Enrollment

Though theoretically anyone could register and compete fairly, everyone knew that Great Elder's son, Zhang Yuntang, had already reserved this spot. Anyone who dared register was courting death.

Of course, there were still people registering, but they were all on Great Elder's side. The proper show had to be put on!

As for fairness? Did such a thing even exist?

But there were always exceptions. A fellow who looked like a blockhead—Zhang Yunhao—arrived at the registration site and said to the bored steward, "I want to register."

"You want to register?"

The middle-aged steward looked up at Zhang Yunhao in surprise. They belonged to the same Lineage, so he recognized Zhang Yunhao. That made him all the more puzzled. This guy had no backing whatsoever, yet he dared to register?

Zhang Yunhao asked unhappily, "Can't I?"

Just then, a disdainful snort rang out. "I didn't expect there really would be someone so ignorant of life and death. Does a toad think it can fly to the sky? Why doesn't he take a look at what he is?"

Zhang Yunhao turned around and saw that the speaker was a youth dressed like the son of a wealthy household. He was none other than Great Elder's son, Zhang Yuntang.

Though Zhang Yuntang was dressed like a spoiled young dandy, his steps were steady. His strength might not have been the greatest among the younger generation, but he was at least among the top five. Otherwise, he would not have been qualified to join the Heavenly Fist Sect!

After all, the Heavenly Fist Sect gave the Zhang Clan a slot because it hoped a good seedling would join the sect. If they sent over some wastrel, who would ever give them another slot afterward?

Zhang Yunhao glanced at Zhang Yuntang and was about to say something when he suddenly whipped his head around to stare at the burly middle-aged man behind Zhang Yuntang, his face full of astonishment.

That burly middle-aged man was from a collateral branch of the Zhang Clan. His name was Zhang Zhiyan, and Great Elder had sent him specifically to protect Zhang Yuntang. Zhang Yunhao was so shocked because, the moment he saw this man, the Benevolent True Qi within him unexpectedly rippled with disgust, as if it wanted to destroy him.

Immortal-level martial arts were anything but ordinary. Though the Good and Evil True Qi was weak, it possessed abundant spirituality and was extraordinarily miraculous. Anyone who could provoke such a reaction from the Benevolent True Qi was either monstrously evil or cultivated demonic arts!

"Zhang Zhiyan doesn't have any great reputation for evil. Could he be secretly cultivating demonic arts?"

Zhang Yunhao could not help but be startled. Because of this, he even forgot to answer Zhang Yuntang, which angered Zhang Yuntang. He snorted coldly. "As expected, you don't know the difference between life and death."

Having said that, Zhang Yuntang could not even be bothered to say more. He took Zhang Zhiyan to sit on chairs at the side. He wanted to see whether this fellow truly did not know the difference between life and death.

If Zhang Yunhao did not register, Zhang Yuntang could let him off for now. But if he still dared to continue registering, then although this fellow posed no threat, he would have to die—for Zhang Yuntang's pride, and to kill a chicken before the monkeys!

Zhang Yuntang had personally come today precisely to nip trouble in the bud. Otherwise, once someone took the lead, everyone would come forward, and that would be troublesome.

The slot to go to the Heavenly Fist Sect belonged to him. No one else should even dream of it.

At the same time, Zhang Zhiyan cast Zhang Yunhao a cold glance, unable to understand why the other party was staring at him. Had this brat discovered something?

"Whether he cultivates demonic arts is none of my concern for now. I'll deal with it later."

By then, Zhang Yunhao had recovered his senses. Ignoring Zhang Yuntang, who sat to the side, he said to the steward, "I want to register."

"Fine. Zhang Yunhao, this is your token. Remember to come participate on time seven days from now."

The steward looked at Zhang Yunhao as if he were already dead, swiftly registered him, and handed him a token. Like everyone else, he had only one thought—what a fellow who did not know the difference between life and death.

