Chapter 10 Passing the Assessment

  The night was quiet and still, with everyone lying in bed.

  Some are sleeping soundly, conserving their energy for tomorrow's assessment. Those people have already cultivated internal energy and feel they can easily lift a 100-jin child, but they lack confidence in obtaining the qualification to practice inner school exercises.

  Some of them were tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. As soon as they thought about the assessment at the outer gate tomorrow, followed by a competition for the inner gate disciples' quota, they became excited. That's the inner gate disciple of Shu Mountain! Once you enter Jianghu, you'll be a highly praised master! How much glory can this bring to their family?!

  Learn literary and military skills, serve in the imperial court!

  Some of them are not Jianghu people, they learn martial arts just to serve the imperial court and become an official. The imperial court has always treated Jianghu warriors who surrender with kindness. As long as the inner disciples of various major sects come to surrender, at least it will be a position of a hundred households! A hundred households is equivalent to the seventh rank, which is the official position of a county magistrate! Scholars study hard for 10 years and pass the imperial examination, but they may not have real power as a county magistrate. However, for martial artists, as long as you have real skills, even if your kung fu is not top-notch, you can still hold a position of a hundred households. This is because it's a chaotic world with constant wars, and powerful martial arts are needed to protect the emperor!

  This is a world of warriors, weak scholars are not suitable for war! In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are just floating clouds! No matter how eloquent you are, no matter how well you can debate with others, one punch from me will turn everything to dust, what else is there to say?!

  There are still some young kids who haven't cultivated their inner energy, suffering from insomnia all night, shrinking in the corner and secretly crying. From tomorrow on, if they don't have a great opportunity, they will sink and become low-level figures in the Jianghu. Perhaps many people are unwilling to continue walking this path of Jianghu, choosing instead to become merchants or participate in the imperial examination.

  In short, although this road in Jianghu is wide and broad, starting tomorrow, there will no longer be a place for them to tread.

  No matter what others did, Tang An still sat calmly on his small bed. His mood was extremely calm, as if tomorrow's assessment was just an ordinary meal and drink, nothing to worry about.

  Indeed, for him, it was never a big deal anyway.

  Now he can lift a 300-jin boulder! As long as nothing unexpected happens, within a month he will be able to break through to the Second Heavy Layer of the Tianren, Washing Marrow and Decapitating Scripture.

  At that time, after another half year of cultivation like this, having 500 jin of strength would just be a matter of time. He wasn't in a hurry, he was only six years old! Before the age of ten, as long as one could lift a 500-jin giant stone, they would automatically become an inner sect disciple. Moreover, among the seven peaks of Mount Shu's Seven Absolute Peaks, there were seven types of inner sect absolute arts to choose from.

  The sky was already bright, and Tang An had been sitting upright on his bed for the whole night. His body was still as agile as a monkey. The whole night of sitting upright did not make his body numb. Under the circulation of internal energy, it instead made him spirited and refreshed. This is the effect of internal energy, which can not only cultivate the body but also adjust the spirit.

  "Knock knock knock..."

  Just then, the big drum at the mountain gate suddenly sounded.

  The little brats heard this voice and their hearts suddenly rumbled, and they quickly ran towards the large square in front of the "Mojian Hall".

  Today, all disciples who joined Shu Mountain in September must participate in the assessment here.

  Those who pass the assessment will officially become outer disciples of Shu Mountain, not only can they obtain [Shu Mountain Inner Strength Mind Method First Six Layers], but also get a share of their own example money. This shows that from now on, Shu Mountain will nurture them, and they will automatically become a part of Shu Mountain. As long as they are not expelled by Shu Mountain, in the future when walking in the Jianghu, people in the Jianghu will naturally treat them as Shu Mountain disciples. Be proud for Shu Mountain, fight for Shu Mountain.

  "Line up, one by one! Those who can lift the 100-jin stone lock, stand over here. Those who want to challenge the 200-jin stone lock, stand over there. If anyone thinks they can lift the 500-jin stone lock, come forward and face me!"

  A loud, thick voice rang out, instantly covering up the noise of thousands of disciples. If this person were on a battlefield, they might be able to let the entire army hear them with just one shout.

