Chapter 296
Chapter 296
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Civil Exam: Talisman and Spell Unity
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The second round of the civil exam was still held in the original grand hall. The invigilators remained the same group of examiners, clerks, and the bailiffs. There were fifteen desks and fifteen cushions, and the examinees were still Chen Shi, the young master, and Zhang You.
This round was on policy discussions, with topics like "On Combining Civil and Martial Affairs," "On Great Unification," and others.
Chen Shi selected "On the Unity of Talismans and Spells," wrote down his name, surname, and place of origin, and a clerk pondered for a moment before picking up the brush to write the essay for him.
Zhang You also chose his topic and handed it to the clerk beside him. He glanced at Chen Shi and the young master ahead, a smile on his face.
"Have you two heard? Something big happened in the inner city of Xijing last night. Even my uncle was alarmed and personally went to Qianyang Street."
The young master's body trembled slightly, but he sat there without moving.
Chen Shi's heart stirred. Qianyang Street? The street in front of the Chen residence seemed to be Qianyang Street.
"What happened last night?"
he asked.
Zhang You laughed.
"Someone heard fox calls and sheep bleats on the street. There was also a burst of light in the city that lit up all of Xijing in an instant—quite spectacular. I also heard that during the morning court session, some high officials were ill and didn't attend, leading to all sorts of rumors."
The young master said flatly,
"What rumors?"
Zhang You laughed.
"I heard that someone got into a big fight in the inner city last night, trying to pull off something major, but their skills fell short. I also heard that someone was very insidious, hiding their strength until last night, when they scared a lot of people."
The young master's eye twitched.
Zhang You was a core disciple of the Zhang family. He had tried to win him over multiple times, but oddly, Zhang You always kept a polite distance—courteous, but never pledging loyalty like other noble heirs.
What Zhang You mentioned, the young master had heard about after cultivating through the night and waking up; the inner circles of Fuzheng Pavilion were talking about it.
"I had no knowledge of what Fuzheng Pavilion did last night."
The young master suddenly said,
"If I had known, I certainly would have stopped them. For this metropolitan exam, I will earn my merits through my own abilities. There's no need for such despicable tactics."
His voice carried a hint of anger, as if explaining to Chen Shi.
His subordinates lacked confidence in him, acting on their own to raid the Chen residence at night and suffering a defeat. Even Centurion Fan Peng died there. Their night's efforts had been all thunder and no rain, drawing mockery and making him feel ashamed.
Chen Shi glanced at him. He knew nothing of what the young master and Zhang You were talking about. When he woke up that morning, his home was spotless, and the street outside was the same as always.
He looked at the clerk furiously writing before him and asked loudly,
"Examiner, can I write this essay myself?"
The examiners' faces darkened slightly.
"No喧哗!"
Chen Shi was exasperated.
He had chosen "On the Unity of Talismans and Spells" precisely to give the clerk some trouble.
He had studied talismans and spells the most, and with his family heritage, he started from a higher point than others. Moreover, unity of talismans and spells was extremely difficult for anyone else. To achieve anything in it required not just talent but decades of effort. He had hoped to make the clerk back off so he could write it himself—otherwise, what fun was the civil exam?
However, the clerk before him seemed confident in his own skills. His brush moved like it was divinely inspired, swift as wind and grass, quickly finishing a voluminous essay and pressing it under a paperweight to dry.
Chen Shi read it word by word, deeply impressed. He looked up at the ghostwriting clerk, who was in his thirties, not yet forty, wearing clerk's robes rather than official attire—a lowly scribe from the Ministry of Rites.
"Brother, your attainment in the unity of talismans and spells is profound! You've essentially fused talismans and spells, reaching grandmaster level!"
Chen Shi couldn't help saying,
"I've met many talisman masters, but few surpass you in this art. Why are you just a scribe in the Ministry of Rites?"
The clerk's expression dimmed, and he said softly,
"My background is humble."
Chen Shi was silent for a moment, then asked,
"What's your cultivation level?"
The clerk glanced furtively at the examiners and whispered,
"I am at the Void Refining Realm, unable to advance further."
Chen Shi recalled what Tian Yue'e and others had said.
"Void Refining Realm is your current limit. To go further requires a noble patron. But with your talisman-spell mastery, you've achieved transformations between them, talismans born from the heart—the next step is spells born from the heart. Reaching this without patronage? How many in all of Xijing can claim that?"
He sighed deeply.
