Ye Lingxiao stared at the person who had taken his Red Envelope Sigil head-on without a scratch.
The newcomer was a tall, slender man—so thin he almost looked frail.
But beyond his gaunt build, what drew the most attention were his eyes—eyes that shimmered like a sea of stars, as though galaxies churned within them.
Watching from the sidelines, Zhang Yu’s heart stirred. “That’s… a Law Husk?”
He still remembered the first time he’d seen one—it was on the Director of the Xianyun Group's Songyang Branch, a Foundation Establishment powerhouse. Back then, Zhao Tianxing had explained that embedding a Law Husk required at least 100 points of Mana.
And among the high school students he’d encountered so far, Zhang Yu hadn’t seen anyone who had one—until now.
At that moment, Ye Lingxiao asked, “Yun Jing, why didn’t my Red Envelope Sigil work on you?”
This gaunt young man, with Law Husks embedded in his eyes, was named Yun Jing.
As the top second-year student of Immortal Cloud High—the most elite high school on the First Floor of Kunxu—Yun Jing was a prodigy among prodigies. He had swept through Immortal Cloud High without a single rival, even extending his dominance to the entire high school scene in Xiandu City.
“The strongest high schooler on the First Floor of Kunxu.”Was that his own opinion?
No.
That was the objective conclusion reached by Purple Cloud Pharmaceuticals’ First Floor headquarters after extensive testing.
Hearing Ye Lingxiao’s question, Yun Jing gave a faint smile and said, “Because I’ve had an Anti-Scam Sigil embedded.”
“When your Red Envelope Sigil hit me, it was like a moth flying into a flame. Useless.”
He spread his arms and laughed. “Which means I’m now completely immune to this kind of sigil.”
At that moment, it felt to everyone watching like the air itself bent to Yun Jing’s will. As if divine rivers of power surged forward to shield him from trickery, traps, and scams of all kinds.
Ye Lingxiao nodded slightly. “The Red Envelope Sigil really is too limited. Only the Favor Charm is truly unstoppable.”
Yun Jing shook his head. “Favor Charms might be unstoppable to Righteous Gods—but they don’t work on people.”
Ye Lingxiao didn’t respond, but deep down he thought, “Favor Charms do work on people. I’ve seen it used before.”
And from what he’d seen, Ye Lingxiao had started to suspect there was an enormous secret hidden behind it.
That secret filled him with curiosity—and a tinge of awe. It made him even more determined to delve deeper into sigils.
But to him, a secret this valuable and important wasn’t something to just hand over to Yun Jing or anyone else for free.
Now, most of the students present—like Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing—were locals from Xiandu, forming the overwhelming majority.
Meanwhile, students like Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Yu Xinghan, who had come from other cities, stood clustered in small groups, clearly outnumbered.
Zhang Yu muttered, “The Xiandu elites sure have it good. I bet they’ve been dominating the Foundation Establishment exam every year.”
Yu Xinghan nodded slightly. “I’ve heard the best schools here have company executives come in to teach. Their Dao Techniques classes are led by actual Righteous Gods, and each student gets a personal Yellow-Turban Enforcer to train with…”
Zhang Yu was stunned. “That’s some insane disparity in Immortal Dao education resources.”
Even Bai Zhenzhen, standing nearby, was filled with envy. Xiandu elites were on a different level than anyone from Songyang.
Just then, the massive metal door before them rumbled, and a light screen beside it lit up with rows of text.
Zhang Yu looked up and saw that it displayed the rules for the upcoming test.
In short, the metal door required a combination of physical strength, Mana, and Martial Arts mastery to open.
Physically, one needed raw strength strong enough to push the door.
On the Martial and Mana side, one had to strike nine different spots on the door using nine distinct types of Palm Force, in a precise sequence, within three seconds.
Only after fulfilling all three requirements could the door be pushed open—leading to the Dao Heart Exam.
In other words, only those who could pass through the door and complete the Dao Heart Exam would officially qualify to take the Foundation Establishment exam.
Zhang Yu mused, “Those nine types of Palm Force and their order—it’s like a combination lock. Only if you get the sequence right does the door open.”
“And according to this wall, the sequence changes every time someone opens it…”
As he was still trying to figure out how to condense the nine Palm Forces, the writing on the wall shifted again. The contents and sequence had changed.
At the same time, a timer above the metal door displayed: 0.64 seconds.
With a deafening clang, Yun Jing pushed open the door in one fluid motion, revealing a yawning abyss of darkness beyond.
He stepped in without hesitation. The door slammed shut behind him, and he vanished into the black void.
Right after, Ye Lingxiao moved like lightning. Zhang Yu couldn’t even follow his movements. Nine explosive bangs rang out as one—like a single thunderclap.
The timer read: 0.65 seconds.
The next instant, Ye Lingxiao was standing before the door, casually pushing it open.
Zhang Yu’s thoughts raced. “Not even a full second… and they completed all nine strikes? And that might not even be their full strength.”
Watching Yun Jing and Ye Lingxiao easily pass the test, Zhang Yu felt an immense pressure descend on him.
“They’re probably both second-years… about to enter their third year?”
“They’ve only trained one year longer than me, yet they’re already this far ahead?”
“So this is what the strongest high schoolers on the First Floor of Kunxu look like…”
Zhang Yu understood one thing with crystal clarity: right now, he was nowhere near their level.
