The Weak Are Slaves

"Everyone is here, Lord Zhang. Please take a look. Of course, I would also like to participate in the Divine Kingdom Grand Selection. If possible, I am willing to serve under you and heed your teachings."

Lian Chengyu said this with utmost respect.

Zhang Yuxian turned his gaze to Lian Chengyu and looked him up and down.

"Hmm? What realm have you reached?"

Mortal Blood Realm warriors were, strictly speaking, still at the Body Refinement stage, training only their flesh and blood. The five levels of the Mortal Blood Realm were divided according to the body's outward manifestations. It was difficult to tell at a glance whether another person's meridians had been opened, or whether their bones and tendons could produce sounds.

Only when one's cultivation reached the point where spiritual power could be released outward, allowing one to sense every inch of another person's flesh and blood through spiritual perception—in other words, when one had supposedly opened the Heavenly Eye—could one determine the cultivation level of a Mortal Blood Realm warrior.

Clearly, Zhang Yuxian had not yet reached that realm.

"In reply to your question, Lord, I have already reached the peak of the fifth level of the Mortal Blood Realm, Qi Introduction. I am only one step away from the Purple Blood Realm!"

"Oh?" Zhang Yuxian's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Born in a small clan of the Great Wilderness, with scarce resources, yet you managed to reach such a realm. Either you possess exceptional talent, or you have encountered some fortuitous opportunity. Either way, that is quite impressive!"

Zhang Yuxian nodded repeatedly. "You may stay!"

"Thank you for your recognition, my lord!" Lian Chengyu said respectfully, though his heart held little joy. He knew that passing Zhang Yuxian's assessment was only natural for him!

His goal was the Divine Kingdom Grand Selection. If he could not even pass the preliminary selection, what lofty ambitions could he possibly speak of?

After selecting Lian Chengyu, Zhang Yuxian turned around and looked toward the many members of the Warrior Reserve Camp. He studied them for the time it took an incense stick to burn, but gradually grew disappointed.

Of the entire Lian Clan, aside from Lian Chengyu, there was not another person who could catch his eye.

It seemed he could only pick a general from among the short ones, reluctantly selecting a few people.

Although the higher-ups had ordered him to select thirty people, Zhang Yuxian had his own principles. Those who were truly terrible were not worth the effort of teaching.

"Does your Lian Clan have no one else who intends to participate in the Divine Kingdom Grand Selection?"

Zhang Yuxian's gaze swept toward the ordinary people of the Lian Clan.

When these commoners met Zhang Yuxian's gaze, they became somewhat reserved. They did indeed wish to receive guidance from a legendary figure like Zhang Yuxian. But they could barely fill their stomachs on ordinary days, so how could they know martial arts? Even if they stepped forward to register, Zhang Yuxian would only eliminate them.

By then, they would have brought humiliation upon themselves, and everyone in the clan would laugh at them for overestimating their abilities.

The people's reaction was within Lian Chengyu's expectations. He smiled and said, "Please forgive us, my lord. All the martial practitioners in the clan are standing here. As for the others, they are merely commoners of the clan. They have no prospects. They are good at scraping out a living from the soil and gathering herbs in the mountains, but as for martial arts, they simply aren't cut out for it. My lord, please don't concern yourself with these mud-legged peasants. My lord, please..."

Before Lian Chengyu could finish speaking, an incongruous voice suddenly rang out from within the crowd. "Please make way..."

As he spoke, a half-grown boy pulled a little girl and squeezed out from the crowd.

Yi Yun had arrived late and was at the very edge of the crowd, unlike the members of the Warrior Reserve Camp who had occupied advantageous positions.

"Yun'er, you..."

Jiang Xiaorou had yet to understand what was happening when Yi Yun pulled her by the hand and squeezed them over. Only after they parted the final layer of people did she realize where she and Yi Yun had ended up.

Jiang Xiaorou was completely stunned for a moment. This was the very center of the plaza!

Seeing Zhang Yuxian standing right in front of her, surrounded by the higher-ups of the Lian Clan, Jiang Xiaorou suddenly became utterly at a loss.

Just then, Jiang Xiaorou felt Yi Yun suddenly release her hand and continue forward. He walked all the way to the front of every member of the Warrior Reserve Camp before stopping.

Jiang Xiaorou opened her mouth, but ultimately could not say a word.

As for Lian Chengyu, the smile on his face froze in an instant. The members of the Warrior Reserve Camp were all dumbfounded as well!

Zhang Yuxian looked at Yi Yun in surprise and asked, "You want to register?"

"Yes, my lord!" Yi Yun's voice was brief and forceful.

The moment those words were spoken, the entire scene fell silent. Everyone looked at Yi Yun in disbelief.

Was this Yi Yun insane?

Did he not know his own limits? He looked like a little chick, probably weighing less than eighty pounds in total. Of the burly men standing in the crowd who were unqualified to register, which one was not a hundred times stronger than him?

