First Hearing of Qingyun Martial Academy

Blackwater Town lay 120 li southeast of Cloudflow County.

The journey passed through three mountains, two streams, and a gorge.

For the first dozen or so li, the road conditions were fairly good. It was a six- to seven-meter-wide official road paved with gravel.

On either side of the official road stretched fields as far as the eye could see, with villages appearing here and there.

The people in these villages sold food and water by the roadside to passersby.

At the same time, they tended the surrounding fields.

Of course, most of those fields did not belong to them, but to the great households of Cloudflow County. They were essentially tenant farmers.

Living close to the official road was also for safety.

In this world, bandits ran rampant, and vicious men were cruel and savage.

One careless moment, and you could be robbed or killed.

Why else had the Li Family formed four medicine escort teams, all staffed by martial artists, if not to guard against those brutal bandits?

Those bandits came without a trace and vanished without a shadow. Once they committed a crime, they simply slipped into the mountains, making them exceedingly difficult to find.

Thus, even though the imperial court had launched several large-scale bandit suppression campaigns, the results had remained meager.

There were even signs that the more they were suppressed, the more numerous they became.

After finishing that dozen or so li of official road, they seamlessly entered a dirt road where dust filled the sky.

The sun overhead was scorching, and whenever a rider passed by, countless clouds of dust were kicked up.

"Put on your face coverings."

At Luo Shan's command, everyone hurriedly put on face coverings over their noses and mouths.

Before they had gone far, Chen Xun and the others had acquired a layer of yellow dust. The words "weather-beaten and travel-worn" had taken tangible form on them.

At the end of the yellow dirt road, three forks appeared.

Beside the junction stood an inn covering several hundred square meters, bustling with activity inside.

"This is Fang family property. It does excellent business here, raking in gold every day."

Sun Cheng dusted himself off as he spoke quietly to Chen Xun.

Chen Xun nodded in understanding.

The Fang family was the foremost great household in Cloudflow County, a wealthy and influential clan that had stood for a century. They held more than a hundred thousand mu of fertile land, traded across several commanderies, and possessed vast wealth.

The Li Family was a whole tier below the Fang family.

Even so, the Li Family could still rank among the top five powers in Cloudflow County.

Only the Fang family had the strength to build such a large inn in this desolate wilderness—and keep it secure.

"Come on. Let's rest inside and have some tea."

Luo Shan swung down from his horse and took the lead into the inn.

The inn was called Three Fork Inn. The name was simple and straightforward.

"Master Luo, you're here! Please, come inside."

The errand-running waiter recognized Luo Shan and immediately cleared a round table for them, inviting them to sit.

The round table was large enough to seat ten people.

Luo Shan often traveled about and had visited this inn dozens of times, so the staff knew him well.

"Same as usual. Put it on the tab, and we'll settle it all together later."

"Right away. Please wait a moment."

The waiter then went to pass along their order.

While they waited for the dishes, everyone began chatting.

Chen Xun remained silent, listening without speaking.

From their conversation, Chen Xun learned quite a few things about martial artists.

Then someone brought up a matter that made everyone even more eager to talk.

"Qingyun Martial Academy's disciple recruitment tournament will begin in about a year and a half. Who do you think from the Li Family will manage to enter the academy this time?"

"That's hard to say. Those young masters in the estate all hide themselves deeply. Who knows whether a dark horse might emerge?"

"At the last recruitment tournament, the Fourth Miss broke into the top ten despite being a woman and became a disciple of Qingyun Martial Academy."

"Before the tournament began, who could have known that a mere woman possessed such strength? It truly made everyone's jaws drop."

"Sigh, do you think we might have a chance to take part in this recruitment tournament too?"

The moment those words were spoken, someone immediately laughed. "Stop dreaming. Qingyun Martial Academy only accepts geniuses, and you must be no older than eighteen."

"Which one of us here is under eighteen?"

"You know, there really are two."

At once, everyone's gazes fell in unison on Chen Xun and Li Peng, then shifted away in unison.

