Chapter 297: Xuanshui City, Three Elements Academy
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The autumn wind rustled, lifting fallen leaves into the air.
The brisk autumn breeze pierced to the bones, carrying a touch of chill.
A beast-drawn carriage traveled along the official road.
This carriage was quite ordinary, pulled by a bull beast commonly seen in the Eternal Clan. Although its endurance was outstanding, its legs’ strength was average and its speed was ordinary.
On the carriage, the words “Longhua Transport” were engraved.
Longhua Transport was the largest transportation company in the Eternal Clan, encompassing transportation vehicle rental services.
The bull beast-drawn carriage was a relatively low-end transportation vehicle under Longhua Transport rental business.
The driver, however, had an extraordinary aura.
His skin was rough, and on the surface, there were dark red patterns etched, combined with his towering stature, confirming his identity as a Firestone Clan member.
This person was Quan Chao.
There were not many vehicles on the official road.
Wealthy people either used teleportation arrays to move between cities or employed airships for shuttle service. Those who traveled by carriage on the official road were either poor or had time to spare.
While on the move, three people suddenly blocked the path. The obedient bull beast came to an immediate halt, and Quan Chao, the driver, fixed his gaze on the three individuals.
He surveyed the three people in front of him.
The three of them were all Aeonians, two women and a man. Although they were dressed simply, they exuded a young and beautiful aura.
One of the women took a step forward and said politely to Quan Chao, “Sir, are you also going to Xuanshui City?”
Quan Chao simply sized up the three of them. After confirming that two women were only at the eighth or ninth level of the Mortal Realm and the young man was only at the third level of the Physique Realm, he nodded and said, “Yes.”
The three of them were overjoyed.
The woman quickly said, “Then I wonder if you can give us a ride? We’re also heading to Xuanshui City, but our vehicle broke down on the way…”
As she spoke, she pointed and Quan Chao looked in the direction the woman was pointing. He could see a silver-white source-powered c small sedan parked by the roadside.
Frowning, Quan Chao was about to tell them to contact their insurance company when he heard Lu Ming’s voice from inside the carriage.
“Let them come up. There’s enough space in the carriage.”
Zhang Caixin, Wang Beibei, and Liu Ziqi boarded the bull-drawn carriage.
Upon opening the carriage door, they saw a young man sitting inside the carriage.
The man was tall, burly, and muscular, with a somewhat stiff and formal expression on his face, but overall, he was quite handsome. His robust physique added significantly to his attractiveness, giving a sense of security.
When they saw the man smile warmly at the three of them, Zhang Caixin and the other two also smiled back in gratitude.
Zhang Caixin, the girl who had just spoken to Quan Chao, said, “Thank you, big brother, for lending a helping hand. Otherwise, we don’t know how long it would take to reach Xuanshui City.”
As they spoke, the three of them sat on the bench opposite Lu Ming. Outside, accompanied by the low roar of the ferocious bull beast, the bull-drawn carriage started again and headed towards Xuanshui City.
Perhaps sensing that Lu Ming was not a talkative person, in order to avoid awkwardness, Zhang Caixin took the initiative to say, “This new technology is just unreliable. Originally, our car was driving very well but it went on strike just like that… The bull-drawn carriage is still more reliable.”
Lu Ming just smiled and did not respond.
Zhang Caixin continued, “By the way, Big Brother, are you also participating in this year’s Three Elements Academy entrance examination?”
This time, Lu Ming finally opened his mouth and said, “Yes.”
Zhang Caixin immediately covered her mouth and smiled, “We’re the same. Then perhaps we can become classmates…”
Upon hearing that Lu Ming was also a student who had come to study, the remaining two people no longer felt a little restrained. Wang Beibei chattered, “I guess Big Brother should be very strong. The entrance examination is probably in the bag. It’s just that the few of us are not strong enough. We don’t know if we can pass the entrance examination of the Three Elements Academy.”
