Chapter 4

"Is this the city?"

Ding Qi stood on the street, curiously looking at the various shops and the crowds of people, pondering in his heart.

For Ding Qi, who had never left the mountains before, everything here was incredibly novel.

After a long journey, Ding Qi and his second uncle finally arrived at their destination.

This city was called Liangcheng. In the territory of Jingzhou, it could only be considered a small city, not particularly prosperous. However, for the current Ding Qi, it was already quite lively.

Getting off the carriage, Ding Shan walked towards an iron forge at the west end of the street, with Ding Qi closely following behind.

On the way, his second uncle had already told Ding Qi that there were several properties of the sect in Liangcheng, all of which he was responsible for overseeing.

This iron forge was one of them.

Behind the iron forge was a simple residence where Ding Shan stayed when he was in Liangcheng.

"Second Uncle, is Zhang Tao here?" Ding Qi asked obediently as he followed behind.

Ding Shan turned around, smiling, and said to Ding Qi, "Yes, that boy is learning skills from Master Li. The people from the sect will be here in a few days. You will be with Zhang Tao for the next few days."

"Okay."

Ding Qi nodded obediently.

Zhang Tao, whom Ding Qi mentioned, was from the same village as Ding Qi, Zhangjia Ao. He was only about two years older than Ding Qi and was his childhood friend.

A couple of years ago, the Zhang family, through their connection with Ding Shan, had arranged for Zhang Tao to learn skills in Liangcheng, becoming an apprentice to an iron forge. This was also the property of the Qingyun Sect.

"Zhang Tao." Hearing the 'clang, clang' sounds from inside the forge, Ding Qi called out as he entered the house.

At that moment, Zhang Tao was assisting the iron forge master, his face flushed from the furnace fire. Zhang Tao had a somewhat dark complexion, but his large, lively eyes made him look very smart.

"Ding Qi, Uncle Ding said you would come, but I didn't expect it to be so soon," Zhang Tao said with a smile.

Zhang Tao looked at the iron forge master beside him. Seeing Master Li's indication that he didn't need help at the moment, he cleverly greeted Ding Shan and walked towards Ding Qi.

After a few months without seeing each other, the two of them did not become estranged. Soon, they were laughing and playing together. Ding Qi's nervousness about being in a strange place gradually dissipated as he saw his childhood friend.

Due to frequently assisting the iron forge master, Ding Qi's childhood friend had become quite strong. Moreover, Zhang Tao was about two years older than Ding Qi. In their play, Ding Qi was no match for Zhang Tao.

For a moment, Ding Qi felt quite frustrated.

When Zhang Tao heard the reason for Ding Qi's arrival and learned that he had a chance to enter the inner sect of Qingyun, he looked surprised and envious.

After two years in Liangcheng, Zhang Tao was more aware of the significance of being an inner sect disciple of Qingyun than ordinary mountain people.

Two days later, the people from the Qingyun Sect arrived in Liangcheng.

It was a young man with an ordinary appearance and no particular aura.

However, Ding Qi noticed that his second uncle was extremely respectful to this person, serving him tea and water as if afraid of any slight oversight.

Later, Ding Qi learned from his second uncle that this young man, whom he called Li Zhisshi, was from the sect's law enforcement hall and had the authority to punish inner sect disciples. As an outer sect disciple, he dared not be the slightest bit negligent, for fear of inadvertently angering the person and inviting punishment.

"Old Ding, is this the boy you mentioned?" The man looked at Ding Qi with interest and asked.

"Reporting to Li Zhisshi, it is indeed him," Ding Shan replied respectfully.

Seeing his second uncle, whom he considered quite capable, being so respectful to this person, Ding Qi became extremely nervous, looking at him cautiously.

"Boy, don't be nervous. I'm just here to check if you really have true qi. Alright, extend your hand."

This Li Zhisshi was quite approachable. Seeing Ding Qi's nervousness, he smiled at him to ease his tension.

Ding Qi secretly glanced at his second uncle, who nodded, indicating he should do as Li Zhisshi said.

As Ding Qi extended his hand, Li Zhisshi's expression became serious. He placed his hand on Ding Qi's wrist, as if taking a pulse.

Ding Qi felt a very fine stream of true qi extend from Li Zhisshi's hand, following his meridians and merging with the true qi in his body.

Only then did Li Zhisshi's serious expression relax, revealing a confident smile.

"Old Ding, it seems it's true," Li Zhisshi said to Ding Shan, almost congratulating him.

Hearing the confirmation, Ding Shan first breathed a sigh of relief, then showed a happy expression: "This time, I really trouble you, Li Zhisshi."

As he spoke, he quietly handed a small bag of silver to Li Zhisshi.

Li Zhisshi frowned and sighed, "Old Ding, I understand your intentions. But you know the rules of the sect. Moreover, given the current situation, we must be cautious. I cannot accept this silver."

Ding Qi, who was more mature than most of his peers, vaguely realized that Li Zhisshi was not unwilling to accept the silver but was wary of the current situation.

Ding Shan also suddenly understood and quickly said, "Li Zhisshi, you are right. I almost made a mistake this time."

After confirming that Ding Qi indeed had true qi flowing in his body, the next steps became easier. In a month, the Qingyun Sect would take Ding Qi to the sect headquarters for the final assessment.

If he passed the assessment, he could become an inner sect disciple.

The month passed quickly. A carriage arrived in Liangcheng, picking up Ding Qi, who had been waiting at the iron forge. The person responsible for the pick-up was Li Zhisshi, whom Ding Qi had met once before.

