Chapter 8

Zhang Fang looked at Gao Siyue's response and thought to himself, "This woman is indeed not simple. She has lofty ambitions and wants to directly join a top-notch sect. That's not going to be easy, I'm afraid."

However, it was clear that few people shared Zhang Fang's thoughts. Immediately, a crowd of people on the message channel started to flatter Gao Siyue, praising her for having "great aspirations" and "far-reaching ambitions." The more nauseating the comments, the better. Zhang Fang felt a chill run down his spine. This showed that Gao Siyue's popularity in the Chengdu area was quite high, with some even expressing their willingness to follow her to Emei.

But Gao Siyue replied, "You don't need to come. The road is quite dangerous. I just died once myself. I plan to run to Emei and set my respawn point there. Once I find out the requirements for joining the Emei Sect, I'll let everyone know."

When Gao Siyue's message appeared on the public channel, a large group of people were moved to tears. The message channel was soon filled with praise for Gao Siyue. Zhang Fang deeply felt that Gao Siyue was a master at gaining popularity.

After Gao Siyue went offline, Zhang Fang lost interest in watching others chat. He checked his remaining health points, which were at 31. He gritted his teeth and walked toward the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

The registration process went smoothly, and soon, Zhang Fang was led to an open area inside the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. The disciple who brought him in said, "Although you look a bit frail, we at the Zhenyuan Escort Agency treat all recruits equally. The first test is to hold a horse stance for a quarter of an hour without moving. If you can do that, you pass."

Hearing this, Zhang Fang sank into a horse stance. However, the character template he had was weak, and he felt as if his feet were not firmly planted, making him feel light and unstable.

The disciple in charge of the test didn't say much, just crossed his arms and stood in front of Zhang Fang, staring at him intently. If Zhang Fang made the slightest movement, he would be declared a failure immediately.

Not long after Zhang Fang assumed the horse stance, he noticed his stamina points starting to drop, and his body felt sore and as if it were about to fall apart. Realizing this, Zhang Fang knew he couldn't wait any longer and quickly opened his main attribute template, clicking several times on his stamina points.

Zhang Fang heard a series of crisp sounds and saw his stamina points rise from 100 to 400, but his potential points decreased from 25 to 22.

With the increase in stamina, the effect was significant. Although the rate of stamina depletion didn't decrease, the discomfort in his body disappeared.

A quarter of an hour passed, and Zhang Fang exhaled in relief, seeing that the gray sphere indicating his stamina was almost empty. He had barely passed the first test. The disciple nodded at Zhang Fang and said, "Not bad, your stamina is decent. You've passed the first test. Next, you just need to withstand three of my palm strikes to pass the second test.

However, these three palm strikes are not easy to withstand. If you can't, it's better to give up early. We at the Zhenyuan Escort Agency are not responsible for any injuries or deaths."

Zhang Fang's heart sank when he heard this. He quickly opened his main attribute template again and clicked seven times on his health points, feeling relieved when he saw his health points increase to 730/800.

"Come on, I can definitely withstand these three palm strikes," Zhang Fang shouted, feeling a surge of confidence with his increased health.

The disciple didn't waste any time, shouting, "First palm! Directly to the Yellow Dragon!"

As soon as he spoke, a pair of palm shadows shot through the air. Even before they reached Zhang Fang, the fierce palm wind stung his cheeks. Zhang Fang had no time to react and was struck in the chest by a large palm. He flew backward nearly ten meters and landed face down on the ground.

Zhang Fang's sudden movement drew the attention of those around him. The disciple who struck him shook his head and said, "I already told you not to force it. If that palm had killed you, don't blame me."

After saying this, the disciple took a few steps forward, seemingly to check on Zhang Fang's condition. However, as soon as he moved, Zhang Fang struggled to his feet, took a deep breath, and said, "Again."

The impact of the first palm was significant, but it was due to Zhang Fang's weak physique and zero defense. The disciple's palm strikes had a limit, and the first one only reduced Zhang Fang's health by about 100 points, causing some pain.

The disciple's eyes showed a hint of surprise but quickly returned to normal.

"Second palm! Blossom Shower!"

This time, the disciple kept one hand behind his back and used only one palm. However, Zhang Fang saw multiple palm shadows. He had no time to react and felt as if he had been hit at least twenty to thirty times. This time, he didn't fly backward because it was a fast palm technique with multiple strikes, each with less force, causing less pain. However, when Zhang Fang checked his health, he was shocked to see that the Blossom Shower had reduced his health by nearly 300 points, more than twice the power of the first palm.

With less than 300 health points remaining, Zhang Fang felt that withstanding the third palm would be very difficult. He was reluctant to spend more potential points, so he asked the disciple, "Brother, how powerful is the last palm compared to the second one?"

"About the same!"

Zhang Fang gritted his teeth and clicked once more on his health points, bringing his health to 398/900, which made him feel more at ease.

"Come on, let's get this over with. I still need to activate my secondary attribute template."

This time, the disciple didn't attack immediately. He stood up straight and said, "Be careful. The last palm is a soft palm technique. It uses hidden force to damage internal organs and is very likely to cause injury."

Zhang Fang didn't understand the differences between palm techniques, but he had no choice now. Even if it was a soft palm, he would have to endure it. If the leader of the Jiao Gang had come and used the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, he would have to endure that too.

Seeing that Zhang Fang was ready, the disciple moved, and Zhang Fang felt a blur in front of his eyes. He then felt a sharp pain in his chest and saw the disciple return to his original position, hands behind his back. "Three palms are over. If you can stand for half an incense stick's time without falling, you will be temporarily accepted into the Zhenyuan Escort Agency."

"Is that it?" Zhang Fang's face showed a hint of joy. He didn't feel anything special about the last palm, but when he checked his health, he almost jumped. His health was decreasing by one point per second, and his character template now showed a "mild internal bleeding" status instead of "minor bleeding."

Zhang Fang didn't know how long half an incense stick's time was, so he had to keep a close eye on his health. After one minute, his health was down to 278. Then came the second minute, the third minute...

Zhang Fang counted the seconds, and as his health dropped below 50, the disciple finally said, "Alright, half an incense stick's time is up. Congratulations, brother. You are now temporarily accepted into the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. I will now teach you one of our three major internal cultivation techniques, the Blossom Heart Sutra. If you can..."

"Brother, stop talking and teach me the Blossom Heart Sutra quickly!"

Seeing the disciple ramble on without teaching the internal cultivation technique, Zhang Fang became impatient. He was still in a "mild internal bleeding" state, and his health was about to run out.

Zhang Fang had added potential points directly to his health and stamina because he couldn't find a better way. If others knew, they would definitely scold him for being wasteful. After all, as Zuo Yuan had said, increasing physical strength not only boosts stamina and health but also increases resistance to negative statuses, making it much more cost-effective. Moreover, Zhang Fang had no money to visit the clinic and wanted to quickly activate his secondary attribute template to add two points to his physical strength and see if he could eliminate the "mild internal bleeding" status.