Volume 1 Chapter 23: Dao Heart

Volume 1 Chapter 23: Dao Heart       

Elder Wang looked at Feng Yudie, his expression full of helplessness.

“Feng Yudie, before you enter the hall, tie your hair properly. Your appearance will affect your assessment results.”

After giving her a reminder, he turned to Pei Lengxue.

He hadn’t seen Pei Lengxue the last time he visited the Hundred Lotus Sect, so he asked curiously, “You came with Feng Yudie?”

“Yes.” Pei Lengxue cupped her hands in greeting. “This Junior's name is Pei Lengxue. Young Master Ye sent me as Senior Sister Feng’s attendant.”

“A disciple of the Hundred Lotus Sect, huh…” Elder Wang stroked his beard and raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t Young Master Ye himself who came, but you instead?”

“Yes.”

That struck Elder Wang as odd. When he had visited the Hundred Lotus Sect, Ye Ao seemed very eager to get Ye Anping admitted to the inner sect of the Profound Star Sect. So naturally, after hearing about Feng Yudie’s enrollment, he assumed Ye Ao would arrange for Ye Anping to accompany her.

But now, they had sent some girl with a mere trinary spirit root. What was Ye Ao thinking?

After a moment’s hesitation, he waved his hand and said, “Well, the Profound Star Sect doesn’t have very strict requirements for attendants—but that doesn’t mean there are no requirements. Let me give you a kind reminder: as Feng Yudie’s attendant, you’ll have to take the disciple selection event together. The standard for you will be lower, but if you still can’t pass, you won’t be allowed into the sect.”

Pei Lengxue paused, then respectfully bowed again. “I understand, Elder.”

“Alright then. Follow me. The first round is a written exam.”

With that, Elder Wang led the way toward the side hall.

Pei Lengxue swallowed nervously and, without even sparing a glance at Feng Yudie beside her, quickly chased after him.

She hadn’t felt that anxious before coming here. She’d assumed the disciple selection event would be similar to the Hundred Lotus Sect’s—maybe just more competitive.

But the moment she heard “written exam” from Elder Wang, her heart immediately started pounding.

Sparring, spellcasting, alchemy—those she was confident in. But answering questions and writing essays?

Not her thing.

If she failed here, wouldn’t her senior brother have sent her all this way for nothing?

Perhaps sensing her anxiety, Feng Yudie sidled up beside her and asked, “Junior Sister Pei, nervous?”

“Not at all.” Pei Lengxue glanced at her, but then mumbled under her breath, “I’m just… not that good at book stuff. My senior brother never really taught me that kind of thing…”

“I’ll sneak you the answers then,” Feng Yudie whispered.

“…You know Daoist texts?”

“Of course I do!” Feng Yudie puffed out her cheeks smugly. “I’ve got the whole thing memorized front to back. Hmph.”

Just then, Elder Wang, who had been walking in front, seemed to catch wind of their muttering. He let out a soft sigh and gave a warning:

“Feng Yudie, if you try to help her cheat, you’ll both be disqualified. And not just from this exam—you’ll never be allowed to take the Profound Star Sect disciple selection event again.”

“Ah~ Elder Wang, I was just kidding!” Feng Yudie responded sheepishly, then made a silly face at his back when he wasn’t looking.

“Sigh—”

Elder Wang sighed again. A saying came to mind: Like attracts like.

He had only met Feng Yudie twice, but for some reason, he could already see the shadow of her master, that troublemaker True Immortal Tai Xu, in her behavior.

Feng Yudie winked at Pei Lengxue and lowered her voice again.

“Just watch for my signal, Junior Sister Pei.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”

“If I get caught, then I get caught.” She smiled sweetly. “Worst case, I’ll go back to the Hundred Lotus Sect with you. Then we can cultivate together every day~”

Even though she was whispering, Elder Wang still heard her—but this time, he didn’t say anything.

In truth, Feng Yudie’s admission into the sect had long been predetermined by the sect master and the elders. As long as she didn’t cause too much of a stir, the Profound Star Sect would most certainly turn a blind eye.

