Chu Bai’s consciousness blurred for just a moment before his powerful Foundation Establishment Divine Soul allowed him to quickly regain clarity.
Beneath his feet was a solid greenstone floor, and all around him stood a magnificent hall with carved beams and painted rafters.
He had returned to the real world.
This was... the inner hall of the Examination Department in Dayuan Prefecture.
Chu Bai slowly raised his head. In the center of the great hall, the Ancient Bronze Mirror that had once reflected the Secret Realm had now retracted its light.
Beneath the Ancient Mirror sat a familiar figure—Shen Xuance, the Commanding Officer of the Examination Department, seated upright in a Master’s Chair.
This lord, usually so deeply imposing, now regarded Chu Bai with an extremely complicated expression.
It held shock, admiration, and a hint of an undeniable headache.
Beside Shen Xuance, in the seat of honor, sat a woman in purple robes. Her bearing was one of graceful nobility.
She made no effort to restrain her aura. The terrifying pressure unique to a Purple Mansion Master made Chu Bai, who had just reached Foundation Establishment, feel his heart pound with fear, even though she was merely sitting there quietly.
Chu Bai didn’t recognize her, but for Shen Xuance to willingly take a subordinate seat, her status had to be astronomical.
You could hear a pin drop in the great hall.
Wisps of sandalwood smoke drifted through the air, yet they couldn’t mask the heavy, almost tangible tension.
Shen Xuance gazed at the young man before him. Though his robes were tattered and his body stained with blood, his Spirit, Essence, and Qi were as sharp as a drawn sword. In the end, his appreciation for such talent won out, and he was the first to break the silence.
"Nineteen days..."
Shen Xuance glanced at the hourglass still trickling away beside the Ancient Mirror, his tone tinged with unconcealable amazement. "Nineteen days to cross a collapsing Secret Realm, turn the tide against all odds, and ascend the Celestial Ladder. Your position as number one in Dayuan Prefecture is set in stone. No one can possibly challenge it."
He paused, his gaze seeming to pierce through time and space to witness the scene in the Underground Palace, where thousands of Cultivators had looked up in awe.
"What’s more, you have earned great Merit for protecting thousands of candidates and preserving the Primordial Qi of our Qingzhou. Once the Celestial Examination is concluded and the provincial government verifies the facts, it wouldn’t be out of the question for you to contend for the title of ’Number One in Qingzhou’..."
This was extremely high praise.
In the Thirty-Six Prefectures of Qingzhou, geniuses were as common as clouds. For a veteran Chief Examiner like Shen Xuance to make such a definitive statement was a testament to just how stunning Chu Bai’s performance had been.
However, just as Chu Bai was about to cup his hands and offer a few humble words, Shen Xuance’s tone shifted. His previously gentle voice turned severe, even tinged with bitter disappointment.
"But you... how could you possibly achieve Foundation Establishment inside the Secret Realm?!"
The question boomed like a clap of thunder.
"Foundation Establishment Without Talisman is a grave taboo!"
Shen Xuance slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet. "The Great Zhou Laws are strict! Cultivation proceeds step-by-step. To break through a Great Realm without Receiving Talisman and without the Court’s approval is to be treated as a Wild Cultivator practicing illicit worship! Do you realize this is a capital offense, punishable on the Demon-slaying Platform?!"
Chu Bai’s expression remained calm as he prepared to explain.
A terrifying pressure, a hundred times more powerful than Shen Xuance’s and carrying an aura of supreme nobility, erupted from the purple-robed woman without any warning.
It was not a display of Spiritual Power, but the crushing suppression of a higher life form.
Purple Mansion Master, Hee Wenyan.
Her phoenix-like eyes locked coldly onto Chu Bai. Her voice was quiet, yet it stabbed into the depths of his Divine Soul like a sharp sword.
"To achieve Foundation Establishment in an instant outside the Law Net, and with such a profound foundation at that... You are from a Humble Family. How could you possibly accomplish this without outside help?"
