Chapter 1552: Dominating the Inner Realm, The Fruit of the Soul Refining Sect

"Could it be that my Soul Refining Sect has no day left to rise again, no possibility of continuing…" The middle-aged man seemed crazed, laughing miserably, but just then, his expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly turned his head to look far into the distance.

"Eh!" His eyes narrowed, and he immediately formed Hand Seals with both hands, frantically deducing and calculating.

"This is… this… this…" The man's expression changed rapidly. In this fleeting moment, he consumed a vast amount of his Lifespan, calculating nine times in a row, yet the result of all nine times was exactly the same!

It was a conclusion that made him feel incredulous, even somewhat absurd!

In silence, his body flickered and directly dissipated into nothingness, using a displacement technique to head straight for the State of Zhao.

In a county town within the State of Zhao, the world grew quiet. Only on the second floor of an inn in that town, Wang Lin stood by the window, his murmuring voice echoing faintly.

"Karma, what is… Karma…"

The night slowly passed. Wang Lin did not know when he had returned to the table, staring blankly at the extinguished candlestick. The voice that had existed in his mind before kept circling, gradually replacing everything else.

He had forgotten to close the window; at this moment, there was no wind and no rain. As the sky brightened and the early sun rose, light enveloped the earth. Early risers were all pleasantly surprised to discover that the dark clouds that had permeated the sky for more than half a month had actually all disappeared this morning.

The bright sky was cloudless for ten thousand miles. The sunlight fell softly upon their bodies, causing bodies that were almost rusted to suddenly radiate vitality.

It seemed this year's summer had come a bit early, and this year's rainy season had receded a bit quickly.

Dafu also woke up, rubbed his eyes, and after seeing the sky outside the window, immediately beamed with joy, pointed triumphantly out the window, and shouted loudly at Wang Lin.

"I had a dream last night. I dreamt that with one finger, the thunder dissipated. Hahaha, I'm still amazing, right? Hmph hmph, it seems I am truly no ordinary person. Sigh, what a pity, what a pity."

When the sky brightened, Wang Lin's thoughts slowly hid away in his mind. He hadn't slept all night, but he didn't feel any fatigue, only a dull, throbbing pain between his brows.

He rubbed the space between his brows and glanced at Dafu. Seeing the smile on his face, he felt happy as well.

"You're amazing. It was you who dreamt of going to the Heavenly Court and making the thunderstorms disappear, alright?"

Dafu was quite excited and even more triumphant.

Time flew by, and the county's imperial examination was held five days later. The scholars who had rushed here, after five days of nervous waiting, walked out of their respective inns on the morning of the sixth day, under the still sunny sky, and headed towards the various examination halls in the county town.

During these five days, apart from going to the county government office to submit his travel permit and examination application, and checking the examination venue, Wang Lin had barely left the inn. Instead, he seized every moment to study, making final preparations. He was also very nervous; if he succeeded in this examination, he could continue on. But if he failed, everything would have to start over from the beginning, and he would have to return to the village, silently waiting for the next imperial examination several years later.

Wang Lin did not want to fail. He could not bear to see his parents' dim gazes, and he was even less willing to let his parents endure the seemingly comforting, but actually mocking, gazes of those high-and-mighty relatives because of his failure.

In five days, Dafu had been stifled. He was restless by nature, so while Wang Lin was studying, he would go out on his own, wandering around the county town. Gradually, he got to know some people and learned the skill of being even stingier.

On the sixth day, Wang Lin bathed and burned incense. After changing into a white scholar's robe, he let out a deep breath and left the inn with Dafu, who was carrying a bamboo book box on his back, heading towards the examination hall.

The examination hall he was going to was the third one, located in the west of the county town. The streets along the way were very lively, with many morning stalls on both sides. Those vendors had set up their stalls early, allowing the scholars rushing to the examination to buy some food there.

At a glance, there were many scholars on the street rushing to the examination. They were all in a hurry, some carrying worry, others carrying nervousness; even when eating, they often swallowed a few mouthfuls and then hurried away.

Wang Lin took a few deep breaths, slowly calming his mood. After eating a few steamed buns, he arrived outside the examination hall with Dafu. There was a dense crowd of people here, yet there was no noisy clamor; most were there with their eyes closed, resting their minds and recalling the books they had read.

Two officials in brocade robes looked coldly at the candidates outside. Because of their presence, a solemn atmosphere gradually permeated the place. Wang Lin stood there calmly, watching the sky above the examination hall, and his mood slowly quieted down completely.

Dafu, standing behind him, looked around randomly. However, as he watched, his expression turned gloomy; he saw that the other scholars' bookboys were almost all young, and by comparison, he seemed somewhat out of place.

After muttering a few words, Dafu took out a steamed bun and took a few fierce bites.

Not long after, the moment for the examination arrived. Only the sound of a bell, dong-dong, seemed to come from afar, echoing through the entire county town and revealing a heaviness.

As soon as the bell rang, those scholars who had their eyes closed opened them one by one, their expressions solemn, and a sense of nervousness suddenly resurfaced.

"Enter the examination hall! If anyone has cheat sheets, take them out yourself. Do not get disqualified after being discovered." One of the officials in brocade robes rolled his eyes and spoke slowly.

