Chapter 5

Ding Qi felt that time had flown by since he arrived at the Qingyun Sect. In just three days, all the young participants in the inner sect examination had gathered.

That noon, the young people gathered on the square of a peak on Qingyun Mountain.

Ding Qi looked around, observing the children on the square.

From the steward Li, Ding Qi and the others had learned that over a hundred young people were participating in this inner sect examination. However, no more than ten would ultimately become inner sect disciples, making the competition extremely fierce.

At this moment, most of the young people were looking nervously at the empty stage, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Qingyun Sect members to announce the examination content.

As the bell signaling noon rang out on the square, the people responsible for the disciple examination also appeared on the stage.

Among them were the hall master Wei and steward Li, whom Ding Qi had met, as well as five or six others he had not seen before.

These people were gathered around a middle-aged man with a face as dark as charcoal, who appeared to be the highest-ranking person among them.

In the conversation with steward Li and others, this dark-faced man was referred to as Guardian Shi, the person in charge of the inner sect disciple examination.

When Guardian Shi and the others entered the square, the originally somewhat noisy square had already quieted down. When Guardian Shi and Hall Master Wei and the others finished speaking and scanned the over a hundred children on the square with a stern look, no one dared to make a sound.

"Alright, it's now past noon, so the examination can begin. The content of the examination changes every year. Now, I will announce this year's examination content. Listen carefully."

Guardian Shi spoke loudly with a deep voice.

With Guardian Shi's brief explanation, Ding Qi understood the content of the examination.

On the waist of this mountain, there were hundreds of large water jars. What they needed to do was to carry water from the foot of the mountain and pour it into the water jars corresponding to their waist badges. If they could fill the water jars within two hours, they would pass the examination.

After understanding the content of the examination, over a hundred children rushed out of the square and headed for the waist of the mountain.

Because Guardian Shi had already mentioned that the tools for carrying water were at the waist of the mountain. They could only go down the mountain to fetch water after getting the buckets.

Fortunately, this mountain was not very high or steep. Soon, the children arrived at the waist of the mountain, where the buckets and large water jars were stored.

Ding Qi originally thought that this examination would not be difficult for him. He was a child from the mountains, used to climbing and often carrying things up the mountain. This mountain was not very high, and filling the water jars at the waist of the mountain should not be too difficult.

However, it was only when Ding Qi climbed to the waist of the mountain and saw the water jars that he realized how naive his thoughts were.

At this moment, he understood just how large the "large" water jars mentioned by Guardian Shi were.

The water jars were not very tall, less than two feet, but their diameter was ten feet.

Ding Qi, who was originally quite confident, was now unsure if he could fill the water jar within two hours.

Not only Ding Qi was stunned by the size of the water jars. The other children were also dazed, taking some time to react. However, soon, some quick-witted children recovered from their surprise and began to look for the water jars and buckets corresponding to their waist badges. The other children also reacted and started to search.

Now was not the time to be dazed.

To pass the examination, no matter how surprised they were, they had to fill the water jars.

Ding Qi did not want to fall behind. After finding the bucket and water jar corresponding to his waist badge, he, like the other children, rushed towards the stream at the foot of the mountain.

Due to his frequent mountain climbing, Ding Qi was among the first to reach the foot of the mountain and fill the buckets with water from the stream. However, when climbing back up, he did not rush like the other children. Growing up in the mountains, Ding Qi knew the importance of conserving energy while climbing.

When the first group of children poured the water into the water jars, Ding Qi was still some distance from the waist of the mountain. Although he was quite anxious, he still controlled his pace, using the method he had developed over the years to conserve energy while carrying water up the mountain.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, the young people who had initially been in the lead began to run out of energy. Each time they carried water up, they had to rest several times on the mountain path, wasting a lot of time, and the water levels in their jars gradually fell behind.

Not all the children in the lead were exhausted. Ding Qi saw a red-faced youth who continued to climb up and down the mountain at an extremely fast pace without showing any signs of fatigue, which left him speechless.

Ding Qi quickly realized that this youth must be one of those legendary people with innate strength.

Although he envied him, he knew he did not have such talent. After looking at the red-faced youth a few more times, he followed his original plan and continued to carry water up the mountain.

At the same time, Ding Qi, carrying two buckets of water, looked around as he climbed. A few people were closely following him. Their breathing was steady, with a certain rhythm, indicating that they were also conserving energy while climbing.

Ding Qi also looked at the people in front of him. They were also pacing themselves, understanding the importance of conserving energy.

Many people were resting on the mountain path to recover their energy. Ding Qi felt the heavy load on his shoulders and decided to push on, despite his fatigue.