Hee Wenyan leaned forward slightly, and the pressure instantly intensified, as if intending to crush every bone in Chu Bai’s body to force out the truth.
"Did you receive the inheritance of some remnant from a fallen dynasty? Or perhaps... you cultivated a Forbidden Technique, a secret art that overdrafts the Divine Soul or requires the blood sacrifice of living creatures?!"
This was a damning accusation.
If the two words "Forbidden Technique" were proven true, then no matter how immense his Merit, Chu Bai would not be walking out of the Examination Department’s gates today.
Under the divine might of a Purple Mansion Master—a pressure strong enough to make an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator drop to his knees and beg for mercy—Chu Bai felt as if his shoulders were bearing the weight of an Ancient Divine Mountain. His newly forged [Circulation Wheel] Dao Foundation trembled violently.
But he did not kneel.
Not only did he refuse to kneel, but his spine straightened, ramrod-straight. A Five-Colored Divine Light swirled in his eyes as he forcefully withstood the Divine Soul Shock.
"I have not."
Chu Bai gritted his teeth, forcing the words out.
Then, he took a deep breath and looked directly into Hee Wenyan’s scrutinizing eyes, speaking in a tone that was neither servile nor overbearing.
"At the time, we were being besieged by three Foundation Establishment Evil Gods. The lives of thousands of my comrades hung by a thread. If I had not broken through, death was the only path, and thousands more would have been buried along with me."
"I truly had no other choice. I was only trying to save myself!"
The great hall fell silent once more.
Hee Wenyan stared at Chu Bai for a long time, her suffocating gaze feeling as if it could pierce straight through his very soul.
After a long while, the sharp glint in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a deep, complex expression of resignation.
She withdrew her pressure.
"So be it."
Hee Wenyan sighed softly and turned to look at the dimly glowing Ancient Bronze Mirror. Her finger traced a line through the air, as if she were sensing something.
"A moment ago, I sensed a deficit in the Origin of the Cyan Nether Realm..."
"Now, it seems the Spiritual Mechanism of this world is almost gone, as if something has sucked it dry to the very marrow."
As she spoke, she gave Chu Bai a meaningful look. Although she didn’t say it aloud, everyone present knew exactly where the vanished Spiritual Mechanism had gone.
"In that case, this Cyan Nether Realm is no longer of much value."
Hee Wenyan shook her head, her tone filled with waning interest. "If the Spiritual Mechanism were still intact, it could have been cultivated into a [Spirit Realm]."
"Now it’s just an empty shell. After we annex it into the Great Zhou’s territory, we won’t develop it as a Spirit Realm. We’ll just find a border Prefecture City and use it as a barren land for stationing troops."
Shen Xuance gave a wry smile at her words. ’What a mess,’ he thought. ’A single Celestial Examination completely destroyed the testing grounds.’
"Lord Hee, what about Chu Bai...?" Shen Xuance asked hesitantly.
Hee Wenyan was silent for a moment.
By the law, he should be executed.
By his deeds, he should be rewarded.
By his talent... a young man who could devour the Spiritual Mechanism of an entire world in a desperate situation to forge an Upper Grade Dao Foundation... To kill someone with such talent and mental fortitude would be a great loss to the Great Zhou.
"As for Chu Bai..."
Hee Wenyan stood up, smoothed out the hem of her purple robes, and looked past Chu Bai toward the vast sky outside the hall.
"We will decide what to do with him after the Celestial Examination has officially concluded."
"He bears the life-saving Cause and Effect of thousands of candidates and holds the merit of Godslaying, yet he has also violated the iron-clad law against Unregistered Cultivation..."
"Whether his actions are a merit or a crime... the situation is too chaotic, and the implications run too deep. It is not something the two of us can decide on our own."
With that, she gave Chu Bai one last, deep look, leaving him with words that were part warning, part advice.
"In the meantime, you will wait quietly here in the prefecture. Do not wander around, and do not cause any trouble."

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