In chaotic times, one can become a martial immortal.

As the ship came to a stop, we arrived at Mingyue Manor.

As the group walked along the boardwalk, lotus leaves floated at their feet, and red carp chased each other.

In the distance, mist rose and egrets flew in flocks.

It felt like being in a fairyland, giving everyone a sense of dreamlike wonder.

Before long, the group was led by a maid into a pavilion.

There were already about twenty people gathered in the attic.

"Brother Wu Zheng, you're quite late!"

As soon as he stepped into the pavilion, two middle-aged men stood up and walked over, bowing to Wu Zheng with faint smiles on their faces.

"Brother Liu Chao, Brother Meng Yu, our Qinghe County is the farthest from the prefectural city, so we will naturally arrive a little later."

Wu Zheng returned the greeting with a fist and a fist salute and a smile.

"Brother Wu Zheng, I wonder who is the top scorer in your Qinghe County this year?"

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Liu Chao suddenly asked a question.

"Ji Baiying, come here!"

Wu Zheng waved to Ji Baiying, then smiled and said, "This young man is this year's martial arts champion of Qinghe County. Although he is not a top-tier talent, he is still stronger than the average first-tier talent. Not only has he already reached the ninth rank of cultivation, but he has also mastered the Iron Skin technique. After entering the Martial Academy and honing his skills for a while, he can expect to reach the Bronze Skin level!"

"Greetings, Your Excellencies!"

Ji Baiying stood up and walked to Wu Zheng's side, then clasped her hands in a fist salute to Liu Chao and Meng Yu.

"Indeed, while not a top-tier talent, to have achieved so much at such a young age, one's future is truly promising!"

Liu Chao nodded and smiled.

"He certainly has an extraordinary presence. As long as he remains humble and diligent in his training, achieving a gold-tier skin might be difficult, but a bronze-tier skin shouldn't be too hard!"

Meng Yu nodded with a smile.

"I wonder how your two counties, Jinshan and Anding, fared in the top rankings this year?"

Wu Zheng also asked.

"This young man is named Xu Benchu, the top scholar in this year's imperial examination in Jinshan County. He is a talent with exceptional innate abilities, not only already possessing the ninth rank of cultivation, but also having cultivated a copper skin, with the golden skin on the horizon!"

Liu Chao then waved to a young man in a golden robe behind him and smiled.

"Zhao Zixuan, come and meet the top scorers from the other two counties!"

Meng Yu also waved to a young man in white and said with a smile, "Zhao Zixuan's aptitude is even stronger than that of ordinary top-tier individuals. Although he has just turned twenty, he has already reached the ninth rank and has even mastered the Golden Skin technique. After entering the Martial Academy and undergoing a month or two of training, he should be able to directly advance to the eighth rank!"

Anyone with eyes could see that although the three examiners were extremely polite to each other and their words were not at all angry, they were also full of competitive spirit.

In fact, the geniuses in each county inevitably compare themselves to each other.

"Congratulations! You've both discovered top-tier geniuses!"

Wu Zheng's expression remained unchanged, and he spoke with a smile.

As he said this, he glanced at Jiang Ying, who was fiercely battling with the pastries.

Although he failed to discover a top-tier genius for Qinghe County, he may have unearthed a true martial arts talent.

Once this martial arts prodigy truly matures, his brilliance will surely overshadow many so-called top-tier geniuses.

"Even the top scorer isn't a top-tier genius. It seems Qinghe County will be last among the three counties this year!"

"The top scholar in this year's imperial examination from Anding County is not only a top-tier genius, but he has also mastered the Golden Skin technique. It's unbelievable! He should be the number one person in our three counties, right?"

The geniuses from Jinshan and Anding counties were all looking at Ji Baiying, Chu Jun, Lu Yuan, and the other ten people with strange expressions.

"Unexpectedly, the top scorers in both Anding County and Jinshan County are top-tier geniuses!"

Chu Jun, Xu Lin, Qian Rou, and the others couldn't help but show surprise in their eyes.

Although it was only their first day in the county town, their once-proud first-class physical attributes already seemed somewhat lacking in prestige.

Especially Zheng Xu, Zhang Hu, and the others, who had just been thinking of competing with the geniuses from these two counties, couldn't help but lower their heads in shame.

They now finally understood why Ji Baiying, after staying in the county town for half a year, was so devastated that she ran back to Qinghe County.

There's no other reason than that there are just too many geniuses in the county!

On the contrary, Ji Baiying stood there with her expression unchanged.

Compared to the setbacks he had suffered in the previous six months, these things were nothing at all.

At this moment, Lu Yuan was enjoying the pastries on his own.

If he hadn't chosen the middle way, he would probably be standing there now, being pointed at and compared to others.

It's easy to imagine that there will be many more such scenarios in the future.

"So what if we have top-notch physical talent? As long as we persevere and continue to cultivate diligently, our future achievements may not be inferior to theirs."

Qian Rou's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her cherry lips parted slightly.

As they spoke, a delicate fragrance seemed to waft out, instantly invigorating everyone's spirits.

"That's right. Although it's extremely demanding on innate talent for each rank advancement after a martial artist enters the first rank, we already have first-rate innate talent, not much worse than top-tier. As long as we have enough resources, we can still grow to a level comparable to the so-called top-tier. It just takes a little more time!"

Chu Jun, Xu Lin, and the others all nodded, feeling the gloom in their hearts dissipate.

Those who made it into the top ten are all first-rate geniuses with exceptional talent, and there is absolutely no need for them to underestimate themselves.

Next, the geniuses from the three counties began to travel and make acquaintances on their own.

There were no scenes of disdain, ridicule, mutual belittling, or even reversals and slaps in the face. Regardless of their thoughts, each genius maintained the proper dignity.

Even Lu Yuan, who sat there giving off a quiet and reserved impression, had people come up to greet him.

Lu Yuan naturally smiled and politely responded with tea instead of wine.

However, after learning that he was ranked fifth, these people's interest in him immediately diminished, and after offering a few words of encouragement with smiles, they changed their targets.

Some people were curious and asked why he was ranked fifth at such a young age.

Lu Yuan replied that he was lucky and fortunate, and remained low-key and humble.

As for Zheng Xu, Zhang Hu, Jiang Ying, and the others who were ranked after him, the same was true; they were almost completely ignored.

Time passed, and night slowly fell.

"Gentlemen, please follow me!"

As the city lights began to twinkle, Steward Chu went straight to the pavilion and greeted everyone with a smile.

Immediately, everyone stood up and followed Steward Chu out.

Wu Zheng, Liu Chao, and Meng Yu remained seated in the same spot.

Clearly, the "men" that Steward Chu was referring to did not include them.

Led by Steward Chu, the group passed through a series of corridors.

Before long, I felt a sudden sense of clarity.

A huge jade disc then appeared before their eyes.

The jade disc was about ten feet tall, smooth as a mirror, and pure white and flawless.

Under the moonlight, the jade disc seemed to shimmer with an ever-flowing, radiant light.

It seems as if one can vaguely see many images appearing and disappearing on the jade disc.

"Is this the Boundless Jade Disc of Bright Moon Manor?"

Ji Baiying stared intently at the jade disc, appearing quite excited and thrilled.

……