"Good, very good. Brat, you're very good! I hope I can still see you seven days from now."

Seeing that Zhang Yunhao had actually registered, Zhang Yuntang was furious and bluntly issued a threat. No, it should have been called a death notice!

This was Zhang Yuntang's tyranny. So-called rules meant nothing to him. A little concealment was more than enough.

Because he was Great Elder's son! Besides, he would be going to the Heavenly Fist Sect to develop in the future, so he did not need to care too much about matters within the Lineage!

"You will."

Zhang Yunhao did not argue with Zhang Yuntang at this time. He turned and left, while Zhang Yuntang had already given Zhang Zhiyan his instructions. "Be quick."

Zhang Zhiyan said in a low voice, "Rest assured, Fifth Young Master. He is already a dead man. I'll have someone take him out of the Zhang Clan and kill him, then create the illusion that he committed some offense and fled."

Before long, the matter spread throughout the Zhang Clan. Everyone mocked Zhang Yunhao for seeking death and believed he was as good as dead.

When they learned that Zhang Yunhao had only just broken through to the True Qi Realm, even more people sneered at him. They thought he had gone mad. Did he not know what sort of person he was? Even without Zhang Yuntang, did his strength qualify him to compete for this slot?

When Zhang Yunyi, who had just suffered quite a bit, heard about this, he even took the initiative to visit Zhang Yunhao, only to discover that Zhang Yunhao had left the Zhang Clan.

"He actually dared leave at a time like this. Does he think he isn't dying fast enough? He should take a look at what he is. Even I don't dare register, yet he dared meddle in this? His head must have been kicked by a donkey."

Zhang Yunyi sneered. In his heart, Zhang Yunhao was already a dead man, no longer worth paying attention to!

Had Zhang Yunhao died?

Of course not. He had not been taken away. Rather, he had voluntarily left the Zhang Clan during the day and headed for the mountains outside.

Qianshan City, Qianshan City—mountains lay everywhere around it. At that moment, Zhang Yunhao carried a hunting bow on his back, held a hunting knife in his hand, and brought various tools as he climbed Ming Cui Mountain.

"Great Elder's influence is indeed enormous, but only within the Zhang Clan. He cannot influence the Heavenly Fist Sect. When the contest begins, people from the Heavenly Fist Sect will come. As long as I defeat Zhang Yuntang, Great Elder will have no way to deal with me."

Zhang Yunhao secretly pondered. What he needed to do now was increase his strength. Otherwise, he truly could not defeat Zhang Yuntang, who had already been in the True Qi Realm for two years.

To catch up to two years of cultivation in seven days was simply a fantasy beyond fantasy. Anyone who heard it would scoff, but Zhang Yunhao firmly believed he could do it, because he possessed immortal-level martial arts.

"To improve quickly, I must either do good or commit evil. Either one seems very convenient in this world."

Zhang Yunhao sighed. There was no need to mention committing evil—he could find a village, disguise himself as a bandit, and resolve it quickly. Doing good was equally simple: kill fierce beasts in the mountains, or eliminate vicious tyrants and bandits.

The Martial Immortal Empire had existed for over a thousand years. However, ever since the Martial Immortal Great Emperor—the Dragon Martial Immortal—vanished together with the other Martial Immortals, the Imperial Court had been declining, gradually becoming unable to suppress those powerful sects and Lineages.

By now, the Imperial Court could truly control only the region around the capital. Everywhere else had long become the domain of sects and Lineages, which simply ignored the Imperial Court's commands.

For their own interests, these sects and Lineages fought day after day, throwing the world into chaos and leaving the people without a way to live. This also made mountain bandits and Bandits as numerous as cattle hairs; even outside Qianshan City, no one knew how many there were.

If Zhang Yunhao had not broken through to the True Qi Realm, his most likely future would have been joining a Zhang Clan convoy transporting supplies, then dying at the hands of mountain bandits one day without even knowing when.