Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior

"Oh? There are such audacious people!"

Jiang Yao was immediately intrigued, the corners of her phoenix eyes slightly lifted.

"Tell me more in detail, what did that fellow do after impersonating the Demon Slayer Bureau? It even made them use the Blood Eagle for communication."

"Lord Jiang, please don't make it difficult for this official. This confidential letter needs to be submitted for review by superiors."

After speaking, the skinny monkey hurriedly left, and Jiang Yao, having taken just a few steps, suddenly paused in her tracks and turned back around.

"Am I that terrifying? That skinny monkey was in such a hurry... he went the wrong direction."

The direction the skinny monkey was headed clearly led to the residence of the local surveillance officer, but matters of Donglai County should be handed over to the chief judge or even the vice chief judge for decision; reporting beyond one's superior was a grave mistake.

Jiang Yao wanted to offer a word of caution, but the skinny monkey did not look back and had long since disappeared from view.

...

On October the 29th, after the rain, the sky cleared.

The Donglai Noble Families hold a family competition every few years, during which the competition is open to the outside world, and some of the public is even allowed to enter and watch.

The participants in the family competition are the elites among the noble family descendants, not only as a means of assessing the descendants but also as a motivation for them to strive for improvement.

Moreover, after each family competition, the spectators return in awe and spread what they have witnessed and heard, and the noble families also take the opportunity to give it a push.

After each family competition, the streets and alleys, and towns outside the county, recite the tales of the noble family prodigies, and during this period, the noble families carry out a series of actions.

For example, they build martial arts halls, and schools, and promise to select the outstanding individuals from among them to become part of the noble families.

In this way, the prestige of the noble family becomes more deeply ingrained.

Afterward, a single family's competition gradually evolved into a joint competition of several families, and now the four-family competition has become the "Donglai Talents Competition."

When the competition begins, not only do the prodigies of the younger generation of the four families participate, but talented descendants from outside the four families, such as the County Mansion, Pill Cauldron Pavilion, Cyan Fish Gang, and White Whale Gang, also take part.

The four families are happy to see this and allow people from the great powers to temporarily compete under the identity of 'Tributors' of the four families. As the hosts of the grand gathering, the renown of the four families is further cemented and enhanced!

For this reason, the grandeur of the four-family competition even surpasses the "Luming Banquet" held only for the autumn examination scholars.

Even a month before the competition begins, the younger generation of all forces in Donglai County have already gathered, and quite a few cultivators have come from other counties to join this grand event.

Today is also the day when the Donglai Competition is held, with the location set at Bai Jiao Mountain, twenty-five miles south of the city.

Bai Jiao Mountain faces the Donglai River in the east. It is said that a white jiao once crossed the river a thousand years ago, intending to undergo a Jiao Transformation into a dragon on this mountain, yet it ultimately failed to survive the last thunder tribulation and fell amidst the mountains.

Though the white jiao perished, it had survived the majority of the thunder tribulation, and upon its demise, its essence blood scattered across the peaks, with a trace of undispersed Long Wei seeping into the mountain rock and earth veins. In past years, the Governor of Donglai, along with the patriarchs of several great noble families, joined forces to set up an array, sealing and suppressing the Long Wei within the mountain, forbidding outsiders from venturing in on regular days.

Only during the celebrations in the county is the seal lifted for a few days.

Now, the site of the Donglai Competition is all set here, and Bai Jiao Mountain is known as one of the 'Three Wonders of Donglai' - 'mountain, wine, qin', known as the 'Mountain Wonder'.

Bai Jiao Mountain is not towering or lofty, being over a hundred zhang tall, but as the saying goes, a mountain does not need to be high; it becomes spiritual if there is a dragon.

At the foot of the mountain, there is a grand array set up by an Array Master, which can transmit images from the mountain top once activated.

At this moment, the foot of Bai Jiao Mountain is already crowded with people and buzzing with voices. Most here are Jianghu wanderers and low-ranking cultivators, who must arrive early to be permitted entry to watch the matches, while ordinary people are kept on the outer perimeter.

Just then, the crowd stirred with discussion and excitement.

"Look, someone is starting to climb the mountain!"

