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Every day, he read. When he grew tired, he took walks through the mountains and even planted a small vegetable patch. If the county magistrate had not sent someone to ask whether he would be going to the capital for the examinations that year, he might have forgotten that he was still a provincial graduate.

Wen Xu stood before the old scholar's grave and pondered for a long while before deciding on the spot 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 earn a place on the Golden List, he should still go out and see the vast world. Wen Xu felt that it was time for him to leave Jade Isle Commandery.

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

Wen Xu considered himself fully prepared. In truth, because of the minor problem with his eyes, he greatly favored "plan before acting." Since he could not make out people's faces, he observed their clothing habits, walking postures, voices, verbal tics, and so on. It was troublesome, but it was indeed something he had always done.

Three years had passed. He might have become a little rusty, but... he should not have become rusty to this extent.

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

Just moments ago, someone had slashed his chest, and his arm had been bent outward. His blood fell onto the dust and swiftly vanished without a trace. He knew he could not escape.

The rapid blood loss made his vision swim. The three people before him were about to blur into nine. He shook his head hard, but it did little good. Holding his shoulder, Wen Xu leaned half against a massive boulder by the cliff, able only to watch helplessly as the three men closed in step by step.

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

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

"Kid, if you want someone to blame, blame yourself for being born with that face. Remember to be reborn into a better fate next time."

The newcomers clearly understood that delay bred change. Besides, this slippery scholar was ghostly cunning. His martial skills were plainly rudimentary, yet he had led the three of them in circles for seven whole 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 flash before the old scholar's final words suddenly rang in his ears. What, then, had his life been for?

To read countless books to please the old scholar, only to be told that he did not need to study after all.

To finally read so many books, only to be hunted down for no reason the moment he set foot in the capital.

Or had he never been meant to struggle at all? Should he have remained an obedient little beggar?

No—

Wen Xu felt the gale of force bearing down on him. At that instant, he came infinitely close to death, and an equally 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 by these three men's hands.

Just then, a sinister wind suddenly surged up from the valley below. Wen Xu had already forgotten the pain of his injuries. He sprinted desperately toward the cliff's edge. The steel blade was already at his back; he could even imagine the blade tip piercing his body. Then, the next moment—

He was swept up by the wind and dropped into the abyss.

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

"Boss, what do we do now?"

"Go down and search! We must see him alive, or see his corpse dead! If we botch this, you and I will both die!"

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

At this, the boss's expression changed drastically. However, he soon resumed his cold face. "Since it is Dead Man Forest, that works out well enough. We'll guard outside the forest for three days. If he doesn't come out, he has most likely died inside."

Besides, given that brat's injuries, if no one treated him, he absolutely would not survive the night.

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

In the 485th year of the Xinlu Era, it was once again time for the cultivation world's once-every-six-years recruitment. Bian Chunchou had arrived early at the Yonglu Mountain Range to register. As one of the world's five great sects, Yonglu Mountain lay in the deepest part of the Yonglu Mountain Range, and among the five great sects, it recruited the fewest new disciples.

Bian Chunchou was not greedy. As 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 test. Latecomers will not be admitted."

Bian Chunchou carefully put away his token. Early three days later, he went to queue at the formation 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 Qi Refinement but not yet truly embarked on 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 fine fragile college student at a top-tier university, not even graduated or at the peak of his life yet, when—crack—he had transmigrated into the cultivation world.

There was no earthshaking talent or prestigious family background, nor any tragic tale of being transported into a novel. He had only a thatched hut, 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 everything tested this time be something I know! Even if I don't know it, let me guess right!

With that optimistic mindset, Bian Chunchou handed over his token and entered the preliminary-test transfer area. Only after entering did he learn that Yonglu Mountain's preliminary test involved sending examinees into a secret realm within a 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 bunch of unpaid weed-diggers, and they were digging with willing hearts and eager faces. 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. Naturally, they were the lowest grade, but even low-grade pills were more than enough for him.

Bian Chunchou felt somewhat uneasy, even experiencing the illusion that he was once more heading into the college entrance examination hall. But once the formation transported him safely down, he... had no mind left for wild thoughts at all.