Chapter 348 - 166: Noble Clans, Noble Generals, Arrival of the Title, 1 Jiazi Ago, Dragon Elephant Martial Saint!

Chapter 348: Chapter 166: Noble Clans, Noble Generals, Arrival of the Title, 1 Jiazi Ago, Dragon Elephant Martial Saint!

"A name on the Dao Stele, with a dual evaluation of... Grade-A Superior!?"

Jiangyin, by the Martial and Divine Steles.

The institute student who had first noticed something was amiss, the one who was looking at Ji Xiu and eagerly waiting for his own chance to pass the selection and enter the Mansion Courtyard, swallowed hard. He was standing the closest and was by far the most shocked.

His exclamation snapped the others back to their senses. As they recalled everything that had just happened, an eerie silence descended upon the crowd.

Ji Xiu had accepted the gifts from the two steles, which were said to have been infused by twenty-one generations of Mansion Courtyard Deans. With the Nishang Scroll, a top-tier Immortal Robe Technique, and the Divine Talisman Fire, a Law-Level Secret Skill, his proficiency surged, bringing him close to the stage of Great Success.

As the Daoist Immortal Robe he wore became more substantial and the brand of the Divine Talisman Fire faintly materialized on his brow, Ji Xiu finished absorbing the essence. A pleasant, refreshing feeling washed over him, and he opened his eyes.

But when he saw that all eyes were fixed on him, their expressions complex and unreadable, Ji Xiu was a little bewildered.

’Weren’t they all just chatting amongst themselves a moment ago? Why are they all staring at me now?’

Having been completely immersed in the two steles, Ji Xiu was utterly unaware of what had just transpired in the outside world.

It was Ye Ningzhi, standing not far behind him, who came to her senses first. She tugged on his sleeve and spoke in a low voice, her tone complex and hard to describe:

"Senior Brother, you..."

"You just broke a sixty-year-old record for the Prefecture Students’ entrance assessment at the Jiangyin Prefecture Courtyard."

’A sixty-year-old record?’

Ji Xiu froze for a moment before turning his gaze to the two steles.

When he could clearly make out the writing on them...

Only then did he finally start to understand. As Ye Ningzhi whispered her explanation, he grasped what had just occurred.

Apparently, the essence contained within the two steles was not something that just anyone could see.

One had to be a Martial Artist clad in an Immortal Robe, with the potential to overcome the Three-Limit Purple Ribbon;

or a Qi Cultivator who had formed a Divine Thought, possessed profound mastery of Dao Skills, reached Great Success in a Daoist Level skill, or even possessed a Daoist Technique. Only people of that caliber could see it!

And according to the rules of the Jiangyin Prefecture Courtyard,

traditionally, prospective Prefecture Students only needed to meet the threshold on either the Martial Stele or the Divine Stele. Doing so was enough to gain entry for Cultivation and enjoy the benefits of a Prefecture Student.

But whether it was the Martial Dao or the path of the Divine Soul, both required immense effort and great perseverance to advance step by step.

Take this year’s entrance threshold for Prefecture Students, for example.

Candidates needed either Great Success in Bone Forging, reaching a state of imperviousness to blades and spears, or to have achieved Qi Absorption and Grain Avoidance while studying Dao Skills. One of the two was sufficient.

What did that even mean?

Countless people trained relentlessly through winter and summer, but even those born into Grand Lineages or powerful Schools might not reach the level of forging their Silver Bones and refining their entire spinal column by that age—to say nothing of mastering Dao Skills.

That path required a Visualization Map from the Script Recognition and Locket Granting stage just to begin. The more Dao Seals one comprehended, the more substantial their future Divine Thought would be, but the more difficult their Cultivation would become. Furthermore, it placed the heaviest emphasis on innate talent and comprehension.

Fan Nansong of the Flying Immortal Temple was a figure who had achieved the rank of Daoist High Merit. Though it was unclear what realm that represented beyond mere Dao Skill, he had begun cultivating the Dao at a young age and had only achieved Great Success in Qi Absorption in his twenties.

After that, the stage of forming a Divine Thought nearly held him back for the better part of his life, which was a testament to the difficulty of Dao Skills.

In the Great Xuan, where the Martial Dao flourished, the realm of Dao Skills was something that only powerful officials and esteemed nobles were qualified to even come into contact with.

Although the threshold for passing the Divine Stele’s test seemed much lower than achieving Great Success in Bone Forging,

in an entire prefecture, how many Grand Lineages actually possessed a heritage of Dao Skills?

Let alone producing a young prodigy who could earn the title of Qi Cultivator in their early twenties.

If such a person appeared, they would be an absolute treasure in any Grand Lineage, destined to be groomed as the successor to the family enterprise.

The family would spare no expense to send them into a true Outer Dao lineage. Even if they couldn’t win the favor of an orthodox sect, being valued by a Side Sect was still a first-class prospect.

Once accepted into such an Outer Dao sect, with the backing of Daoist Lineages from so-called ’Immortals, Buddhas, and Divines,’ the goal of these disciples would inevitably be to cross through the Realm Gates and smuggle themselves into the Era of the Listed Immortals, a world where the Divine Soul can become a Manifested Saint.

The Daoist High Merits, and even those at the True Master Level, within those sects would never allow their Preaching Disciples to have any further entanglements with the Great Xuan.

The Martial Stele was difficult, but the Divine Stele was even more so!

When the Mansion Courtyard recruited Prefecture Students, it was always a matter of choosing one path. As long as a candidate passed one of the assessments, that was that.

So where would one ever see...

...someone like Ji Xiu, who conquered both steles, causing the Ancient Bell to ring, receiving an infusion of essence from the Dao Stele, and earning a dual Grade-A Superior evaluation?

He was a talent of the highest caliber, without a doubt!

Moreover, no one able to enter the Mansion Courtyard came from a simple background; nearly all of them had powerful connections. Half were Grand Lineage Members, and the others were descendants of elders from various Schools.

Even if they weren’t from the Direct Lineage, they were still prominent figures in a Side Branch. Otherwise, they could never have vied for such a qualification.

These future pillars of their respective families were most skilled at networking and social maneuvering. And among them, those who entered the Mansion Courtyard and managed to become Prefecture Officials were true dragons among men, a very small minority.

Therefore, for most people, entering the Mansion Courtyard was, on the one hand, for the sake of Cultivation.

On the other hand, it was to build connections!

This was also something their elders at home had instructed them to do.

Thus, with Ji Xiu’s sudden and spectacular emergence, the way these people looked at him changed. Their eyes grew fervent as they scrambled to befriend him.

As the brief silence in the field broke, a new commotion immediately erupted:

"Brother Ji, my name is Bai Xia, from the Tea House. From now on, we’ll be fellow students in the courtyard, and classmates taking the Prefecture Official exam together in three years. Now that the assessment is over, would you be interested in coming to my home for a cup of tea?"

"I have a younger sister whose beauty is absolutely peerless, no less than these two young ladies!"