An hour passed, and now the children who knew how to conserve energy, like Ding Qi, were also extremely tired and had to rest frequently on the mountain path. Even the red-faced youth, who had left Ding Qi speechless, had to rest after every two trips.

Ding Qi, like many other children, was now sitting on a relatively flat rock, catching his breath and looking around.

Not far away, two boys who had ridden the same carriage as Ding Qi were sitting on the mountain path, recovering their energy. One of them was Wei Zhuo, who was also panting.

Compared to the other children, who were nearly exhausted and pale, Wei Zhuo was in much better shape.

"Could it be because of true qi?" Ding Qi thought.

However, he quickly dismissed this thought.

Ding Qi also had true qi in his body, which circulated continuously, but it only slightly reduced his fatigue, with almost no effect.

Based on the true qi knowledge Ding Qi had, once a martial artist's true qi reached a certain level, they could shatter large stones and become incredibly strong. However, in the initial stage, true qi was mainly used to nourish the body and could not cause significant external changes. It could only slightly reduce fatigue, with very limited effects.

After much thought, Ding Qi could only attribute Wei Zhuo's condition to his age, which was a bit older than the other children, giving him better stamina.

After recovering a bit, Ding Qi picked up the water and hurriedly headed for the waist of the mountain.

While over a hundred children were putting all their effort into carrying water up and down the mountain, Guardian Shi and the others on the square were not paying much attention to the examination.

Although they occasionally looked at the children on the mountain, they mostly engaged in casual conversations with the people around them.

"The situation with Sect Master Nie is getting worse," Guardian Shi said with a worried look on his dark face to the hall master Wei beside him.

Hearing Guardian Shi's words, Hall Master Wei's face darkened: "Sect Master Nie's fate was sealed long ago. It's just a matter of time. Being hit by the Heart-Crushing Palm, his heart meridians were destroyed. How could he possibly survive?"

"Fortunately, Sect Master Nie's skills are profound. An ordinary martial arts expert would have only lasted half a month after being hit by the Heart-Crushing Palm. Sect Master Nie has managed to hold on for half a year, which is truly remarkable," Guardian Shi said with a sigh.

Although they were discussing the life and death of the sect leader, they did not hide their conversation. They were people of the martial world, living a life of constant conflict. Matters of life and death were common, and even the sect leader's situation was not a taboo topic, typical of the martial world.

"Although Sect Master Nie was hit by the Heart-Crushing Palm, causing our sect to almost fall into chaos, the Tianquan Sect is not in much better shape. Six months ago, Sect Master Nie killed their two leaders, the chief and the deputy."

Recalling the battle with the Tianquan Sect six months ago, Hall Master Wei could not help but sigh.

Guardian Shi also recalled the life-and-death struggle six months ago but quickly recovered: "Although Sect Master Nie's skills are profound, he can only last another half a month. When that time comes..."

Since Sect Master Nie of the Qingyun Sect was hit by the Heart-Crushing Palm, his condition had worsened day by day, and the entire Qingyun Sect fell into a struggle for the position of sect leader. The current contenders for the position were the two deputy sect leaders, both of whom had considerable influence in the sect.

Guardian Shi and Hall Master Wei supported the same person. Once Sect Master Nie died in half a month, the two sides, who had not yet openly confronted each other, would have to decide the outcome.

Guardian Shi was naturally very concerned about the situation in half a month.

"I wonder if our choice of sides is correct," Hall Master Wei said with a bitter smile.

Like Guardian Shi, Hall Master Wei was also very concerned about the situation in half a month.

"Ah, I'm not afraid of making the wrong choice and not being favored by the new sect leader. I'm worried that once the internal struggle begins, it will weaken our sect and give the Tianquan Sect an opportunity to exploit our weakness," Guardian Shi said, appearing to be deeply concerned about the future of the sect.

However, those familiar with Guardian Shi's character in the Qingyun Sect knew that he was not the type to prioritize the greater good.

His involvement in the struggle for the sect leader position was merely to invest in the future new sect leader, hoping to advance his position in the sect.

"Guardian Shi's concern for the sect is truly a model for us all. I am far inferior to you," Hall Master Wei said with a look of shame, as if he completely believed Guardian Shi's words.

Guardian Shi looked at Hall Master Wei with a playful expression and then showed a humble look on his dark face, waving his hand: "Ha, Hall Master Wei, you flatter me. I only wish for the prosperity and growth of our sect."

Then, Guardian Shi continued: "Alright, let's not talk about these matters. We should focus on the examination. Although there shouldn't be any problems, we must be cautious to avoid any mistakes."

Saying this, Guardian Shi began to observe the mountain path.

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