On the second day, just as the sky began to brighten, Shi Xuan watched the sun rise from the window. Then, he pulled open the door and walked out.
The ladder went from the first floor to the eighteenth floor, and the closed iron-colored door slowly opened in front of Shi Xuan. Inside was a transparent light shield made of blue light.
Two young people, a man and a woman, came out of the light shield. The man was about the same height as Shi Xuan, and he was of medium height. There was a hint of tiredness in his eyebrows, but he looked very scholarly. The woman was pretty, and her face was filled with a touch of maternal gentleness. Because her belly was not small, it should be six or seven months old.
"Hello, sir, are you the neighbor who just moved in yesterday? I'm Li Wei, and this is my wife, Huang Xiao. We live across from you. " The man carefully supported his wife, and at the same time did not forget to greet Shi Xuan warmly.
Looking at this warm scene, Shi Xuan could not help but smile. "I'm Shi Xuan. You two are so loving, going out for a walk early in the morning. " Since his previous life, when he moved to a big city and lived in a high-rise building, Shi Xuan had not taken the initiative to greet his neighbors. It was the same during his years of cultivation. He did not expect the residents here to be so enthusiastic. However, their cultivation was not high. Li Wei was only in the Out-Of-Body Realm, and Huang Xiao was only in the Qi Realm.
Huang Xiao looked at her husband happily. "It's all his fault. He clearly spent all night studying formations last night. In the morning, I told him not to accompany me for a walk and to have a good rest. It's not a big deal to not walk for a day, but he just didn't listen."
Li Wei laughed when he heard this. "We are all cultivators. It's nothing to not sleep for a day. Mr. Shi, please don't laugh."
"By the way, Mr. Li, are you proficient in formations?" Shi Xuan asked with a little curiosity. People here liked to call strange men mister, so Shi Xuan followed suit.
Li Wei said embarrassedly, "I make a living in the Linyuan Formation Research Institute, but recently I happened to reach a critical point, so I studied all night."
Shi Shuan casually asked Li Wei a few questions and gained a rough understanding of the Leaving Aperture Realm cultivators of this world. Li Wei was also a graduate of a famous Dao Academy, but he majored in the Formation Development Faculty. As such, the standard of his cultivation was slightly lower than that of the other Faculties.
Li Wei was a representative of the Out of Aperture Stage cultivators in the field of formations. His understanding of formations and restrictions was almost at the lowest level of the Divine Soul Stage cultivators in the Yu Great World, which was quite good.
On this side, Shi Xuan asked casually, but on the other side, Li Wei was extremely surprised. He was an outstanding cultivator among the cultivators of the same level in the Linyuan Formation Research Institute, but this strange Mr. Shi was able to get to the point with just a few words. It seemed that he was very immersed in the Dao of Formation.
"Mr. Shi, it seems that you are also a formation master? Which Taoist school did you come from? " Li Wei asked in admiration, causing Huang Xiao, who was standing beside him, to be surprised. Her husband had always been proud of his mastery of spell formations, and had always been a little arrogant. This Mister Shi did not seem to emit any spiritual pressure, which meant that his mastery of spell formations must be extraordinary.
"I graduated from the Lower School of Xu Qing Dao Academy, and have just returned to Linyuan City." Shi Xuan revealed his fake identity. Xiao Yang didn't know Shi Xuan's background and what type of spells he was good at, so he gave him a Daoist Spell Theory Department. This way, he could be related to any type of spells.
Li Wei and Huang Xiao both opened their mouths in shock. It seemed that in this world, Xu Qing Dao Academy was indeed very famous.
After calming down, Li Wei cupped his hands and said, "So Mr. Shi is from Xu Qing Dao Academy. No wonder, no wonder, but Mr. Shi, why are you …" The biggest difference between Xu Qing Dao Academy and other Dao Academies was that to graduate, one had to be at least at the Qi Gatherer Stage. Li Wei was curious as to why Shi Xuan did not have the pressure of Heaven and Earth.
Shi Xuan already had an excuse. "After graduation, I planned to return to my hometown, so I did not get my spellcasting license in the imperial capital. The temporary spellcasting license in the Dao Academy has been discontinued, so I was preparing to register today."
Li Wei had an understanding look on his face, but he did not have any doubts. Although the students of Xu Qing Dao Academy were everywhere, there were trading companies, armies, and hunting groups competing for them in major cities, the Dao Academy did not include the students of the Dao Academy. After all, the students of the Dao Academy were good at talking, but when it came to actual combat, they were the typical examples.
"Mr. Shi, you have picked a good day. Today is the examination day for the spellcasting license that is held once every half a month. After you register, you can take the examination in the afternoon. Who knows, you might get your spellcasting license tomorrow," Huang Xiao interrupted.
"In that case, there is no time to lose. Shi Xuan will set off now." The Cloud Ascending Ladder had already gone up and down a few times.
Li Wei hesitated for a moment. Before Shi Xuan entered the Cloud Ascending Ladder, he said, "Ba Zhiyuan, one of the chief officials of the Dao Palace in this city, is narrow-minded. He is especially jealous of cultivators from the Dao Academy like you, Mr. Shi, so please be careful."
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Li." Seeing Li Wei's kindness, Shi Xuan changed the way he addressed him, appearing more intimate.
…
Shi Xuan called for a wheelbarrow to transport passengers and headed to the Dao Palace in Overlooking Abyss City. Along the way, the driver spoke with fervor and assurance. He was even more eloquent than the other driver from the imperial capital that Shi Xuan had met in his previous life. However, he also learned more common sense and some recent events from the conversation.
