Chapter 4 System Task

  The Long Pavilion has been a place for people to bid farewell since ancient times. Farewells are always depressing and sorrowful, which makes the two words "Long Pavilion" seem to carry a sense of desolation and bleakness in themselves.

  The sky was clear and sunny, but it made the reluctant look on Tang's mother's face even clearer.

  "Mother, it's enough to send me here, you can go back now. The child has grown up and knows how to take care of himself." Tang An carried a small package on his back, inside which was the "Golden Silk Armor" given by his mother. It was very hot, but the Golden Silk Armor felt cool and comfortable on his body, yet his heart was filled with anxiety.

  His eyes were red, and he had cried. Feeling the thickness of Tang's mother's reluctance to part with him, Tang An turned his face away, blew his nose hard, then wiped it on his sleeve, puffed out his chest, looked up at his small face, and said loudly: "Mother, I'm all grown up now, I want to go out and make a name for myself in the world! You should be happy about that! Who else's child can start making a name for themselves at the age of six? You should be proud of me! I promise you, one day I'll ride a five-flowered horse, wear a thousand-golden cloak, have ten million strings of cash around my waist, and bring my wife to Yangzhou to visit you!"

  Tang's mother heard Tang An's boastful words, a warm feeling flowed through her heart, and she forced a faint smile on her face. However, she couldn't help but emphasize: "It's Yangzhou Lin'an Prefecture, don't forget... Mother is waiting for you to come back..."

  Tang An nodded heavily, tears already filled his eyes, but he held them back.

  He turned his back resolutely, his small body stubborn and determined. He gritted his teeth, refusing to let tears fall, and walked steadily towards the horse carriage parked outside the pavilion.

  Tang's mother suddenly felt reluctant again, wanting to run forward and pull her son back, but Tang's father stopped her at the side.

  "Eaglets will one day leave their nest and soar high."

  Tang's mother nodded, and had no choice but to lean against the railing, silently watching her son leave. As she watched, she suddenly shouted: "An'er, Mother is waiting for you... don't forget..."

  Upon hearing this, Tang An's eyes welled up with tears that could no longer be held back, and they fell down like rain.

  "Daughter, don't worry. The child won't forget. Yangzhou Lin'an County. Give the son ten years, ten years! The son will definitely come back!"

  The horse carriage swayed gently, heading westward...

  At that time, the nine states of the world, the Central Plains City was located in the eastern four states of Xuzhou border, while Shu Mountain was located at the junction of Jingzhou and Yangzhou. However, Shu Mountain is thousands of miles away, like a natural barrier, stretching between Jingzhou and Yangzhou. If you want to enter Shu from Yangzhou, it's impossible to pass through. Can only take a detour, passing through Yanzhou, Yu State into Jingzhou, down the river, can enter Shu.

  At that time, the world was in chaos, and heroes rose up together. The imperial court's power was weak, and it was also restricted by the powerful families of the aristocracy, so its influence could only be confined to the four eastern provinces. Recently, there has been a heretical cult causing trouble in Yangzhou, and the imperial court had no ability to quell the rebellion, so it could only shrink its territory and consolidate its power. In the end, it was firmly besieged in Ji Province, Qing Province, and Xu Province, the three richest provinces under heaven.

  As for the other six states, the forces are complex and intertwined, with powerful families and local powers entangled, outsiders can't intervene at all.

  Shu Mountain is located between Jingzhou and Yangzhou, which is one of the nine major sects in the world today.

  It's already late August now. Xiao Tang'an has been swaying on the road for almost a month, and it seems that he is about to arrive at Shu Mountain.

  Tang An's heart was also slightly excited, and when he arrived at Shu Mountain, he paid his respects at the mountain gate. From then on, he became a member of the Jianghu community. In that era, Jianghu was a legendary place. The Jianghu world is very colorful, but it is also very cruel. Only by practicing martial arts well can one have the possibility of returning home in glory!

