As these words were spoken, the faces of most of the Great Elders and Elders changed.

The Old Ancestor wants to hold a clan-wide selection~~~

This, this... doesn’t this mean giving some opportunities to the Direct Vessel, or even the collateral branches?

A few marginalized True Immortal Elders, upon hearing this, were overjoyed. The chance has come for those outstanding children among their descendants. If they can perform exceptionally well in front of the Old Ancestor, even if they can’t become a Divine King Candidate, they can still stand out among the young generation in the future and rise to prominence.

"Old Ancestor, this, this does not conform to the rules passed down by the Old Ancestors~~" Ji Guanchao was anxious, hurriedly and shakily persuading.

"Old Ancestor? Which Old Ancestor?" Ji Taichang sneered coldly, his tone suddenly sinking, "I am also a Taoist Master-level Old Ancestor. Does my word not count? I just ask you one question, who agrees, who objects? Let those against it step forward and let me see!"

These words landed like a heavy hammer.

The entire council hall fell silent instantly, everyone unconsciously lowered their heads, and no one dared to step forward in opposition.

They weren’t foolish; anyone could sense the coldness in the Old Ancestor’s tone. Anyone who dared to stand up now would most likely have to face the Old Ancestor’s wrath.

Ji Taichang’s gaze swept across everyone’s faces, watching their uniform actions and expressions, he said indifferently, "Since this is the case, then it’s approved unanimously. Compile a list of eligible young individuals, missing not even one! I will personally assess and select them. The qualified ones will proceed to the next step of assessment!"

"Old Ancestor, what about those few?" Ji Guanchao pointed at the children who had already reached the Transcendent Void Realm, asking shakily.

"They are too old and already set in their ways, forget about them." Ji Taichang waved impatiently, "The qualified ones I select will stay by my side, and I will personally guide and teach them slowly."

Those spirited young ones were instantly dumbfounded, their faces turned extremely pale.

What, they don’t even have a chance to participate in the assessment?

But Ji Taichang is the pillar supporting the entire Tranquil Sky Divine King Palace, who dares to oppose his decision? A few kids in the Void Realm are nothing in his eyes.

The Old Ancestor, the Divine King, temporarily sets aside the battlefield situation to stay within the clan and reorganize clan affairs. Who dares to slack off?

Soon.

The eligible outstanding young individuals in the clan were all compiled and personally brought forth by the Elders.

In just ten days.

In the council hall, around a hundred "children" bewilderedly received the test papers and began the assessment.

Among these young individuals, more than a dozen were even from Direct Vessel and collateral branches that had long been marginalized, and their names were rarely heard on usual days.

Ji Taichang personally proctored the exam, showing great importance.

This exam was procured from the Emperor, who got it from Wang Baoguang. It is said to be the same test Wang Baosheng used to select marriage partners.

Although he had been on the battlefield with delayed news, he had heard about some situations concerning the Truth magazine over the years. He even had a copy of those Truth magazines sent to the border and would occasionally browse through them when he had time.

However, due to the long distance, the Truth magazines he held were published several years ago. He only saw the issues about Baosheng’s matchmaking not long ago.

Unlike others who viewed it as a joke, he quite agreed with Wang Baosheng’s criteria for choosing a wife, and this led to more reflections.

People’s [Intelligence] and [Nature], one refers to the ability to think, learn, handle things, and respond to unexpected situations, and the other refers to one’s personality, attitude towards matters and things, ambition, and personal boundaries, etc. According to Wang Baosheng, it refers to one’s personality and worldview.

Aren’t these part of the criteria for selecting a successor?

Through a set of test papers, a preliminary screening can be conducted to select candidates that meet personal needs. The person who invented this test is simply a genius!

Although such screening cannot be perfect and must have omissions and biases, it saved him a lot of time and effort, making a clan-wide selection possible.

After those children completed the test, Ji Taichang didn’t let others handle it but corrected it himself.

The final results left him both disappointed and somewhat gratified.

What disappointed him was that out of these hundred children, only twenty-three passed the two assessments. Most of the issues did not lie in intelligence but failed in the worldview test.

These worldview tests weren’t simple and straightforward questions but used a subtle approach that unconsciously revealed the tester’s true inner thoughts.

This was indeed unexpected; a shock after testing.

It must be noted that if someone wants to hide their worldview, it’s usually very hard to detect in daily life. If it weren’t for his firm decision to reform this time, he might not have realized that the family already had such big issues internally.

This revealed how incompetent Ji Guanchao was at managing the family.

Moreover, with Ji Jiuxiao and Ji Kunlun, such "elite" Direct Line members acting recklessly, it led to a trickle-down effect, causing many in the younger generation to be "infected" with an arrogant and unrestrained mentality.

On the battlefield, arrogance leads to defeat, and within the family, it’s essentially the same.

The consolation was that there were still twenty-three qualified children, indicating the Divine King Mansion’s descendants hadn’t deteriorated to the core yet.