Chapter 2

"Li Wan, no matter how talented you are, you still can't enter the outer courtyard, hahaha..."

At the entrance of the Righteous Sect, in front of the mountain gate square, Yin Shaohua laughed wildly, mocking and humiliating the person before him.

This was a young man with a slender build and a delicate face, his clothes tattered and ragged, like a poor and destitute person in the secular world.

The young man seemed to be injured, his steps slightly unsteady, but he was determined and resolute, walking step by step toward the towering mountain gate.

At the mountain gate, two disciples in green robes stood with their swords, looking at him coldly.

The young man's lips moved, his expression complex as he looked at the mountain gate and the peaks behind it, hidden in the misty clouds of the spirit mountains.

In the end, all his sorrow turned into a long sigh.

"Senior Brother Li!"

Many of the surrounding disciples showed signs of sympathy, but thinking of the consequences of offending Yin Shaohua, they hesitated to step forward to console him.

Li Wan was originally an orphan in the secular world. By chance, he joined the Righteous Sect, one of the five major sects in the Tian Nan cultivation world.

He started as the most ordinary laborer, and within three years, he was granted the Righteousness Technique, his name recorded in the general register. After seven more years, he cultivated the Righteousness Technique to its perfect realm, becoming an outstanding named disciple.

Ten years of hard cultivation gave him a chance to ascend to the outer courtyard and become a formal disciple, but a year ago, he accidentally offended a clan disciple named Yin Shaohua. At that time, Yin Shaohua declared that no matter how outstanding Li Wan performed in the sect's examination, he would never be selected.

He wanted Li Wan to pay the price.

Indeed, the entrance examination had three major stages and nine minor tests. Li Wan excelled in every stage and test, but in the final stage, he encountered an outer courtyard supervisor who personally ordered him to duel with a powerful outer courtyard disciple. After dozens of moves, Li Wan was defeated, and he was judged to have insufficient skills, thus failing the examination.

Li Wan was不服 and tried to reason with the supervisor, but the supervisor said that the judgment was originally baseless, intended to test his character. Unexpectedly, he was found to have a restless heart and disrespectful attitude toward his seniors, and thus should be dismissed.

At this point, Li Wan knew that the supervisor was acting on Yin Shaohua's orders, deliberately making things difficult for him.

As for the reason for his dismissal?

When you want to frame someone, it's easy to find a reason!

"Restless heart, disrespectful to seniors... How ridiculous, how utterly ridiculous. These accusations, how did you even come up with them? Fine, I won't join such a sect." After his sigh, Li Wan suddenly laughed loudly, "The green mountains remain, the clear waters flow. Everyone, let's part ways here!"

Ten years of hard cultivation, defeated by a single light remark, Li Wan felt as if the sky had collapsed and the sun and moon had lost their light. Seeing that no one in the sect dared to speak up for him, despite knowing that Yin Shaohua was seeking personal revenge, he felt even more bitter.

For a moment, he was disheartened and walked unsteadily down the mountain path.

***

"Senior Brother Li... I'm sorry!"

That night, several disciples who had gained promotion资格 returned to the courtyard to pack their belongings and bid farewell to the other failed disciples and junior sect members.

They sneaked to Li Wan's room when the Yin family wasn't paying attention, to see him one last time.

"You have nothing to apologize for. When Yin Shaohua bullied you, I stepped in to help, which was my own doing." Li Wan didn't even look up, just focused on applying medicinal wine and promoting blood circulation.

In fact, the enmity between Li Wan and Yin Shaohua started because of these few people.

A year ago, Yin Shaohua bullied these disciples over trivial matters. Li Wan saw this and stepped in, beating up Yin Shaohua and his henchmen, warning him not to bully others.

Unexpectedly, after the incident, the disciples, fearing retaliation, went to apologize to Yin Shaohua and begged for mercy. When Yin Shaohua reported the matter to the sect, they refused to testify for Li Wan, leading to his punishment for causing a disturbance, which lasted a whole month.

From then on, Li Wan knew that these people were unreliable and cut off all contact with them.

Yin Shaohua, a petty and vengeful person, wasn't satisfied with just punishing Li Wan once. He demanded that Li Wan kneel and beg for mercy, and willingly become his follower, before he would let him go.

Although Li Wan came from a humble background, he had a high spirit and refused to agree, leading to another conflict.

This time, both sides were cautious and didn't come to blows, but the enmity was deepened, and they continued to clash openly and secretly.

Until later, when Yin Shaohua declared that he would make Li Wan suffer in the sect's examination, leading to today's outcome.