  These days, Tang An has been idle and has nothing to do. He has read the personal summary of his father's experiences back and forth several times. His father didn't leave any martial arts secrets in it. As for those words, they can be summarized into one meaning.

  A person's innate abilities, strong or weak, and their martial arts skills, high or low, cannot determine their future. A successful person is one who makes the most correct choices in the constant challenges of life. To do or not to do, that is a question. It seems simple, but many people will make the wrong choice. If they choose wrongly, they will lose their lives, and naturally, there will be no chance to come back again.

  The horse carriage rattled and turned in a mountain valley. At this moment, the sound of "patter" fighting suddenly came from outside.

  Tang An heard this and couldn't help but lift the curtain, sticking his head out to take a look. However, he was immediately pushed back by the coachman. But in that brief glance, Tang An saw that there were 4 men and 2 women chasing and killing a man in black. The man's clothes were disheveled, and it was unclear how many sword wounds he had suffered. His black clothes were already tattered and stained with blood. The six opponents worked together seamlessly, attacking and defending in perfect coordination. At this point, the man in black had been forced into a desperate situation, barely able to protect himself from harm. Blood flowed continuously from his body, and after a while, he was exhausted and naturally captured by the others.

  The coachman pressed Tang An's head back, and the carriage also stopped at one side. The coachman was a big man, sturdy and strong, with a stern face, and all the way here, Tang An didn't say much to him either. The coachman was called Xie Jin, and Tang An heard his father call him Old Xie, seemingly a trusted subordinate by his uncle's side. This time he was sent to escort himself to Shu Mountain to learn martial arts. However, Tang An did not know that he had another task, which was to prevent himself from escaping.

  "Uncle Xie, what's going on outside?" Although his head was pressed back down, Tang An's curiosity grew even stronger. Could it be that they had encountered a vendetta from the jianghu? When traveling in the jianghu, the most common thing to happen is for someone to suddenly appear while you're drinking or eating, saying "Give me back my xxx life!" and then shouting "You bastard, I won't kill you, I swear not to be human..."

  Xie Jin just lowered the brim of his hat, leaned his head back close to the curtain and said to Tang An: "He's from Shu Mountain's Seven Extremes Peak. Don't make a fuss, we're just passing by, don't stir up unnecessary trouble. Sit in the carriage for a while, they'll be done soon."

  "Shu Mountain Seven Extremes Peak?" Tang An silently memorized this name in his heart. It was very likely that he would soon be dealing with these people in the not-too-distant future. He just didn't know what kind of situation it would be at that time.

  After a while, it was indeed impossible to hear any sound, and the man had exhausted himself to death. The people of Shu Shan Men then went forward and cut off his head. They put his head in a box sprinkled with quicklime, leaving his body in the wilderness. It won't be long before this corpse will be taken away by wild dogs.

  The road ahead was clear, and Xie Jin raised his whip and shouted "Go". However, when the carriage passed by the corpse, Xie Jin's eyebrows suddenly furrowed. The scars on the man's hand seemed familiar.

  Let's not make a scene outside, Tang An lifted the window curtain of the carriage. After all, the weather was still quite hot, and his body wasn't in good shape to begin with. Being cooped up in the carriage for so long made him dizzy. But when he opened the curtain, all he saw was a headless corpse, its neck still spurting out hot blood. He couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea wash over him, and before he knew it, he had vomited all over the place. In his panic, he scrambled out of the carriage and sat down on the edge of the driver's seat.

  He gained a deeper understanding of the jianghu. In a chaotic world, human life is as worthless as straw! If this man's abilities were superior to those few men, it would not be him who died, but rather his six opponents.

  Tang An didn't know who was right or wrong between the two of them, he only knew that the man was dead, his head had been cut off. Maybe it was taken away to claim credit, maybe it was casually discarded.

  The world is like this, it's a place where the strong prey on the weak!

  After a while, Tang An's mood calmed down and he asked Xie Jin: "Uncle Xie, what is the Seven Peaks of Shu Mountain?"