Besides, when had Yi Yun ever practiced martial arts? He had nearly fallen to his death while gathering herbs, and he could not even chop firewood properly when processing desolate bones. He wanted to register too?

Those First-class Males who had been itching to register but lacked the courage to do so became furious when they saw this little child step forward.

"That brat is causing trouble at a time like this. Does he not want to live?"

When people saw someone with the courage to do what they themselves lacked the courage to do, especially when that person did something they could not, they could not help but feel jealous and slander him. The people of the Lian Clan were in precisely that state now.

"Yi Yun, you ignorant slave, do you have any idea what kind of occasion this is? How dare you cause trouble here! Get down here right now!"

Lian Chengyu had never imagined that this blockhead Yi Yun would pull such a stunt on such an important day.

Yi Yun was merely a mischievous child, and even among mischievous children, he was the weakest kind. Yet he actually dared to register for the Grand Selection. Was this not blatantly making a fool of Zhang Yuxian?

He had made a spectacular fool of himself. This might even damage Lian Chengyu's image in Zhang Yuxian's eyes. Zhang Yuxian might think that he could not manage his clansmen, that he could not even control a child.

Yi Yun glanced calmly at Lian Chengyu. In response to Lian Chengyu calling him a slave, Yi Yun merely said evenly, "In the Great Wilderness, those who lack strength and are controlled by others are slaves. Put simply, the weak are slaves. If I am weak, then it is only right for others to call me a slave, and I would not dare refute them. But if one day Young Master Lian encounters someone stronger, he may also become a slave. What do you think, Young Master Lian?"

Yi Yun's words held an implication. Lian Chengyu's expression changed as rage surged into his heart. What was happening? A lowly little slave from the clan actually dared to speak to him like this!?

If Zhang Yuxian had not been present, Lian Chengyu would have killed Yi Yun with a single palm strike.

"The weak are slaves?" The corners of Zhang Yuxian's lips rose. He looked at Yi Yun with surprise. "Interesting. You were born in a small clan of the wilderness, yet you possess such insight. You are right. The weak are slaves, and this applies to everyone. One day, if I were controlled by someone stronger, even I would become a slave."

Hearing Zhang Yuxian's words, Yi Yun was stunned for a moment. He had not expected Zhang Yuxian to openly admit that he too might one day be controlled by another. Such frankness was not particularly rare among great figures, but when great figures faced small fry, they rarely displayed it, for they considered it beneath them.

Zhang Yuxian's approachable manner truly surprised Yi Yun.

The fury originally surging through Lian Chengyu's heart was blocked by Zhang Yuxian's single sentence. Even an elite of the Brocade Dragon Guard had admitted it, so what could he say?

However, that did not mean Lian Chengyu could tolerate Yi Yun causing trouble on such an occasion. He said to Zhang Yuxian, "Emissary Lord, this boy called Yi Yun is a lowly herb-gathering servant of my Lian Clan. He has never practiced martial arts. He came forward today purely to make sport of you. I will throw him down at once. Please forgive me, Emissary Lord, for failing to discipline my clansmen and allowing this farce to occur."

Lian Chengyu was so furious not because he feared Yi Yun challenging his position or anything of the sort, but because Yi Yun had embarrassed him in front of Zhang Yuxian today.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuxian did not take it to heart. He casually pointed to a spot and said to Yi Yun, "You are an interesting child as well. Go stand over there. In a moment, I will see whether you are truly suited to martial arts."

Although Zhang Yuxian appreciated Yi Yun, he did not take him too seriously. In his view, those among the people of the Great Wilderness who were suited to martial arts were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Since Yi Yun had the courage to step forward, he would help Yi Yun test himself.

Since Zhang Yuxian had spoken, Lian Chengyu could only keep a dark face. He shot Yi Yun a resentful look and said nothing more.

"Thank you, my lord."

Yi Yun thanked him neither servilely nor arrogantly, then stood beside the ranks of the Warrior Reserve Camp. As it happened, he stood right beside Zhao Tiezhu.

This was because Zhao Tiezhu had recently grown close to Lian Chengyu and had gradually become the head of the Warrior Reserve Camp. He stood at the very front of the ranks, so when Yi Yun went over, he naturally ended up beside Zhao Tiezhu.

As a result, Yi Yun now occupied the first position.

Zhao Tiezhu was not annoyed in the slightest. What a joke—what was his status, and what was his strength? How could Yi Yun, that little idiot, compare with him?

In the future, he would enter the cities and become a great figure, a National Scholar's servant. Why would he lower himself to argue with an idiot?

"Little slave, are you here to make everyone laugh?"

Zhao Tiezhu wore a mocking grin, waiting to see Yi Yun make a fool of himself.

Yi Yun could not be bothered with him. He stood silently with his hands behind his back.

By then, Zhang Yuxian had already begun selecting people. No one knew exactly what standards he used to choose them, and everyone was straining every muscle, waiting their turn.