Chapter 2: The Simple-Minded Mountain Man (Seeking Recommendations)

  Chong Ba flipped over and sat up, with a burst of bloody mist spraying out from his nostrils.

  He glanced at Sun Li standing on the stage, and suddenly burst out laughing. In the midst of his hearty laughter, he gently pressed his palms on the ground, and his whole body floated up, riding the wind and sword, soaring high into the air. The scarlet flames around him shot out irregularly, a terrible pressure descended from above, suppressing Sun Li on the stage to the point of suffocation.

  In his heart, there was infinite killing intent, but it couldn't be unleashed.

  Chong Ba furrowed his brow as he looked at Sun Li, with something hidden in his eyes - Sun Li had a strange feeling that Chong Ba was trying to make him understand something.

  He was puzzled in his heart: Is this martial art just a minor path? It doesn't seem that simple either...

  Chong Ba slowly descended, retrieved the flying sword artifact, and waved his hand at Sun Li: "Get out of here." With no pressure on him, Sun Li was still puzzled but didn't mind Chong Ba's rough tone and casually walked down.

  The disciples were even more bewildered, completely unable to understand what had happened.

  It took less than half an hour for the results to be announced.

  As expected, Tian Yidong took first place, and Qin Tianshen came in second. Qin Tianshen stormed off in anger, but his disciples were actually all discussing among themselves what the outcome would be if the two of them had engaged in an all-out battle.

  However, both of them cherished their feathers and would never engage in a direct confrontation unless they were absolutely sure.

  Unexpectedly, Sun Li was ranked fifth.

  Chongba released the results and walked away without saying a word. He had done what he needed to do, whether or not his disciples could understand it was up to them.

  Everyone thought Sun Li's grades would definitely be outside the top ten. Chong Bao, in the eyes of his disciples, was absolutely a person who would retaliate against anyone who wronged him. He was beaten by Sun Li until he was humiliated, and it would have been good if he hadn't ended up with the lowest score. Unexpectedly, Sun Li even managed to get five merit points.

  Su Xiaomei came over with a pout on her face to Sun Li's side: "Chongba's teaching is really hateful, based on actual strength you should definitely be first..."

  A few of the top-class disciples who were passing by disdainfully threw over a sentence: "It's just a small way. Now that you can fight, what else can you do? Wait another month and see, we can easily defeat him with just one person."

  Su Xiaomei was disheartened, her natural talent could not be reversed, and she could only sigh in dismay.

  Sun Li understood Chong Bao's good intentions and smiled slightly, saying: "Being able to get fifth place is already satisfying for me."

  Su Xiaomei let out a soft sigh and didn't say anything else.

  Chong Ba did this, Sun Li thought he could understand, first was not to make himself too conspicuous, a mediocre disciple who won the martial arts championship would attract many eyes!

  The second also subtly implies that Sun Li, cultivation is still in the first place, combat power is important, but it should still be ranked after the Great Way.

  He also saw that Chong Bao was a cold outside and hot inside man, who never liked to explain things. Many things he did, you could understand if you wanted to, but if you didn't understand, he would blame you instead of explaining it to you.

  ……

  The news of the martial arts assessment spread, but it didn't cause much of a stir. Chong Zhong and several other instructors still insisted that Sun Li was a useless good-for-nothing, still the number one villain.

  Cultivation is futile; no matter how strong other means are, they can't surpass the six paths of reincarnation, and in the end, it's all just a handful of yellow earth.

  After the martial arts assessment, Chong Yin informed everyone to prepare for the cultivation assessment. The time was set for the next day.

  The disciples dispersed, each returning to their respective Wanshan courtyards. Sun Li had something on his mind and intentionally waited for a while. Sure enough, after the disciples left, he saw Chong Ba walking alone with his hands behind his back from not far away.

  His neck, shoulder and back muscles were as hard as steel, and the whole person was like a prehistoric ferocious ape.

  Sun Li immediately followed, but Chong Ba seemed to be walking slowly, yet he was always ten zhang ahead of Sun Li. No matter how fast or slow Sun Li went, the distance between them never changed.

  Sun Li also understood and honestly followed behind, walking out of the valley.

  The mountain path was winding and uneven, but Chong Ba walked on it as if it were flat ground. Sun Li felt an increasingly strong sense of the ancient fierce ape within him.

