The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

"Hehe, I'm just afraid that you won't be able to make a scene, and you'll lose face..."

The group was discussing how to curry favor with the Lotus Sect, indicating that the sect indeed wielded considerable influence in Skyfire City. Of course, Fang Yun didn't care about such matters.

Upon learning that the Lotus Sect was located on Lotus Mountain in the east of the city, Fang Yun immediately hired a carriage and drove the two of them towards the foot of the mountain.

Hearing their accents, the coachman asked curiously, "Young masters, are you here to study under the Lotus Sect? The selection criteria here are very strict. If you don't have talent, you'll be rejected. Over the years, I've seen many people leave disappointed."

The old man rushing to catch the carriage kindly offered a reminder.

"Oh? Is the Lotus Flower Sect really that prestigious?" Fang Yun asked.

"That's right. Even those gatekeepers, if they went anywhere else, everyone would treat them like royalty. Regardless of whether these disciples have the backing of the Lotus Sect, their own strength is enough to make them at least Grand Martial Masters."

A hint of surprise flashed in Fang Yun's eyes. He hadn't expected that the Lotus Flower Sect would actually have some strength. If he were a Grand Martial Master, he could have opened his own martial arts school and become the headmaster in other small places. He never expected that he could only be an ordinary gatekeeper here.

Lianhua Mountain is quite a distance from Tianhuo City, but along the way you can see quite a few people, some coming to pay their respects, and many more coming for sightseeing. After all, the path of martial arts cultivation is extremely difficult. First, you need to have the talent in this area, and then you also need to consider the extent of that talent.

For many people, becoming a Grand Martial Master in their lifetime is already a great achievement, let alone the higher levels of Martial Master or even Martial Profound, which are like legends in the sky.

As for cultivating magic, Fang Yun hasn't yet openly inquired about any places on this continent where it's taught.

On the one hand, the threshold for cultivating magic is higher. It can be said that out of ten martial arts practitioners, only one can successfully cultivate magic. On the other hand, it is difficult to improve one's level by cultivating magic. Many people spend their whole lives simply practicing a few moves. They would rather spend that time cultivating martial arts, which is much more cost-effective.

This directly results in the fact that there are very few groups of people in the cultivation community who can be trained in a unified manner; there are more individual practitioners, and the number of people is very small.

After a short while, the carriage finally stopped at the foot of a mountain gate.

Fang Yun got out of the car and saw a towering staircase with hundreds of steps in front of him. This was only the foot of the Lotus Sect's mountain gate, and to see the mountain gate, one had to go at least halfway up the mountain.

"Good luck to you two young masters."

The old driver took the money, said goodbye, and headed back.

Chapter 710 The Arrogant Gatekeeper

Now that they had arrived at the Lotus Flower Sect's mountain gate, Fang Yun and his companion did not hesitate any longer and headed straight up the steps.

The mountain looks incredibly tall, with steps that seem to stretch endlessly. Under normal circumstances, it would certainly be a great place to climb or hike. But now, because of this sect on top, the entire mountain has taken on a mysterious air.

As for why the sect was built on such a high mountaintop, one reason was to prevent others from disturbing it, and the other was to establish the sect's mysterious image.

Many tourists have heard about this place, but if they really want to go up and see it, they won't be able to see it in less than several hours of climbing, which discourages many people.

Fang Yun and Wang Hai were fast enough that it didn't take long for them to reach the halfway point of the mountain. In the distance, they could see a signboard.

Next to it was a stone tablet with the three large characters "Lotus Sect" written in bright red on it.

"If this were in our area, a sect like this would probably have been turned into a tourist attraction long ago. A place like this, which still retains such an atmosphere and antique charm, is probably only found in remote places like this."

Fang Yun sighed. After all, in modern society, people's pursuit of this kind of thing has gradually diminished.

Although there were many such sects and some masters in the past, they gradually abandoned their previous methods and began to transform, as they could earn more income by opening tourist areas or appearing in the media and making news.

While this is understandable, it inevitably leads to the gradual loss of this culture in the long river of history, which is very regrettable.

Without further hesitation, the two headed straight for the mountain gate.

The sun was quite strong at this time, and it was already midday, making the two of them feel rather stuffy. Several gatekeepers stood ramrod straight at the mountain gate, and as soon as they saw Fang Yun and his companion approaching, they asked what was happening.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Our sect is holding an important ceremony recently, so sightseeing is not allowed during these days. Please leave."

Clearly, these disciples mistook Fang Yun and his companion for tourists who had come up the mountain.

"Brothers, you've misunderstood. We came here specifically to pay a visit. I have a relative who lives in your family, so I wanted to go and see him."

At this moment, Wang Hai stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.

Upon hearing Wang Hai's words, the disciples smiled slightly: "I wonder who you're referring to? If it's true, I can let you go up."

Wang Hai hesitated for a moment before saying his sister's name. The others immediately opened the roster to check, but they couldn't find the name Wang Xiaoya.

"You're not lying to us, are you? Are you just here to make fun of us? This person isn't even on the list."

The disciples' expressions darkened slightly, clearly because Jiang Wanghai had mistaken them for charlatans who were deliberately using this excuse to try and get up the mountain.

They had seen people like this before, but after teaching them a lesson, they hadn't appeared again for a long time. They never expected to run into them again today.

"My sister only recently joined the sect, so she probably hasn't been added to the register yet."

Wang Hai quickly explained.

"Alright, stop making fun of us. This is the last warning you: get off the mountain right now, or don't blame us for being impolite."

