Chapter 852: Individual Fates
"Let's go."
Ji Shaoli clapped Wei Qizheng on the shoulder, his eyes full of encouragement.
When they emerged from the private chamber, the others stared in amazement at Wei Qizheng. He was like a new man.
They had no idea what secret art Ji Shaoli had performed, but Wei Qizheng's previous anxiety and nervousness had vanished without a trace.
He now radiated an air of unshakeable confidence.
Neither Ji Shaoli nor Wei Qizheng offered any explanation.
"Everyone, the City Lord is waiting. I must take my leave now," Wei Qizheng announced, offering a respectful bow.
"Then allow us to congratulate you on your success in advance, Brother Wei!"
"Little Brother Wei, remember your old friends when you make it big!"
Wei Qizheng gave a slight nod, then stepped into the teleportation array and vanished from Haixuan Island.
As Wei Qizheng's figure faded from view, He Zhenghao sighed, a touch of pride in his voice. "I always knew Little Brother Wei was no ordinary man, that he was destined for greatness. I just never imagined it would come so soon! It seems all the help I gave him wasn't for nothing."
"It's infuriating when you compare yourself to others. We spent more than a year preparing for this exam, and he outdoes us with a bit of last-minute cramming! What a world..."
Someone else hissed, "If he really becomes one of the Thirty-Three Candidates, he'll be on the fast track to the Dao Integration stage. Does that mean... I'll be on brotherly terms with a future Immortal Sage? He wouldn't just turn his back on us then, would he?"
...
The reactions were varied.
But beneath it all, envy and jealousy were plain to see.
Only Ji Shaoli's expression remained thoughtful, his eyes glinting.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was making a grand spectacle of this selection plan for the Thirty-Three Candidates, which meant they were taking it with the utmost seriousness.
To play it safe, he hadn't tried to be clever by planting any kind of formless killing intent on Wei Qizheng.
Even the fragment of the Final Dissociation Disc he had given him was a standalone piece, completely disconnected from the master disc in his own sea of consciousness.
It would silently record everything it sensed, transmitting the collected data only at the very moment of its destruction.
These precautions were all to prevent anyone from discovering anything amiss with Wei Qizheng.
For some reason, Ji Shaoli had a faint premonition.
Wei Qizheng was very likely to succeed and be chosen as one of the Thirty-Three Candidates. But by the same token, it would likely be a very, very long time before they saw him again.
Very few cultivators in the Cong Yun Sea knew that Wei Qizheng had been summoned to the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
His departure was quiet, almost secret.
Three days after he left—ten days after the exam concluded—the results were announced.
It was a day of celebration for some, and sorrow for others.
On Haixuan Island, however, the air was filled with cheers and laughter.
"Six of us took the exam, and all six passed! If word gets out, it'll cause an uproar!"
"Hahaha! All those people who didn't join our Mutual Aid Association are going to be kicking themselves now!"
Amid the celebration, He Zhenghao's brow furrowed with worry. "What if some of the jealous ones report us?" he murmured.
His words cast a sudden chill over the room, and the joyous chatter died down instantly.
"They... wouldn't do that, would they?"
A flicker of anxiety passed through everyone's eyes.
"Heh, what's there to be afraid of?" Ji Shaoli's voice cut through the silence, firm and steady. "As the saying goes, a clear conscience fears no accusation."
"All we did was correctly predict the questions! Across the entire Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, countless groups study the exam and try to do the exact same thing. What difference does one more make?" Ji Shaoli declared, his tone full of conviction.
He Zhenghao and the others were taken aback for a moment.
But then they heard Ji Shaoli scoff. "Besides, what could they even report? Leaking exam questions is a capital crime. Without solid proof, who would dare to spout such nonsense?"
"And if some fool really does try..."
"...who knows who'll end up dead first!"
His words were delivered with an unyielding confidence.
The group fell into thought, and slowly, their anxieties began to fade.
"Alright, enough of this unpleasant talk," Ji Shaoli continued. "Now that you've all passed the exam, have you given any thought to your future assignments?"
When registering for the exam, candidates could state their preliminary preferences for region and position.
However, the final assignments were still determined by the Alliance headquarters.
The decisions were based on numerous factors, including a cultivator's home region, cultivation stage, and potential.
As a general rule, most were assigned locally, while the elite were summoned to the Alliance headquarters.
But special circumstances did arise from time to time.
Take He Zhenghao, for instance. He could have easily secured a post in Tianyu Province.
And yet, he had been assigned to this remote corner of the Cong Yun Sea.
All because the Heng family had been working against him behind the scenes.
Most cultivators had no choice but to accept whatever position they were assigned.
For those with powerful connections, however, it was an opportunity to maximize their personal gain.
Simply passing the exam had been enough to satisfy them.
But Ji Shaoli's words suggested there was still room to maneuver.
A stir of excitement went through the group.
One by one, they secretly sent voice transmissions to Ji Shaoli.
Only He Zhenghao hesitated, uncertain.
"And you, Fellow Daoist He?" Ji Shaoli asked with a smile.
After a long moment of hesitation, He Zhenghao finally replied, "If it's possible, I would like to go to Tianyun Province. Tianquan Province would be acceptable as well."
Neither was Tianyu Province, but both were quite close.
Ji Shaoli instantly understood He Zhenghao's intentions.
After a moment of contemplation, he addressed the group. "This exam is a special case. I can't guarantee any specific outcomes, but I will do my best."
"Success or failure will ultimately depend on your own fortunes."
Everyone understood completely and thanked Ji Shaoli once more.
"Until the final assignments are announced, you should all use this time to focus on your cultivation. If you can advance to the next stage, that could change things significantly."
He Zhenghao and the others all nodded in agreement.
Filled with new hope, they dedicated themselves to their training with an unprecedented intensity.
Meanwhile, Ji Shaoli began a campaign of wealth and influence, looking to plant as many seeds as possible deep within the Alliance's territory.
The Cong Yun Sea was doomed; there was no future for them here.
We shall, for now, skip over the details of how his clone used connections like Jing Xuan, the Oracle, and Huangfu Song to pull the necessary strings.
As the exam came to a close, the attention of the entire Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance shifted to the biggest winners: the cultivators who had passed the preliminary screening and were now heading to the headquarters for the final selection of the Thirty-Three Candidates.
After all, the chance to become a Dao Integration cultivator...
...was a prize whose influence far surpassed any ordinary post within the Alliance.
Some well-informed busybodies quickly compiled a list of the three hundred or so lucky candidates.
Detailed profiles on each of them soon began to circulate.
After careful study, it became clear there was no discernible pattern among them.
The cultivation levels of the chosen three hundred varied wildly, from Foundation Establishment all the way to Soul Transformation.
Their backgrounds ranged from lone, unconnected cultivators to the core disciples of prominent families.
The Alliance's selection criteria were utterly baffling.
At that moment, Li Fan was studying the very same list.
"Hmm, Shuo Feng isn't on the list."
"None of the names of the true heirs of the Alliance's upper echelon, the ones I remember from previous lives, are here either."
"..."
Comments