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Every day, he read. When tired, he strolled through the mountains and even cultivated a small vegetable patch. If the county magistrate had not sent someone to ask whether he would travel to the capital for the examinations that year, he would have nearly forgotten that he was still a provincial graduate.

Wen Xu pondered before the old scholar's grave for a long while, then immediately decided to go out and see the world.

He had studied for so many years and put in so much effort. Even if he could not inscribe his name on the golden list, he should still go out and behold the vast world. Wen Xu felt it was time for him to leave Jade Isle Commandery.

After all, he was no longer that street beggar whom everyone could bully.

Wen Xu believed he had made thorough preparations. In truth, because of the minor problem with his eyes, he greatly favored acting only after laying his plans. Since he could not distinguish people's faces, he observed their clothing habits, walking postures, speaking voices, habitual turns of phrase, and so on. It was troublesome, but it was indeed something he had always done.

Three years had passed. Perhaps he had grown a little rusty, but... surely not this rusty.

Wen Xu could say with absolute certainty that he had seen every one of the three people before him. Yet these very people had hunted him down for seven days and seven nights not long after he entered the capital.

Just moments ago, Wen Xu had been slashed across the chest, and his arm had been bent backward. His blood fell into the dust and swiftly vanished without a trace. He knew he could not escape.

The rapid loss of blood made his vision spin. The three people before him seemed to sway into nine. He shook his head hard, but it did little good. Supporting his shoulder, Wen Xu leaned half against a boulder by the cliff and could only watch helplessly as the three men closed in step by step.

"Run, then. Why aren't you running anymore?"

I'd like to run, but I really can't run anymore. He said aloud, "At least let me die knowing why."

"Kid, if you want someone to blame, blame the face you were born with. Remember to be reborn into a better lot next time."

The newcomer clearly understood that delays bred complications. Besides, this slippery scholar was devilishly difficult to catch. His martial skills were clearly shallow, yet he had led the three of them around for a full seven days. If word got out, they might as well go home and farm.

The steel blade rose, flashing with icy saber light. Wen Xu saw only a gleam before the old scholar's dying words suddenly rang in his ears. What, then, had his life truly been for?

Was it to read countless books to please the old scholar, only to be told that he need not have studied at all?

Was it to finally read so many books, only to be hunted for no reason the moment he stepped into the capital?

Or should he never have struggled in the first place, and simply remained an obedient little beggar?

No—

Wen Xu felt the fierce wind of force rushing toward him. At this moment, he stood infinitely close to death, yet an infinite desire to live burst forth within him. I'll gamble one last time.

He would rather fall from the cliff and be dashed to death than die at the hands of these three.

At that instant, a gust of demonic wind suddenly swept up from the valley below. Wen Xu had forgotten the pain of his wounds. He raced desperately to the cliff's edge, but the steel blade was already at his back. He could practically imagine its tip piercing his body, and then, the next moment—

The wind swept him up and cast him into the abyss.

Other than the dense droplets of blood on the ground, no trace remained that he had ever existed.

"Boss, what do we do now?"

"Go down and search! Dead or alive, we need to see him. If we fail this job, you and I are both dead!"

"B-But, Boss, down there is Dead Man Forest! That famous Dead Man Forest where people enter but never leave! No one has ever walked out of it!"

The boss's expression changed dramatically at once, but he soon resumed his cold-faced look. "Since it is Dead Man Forest, that works out well enough. We'll guard outside the forest for three days. If he does not come out, he is most likely dead inside."

Besides, judging by that kid's injuries, without treatment, he absolutely would not survive the night.

Yet for some reason, the boss's heart gave a sudden jolt. He could not shake the feeling that things were not so simple. This scholar was truly strange as hell.

In the 485th year of the Xinlu Era, the six-yearly recruitment season of the cultivation world arrived once more. Bian Chunchou had gone early to the Yonglu Mountain Range to register. As one of the Five Great Sects under heaven, Yonglu Mountain lay deepest within the Yonglu Mountain Range and recruited the fewest new disciples among the Five Great Sects.

Bian Chunchou was not greedy. So long as he could become an outer disciple, this trip would not have been in vain.

"Keep your token safe. Gather at the center of the formation in three days for the Preliminary Trial. Latecomers will not be admitted."

Bian Chunchou carefully put away his token. Early in the morning three days later, he went to queue at the formation's center. The sky was still dim when he arrived, but a long line had already formed at the entrance. Most were people like him, with some foundation in the Qi Refining Realm but not yet truly initiated into the path. Naturally, there were also children of cultivation families, with storage pouches at their waists and magical artifacts in their hands.

Bian Chunchou's eyes burned with envy, and he silently lowered his reddened gaze.

Ah, when would he be able to live such a good life too? Rogue Cultivators truly had no future. He had been a perfectly good, fragile top-university student back on Earth, still in school and not yet graduated to reach the pinnacle of life, when—snap—he had transmigrated into the cultivation world.

He had neither astonishing talent nor an illustrious family background, nor any tragic transmigration-into-a-novel adventure. All he had was a thatched cottage, a few spirit stones, and a Rogue Cultivator father who had fallen early. After gathering information about Hengze Continent for a long time, he had ultimately chosen Yonglu Mountain.

So, please, please, let this exam be something I know! Even if I don't know it, let me guess right!

With such an optimistic mindset, Bian Chunchou handed over his token and entered the Preliminary Trial transit area. Only after entering did he learn that Yonglu Mountain's Preliminary Trial involved sending examinees into a secret realm of dense forest. The more spirit plants they brought out, and the higher their grades, the greater their chances of passing.

In other words, they were a group of unpaid grass diggers—and they were digging willingly, eagerly even.

Bian Chunchou: 6.

While waiting for the transfer, Bian Chunchou checked his belongings once more. He had a low-grade treasured sword inherited from his father. In his pouch were Blood-Recovery Pills and Qi-Replenishing Pills bought with all his possessions. They were naturally the lowest grade, but even low-grade pills were more than enough for him.

Bian Chunchou felt somewhat uneasy, even as though he were once again heading into the college entrance examination hall. But once the formation transported him and he landed safely, he simply... had no mind left for wild thoughts.