The disciples had already concluded that Wang Hai had come deliberately to cause trouble, so they shouted at him to leave.

Wang Hai had gone through so much trouble to get here, all to find his sister. Naturally, he couldn't leave now, so he cupped his hands again and pleaded, "Please, everyone, be lenient with me. I am truly looking for my sister, and I have not deceived you."

Seeing this, Fang Yun also came over.

"Gentlemen, could you please make this convenient for us? We wouldn't have bothered you here if we weren't looking for someone."

Those disciples did indeed snort coldly upon hearing this.

"Who knows what your purpose is in coming here? There have been plenty of people like you over the years. If you want to go in, you can, but let me see your sincerity first."

"Sincerity?"

Wang Hai frowned.

“It’s hot now, and we brothers are parched. Could you take this bucket down the mountain and fetch us some water?”

As he spoke, one of the disciples pointed to a wooden barrel on the side.

Upon hearing this, Wang Hai walked over, picked up the wooden bucket without thinking, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "I'll be right back, please wait a moment."

The disciples sneered, said nothing, and watched Wang Hai's figure gradually disappear.

Fang Yun stood aside without saying much. If Wang Hai could get the water up and get out, then the matter would be over.

Chapter 711 Privately Set Up Arena

The mountain path was rugged, and he had to go back and forth to find water and carry buckets. By the time Wang Hai returned, it was already half an hour later.

Although Wang Hai was sweating profusely from the heat, it didn't stop him from excitedly putting the bucket back on the spot.

"Masters, I have brought the water. May we proceed up the mountain now?"

Wang Hai walked up to the group and asked respectfully.

One of the disciples said, “We have enough water to drink now, but we are all sweating profusely. We all want to take a shower to cool off. There are two wooden buckets over there. Fill them with water and bring them up. Then we will consider letting you go up the mountain.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Hai frowned, then turned to look at the two empty wooden barrels. He gritted his teeth, walked over, and picked one up with each hand.

Fang Yun's expression suggested he wanted Wang Hai to give him one, but Wang Hai refused.

“Young Master Fang, I am already very grateful that you came to 993 with me. How could I let you do such rough work? Let me do it myself.”

After saying that, Wang Hai quickly picked up the wooden bucket and ran down the mountain.

Fortunately, Wang Hai is one of the organization's top assassins, and his physical condition has remained quite good over the years. If it were an ordinary person, even carrying half a bucket of water would be difficult to traverse on such a mountain path.

Although Fang Yun was unhappy with Wang Hai's behavior, he couldn't think of any better solution at the moment, so he could only let Wang Hai go down to fetch water.

This time, it clearly took Wang Hai much longer to fetch the water than before. Wang Hai looked as if he had just taken a bath; carrying two buckets of water up and down the mountain under the scorching sun was no easy feat.

"Gentlemen, I've brought the water. You can use it now." (bjbd)

Wang Hai slammed the bucket down and collapsed to the side, panting heavily.

The disciples were all surprised when they saw Wang Hai. They hadn't expected that Wang Hai could actually lift all this water up; even if they went down themselves, it would take several of them to do it.

"Masters, can we go up the mountain now?"

Fang Yun's expression wasn't too good either, but he calmly asked the group a question.

The group paused for a moment, then said, "Not enough, not enough. Haven't you seen how much time has already been wasted? We're about to start boiling water and cooking. We've got the drinking water and bath water, but we haven't gotten the water for cooking yet."

The implication was clear: these people didn't intend to let the two of them go up the mountain. This immediately ignited Fang Yun's anger.

Just as Fang Yun was about to teach him a lesson, Wang Hai quickly stepped forward and pulled Fang Yun's arm down.

“Young Master Fang, my sister’s life is currently in danger within their sect, and we don’t know who is holding her. It’s best if we don’t alert them. Otherwise, we can come and go without any problem, but I’m afraid my sister will be trapped and unable to get out.”

Wang Hai was still very worried about his sister's safety and refused to take such a risk. Fang Yun could only sigh softly and stop making a move.

At this point, Wang Hai realized that even if he went to fetch water for them again, they probably wouldn't be allowed to go up. He then took out a piece of jade with a greenish-blue texture from his person.

The Wang family is quite powerful and influential, and they are not lacking in wealth. I also took some money and jewelry with me when I went out.

At first, he was afraid that such sects had some rules, so he didn't dare to directly offer bribes. Now he had no other choice but to take the jade stones and walk up.

"Masters, this is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it. It's nothing but a token of my respect."

When the group saw the jade in Wang Hai's hand, their eyes flashed, but then their expressions turned sour.

"You scoundrel! How dare you try to bribe us with this money? Don't you know that our Lotus Sect has always upheld the law and never allows the acceptance of other people's money?"

Wang Hai was taken aback upon hearing this, and unconsciously withdrew his hand. One of them then said, "How about this, let's have a few rounds of competition. You put your things as a wager, and if we win and take your things, then you'll have to accept the consequences."

Fang Yun, listening to the robot's words, sneered repeatedly. These people, outwardly righteous and claiming they wouldn't accept anything, were just afraid of punishment from their sect. Now, setting up a arena seemed to change the nature of these things.

Wang Hai wasn't stupid; he immediately understood and agreed to the other party's request.

Then, one of the disciples, a tall man, stepped forward.

"Let's do a best-of-three series, with substitutions allowed in each round. If you can win two rounds, we'll let you go up the mountain."