"Heh, they may be young, but they aren't geniuses."

Quite a few people immediately burst into laughter.

Chen Xun's expression did not change in the face of their mockery. He silently pondered, Qingyun Martial Academy, disciple recruitment tournament... interesting.

He was confident that within a year and a half, he could raise his cultivation to a level sufficient to participate in the recruitment tournament.

As for Li Peng, he was unbearably embarrassed amid the laughter, his face flushing red.

These damned bastards. What gives them the right to think I can't join the recruitment tournament? What gives them the right to think I'm not a genius?

Don't lump me together with a mud-legged peasant like Chen Xun. Damn it.

In his heart, Li Peng had already begun to hate them.

"Enough laughing. The dishes are all here. Eat quickly—we still have to continue on our way afterward."

Luo Shan's words immediately silenced everyone.

Looking at Chen Xun's calm face, Luo Shan was somewhat surprised.

This kid can really keep his composure. He even has a touch of being unruffled by favor or disgrace.

What a pity his mind is too set on his own ideas.

Everyone ate quickly. In less than ten minutes, an entire table of dishes had gone into their stomachs.

After eating, they continued on their way.

At the Three Fork junction, Luo Shan chose the road farthest to the left.

That road led directly to Blackwater Town.

Gradually, even the yellow dirt road disappeared, turning into a mountain path.

The mountain road was difficult to travel, and from time to time, someone had to push the carts for them to pass smoothly.

Needless to say, as the newcomer in the team, the task of pushing carts naturally fell to Chen Xun.

Of course, he was not the only one pushing.

But seven times out of ten, his name would be called.

As for Li Peng, though he was also a newcomer, his name was called only three or four times out of ten.

At this, Li Peng's formerly gloomy and resentful mood was swept clean away, and he immediately became delighted.

"Serves you right."

Li Peng quietly mocked Chen Xun, his mood improving further. Even when pushing the cart, he did not slack off or cut corners.

It was clear that only with comparison could there be happiness.

Chen Xun had long since become automatically immune to Li Peng's words.

To him, Li Peng was merely a clown—annoying, but not much of a threat.

The sun gradually sank westward, and dusk approached.

By then, the caravan had arrived beside a small river.

"We'll camp here tonight."

"Ke Jun, go check the place where we camped last time. Clear it out. We'll camp there shortly."

"Yes, Captain Luo."

After receiving the order, Ke Jun selected two men and slipped into the nearby woods.

Before long, Ke Jun reappeared.

"Captain Luo, a den of foxes recently moved in there. We've already driven them away."

"Fine. Then let's head over."

The caravan immediately set off into the forest. Some people cleared the way ahead, while others gathered firewood nearby.

After walking several hundred meters, they could vaguely make out a wooden cabin in the dim forest.

Light could be seen inside through the cabin's windows.

Upon drawing closer, they saw that the two men Ke Jun had brought over earlier had lit torches and were cleaning the cabin with crude tools.

In one corner lay several fox and snake carcasses with gray fur.

Once the main group arrived, a fire was lit inside the cabin. An iron pot hung over it, with food stewing inside.

Part of the food was dry rations everyone had brought, while the rest came from those fox and snake carcasses. After being skinned and cleaned, they were chopped into pieces and boiled together.

As for the taste, it could only be called barely passable.

Chen Xun ate the entire meal with a frown on his face.

Li Peng fared even worse. He vomited and was laughed at by the others.

When he saw Chen Xun silently finish everything, he gritted his teeth and swallowed it down with tears in his eyes.

It tastes awful, damn it. These people must have deliberately made it this disgusting just to laugh at me.

Li Peng thought darkly.

Night fell, and Luo Shan arranged for people to keep watch in shifts.

Chen Xun was assigned to the first half of the night.

So, he cultivated while keeping watch.

Seeing this, the person standing watch alongside him could not help muttering, "What's the use of working so hard?"

He had once worked hard as well, but after being stuck at the bottleneck of the Qi-Blood Second Transformation for a long time, he had long since lost the will to improve.