Scattering Hand Level 2 (0/20) → Scattering Hand Level 3 (0/30)

In an instant, the fifteen stances of Scattering Hand became increasingly refined in his mind. Even the subsequent variations of each stance and their interconnectedness became exceptionally clear.

The flow of mana in each stance felt instinctive. Zhang Yu felt that if he unleashed a stance, the mana within him would naturally transform and flow to his limbs.

“The passive breathing of the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method is also contributing to this process.”

Zhang Yu sensed the circulation of mana within his body. He could feel that, due to the constant movement of mana throughout his body, he could wield mana more adeptly when executing Scattering Hand.

He was somewhat amazed by the immense assistance the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method provided to beginners. Not only did it aid in breathing and body refinement, but it also greatly benefited martial arts practice.

However, the exam was approaching, leaving Zhang Yu with little time for further contemplation.

After a brief session of breathing exercises to replenish his strength, he hastened towards the examination hall.

The first exam in the afternoon was on Daoist arts, followed by the martial arts combat exam.

The Daoist arts exam primarily focused on the recognition and application of talismans.

After all, those in the Qi Refining Realm could not yet master true Daoist arts, and could only use their knowledge and mana to activate talismans. Therefore, the three-year Daoist arts curriculum in high school was essentially related to talismans.

Among them, “fu” referred to incantations, and “lu” referred to registers. The term “fu lu” (talismans and registers) referred to the secret methods of communicating with deities and controlling divine power.

…

Inside the computer lab.

Having arrived at the examination hall, Zhang Yu sat before a computer, silently recalling his knowledge of talismans.

Not far away, Zhao Tianxing was frantically flipping through textbooks, repeatedly memorizing points he feared he might forget.

Bai Zhenzhen rested on the desk for a nap, seemingly unfazed by the upcoming exam.

Just then, a bell rang, and the students placed all items unrelated to the exam on the table at the front of the classroom before returning to their seats.

A moment later, the computer screens flickered, revealing their exam papers.

Question 1: Which of the following talismans belongs to the Myriad-Paths-Four-Connections Great Divinity of the Ministry of Transportation?

Relevant information instantly surfaced in Zhang Yu’s memory.

The Ministry of Transportation, one of Kunxu’s eight major divine departments, oversaw all roads, aviation, and waterways within Kunxu, possessing the authority to monitor all traffic under heaven.

The Myriad-Paths-Four-Connections Great Divinity was a righteous deity in the Ministry of Transportation in charge of city roads. Zhang Yu recalled that one of the divinity’s powers was recording surveillance data for all city roads and vehicles…

Through the talisman, one could borrow the power of the Myriad-Paths-Four-Connections Great Divinity to access various surveillance data within the city road network, allowing one to see three hundred years into the past, in perfect detail.

After this memory flashed through his mind, Zhang Yu continued to examine the options below.

There were four options, roughly like this:

