Chapter 1

In the Tianjian Continent, at the city of Lincheng, the Sword Testing Hall.

Dozens of long queues stretched from inside the hall to outside. Upon closer inspection, the people in line were all young boys and girls.

These days, the third-grade sect, Fengjian Sect, was holding its annual recruitment ceremony for outer sect disciples. Almost all the eligible young people from around Lincheng had come to register, making it an exceptionally popular event. After all, once one entered the Fengjian Sect, even as an outer sect disciple, it was considered a significant step forward.

Lu Xuan stood in the queue, moving slowly forward with the crowd. As the last person in front of him disappeared, it was finally his turn. He tidied his clothes and looked at the examiner before him with some nervousness.

"Name," a middle-aged man asked, holding a jade slip and sitting behind a desk, somewhat impatiently.

Although his job was just simple registration, the number of people registering was so large that he had been doing this for several days, naturally feeling impatient.

"Lu Xuan."

Upon being asked, Lu Xuan quickly reported his name.

"Age, strength."

"Sixteen, Second Stage Body Tempering."

As he recorded this information, the middle-aged man glanced up at Lu Xuan, shaking his head inwardly. The number of outer sect disciples the sect was recruiting this year was not large, and even Third Stage Body Tempering might not guarantee a spot. For Second Stage Body Tempering, there was virtually no hope.

"Alright, your number is 828. Fifteen days from now, come here to wait for the assessment."

"Thank you, Senior Examiner." Lu Xuan said respectfully.

The middle-aged man waved his hand casually, signaling Lu Xuan to leave. A mere Second Stage Body Tempering youth was not worth his attention.

Lu Xuan took a deep breath, holding the number plate that represented his identity, and walked out of the long queue. After waiting for several hours, he had finally successfully registered. Whether he could join the Fengjian Sect would depend on the assessment in fifteen days. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the number plate. This was his last chance.

Lu Xuan was not originally from Lincheng but from the nearby Green Mountain Town, where he was the only son of a small family. To call it a family was a bit of an exaggeration, as the Lu family had long since fallen from grace. Apart from him, his father, and his sister, there were hardly any servants in the house.

Because of this, life in the Lu family was not easy, especially recently, with the third son of the Long family, Long Tai, setting his sights on Lu Xuan's sister and wanting to force a marriage.

If it were anyone else, marriage would be a natural progression, but who in Green Mountain Town didn't know the evil reputation of the third son of the Long family? Lu Xuan would never let his sister fall into such a trap.

However, the fallen Lu family had no power to resist the first family of Green Mountain Town, the Long family. The only hope was for Lu Xuan to enter the Fengjian Sect, even as an outer sect disciple, which would make the Long family dare not touch the Lu family.

Therefore, Lu Xuan's participation in the Fengjian Sect's assessment was not for himself but for his sister, and this was the only chance!

With fifteen days left, he might still be able to improve his strength, giving him a better chance.

Determined, Lu Xuan quickly walked out.

However, not far from the Sword Testing Hall, his path was blocked.

Several strong servants stood in a row in front of Lu Xuan, and a young man with a carefree demeanor, fanning himself with a folding fan, walked up to Lu Xuan.

"Lu Xuan, you really came to register for the Fengjian Sect's assessment? Do you really think that with your meager strength, you could be chosen? Hahaha..."

The one blocking Lu Xuan's path was none other than a collateral descendant of the Long family, Long Yang.

Lu Xuan was not unfamiliar with Long Yang. In daily life, Long Yang often hung around with Long Tai, and it was Long Yang who had mentioned Lu Xuan's sister to Long Tai. Lu Xuan's hatred for Long Yang was no less than for Long Tai.

Hearing Long Yang's unrestrained laughter, Lu Xuan coldly snorted, "Long Yang, give up on that idea. No matter what, I will not let my sister marry into the Long family."

Long Yang couldn't help but sneer, "Have you ever seen a woman in Green Mountain Town that my third brother wanted but couldn't get? Your sister is no exception... One day, she will also become a plaything for my third brother! Maybe when he gets tired of her, I can have a taste too... Hahaha!"

Long Yang's tone was unspeakably lewd.

"As long as I am alive, you will not succeed!" Lu Xuan couldn't help but shout, hearing Long Yang's words defile his beloved sister.

"Whether you succeed or not is not up to you. I bet you are still hoping to enter the Fengjian Sect, right? Fine, I'll just cut off that hope for you." A wicked smile appeared on Long Yang's face.

Saying this, Long Yang gave a signal to the servants beside him, and they immediately understood, quickly moving forward toward Lu Xuan.

Seeing that Long Yang seemed to want to take action, Lu Xuan couldn't help but take a step back. He only had Second Stage Body Tempering strength, while the Long family's servants were at least Third Stage Body Tempering. One-on-one, Lu Xuan was no match, let alone against three or four of them.

The conflict between Lu Xuan and Long Yang was naturally noticed by some passersby. However, seeing that it was a family's young master bullying a commoner, everyone stayed far away, not wanting to get involved.

On this side, Lu Xuan had already engaged in a fight with the servants. The strength disparity was too great, and after only a few moments of resistance, one of the servants struck him on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Sir, what should we do with this boy?" The strongest servant asked Long Yang respectfully.

Looking around, Long Yang frowned. There were many people on the road. "Let's take him outside the city first."

If he were in Green Mountain Town with Long Tai, Long Yang would dare to kill someone in broad daylight. However, this was Lincheng, and Long Yang didn't dare to be too arrogant. Compared to a major family in Lincheng, a mere wealthy family in Green Mountain Town was nothing.

They quickly moved to a desolate area outside the city.

"Sir, should we kill him? Here in the wilderness, no one would know if he died." One of the servants suggested.

After a moment's thought, Long Yang shook his head, "Hmph, consider this boy lucky. I'll spare him this time, but I'll make sure he can't get out of bed for ten days. He wants to participate in the assessment, right? I want to see how he can do that."

Long Yang's status in the Long family was not high, and most of the time, he relied on Long Tai's influence. Without Long Tai, he didn't dare to be too arrogant. He didn't dare to kill Lu Xuan.

Following Long Yang's orders, the servants immediately began to beat the unconscious Lu Xuan. These servants had done such things many times and knew exactly where to hit to cause the most pain without killing. Even though Lu Xuan was already unconscious, the intense pain still made him show signs of suffering.

After finishing, Long Yang threw Lu Xuan into the wilderness and left with his subordinates. Whether Lu Xuan would be eaten by passing wild animals was not his concern...