Chapter 1 Departure

  It was still that mountain village, the little boy was concentrating on reading, suddenly feeling as if his head had been stabbed by something, and he cried out in surprise and pain "Ah!" But soon this pain disappeared without a trace.

  "What's wrong?" Mother asked anxiously as she saw her son suddenly holding his head.

  "No, nothing. My head just hurt suddenly, like I was bitten by a mosquito." The little boy didn't know what happened either and could only answer casually.

  The mother was obviously dissatisfied with her son's behavior today, and as soon as she heard it, her face sank immediately, just about to scold him severely, but the sound of horse carriage wheels came from afar.

  "Dad is back." The boy put down his book and ran over quickly. With the bright starlight, he had already seen the figure on the horse carriage, which looked very much like his father's. A few steps closer, he could make out the person's features, and it was indeed his father.

  "Dad, dad, how was it? Did you get the name on the list?" The horse carriage didn't stop, and the little boy kept chasing after it all the way to the entrance of their home, asking repeatedly, but his father just smiled and refused to answer. It wasn't until they stopped in front of the house that his mother also came out to ask: "Did you get the name on the list? Feng has been too anxious to calm down and study all night, hurry up and tell us."

  His father, unloading the carriage, pinched the boy's chubby cheeks with a smile and said: "Fortunately, we made it in time to register, today is really crowded...!"

  "Oh, I'm going to learn magic now, I'm going to be a fairy!" The little boy got the news and didn't care what his father said afterwards, he cheered happily.

  "Hurry up and put away your things, have dinner and go to bed early, we still need to go into the city for a test tomorrow..." The mother took over the package from her husband's hands, holding onto the little boy, and the whole family walked into their home accompanied by happy chatter.

  When the first ray of sunlight broke through the darkness and shone on the low houses of Dayu Village, the whole village was still quiet. Suddenly, one of the doors creaked open, and a man in his mid-30s walked out, wearing a blue shirt and white pants, looking clean and spirited, although not luxurious.

  This man was the father of the little boy, named Lin Zhongyuan. He got up early today to send his son to participate in the Yang family's selection. His son, also the little boy, was named Lin Feng.

  The draft is a custom that has been formed in the country of Dagu for thousands of years, held every five years. In fact, it is an assessment conducted by the Xiu Zhen families in various cities to select their younger disciples. Those who are selected can join the Xiu Zhen family or sect and formally learn the Xiu Zhen skills, thus becoming a Xiu Zhen practitioner. To ordinary people, Xiu Zhen practitioners are just immortals, with strong magical powers, rich lives, and even longer lifespans than ordinary people, making them the most envied group among all commoners.

  It's every time the draft, at home but as long as there are children of school age, they will be sent by their parents to participate in this grand event. Although many people participate, it is not easy to become a cultivator, and often out of 100 people, it is difficult for even one lucky person to be selected. However, the bright future of the cultivators makes many parents who want their children to succeed eager to try.

  Lin Feng was just ten years old this year. Five years ago, Lin Zhong Yuan and his wife were reluctant to let him go because he was too young. Now that Lin Feng's mind had opened up and it was the best age for participating in the selection, Lin Zhong Yuan and his wife couldn't bear to part with him anymore. For their son's future, they could only send Lin Feng to participate in the selection. However, Lin Feng didn't know about his parents' expectations and reluctance. Since he was young, he had heard that cultivators knew many spells that ordinary people didn't, and were very powerful. He had always been very envious, and now that he finally had the opportunity, he was extremely excited. He got up early today and waited for his father to take him into the city.

  At this time, Lin Zhongyuan walked towards the short shed beside the house, pulled over an old horse and fiddled with the carriage, while shouting into the house: "Feng'er, hurry up and eat, today is Yangfu's selection of concubines, there will definitely be many people, if we go late, I'm afraid we won't make it."

  As soon as the words fell, Lin Feng had already rushed out of the house. He was seen with a clear and bright face, red lips and white teeth, very lively, still chewing something in his mouth, but shouting vaguely: "Dad, I'm full, it's mom who forced me to eat another bun, dad, is the carriage ready? Let's set off once it's ready."

  The man's hands and feet were very nimble, and while speaking, he had already put on the horse cart, so he said: "Come on, let Dad carry you up."

  The boy shook his head, dodged the man's outstretched hands, ran to the side of the flatbed cart, grasped the edge with both hands, and with a little jump, he swung himself up onto the cart. He then stretched out his right leg and landed on the edge of the cart, using all his might to roll forward, and in an instant, he was on top of the flatbed cart. Despite his young age, his movements were neat and nimble, showing great agility.

  It was just this last roll, but it rolled out the beast skin that his father had laid out early, and a brand new white shirt and blue pants were rolled up with dust all over, making his father's heart ache for a while, and he hurriedly stepped forward to pat. This is specially made for today's draft, the Yang family is the most prestigious family in the city, if they wear too shabby clothes, they are afraid that they can't even enter the door, let alone the draft.

  Lin Feng's mother, Wang Yuezheng, came out of the house at this time, holding a package and said: "His father, take this too, just in case Feng'er gets hungry on the road, it's also good to have something to eat." As she spoke, she had already stuffed the package into Lin Feng's arms.

  Lin Feng was about to push it open, but saw his mother's eyes turn stern, so he smiled and said: "Mom, can't I hold onto it?" He knew that although his mother loved him, she was firm in her decisions, and even his father had to give in a bit on this matter. What could he do? However, the thing was already in hand, whether or not to eat it was up to himself, Lin Feng thought secretly, but didn't say anything more.