A. !*★,°*:.☆(￣▽￣)/$:*.°★*.

B. (o>ε(o>ｕ(≧∩≦)(￣ー￣)X(^▽^)< C. *´∀`)´∀`)*▍☼´∀`)*´∀`)(((´∀`) D. ～o(▽｀๑۩۩o)=▊=▋=▍ "All four options are the beginnings of talismanic incantations, and from the style, they all belong to righteous deities of the Ministry of Transportation... Heh, trying to mess with my head right off the bat?" "Should be option D, the Vehicle Monitoring Talisman, right?" Zhang Yu considered it for a moment and selected D, then moved on to the next multiple-choice question. "Which of the following talismans does *not* belong to the category of Report Talismans?" Zhang Yu was slightly stunned. "Report Talismans? Never learned that before, is this another beyond-the-syllabus question?" Frowning, he casually selected one that seemed likely and moved on to the next question. Having completed all the multiple-choice questions in this manner, he proceeded to the fill-in-the-blank and essay questions. The difficulty of the questions increased sharply. Such as: "Please compose a Physical Examination Talisman, respectfully requesting the Health-Spring-Growth Great Divinity of the Ministry of Health to examine your stomach and intestines for lumps." Or: "What talisman can be used to quickly subdue three ordinary mortals with no mana, located 30 meters directly north? Please draw the talisman. Below is the specific data for the three mortals and the surrounding environment..." "Damn it... I can't just beat up those three mortals? Why would I use a talisman?" Just as Zhang Yu was frantically composing a Detention Talisman, he heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. He looked up and saw that He Dayou, a classmate, had already finished his paper and was preparing to leave. Zhang Yu remembered that He Dayou was the third-highest scorer in the monthly exam last month, a wealthy individual like Qian Shen. However, unlike Qian Shen, who focused solely on grades, He Dayou loved to flaunt his wealth and had little interaction with Zhang Yu. His early submission of the exam was a form of showing off. This was because talisman-making was a subject that required a great deal of investment to truly master, and it was the clearest dividing line between the poor and the rich. Many even referred to talismans as the language of the wealthy. Specifically, the act of drawing talismans allowed one to invoke the power of the eight major divine departments to accomplish incredible feats. The eight divine departments were commonly known as the Eight Righteous Divinities. But schools only taught the most basic methods of drawing talismans. To learn more advanced talismans, even many that were not taught in schools, one had to purchase registers. In addition to the high cost of purchasing registers, there were also membership fees, offerings to the gods, levels of faith, and other expensive expenditures. It could be said that the talismans provided by the registers were not only categorized by the cultivator's level, but also relied most importantly on money. Only by spending enough money on the registers could one have sufficient faith, unlock more permissions, master more advanced talisman-drawing methods, and various types of talismans. Having completed the above prerequisites, one was then qualified to diligently study and practice talismans, such as engaging in one-on-one talisman conversations with the Eight Righteous Divinities, receiving error corrections from the divinities, or optimizing talismans with divine guidance while practicing... Of course, this process of diligent practice was also expensive. It could be said that outside of school, learning talismans was a process that had to be built with money. And throughout this process, any violation of the rules set by the Eight Righteous Divinities, such as privately transmitting talismans or using talismans to violate sect laws, would be punished, ranging from fines to bankruptcy. Every time Zhang Yu attended Daoist arts class to learn about talismans, he couldn't help but lament that this was an extremely unfair subject, the best way for the wealthy to boost their scores in the college entrance examination, and the subject that could create the biggest gap between the rich and the poor. It was indeed worthy of being called the language of the wealthy. But Zhang Yu had also heard Zhou Tianyi say that talismans were not the most expensive thing in Daoist arts. Many of the various Daoist arts that could only be learned after Foundation Establishment required huge investments, enough to leave a college student deeply in debt. After finally enduring the Daoist arts exam, Zhang Yu saw a large group of people surrounding He Dayou, comparing answers as soon as he left the classroom. He Dayou smiled slightly, took out a jade tablet-like object, and then scribbled on it as if drawing strange symbols. As the mana in his hand fluctuated, a golden phantom slowly emerged from the jade tablet. He Dayou said with a smile: "This is the All-Knowing-Ten-Thousand-Questions Great Divinity's Answer Talisman. You can ask Him any questions you have." Many students exclaimed in surprise at this scene, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at the jade tablet in He Dayou's hand. As Zhang Yu watched the jade tablet in He Dayou's hand, Bai Zhenzhen's voice sounded from the side: "That's a register, right? With the whole jade-colored skin, this guy must have been preparing to show off like this for a long time, huh?" Zhang Yu turned his head and saw Bai Zhenzhen, who was indignant and twisting her body with jealousy. Zhang Yu asked, "How did you do on the exam?" Bai Zhenzhen said displeased: "How else could it be? At least a quarter of the talismans were ones we haven't learned." "The college entrance exam was 20% beyond the syllabus two years ago, and this year it's up to 25%? If it continues like this, when we take the college entrance exam, will half of the content be things we haven't been taught? They really have no shame." "I hope I don't run into those wealthy people in the combat exam, or I'll beat them until they fail." On the other side, He Dayou seemed to have sensed Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu's gazes, turned his head, and smiled slightly at the two. Bai Zhenzhen instantly put on an indifferent look and nodded slightly at him. A moment later, the next exam was about to begin. He Dayou and several of his companions walked towards the martial arts combat exam hall. He Dayou was the kind of person who could write "My Father the School Trustee" for elementary school essays. Because his father really was a school trustee of Songyang High School. But having been raised in luxury since childhood, he didn't think he had an easy life, simply because he was only one of his father's thirty-odd children. Only after going through numerous assessments, competitions, and completing family KPIs did he become one of the only two high school students and immortal cultivators among the thirty-odd siblings. As for the other mortal siblings, they had long since gone to work for their father's company to repay their upbringing debts. "Although I am a child from a wealthy family, the more important thing is my own hard work and talent that got me to where I am today." "I earned my father's investment through my own efforts. Why can't I flaunt my wealth?" "Those poor ghosts only know how to complain and blame others all day long, thinking that I only got to this point because I have a rich dad? A bunch of childish and ridiculous guys." With this thought in mind, He Dayou had always looked down on those who were poor and had bad grades. And when he entered Songyang High School as the school trustee's son and gained a deeper understanding of the many unspoken rules of the high school, he gradually began to dislike even the poor people with good grades. "Good grades are only temporary after all. These poor people don't know... From the moment they were born, they simply had no chance of succeeding." "Maybe they and us can't even be considered the same species anymore." With this thought, He Dayou had always maintained the third-highest overall ranking in the grade, occasionally flaunting his wealth, living a peaceful campus life, and waiting for the moment to be admitted to a top university to arrive. Until one person's change broke the peace in his heart. Seeing how Zhang Yu had been working harder and harder for the past half month, even causing the whole class to become competitive, he felt disgusted. "This kind of poor ghost... Counting debts every month, having to rush to work after school every day, earning a few hundred or a thousand dollars of pocket money at a time, saving every penny to cultivate immortality, fantasizing about getting rich overnight and achieving immortality." "They simply don't know what kind of people their competitors in the college entrance exam really are." "Still jumping up and down in school." "Truly ugly in their poverty." He Dayou couldn't stand Zhang Yu's crazy effort, as if he could win against them, the wealthy, through hard work. Especially after hearing the rumor that Zhang Yu had been accepted as a disciple by a Golden Core Realm immortal, the school trustee's son specially used his connections to confirm the news. After confirming that Zhang Yu had not been accepted as a disciple by a Golden Core Realm immortal, his hatred for this person reached a peak. "Deliberately not clarifying, wanting to take advantage of the tiger's might?" So he planned to take the opportunity to teach this poor ghost a lesson in the combat exam and make him recognize his true position.