Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Blind Prince

Meng Ling knelt tremulously, not daring to even breathe loudly.

He felt a needle-like sensation on his back.

It was as if he was being stared at by a tiger.

“Minister Meng, I have heard that during the reign of the Taizu Emperor, the Imperial College implemented a system of last-place elimination. Why is it not being implemented now?”

“Your Majesty… this…”

Meng Ling stammered. As the Chancellor of the Imperial College, he was naturally well aware of the last-place elimination system that the Qian Yuan Emperor spoke of.

However, there were too many people with connections in the Imperial College.

They were either the sons of marquises or the direct descendants of dukes.

These young masters, who were incompetent in both literary and martial arts, were counting on using the Imperial College as a stepping stone to gain prestige.

Eliminate them?

Wouldn't that be eliminating the patrons?

How could a mere Chancellor of the Imperial College dare to do that?

“What? Are you not going to speak?” The Qian Yuan Emperor coldly snorted.

“Your Majesty, it is not that your minister is unwilling, but… the Taizu Emperor's last-place elimination system was too harsh and unkind. Forcing its implementation would likely invite criticism.”

“Is it unwillingness? Or is it fear?”

“Do you really think that I am unaware of the dirty secrets within the Imperial College?”

“The Imperial College is meant to provide talent for the imperial court, not to be used as a place to gain prestige.”

“If you cannot manage the Imperial College well, then return to your hometown and enjoy your retirement.”

The Qian Yuan Emperor's unquestionable tone concealed a deep chill.

Meng Ling, who had been an official for many years, knew that the Qian Yuan Emperor was angry and quickly kowtowed.

“Your minister will certainly not fail to live up to Your Majesty's expectations.”

A quarter of an hour later.

Meng Ling returned to the Imperial College, holding the Qian Yuan Emperor's calligraphy.

The calligraphy in his hand weighed a ton, as if he were holding a towering mountain.

He was well aware that the calligraphy in his hand was the Qian Yuan Emperor's warning to him and his dissatisfaction with the Imperial College.

If he could not satisfy the Qian Yuan Emperor, the position of Chancellor of the Imperial College would have to be replaced.

Upon returning to the Imperial College, Meng Ling's first order was to summon all the supervisors and doctors and announce it in public.

“From today onwards, the Imperial College will have a small exam every three days and a large exam every five days. At the end of each month, the rankings will be determined. Those who rank in the bottom five for two consecutive months will be expelled.”

Upon hearing that Meng Ling was going to restart the last-place elimination system, the supervisors and doctors present all had drastic changes in expression, thinking in their hearts.

Did the Chancellor take the wrong medicine today?

“Chancellor, this method is inappropriate. Once the last-place elimination system is implemented, how will we explain it to Marquis Ruyang?”

Meng Ling shouted sternly, flicked his sleeves, and left, leaving behind a group of bewildered supervisors and doctors, looking at each other in dismay.

…

Zhou Hao Chen did not know that the poem he had casually copied had become the beginning of a nightmare for the students of the Imperial College.

At this moment, Zhou Hao Chen was sitting cross-legged, cultivating the Nine Nether Suppressing Prison Visualization Technique.

The focus of cultivation in the second stage, the Object Manipulation Stage, was different from that of the first stage, the Qi Gathering Stage.

The Qi Gathering Stage focused on nourishing Qi, while the Object Manipulation Stage focused on nourishing the spirit.

Strengthening the divine sense and nourishing the soul.

The greatest enhancement in the second stage of Dao cultivation lay in the ability to remotely control magical artifacts.

The distance of controlling magical artifacts depended on the strength of the divine sense.

All Dao cultivators practiced visualization techniques to enhance their divine sense.

The various great Daoist holy lands all had matching visualization techniques, the effects of which were far superior to ordinary visualization techniques.

Although the Nine Nether Suppressing Prison Visualization Technique in Zhou Hao Chen's hands was only a fragment.

In terms of profundity, it was definitely the best in the world.

