A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 355 Liu Shushan

At the mouth of the canyon, the dark crowd gradually dispersed.

The servants of the Internal History Department, holding registration books, walked into the crowd and began to check the sect cloud certificates and assessment approval slips of those who passed the first assessment.

Duan Rong only then understood why no one checked them when they first entered the canyon.

Since 70% of the registered disciples will be eliminated, wouldn't it be a waste of time to check them at that time?
Soon, an old servant stepped onto the altar, walked in front of Duan Rong, bowed respectfully, and said with a smile: "Brother, please show me the sect's cloud certificate."

The old man had gray hair on his temples, and was obviously an old man in the sect, but he was very respectful to Duan Rong, with a smile on his face. This was naturally because Duan Rong was the first person to take the soul test, and he was only half a step away from stepping onto the altar.

His future achievements are limitless. With such talent, it will not be difficult for him to enter the Council of Elders in the future.

There were only eleven people on the altar who had crossed the red line.

The old servant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs checked and registered everything one by one, then bowed and left.

But his task was not easy at all. He had to go back and organize people to sort out the detailed information of these eleven people and submit it to the Council of Elders as soon as possible, especially the information of Duan Rong, which must be collected in every detail.

After the old man left, Duan Rong stood at the edge of the altar and stared at the huge statue in the south of the valley.

This stone statue is so huge, but it still looks authentic and is almost indistinguishable from the image of Acalanatha in his mind.

But Duan Rong knew very well that carving such a large mountain statue would be much more difficult than carving a small stone statue.

There must be a clear plan and people should be divided into several groups, each responsible for a part.

Moreover, each group of people must have a clear-headed organizer and a group of skilled craftsmen to implement the plan.

But even so, this huge mandala connecting heaven and earth may take several years to complete.

Using the mountain as a base and carving it into stone statues, which are so lifelike and authentic, is truly an immeasurable undertaking.

If this place were in the previous life, it would probably be one of the eight wonders of the world.

Duan Rong stood there, marveling at the grandeur of the huge mandala before him.

At this moment, a figure suddenly walked slowly to Duan Rong's side.

Duan Rong turned his head and saw this man. He was not tall and was very thin, but his face was full of smiles. He bowed to Duan Rong and said, "My name is Liu Shushan. What's your name, brother?"

Duan Rong recognized this man at a glance. He was the one at the opposite entrance of the canyon. Apart from himself, he was the person closest to the altar.

And he didn't faint at the end. It can be seen that he didn't take the last step.

Duan Rong turned around, clasped his fists and said in return: "I am Duan Rong."

As soon as Duan Rongfang turned around, his eyes jumped slightly.

I saw the rest of the people on the altar. Some stood in the corner with sullen faces, while others were chatting and making friends with each other...

He was standing alone at the edge of the altar, staring at the statue in a daze, which naturally gave people a feeling that no one was allowed to enter, so no one came up to talk to him.

When Liu Shushan came over, he was prepared to be rejected, but Duan Rong's demeanor and words were very easy-going, and the two of them soon started chatting.

During this conversation, I found out that Liu Shushan was actually from Ruyang Prefecture.

Ruyang Prefecture is located right next to Yuanyang Prefecture in the southeast. Duan Rong had been there several times when he was escorting goods for Yuanshun Escort Agency.

The two chatted more and more enthusiastically.

When a few people saw Duan Rong turning around, they also wanted to go up and talk to him, but when they saw that he was chatting animatedly with Liu Shushan, they didn't dare to disturb him.

While Duan Rong and Liu Shushan were chatting on the altar, there was a lot of noise around the altar.

These eleven people did not need to participate in the second assessment, so after registering, Lao Sheren left.

However, everyone under the altar had to participate in the second assessment. After checking and registering, the servants of the Internal History Department had to stamp each of their assessment slips with numbers in preparation for the second assessment.

When Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan and Shen Mizhi were standing at the entrance of the altar with the stamped approval slips waiting for Duan Rong, Liu Shushan was still beside the stone railing, talking incessantly to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong was already feeling a little dry-mouthed, but this man was still beaming with joy, and became more and more excited as he spoke.

Duan Rong turned his head to look at Xiao Yu and the others at the altar, and a barely perceptible hint of impatience flashed across his eyes.

Liu Shushan immediately became alert. He turned his head slightly and saw Xiao Yu and the others. Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan looked at him with strange eyes.

Liu Shushan smiled awkwardly. He had just gotten a little too excited. He immediately said goodbye to Duan Rong and left.

Duan Rong then slowly walked up to Xiao Yu and the others.

Xiao Yu glanced at Liu Shushan's back, then looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Who is this person?"

