The Black Eagle Sect, the sect Li Xian belonged to, thought this region was too remote and barren. They couldn't bear to see the young people trapped in these mountains forever, so they wanted to recruit disciples. Anyone with decent talent and bone structure would have a chance to enter the Black Eagle Sect and travel to Anyuan County Town.
That also meant that joining the Black Eagle Sect gave one a very good chance of becoming a Martial Artist.
As word spread, none of the villagers in Shuanglin Village could sit still. They all wanted their sons and daughters to join the Black Eagle Sect. After all, Li Xian had come from their village, and it was only after joining the Black Eagle Sect that he'd become a Martial Artist.
With Li Xian as an example, the villagers were incredibly invested in the matter. They hoped An Yanbing and Xiao Yingkai, the ones overseeing the selection for the Black Eagle Sect, would take a liking to their children.
The younger generation was just as excited.
After all, this was a chance to become a Martial Artist. Who could stay calm?
But An Yanbing soon announced that the Black Eagle Sect would only recruit disciples under the age of eighteen. Anyone older wouldn't be accepted.
Many young people over eighteen immediately wilted like punctured balls, losing all their spirit. They could only watch helplessly as those younger than them went to take part in the Black Eagle Sect's disciple recruitment event.
"Damn it, why can't you be over eighteen? I want to become a Martial Artist too!"
"There's nothing we can do. It's a hard-and-fast rule of the Black Eagle Sect. Anyone over eighteen isn't eligible to take part in the disciple recruitment event."
"Li Xian's senior brothers and sisters said it's because once you're over eighteen, your bone structure has already solidified and closed off, even if you have decent aptitude. Your potential in martial arts is too limited, and you're unlikely to get very far."
"That's why they only recruit those under eighteen. Their bones haven't closed up yet, so it's not too late for them to start training in martial arts."
"Then I definitely don't stand a chance. I only turned eighteen the day before yesterday!"
"Don't be so down. Su Mo, who used to be the talk of the village, isn't eligible to take part in the Black Eagle Sect's recruitment event either. He's over eighteen too."
The age limit of eighteen ruled out many of the village's young people. Some were dejected, some were miserable, and some were downright jealous. But later, people realized that even someone as strong as Su Mo apparently wasn't eligible to join the Black Eagle Sect.
Since Su Mo was already eighteen, this brought a little comfort to those who'd been complaining that the rules were unfair.
The Black Eagle Sect wasn't simply looking for the youngest candidates. Anyone between fifteen and seventeen could take part in the recruitment event and have their talent and bone structure assessed. And it wasn't just people from Shuanglin Village—several neighboring villages would be sending candidates too.
It was a major event.
"Good news! My son, Li Goudan, has excellent bone structure, and he's seventeen. He meets the requirements to join the Black Eagle Sect!"
"Goudan's mother, congratulations! Your son will be a lofty Martial Artist one day!"
As time passed, the Black Eagle Sect's recruitment event was in full swing. Young people who met its requirements were already being accepted as disciples.
The villagers couldn't help but envy them.
No one had expected Li Goudan to be the first one the Black Eagle Sect took a liking to. Li Goudan was good at hunting, but he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. And yet even he could join the Black Eagle Sect, become one of its disciples, and eventually grow into a powerful Martial Artist.
This set the village's younger generation ablaze with excitement. The young people under eighteen flocked to take part in the Black Eagle Sect's event. Those who were selected were beside themselves with joy, while those who were rejected for having poor bone structure and talent wept in despair.
Even many girls under eighteen came to have their bone structure tested, hoping for a chance to join the Black Eagle Sect.
The villagers didn't think girls could become Martial Artists, but to their surprise, the Black Eagle Sect took a liking to three girls this time and accepted them as disciples.
One of them was Zhang Qian, Zhang Tieshan's daughter.
The other two girls were from a neighboring village.
This instantly made Zhang Tieshan's family hold their heads high in the village. Zhang Tieshan was grinning from ear to ear, and Liu Guihua told everyone she met, as if she were afraid someone might not know that her daughter was going to become a Martial Artist.
As for the matter of betrothing Zhang Qian to Su Mo, Zhang Tieshan and the others never brought it up again.
And even more surprising to everyone, soon after the Black Eagle Sect took a liking to Zhang Qian, they took a liking to Zhang Hai as well. This made Zhang Tieshan's family famous throughout the village.
It meant that two members of Zhang Tieshan's family would become Martial Artists!
Just thinking about it made so many people sick with envy, but all they could do was watch from the sidelines.
As for Su Mo, once the village's superb hunter who never returned empty-handed, almost no one talked about him anymore. Before long, the village would be producing several Martial Artists.
Su Mo was nothing but a hunter from the village. How could he stand alongside Martial Artists?
"I heard the Black Eagle Sect took a liking to both Zhang Hai and Zhang Qian this time, along with Li Goudan. On the final two days, Chen Mazi also met the requirements to join the Black Eagle Sect. Our village had four young people accepted as disciples this time. The other villages had some too, but not as many as Shuanglin Village."
That evening, Uncle Chen Shan brought Su Mo the news: not only had Zhang Hai and Zhang Qian both qualified to join the Black Eagle Sect, but Li Goudan and Chen Mazi had also caught the sect's eye. All four would be traveling to Anyuan County Town with Li Xian and the others.
It meant all four of them would become Martial Artists one day.
Su Mo offered them his congratulations.
Looking at Su Mo's calm expression, Uncle Chen Shan couldn't help feeling sorry for him. If they were judging by bone structure and aptitude, he didn't think Su Mo was any worse than those four. Su Mo had only been held back by his age. Otherwise, he would surely have been one of those chosen to go to the Black Eagle Sect.
All he could say was that life was unpredictable. Su Mo, once the brightest star in the village, had now been ignored at the Black Eagle Sect's recruitment event and even explicitly told he wasn't eligible to take part.
Uncle Chen Shan was furious about it, but there was nothing he could do.
Perhaps it was fate!
Uncle Chen Shan tried to comfort Su Mo, afraid he might take it too hard, but Su Mo only smiled. He didn't seem disappointed or dejected at all.
Li Xian had already told him about the age limit for starting martial arts training at eighteen, so the result didn't surprise him.
Over the next few days, the Black Eagle Sect's disciple recruitment event gradually came to a close.
This time, the Black Eagle Sect recruited eight promising martial arts candidates from the villages in the Qingliang Mountain region. Shuanglin Village had the most, with four.
This made Village Chief Yang Baishu unconsciously raise his voice and puff out his chest whenever he spoke in front of the other village chiefs. They could only smile and humor him—after all, Shuanglin Village had the most disciples accepted by the Black Eagle Sect.
Shuanglin Village was going to produce no fewer than four powerful Martial Artists!
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