Chapter 61: The War Begins
The earth after the rain always carried a special scent—the smell of freshly turned soil, the scent of evaporating water droplets on grass leaves, mixed together, damp and crisp. Chen Chong quite liked this scent, which carried a sort of budding vitality.
He took a deep breath and stepped into the Pine Roost Hall.
Inside the hall, the portrait was still that same portrait, and the incense burner still held those three sticks of incense. Chen Chong walked out through the back door and headed inward along the stone steps clinging to the mountain wall. Only then did he learn that this place was called the Hundred Martial Hall.
The name was carved on a cliff face at the end of the stone steps, three characters with vigorous brushstrokes, identical to the three characters "Pine Roost Sect" on the mountain gate. The scale of the Hundred Martial Hall was much larger than he had imagined; starting from the huge circular arena, a central corridor with small sparring rings and training rooms lined up on both sides extended all the way to the end.
And today, the Cloud Que Platform in the exact center of the Hundred Martial Hall was where everyone's gazes converged.
Walking toward the inner section, he happened to run into Old Li.
Old Li was standing on the Cloud Que Platform with his hands behind his back, his grayish-white Daoist robe fluttering slightly in the wind.
He stood at the edge of the arena, his figure slender and his expression calm, yet the vital energy of the entire Cloud Que Platform revolved around him. It looked like he was presiding over things this time.
Walking further forward, Chen Chong saw even more people nearby.
The corridors, steps, and pillars along the outer