These disciples were well aware of the reasons, and Li Wan's words made them feel ashamed.

One of them, feeling guilty, said, "We don't ask for your forgiveness, Senior Brother. Fortunately, there are still many years left before the twenty-year deadline. With your talent, you can wait for another opportunity. In the future, when we achieve something in the outer courtyard, we will not forget you!"

Hearing this, Li Wan finally looked up and smiled, "After entering the outer courtyard, you will be esteemed cultivators. Your repayment, I cannot accept."

The others looked uncomfortable, but Li Wan waved them off, "It's late, Junior Brothers, please go back. You have a bright future ahead, no need to get entangled with me, a failed and unlucky person."

Someone wanted to say more but was pulled back by a companion.

"Then we will take our leave."

The few of them left, looking dejected.

"Senior Brother Lan, why did you pull us back?"

"Senior Brother Li is in a bad mood, let's not bother him. At this point, even if we were wrong, wasn't it also because he was too stubborn? If he had just given in to Yin Shaohua and apologized, nothing would have happened."

"Ah, this stubborn person, he just won't admit defeat, making it seem like we owe him something!"

"Indeed, once we enter the outer courtyard and learn the divine techniques, we will be transformed. We can repay this debt later."

"If he doesn't repent, he will remain an ordinary person all his life, how can he stand out?"

...

Listening to their conversation, which they seemed to want him to hear, Li Wan just smiled.

These people didn't know that Li Wan had already decided to leave and had no intention of arguing with them.

He even generously urged them to leave quickly, so as not to be seen by the Yin family and get involved with Yin Shaohua, ruining their bright future.

"Since I have already thoroughly offended Yin Shaohua, even if I pass the examination next year, without a powerful backer, I will still be suppressed. What's the point of staying? It's better to leave early."

Li Wan sighed lightly and shook his head.

He also knew that Yin Shaohua's destruction of his cultivation path was not just about the embarrassment he caused him.

On the surface, it was a personal grudge between him and Yin Shaohua, but in essence, it was about the disciples from humble backgrounds not being accepted by the noble families.

With his talent, although not the best, he was still a good candidate. This meant he would inevitably take up the allocation of precious materials and other resources that would otherwise go to other disciples...

If he had joined a noble family and found a patron, he might not have achieved great success, but at least these troubles could have been avoided. But then, how would he be different from those named disciples who apologized to Yin Shaohua and became his lackeys?

Of course, he could stay and fight with them, but they had many supporters, and he was just one person. Even if he could fight them, it would be a waste of energy, detrimental to his cultivation. It was better to leave this place and seek a broader horizon.

These reasons all contributed to Li Wan's decision to leave.

***

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Li Wan packed his belongings and left the mountain.

He had other plans and did not leave the place of sorrow immediately, but stayed at a temple at the foot of the mountain.

In this world, the path of cultivation was flourishing, and cultivators could be seen everywhere, but those who had not yet achieved the Golden Core stage were still considered ordinary people. Even if they called themselves cultivators, they still needed to eat, drink, and rest like ordinary people.

Li Wan, though eager to travel far, could not cover a thousand miles in a day. He still had to walk on foot, find lodging, and eat and rest. He needed to prepare properly for his journey.

Moreover, Li Wan had another urgent problem to solve.

This problem was that his funds were running low.

Li Wan came from a humble background and had focused on cultivation for many years, without preparing for this. Only when he was about to leave did he realize he didn't have enough funds.

"If I had known, I should have asked for a loan last night. But since I've decided to leave, asking for a loan would be like taking it for free, and it would make me look weak. I might as well think of a way myself."

Li Wan thought hard and realized that whether he planned to join another sect or become a wandering cultivator, he needed money.

In this world, without money, one couldn't take a single step.

As for how to earn money?

Li Wan's plan was to sell jade talismans to the secular people who came to the temple to learn cultivation.

Jade talismans are small magical tools inscribed with spirit stones, similar to amulets.

These jade talismans are very common in the cultivation world and are not considered high-quality. Their functions are limited to things like starting fires, repelling dust, and preventing dampness, but they are very popular among the wealthy secular people, who find them magical and useful.

Li Wan had learned this skill during his years at the temple, and as a named disciple, he had received rewards for his skills. Although he didn't usually save money, he still had over a hundred spirit stones, which could勉强应付.

"Ten spirit stones can be exchanged for one tael of silver in the secular world, but spirit stones are mainly used for refining tools or reinforcing magical arrays, and are not circulated in the secular world. Since I plan to leave, spirit stones are not as useful as silver, so I should exchange them for ordinary currency first."

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