Chapter 738 -740: The Big Exam Begins, A Covert Move
The Spirit Monster inspection team set off with great fanfare; for the investment they hoped to carry out, they would have to wait at least a month, after all, this was a real inspection, not a sham one.
And then, naturally, the Divine Dao examination began.
After three months of training, the Heavenly Dao directly formed an examination hall within Qin Muye’s Daoist training ground, allowing him to take the exam without stepping foot outside.
As for those cultivators who hadn’t undergone the training and still wished to sit the exam, they would have to use the Teleportation Array to get there, but the Heavenly Dao didn’t really care about them; what did they think the Divine Dao examination was, child’s play?
How could someone who didn’t know anything be allowed on post, simply based on their connections?
“Lord of Heaven, are there any promising candidates?” Qin Muye stopped and asked.
The Heavenly Dao is formless and omnipresent, so it’s everywhere. However, under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Dao would not enter a Saint’s Daoist ground as a sign of respect.
Qin Muye’s situation this time was an exception because his training class was truly well-suited to be an examination venue, and he had consented to it.
Compared to the Three Sects, the Heavenly Dao actually preferred Qin Muye—his interests aligned perfectly with the Heavenly Dao’s.
“There are a few,” the Heavenly Dao began to list the names of the candidates It viewed favorably, indicating that they were likely chosen in advance.
Telling this to Qin Muye wasn’t really a problem; his Spirit Monsters didn’t participate in the Divine Dao examination, and he was in on it himself. Leakages afterward didn’t matter, because the matter was true.
“Indeed those few, I had some idea myself. I have a sense of the candidates’ performance over these three months of training, but this will still require guidance from the Lord of Heaven. After all, what’s on paper is just that, and practice reveals true knowledge,” Qin Muye said with an expression of concern for the other’s benefit.
“Saint Xuanjun is truly outstanding, and we owe you a debt of gratitude for your efforts. Without the Saint’s help, we might have descended into chaos,” responded the Heavenly Dao.
“Moreover, the Three Sects are complicated and intertwined, and without the Divine Dao examination, many rotten elements would likely emerge,” the Heavenly Dao was dissatisfied with the internal relations of the Three Sects.
Nevertheless, discontent as It may be, It wasn’t in a position to intervene. The Three Sects’ Sect Masters had their own plans, and although the Heavenly Dao controlled the Xuanzhen Realm, It was unable to interfere with the affairs of the Three Sects, since Its Masters were capable of contending with It. A real fight would surely be to the Heavenly Dao’s own detriment.
“This is easy to handle; the previous performance evaluation is enough to resolve that.”
“You must understand, Lord of Heaven, that the Divine Dao System is there to benefit the Xuanzhen Realm, not to select those with virtue and talent. As long as one completes the performance evaluation, why bother whether they are good or bad?” Qin Muye said with a smile.
“There’s some truth to that. Why does the Saint Xuanjun help me in so many ways?” the Heavenly Dao was quite receptive to Qin Muye’s remark, and finally asked.
“The natural law nourishes all beings for humanity, yet humans owe nothing to repay heaven.”
“You might not know, my lord, that the world I once belonged to has been reduced to ashes due to calamity. Now it’s stabilized, but do I wish to repeat the same mistakes and live a life of displacement again?
“I cultivate the Earth Immortal Dao and know the importance of a realm. If the Xuanzhen Realm is in danger, other than the Lord of Heaven, who else can share life and death with it? If the Lord of Heaven grows stronger, wouldn’t I live even better?”
Although Qin Muye’s words were not pleasant to hear, the Heavenly Dao felt them deeply and agreed with his sentiments.
This made It think about the Three Sects’ Sect Masters. They had followed It since the beginning of creation, but as times changed, they had reversed their roles, becoming more powerful. While their cooperation had expanded the Xuanzhen Realm enormously, It had also seen a continuous decline in Its own authority; now, despite Its eminence, It resembled more of a mascot.
Luckily, the Heavenly Dao was powerful enough. Even though largely reduced to a figurehead, by virtue of Its connection to the Xuanzhen Realm, It still held a considerable say.
“Saint Xuanjun truly is exceptional,” the Heavenly Dao didn’t believe everything, for It had heard many pleasing things before.
But It never truly listened; instead, It appreciated the actions Qin Muye took, and now, coupled with his recent words, their effect was even more significant.
“You flatter me, it’s just some insights from a life of hardship,” Qin Muye replied casually.
“I’m just curious, with the strength of Saint Xuanjun, you could have had a transcendent position in any realm, so why choose my Xuanzhen?” the Heavenly Dao started probing.
