29 Astonishing Talent

"The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao?"

"The Dao, that can be told, is not the eternal Dao?"

"The Dao can be, not, the eternal Dao?"

"The Dao can be told? Not the eternal Dao?"

Seeing Zhou Bai casually write another line, Christina felt her fur standing on end. The sentence had no punctuation, yet however she read it, it always made sense, with countless meanings each time. It was profoundly mysterious and hard to describe.

"What does this mean?" Christina asked, "You... how did you write this? This is pretty amazing."

"Heh... This is amazing?" Zhou Bai said proudly, "I have plenty of insights into the Dao! The 'True Fragrance Law' surpassed your understanding, so I'll give you something simpler."

Zhou Bai then wrote again: "The name that can be named is not the eternal name. How about that? Isn't it impressive?"

Christina's eyes widened immediately, and she exhaled slowly through her nose, frowning as if she was deep in thought.

Seeing the silly cat stunned, Zhou Bai became happy: 'It seems the Tao Te Ching is really effective? Well, it's indeed profound and hard to describe. Just these two sentences cover everything; the rest is up to your own understanding.'

He felt very satisfied with the two sentences he'd written, so he submitted them, left the exam room with the other candidates, and was taken to a rest lounge.

A teacher came out and said to everyone, "Please rest here for a while. With the expertise of our seniors, it will take at most half an hour to grade all of you, so stay calm."

The candidates found places in the hall to sit down.

Zuo Dao, whose Primordial Spirit value had reached 105, stood still, his long hair flowing as if a spiritual essence was surging through his body. He was seizing every moment to cultivate.

The bald young man, who had previously answered the vice principal's question, walked over to Zuo Dao, smiling, "Zuo Dao, what did you write on your paper? Heh heh, I figured out a rune, but I have no idea what it's for."

Zuo Dao said coldly, "A set of breathing techniques."

"Breathing techniques?" The bald young man's eyes lit up. Breathing techniques are foundational in Daoism; through them, one can slowly increase their Primordial Spirit's power.

"Impressive. To have gained the breathing techniques from the Heist Map, your comprehension might be the best among us."

Not answering, Zuo Dao looked up. His mind wasn't on this batch; he had stronger opponents and more terrifying goals to pursue.

'Stronger, I need to be stronger.'

Seeing Zuo Dao walk away, the bald young man asked in surprise, "Why are you leaving?"

Zuo Dao replied indifferently, "There's nothing to see. The top spot is mine, this batch... won't do."

...

On the other side, Jing Xiu approached Zhou Bai happily, "Brother Zhou, I comprehended a song from the Heist Map, what about you?"

"A song?" Zhou Bai was instantly shocked. They could even comprehend that from it? He only wrote two sentences; was it too little? He regretted, 'It's a pity I only remembered the first two sentences of the Tao Te Ching. Should have memorized more.'

Jing Xiu looked at Zhou Bai, "Brother Zhou?"

"Oh, I comprehended two sentences." Zhou Bai frowned, "And you, a song... If I just wrote anything, does that mean I comprehended it?"

"I don't think so," Jing Xiu guessed, "The Heist Map is the vice principal's treasure. He should know whatever you can comprehend from it."

At this moment, Christina, who had been silent since the exam ended, spoke faintly, "Don't worry. With those two sentences, your grade won't be bad. I say, where did you hear these? This is definitely beyond your level."

"Heh." Zhou Bai laughed, "These two sentences shocked you? Let me tell you, I can come up with profound sayings just like that."

He thought for a moment and added, "Heaven's way lowers the excess to add to the lacking..."

Christina was instantly stunned, contemplating Zhou Bai's words. "This... these words, they are in the style of ancient Taoist texts, a side portrayal of the Heavenly Dao. How do you have this level?"

She refused to believe Zhou Bai could say such things himself.

Christina: "What's next? What were the next words?"

Zhou Bai thought for a moment and shrugged, "Forgot."

"..."

Although she confirmed it wasn't Zhou Bai's own words, at this moment, Zhou Bai's image in Christina's heart grew much taller, feeling unbelievably profound.

Looking at Zhou Bai in a daze (communicating with Christina internally), Jing Xiu asked again, "Brother Zhou, what were the two sentences you wrote?"

Zhou Bai replied casually, "The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name."

"Huh?" Jing Xiu couldn't grasp the deep meaning, frowning, "What does it mean? I don't understand."

...

At the exam site.

1200 exam papers floated, circulating up and down near the Heist Map.

All those close to the Heist Map, some floated to the examiners, others fell and turned into gray paper, neatly stacked.

"Everyone, don't get it wrong." Zhao Shouyi stroked his beard, "The Heist Map and the content on the papers exchange information, automatically determining if candidates' writings can be comprehended from the Heist Map. So don't waste time reading nonsense."

"Oh? They comprehended a health-maintenance method of breathing and walking," the ponytailed female examiner smiled at a paper, "That's quite insightful."

Beside the female examiner, a sharp-eyed man put away a paper, saying coldly, "Humph, nonsense. What are these candidates thinking?"

Vice Principal Zhao Shouyi smiled, "Xing Jun, don't be too harsh. The little ones want to pass the entrance exam and get better scores, it's understandable to write more."

He reached for a paper, frowning, "What's this?" The paper showed a nude beauty lazily lying on a bed.

"0 points!" Zhao Shouyi's eye twitched in anger, "Who allowed them to draw on the paper? Moreover..."

The ponytailed female examiner took the paper, laughing, "What a sketching talent, even hiding a swordsmanship method. This Qian Wangsun has something. Giving him zero isn't right. His comprehension might be the best this batch, his Primordial Spirit value is 99, maybe he can be top."

"Humph, frivolous." Zhao Shouyi said coldly, "Check his previous scores, add them up, suppress if necessary. Such a person shouldn't be top."

At that moment, Lv Chongyang smiled, "Teacher, I don't think you need to worry about Qian Wangsun being top."

He handed up his paper.

"Look, this is Zuo Dao's paper. Astonishingly talented, today's young ones are... incredible."