A hidden corner of Hualong City
A Middle-aged man with Martial King cultivation, upon hearing the report from his subordinate in front of him, angrily threw the cup in his hand onto the ground.
"Truly useless, you can't even handle such a small matter, what use are you!"
"Lord Zhang Hao, you can't blame your subordinate! Your subordinate also didn't expect that youth to be so cunning, disappearing as soon as he left the Endless Swamp!" a black-clothed man said, trembling. It was clear he was extremely afraid of the Martial King before him.
"Scram!"
The black-clothed man retreated as if granted a great pardon.
The Middle-aged man coldly snorted, "Zhang Hao, I didn't expect to underestimate you, you actually managed to cross the Endless Swamp and come to Emperor City of the Hualong Empire. However, do you think you can pass the assessment just by arriving here? You're thinking too simply."
A mysterious Masked Man behind the Middle-aged man said in a hoarse voice, "Lord Zhang Hao, do you need this subordinate to send someone to find that youth?"
The Middle-aged man waved his hand and said indifferently, "There's no need for that. Since he wants to participate in the assessment, we can naturally find him. Otherwise, Emperor City of the Hualong Empire is so large, with a population of over a million. It's not easy to find one person in such a vast crowd. Let that youth live a few more days!"
Zhang Hao found an inn in Emperor City of the Hualong Empire and settled down. After Xiao Er poured him a pot of tea, Zhang Hao took out a silver ingot, placed it on the table, and asked Xiao Er, "Xiao Er, I have a few questions for you. If you answer well, this silver ingot is yours."
"Guest, you're too kind." Xiao Er's eyes lit up when he saw the silver ingot on the table.
"Do you know where the assessment locations for the various Colleges are this time?"
Xiao Er looked at Zhang Hao with increasing respect. He was just an ordinary person, naturally fearful of Martial Warriors.
"Guest, you've asked the right person. I'm quite familiar with Hualong City. This time, the assessments for the various Colleges are in the Shifang Mountain Range outside the city," Xiao Er said with a smile.
"Mm, then where is the registration location?" Zhang Hao asked.
"It's at the Goddess Plaza in the Hualong Empire. Registration closes the day after tomorrow, Guest, you still have plenty of time to register," Xiao Er replied respectfully to Zhang Hao.
"One last question, do you know how to get to Qianlong Pagoda?" Zhang Hao asked.
"Guest, our inn is very close to Qianlong Pagoda, just a hundred meters to the left and front outside the inn. Youths who come to Emperor City for the first time will all go to Qianlong Pagoda to participate in the assessment," Xiao Er said with a smile.
"Here, this silver ingot is your reward." Zhang Hao was quite satisfied with Xiao Er's answers. He generously gave him the silver ingot.
"Thank you, Guest, thank you, Guest," Xiao Er said, expressing his endless gratitude.
This silver ingot was equivalent to more than ten days of his wages.
Zhang Hao planned to participate in the Qianlong Pagoda trial first.
Since he was preparing to join the Three Great Academies, he needed a backup plan. Although he was confident he could join the Three Great Academies, for some reason, he always felt this trip wouldn't be so smooth. If he could enter the top 100,000 on the Qianlong Ranking, joining the Three Great Academies would be a sure thing. Even if the assessment failed, it wouldn't matter.
"Ding dong! Congratulations to the player for triggering a B-level side quest!" The System's notification sound rang out.
Zhang Hao was startled for a moment, then quickly entered the System to check the quest.
Quest level B, the player must obtain a ranking within the top 100,000 on the Qianlong Ranking.
Quest Reward: Houyi Bow component, the bowstring. Quest Failure: Level drops by three levels.
Holy cow. The reward is good! The Houyi Bow was originally incomplete. If he could get the Houyi Bow's bowstring, it would definitely upgrade the Houyi Bow's power. However, failing the quest and dropping three levels still made Zhang Hao feel terrified. After all, leveling up now was not easy for him. But since risk and opportunity coexist, he was still prepared to go for it.
Leaving the inn, Zhang Hao followed what Xiao Er had said and indeed found the location of Qianlong Pagoda. At this moment, there was a staff member in charge of registration.
