Ximen Kankan, hearing this, rolled his eyes at Liu Shushan. Running around like headless flies—wasn't that just describing him and Duan Rong?
Duan Rong laughed and said, "Brother Liu, you are indeed well-informed. Can you see where the key point is?"
Liu Shushan bashfully smiled and said, "I'm just an amateur. A friend from my hometown is skilled in this, and I've just picked up a few basics from my interactions with him. I'm just guessing, I really don't know where the key point is."
Ximen Kankan mockingly said, "You monkey, you speak well, but it's of no use at all."
Liu Shushan wasn't angered by Ximen Kankan calling him a monkey; his friends back home used to call him that too. At this moment, he even felt a bit of familiarity.
Seeing that Liu Shushan had a good temperament, Ximen Kankan felt some goodwill towards him.
Quickly, the three of them started chatting as they walked out of the abandoned Daoist temple.
Since they had searched everywhere to no avail, it was clearly as Liu Shushan said—the opportunity here was for those knowledgeable in geomancy and strange arts, so why waste time here?
They walked over the hilltop, descended to the bottom of the slope, where there was a deep pool. Beside the pool stood a piece of bluestone, on which four characters were inscribed: "Jifeng Biandao".
Below the bluestone, there was a cushion, and a white-haired, youthful-looking person sat cross-legged on it.
The old man scanned the onlookers with eyes as sharp as lightning.
There were quite a few people here, marking another opportunity point.
The white-haired Daoist-robed elder had a rope hung between two pine trees not far in front of him, with a plank hanging from it, on which was written in elegant cursive: Sect says, "Knowing without thinking falls to the second; thinking to know falls to the third hand." Dare to ask, how is it the first opportunity?
The crowd looked at the words on the plank, furrowing their brows in thought, yet no one dared to respond.
Although Liu Shushan was sharp and always confident in his knowledge, he too was at a loss for words at the sight of the question on the plank.
Ximen Kankan scratched his head, not understanding at all. What did "knowing without thinking" and "thinking to know" even mean?
Duan Rong, standing beside Ximen Kankan, felt his heart stir.
He had pretty much read through the Taoist Collection in the Scripture Repository over the past few months, with at least three essays mentioning this question. However, those yellowed books covered in dust had clearly not been read for many years.
Duan Rong slightly tilted his head, looking again at the white-haired Daoist-robed person and the four characters "Jifeng Biandao" on the big bluestone beside him.
He realized that the opportunity point here tested people's knowledge of the Taoist Collection, and the question was indeed niche and obscure.
Even though it was only the second opportunity point, Duan Rong had basically understood the third examination's approach. The sect evidently expected outer disciples to possess some additional skills beyond cultivation.
Most of these outer disciples were from worldly aristocratic families and were usually proficient in the six arts.
Even so, based on these two opportunity points, the requirements were still high and couldn't be passed just by knowing a little.
By this standard, how could over eighty percent pass? Even ten percent seemed questionable.
Duan Rong assumed that as they continued, there would be simpler opportunity points.
However, since he knew this question, why not seize the opportunity?
It was best to acquire a Taiyi Order first and then talk.
Duan Rong suddenly stepped forward.
The whispering crowd immediately quieted down.
All eyes were on Duan Rong as he emerged from the crowd.
The person sitting cross-legged on the cushion beside the big bluestone also raised his eyes to Duan Rong and asked, "What is the solution to this question?"
The question was rather perplexing, and the onlookers all wanted to know the answer.
Duan Rong's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "Knowing without thinking falls to the second; thinking to know falls to the third hand; not thinking nor knowing is the first opportunity."
After Duan Rong answered, there was silence among the crowd; everyone looked at the old man on the cushion, unable to understand and hoping to gauge Duan Rong's correctness from the old man's reaction.
The old man looked at Duan Rong, stayed silent for a brief moment, and suddenly said, "Young people should not be underestimated."
This elder had come here just to go through the motions.
He was an overseer from the Scripture Repository, pulled here to assess these registered disciples. He thought of a difficult question and put it up there to brush off these registered disciples.
He was just passing time to get through the examination and return to his repository. But he hadn't expected that someone would answer it so quickly. Are today's youngsters really this formidable?
The registered disciples understood immediately that Duan Rong had answered correctly when they heard the elder say "Young people should not be underestimated."
Liu Shushan glanced at Duan Rong with some astonishment, not expecting that Duan Rong, who was already blessed with a higher-than-average Divine Soul Talent, also had such a profound understanding of these mystical Daoist scriptures. "Not thinking nor knowing is the first opportunity"—he was still pondering what it meant.
Among the crowd, a buzz of conversation erupted, with everyone discussing the deeper meaning of Duan Rong's answer.
Just then, the elder gazed at Duan Rong and said, "Bring me your Sect Cloud Scroll and Assessment Form."
Duan Rong fetched it from his jacket and handed it to the elder. The elder glanced at Duan Rong's name and then stamped his name on the Assessment Form.
This indicated that he had obtained a Taiyi Order, preventing others from collecting it on his behoof.
The elder handed the Taiyi Order and Duan Rong's Sect Cloud Scroll, along with the Assessment Form, back to Duan Rong.
Duan Rong took them as a crowd gathered around.
This was only the second opportunity point at this location, and these people hadn't seen anyone get a Taiyi Order yet—Duan Rong was the first.
The token was about the size of a palm, entirely black, wedge-shaped with a pointed top. At its center were the characters "Taiyi" in raised script!
At this moment, the elder suddenly stood up, took the plank, and held it in his hand.
Holding the plank in his left hand, he gently brushed its surface with his right hand. With a single swipe, the words disappeared completely.
The elder gave a gentle blow, and a bunch of fine wood shavings floated down from the plank.
Duan Rong watched with amazement, unable to determine the elder's martial realm.
But he knew that whether it was True Qi or Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, such precise control was extraordinary!
Indeed, he was at least at the True Qi Realm Great Perfection level, but he certainly couldn't wipe off the characters in a single stroke, let alone reduce them to a thin layer of shavings.
This elder's Martial Arts Cultivation was clearly unfathomable.
The elder picked up a pen, wrote swiftly on the blank plank, and then re-hung it.
On it was a new question with only eight characters: "Ask: All laws return to one, where does one return?"
Those who had been crowding around Duan Rong to see the Taiyi Order now looked up to ponder the question on the plank. Those gathered here all had some understanding of the Taoist Collection; seeing Duan Rong answer a question and get a Taiyi Order, they now had some hope themselves.
The elder looked at Duan Rong and said, "Kid, you can leave. I'm warning you, don't ruin the old man's setup. Otherwise, I can strip you of your progression eligibility."
Duan Rong slightly cupped his hands toward the elder and then turned and left. He understood the warning.
Ximen Kankan's eyes glinted shrewdly, saying, "This place is too cultured—not suitable for us guys!"
Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan, and Liu Shushan all left the area, continuing forward.
After walking some distance, Liu Shushan couldn't resist his inner curiosity and asked Duan Rong, "Brother Duan, may I ask about the new question at Jifeng Biandao? All laws return to one, where does one return? What's the answer?"
Duan Rong smiled slightly and did not reply.
The elder had warned him with strict words not to disclose the answer, lest others take advantage and get a Taiyi Order from him.
Ximen Kankan blinked, saying nothing. He had indeed thought of it before, but the elder's warning shout on departure quelled that thought.
As for the answer to that question, Duan Rong had seen it in several Taoist books in the collection. It was actually much simpler than the first question.
The answer is: "All laws return to one, and one returns to nothing."