Mountain and Sea Demon Martial Arts, Starting with Vertical Pupils

"I actually know only so much about Da Lin's situation," Li Jiangwei paused before continuing, "but many inner court disciples have asked my father about this matter."

"What did Instructor Li say?" Chen Luo pressed.

Li Jiangwei slowly said, "My father's answer was vague. He only said that within the territory of Dalin, there are endless mountains stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles. When you look up from the sky, you can see demons everywhere. There are countless counties and cities like Qingshan County that are surrounded by mountains. Our human race is almost struggling to survive in the cracks."

"How is this possible?" Chen Luo was shocked. He had thought that Qingshan County was just a small-scale isolated case, but this was too unbelievable.

He had read in a book that the Great Lin Kingdom had a vast territory and had been established for over a thousand years.

A feudal unified dynasty that lasted for over a thousand years should, in any case, be internally stable.

If the land is truly teeming with demons as they claim, and humanity is struggling to survive, how could they possibly establish a nation and dynasty?

Li Jiangwei sighed softly, "I understand your doubts. Anyone who thinks about it carefully will realize that this is illogical. I even asked my father whether the demons who live in the mountains have a relationship with our human race where they do not interfere with each other. Otherwise, how could Dalin have survived peacefully for so long?"

"What did Instructor Li say?" Chen Luo asked, frowning. He actually had the same guess, otherwise it just wouldn't make sense.

Just like in ancient times, there were many wild animals in the deep mountains. However, since humans did not provoke the wild animals, the wild animals would not easily come down from the mountains. The two established a balance of coexistence, which is why the ancients were able to gradually build dynasties from tribes and clans in the towering mountains.

Li Jiangwei smiled helplessly, "My father gave me a rare scolding. He said that humans and demons have always been destined to die together, and they must kill each other if they see each other. There is absolutely no possibility of them coexisting."

Chen Luo remained silent. He understood the principle that "those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts," but this did not explain the current situation in Da Lin.

Let alone the current situation in Dalin, it doesn't even explain the current situation in Qingshan County. It's all too contradictory.

A little thought reveals that if humans and demons cannot coexist, yet are born on the same land, only three outcomes are possible:

Either humanity will eradicate the demons and establish a dynasty, or the demons will run rampant and humanity will be in grave danger.

The third outcome is that the two sides are evenly matched and check each other. This might allow the human race to barely establish a nation in a world full of demons, but it is absolutely impossible for it to last for thousands of years, because the balance of power cannot remain constant for thousands of years.

However, all three of these outcomes contradict the current state of the Great Lin Dynasty.

So how did Da Lin establish a thousand-year dynasty amidst the surrounding demons and monsters?

Chen Luo frowned and pondered for a moment, then asked, "If it's like this within the territory, what's the situation outside the territory?"

"I don't know, my father never mentioned it." Li Jiangwei shook her head.

Chen Luo sighed, "Thank you for letting me know."

He was somewhat helpless; after being here for so long, he still couldn't figure out what this world was like.

There was no way around it; he lived in a small, remote county with very limited access to information, and all he knew was what others had told him, so it was obvious there was more to the story.

However, given his current level, worrying about such matters seems pointless; it would be better to investigate further later.

Moreover, regardless of any hidden reasons, he had already obtained the answer to the question—Da Lin's situation was definitely not good.

Chen Luo didn't ask any more questions, and soon the carriage arrived at the outskirts of the western county.

As soon as he arrived near his home, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

From a distance, one could see groups of neighbors gathered near their homes, and through the crowd, several horse-drawn carriages could be vaguely seen.

"The private schools that came to recruit you have arrived." Li Jiangwei smiled slightly. "Father has already asked Lin, the steward, to inform all the major private schools of your advancement to the fourth level of strength."

"..." Chen Luo immediately understood why he had waited so long for Li Jiangwei back then.

He wasn't one to show off, but at this moment he couldn't help feeling a little helpless. The carriage was still a short distance from home, so he said, "Let's stop here."

The car stopped, and Chen Luo got out. Li Jiangwei smiled through the window and said, "I almost forgot to ask you, are you going to accept Principal Huang's offer?"

"I'll think about it for a few more days," Chen Luo said.

"Alright, if you wish to enroll in Licheng Martial Arts Academy, just let me know anytime, and I will ask someone to pass on the message to Headmaster Huang." Li Jiangwei nodded.

"Thank you for your trouble," Chen Luo said, but he still had many things to take care of and was not ready to agree immediately.

After seeing Li Jiangwei off, Chen Luo glanced at the noisy crowd in the distance, rubbed his temples, and walked over with a forced smile.

Even before they were far away, sharp-eyed neighbors spotted them and exclaimed, "Little Chen is here!"

As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Immediately, several well-dressed people, each holding a name card, quickly approached, their faces beaming with smiles.

"Young Master Chen, congratulations on advancing to the fourth level of the Strength Realm. I am Xu Jianfang, the manager of the Suzheng Martial Arts Academy. May I have this opportunity to discuss this further?"

"Brother Chen, you are a promising young man. I am Xu Huan from Qingquan Martial Arts Academy. I have prepared some small gifts as a token of my respect. I hope you will take the time to have a chat with me."

"Lin Jian, the manager of the Elite Martial Arts Academy, on behalf of the academy's headmaster, presents an invitation, sincerely inviting Young Master Chen to the academy for a discussion..."

"I am Longji, the headmaster of Zhou Tianwu Academy..."

The crowd gathered around, offering their congratulations and recommending themselves, many carrying gifts, all there to recruit him, just as Li Jiangwei had said.

Apart from the headmaster of the unknown Zhou Tian Martial Arts Academy, the rest of the attendees, including those from Jingyi Martial Arts Academy, were mostly managers and instructors.

Surrounded by people, Chen Luo felt overwhelmed, but everyone treated him politely, so he could only smile and reply, "Greetings, nice to meet you..."

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the crowd, the villagers who had been watching the spectacle were already curious about these impressive figures. They wondered what they were doing gathered in front of Chen Luo's house, but seeing that they were dressed smartly and had arrived in a carriage, they dared not go up to ask.

Upon hearing this, almost everyone was somewhat bewildered.

"So those are people from the private school. Why are they all looking for Xiao Chen?"

"Where would Xiao Chen, a guy who lives off his family's wealth, get the money to go to a private school, a place that burns through money?"

"Are you stupid? Didn't you see that the private school came to recruit them? Why would they accept money from Xiao Chen?"

"What do you mean? The private school doesn't accept money?"

"Hey, you guys don't know, Little Chen's really made it big now!" one of the insiders exclaimed. "My son said at the martial arts academy that Little Chen's been enlightened, his martial arts skills are improving by leaps and bounds, he's amazing now, everyone says he's a potential candidate for the Qingyun Martial Arts School!"

"Qingyun Martial Arts School!?" The villagers were all shocked. Even the most uninvolved people in Qingshan County knew the significance of Qingyun Martial Arts School.

"Wang Laosi, what nonsense are you spouting?" A woman in the crowd stared wide-eyed, her face full of disbelief. "Everyone knows Chen Luo's background. Even if his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke for dozens of generations, he still couldn't be associated with the Qingyun Martial Arts School!"

The woman's voice was shrill, causing the onlookers to fall silent and turn to look at her.

It was Cheng Chunlan, a woman from the Cheng family who lived nearby, whose son had climbed the social ladder by getting involved with a clerk in the county government.