I run a Taoist temple in a bizarre world.

Chapter 96 In front of the martial arts school

Heliu Town, Bishui Martial Arts School.

It was midday, and the intense sunlight shone equally on everyone gathered outside the Biyue Martial Arts School.

But this did not deter these people from their desire to watch the spectacle.

As the only place in Heliu Town that teaches cultivation methods and allows people to walk in the eerie fog at night.

Today is the day when Bishui Martial Arts Academy recruits martial arts students, which happens once every three months.

On this day, this place is the most crowded, second only to the streets and alleys where the market is located.

Wow, so many people!

Looking at the bustling crowd outside the Biyue Martial Arts School, the young man from Changxi Village exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course, everyone of marriageable age from the entire town of Heliu came!"

"Every time Bishui Martial Arts School recruits, this is the scene outside the school."

Another man, also from Changxi Village but slightly older, replied.

He looked at the red plaque hanging above the entrance of the Biyue Martial Arts School and said with longing.

"I wonder if I'll be accepted by the martial arts school this time and join the Biyue Martial Arts School."

"That way, we can move our family to Heliu Town and live a better life."

The young man named Chen Fang immediately spoke.

"Brother De, you're the strongest guy in our village. If even you can't get into the Biyue Martial Arts School, I definitely can't either!"

Chen Fang placed one hand on Zhao De's shoulder and waved the other hand in front of his chest, speaking with a sincere expression.

Zhao De smiled but remained silent.

Three months ago, when the martial arts school was recruiting, he had already come here to participate in the entrance test of Biyue Martial Arts School.

He was already well aware of the difficulties involved.

The entrance test for Biyue Martial Arts Academy is not something that can be passed simply by having great strength.

He glanced at Chen Fang, who was in a state of high excitement.

He decided not to talk too much about the difficulties he encountered in the last martial arts test, so as not to affect his performance.

"However, Brother Li, who has been at the martial arts school for almost half a year, also said last night that the entrance test is not a joke and that we should be fully prepared and not take it lightly."

"I don't know if I can pass the martial arts school's test on my first try."

Chen Fang stood on tiptoe, his gaze passing over the heads of the crowd, looking at the still closed gates of the Biyue Martial Arts School, his eyes filled with hope.

"Hey, you two, could you move aside a bit? The smell of mud on you is so strong I can't open my eyes."

"Yeah, yeah, it stinks!"

"You're from out of town, aren't you? You stinky outsider!"

Disdainful and undisguised disgust rang out beside them.

Zhao De's smile froze, and he subtly took a step to the side.

Because there were many people around and the noise was too loud, Chen Fang did not hear the voices of the others, nor did he feel Zhao De tugging at his clothes.

He remained motionless, still standing on tiptoe, looking at the Biyue Martial Arts School, whose doors were still tightly closed.

"Didn't you hear me?! I'm talking to the two of you!"

"Hey, I'm talking to you, you idiot, are you Erduolong?"

Three people approached the two people in Changxi Village, cursing and swearing.

The people who were originally surrounding Chen Fang and Zhao De.

Upon seeing the faces of the three people, they all stepped aside.

In Changxi Village, the two people and the nearby three people formed a small space with only the five of them.

"Why did they all leave?!"

Chen Fang, who was only now noticing the changes around him, asked in confusion.

Suddenly, he felt someone push him on the back.

The sudden external force caused Chen Fang, who was standing on tiptoe and preparing to stand still, to lose his balance and sway.

If Zhao De hadn't stepped in to support him...

Chen Fang inevitably fell heavily to the ground.

"Who is it!"

Chen Fang roared angrily and looked up to find the person who had attacked him.

A man who looked younger than Chen Fang and had a well-proportioned and solid build laughed.

"What are you looking for, you peasant?"

The two people from Changxi Village turned to look.

The man was fair-skinned and beardless, with a handsome appearance, and wore a black brocade robe that looked expensive at first glance.

Behind him were two middle-aged men, also dressed in black, with mocking smiles on their lips.

These three stood out from the crowd of onlookers, most of whom were dressed in coarse linen clothes.

"You're the one who pushed me?"

Chen Fang frowned and questioned.

"So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?"

The man in black brocade chuckled.

Chen Fang gritted his teeth, his clenched fist loosening and then clenching again.

When we're out and about, we shouldn't provoke others, and we shouldn't stoop to their level. Let them do their thing, and we'll do ours.

Recalling his mother's parting words, Chen Fang finally loosened his clenched fist.

He let Zhao De tug at his clothes and led him into the crowd.

The man in brocade robes at the head of the group seemed to have no intention of letting the two people from Changxi Village go.