"Do you want to participate in the Qianlong Pagoda trial?" The one in charge of registration was an Old man with messy hair.
"Mm!"
"Ten lower grade crystal stones!" The Old Man said indifferently.
"Cough cough! Senior, how much?" Zhang Hao thought he had misheard.
"Ten lower grade crystal stones!" The Old Man glanced at Zhang Hao.
"This... this is too expensive!"
Zhang Hao was truly dumbfounded.
Although Zhang Hao could completely afford these lower grade crystal stones, it didn't mean he was a spendthrift. One should know that one lower grade crystal stone was equivalent to one hundred thousand taels of silver. Ten would be one million taels. For ordinary Mortals, it was absolutely an astronomical figure. Now, just to register, the registration fee was this expensive. It was simply unbelievable.
"Hahaha... a poor wretch, coming to participate in the Qianlong Pagoda trial as well." A harsh voice came from behind Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao couldn't help but be surprised upon hearing this. He turned his head and looked with unfriendly eyes.
He found that the one speaking was a Blue-Clothed Youth. Beside the Blue-Clothed Youth was a Red-clothed girl. She looked around eighteen years old, as beautiful as a flower. However, she had an arrogant expression, looking down on everything.
"Kid, move aside. Don't waste time if you don't have crystal stones. Looking at you, you seem to be from out of town, right! I bet you haven't even seen crystal stones before!" The Blue-Clothed Youth said disdainfully.
"Whether I've seen crystal stones or not seems to have nothing much to do with you," Zhang Hao frowned.
Seeing that Zhang Hao actually dared to talk back to him, the Blue-Clothed Youth was immediately enraged. Pointing at him, he said, "You dare to talk back to me, do you know who I am?"
"I know! You're just an idiot!" Zhang Hao coldly snorted.
"You're looking for death!"
The Blue-Clothed Youth was provoked by Zhang Hao and was about to make a move.
"Stop it, if you cause trouble in Qianlong Pagoda again, don't blame this Old Man for throwing you all out." The Old Man in charge of registration coldly snorted. He exuded the aura of a Martial King.
With the Old Man angered, Zhang Hao and the Blue-Clothed Youth stopped arguing. The Blue-Clothed Youth gave a grudging smile, still filled with resentment towards Zhang Hao. However, Qianlong Pagoda held a special status. Even the Blue-Clothed Youth absolutely dared not cause trouble here.
"Kid, showing off here without money will cost you."
The Blue-Clothed Youth looked at Zhang Hao with a cold smile. He seemed certain that Zhang Hao couldn't produce the lower grade crystal stones.
Even the Red-clothed girl beside the Blue-Clothed Youth had the same thought.
"An idiot is an idiot!"
Saying this, Zhang Hao took out ten lower grade crystal stones and threw them onto the table, not one less.
After Zhang Hao registered his name, the Old Man took out a stone and said to him, "Drip a drop of blood on it!"
Although Zhang Hao didn't know the meaning of doing this, he still did as he was told.
"Go in! You need to queue!"
The Old Man took out an identity token and gave it to Zhang Hao, saying, "Keep it safe, if you lose it, it won't be reissued!"
After receiving the number tag, Zhang Hao entered Qianlong Pagoda and found that dozens of people were already queuing. This was because only ten people could enter Qianlong Pagoda at a time.
"Brother, is this your first time here too?"
Seemingly bored from waiting, a youth in front of him asked him in a friendly manner.
"Yes! How about you?"
"Me too. This time, I hope to enter the top million, so I can leave my name on Qianlong Pagoda," the youth said with a look of longing.
"Then congratulations to you," Zhang Hao said with a smile.
"How about you, Brother, do you have a goal?" the youth asked curiously.
"I hope to enter the top 100,000!" Zhang Hao said casually.
"Hahaha, you, aiming for the top 100,000, it's hard to say if you can even enter the top million! You're making me laugh to death."
The one speaking was precisely the Blue-Clothed Youth who had conflicted with Zhang Hao earlier. He was coming together with the Red-clothed girl.