Chapter 26

The Divine Spring Town, located at the core of the Illusion Forest, is the place where the 'Earth Spirit Vein' leaks, and the spring water contains a rich concentration of spiritual energy, possessing the miraculous effect of purifying the body and refining the spirit, hence its name. A thousand years ago, it was forcibly occupied by the Great Zhou Empire, guarded by high-ranking experts, and transformed into one of the five 'Baptismal Sacrifices' of the empire.

The Divine Spring Town is a vast valley surrounded by four towering peaks that pierce the clouds, with only one canyon connecting the inside and outside. The town is filled with inns and taverns, and there is a military camp, but in ordinary times, only a few powerful warriors are stationed there, and no one is allowed to enter. Although the facilities are complete, the valley is desolate and empty. Only during the biennial baptismal sacrifice is temporary access allowed, and only those from the empire-designated academies or families can enter.

The Divine Spring Town serves the martial artists of the Northern Wasteland Domain, which has seventeen cities, including one feudal lord, five academies, six major families, and twenty-nine medium-sized families. For the biennial baptismal event, families can send their own representatives or join through an academy, while commoners can only join through an academy.

Due to the Great Zhou Empire and the entire Qitian Continent's extreme reverence for martial arts, and the biennial opening, each time there are over a hundred qualified young men and women, sometimes as many as two hundred.

This year, there are 181 qualified martial artists under the age of eighteen.

However... the number of people who actually arrived in the Divine Spring Town is less than sixty percent of the invitation list! Five teams were attacked to varying degrees, and a large number of academy and family members disappeared, including all the teachers and students of one academy and the members of seven medium-sized families.

This incident has already raised the alert of the troops stationed in the Divine Spring Town and has been communicated throughout the Northern Wasteland Domain. A large number of experts entered the Illusion Forest seven days ago to investigate the matter.

The royal family personally signed a secret order—strictly prohibiting any publicity!

So the incident is somewhat mysterious and has not been leaked to the public. The baptismal sacrifice began as scheduled four days ago.

Today is the last day. Due to special reasons, some families and academies have left early, but some mercenaries who came for the spectacle have just arrived.

The valley is bustling with activity, and outside the valley, many mercenaries and onlookers have gathered, also interested in this kind of sacrificial baptism. They hope to witness the birth of a powerful bloodline, and if so, it would not be in vain for them to travel such a long distance.

"Have you all heard? Princess Lingyu's baptism is complete, and it has stirred the three imperial elders guarding the altar. According to the news from inside, the princess's baptism went very smoothly, with her spirit vein awakening to seventy percent, comparable to the direct descendants of the royal family!"

"Seventy percent? How is that possible! Last year, during the imperial capital's baptismal sacrifice, the third prince of the royal family only reached this level!"

"Absolutely true. Now the Divine Spring Town is in a frenzy, and King Ling of Zhou has personally come to welcome Princess Lingyu."

"Seventy percent, already possessing the qualifications to challenge the Martial Venerable level! Oh my God, is our Northern Wasteland Domain about to produce another Martial Venerable?"

"Is it that simple? Qualifications are one thing, but whether they can grow is another."

"What if the royal family directly takes Princess Lingyu to the imperial capital?"

"Uh..."

"Another piece of news: the young master of the Li family from Giant Elephant City is said to have successfully completed the baptism and opened his body treasure."

"Oh? Really!! Someone once said a decade ago that the Divine Spring in the Divine Spring Town was beginning to wither, making it difficult for martial artists to use it to open their body treasures. Now, the young master of the Li family has broken the deadlock, and it will surely attract a lot of attention."

"By the way, there's another thing! During the last baptism yesterday afternoon, a student from Giant Elephant Academy experienced a spirit vein mutation! He is just a commoner's child, with no hereditary spirit vein, only the most ordinary meridians, but during the baptism, they actually transformed into a true spirit vein, apparently related to petrification."

"I've heard that too. It seems to have already attracted the high attention of Giant Elephant Academy. There are rumors that he might be given special cultivation after returning, and even King Ling of Zhou is interested in recruiting him."

"What's his name?"

"Seems to be... Du Yang."

"The headmaster's grandson of Tianyuan Academy, Xue Ying, also participated in this baptism and is said to have opened his body treasure, but this news has not been confirmed, and people are just speculating."

"A young girl from the Tang family also received attention, with her spirit vein baptism being very successful, awakening to eighty percent."

"I seem to have seen the Butcher Martial King Tang Qiong of the Tang family. Was he personally escorting her this time? No wonder, it seems he had a premonition of the girl's extraordinary potential."

"This baptismal sacrifice is too exciting, with surprises one after another. The entire Divine Spring Town is in an uproar. Today is the last day, with only two more baptisms left. I wonder if there will be any more surprises."

Tang Yan walked leisurely through the noisy crowd, listening to the passionate discussions of the mercenaries to understand the real situation in the Divine Spring Town.