He scanned Chen Fang up and down for a moment, then smiled as Chen Fang left.

"Some country bumpkin from who-knows-where thinks he can pass the martial arts school's test on his first try? Even if I gave him ten or eight more chances, he still might not be able to join the Biyue Martial Arts School."

"you----!"

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Chen Fang broke free from Zhao De's hand, took a few steps forward, and approached the man in brocade robes.

"Say it again!"

The man in the brocade robe's accomplice immediately squeezed between the two.

She shielded the man in brocade behind her, while staring intently at Chen Fang with a threatening gaze.

"Say it ten times or a hundred times, it'll all lead to the same result, you—"

He pushed aside his companion who was blocking his way and laughed, enunciating each word clearly.

"You might not be able to get into the Biyue Martial Arts School."

"you!"

From childhood to adulthood, in the small village of Changxi where everyone was a neighbor, who would ever humiliate him like this?

Having never experienced anything like this before, and being so young, Chen Fang naturally found it difficult to endure.

He took a step forward, about to lash out, but Zhao De stopped him firmly.

"Don't cause trouble!"

"Fighting them now will at best disrupt your strength, and at worst, you'll be injured. Then this martial arts test will be completely out of your reach!"

"The Biyue Martial Arts School only accepts a limited number of students each time, so if you can't participate in the test, it benefits those behind them!"

"I saw these guys before. They're hired to provoke people, disrupt their state, and even prevent them from participating in the martial arts gym's tests!"

"They won't dare to act openly, but if you make the first move, they'll strike incredibly quickly!"

"Endure it! Passing the Biyue Martial Arts Academy test is the priority; ignore everything else!"

Zhao De's deep voice calmed the young man above him down a bit.

He simply turned his head away and ignored it.

As if to confirm Zhao De's words, sounds of fighting and screams could be heard from time to time from the surrounding crowd.

Hearing these voices, Chen Fang's lips twitched. He was glad that he had listened to Zhao De and had not acted impulsively and argued with them.

Seeing that provocation was futile, the three wisely left and began looking for their next victim.

But the man in black brocade who was leading the group seemed to be one of the participants in this martial arts school test as well.

He muttered curses before leaving.

"Two useless people, yet they said they could fool people and reduce my competitors."

"Now we can't even handle two country bumpkins!"

"Fuck you—give me my money back!"

Upon hearing this, the two men behind the man in black brocade hurriedly stepped forward and fawned over him.

"Young Master Zhang, calm down, calm down. There's still some time before the Biyue Martial Arts School officially opens and recruits students. There are plenty of greenhorns here. We promised you five fewer opponents, and here you are!"

As he spoke, he looked at another man and said through gritted teeth.

"If you can't finish it, no way—we'll give you a 50% refund!"

The other man nodded repeatedly.

Upon hearing this, the man in black calmed down somewhat.

"Then let's hurry up and find the next one!"

The two men following the man in black looked around.

Before long, their attention was focused on one spot.

They spotted a stranger in the crowd, a head shorter than the others.

"You! What are you looking at? I'm talking to you!"

"Who gave you the audacity to laugh like that!"

The two men pointed at the short man and said.

The man who was called pointed to his nose in confusion, then stood up from the wooden stool he was sitting on.

With their height advantage, which was a full two heads taller than the people around them, the two quickly called for a stop.

"I wasn't talking about you, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about—you!"

The man turned his finger and pointed at a child's face in the crowd, and said sternly.

"It's you, kid! Step forward! What are you doing in front of the Biyue Martial Arts School at such a young age instead of studying!"

"Come out and fight me one-on-one!"

The child-faced man didn't speak, but simply took off his shirt, stretched his large muscles exposed to the air, pushed through the crowd, and walked out.

"—It wasn't you, it wasn't you!"

The man covered his face, quickly waved his hands, and vehemently denied what he had just said.

The target was not identified accurately twice in a row.

The man in black brocade was already showing impatience, and he exhaled a breath of foul air.

"—Refund!"

"Don't rush, Young Master Zhang—"

One of them wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and tried to calm the man in black.

The other person continued searching for a suitable target in the crowd.

Finally, his gaze settled on one person.

[He has no chair under him, isn't particularly strong, and looks easy to bully. Great, he's the one!]

The man patted his accomplice on the shoulder, gesturing for him to look over.

The accomplice turned his head and immediately noticed the target the man was pointing to.

He was a young man with delicate features, a tall and thin build, and who didn't seem to have much ability.

"Young Master Zhang, what do you think of that one?"

Young Master Zhang waved his hand, indicating that they should do as they pleased.

He was already starting to regret his actions and didn't want to get involved any further.