This was the first time Ding Qi truly left home, making him feel at a loss, especially since his destination, the Qingyun Sect headquarters, was completely unfamiliar to him. He almost wanted to jump off the carriage and run back home. However, remembering the instructions from home and his own aspirations for the martial world, Ding Qi calmed down.

Getting on the carriage, Ding Qi secretly observed the interior.

Inside the carriage, there were already five or six children. Clearly, before arriving in Liangcheng, the carriage had already stopped at several places to pick up children participating in the inner sect disciple assessment.

For the next half day, as the carriage continued its journey, they stopped at several more places, picking up seven or eight more people.

"Alright, the fourteen people in this batch are all on the carriage. Next, we just need to head to the sect headquarters."

Li Zhisshi said this while turning the carriage towards the right official road.

The carriage was quite spacious, and even with fourteen people, it did not feel crowded. The children on the carriage were all around Ding Qi's age, with the oldest being only two or three years older than him.

The carriage traveled for two days, and as the sun was about to set, they finally arrived at their destination.

The headquarters of the Qingyun Sect was a beautiful mountain peak, also a famous mountain in the territory of Jingzhou. On certain days, one could see the misty sea from the peak, a spectacular sight. The mountain peak seemed to pierce the clouds, hence the name Qingyun Sect.

Even though it was not the season for viewing the scenery, the sunset on the mountain was still quite beautiful.

However, the fourteen boys, including Ding Qi, had no interest in the beautiful scenery. Two days of travel had left them, who had never traveled such a long distance before, extremely tired.

Li Zhisshi looked at Ding Qi and the others, a bitter smile on his face.

Fortunately, he knew how hard they had worked. In fact, even Li Zhisshi, a martial artist with considerable skills, felt somewhat tired after two days of travel.

The Qingyun Sect was well-prepared for such situations. According to the usual practice, Li Zhisshi arranged for Ding Qi and the others to stay in a house at the foot of the mountain.

"You all will rest here temporarily. In three days, when the last batch of people arrives, the assessment will begin. For meals, use the waist tags I gave you to get food," Li Zhisshi said after arranging for the fourteen people to stay.

Next, Li Zhisshi mentioned some other precautions. Although Ding Qi and the others were already exhausted and wanted to lie down and sleep, they still carefully remembered every word Li Zhisshi said, afraid of missing anything that could cause trouble in the next three days.

Only after Li Zhisshi left did everyone find their beds and go to sleep.

The next day, Ding Qi was woken up by a conversation.

Ding Qi looked out the window; it was still slightly light. However, two or three boys had already gotten up.

Then, Ding Qi focused his attention on the source of the conversation.

Among the speakers was Li Zhisshi, whom Ding Qi recognized. At that moment, Li Zhisshi was accompanying a middle-aged man with a stern face and a build like a tower, looking quite respectful.

"Hall Master Wei, your nephew is so young, yet his true qi is already so powerful. I believe he will have no problem passing the entrance assessment," Li Zhisshi said with a smile.

"Thank you for your good words, Li Zhisshi," the middle-aged man said, looking at the boy standing in front of him.

Watching the people talking, Ding Qi blinked curiously. Then, he focused his attention on the boy.

This boy, named Wei Zhuo, was on the same carriage as Ding Qi. Among the fourteen children, he was the only one, besides Ding Qi, who had true qi in his body.

Compared to the other children's nervousness about the inner sect assessment, Wei Zhuo was very confident and looked arrogant, as if he was already a member of the Qingyun Sect's inner sect.

During the two days on the carriage, Ding Qi learned the reason for Wei Zhuo's confidence. From Wei Zhuo's own admission, he not only had true qi but was also the nephew of Hall Master Wei of the Qingyun Sect.

Before coming, his second uncle had already told Ding Qi about the Qingyun Sect. He knew that a hall master was a very important figure in the sect.

Although a hall master was not as high-ranking as the elders or protectors of the sect, they were still part of the upper echelons of the Qingyun Sect.

After learning about Hall Master Wei's connection, the other children mostly gathered around Wei Zhuo, calling him "Big Brother Wei" repeatedly, showing a deferential attitude that made Wei Zhuo extremely pleased.

Not only the children on the carriage, but even Li Zhisshi, who already knew Wei Zhuo's identity, treated him with special care. Li Zhisshi, a low-level manager in the Qingyun Sect, was only slightly higher in rank than an inner sect disciple, but compared to Hall Master Wei, he was two levels lower.

Therefore, he could not afford to be negligent with Hall Master Wei's nephew.

Only a few children, like Ding Qi, who came from remote mountain areas and lacked the ability to read people, stayed on the carriage, watching Wei Zhuo and the others talk with unease. Faced with the arrogant "Young Master Wei," they did not know how to interact.

Wei Zhuo, seeing that Ding Qi did not flatter him like the other children, naturally ignored him. There was almost no communication between the two.

After all, although Ding Qi was much more mature than his peers, it was his first time leaving the mountains. He had not yet learned the subtleties of social interactions.

Just as Ding Qi was looking at Li Zhisshi and the others, Hall Master Wei's deep voice was heard again.

"Since the waist tags have been given to Li Zhisshi, I will take my nephew back."

Then, Hall Master Wei patted Wei Zhuo's head and said, "Although it's only three days, I can't let my precious nephew stay in such a simple place. I have a villa at the foot of the mountain, so he will stay there until the assessment."

"Feel free to take your nephew, Hall Master Wei. It doesn't violate the sect's rules," Li Zhisshi said indifferently.

Li Zhisshi and the others said a few more words and then left the room.

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