Chapter 44: Chapter 41: What It Takes to Walk the Jianghu Is…
The scent of cotton-like, fragrant crispiness wafted over, and Li Hao could smell it from far away, this was made by Uncle Liu himself.
Don’t be fooled by Uncle Liu’s status as a small vendor; his deep-fried fragrant crispies were incomparable. His ability to set up a stall on the busiest street outside the Divine General Mansion for many years was a clear testament to his skill.
As the aroma lingered on the edge of the square, Li Hao arrived with Li Yuanzhao, they saw that the number of young men and women here had noticeably decreased, all hurrying towards the entrance stairs to Tan Palace Academy, but there were still quite a few figures lingering in front of each stall, their attire and decorations clearly from other provinces.
It was a rare trip to Qingzhou, so it might as well include sampling the local cuisine.
Li Hao saw a long queue in front of Uncle Liu’s stall, mostly comprised of women, as well as some house servants in line to purchase for their masters.
Li Hao pulled Li Yuanzhao to the end of the long queue and started waiting.
“Hao, haven’t you had breakfast yet?”
Li Yuanzhao couldn’t help but ask.
Li Hao nodded.
“Wait here, I’ll go buy some for you.”
As soon as Li Yuanzhao finished speaking, he called out to the front, “Uncle Liu, prepare two breakfasts for us!”
His voice was loud and clear, drawing the gaze of many in line. Seeing the two dressed in exquisite and expensive attire, they instantly recognized the wealthy youths they were.
At Uncle Liu’s stall, Ms. Liu was busy collecting money and catering to customers. Hearing Li Yuanzhao’s shout, she looked up and realized that it was Li Hao, the young master, standing behind. She hurriedly responded with a smile and conveyed to the hard-working Liu:
“It’s Young Master Hao from the Divine General Mansion, quickly make him two portions.”
Old Liu was momentarily taken aback, glanced up in the midst of his busyness, and, upon seeing the young man at the end of the line, couldn’t help but smile broadly on his wrinkled face.
To them, small vendors and lowly servants, the powerful and aristocratic often looked down upon them with disdain and contempt.
But Young Master Hao treated them all the same, without any reservations. Three years ago, he even sat down on the ground at their stall, helping them shout and sell. That scene truly startled the couple, leaving them feeling very flattered and surprised. Since then, they had remembered this unique young master from a distinguished family.
“You little rascal…”
Li Hao originally wanted to stop Li Yuanzhao, as it was fine to wait. Seeing Ms. Liu smile at him, he reluctantly led Li Yuanzhao to the front of the stall and quietly waited on the other side.
Next to them, the house servants who were in line kept throwing furtive glances but dared not say anything.
However, the women who were standing in line themselves had their faces fall and shot hostile glares, with someone discontentedly saying:
“Why should he be able to cut in line? It’s not fair!”
“Exactly!”
“Boss, you’re being unfair!”
Hearing these criticisms, Li Yuanzhao started to get anxious, about to reveal their identities from the Divine General Mansion, but was stopped by Li Hao, who held him back.
With things having come to this point, Li Hao had no choice but to step in to resolve the issue. Though feeling a bit helpless inside, he smiled at the complaining girls and then took out a piece of gold from his bag, handing it to Uncle Liu’s stall with a gentle voice:
“Ladies, there’s no need to get upset. Here’s fairness for you, five times the price.”
Ms. Liu was taken aback and hurriedly tried to put the gold back in Li Hao’s hand: “Young Master Hao, we cannot accept this!”
“No need for change, consider it payment for future purchases as well,” Li Hao said with a smile, pushing back any refusal, his gentle gaze leaving no room for argument.
Being small vendors often involved dealing with Jianghu, so their observational skills were quite sharp. Ms. Liu immediately understood and stopped insisting.
Li Hao then said, “Please trouble Uncle Liu, make it five servings.”
“Oh, of course!” Uncle Liu quickly agreed.
His own wife didn’t hold back anymore, so he just went ahead and did it.
Seeing Li Hao behave so extravagantly, the other girls in line couldn’t suppress their anger. Even at five times the price, a single crispy treat was affordable to them, but they didn’t want to be seen as suckers.
Soon, Li Hao had gotten his hands on five portions of the cottony Crispy Sweets and casually handed a bag to Li Yuanzhao before making his way out of the crowd.
“So many, Hao, can you finish them all?”
