Starting with a Family System to Become an Immortal Official-Chapter 101: Recognition

"You are disqualified."

The crowd’s murmurs turned into open outrage.

Many candidates exchanged shocked looks.

Their surprise couldn’t be quantified.

"This is ridiculous..."

"Unfair! So unfair! He literally killed the beast that was slaughtering everyone!"

"I heard the Mortal Realm Directorate is supposed to be impartial... but this reeks of classism."

"They don’t want a lower-world talent shining too brightly because it will ruin their image. Especially after he easily humiliated an Immortal-grade beast."

Even some Lower Heaven Realm candidates nodded grudgingly.

"If one of us had slain Hai Tung Wan, we’d be getting rewarded right now—treasures, praise, special consideration. Favored children of heaven and all that."

But others sneered.

"He probably cheated or used some hidden artifact like the shameless dog he is."

"I have to agree with that. Maybe he’s the one who unsealed the beast in the first place!"

That sparked shouting matches across the crowd.

Back and forth, heated arguments rose like smoke.

Su Liyue had finally had enough.

She marched straight to the front with a huge sack of pill bottles in hand.

"This is unfair!"

She squeezed her face as she shouted.

Her tiny nose scrunched up a bit.

"Qingmu is in my group! Any pill bottle I collected counts for him too—that’s how team rules work!"

She thrust the sack forward.

The very bottles she’d taken from Gu Shi’s storage ring after crushing him.

Ye Zirou lifted one brow then squeezed her beautiful face in clear disdain.

"He never touched a single one. Not once. So how exactly are these his? And I don’t remember making any rules about teamwork being a factor in this phase."

She shrugged carelessly.

Su Liyue’s eyes blazed.

She opened her mouth to scream again.

But Li Qingmu gently laid a hand on her slender shoulder to calm the feisty beauty down.

"No need, Liyue."

His voice was calm and severely tired.

"If the proctor says I failed... then I failed."

Tears gathered in Su Liyue’s eyes.

"Are you just giving up!? They’re clearly targeting you because you’re from a lower world!"

Li Qingmu yawned softly.

"Can’t do much about it."

Gu Lao saw his chance.

He stepped forward, arms folded and grinned arrogantly like he had won the war completely.

"Are you two seriously accusing the esteemed Mortal Realm Directorate of favoritism and classism... over a useless lower-world trash like him? If you are tired of living just say so and any one of us will grant that wish!"

He stepped right into Li Qingmu’s space and jabbed a finger into his chest.

"You failed. Accept it, loser. This is why I hate you dirty mortal-plane dogs—always crying about fairness instead of admitting you’re trash!"

He kept poking and hurling all sorts of insults as his face twisted with glee.

"You’re a disgusting vermin!"

"..."

"NO ONE HERE WANTS TO SEE YOUR FACE!"

"..."

"You lost like the failure you are! Lower your head in shame and return to your filthy world where you can boss around those ants in your insignificant clan!"

"..."

Li Qingmu stood quietly.

In fact, he took it all without flinching.

Those half-lidded, unbothered eyes would never change because of a few hurtful words.

He’s received worse when he was a nobody.

Song Yan wanted to speak but she only clenched her fists until her knuckles whitened.

Li Qingmu sighed... then looked past Gu Lao and straight at Gu Linyuan on the dais.

Gu Lao exploded.

"Hey! Look at me when I’m talking to you!"

Li Qingmu ignored him completely.

"Won’t you come tame your dog, Young Master Gu?"

The crowd burst into loud laughter.

Gu Lao’s face turned purple with humiliation.

He whirled on the laughing candidates and snarled until most of them quieted.

He opened his mouth to yell again.

"Gu Lao."

Gu Linyuan’s cold voice rang from above.

"Shut your mouth."

Gu Linyuan’s golden eyes narrowed dangerously.

『If this fool and the others hadn’t failed so miserably at killing this pest named Li Qingmu... we wouldn’t have needed to unseal Hai Tung Wan. He wouldn’t have gained this ridiculous new feat.』

In his eyes, he has helped Li Qingmu’s reputation.

That was the greatest failure today.

He forced his rage down for his elder sister’s sake.

But inside he burned.

Song Yan gazed at Li Qingmu with sorrow.

She noticed the faint tremble in his hidden hands.

『The Song family’s ambitions... is dead for another decade. I wanted him to take the exam in the next five-year cycle when his talent would be undeniable. But they’ll suppress him any way they can—him, the Song family, the Golden Sun Pavilion. Once you fail the immortal official exams... you can’t just retake them until the cycle after next. Father will be bitterly disappointed.』

She lowered her head and sighed.

Hidden among the candidates is Daoist Water.

He squeezed his face and muttered under his breath.

"How can they disqualify such a talent? I saw how he easily crushed that damned Hai Tung Wan—even I couldn’t do it so cleanly... where is his master? He should be here stopping this farce. I want this young man for myself!"

He stared and Li Qingmu and bit his lower lip.

