The voting for the grand sacrificial ceremony to heaven lasted for a full three days before coming to an end. Without much suspense, Liu Ruyan won the first place in the public vote.
Although the public vote carried little weight in the entire selection process and was largely based on personal connections, almost like a mere formality, it undoubtedly created a great deal of momentum for Liu Ruyan.
Simultaneously, the deliberation hall, composed of the dean and teachers of the Vientiane Academy, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory officials, and other relevant court officials, after repeated discussions, finally determined the proposed candidates and reported them to the emperor. Only after the emperor personally summoned and interviewed the candidates could the final decision be made.
It is worth mentioning that if one is truly selected as the person to conduct the sacrificial ceremony to heaven, besides performing various elaborate rituals, the core responsibility is to pray for rain for all sentient beings in the world. This matter of praying for rain is of great significance. The person who prays for rain must possess profound spiritual power to communicate with heaven and earth before they can summon the sweet rain.
At this moment, in the academy's discussion hall, Ren Daoyuan and Shen Canghai sat in the high - status seats. Below them on the left sat court officials of various ranks, and on the right sat the teachers of the academy.
In the center of the discussion hall stood a bronze mirror as tall as a person. A time - rewind talisman was attached to it, which could clearly show the performance of all the disciples during this mission, every word and deed in great detail.
Ren Daoyuan took a slow sip of his tea and then said slowly, "Everyone has watched the whole process of this mission. I'm sure you all have your own opinions. The grand sacrificial ceremony to heaven is of great importance and cannot be taken lightly. Please feel free to speak your minds."
The room fell silent for a moment. Then a fair - faced and beardless eunuch on the left cleared his throat. His fingertips unconsciously stroked the new jade pendant on his waist as he said in a shrill voice, "Although the Directorate of Ceremonies is not well - versed in metaphysics, in my opinion... Miss Liu performed the most outstandingly. She is well - known in the capital as the Mysterious Lady. Since entering the academy, she has made many meritorious deeds. Now she is also at the top of the disciples' vote, which shows the recognition of her fellow disciples. She is truly the only candidate."
As soon as he said this, the people around showed different expressions. Some nodded in agreement, while others looked serious and said nothing.
"I beg to differ," Teacher Yan spoke up, breaking the deadlock. His voice was not loud, but it carried an aura of authority. "I'm in charge of the Inquiry Hall and know nothing about civilian affairs. But judging from the Inquiry List and the re - play of this mission, Shen Cuiyu remained calm in the face of danger and foresaw opportunities. I think she is the best candidate." He paused for a moment, his brows furrowed as his eyes swept over the scene in the re - wind mirror where Liu Ruyan was distributing expensive talismans. "In the past few days, Liu Ruyan has been aggressively canvassing votes. She is a bit too utilitarian. Isn't this contrary to the original intention of the selection for the grand sacrificial ceremony to heaven?"
As soon as he said this, the hall immediately erupted into discussions. Some of the officials who had worked their way up from humble backgrounds thought there was nothing wrong with Liu Ruyan's behavior.
"Opportunities are meant to be seized by oneself. I think this student is quite good."
The two groups held their own views and argued incessantly. Finally, they all looked up at the high - seated people.
Ren Daoyuan looked thoughtfully at the calm and composed figure of the young girl in the bronze mirror.
He noticed that after this period of study, Shen Cuiyu's spiritual power had unconsciously increased. If her spiritual power were to be tested again now, it would surely be far beyond the Mysterious Rank, most likely at the Earth Rank or even higher!
In the entire mission, if Shen Cuiyu had not taken the lead, it would have been very difficult to complete it smoothly.
Shen Cuiyu didn't seem like a novice disciple. Instead, she seemed like an experienced high - level celestial master who had seen many big scenes, so she could remain indifferent to honor and disgrace.
However... this child's personality seemed too calm. She didn't fight for anything. Sometimes, Ren Daoyuan even felt that Shen Cuiyu was deliberately hiding her talents...
She deliberately didn't expose things but just watched some people's reactions leisurely and gently guided them to let their guards down.
This kind of behavior of pretending to be weak to defeat the strong made Ren Daoyuan a bit puzzled.
On the other hand, the talismans and magical tools that Liu Ruyan took out were extremely precious. The Liu family was not a metaphysical family. Where did she get these magical tools from?
Ren Daoyuan withdrew his gaze but did not immediately express his opinion. Instead, he threw the question to Shen Canghai, who had been silent for a long time.
"Old Shen, what do you think?"
Everyone's eyes focused on Shen Canghai, with different expressions.
Everyone present was a shrewd person. They all knew that there was a feud between the Shen family and the Liu family. Although the decision - making power of the proposed candidates lay with everyone, if Shen Canghai didn't give his approval, Liu Ruyan would surely not be selected.
The eunuch who had spoken first also realized this and looked a bit nervous.
"The Directorate of Ceremonies can decide on the candidate," Shen Canghai finally spoke, his tone calm. "The Imperial Astronomical Observatory will fully cooperate with the matters related to the grand sacrificial ceremony to heaven."
Everyone was not surprised by Shen Canghai's reaction.
Among the metaphysical disciples in the world, six or seven out of ten well - known ones had received guidance from Shen Canghai.
Although the Imperial Astronomical Observatory was not directly responsible for selecting the candidate, it was in charge of important aspects such as the sacrificial rituals and astronomical calculations.
If the grand sacrificial ceremony to heaven was successful, it would surely be recorded in history; if something went wrong, it would incur the emperor's wrath.
Because he was well aware of the stakes involved, Shen Canghai had voluntarily resigned from the responsibility of candidate review a month ago and only focused on the preparation of the ceremony. At this moment, he sat calmly in the hall, as if the current argument had nothing to do with him.
Ren Daoyuan couldn't help but look at his old friend a few more times. Based on Shen Canghai's past temperament, he would never be so indifferent to such an important matter. Could it be...
Just as he was pondering, the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonies who had received the jade pendant couldn't wait to stand up.
"Since everyone has no objections, the host of the grand sacrificial ceremony to heaven will be Liu Ruyan."
Scattered voices of agreement rang out in the hall. Teacher Yan lowered his eyes and said nothing. His fingers gently tapped on the armrest of his wheelchair, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Liu Ruyan's name was thus circled with a vermilion pen and hung at the top of the candidate list.
The eunuch looked around proudly. The reason he fought for Liu Ruyan was, on the one hand, that he had received many benefits from her, and on the other hand, if his goal was achieved, he could rely on the power of this Mysterious Lady in the future.
When his gaze passed by Teacher Yan, he saw the always - silent old man suddenly look up. A glint of light flashed in his seemingly cloudy eyes, and his old voice slowly said, "The grand sacrificial ceremony to heaven is related to the national fortune. I hope Miss Liu... will act in her own best interests."
This light remark instantly froze the eunuch's proud expression. Just as he was about to speak, Ren Daoyuan said leisurely, "Yan Zheng used to be from the Witchcraft and Poison School. He could plant a curse on someone while chatting. It's better for you not to provoke him, sir."
Hearing this, the eunuch immediately shut his mouth, filled with grief and indignation.
During his days at the Vientiane Academy, he had seen roofs blown off every day, exotic teenagers carrying poisonous snakes and spiders with them, and even corpse officers driving zombies to and from classes...
He even felt a bit dazed - was this still the human world?
Next time there's such a thing, let the other eunuchs from the Twelve Directorates come...