  Wang Yuezheng saw Lin Feng take the package and said to Lin Zhongyuan, "Go slowly on the road, the road is not easy to walk, don't bump into Wind."

  "Don't worry, you know my driving skills, I've taken this road countless times, I can navigate it with my eyes closed, and I won't let the wind toss us around."

  "If you can't get selected, come back quickly, don't make me worry." Wang Yuezheng didn't respond either, just repeatedly reminding him, as if the father and son were going on a long journey. In fact, Fei Ling City where Yang's family was located was only a dozen miles away from Da Yu Village. It's just that she thought that once Lin Feng was selected, he wouldn't be back for a short time, so she kept nagging.

  Lin Zhongyuan knew her thoughts, so he comforted her: "Don't worry, if we're not selected, we'll be back soon. You know how many people are competing for just a few spots? It's not that easy. Besides, even if we were selected, it would be our good fortune, and the Yang family's large business wouldn't let us go hungry or cold."

  Lin Zhongyuan finished speaking and ignored her, turning sideways to jump onto the driver's seat, shouting: "Feng'er, hold on tight, we're leaving now!" The carriage slowly started moving.

  Wang Yue Zhen hastened her pace, but the horse carriage got farther and farther away. She finally stopped in her tracks, yet still shouted out: "Feng Er sit in the middle, be careful not to fall off..." But after the horse carriage turned a bend, the father and son had already disappeared behind the mountain slope, as if even their voices were blocked, leaving her feeling a sudden sense of desolation.

  Lin Feng sat in the horse carriage, listening to his mother's reminders, and then looked at her disappearing behind the mountain slope. The excitement that had been building up inside him suddenly felt a hint of melancholy. But after all, he was still a child, and this feeling was soon overwhelmed by the novelty of going on a long trip for the first time, vanishing without a trace.

  The village of Dayu is not a big village, with a small population. This year, only Lin Feng participated in the selection. Because he left early, he didn't meet anyone from the village on the way. However, after walking two or three miles on the mountain road and turning onto a wide official road, there were suddenly many people on the road. The closer they got to Fei Ling City, the more people there were. People carrying poles, pushing carts, riding horses, and driving donkeys, in groups of three or four, rushed towards the city from all directions. Lin Feng's eyes widened as he watched for the first time, asking questions here and there, looking extremely excited.

  Lin Zhongyuan knew that there were so many people today because of the draft, and normally it would not even be a third of this. But the bustle was good after all, and Lin Feng's mood was also very good, so he didn't mind explaining some new things to him.

  Like this, the father and son walked and chatted, and the dozens of miles of road were finished in less than two hours. In front of them, a high city wall appeared quickly. Under the city wall, there was a huge city gate. At this time, villagers from all directions had gathered here, and the crowd suddenly became more massive and dense. However, under the maintenance of several soldiers, they flowed into the city in an orderly manner without any stop.

  Lin Zhongyuan had already jumped off the horse cart, holding onto the old horse and walking towards the city along with the crowd. At the same time, he secretly took out two small coins and grasped them in his hand, preparing to pay the entrance fee. According to regulations, everyone entering the city had to pay one coin per person, no exceptions allowed.

  Suddenly, a hurried horseshoe sound came from behind, Lin Zhong turned his head to look back, and saw that two young men wearing the same blue and white striped uniform had already rushed to the city gate. Several guarding soldiers looked clearly, and hastily maintained the crowd to open a way for the two to pass through, with an attitude as if they had seen a high-ranking official.

  Before long, the two riders arrived at the city gate. The two men on horseback did not dismount or greet anyone, and rode through the city gate in silence. In an instant, they disappeared into the crowd. Several soldiers were not dissatisfied with this, but instead welcomed them with smiles all along the way. As for the one-yuan entrance fee per person, of course, it was not even mentioned.

  "What are you looking at? These are people from the Yang family, how can you common folks compare to them? Hurry up and pay the toll to enter the city, don't block the way." A captain-like soldier saw that the crowd entering the city was staring at the backs of the two Yang family members in surprise, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face. He said this half-scolding and half-explaining, but his words were filled with envy. Those who had previously shown discontented expressions listened to the soldier's words and immediately showed a look of "it's only natural", and the crowd continued to flow into the city.

  Lin Feng sat in the carriage and watched the scene clearly, asking: "Father, is the Yang family they are talking about the Yang family I am going to? Why didn't they pay the entrance fee when they entered the city, and why are these soldiers so respectful?"

  Lin Zhong nodded slightly and turned back, saying in a low voice: "Of course, is there another Yang family in this Fei Ling City besides the Yang family? The people of the immortal families are different from us ordinary people, they have a high status and many privileges. If you have the opportunity to enter in the future, you will naturally be like them."

  Lin Feng nodded heavily and said, "Dad, I will definitely work hard to become an immortal, so that you and mom can also be glorious in the future." After seeing the glory of the Yang family couple, Lin Feng was also very envious in his heart, and secretly made up his mind to enter the Yang family and learn their immortal techniques.

  The existence of cultivators in Lin Feng's hometown was not a secret, but after all, they were different from ordinary mortals. Even if they blended in with the crowd, few mortals truly understood their world. Mortals had always been unable to distinguish between cultivators and immortals, and this was no exception for Lin Zhongyan and Lin Feng. However, this did not hinder their conversation, and the two chatted intermittently about rumors and anecdotes of cultivators as they quickly entered Fei Ling City.