And if he wanted to earn his Foundation License, he’d have to catch up to them.
Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen took a deep breath. Her Spirit Root stirred restlessly.
“They’re so strong…” she thought. “Can I really pass the Foundation Establishment exam this year?”
She had been working so hard, always pushing herself to train. But now that she had arrived in Xiandu—faced with the floating megacity, the outrageous prices in the train station, and these monstrous local students—it all felt like one punch after another to the gut.
Each blow made her spine buckle a little more, made her feel the crushing weight of the gap between herself and them.
For a brief moment, she even thought, “Maybe it’s okay if I fail this year. There’s always next time, right?”
But then she squashed that thought. “No matter what, I have to give it everything I’ve got.”
Yu Xinghan, standing nearby, also felt the pressure—but not as much as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
He told himself, “This trip is more about getting a feel for the Foundation Establishment exam. Plus, it gives me a legitimate excuse to get reimbursed for travel expenses. My real shot is next year.”
As more contestants stepped forward one by one, pushing open the gate, Zhang Yu didn’t rush. Instead, he watched carefully, observing his potential competitors.
“Most of them are probably second-years. Aside from those two who did it under a second, the rest finish in around two seconds.”
“The weaker ones… probably first-years like me. They usually take two to four seconds.”
Anyone who took over three seconds failed the test and was instantly dropped into a trapdoor below—eliminated.
Once no one else stepped up, Zhang Yu walked forward. He studied the nine Palm Forces written on the wall, then struck the metal door.
Thanks to his exceptional control over both Mana and his body, he became a whirlwind of motion. In just 2.3 seconds, he struck the nine specific spots with the corresponding Palm Forces.
Then, bracing himself, he shoved the door open and stepped into the darkness.
…
In the shadows, the snarls of countless beasts and monsters echoed all around him.
Then a burst of firelight flared—revealing a horde of monsters charging toward him.
Zombies, fox spirits, ghosts—they surged forth like they meant to rip Zhang Yu limb from limb.
But when Zhang Yu summoned his courage and fought back, he found they were laughably weak. He cut through them with ease, cleaving a path three times over, and finally pushed open the exit at the end of the tunnel.
To his surprise, he emerged in a bathroom stall back at the train station.
“So the Dao Heart Exam was testing… courage?”
Zhang Yu pulled out his phone, logged into the registration site, and confirmed that he had successfully registered and passed the test.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet his mind felt hazy, as though he had forgotten something.
Just as he tried to focus, the thought slipped away again.
Shaking his head, Zhang Yu stepped out of the stall—only to be knocked unconscious by a sudden palm strike.
…
Meanwhile—
Inside the office where Zhang Yu had registered—
The middle-aged woman who had processed his paperwork sat calmly at her desk, surrounded by four glowing screens—each showing the image of a different individual.
Her name was Deng Bingding.
As a Divine Assistant of the Sifang Wandering Gods, she ranked as a sixth-tier deity. Compared to the ninth-tier Administrative Deities, she was quite high up.
But Deng Bingding had never felt particularly proud of that.
Everyone thought being a god was glamorous. That gods had power. But once you became one, so what?
Deng Bingding had been to the Heavenly Court. She knew how high the steps really went. She knew how distant she was from the great gods who ran the ministries. She knew how little her divine authority meant in Kunxu. To the Immortals, she was just a useful tool.
Just like now. Thanks to an unexpected order from above, she had to shelve her actual work and dedicate most of her energy and divine power to last-minute overtime duties for the Foundation Establishment exam—maintaining order, safeguarding student data.
She glanced at the other four figures on the screens—minor gods sent to assist her.
Deng Bingding said, “This year’s Foundation Establishment exam reform comes straight from a Celestial Edict and has already been approved by a Divine Lord. I’ll be counting on you all to help keep things running smoothly.”
“Of course, Lady Deng. We’re at your disposal…”
After a round of polite greetings, Deng Bingding received Favor Charms from all four minor gods.
Among the gods, sending Favor Charms to your superiors wasn’t mandatory—but in Kunxu’s divine bureaucracy, it had gradually become an unspoken rule.
Deng Bingding found it all distasteful. She detested this kind of empty etiquette.
She checked the amounts: three were over ten thousand, but one was just five thousand. Her brows furrowed.
She thought coldly, “Everyone else gave over ten thousand, and you give me five? What’s your game?”
She memorized the sender’s name.
“Huang Zichou.”
“You’ve taken a Favor Charm and turned it into a Disfavor Charm. Talented move. No wonder you’re still a ninth-tier deity.”
Deng Bingding scoffed. This is why she hated these formalities—people barely coordinated, and they were already souring their relationships. How were they supposed to serve the higher gods properly?
She longed for the old days, when everything could be settled face-to-face and no one monitored transactions.
Forming hand seals, she summoned wave after wave of divine power. Screens appeared before her, displaying scenes of various students undergoing their trials after entering the metal gate.
She said calmly, “You all know how many mouths there are across the Eight Divine Ministries. Things haven’t been easy for a long time.”
“This new registration test serves two purposes: first, to filter out the first-years using physical, Mana, and Martial Arts benchmarks—cutting budget costs.”
“And second—and this is the real goal—to use the Dao Heart Exam to identify those with real potential and weed out the ones who’d crumble the moment they advanced…”