For example, the survivors in the underground abyss were too incompetent. They actually allowed the Yin Wind Ghosts in the nearby nine layers of Earthly Fiends to grow and advance to the Golden Core Realm. They sneaked up at night and ate many living people, causing everyone to be alarmed. The consul of the city had already worked with the Overlooking Abyss General, Xiao Huarong, to prepare to send out the cultivator army to eliminate the Golden Core Realm ghost.
"Ten yuan coins. Sigh, if only I were living in the era of the Celestial Lord Xu Qing, who controlled the skies above and the earth below. Even if those Yin Wind Ghosts grew stronger, they wouldn't dare to offend us. Sir, please take care." The Xu Qing Dao Palace was single-handedly established by the great figure, the Celestial Lord Xu Qing.
After getting out of the car, in front of him was a building that occupied an extremely large area. In front of him were two six-story buildings, and behind them were many courtyards. On one of the buildings, the words "Overlooking Abyss City Dao Palace" were written in seal script, while the other building was covered with a layer of water screen. Inside the screen, a dark-skinned cultivator dressed in a classic bright yellow robe was giving a speech.
He stood in the middle of a ring-shaped hall, surrounded by seats. There were five to six hundred cultivators of different ages and extraordinary auras sitting in them.
"The number of demonic beasts in our world is decreasing, and it is difficult to tame demonic beasts to advance. As a result, there is a shortage of materials. Many Jindan Grandmaster and Yin God Supremacies have expressed the need to recuperate and give those demonic beasts the space to grow again. Otherwise, it will only be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, and that will be a great disaster for us and our descendants … "
"What they say makes a lot of sense, but there is one point that I do not agree with. Why are we only looking for them in this world? There are countless Void Heavenly Demons in the skies above, and compared to demonic beasts, the quality of their materials is only not bad. Why don't we conquer and hunt them? Have you forgotten the heroic spirit of the era of the Celestial Lord Xu Qing, everyone? … "
"Therefore, our journey lies in the vast starry sky."
His speech was very passionate, and it was quite able to stir up the emotions of the crowd. However, the five to six hundred cultivators around him were not affected at all, and each of them asked incisive questions.
Shi Xuan did not continue watching and walked into the building that had the words "Daoist Palace of Overlooking Abyss City" written on it. That person should be the Supremacy Weimu, and those cultivators seemed to be the members of the Senate.
In this building, Shi Xuan easily found the place to register for the spellcasting license. The people in charge were two beautiful ladies, and when they saw the Xu Qing Dao Academy on Shi Xuan's identity document, they were also very surprised. Disciples from such a top-notch Dao Academy were fought over by all the major cities, so why would they come to a small place like Overlooking Abyss City? However, it became clear after looking at the Dao Technique Theory Department.
After paying the registration fee of a thousand dollars for the green spellcasting license, Shi Xuan randomly found a chair and sat down, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. He did not care about the people passing by, and sat there until the "Spellcasting License" examination began in the afternoon.
Because there was an examination every half a month, and the disciples who did not graduate from the Dao Academy had not yet returned, there were only about ten people taking the examination. This quiet room seemed deserted.
According to the information that Shi Xuan's sensitive ears heard, most of these ten or so people had been unable to pass the examination for a long time. Two of them had recently advanced and obtained a higher level of the spellcasting license (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, seven levels). Only one person was like Shi Xuan, who came for the examination for the first time.
This cultivator was an ordinary young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, but he looked a little nervous.
…
"The usual examination is three rounds, I believe everyone knows." The one who spoke was the oldest of the three chief officials who had just walked in, the one with white hair. However, judging from the respectful attitude of the other two chief officials towards him, he should have an extraordinary identity, and was most likely the Dao Palace Lord of Overlooking Abyss City.
Seeing these cultivators nodding, the chief official introduced himself with a gentle smile, "I am Xiao Cangtian, and I am in charge of your examination today." He was indeed the Dao Palace Lord of Overlooking Abyss City, and he was also the only middle-grade Jindan Grandmaster in Overlooking Abyss City. In terms of seniority, he was even the grandfather of this generation's Linyuan General.
Then he introduced the two people beside him, "This is Ba Zhiyuan, and this is Xu Zhang. They are both masters of the Soul Realm, and they are the chief officials of the Dao Palace."
Hearing Ba Zhiyuan, Shi Xuan remembered Li Wei's reminder, so he looked him up and down. Ba Zhiyuan had regular facial features, and his brows were tightly furrowed. His face was dark, and he looked ordinary. However, the female cultivator named Xu Zhang was a little beauty.
The first round was the examination of Taoism theory. A water mirror appeared on the table, and eight types of knowledge about Taoism appeared on it. Next to it was paper and a brush.
Although Shi Xuan had never been good at using a brush, his soul cultivation was extremely strong, and his Yin Spirit had reached an extreme level of control over his body. Therefore, his writing with a brush was quite smooth and beautiful.
However, Shi Xuan didn't know how the knowledge of Taoism in the Qi Channeling Realm was like, and he graduated from the Xu Qing Daoist Academy, a top Daoist academy, so he could only choose to answer based on his understanding of Taoism.
Xiao Cangtian paced back and forth in the quiet room, and looked at the situation of the candidates answering the questions from time to time. When he stood next to the young man, he, who was already extremely nervous, trembled even more. Xiao Cangtian had to pat him on the shoulder to signal him to calm down, and then he walked to Shi Xuan's side.
Xiao Cangtian looked at the few questions that Shi Xuan answered, nodded, and left. However, after a few steps, he recalled the answers he had just seen, and felt that there seemed to be some truth in them, and they were not as simple as they seemed. Although they didn't involve more advanced Taoism theory, they were unique, and made people feel enlightened.
Therefore, Xiao Cangtian walked back to Shi Xuan's side and stood still. The more he read, the more fascinated he became.