Such a grandmaster among talisman masters, reduced to a scribe in the Ministry of Rites, helping nobles like him cheat—it was the height of irony. The scribe dared not speak.
Chen Shi smiled.
"Still, there are a few errors."
The ghostwriting clerk looked up in surprise, staring at Chen Shi.
Chen Shi smiled.
"Your understanding of talisman-spell unity leans too heavily toward spells—it's more like spellcraft. Mastering talismans grants insight into the corresponding techniques. You're lacking there. In this essay, your grasp of techniques shows flaws. Here."
He pointed to a line of text.
"You say the art of talismans and spells derives from nature. By 'technique,' you mean spells, not the core methods. You're using talismans to seek spells, not the Dao."
The clerk leaned over to look, pondering carefully. Indeed, his argument had shortcomings. Moved, he bowed and said,
"May I ask for guidance?"
Chen Shi had been pondering the creation of ghost-god domains through talismans as per Little Five's words these days. Though gains were limited, he understood deriving techniques from talismans. He shared his recent insights.
"These days, I've been studying the Supreme Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman, reverse-engineering the spells from it, then the Eight Trigrams Protective Art from the spells—with some success."
Chen Shi raised his right hand, circulating his vital blood. Bright trigram images instantly appeared around him, soon forming立体 structures, shifting unpredictably into heavenly phenomena: wind, fire, thunder, marsh, mountain, and more.
With his right hand forming a trigram, the eight surrounding trigrams all turned to Gen.
"This is the spell."
The ghostwriting clerk nodded slightly.
Chen Shi changed his hand seals, demonstrating all eight basic spells of the Eight Trigrams Protective Art.
"From talisman to technique makes one a master. From eight trigrams to sixty-four, using the body as furnace to evolve all sixty-four images, encompassing endless variations—that makes a grandmaster."
In high spirits, he stood and demonstrated in the exam hall, explaining as he evolved the eight trigrams into sixty-four.
The ghostwriting clerk nodded repeatedly.
His essay on talisman-spell unity had reached exactly this point!
Zhang You and the young master both turned to watch.
Surprisingly, the invigilating examiners did not stop Chen Shi, clearly drawn in by his exposition on talisman-spell unity.
At this moment, Chen Shi used his body as the furnace, his internal vital blood shifting with the trigrams, embodying heaven and earth, borrowing nature's laws in cultivation—demonstrating it step by step!
"Heavenly and earthly phenomena are but my form. The flesh is the Eight Trigrams Furnace: refine the golden core, form the primordial spirit, transform the nascent soul, unite body and sever the three corpses, return to void through spirit refinement—all achievable!"
Chen Shi withdrew, the trigrams swirling around him before merging into his internal furnace for refinement.
"This must be the hidden technique in the Supreme Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman!"
The clerk gaped, standing in excitement.
"Indeed! So this is true talisman-spell unity!"
Overwhelmed, he bowed deeply to Chen Shi, then knelt and kowtowed.
"Your student has received your teachings!"
He had thought Chen Shi just another foppish noble scion needing a ghostwriter.
He never imagined Chen Shi's talisman mastery far exceeded his own!
Chen Shi helped him up. The ghostwriting clerk remained agitated.
"I thought my talisman-spell art had reached its peak, but to receive such guidance from a noble!"
Zhang You and the young master raised their brows but said nothing.
In the past, they would have assumed this clerk was bought by Chen Shi to hype him up and win hearts—something both had done, especially the young master, who excelled at it.
But this time, they saw it with their own eyes.
Chen Shi had genuinely convinced this highly skilled clerk with his own scholarship, and deriving techniques from talismans—he had demonstrated it fully before them!
Such talent weighed heavily on their hearts.
Only half an hour had passed since the exam began.
Suddenly, the clerk shuddered. His three-zhang-tall primordial spirit emerged involuntarily, auspicious energies streaming from his flesh, rays of light connecting to it. Spirit and flesh merged, and in an instant, his body grew to three zhang tall, forcing him to bow his head in the hall to avoid the ceiling.
The clerk froze, then dispersed the fusion and kowtowed to Chen Shi.
"Your student Cheng Qi thanks his esteemed teacher for the enlightenment!"
While Chen Shi explained the Eight Trigrams Protective Art, Cheng Qi had a sudden epiphany, comprehending the path to Body Fusion. He broke through to Body Fusion Realm right there in the exam hall!
He had thought advancement impossible in this lifetime, yet ghostwriting led to this fortune. He no longer called Chen Shi "noble" but "esteemed teacher."
