Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

As he neared the Legacy Pavilion, the feeling of oppression intensified.

His gaze unconsciously moved away from the stone pillar.

Only then did Zhang Jing realize that nearly a hundred people, both men and women with innocent faces, were already crowding in front of the Legacy Pavilion, and even more people were still arriving.

Meanwhile, scattered around the periphery stood about a dozen disciples from the Outer Academy dressed in blue robes, seemingly onlookers.

"Brother Zhang, over here."

A shout suddenly came from not far away.

Zhang Jing looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Ji Bochang waving at him.

"Brother Ji, you arrived so early?"

Zhang Jing walked over to him, asking in surprise.

"Ah, I just happened to be nearby. Besides, Brother Zhang, I have some good news for you." Ji Bochang said excitedly.

"What good news?"

"You haven't chosen to join a mission team because the Tao Merits withdrawal rate is too high, right? I persuaded senior sister for a long time and finally made her give in. As long as you can rank in the top twenty in this examination, senior sister agreed to recommend your addition to the Five-color Team, reducing the Tao Merits withdrawal rate to five percent."

"Thank you, Brother Ji."

Zhang Jing said with a smile, feeling touched.

Although his goal this time is to rank in the top ten, Ji Bochang didn't know that.

It was extraordinary for him to do this much without knowing.

"Remember, Brother Zhang, after you join the Five-color Team, don't mention the withdrawal rate to others." Ji Bochang advised.

"Okay."

Zhang Jing agreed.

As the two of them were talking, the crowd gathering became larger and larger.

Without anyone directing, the crowd spontaneously divided into 3 sections, their statuses distinct from each other.

The fluctuating currents of conversation created a cacophonous wave of noise.

"Do you know why the Dao Institute asked us to gather here?" Someone in the back quietly asked.

"You know?"

"Of course," Seeing someone ask, the speaker's tone unconsciously raised, "See those twenty-nine people in the front? They are the talents ranked Grade-B this time!"

"What does that have to do with the Dao Institute asking us to gather?"

"Have you not noticed that these Grade-B talents rarely appear in front us? You have to remember that we live in the same area."

"Hiss — That's true!"

When the words died down, they felt the entire square suddenly became quiet.

All of the people simultaneously turned to look at the man and woman who had just walked to the front.

Grade-A! Monsters!

The same words appeared in their minds.

Looking at the two figures, even those disciples from the Outer Academy who were watching earlier, had a serious look on their faces.

Located within the crowd.

Zhang Jing also looked at the two figures in front, his expression cool and detached. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"Two Grade-A monsters..."

Ji Bochang's gaze was complicated, his lips moved but he didn't know what to say.

The next moment, the silence in the square was shattered by a booming voice.

"It seems that everyone is here."

The moment the voice rang out, two figures in purple robes slowly descended from the top of the stone pillar, finally hovering above the crowd.

Zhang Jing looked up and saw a familiar figure among them.

Isn't that... Senior Brother Liu?

Although he had changed his clothes, Zhang Jing still recognized him.

Senior Brother Liu said with a serious expression:

"Now, I will announce the second stage of the Dragon Lake Dao Institute examination."

"In recent years, many junior brothers in the Dao Institute have lost their lives while on monster-suppression missions. Therefore, we, the Legacy Pavilion, have unanimously decided that the second stage will take the form of a spell duel, to determine the final ranking of this examination. This aims to serve as a warning for you all that one must always protect the way."

"The time will be three days from now. The location will be here." Another man in a purple robe said:

"For rewards, the top ten will receive fifty Tao Merits monthly, ranked from ten to twenty will receive twenty Tao Merits monthly, and ranked from twenty to thirty will receive five Tao Merits monthly. These will be distributed continuously for a year."

After speaking, the two of them turned into two beams of light and went straight into the Legacy Pavilion.

The square was quiet for a while.

Then.

Boom—

The crowd began to boil.

Standing at the back, some people looked puzzled, some with desperation in their eyes.

"What is a spell duel? I don't know any spells, how am I supposed to duel?"

