Mr. Brooks poured himself a cup as well, drained it in one gulp, and sighed softly: “It is said that every three thousand years, a great calamity descends upon the world, slaughtering all living beings. A thousand years ago, in order to resist this calamity, the top experts of the Immortal Sects, Demon Sects, and Monster Clans set aside their old grudges and gathered together at the Jade Void Cave of Kunlun Mountain to devise a method to counter the disaster. But no one expected that after ten years of seclusion and research, just as they were about to emerge, a sudden catastrophe struck—fire rained from the heavens, the Jade Void Palace was destroyed, and not a single one of those three factions’ masters survived. To this day, no one knows the reason!”

“However, although the three factions’ masters all perished in the Jade Void Cave, a rumor spread throughout the world that they had managed to create a Daoist scripture called ‘The True Explanation of Dao Origin’, which contains the profound principles to resist the three-thousand-year calamity. All the great powers have been willing to do anything to find ‘The True Explanation of Dao Origin’!”

“But no one expected that this Daoist scripture would actually appear—not only did it appear, but dozens or even hundreds of copies surfaced at once. Among these many versions of the True Explanation of Dao Origin, some have similar content, but most are completely different. For a time, none of the great powers could tell which were real and which were fake. Yet every Immortal Sect that obtained a copy dared not take it lightly. Countless geniuses devoted themselves to studying its secrets, but after hundreds of years, without exception, all were proven to be fakes!”

“The Qingyang Sect…”

Henry Carter spoke instinctively, his expression somewhat hesitant.

“This particular copy of the True Explanation of Dao Origin in the Qingyang Sect was obtained by Grandmaster Gu Song seven hundred years ago. He studied it for over a hundred years without success, so he passed it on to his fellow sect members. Still, no one could fully comprehend it. In the end, they had to share the scripture with the other four great Immortal Sects of Yue Kingdom. Countless experts from the five Immortal Sects poured their efforts into this scripture, but still gained nothing…”

“From that time on, various speculations arose. One of them came from a diviner of the Yi Tower!”

“That diviner was an old friend of Grandmaster Gu Song for eight hundred years. After analyzing the scripture, he believed that the True Explanation of Dao Origin was unfathomably mysterious and contained great fortune. The higher one’s cultivation, the easier it was to be blinded and unable to perceive its true meaning. Therefore, those destined to unlock its secrets should be sought among children who had not yet set foot on the path of cultivation. Grandmaster Gu Song firmly believed this, and so, starting three hundred years ago, he began to recruit disciples from the mortal world on a large scale. Over time, this led to the triennial Immortal Sect entrance examination…”

At this point, Mr. Brooks sighed again: “But over the past three hundred years, countless people have been brought into the Immortal Sects, yet no one has managed to decipher the True Explanation of Dao Origin. Instead, the entrance examination has helped the sects find many outstanding candidates from humble backgrounds. Gradually, the other Immortal Sects lost hope in deciphering the scripture and began selecting disciples based on other merits. Over a hundred years ago, someone in the Qingyang Sect also raised this point, but Grandmaster was stubborn and no one dared to go against his wishes. That’s why, until yesterday, the True Explanation of Dao Origin remained the most important part of the entrance examination…”

“Then… why is it that only today…”

Henry Carter hesitated, puzzled as to why the exam was canceled just as he had achieved first place.

“Because Grandmaster Gu Song passed away three days ago!”

Mr. Brooks was full of emotion, seeming somewhat wistful.

Henry Carter was stunned, not knowing how to respond.

Mr. Brooks gave a bitter smile and said, “In fact, I’ve spent most of my life on this scripture as well. Every time I felt I was close to understanding it, I ended up with nothing. I’ve long suspected the scripture is a fake and foresaw this day would come. Still, I kept teaching you—not because I wanted to harm you, but because, whether the True Explanation of Dao Origin is real or fake, it has always been the most important part of the entrance exam. And learning this Dao doesn’t require spending money like other studies, making it most suitable for students from poor families. If you could use it to enter the Immortal Sect, that would be a good thing. Even if you had to start over later, it’s still better than being shut out. Over the past hundred years, I’ve sent many promising students from humble backgrounds into the Immortal Sects this way. It’s just that you’ve suffered…”

“Suffered? Me?”

Henry Carter was a little dazed, and the smile on his face turned somewhat bitter.

Mr. Brooks sighed softly and said, “I didn’t come just to say all this. There’s one thing I wanted to tell you!”

Henry Carter snapped out of it and forced a smile: “If you want to comfort me, sir, you might as well give me a jar of your pear blossom wine from your kiln…”

“If I had a daughter to marry you, I’d have no objection, but if you want my pear blossom wine, you’d better give up on that idea…”

Mr. Brooks scolded with a laugh, then looked into Henry Carter’s eyes. After a while, he spoke solemnly: “What I’m about to say isn’t to comfort you, but to tell you a fact… The True Explanation of Dao Origin may be fake, but your first place is real!”

Henry Carter was slightly startled and looked up at Mr. Brooks.