"He will make a fine cauldron!"

He folded his arms and let out a very lady-like hmph!

Nearby candidates stared in confusion.

"He has been acting quite... feminine lately."

"The daoist is actually kinda cute like that."

"Maybe dying and reviving messed with his head."

"I like the way he bites his lips~"

These were all from men by the way.

Daoist Water turned red as he coughed violently and quickly straightened his posture.

Li Qingmu stood there, trying to look unbothered.

But inside... it hurt.

When he glanced at Ye Zirou, he saw her first real smile since he’d known this woman.

A wicked smile of satisfaction.

She had finally humbled him.

Made him look like a fool before tens of thousands.

She folded her arms and thought coldly:

『I’ll remember that hopeless, pretentious face. I’ll tell Father and Elder Brother. Next time... he won’t touch anything connected to me.』

Li Qingmu pressed a hand lightly to his chest.

『I failed my parents so quickly... why didn’t I just grab a pill bottle or two? Always doing things my way... is it the Tyrant path? It’s led me straight to a dead end. I failed my wives. Failed Big Sis Song. They put so much faith in me and I came back empty-handed. A complete failure. My main goal has eluded me...』

His grip tightened. He exhaled slowly.

Suddenly the dry desert sky darkened.

Clouds rolled in unnaturally fast.

A mighty voice thundered from above.

"Since when do mere proctors and supervisors decide such delicate matters?"

The clouds parted directly overhead.

Heavenly light poured down.

A figure descended.

Immortal robes of sky-blue silk and a massive royal brush treasure resting across his shoulders.

Master Wen Jiuling.

Every soul present bowed deeply—except Gu Bingyue who sat with perfect elegance... though disgust flickered in her golden eyes if one looked closely.

Master Wen Jiuling floated high, gazing down.

"Hai Tung Wan was originally a whale birthed from my Nine Celestial Transformations. It inherited that supreme art when it devoured the spiritual seawater on the first floor of the Shifting Pagoda—an endless ocean continent."

He smiled gently at Li Qingmu.

His robes fluttered like a living sky.

Then he spoke plainly.

"Li Qingmu must be made an Immortal Official."

The entire crowd roared in unison.

"EH?!"

None of them could believe their ears.

Ye Zirou’s face twisted in fury the moment Master Wen Jiuling’s words rang out.

Her beautiful features, usually cold and composed were now flushed red with rage. Her lips parted like she was ready to unleash a sharp retort—something about rules, impartiality or how a mere lower-world ant couldn’t possibly deserve such favor.

But before a single syllable could escape...

Master Wen Jiuling’s gaze shifted.

It was just a side-eye. Nothing more.

Yet that single glance carried the weight of mountains and the chill of eternal void.

His pupils narrowed ever so slightly and an invisible pressure crashed down on Ye Zirou.

Her throat tightened. Her knees trembled.

The words died unborn on her tongue.

She snapped her mouth shut and her face paled as she took an involuntary half-step back.

Daoist Water watched the scene unfold with a bright smile on his feminine face.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"My master has finally arrived. But now isn’t the time to act like a good child and approach him. He’s still occupied with this... interesting little fellow."

His gaze drifted back to Li Qingmu.

Meanwhile, Song Yan was the most bewildered of all.

Her heart pounded wildly.

Relief, confusion, and hope warred inside her chest.

She stepped forward through the stunned silence and bowed deeply with perfect grace.

"Senior Wen Jiuling."

She spoke carefully.

"This junior is grateful beyond words that you would speak up for Brother Li. But... may this one ask what changed so suddenly? Why grant him this honor now?"

Master Wen Jiuling shook his head slowly.

"Nothing has changed. I am merely doing my best to ensure that exceptional cultivators receive the recognition they more than thoroughly deserve. That is how the cultivation world truly works. Talent must be acknowledged, no matter its origin. Those who shine brightly should not be dimmed by petty jealousy or rigid rules."

Li Qingmu finally lifted his head.

That was a new one.

He clasped his hands together and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks for the recognition, Senior Wen."

He smiled genuinely.

"This junior is honored."

Master Wen Jiuling gave a slight nod before turning his gaze to the crowd of candidates below.

"Listen well. Hai Tung Wan was no ordinary beast. It was born from my Nine Celestial Transformations... a supreme art I personally mastered long ago. When it devoured the spiritual seawater on this floor, it inherited the essence of that endless spiritual ocean continent and grasped the first two levels of the technique innately."

He paused for emphasis.

"Li Qingmu slew it. He damaged a body tempered for thousands of years by the purest energies of heaven and earth. That alone proves his terrifying potential."

Gasps rippled through the crowd like wind over water.

"The Nine Celestial Transformations ranks among the top ten secret inheritances of the Exalted Sage School. For millennia, no one has appeared with the qualifications to even touch its true depths. Until today."

He looked straight at Li Qingmu.

"You are more than eligible to inherit it."

The entire plaza fell deathly silent.