  Tang An raised his head and took a closer look at the man. He saw that he had a sturdy build, like an iron tower, with bulging muscles and tendons, each one distinct like iron chains. His physical strength must have been tempered to the extreme, with boundless power. With the addition of internal energy, such a person would be an unstoppable general if they joined the army! It's really a waste for someone like this to be wandering around Jianghu.

  "Huh? I've seen that person before. He's the Grand Commander of the Garrison of Stone City. Others call him the Black Mountain Grand Commander. Because he's dark-skinned, sitting there is as stable as a mountain. He's actually an inner disciple of Shu Mountain, a top-notch master who has cultivated to the fifth level of Tianren, with unparalleled divine power!" A little kid might have seen that man before and spoke out his origin in one sentence.

  Someone next to him asked: "The Grand Commander of Shicheng is actually an inner disciple of Shushan? If the elder of Shushan joins the imperial court, what official position will the imperial court give?"

  The man burst out laughing as soon as he heard this, apparently thinking that the other person's question was very stupid.

  "This city was originally a major city within the Shu Mountain's sphere of influence. Letting an inner disciple of Shu Mountain take charge is something that only the Shu Mountain elders can decide. The imperial court? Is it their turn to meddle in this affair? This is Sichuan. The imperial court has no authority here! The Shu Mountain Sword Sect is the uncrowned king of this place! Which of the several major families in Sichuan didn't originate from the Shu Mountain Sword Sect? Even if the imperial court sends someone to take office here, if Shu Mountain is dissatisfied, they'll just kill them. The imperial court will send again, and we'll kill again. We people of Sichuan only recognize the Shu Mountain Sword Sect. The imperial court means nothing here!"

  That little kid spoke eloquently, and several other children who were obviously from the same province nodded slightly, seemingly unsurprised.

  At this moment, the examiner pointed to Tang An's name. The examiners were all inner disciples of Mount Shu who came to take charge, and they were all masters who had cultivated to the fourth level of Tianren, with both hardness and softness.

  Tang An heard the examiner call his name, and immediately dispelled the distracting thoughts in his mind. He walked straight to the 200-jin stone lock. In the past three months, he had undergone a complete transformation. His refined aura even earned a nod of approval from the examiner.

  He walked up to the stone lock, a faint smile playing on his lips, and rested his arm on it. The internal energy in his lower abdomen began to rotate rapidly.

  "With a shout of 'Hurray!', he easily lifted the stone lock over his head!"

  He held up the stone lock, but his eyes were scanning the crowd. Suddenly, he saw a detestable face in the not-too-distant crowd.

  "Wang Feng! You wait for me. This afternoon's inner door disciple qualification competition, I will not let you have a good time! For the past three months, I have been practicing hard, but you have been idle and often sneak down the mountain to play around. If it weren't for your father backing you up, this Shu Mountain Sword Sect wouldn't be a place where you can behave recklessly! However, this afternoon's competition is fair and square, even if your father is one of the Seven Absolute Swords of Shu Mountain, no favoritism will be allowed! I don't dare to take revenge privately because I'm afraid of the strict rules of Shu Mountain, but this afternoon's competition, let's see how you can hide! I want to openly and fairly trample you under my feet!"

  Wang Feng saw Tang An looking at him with a hint of resentment in his eyes, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

  "You're just a piece of trash? This afternoon I'll definitely make you lose face again! Trash, always trash!"

  Tang An threw the heavy stone lock to the ground and walked out with big strides. At this moment, his heart was boiling with hot blood, and he even felt a bit impatient to teach those two brothers from the Wang family a lesson. However, he also knew that he could only deal with the younger brother, but not the older one, Wang Ruo. But it didn't matter, as long as he won in the afternoon, he would have the qualification to enter the [Trial Sword Hall] and practice with the inner disciples. As long as he reached the third level of [Tian Ren], fusion and comprehension, and lifted a 500-jin giant stone before the age of ten, he would be an elite disciple of the inner sect, with a treatment even higher than that of ordinary inner sect disciples!

  But just then, a voice suddenly echoed in Tang An's mind.

  "Ding~ System Prompt: Acquired one Xiao Pei Yuan Dan. Requires a host vessel for injection. Please, Host, find the corresponding vessel as soon as possible!"