  Luohuan sneered in his mind, "This pose of pretending to be a master is too unimpressive, why doesn't he go and open the way for your declining sect instead?"

  Wu Yào said with a smile: "Luo Huán, you're such a sissy, can't even stand the sight of a real man!"

  Luohuan was furious: "Wuyao, are you looking for death?!"

  Sun Li muttered under his breath, with a sentence that was so soul-stirring, Wu Yao's scolding wasn't excessive at all...

  Two men were in a heated argument, Sun Li had been following behind Chong Bao, winding and turning, until they arrived at a small wooden hut built on the waist of a mountain. When Chong Bao reached the outside of the hut, he made a hand seal with both hands and entered the hut. On top of the seemingly simple wooden hut, three layers of faint spiritual light suddenly rose up, and within the light, layer upon layer of dense and intricate array lines were visible!

  After the light faded away, the wooden house's door was safely opened. Chong Ba didn't turn his head and walked in by himself, but the door wasn't closed. Sun Li hastily rushed up a few steps and followed him inside.

  After going in, Chongba was nowhere to be seen. He was wondering, when he heard Chongba's voice coming from one side: "Come over here."

  Next to a huge cabinet in the wooden house, there was a small door hidden. Sun Li squeezed in and found Chong Ba sitting beside a small table inside, manipulating a delicate tea set.

  On the red clay stove by his feet, a kettle was emitting a gentle stream of hot air.

  The table was very rough, made of logs as thick as thighs, split in half and joined together, matching the style of the small house. That set of tea utensils was extremely delicate, with a purple sand teapot only the size of a fist, accompanied by several uncoordinated turquoise-glazed tea cups in the style of Ru kiln.

  Chong Ba took the tea leaves and put them in the teapot. Sun Li took the opportunity to look around the wooden house.

  This sight stunned him.

  Four walls, on the side with a small door, two huge battle axes were hung on either side of the door, and below them were two rows of weapon racks, with daggers, short swords, copper rings, small shields, bells, ancient mirrors... and many other exquisite magic weapons. Moreover, each one looked like it was of a high grade.

  In addition to the three walls, one wall is a bookcase, with dozens of thread-bound ancient books inside, which have been around for many years.

  On another wall, there are squares, inside which various ores and materials are placed.

  The last wall is a layered partition, from bottom to top gradually decreasing, the lower partition is the longest, and the upper one is the shortest. On each layer of partition, there are jade bottles placed on it, with "Nine?..." written on them.

  These things, although Sun Li still can't fully understand their simplicity, but it's clear that they are absolutely a huge fortune! Sun Li now understands the general situation of the Xiu Zhen realm and is very aware that without resource support, a genius is just a relatively strong waste.

  The resources in this small wooden house will absolutely make countless cultivators drool with envy and go crazy!

  Sun Li went to see Chong Bao again, and his eyes were also somewhat different.

  Chong Bao was rough and unrefined, with a coarse face. At this moment, she was like a delicate and elegant lady, serving tea with precision and quietness, giving Sun Li an especially awkward feeling.

  Chong Ba raised his eyes and swept a glance, taking in his demeanor, with a hint of dissatisfaction: "What's wrong? Can't I like drinking tea? Chong Yin that sissy likes to drink the strongest liquor, you guys didn't know?"

  Sun Li had a choked feeling, so he pulled over a stool and sat down honestly, saying: "Really didn't think that if you two swapped, the world would be more acceptable."

  Chong Ba smiled and didn't think he was being presumptuous. On the contrary, he said: "This is right, this is you."

  He pushed a cup of tea over, and Sun Li drank it in one gulp. Chong Ba was immediately displeased: "As expected, a country bumpkin, chewing on peonies." Sun Li didn't think much of it, having grown up in Lianhuatai Village since childhood, where drinking water was done with a ladle, so the idea of savoring tea was nonsense to him.

  Chong Ba indeed understood this truth, sniffing the tea fragrance, took a small sip and held it in his mouth, slowly swallowing it down.

  He then said: "How's my qualifications?"

  Sun Li grasped blindly, fortunately Chong Bao was not really asking him to answer: "My qualifications were about the same as yours at first."

  He continued to ask: "Do you know what I meant by doing so just now?"

  Sun Li was somewhat uncertain: "Are you telling me that all these martial arts are just minor paths?"