“This humble temple is too small for me, and the Great Thousand Realms themselves are not very welcoming to outsiders,”
“Furthermore,” said Lord of Heaven, “you might have misunderstood; I have not yet chosen the Xuanzhen Realm. I am still in the process of evaluation.”
“This action is merely a form of submission. If you all do not handle affairs efficiently during this period, I will take my leave,”
Qin Muye was not one to mince words; at such a time, if he were to come forward with flattery, he would have been seen as insincere by the Heavenly Dao, perhaps even harboring malicious intentions.
“So, Saint Xuan Jun, what do you think now?” The Heavenly Dao certainly knew that getting someone to join the Xuanzhen Realm was not so straightforward—it wasn’t as if they could simply wish for someone to join and they would. Since everyone’s strengths were similar, it was impossible to force anyone to stay.
“It’s passable,” said Qin Muye, recounting the ventures he had invested in to the Heavenly Dao, who was already aware of them, though turning a blind eye, as these affairs were managed by the Three Sects’ Sect Masters.
Even the visit from the Supreme Daoist to Qin Muye was known to Him, but He was unaware of the specifics of their discussion.
After hearing what Qin Muye said, He was somewhat speechless, no wonder Qin Muye used the word ‘passable’ to describe it.
“Indeed, the Three Sects have acted unbecomingly this time. They wanted to profit without responsibility, which is one thing, but they actually did not want you to benefit, which is indeed inappropriate,” the Heavenly Dao immediately realized that the Three Sects wanted to have their cake and eat it too upon hearing about wager agreements and investments, where the Three Sects contributed the most but still sought to suppress others—it was a clear desire for an unearned gain.
Fortunately, out of consideration for Qin Muye’s dignity, in the end they grudgingly granted him a thousand Medium Thousand Worlds.
“I too have been inconsiderate this time, not foreseeing that the Three Sects’ Sect Masters would so highly value these subordinate Three Thousand Worlds. Taking the easy gains and benefits from the palm of the Three Sects—I misjudged,” said Qin Muye, shaking his head, and then adding, “Had I known, I wouldn’t have gotten involved. A situation meant for mutual benefit has turned out .”
“If it weren’t for the already sunk costs, I would have abandoned the affair long ago.”
Hearing Qin Muye’s words, the Heavenly Dao felt somewhat uncomfortable. What did ‘easy gains’ and ‘benefits in the palm’ mean? These Three Thousand Worlds were all part of Him, yet in Qin Muye’s words, they belonged to the Three Sects.
However, He did not voice any objection, and He began to be calculative internally—in the Xuanzhen Realm, surely not everyone thought the same way.
This was not good news for the Heavenly Dao.
Afterward, He could only silently listen to Qin Muye’s complaints without interrupting.
“I’ve said quite a bit just now, making unfounded statements upon my first visit—I request that you keep this matter confidential,” said Qin Muye seemingly coming back to his senses, realizing his complaint was inappropriate, so he stopped and asked the Heavenly Dao for discretion.
“You may rest assured, Saint Xuan Jun. What comes from your mouth enters only my ears, and no one else will be aware of it,” replied the Heavenly Dao, having no intent to spread the word; He would not stoop so low.
“In that case, I won’t disturb you any longer, Lord of Heaven, as I must attend to the Divine Dao examination of those Three Thousand Worlds. There will be much to attend to in the days to come.” Qin Muye gave a bow and then turned to leave.
The Heavenly Dao also responded with a ‘Safe journey,’ without attempting to keep Qin Muye for further conversation.
At the same time, He pondered his own situation while continuing to oversee the examination.
Qin Muye departed with a barely visible curve forming at the corner of his mouth. Did He really think their conversation was just an innocent chat? Of course, the intention was to create discord; it was just that he used himself as an example. Unless the Heavenly Dao was truly unthinking, such a conversation would certainly instill a sense of crisis.
The things Qin Muye spoke about were verifiable by the Heavenly Dao Himself, and the findings would coincide with Qin’s narrative.
After all, he did not fabricate lies in his actions but used real information from investigations to incite discord. Therefore, even if the Heavenly Dao knew his intentions, what difference would it make? Would those issues cease to exist simply because Qin Muye had an ulterior motive?
Impossible; on the contrary, the problem would intensify.
Perhaps now it would only cause suspicion, but it left a thorn in place. All that was needed was to follow this thorn and continuously expand upon it, eventually drawing all of the Heavenly Dao’s attention to the Three Sects.
Indeed, the true goal was merely to draw attention. Qin Muye had no intention of succeeding through such disruption. His real purpose was to make the Heavenly Dao pay more attention to the Three Sects, which would allow him to make more moves within the Divine Dao System.
It was fanciful to rely on discord to create a rift between the Heavenly Dao and the Three Sects; that simply was not going to happen.