As these scholars stepped into the examination hall one by one, almost everyone was searched, and only after confirming there were no cheat sheets were they allowed in.

When it was Wang Lin's turn, it was the same; after checking his bamboo book box and other items, they let him in.

Dafu waved at Wang Lin from outside and shouted loudly. Even though some people around frowned in disgust, he didn't care at all.

Wang Lin smiled, waved at Dafu outside, and turned to go in.

After finding the seat with his name on it, Wang Lin sat down calmly. Under the gaze of the examination proctors, all the seated candidates opened the rice paper on their tables, focusing their minds and settling their Qi.

It was not until the proctor took out the examination paper for this imperial exam, which had been sealed with wax, that the sound of rustling writing echoed before long.

Wang Lin calmly ground the ink, looking at the rice paper in front of him, but for a long time, he did not put his pen to paper. The time for the imperial exam was a full day, very lenient, leaving enough time for contemplation.

Slowly, those scholars who were deep in thought like Wang Lin also had ideas and began to write one by one. In the end, Wang Lin was the only one left sitting in the entire examination hall, still contemplating.

The topic of the imperial exam at this moment was a painting. The picture was very simple: there was only a mountain, and on the mountain, there was a straight, large tree. The sky seemed to have wind, blowing the tree as if it were swaying.

Below the mountain, a few strokes outlined what seemed to be a house of a family guarding the mountain.

The theme of this painting was very clear, speaking of the four characters "pillar of talent." Almost all the candidates could see it, and the essays written were mostly centered around these four characters.

However, when Wang Lin saw the painting, the voice that had echoed in his mind five days ago faintly emerged again.

"Karma… what is… Karma…"

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, it was noon. Some people had already finished their essays, holding the rice paper and blowing on the remaining undried ink, their expressions showing joy, and as they shook their heads slightly, they recited silently in their hearts.

Only Wang Lin was still sitting there silently, his eyes filled with confusion, and he had yet to put his pen to paper. Such a thing was rare, and those few proctors couldn't help but look at Wang Lin a few more times.

Gradually, people left the examination hall one after another, either triumphant or dejected. After leaving, accompanied by their bookboys or alone, they went far away.

The setting sun gradually fell, and the entire examination hall became slightly dark. There was not much time left until the end, less than half an hour. Except for Wang Lin, the last scholar also stood up with a long sigh, glanced at Wang Lin before leaving, and shook his head as he walked away.

"If you cannot write it, then leave quickly. Do not waste time." A proctor frowned, walked to Wang Lin's side, and tapped his right hand on the table.

Wang Lin did not look up but closed his eyes. After a few breaths, he opened them abruptly. He raised his right hand, licked some water to act as ink, dipped his pen into it, and then his eyes shone with a bright light as he began to write rapidly on the rice paper.

"What is Karma? If one seeks wood for a house, yet this mountain has no wood, I alone plant a tree. At dawn, I take a branch; at midday, I take the wood; at sunset, I take the root…" Wang Lin seemed to have forgotten everything around him. The ancient voice echoed in his mind, and the painting he had seen in the morning emerged, as he kept writing down his thoughts and confusion.

"Eh?" The proctor standing beside Wang Lin glanced at it a few times, immediately stunned, and began to read carefully. Even the other few proctors not far away were attracted by the soft "eh" sound and walked over to look. Upon seeing it, some of them sneered and flicked their sleeves, walking away. Before long, the others also shook their heads and walked away.

"…What is Karma? Planting the wood is the cause; taking the wood is the fruit… Yet, the day the wood of the house takes shape, it also becomes a piece of Karma…"

Wang Lin put down his pen and took a deep look. The brightness in his eyes dissipated, replaced again by a sense of confusion. With a light sigh, he cupped his fists towards the only elderly proctor who had remained standing behind him all along, packed up his bamboo book box, and walked out of the examination hall.

Until after he left, the elderly proctor picked up Wang Lin's pen, ink, and rice paper, and carefully read it again. A dazed look appeared in his eyes, as if he had gained some enlightenment, and he remembered Wang Lin's name on the exam paper.

"Such contemplation on Karma would actually appear in a youth. This person might not become a pillar of talent for the imperial court, but he could become a great Confucian scholar of a generation!" The elderly proctor pondered for a long time, picked up his pen, and drew a circle around Wang Lin's name.

Wang Lin walked out of the examination hall and immediately saw Dafu, who was leaning under a tree outside, having waited all day and fallen fast asleep. A smile appeared on his face, and he walked to Dafu's side. He was just about to wake him up when suddenly, the world went dark. A fierce wind blew, and amidst the sounds of ghosts crying and howling, a black wind suddenly descended from the sky, directly enveloping both Wang Lin and Dafu, as if separating the place where they were from the county town.

From within the black wind, a middle-aged man wearing a black robe materialized and walked out. An icy aura permeated his entire body, and his eyes stared fixedly at Wang Lin.

"This old man will not harm you; you only need to answer one question."

He was none other than Senior Brother Dun Tian of the Soul Refining Sect! In these few days, he had found almost all the imperial examination scholars in this county town one by one, asking each of them the same question, only to eventually erase their memories of the matter, and in his disappointment, he would search for the next person.