it was the fine dust motes in the air or the vile prejudices deep within their hearts, nothing could hide from him.
Chu Bai didn’t break his stride, not even knitting his brows.
’Foundation?’
he mused, rubbing the heavy Exam Token in his sleeve.
As he walked out of the heavy, vermilion gates of the Examination Department, the cool morning air of the Prefecture City washed over his face.
Chu Bai put away the dark cyan Exam Token, feeling completely untroubled.
As for the other two Cultivators from Anping County who had also registered, he didn’t know them and had no intention of traveling with them.
According to a prior tip from Zhang Cheng, those two were from the Agricultural Department and the Celestial Gate Department, respectively. Both were veteran Officials who had languished in their White Talisman positions for ten or twenty years.
They had relied on the Water Grinding Technique to finally touch the threshold of Qi Cultivation Perfection in their twilight years. They were here for one last, desperate gamble.
In the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty, this "Suffering Sect" was the norm for low-level Cultivators. An Alien Species like Chu Bai was, in the end, a rarity.
As he was lost in thought, a sharp, familiar, and somewhat sinister Qi signature came barreling toward him from across the main road.
Chu Bai stopped in his tracks. His Golden Eyes narrowed, and his Divine Thought locked onto the approaching person from three zhang away.
’Wei Chuan.’
Not far down the long street, Wei Chuan, dressed in a slightly shabby, bright silver Flying Fish Robe, was striding forward with several attendants.
Compared to his high-spirited arrogance at Threadline Gorge over a year ago, the current Wei Chuan had lost some of his domineering air, replaced by a touch of gloom and coldness.
The instant Wei Chuan raised his eyes to look at Chu Bai, he froze in place as if nailed to the ground. His pupils contracted violently, and his entire body went rigid as if he’d been struck by an Immobilization Spell.
"Qi Cultivation Perfection?!"
Wei Chuan’s voice was laced with unconcealable astonishment.
Just over a year ago, this Ninth-Grade Petty Official could only struggle under the pressure of his Foundation Establishment Decree, barely defending himself at knifepoint. But now, as he stood before him, his Qi was perfectly whole, and the unfathomable ripples of Spiritual Power, deep as an abyss, clearly showed that he had entered the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer!

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