Chen Shi admired his knowledge greatly and smiled.
"Brother Cheng, no need for formality. Your scholarship is profound; I respect it deeply."
The young master frowned slightly, glancing at his own answer sheet, meeting his ghostwriter's expectant gaze.
His expression unchanged,
He had chosen "On Great Unification." His clerk had written it excellently; he found no flaws to critique.
Zhang You smiled, ignoring his own clerk's expectant look, not attempting critique.
He knew his limits—forced guidance would be embarrassing. He thought,
"Truly, the decision to hire ghostwriters was brilliant. It capped Chen Shi at full marks without letting us embarrass ourselves."
An hour passed, and the examiners came to collect the papers.
Though Chen Shi hadn't written it himself, he felt deeply satisfied.
Guiding a stalled clerk to talisman-spell insights and a realm breakthrough was effortless for him, but life-changing for Cheng Qi!
Chen Shi exited the Ministry of Rites. Chen Tang, Granny Sha, and others approached, about to ask how he did, when a ministry clerk hurried up, bowed, and said,
"Your student Cheng Qi thanks the master! Henceforth, should Master command, Cheng Qi will face death without regret!"
Chen Shi quickly helped him up and laughed.
"Lord Cheng, you thanked me in the hall already. No need again—rise!"
Cheng Qi stood, serious.
"In the hall, I thanked for the guidance. This time, for the realm breakthrough!"
Chen Tang was stunned. This ministry clerk Cheng Qi treated Chen Shi with utmost respect, as a student to teacher! What an oddity!
Moreover, this clerk's cultivation was absurdly high—Body Fusion Realm powerhouse!
Xijing had countless low-rank clerks, like those in the Ministry of Revenue at ninth or sub-ninth pin, often at Void Refining. But a Body Fusion clerk without rank? Outrageous!
Just then, the Left Vice Minister of Rites passed by, expressionless.
"Cheng Qi, you disrupted exam discipline. You've been dismissed from the ministry. Come this afternoon to pack your things!"
Cheng Qi paled, panicking, the world spinning.
The Left Vice Minister left.
Cheng Qi steadied himself, despondent. Ten-plus years in the capital—family and villagers knew him as an official. Though his rank was unclear, serving in Xijing meant prestige. Mentioning him brought pride. Dismissal would shatter that.
And then what? Back home, bully locals and become a tyrant? Offend powers, labeled rebel, end up as a banner head on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
Teach in a private school? Everyone would gossip about his crime forcing him back.
Talisman master? At least he'd eat.
Chen Shi smiled.
"Lord Cheng, heaven never seals all paths. Why not join Red Mountain Hall as instructor, hall master, or such? Monthly pay beats your ministry stipend. I'm an instructor there too. These are guest elders."
He meant Granny Sha, Qingyang, and others.
Eunuch Feng Tianhuan, in his wheelchair, smiled.
"Or join our Eastern Depot as eunuch. If you don't mind, little friend Cheng, call me righteous father."
Cheng Qi frowned, opting for Red Mountain Hall.
Eunuch Feng sighed regretfully.
"Our Eastern Depot needs talents like you. Eunuch life: one cut, a thousand worries gone."
Then Zhang You emerged from the ministry, saw Eunuch Feng, and hurried to pay respects.
Eunuch Feng eyed him appraisingly.
"Good! Good! How's your father?"
"My father is well and always thinks of Uncle Feng's legs."
They chatted briefly, and Zhang You departed.
Eunuch Feng watched him go, then said,
"The Zhangs have another prodigy. Zhang You is from the sect leader's line, groomed as next leader. Little Lord Chen, watch out for him in the martial exam. Your father barely tied with his like back then."
Chen Shi was shocked, turning to Chen Tang.
"Chen Tang, which thirteenth family's sect leader did you tie with?"
Before Chen Tang could answer, Eunuch Feng laughed.
"Current Yan family head, Yan Hanqing. Old Yan's probably Mahayana now, or close. Rematch, Chen Tang—could you win for sure?"
Chen Tang shook his head humbly.
"Dare not claim victory? At best a tie."
Chen Shi whispered,
"When you fought Yan Hanqing, same realm, or was he lower?"
"Same realm."
Chen Shi exhaled, smiling faintly.
"Then no issue."
Chen Tang's face darkened, scolding,
"How no issue? Realm gap is a gap!"
Chen Shi laughed.
"Even the realms, can't we? In this exam, I'll take first place!"