After this period of training, Tang Yan has gained a better understanding of 'spiritual energy' and 'martial artists' and has also gained new insights into 'baptism.' It is somewhat similar to 'genetic inheritance' from his previous life. If a powerful martial artist was born among the ancestors, they would pass on certain special talents to their descendants, known as 'spirit veins.' However, they usually do not manifest immediately and generally require some means to be activated, which is the so-called 'baptism.'

If the descendants activate these spirit veins during the baptism, their cultivation path will be smoother. The higher the compatibility with the ancestors' spirit veins, the more likely they are to reach the same level, and thus, their future achievements will be higher.

Reaching sixty percent is already surprising, and if it reaches seventy or eighty, it is enough to excite anyone and make them a treasure of the family.

As for opening the body treasure, in the hearts of martial artists on the Qitian Continent, every human body is a giant treasure trove, containing endless treasures, but ordinary people find it difficult to discover them. If someone is lucky enough to open it during the baptism, it will endow them with a new kind of inheritance, giving them unique special abilities.

They are called special individuals, and in Tang Yan's understanding, they are 'investment stocks.' Unlike those who activate spirit veins and have the growth memories of their ancestors, these people need to explore this unknown path on their own, forging a new cultivation path. If they fail, they will achieve nothing, but if they succeed, they will continue a new spirit vein and grow into even more terrifying beings.

As for the mutation of spirit veins, it is like a withered spirit vein being revived or an ordinary spirit vein being endowed with new abilities, similar to a spirit vein baptism or opening a treasure. Tang Yan has not fully understood this aspect.

However, listening to the mercenaries' discussions, Tang Yan felt slightly relieved. The little girl was out of danger and had entered the Divine Spring Town, completing the baptism smoothly.

The other news, however, was not so good—only the last day? Only two more chances?

"Not allowed to enter? Why not?" Standing in front of the magnificent city gate, Tang Yan looked coldly at the two arrogant martial artists in front of him.

"Invitation letter!"

"What invitation letter?"

"You don't even know what an invitation letter is, and you want to enter the Divine Spring Town? Get lost! Little beggar! If you dare to cause trouble, don't blame us for being unfriendly." The burly man glanced at Tang Yan and then ignored him. With his tattered clothes, dirty face, messy hair, and sandals made of leaves, he looked even more ragged than a common beggar. Such a person had no right to enter the Divine Spring Town. If the two men hadn't wanted to maintain their heroic image, they would have already thrown him away with a spear.

A few mercenaries drinking in a nearby tent suddenly burst into laughter. A rather rough man roared, "Little guy, why don't you come and have a drink? I'll treat you! The Divine Spring Town is only open to families and academies; we ordinary people have no chance."

"Unless you have a hundred gold coins, but from your appearance... you don't even have a copper coin, right?"

"Ha ha, little guy, come, have a drink."

Tang Yan frowned. A hundred gold coins? In this world, the currency is called crystal coins, with copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, and purple crystal coins, in ascending order of value. One purple crystal coin equals a hundred gold coins, one gold coin equals a hundred silver coins, and one silver coin equals a hundred copper coins.

If compared to paper money from his previous world, one purple crystal coin would be equivalent to one million!

In the shade near the main gate, a lean man in a high-ranking military uniform said coldly, "You can't say that. The Divine Spring has limited spiritual energy and cannot be used recklessly. Families and academies belong to the empire, and the empire must take responsibility for them. Ordinary people with talent can join an academy, and once they enter, they can undergo baptism through effort.

Everything is done according to the rules!

If anyone could enter, wouldn't it be chaos? What if they were from another empire? What if they were from an opposing force? Our Great Zhou Empire is not so generous as to serve them."

The guard at the gate glanced coldly at Tang Yan. "Understood? Get lost!"

Tang Yan raised his voice slightly. "My name is Tang Yan, the second young master of the Tang family from Giant Elephant City. Is that enough qualification?"

The area near the city gate fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even more unrestrained laughter, and even the officer in the shade shook his head in amusement.

"Little beggar, are you looking for a beating?" The burly man at the gate was getting angry.

The other burly man, both amused and annoyed, said, "Young master of the Tang family? Why don't you say you're the head of the Tang family? Alright, we won't take you seriously. Get lost as far as you can."

Tang Yan felt helpless. "There are people from the Tang family inside the Divine Spring Town. You can ask them or bring them out. I am Tang Yan, no doubt about it!"

"Get lost!!" The two giants said in unison, lacking even the interest to say another word. Find the Tang family members? Bring them out to recognize you? Do you know who the Tang family members inside are? They are Butcher Tang Qiong!

Tang Yan was secretly anxious but could not find anything to prove his identity. Faced with the gradually increasing hostility of the giants and the mocking gazes around him, he could only temporarily leave the city gate.

However, when Tang Yan announced his name, a few men in the nearby crowd raised their eyebrows and fixed their gazes on him, carefully examining him, and their spirits were lifted.

They signaled to each other, and one of them walked to the tent and sat down in front of the group of mercenaries who had just invited Tang Yan to drink. He laid out ten gold coins and said indifferently, "Find a way to bring that kid into the forest and secretly eliminate him. This is the down payment, and you'll get fifty more gold coins after the job is done. Make sure not to alarm anyone and do it cleanly."

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