Before Duan Rong could answer, Ximen Kankan interrupted and said, "He's so thin and short, like a monkey, and he's dancing around like that..."

Ximen Kankan imitated Liu Shushan's excited way of speaking and gesticulating, which made Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi laugh.

Duan Rong also smiled and said, "His name is Liu Shushan, and he is from Ruyang Prefecture."

Duan Rong was looking at Xiao Yu when he said this.

Because Xiao Yu had worked in the escort agency longer than him and had been to Ruyang Prefecture countless times.

Xiao Yu's expression changed slightly. "Really? It's someone from Ruyang Mansion."

In these endless mountains, meeting someone who is very close to home will inevitably give rise to a sense of intimacy in your heart.

Ximen Kankan said, "Next time you see him, tell him that I gave him a nickname, Liu Monkey."

Duan Rong said: "You should say this to him yourself if it means you're going to get beaten."

Duan Rong and his friends walked out of the valley while chatting.

After all, the four of them had passed the first test, and the atmosphere was still very cheerful when they got together.

They returned to Duan Rong's hilltop and had a sumptuous dinner.

And they opened the last jar of fruit wine of Ximen Kankan, and the four of them drank in the cave until they were slightly tipsy. Moreover, Shen Mizhi was not able to hold her liquor and actually got drunk.

After they dispersed, Xiao Yu saw Shen Mizhi was drunk and unconscious, so she stayed to take care of her. Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan went to the cave over there and slept.

The next day, they took a day off.

On the third day, just after daybreak, several people got up early as they were rushing to take part in the second test.

Duan Rong yawned and followed Xiao Yu and the others along the edge of the cliff towards the cable car.

Shen Mizhi turned her head and glanced at Duan Rong, and said, "Don't you have to take part in the second test? Why are you following along?"

Duan Rong said, "With you and Ximen Kankan, neither of you can rest assured. I'll go help Xiao Yu keep an eye on you."

"Hey..." Shen Mizhi laughed, "You haven't even gotten married yet, but you're already acting like a brother-in-law."

Shen Mizhi said, and gently touched Xiao Yu with her shoulder. "Ah..."

Xiao Yu's face was already red. When Shen Mizhi touched his shoulder, he looked up and rolled his eyes at her.

Shen Mizhi immediately stopped talking and just smiled with her lips pursed.

Duan Rong walked behind, secretly shaking his head. This Shen Mizhi was born sarcastic. After Duan Rong and his team crossed three iron ropes, they came to a platform halfway up a mountain.

It can be seen that the platform here is quite wide, and on the ground, there are large circles drawn with red lines.

The large, blindingly red circle stretched far into the distance, making people dizzy.

At the entrance to the platform, there was a wooden fence and a small wooden door that was open. Several people from the Judgment and Administration Bureau were guarding the door.

There was a checker who was checking the sect's cloud certificate and assessment approval slip of the person who came.

Check one and put one in.

At this time, it was still early and there were only four or five people at the door. Duan Rong and the others walked over quickly.

The man checked it very quickly and put it in after just two glances.

Soon, Ximen Kankan, Shen Mizhi, and Xiao Yu were all let in and waited near the door.

Duan Rong stood by the door and handed the sect's cloud certificate and the assessment approval slip to the man.

The man opened the sect's cloud certificate, looked at Duan Rong's portrait, and was about to let him go when he suddenly discovered that there was no stamp and number for the second round on Duan Rong's assessment approval slip.

The man frowned, stared at Duan Rong and asked, "Why are there no numbers and seals on these notes?"

Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu and the others. Since the investigation was so strict, he had to withdraw.

Duan Rong was about to explain when he saw a figure jumping out from behind the person checking.

Yang Yi arrived at the second examination site early. He had someone move a chair and place it not far from the door.

Then he curled up in the armchair, with one leg raised high on the armrest, and half-closed his eyes to catch up on his sleep.

The reason why Yang Yi dared to sit here in such an untidy manner and catch up on his sleep was because he knew that the sect's top leaders did not care much about this second assessment, and not a single elder from the Council of Elders came.

There was a historian from the Internal History Department, and he was the leader of the Judgment and Registrar Department. In this second round of assessment, he was in charge of at least half of the situation, and he could do whatever he wanted.

Yang Yi was curled up in the armchair with his eyes half closed, when he suddenly heard someone shouting at the door, saying something about there being no number on the assessment approval slip or something.

He thought someone was faking something, so he immediately became alert, stood up from the armchair, jumped to the door, and shouted coldly, "What happened?"

The inspector at the door immediately handed Duan Rong's sect certificate and assessment approval slip to Yang Yi and said, "This guy, there is no number and stamp for the second round on his assessment approval slip."