Li Yuanzhao, holding the bag Li Hao had given him and after taking a bite, exclaimed, “This is really delicious; no wonder Hao likes it!”
Li Hao smiled and returned to the front of the carriage, where he saw Qing Zhi and Li Fu standing guard at the back of the carriage. He handed each of them a bag.
“Young master, haven’t you gone to the entrance stairway yet?” Li Fu, taking the breakfast, looked at Li Hao with some astonishment.
Li Hao replied, “I need to fill my stomach first, don’t I?”
Li Fu was speechless, but after following Li Hao for five or six years, he had come to understand the young master’s temperament and didn’t say much more. After all, they had an invitation.
Li Hao returned to the front of the carriage and glanced at Ming, who was sitting on the carriage seat. Although Ming was from Piaoxue Courtyard, he was quite courteous to Li Hao on normal days, so Li Hao handed him a portion as well.
“Thank you, Young Master Hao.”
Ming quickly took it with both hands, stood up, and expressed his gratitude.
Immediately, he showed the same curiosity as Li Fu and asked, “Young Master Hao, haven’t you… gone to the entrance stairway yet?”
“I’ll go after I finish eating,” Li Hao said.
Li Ming was slightly dumbfounded. Young Master Liu and Miss Zhi Ning were probably already inside the mountain gate by now, and here Young Master Hao was still loitering at the foot of the mountain. Indeed, just as the rumors said, he really was at ease…
After eating and drinking his fill, Li Hao, followed by the impatient Li Yuanzhao, pushed through the crowd to the entrance stairway.
It was called a stairway, but it was actually a long series of steps.
Reportedly, there were a thousand of them leading to the entrance of Tan Palace Academy.
This was also the first test of Tan Palace Academy.
Simply climbing a thousand steps wasn’t difficult, but on the other side of the steps next to the forest, there were figures leaping up and down—clearly, all manner of monkey demons.
Though they were demonic creatures, they were tamed by Tan Palace Academy.
The figures attempting the entrance stairway would, during the climb, be harassed and attacked by these monkey demons. If one couldn’t reach the peak within ten breaths while evading the attacks, they would be considered to have failed the first challenge.
This test was not easy by any means. Just climbing required the strength of someone in the sixth or seventh level of the Power Passage Realm, not to mention the need to dodge the sneak attacks of the monkey demons, which was a true test of observation and movement technique.
“Miss, this challenge seems quite difficult!”
In the crowd, a maid holding an umbrella said nervously to the white-clothed young lady beside her.
“It’s nothing difficult, just a minor first test that won’t defeat me,” the young lady said with calm assurance, her gaze sweeping through the crowd, “Compared to this challenge, there seem to be quite a few strong competitors among these people…”
With her outstanding insight, Si Xiaolan saw many from noble families as she looked around.
Among them, some had a higher status than the Si Family, while others were slightly inferior.
“Miss, those two over there seem to be young masters from the Divine General Mansion in Qingzhou,” the maid, standing on tiptoes and looking around, suddenly pointed to a place on the left.
Si Xiaolan looked up, recognized the sleeve pattern, and nodded slightly: “Correct.”
Just as she was taking note, the two men were also about to register for entry.
Si Xiaolan’s heart stirred, and she immediately stepped forward to register as well.
“What of the Divine General Mansion? I’ve heard that the Li Family are all True Dragons, but I want to see just how much I fall short.” Si Xiaolan thought to herself, her eyes shining with a glimmer of light, betraying a stubborn fighting spirit.
“Age, Place of Birth, Name.”
“Jizhou, the Si Family.”
In front of the registration staff, Si Xiaolan only gave her family name. The registration for the first challenge was rather casual, sure enough, upon hearing the name ‘Si Family,’ the staff member looked up at the young girl, then nodded and said:
“Go ahead, do you know the rules? No matter the method, just reach the summit within ten breaths.”
“Ten breaths? That’s too long.”
A young man in luxurious clothing said indifferently from the side.
Si Xiaolan glanced at him, recognizing him as the scion of a well-known family from another state, and her gaze grew even brighter.
“Miss, they are all nobility, should we wait for the next batch…” Next to her, a maidservant hesitated nervously, tugging at the young girl’s sleeve.
“What’s there to fear?”
Si Xiaolan’s eyes sparkled brilliantly: “What counts in Jianghu is not one’s reputation, but true martial prowess!”