With that kind of business acumen, it's a waste of his ten taels of silver.

"So, would you like to watch our performance, or stay with us?"

The man in black brocade pondered for a moment, then finally walked up to them.

Logically speaking, as the financial backer who provided the money, it's not necessary for him to personally get involved in bullying others.

But for someone like him who was used to running rampant in Heliu Town.

Bullying the weak is the thing that brings him the most pleasure in the past ten years of his life!

Seeing that the man in black brocade had finally regained some interest.

The two also realized that in order to salvage their reputation, they had to show some real skill.

With that in mind, the two of them didn't delay any longer and headed straight for the handsome man in the crowd.

[Threats, hiring thugs to obstruct them, or simply paying them to leave —]

They have quite a few methods.

[Many people remained quite calm, and there weren't any instances of them showing off and getting their faces slapped in the face.]

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Biyue Martial Arts School, Chi Le had already witnessed no fewer than ten methods these people used to reduce competition.

The endless stream of methods made him realize just how important it was for the people of Heliu Town that Biyue Martial Arts School was recruiting martial arts students.

But thinking about it, it makes sense.

Every time the sun sets, a sinister and terrifying fog appears wherever you look.

Within the fog lurks all sorts of bizarre and unpredictable monsters, waiting to take their lives at any moment.

:

:

As mortals, we can only rely on the protective objects provided by Taoist temples, Buddhist temples, or purification offices.

This keeps the monsters lurking in the eerie fog away from your home.

Every night, the family could only stay by the shelter, listening to the occasional roars of monsters outside as they fell asleep.

Their lives and fortunes were all tied to a single object.

There is now a place that will give you the ability to protect yourself in the fog.

For someone who has grown up in such an environment, it's almost impossible to refuse.

Several people were talking in front of Chi Le.

"Have you brought enough money to pay the entrance fee?"

"I brought it."

"Sigh, just to enter the martial arts school and take the test, we have to pay one or two taels of silver. The Biyue Martial Arts School is making way too much money!"

One person sighed.

"If you were like Master Lu, the head of the Biyue Martial Arts School, and had superb martial arts skills to teach us, and also received approval from the Dayu Dynasty, you could also open a martial arts school."

"Haha, that's true. After passing the martial arts school's test, I have to pay money every month. I'm short on cash."

Bishui Martial Arts School is not a charity that allows you to learn a skill for free.

Moreover, the skill he learned was one that could help him maintain some safety in the eerie fog at night.

After passing the martial arts school's test, one must pay money to learn skills at the Biyue Martial Arts School.

Just to enter the gate of this Biyue Martial Arts School, it costs eight taels of silver.

This doesn't even include the money spent on this in the future.

Eight taels of silver was enough for a family of three to live frugally in Heliu Town for half a year.

Despite the exorbitant fees for admission, a considerable number of people still come to participate in the entrance test for Bishui Martial Arts Academy.

For no other reason than that this method of combating demons and evil spirits in the eerie fog is worth the price.

For those living in Heliu Town with relatively abundant wealth, this amount of money is naturally not a burden.

But for people from villages further away from Heliu Town, it's a bit difficult to come up with the money.

Like the Chen family in Changxi Village, his parents have emptied their savings of many years in order to get their son into the Bishui Martial Arts School.

"Hey, you pretty boy over there."

An arrogant voice reached Chi Le's ears.

This made him turn his head to look at the direction from which the sound came.

At the same time, the people around Chi Le also looked at the arrogant person who had spoken.

"Let me tell you, I've put up with you for a long time!" *2

Without much provocation, the two men following behind the man in black brocade charged forward.

The person next to him quickly realized that the two men were not after him, but rather after the handsome young man beside him.

The crowd immediately dispersed, creating a circular space for the group to fight.

The man in black brocade couldn't keep up with the two men's movements and fell behind.

He hadn't expected it either.

The two men who took the money were so unruly; they didn't even exchange any trash talk before the fight started.

The man in black was about to follow.

An extremely strange thought surged in my mind.

Don't go any closer!

The thought made him hesitate for a moment.

The next moment, the two men who were very close to the handsome young man froze on the spot without warning, and finally slowly collapsed to the ground.

Click click~

The doors of the Biyue Martial Arts School gradually opened.

A tall man with a goatee stepped out from among them.

"Those interested in joining our organization, please enter."

Without even glancing at the two people sprawled on the ground, Chi Le walked toward the open door of the Biyue Martial Arts School.

Looking at the two people who were slumped on the ground, looking dazed and with drool still dripping from their mouths.

The man in black had only one thought in his mind.

What the hell is going on?