  Xie Jin smiled and replied, "The seven peaks of Shu Mountain are the seven major branches of Shu Mountain, each with a chief in charge. As the number one sword school under heaven, Shu Mountain naturally has seven absolute swords, which are the seven chiefs of the seven peaks of Shu Mountain. They are: [Pursuing Wind], [Spring Wood], [Fierce Fire], [Mysterious Earth], [Vermilion Gold], [Flowing Water], and [Racing Thunder]. These are the world's seven greatest famous swords." After finishing, Xie Jin added, "However, in my opinion, these seven great famous swords are just something Shu Mountain uses to boost their own reputation. The seven chiefs, aside from the leader of the Pursuing Wind Sword, Li Chengfeng, who has been famous for a long time, the other six are merely new arrivals in the Jianghu world and do not live up to these names. These names are just leftovers from the older generation. However, Shu Mountain's sword school is after all a major school in the Jianghu world, with countless experts within it. That is undeniable. Otherwise, how could they dare claim to be the number one sword school under heaven?"

  Xie Jin said with a smile, "What? Are you thinking of joining the Shu Mountain sect?" Seeing Tang An nodding, Xie Jin suddenly sneered, "Forget it. Your path is still far away. The Shu Mountain is divided into inner and outer halls, only those who pass the test of the outer hall can enter the inner hall to become a disciple. You're thinking about this too early. In my opinion, your talent is too mediocre, I'm afraid you won't even pass the first big exam of the outer hall. Why don't I wait for you outside Qinghe Town for three months? Three months later, it's not like you'll be returning home alone with your tail between your legs. How about that? Haha... The master of the Le Hall has a nephew like you, it's really embarrassing to say. If people in the Jianghu knew that the son of Tang Tianjing had such mediocre talent, they might laugh their teeth off." Xie Jin said, his eyes revealing his disdain and contempt without any disguise.

  "I, Xie Jin, am a number one figure in the Jianghu, yet I'm sent to escort such a young whelp like you to pay respects and become an apprentice. If this gets out, where will my face be?" Xie Jin said, his gaze towards Tang An growing even more displeased.

  Tang An's fists were clenched tightly, his small face flushed red, and in his heart there was only a raging fire burning non-stop, ready to explode at any moment. But he endured it firmly, not refuting Xie Jin's words.

  Because Xie Jin said it was true, Tang An's qualifications were indeed very poor, and he knew it himself. He was born weak, with less strength than ordinary children, how could he compare to those Jianghu disciples who had been training their bodies since childhood? He hated that when he chose his system attributes at the beginning, he didn't choose strength or physique, but instead chose agility.

  One power lowers ten blessings! I should have thought of it earlier!

  "Qinghe Town has arrived! Kid, go sign up yourself. If you get eliminated after three months, don't come crying to me. I have other things to attend to and no time to waste with you here. If you get eliminated, there's a river outside Qinghe Town, figure it out yourself." With that, Xie Jin really did throw the package off the horse carriage, then turned the carriage around and headed back in the original direction, not even bothering to give a second glance.

  The entire alley was left with only Tan An standing alone. Tan An bent down to pick up his own bundle, gently patting off the dust on it, inside which were a pair of kung fu shoes knitted by his mother for him.

  He clenched his fists, his stubborn body standing upright on the small path, watching as Xie Jin rode away. "I chose this road myself, even if I have to crawl, I'll see it through! Xie Jin, in ten years, I want you to swallow every word you said today!"

  Tang An bent down and picked up a stone, throwing it fiercely towards the mountain edge, as if he wanted to vent all the anger in his heart.

  Just then, a strange sound suddenly flashed into Tang An's mind.

  Ding~, officially launched!

  Mission: Pass the outer gate of Shu Mountain within three months. Reward: One Small Yuan Dan pellet. Penalty for failure: Lose everything, including your life. This mission cannot be refused!

  Introduction wants to change, can't change. I faint.