Chapter 11: Let Nature Take Its Course
The method used during the aptitude test was a part of the exam. It was extremely easy to grasp and did not require any prior learning whatsoever. One could practice it simply by following the instructions. Its instructions had only been modified three times in the past couple centuries, and not at all in the past century.
As he practiced the method, Wei Yuan sensed the praying mat and the two censers beside him slowly becoming one with him. The praying mat created a cool, continuous tendrils of coolness that seeped into his body and caused two intangible substances to take visible forms.
As for the censers, their function was to draw in the two intangible substances. They were separate existences, overlapping yet clearly distinct. As he continued to practice the method, the censers’ pull intensified and formed two channels that gradually drew wisps of the two intangible substances into themselves.
The censer to the left drew his foundation, and the censer to the right drew his fortune. Wei Yuan’s foundation was more or less normal, but his fortune was a different story. Like an iceberg that was slowly rising out of the sea, it just kept growing bigger and bigger without showing any sign of stopping whatsoever. In just the blink of an eye, the fortune had swelled beyond the boundaries of his physical body and even formed a connection with the unseen depths of the unknown.
Wei Yuan had no idea what was going to happen in the test. He just assumed that this was normal and kept practicing the method.
Over time, the fortune in his body began to reveal just how vast and heavy it really was. In fact, the channel conducting his fortune was beginning to feel too small for it to pass through smoothly. Wei Yuan could sense this, but he wasn’t taught what to do in this situation. Thus, he could only practice the method with all his might.
He felt like he was physically lifting a small hill and pushing it into the channel little by little. However, the weight on his shoulders only increased as time passed. It even got to the point where the channel conducting his foundation was affected slightly.
While Wei Yuan was practicing the method with everything he got, a commotion had broken out in the hall above his head. In the examiner’s eyes, the light pillar representing Wei Yuan’s foundation was gradually rising. It was scarlet in color and already slowing down as soon as it passed the seven chi mark. It was definitely an above average foundation, but it wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy.
The light pillar representing his fortune was a different story, however. It was as thick as a basin and exceeded the nine chi mark in just the blink of an eye. It was still rising as well.