Zhang Caixin said, “Liu Ziqi isn’t a big problem, but Bei Bei and I are in trouble.”
Liu Ziqi said humbly, “Don’t belittle yourself. I’ve cultivated since 1 was young and only now attain the strength of the third level of the Physique Realm. Moreover, as the head of the Hundred Factions, the assessment doesn’t just look at your current cultivation level. Comprehension, bone age, temperament, and the time you took to step onto the path of the extraordinary are all within the scope of the assessment.”
As he spoke, Liu Ziqi sighed inexplicably. “Unfortunately, we came from a small city in the countryside. Our natural resources are incomparable to the people in a large city…”
He had just become an adult and already had the strength of the third level of the Physique Realm. This strength was considered one of the top geniuses in the Aeonian countryside city. However, in a larger place, this talent was indeed nothing to be praised.
As the three of them spoke, they started chatting on their own.
Lu Ming only smiled and listened, but his thoughts gradually drifted away.
Xuanshui City, Three Elements Academy.
It was Lu Ming’s target location this time.
There was only one reason for choosing the Three Elements Academy—this academy was the head of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy.
The master of the Three Elements Academy was the master of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy: Jiu Han!
It was already late autumn and the entrance examination was about to begin.
According to Lu Ming’s calendar, today was the 637th day of the Black Mist Calendar.
More than ten days ago, Lu Ming had just arrived at the Eternal Clan’s Qinghe Province. He took the teleportation formation and rushed to the hinterland of the Aeonian Clan. Then, he rented a bull-drawn carriage and headed to Xuanshui City. He rushed along the way and happened to be stuck at the time when the entrance examination of the Three Elements Academy was about to begin.
“By the way,” Lu Ming suddenly said, interrupting the idle chat of Zhang Caixin and the other two. “Do you know what’s going on in Qinghe Province recently?” The three of them were stunned at first. Then, Liu Ziqi hurriedly said, “Big Brother, you’re talking about the battle in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, right?”
Lu Ming hurriedly nodded, “Yes, yes, yes. It’s about that place. When 1 set off from home, I heard that there seemed to be something going on there. I didn’t pay much attention to this matter after that.”
Wang Beibei asked curiously, “Big Brother, where’s your communicator?”
Lu Ming did not know anything about communicators. He said confidently, “It’s broken.”
The three of them did not dwell on this issue. Zhang Caixin said, “A week ago, there seemed to be a war over there. The news said that the Corpse Clan and the Insect Clan were ambitious and wanted to launch an invasion on our Eternal Clan, and then they started fighting in the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.”
“As for the specific situation of the battle, 1 saw on the news that we have the upper hand. The situation isn’t just a little good or somewhat good, but rather it’s very good. So, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
When Zhang Caixin mentioned “no problems,” the faces of the three of them remained calm, without any change.
This conversation also made Lu Ming realize three things.
One: That woman, Moon Fiend, had indeed taken action. Although he did not know how she did it, she did manage to incite a war.
Two: The Eternal Clan was very tolerant. This was because Zhang Caixin had used the words “our Eternal Clan” in her words. This meant that even if she could tell that Lu Ming was not an Eternal Clan member, she still regarded him as one of the Eternal Clan.
Speaking of inclusiveness, it was indeed a characteristic of the Eternal Clan.
Three: The Eternal Clan was very confident in the strength of their own group.
They were so confident to the point that the young people of their generation didn’t fear war, and they didn’t even feel like it was a war.
When they heard that the Aeonians and the Insect Clan and the Corpse Clan were fighting, their reaction was probably just to treat it as a news headline…
This was because they were certain that the Eternal Clan had no opponents in the Black Mist Zone.
It was hard to tell if this attitude was good or bad, and Lu Ming would not concern himself with such matters. He continued to chat with the three of them and asked about the situation in Xuanshui City and the Three Elements Academy.
This conversation lasted for nearly three hours.
Just as the sky was about to turn dark, they arrived at Xuanshui City..