Yang Yi rubbed his sleepy eyes and flipped over the assessment approval slip. Sure enough, the place where the stamp should be was empty.

He smiled, raised his head, looked towards the door, and saw Duan Rong standing there.

Duan Rong was a little embarrassed when he saw Yang Yi looking at him, so he explained, "It's Manager Yang! These three are my good friends from the same hometown. They are taking part in the second assessment today, and I wanted to follow them to see. Since it's not convenient, I will leave now."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he waited for Yang Yi to return his sect's cloud certificate and assessment approval slip to him.

When the person who was checking saw Duan Rong like this, he couldn't help but sneer and looked at him with some mockery in his eyes.

He has been following Yang Yi for several years and knows the temper of their manager Yang very well. He is always finding faults with others and is born to make things difficult for them. In this case, who knows if this guy is an imposter? He fell into the hands of Manager Yang and wanted to get away with it just because it was inconvenient.

That’s really a nice thought!

But at this moment, Yang Yi suddenly said, "It's convenient. How can it be inconvenient? Brother Duan, please come in!"

Yang Yi said this, raising his right hand with a very friendly look.

Duan Rong was slightly stunned and walked in.

The man checking at the door froze in place as a sneer appeared on his face.

"Duan...Brother?!"

When Duan Rong approached, Yang Yi held up Duan Rong's sect certificate and assessment approval slip with both hands and placed them in front of him.

Duan Rong was a little surprised, and immediately took it, clasping his fists and saying, "Thank you, Manager Yang."

Yang Yi also smiled and said, "Brother Duan, you don't have to be polite. If you help others, you will also help yourself. Besides, the first time is a new beginning, the second time is familiarity. There is a long way to go between you and me!"

Yang Yi was still thinking about how to mend his relationship with Duan Rong the day before yesterday, but he didn't expect someone to send him a pillow when he was dozing off. Today, he encountered this incident. If he didn't take the opportunity to do Duan Rong a favor, and tried to stop him from leaving again, the relationship would become more and more estranged. How would he deal with him in the future?

Duan Rong's eyes moved when he heard that. He could naturally hear that Yang Yi was trying to establish a relationship with him.

Duan Rong thanked Yang Yi again before leaving.

Yang Yi looked at the backs of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu as they left, then yawned with satisfaction.

Yang Yi turned his head and saw the man standing there in a daze with a look of shock.

When the man saw Yang Yi calling the ugly guy "Brother Duan", he felt a little uneasy. But later, Yang Yi was actually very respectful to the man, just like a brother.

He really didn't understand. Yang Yi had Yang Sixian as his powerful backer, so why would he be so humble to a registered disciple who was taking the exam?
This person was not present in the Valley Assessment the day before, so he naturally didn't know that the plain-looking guy was the one who almost stepped onto the altar.

Yang Yi saw that person standing stupidly at the door, and there were already several people standing outside the door, the front one was a female disciple. She saw that the person who was checking was standing with his back to her, looking at the four people who were leaving not far away. Judging from their clothes and ages, those four people should be the same as her, registered disciples who were taking the test.

"Why are you just standing there, not working?"

Yang Yi said this indifferently, then walked back to the armchair and snuggled in to take a nap.

The man finally woke up and turned around. He saw that there were already quite a few people standing outside the door. Standing in the front was a beautiful female disciple, who was looking at him with a rather strange look.

The man was a little embarrassed and pretended to cough before taking the sect's cloud certificate and assessment approval slip from the female disciple.

Duan Rong and his team have arrived at a designated waiting area on the edge of the large platform.

There were two or three people from the Internal Affairs Department, shouting at everyone to stand in line according to their numbers.

And next to each of the big red circles on the big platform, there was a person from the Internal Affairs Bureau standing with a pen in hand.

During the competition later, they will record the results of victory and defeat and monitor the process.

Yes, the second test is a one-on-one duel.

Within the big red circle, anyone who steps on the red line, goes out of the circle, or loses combat effectiveness will be judged as a failure.

There are two rounds of fighting. The winner of the first round will pass the assessment.

The loser of the first round will proceed to the second round.

The winner is qualified and the loser is eliminated.

This means that this second assessment will only eliminate a quarter of the people, while most people will be able to pass.

This is completely different from the first assessment, which was so brutal that 70% of the people were eliminated directly.

This also shows the sect’s thoughts.

Those who pass the soul test are considered promising talents in the sect's eyes. At the very least, they can enrich the sect's strength. At the very least, they can be sent out to manage the secular world for the sect.

Therefore, this second round of assessment is obviously much milder.

(End of this chapter)