"We haven't even started gathering energy into our bodies yet, are we supposed to fight with our fists?"

"Why were only the rewards for the top thirty mentioned? What about the rest?"

"Maybe there just aren't any rewards..."

"Wait, you said earlier that those Grade-B Talents seldom appear before us, could it have something to do with this?" someone asked, suddenly recalling what they had heard earlier.

"Yeah, they knew about it a long time ago, so in order to compete for rankings, they've been secluded for cultivation."

"That's not fair!"

"Well, what is fair? Those rewards were never meant for us. I heard that many teams from the Outer Academy will be present that day. Our purpose of participating is to perform as well as possible, hoping to attract some team's attention."

...

Meanwhile.

"I didn't expect it to be a Spell Competition, now it comes down to a hard struggle of cultivation level and spells, not to mention Magic Artifacts." Ji Bochang said helplessly.

"Brother Ji, isn't the end result the same no matter the method? It's just that a Spell Competition is just more direct."

Zhang Jing said casually.

For him, who had already broken through the Qi Refinement second layer, acquired offensive and defensive Magic Artifacts, and possessed Five Spirits of the Spirit River, this was good news.

"Sigh~ You're right, Brother Zhang. There are just three more days. Let's hope I can break through to the Qi Refinement second layer."

Ji Bochang sighed, then said his farewells: "Brother Zhang, I will go back to cultivate, take care."

"Goodbye."

After speaking, Zhang Jing also began to head back.

Meanwhile.

Yong'an City, Zhang's Pharmacy.

"It's been almost a month, Jing'er has never been away from us for this long. I don't know how he is now. Can he get used to the food there? Can he sleep comfortably in his bed? Is he being bullied?"

Mother Zhang was wiping her tears as she spoke.

Father Zhang held Mother Zhang in his arms, comforting her, "Don't worry, Jing'er has grown up."

"How can I not worry?"

In the middle of their conversation.

Knock Knock——

There was a knock on the door of the pharmacy.

"Coming." Father Zhang responded, then quickly went to open the door.

Mother Zhang also hastily wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"Doctor Zhang, our master has asked me to inquire when you will be able to move out?"

"I'm really sorry, our Jing'er will be back in three to five days. Once he returns, we will move out immediately."

When Mother Zhang went out, she saw Father Zhang speaking respectfully to a man in a brocade robe.

The man then said impatiently: "Doctor Zhang, I hope you will keep your word and move as soon as your son returns. Our master is getting anxious."

"Understood, please be assured."

With that, the man nodded and turned to leave the pharmacy.

Behind him, Father Zhang and Mother Zhang looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief.

After a while.

The neighbor, Manager Liu, came in quietly, met Father Zhang's gaze and sighed:

"Ah, Doctor Zhang, have they been pressuring you again?"

"Yes." Father Zhang nodded helplessly.

"Damn, they've also been pressuring me. If it wasn't for you stalling, our shops would have been kicked out by now."

"If it wasn't for the fact that the owner of Hundred Medicines Pavilion knows some Immortal, and can't be offended, he wants to buy my shop with such a small amount of money. He can keep dreaming!"

Manager Liu grumbled.

"Enough, Manager Liu, be careful of your words." Father Zhang smiled and comforted him.

"By the way, Doctor Zhang, where in the world did your son Zhang Jing go? It's been a whole month since he's been home."

Father Zhang wanted to say something, but a gesture from Mother Zhang stopped him.

Then Mother Zhang laughed and said, "Manager Liu, my son Zhang Jing went to visit relatives in the neighboring county. He'll be back soon."

"So that's why."

After Manager Liu left, Father Zhang asked:

"Wife, why did you—"

"Are you foolish, husband? If you tell them this, they'll definitely ask all kinds of questions when Jing'er comes back. Isn't that just causing him trouble?"

Mother Zhang rolled her eyes at Father Zhang.

"So that's why, so that's why, you were really thoughtful!" Father Zhang exclaimed as if he understood.

——

ps: Thanks to 'Ink without Traces' and 'With Thanks' for the tips~QAQ~