  Chong Ba did not refute him, but merely said: "A small path can also achieve great success."

  Sun Li sank his breath and waited quietly for what came next.

  "I may be a junior, and I haven't established a cave in the back mountain, but if we're talking about combat strength, many of my senior uncles' peers in the back mountain aren't even my match."

  "He gestured with a sweep of his arm: 'These resources in my house, most of the masters on the back mountain would be envious.'"

  Sun Li still didn't say a word.

  Chong Ba looked at Sun Li seriously and said, "Don't you wonder why?"

  Sun Li nodded seriously and said two words: "Curious, envious."

  "Haha! You little brat is getting more and more to my taste!"

  He paused, took another sip of tea, and then sighed: "You must have also guessed that this encounter comes with a price. This price... is actually an opportunity for people like us..."

  ……

  Half an hour later, Sun Li came out of Chong Bao's small wooden house with a solemn expression. In his mind, Wu Yao was somewhat impatient: "Such a good opportunity, what are you hesitating about? Must strive for it!"

  "Stop chattering and let Sun Li think for himself."

  "You've ruined everything with your sissy attitude, being indecisive and weak..."

  "Don't think you can get away with this just because I'm being lenient now. Try saying one more effeminate sentence and see what happens!"

  "Sissy, sissy, sissy......"

  The two of them started arguing again.

  Sun Li had already gotten used to it and was too lazy to bother with them, thinking over Chong Ba's suggestion in his heart.

  Chongba's identity is special, apart from being a teacher at the academy, he also has another identity: Guardian of the Mountain.

  To put it simply, they are the ace fighters of their sect. Their cultivation may not necessarily be very high, but their combat strength is definitely exceptional. Because in times of real danger, the mountain guardians are meant to be sacrificed as cannon fodder, so they can't choose those disciples with good qualifications and great prospects to take on this role.

  However, in order for the Guardians of the Mountain to possess formidable combat power, the sect spares no expense in cultivating them, using up valuable resources such as magical artifacts, medicinal elixirs, and martial techniques.

  If the sect is attacked, the mountain guardian must be the first to go out and probe the enemy's strength. If the enemy is not strong enough, they should be killed on the spot. If the enemy is too strong... the mountain guardian will die, but can test the enemy's strengths and weaknesses for the fellow disciples behind.

  At the last moment, when the mountain gate can no longer be defended, the mountain guardian will cover the retreat of the sect. When fellow disciples retreat through the secret passage, the mountain guardian will stay behind to control various formations and delay the enemy.

  Such people exist in almost every sect, they just have different names.

  Chong Ba's intention is to let Sun Li compete for the position of Shou Shan Ren. Because Shou Shan Ren's own cultivation is not high, their lifespan is limited. As long as Sun Li can pass the gate's assessment and become a reserve Shou Shan Ren, he will receive strong support from the gate's resources. With these resources, even if Sun Li's talent is not good, he can still reach the realm of Dao Ren, which is much stronger than now.

  The only problem is that these years, the demon cultivators of Gui Rong have been unusually calm.

  It sounds like a good thing, although Mo Xiu used to look down on Da Wei, every year they would send people to infiltrate and stir up trouble in Da Wei, but these past few years have been quiet, Chong Ba thinks it's probably the calm before the storm.

  It's said that the top 10 spirit stone veins in the Ghostly Border are almost depleted, and the output of spiritual objects and medicines from those concentrated secret realms has also been decreasing over the past few years.

  It is precisely in Da Wei, a place long considered barren, that several lingzhi mines have been discovered in recent years.

  The Mozu might be brewing something big.

  Chong Ba explained the situation clearly to Sun Li: what he could see through, the higher-ups of the sect would naturally also be able to see through. At this critical moment, the weight of guarding the mountain was even heavier, and the support received would also be greater; but the corresponding danger would also be greater!

  It's all up to Sun Li himself. (This chapter is almost 4,000 words, everyone, it seems like it won't be long before I can update again! As for the plot, although it starts off slow, I understand that myself, and it will get better soon, just wait!)

  Limited time free? Exclusive interview with a big shot? New book release by a famous author? There are also weekly lucky draws, Apple Watch, Q coins, starting points and more waiting for you to grab! Don't hesitate, open WeChat, scan the QR code on the left, follow easily, and don't miss out on the excitement~