The first volume of the Nine Nether Suppressing Prison Visualization Technique visualized a type of ghost from the legendary Nine Nether Underworld—a Yaksha.

With a blue face and fangs, a head of red hair, a height of three zhang, and wielding a steel fork.

Its terrifying image was enough to make children cry at night.

After several days of comprehension, Zhou Hao Chen had comprehended almost everything, and tonight he was preparing to begin cultivating the Nine Nether Suppressing Prison Visualization Technique.

The various great Daoist holy lands all had matching hand seals and incantations for cultivating visualization techniques.

These hand seals and incantations could allow cultivators to quickly calm down, have a mind like still water, and enter meditation.

The Thunder Ancestor Visualization Technique that He Lian Hai gave to Zhou Hao Chen also had similar hand seals and incantations.

However, Zhou Hao Chen did not like any of these hand seals and incantations.

No matter how exquisite the hand seals and incantations were, could they be as effective as the Heart Cleansing Incantation?

Zhou Hao Chen silently chanted the Heart Cleansing Incantation, and soon his mind became clear and his heart as still as water.

After settling down, Zhou Hao Chen outlined a Yaksha in his mind.

Suddenly, illusions arose, and countless evil spirits surrounded his body, as if they were about to pounce on him to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

Zhou Hao Chen remained unmoved by these layers of illusions.

This was the inner demon tribulation that one would inevitably experience when cultivating visualization techniques.

If one were frightened by the inner demons, one would either abandon all previous efforts, or damage one's soul.

Zhou Hao Chen concentrated and remained unmoved.

After a moment, the evil spirits dispersed.

A vast river that stretched as far as the eye could see appeared before him.

The river water was a strange blood-yellow color, and a sinister wind blew, with a fishy stench assaulting his face.

“A double layer of inner demon illusions?”

Zhou Hao Chen frowned slightly.

As far as he knew, cultivating visualization techniques only involved one layer of inner demon illusions.

Could it be that the Nine Nether Suppressing Prison Visualization Technique was special and had a double layer of inner demon illusions?

Just as Zhou Hao Chen was confused, a gust of evil wind attacked.

He saw an evil spirit with a tongue that protruded and reached its navel attacking him.

“These inner demon illusions are a bit strange!”

For some reason, his intuition told him that the evil spirit in front of him was a bit strange.

Before Zhou Hao Chen could react, he suddenly felt a burning sensation between his eyebrows.

With a buzzing sound!

The mark of the Reincarnation Seal soared into the sky.

Zhou Hao Chen looked up in surprise.

He saw the palm-sized black mark growing larger against the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a three-foot-diameter seal, crashing down on the long-tongued ghost.

Boom—

A loud noise suddenly erupted.

It was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

Along with this loud noise, the mark of the Reincarnation Seal smashed into the long-tongued ghost.

It was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and as swift as lightning!

The long-tongued ghost didn't even have time to let out a scream before it was completely suppressed and killed by the mark of the Reincarnation Seal.

The whole process was extremely short.

It ended in the blink of an eye, leaving Zhou Hao Chen dumbfounded.

He was almost turning into the 'subway old man looking at his phone' meme.

Before Zhou Hao Chen could figure it out, he felt another burning sensation between his eyebrows.

This time, it was the Eight Trigrams Diagram that was acting up.

Golden light shone brightly from the Eight Trigrams Diagram, and a trigram appeared.

Hmm—

Very special!

There was only one trigram, which greatly surprised Zhou Hao Chen.

This was the first time he had seen a situation with only one trigram.

【Thunder Wind: Middle-Upper Trigram, Submerge into the River of Forgetfulness, swim left for fifteen zhang, obtain a seventh-grade opportunity, no worries, minor auspiciousness.】

The simple trigram caused a storm in Zhou Hao Chen's heart.

The focus of his attention was not the seventh-grade opportunity, but…

The River of Forgetfulness!

The blood-yellow river beneath his feet was actually the legendary River of Forgetfulness.