After speaking, she instructed her maidservant to wait obediently there and followed the others into the arena.
She wanted to compare herself in secret.
“Get ready.” Beside them, an elder who seemed deep in meditation lifted his eyelids and spoke lightly.
Everyone adjusted their breathing and loosened up their joints.
“Yuan Zhao, go for it.” Li Hao encouraged Li Yuanzhao with a smile.
The kid insisted on relying on his own abilities to overcome this challenge, and Li Hao could only let him be.
“Yes!”
Li Yuanzhao nodded firmly.
The others glanced at Li Hao, finding his words rather odd, but they didn’t think much of it.
At that moment, following the elder’s command, over ten people burst into action simultaneously!
Whoosh!
A fierce wind suddenly swept up from the side, and Li Yuanzhao’s figure shot out like a cannonball, taking the lead explosively, leaving a depressed mark where he stood.
In the blink of an eye, he stepped onto the hundredth stair, then with another stride, he surged ahead like a hurricane, rapidly reaching the summit!
In total, it took him merely three breaths.
Li Hao knew that for Yuan Zhao, who had achieved Cycle Heaven Realm Perfection, this did not count as exerting his full strength.
When Si Xiaolan saw Li Yuanzhao’s figure burst forth, her lovely eyes slightly contracted; she then also suddenly unleashed her power, transforming into a white light and chasing after him swiftly, but was quickly left behind.
Midway, a Demon Ape suddenly attacked, but she was well-prepared, nimbly dodging with a butterfly-like spin, and after a few leaping steps, she finally reached the peak.
She counted, seven breaths.
As she arrived, several others reached the summit almost at the same time.
After ten breaths, out of twelve people, only seven passed.
Those standing on the summit looked at the short and stout individual with complex expressions in their eyes, showing a hint of shock.
The speed at which Li Yuanzhao had exploded was terrifying, the mere wind generated by his movement had the force of a tiger’s roar.
Is this the prodigy of the Divine General Mansion? The gap is too great.
Si Xiaolan’s expression grew solemn as she sized up the little chubby boy, who appeared to be a year or two younger than herself, feeling an extremely uncomfortable sensation deep inside—a profound sense of defeat.
At this time, someone noticed that of the two from the Divine General Mansion, only one had reached the summit.
Some looked back in amazement to find a figure on the staircase, walking at a leisurely pace.
And the Demon Apes around him did not launch any attacks.
“Hao.”
Li Yuanzhao turned around and waved to greet him.
Soon, Li Hao also reached the summit, smiling at Li Yuanzhao.
“Does he also count as having passed?” someone asked in surprise and doubt.
“But didn’t the ten breaths pass a long time ago?”
The crowd was befuddled.
There was an elder on the summit too, in charge of verifying the candidates. Hearing their discussion, he said indifferently, “You’ve all passed, go to the second challenge. That’s where you might lose your life. If you want to quit, you can give up. After all, there are other noble families that will take disciples.”
The statement left everyone speechless and conveyed his confidence.
“Does he also count as having passed?” Si Xiaolan asked with a frown, pointing at Li Hao.
“Of course, he has an invitation,” the elder said calmly.
“An invitation?”
“Tan Palace Academy actually has invitations?”
All were wide-eyed and astonished, clearly learning of such a thing for the first time.
While everyone struggled, was there someone who simply took a boat? And this boat ticket was personally given by the Tan Palace Academy!
Li Hao gave a smile to the upright young lady in white, wanting to tease her a bit. He took out the invitation from his breast pocket, shook it, and then went straight on his way.
Si Xiaolan was stunned for a moment, recalling her earlier words that success in Jianghu depends on martial skills… Martial skills my foot, his success came from having powerful support! Annoyed at Li Hao’s showing off, she stomped her foot fiercely and then followed him, gritting her teeth.
Before long, they arrived at the second challenge.
Not far beyond the summit, there was a cliff, and chains were nailed below it, linking to the other side.
Each chain was widely spaced from the next, meaning one could only step on one chain at a time.
A chasm of ten thousand feet, traversed by walking on a lone chain?
Some faces went pale, and they began to have second thoughts.
Si Xiaolan’s eyes narrowed slightly and her palms sweat, but soon after, she cast a look at the two arrogantly imposing figures ahead.
Here, she couldn’t possibly still rely on an invitation, could she?
She sneered inwardly.