"Those people are from the Everlasting Green Pavilion."

Under the lead of an elder, several young men and women in green robes swiftly passed through the crowd and ascended the steps at a brisk pace.

The Everlasting Green Pavilion, a power affiliated with the Tao Family, can be regarded as third-rate in Donglai County.

Before long, the crowd erupted into even greater commotion as a group, more poised than the last, of over a dozen people in white pill-master robes began ascending the steps.

As this group climbed the steps, an indistinct feeling arose in one person's heart as he faintly sensed a terrifying presence on Bai Jiao Mountain quietly awakening to some extent.

"Brother Wang, have you discovered something?"

Noticing Su Mu intently gazing at Bai Jiao Mountain, Li Yao approached familiarly and spoke. For some reason, Li Yao always felt a certain warmth towards this 'Wang Chan', whom he had only met twice, as if they had known each other for a long time.

Upon hearing this, Su Mu shook his head, and Li Yao eagerly began to explain.

"The white jiao is an extraordinary creature. To succeed in a Jiao Transformation into a dragon is even more extraordinary. Third-Grandfather said that although the white jiao did not fully transform into a dragon, it possessed some of the divine abilities of a dragon and left behind a trace of Long Wei within this mountain."

"For those ascending the mountain for the first time, if they are fortunate, or if they possess extraordinary talent, they can trigger the mysteries within."

"Bai Jiao Mountain is opened once every few years, and over the past century, those able to trigger the mysteries can be counted on two hands. Without exception, these individuals all became great cultivators of the Upper Three Grades, and one even became the current State Preceptor of the Great Yan Kingdom."

"However, not triggering the mysteries does not mean one cannot advance to the Upper Three Grades; indeed, over the past thousand years, more prodigies have advanced to the Upper Three Grades without triggering the mysteries of Bai Jiao Mountain."

"Therefore, only one requirement is needed—either fortune or talent. Brother Wang, you could also give it a try... who knows?"

Li Yao spoke casually.

Having said that, Su Mu felt a dozen or more gazes suddenly fall upon him before quickly withdrawing, filled with curiosity, skepticism, or sighs. No one believed Su Mu had the ability to invoke the mysteries of Bai Jiao Mountain.

In a hundred years, fewer than ten individuals have drawn out the mysteries of the white jiao; such prodigious talents are not like cabbages that can be encountered at every turn.

Most of the Li Family descendants were curious and grateful towards 'Wang Chan'. They knew 'Wang Chan' was enlisted by the Patriarch to aid them in the competition, and that it was no small feat to help the Li Family now.

But 'Wang Chan' was too unfamiliar, and his background was unclear. Although the Patriarch enlisted him out of desperation, they believed he must have some skills.

However, the opponents in the competitions were not their fellow Li Family members but prodigies painstakingly cultivated by the other three families and the County Mansion and other great powers.

In short, while the Li Family members were somewhat grateful to Su Mu, they held little hope for his abilities.

"Just hope this person doesn't drag down the Li Family... This time, with the Pill Cauldron Pavilion and the Cyan Fish Gang merely participating, as long as we don't encounter Tao Xinglie, Song Jingyuan, and Guo Zhen among the three, I'm not afraid of anyone else!"

Leading the young generation of the Li Family, Li Changshan glanced at Su Mu by Li Yao's side, thinking silently.

"The Li Family is coming; they are the Li Family members!"

The crowd quickly parted and surged with vitality once more.

Li Changshan took a deep breath.

"Li Family members, follow me!"

At this moment, an even greater commotion erupted from behind, a crimson figure swiftly approaching.

"What incredible speed, who is that?"

"It's Tao Xinglie from the Tao Family, one of the outstanding talents of the Tao Family's young generation, whose strength surpasses even that of Li Changshan, and is now one of the four prodigies of Donglai County!"

The crimson figure sped through the crowd, quickly arriving in front of Li Changshan. Tao Xinglie, clad in a red robe like flames, cast a lofty gaze over the Li Family people, finally landing on Li Changshan.

"The Li Family truly has no one left... I wonder if you can survive five moves from me this time!"

"You, you..."

Li Changshan's face turned pale, his fists clenched tightly.

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