Crisscrossing paths, winding streams; white mist and green hills painted in watercolors.
At the foot of rolling mountain ranges lay a village surrounded by small rivers and fields.
It was the height of summer, and the Spirit Rice in the Spirit Fields was growing lush and strong. The verdant stalks rustled softly beneath the caress of the wind.
Farmers in straw hats toiled diligently in the fields. Barefoot children ran laughing along the ridges between paddies, while several old oxen grazed on water grass by the riverbank. From somewhere came the melodious sound of a shepherd's flute.
Wang Chen rode the Big Green Donkey along a country path beside the fields.
Several mischievous children trailed behind him, trying to grab the Big Green Donkey's swishing tail.
But the Big Green Donkey noticed their prank and suddenly broke into a gallop, splattering mud all over the little fellows' faces!
"Waaah~"
The children who had suffered the loss immediately burst into tears.
At once, a burly farmhand sprang out and blocked the Big Green Donkey's path, glaring fiercely at Wang Chen. "Outsider, this is not a place for you to run wild!"
Dark-skinned and powerfully built, with bulging muscles and an imposing presence, he looked ready to Make a Move at the slightest disagreement.
Wang Chen patted the Big Green Donkey's neck, and it immediately came to a stop.
Wang Chen took a scroll from his Storage Bag and tossed it to the man. "I'm the new village chief."
Luo Zhen had given him this scroll. It represented an opportunity to undergo an entry examination.
The examination task was to serve as the village chief of the village ahead for three years.
Whether he could enter the West Sea Sect depended entirely on his performance over those three years!
"Village chief?"
The