Every rustle of wind and blade of grass within a thousand zhang was now under his control.
Furthermore, the resilience and piercing power of his Divine Thought had multiplied. If he were to again face the pressure of a Purple Mansion cultivator like Hee Wenyan, he still wouldn’t be a match, but he would no longer be so crushed he couldn’t breathe.
"Hooo..."
Chu Bai exhaled a long breath, sensing the world-altering changes within him. A flicker of satisfaction crossed his eyes.
’This breakthrough was hasty, but the gains were indeed incredible. It counts as a major stroke of luck.’
In the quiet room of the Examination Department, smoke from the Incense Burner wafted upwards, spiraling a few times before dissipating into thin air.
Before he knew it, Chu Bai had been in secluded cultivation here for over a month.
During this time, although confined and forbidden from taking a single step out of the quiet room, he was not entirely ignorant of the storms brewing outside. He pieced things together from the reverent yet curious gazes of the Daoist Official who delivered his daily Spiritual Cuisine, as well as their occasional, brief exchanges.
The talk about him had probably long since spread like wildfire throughout Dayuan Prefecture.
Some saw him as a hero who had turned a losing tide. Others clung to his crime of Foundation Establishment Without Talisman. And still more Noble Families fanned the flames from the shadows, attempting to snuff out this peerless prodigy from a Humble Family in his cradle.
’I truly had no other choice...’
Chu Bai slowly withdrew his power, feeling the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Power surging like an ocean within him. His heart was at peace.
If he hadn’t broken through that day, the path would have been paved with thousands of corpses, and he wouldn’t have been able to save even himself.
What was done was done. No matter how the Court ruled, as long as he had strength, there would always be a way out.
Just then, the Restriction on the quiet room shimmered.
The heavy stone door slid open without a sound, and a figure in a vermilion official robe walked in.
The visitor was Shen Xuance, Chief of the Examination Department and the Chief Examiner for Dayuan Prefecture.
His expression was calm as he waved away the two Armored Warriors guarding the door. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a barrier of pale blue light instantly enveloped the room, cutting it off from all outside observation.
"Lord Shen." Chu Bai rose and bowed with cupped hands, his demeanor respectful but not deferential.
Shen Xuance sized Chu Bai up. Seeing that his aura was steady and that the sharp edge he’d had upon first establishing his Dao Foundation had been completely withdrawn, he couldn’t help but silently praise him. ’What an excellent disposition.’
"Have a seat."
Shen Xuance found a meditation cushion and sat, getting straight to the point. "This Celestial Examination is over. The results from every prefecture are being compiled. After a few days of rest, the rosters will be finalized, and the rankings will be officially posted."
Chu Bai nodded, his expression calm.
Seeing his unruffled demeanor, Shen Xuance gave a wry smile. "You’re certainly keeping your composure. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?"
Chu Bai remained silent.
"Lord Hee has already returned to the State Mansion," Shen Xuance said, his voice low. "There were too many unexpected turns in this Celestial Examination. Especially at the end. Though you saved everyone, you also drained the Cyan Nether Realm of its very foundation."
"The Celestial Observatory’s original plan was to refine it into a Spirit Realm to serve as a long-term source of resources.
Now, they’re left with a hollow shell, its Spiritual Mechanism completely severed. Those old fossils are furious. I’m afraid memorials denouncing you have already reached the Divine Capital."
At this, Chu Bai raised an eyebrow.
That was one thing he hadn’t considered.
’It seemed his rapacious absorption of energy to forge his Dao Foundation had indeed cut off one of the Celestial Observatory’s revenue streams.’
"However..."
Shen Xuance’s tone shifted, his gaze deepening. "If you hadn’t been there, the casualties would have been far heavier. We might have even seen a total wipeout."
"In the Cyan Nether Realm, aside from you, a total of ninety-nine others successfully climbed the Celestial Ladder and made it onto the Golden List. As for the survivors—candidates who didn’t reach the top but escaped with their lives—there were more than five thousand three hundred of them."
Shen Xuance stared at Chu Bai, enunciating each word. "Those five thousand-plus lives are all to your credit. That is a Merit that not even the Celestial Observatory can dare to ignore."
Chu Bai cupped his hands. "It was a matter of luck. And in truth, that world... left a sliver of a chance for survival."
This chance for survival, of course, referred to the Lingma Mountain God, who had not completely succumbed to demonic corruption.
Had it not been for the Divine Body to use as an anchor, Chu Bai would have been swatted dead in an instant, even with his Heaven-Reaching Ability.
The two fell silent for a moment.
Shen Xuance’s expression suddenly turned serious. "As for whether your actions constitute a merit or a crime, and whether the merit from Godslaying and saving lives can offset the crime of Foundation Establishment Without Talisman—all of this will be judged jointly by the [Merit Department] and the [Dao Record Department]. It is not for me to decide."
At this, Shen Xuance leaned forward slightly, his gaze intense as he looked at Chu Bai and asked a seemingly unrelated question:
"Chu Bai, let me ask you one thing."
"Do you know... why the Great Zhou Laws are so strict, demanding that all Cultivators must be registered and undergo the Receiving Talisman ceremony before they are permitted to cultivate?"
Chu Bai was taken aback by the question.
’In the past, he might have answered that it was to stabilize imperial authority, to make administration easier, or to prevent the powerful from using their might to break the law.’
But now, having witnessed the collapse of the Cyan Nether Realm and absorbed memory fragments from those three Divine Spirits and the Land God, his perspective had undergone a radical transformation.
Images of the Cyan Nether Realm’s predecessor—the Cyan Earth Realm—surfaced in his mind.
That place, too, was once vibrant with Spiritual Qi, a world where ten thousand immortals convened.
But as Cultivators took without restraint, and as Divine Spirits plundered madly to maintain their Status, the world eventually fell out of balance.
That world had been consumed to the point of collapse.
And just a month ago, hadn’t he played the role of such a plunderer himself in order to forge the [Circulation Wheel]?
That single, ravenous gulp had caused a dying world to breathe its very last.

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