After all, she wasn’t just a Heavenly Spiritual Root talent—she was also the personal disciple of True Immortal Tai Xu, and even more importantly, the orphan of the former Immortal Emperor.

If the Profound Star Sect expelled her, and she ended up joining one of the other four Great Immortal Sects, the loss to the Profound Star Sect would be far greater than just a spirit mine or some heavenly opportunity.

At this point, Elder Wang could only hope Feng Yudie didn’t act too blatantly. If she tried anything subtle, he would pretend not to notice.

The two girls followed Elder Wang through a teleportation formation next to the Grand Hall. In the blink of an eye, they arrived in a vast open space large enough to hold ten thousand people.

Neatly arranged every ten feet apart were rows of redwood desks, each one fully equipped with the Four Treasures of the Study—ink, brush, paper, and inkstone. Already, many examinees had taken their seats and were answering questions.

Pei Lengxue instinctively tried to glance at others' answers, but it seemed there was a formation around each desk. Not only were the test papers obscured, even the examinees’ faces were shrouded and indistinct.

Elder Wang approached a platform at the center of the testing ground, where an elderly man with a long white beard was seated. After exchanging a few words, he was handed two wooden tokens. Upon inspecting them briefly, he crushed them both.

In an instant, Pei Lengxue and Feng Yudie, who had been standing side by side, were each teleported to separate desks.

A moment later, Elder Wang’s voice rang out directly in their mind.

“It’s simple. The jade tablet on the desk contains your question. Write your answers on the paper. The time limit is one incense stick—if you finish early, simply say ‘finished’, and the formation will teleport you out.”

“‘Finished’?” Feng Yudie repeated curiously.

Then, a blue light engulfed her, and in the next second—she vanished.

“Hiss—”

Elder Wang, still standing at the center of the arena, drew in a sharp breath. He immediately formed a sword gesture with his fingers and teleported himself out of the testing area.

Three breaths later, he returned—grabbing Feng Yudie by the collar and dragging her back in through the formation.

“…”

“Ah… hahaha…” Feng Yudie awkwardly scratched the back of her head. “It was a reflex! I said it without thinking, haha…”

Elder Wang gave her a look full of silent frustration, sighed again, and went off to get her a new token, then placed her at a different desk.

Pei Lengxue couldn’t help but feel speechless. With a quiet sigh, she turned her attention away from Feng Yudie and picked up the jade tablet on her desk to look at the question.

Upon seeing the question, she was taken aback.

There were only two characters written on the tablet:

“Dao Heart.”

Her senior brother had talked to her about “Dao Heart” more than once in the past.

Though what he said was always obscure and difficult to understand—and she still didn’t fully grasp what “Dao Heart” truly meant—he had instructed her to memorize everything he told her about it.

And she had. Word for word. Perfectly.

Pei Lengxue pursed her lips, picked up the writing brush, and began writing on the paper in front of her:

“The dao heart means to shun evil and uphold virtue, to cast off human desire and preserve heavenly principle. It is unity of knowledge and action, bringing one’s innate sense of good to all things in the world”

Meanwhile, at another desk, Feng Yudie pouted at the words “Dao Heart”, staring at them in silence. After a moment, she mumbled:

“How do I even write about this… Xiaotian?”

Floating above her head, Xiaotian gave her a glare:

『And who was it just now boasting to that Pei girl about memorized it from front to back?』

“Ugh, I was just trying to build rapport! Had to play it cool~”

『Heh~』 Xiaotian sneered. 『When True Immortal Tai Xu told you to study, you slacked off. Regret it now, don’t you?』

“Yes, yes, I regret it. So, what’s the answer?”

『Sigh—』 Xiaotian let out a long sigh, then waved it hand and summoned the Heavenly Dao Scriptures. Flipping through it, it began reading aloud:

『The dao heart means to shun evil and uphold virtue, to cast off human desire and preserve heavenly principle. It is unity of knowledge and action, bringing one’s innate sense of good to all things in the world』