“Is there even the possibility?” Liang Ban Hu asked with his eyebrows knotted in a frown.
Guan Fei Bai quietly contemplated for some time and replied, “No matter how you look at it, it’s impossible.”
Qi Jian rather timidly shifted his position forwards and asked: “Has there ever been something similar in the past?”
The topic of discussion amongst these three youths of Li Shan Sword Sect was naturally whether Chen Chang Sheng could place first upon the First Banner at the Grand Examination.
As the Seven Laws of the Divine State that had forcefully swept across the proclamation in recent years, for them to discuss the prospects of a youth that hadn’t even achieved Purification in such a serious and earnest way would have shocked any onlookers. It was obvious that the Ivy League gathering and today’s evaluations from the Council of Divine Ordinance had caused Chen Chang Sheng to become a source of pressure for these proud and confident youths.
Qi Jian had asked for past examples, but what he was looking for was a record, the three fellow disciples turned to look at Gou Han Shi.
Gou Han Shi retracted his gaze from the stars and stared at his juniors, shaking his head and laughing: “There hasn’t been anything like this in the past.”
His words were spoken softly, without any intent to end the conversation, but it still gave the impression of being irrefutable.
Liang Ban Hu and Guan Fei Bai let out inexplicable sighs of relief.
Qi Jian continued to have signs of worry on his face and said: “Even if there hasn’t been anything similar in the past, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible for the future.”
“Little junior has logic in his words, but I think the possibility is low, within a short three months, you cannot achieve Ethereal Opening from Purification… this isn’t a possibility.”
Gou Han Shi continued: “This isn’t a problem of cultivation, but a simple calculation, discounting Purification and Meditation and only considering the need to open the door to the Ethereal Palace; this would require the use of Starlight for one-hundred nights, unless there really exists a legendary item for extending time, Chen Chang Sheng will not be able to achieve Ethereal Opening by the time of the Grand Examination.”
He had read ten-thousand scrolls, and understood the concept that mathematics does not lie, therefore he was certain of his reasoning.
Upon hearing these words, the others finally understood their second senior’s certainty.
Without achieving the Ethereal Opening realm by the time of the Grand Examination, Chen Chang Sheng could not achieve first place upon the First Banner.
This was because, their second senior had already achieved Ethereal Opening.
There were also a few other students from the younger generation that might come to the Zhou Empire’s Capital for the Grand Examination who had already achieved Ethereal Opening.
The Ethereal Opening realm was a stage of life and death; it was also a dividing-line. Within and without this dividing-line were two different worlds.
Within the blizzards of the Northern Reaches, a lone youth turned Southwards, his fingertips stained with blood.
Outside of the South’s Scholartree Manor, a number of green-robed scholars bid farewell to their peers.
Upon various corners of the central continent, youths that were entering the Grand Examination, began moving.
What was different from past years was that they all had the same target in mind.
That target, was the name, Chen Chang Sheng.