A Long River Myth

Crowds thronged outside the drill ground.

The inner city guards responsible for maintaining order repeatedly erected barricades, but they could not stop them.

The families and servants of the candidates in the inner city had already crowded ahead, welcoming their masters and servants.

Li Hong pocketed the hundred-tael silver note, and after taking only a few steps, four or five people crowded around him.

"Brother Li, I am Feng Yong, the second steward of the Feng family in the inner city. May I have a word with you?"

"Our company is Tongyuan Trading Company..."

Most of the contacts came from second- or third-tier forces within the inner city.

Li Hongli has already passed the initial test and is a shoo-in for the new second-class martial arts student award.

There are fewer than seventy second-class martial arts students a year, which is already considered quite promising in the inner city.

In the eyes of many second- and third-rate forces, they are already considered targets that can be won over.

He had already investigated Liang Shifan's background and heard that he was a retainer of Danxin Pavilion, a second-rate force in the inner city.

Among the people in front of him, the Feng family of the inner city that Feng Yong mentioned was a third-class family in the inner city.

Tongyuan Trading Company is not worth mentioning; in terms of scale and influence, it is far inferior to the "Lei Family" Trading Company, where he works.

Only top-tier martial arts students can attract the attention of first-rate forces.

The status, position, and potential they represent are incomparable to those of a second-class martial arts student.

Especially those martial arts students who emerge as top-ranked in the first round of testing are highly regarded.

"You're all too kind. I, Li, have already been appointed as a fifth-rank retainer of the Lei Family Merchant Guild."

Li Hong clasped his hands in response.

He has joined the Lei family business, and his reputation in the inner city is considered to be among the top-tier forces, second only to the eight great families.

Having received several months' salary from someone else, it's only right that one doesn't have any further dealings with other people.

He revealed his name and gave a concise and to-the-point refusal, saving himself a lot of unnecessary words.

"This kid's a retainer of the Lei Clan Trading Company? What a load of rubbish, all that bragging!"

Upon hearing this, the group left dejectedly.

In the crowd, a man in a brocade outfit turned his head to look after hearing the snorting of the group as they passed by.

The middle-aged man playing with walnuts beside him is Yang Wenshan, the third manager of Lei's Trading Company and Lei Long's sworn brother.

Both of them raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Hong, who was not far away.

The man in the tight-fitting clothes found it quite amusing and turned to ask, "Uncle, do we have any retainers here to participate in the autumn examination, or are they retainers from the outer city?"

Yang Wenshan shook his head: "Unfamiliar face, don't recognize him."

The man in the brocade outfit is Yang Wenshan's nephew, Yang Jinnian.

He's only nineteen this year, just in time to take the autumn exams.

Yang Jinnian approached and asked, "Young man, are you the honorary representative of the Lei Clan Trading Company? You don't look your age. May I ask your name?"

Li Hong turned around and looked at the two men, both of whom were dressed in extraordinary clothes. He took out the inner city pass issued by the merchant guild and said, "I am not making this up."

Yang Jinnian took the document and examined it carefully, confirming that it was genuine.

Yang Wenshan stood to the side, turned his back and looked away, and remained silent.

Although he was the third manager of the business and one of the three major owners, he had long since retired from public life, and Ye Qingsong was in charge of internal affairs.

What, this kid is even getting people like this into the business now?

Yang Jinnian looked at Li Hong, his gaze shifting from curiosity to indifference, and threw the trading company's official document back.

Knowing the situation from this attitude, Li Hong withdrew the official document, glanced at it sideways, and left.

"Uncle, no wonder our business is declining year by year, we're using people like this... You really should do something about it."

"Jin Nian, stop talking."

Yang Wenshan raised an eyebrow and waved his hand to interrupt him.

In the afternoon, the highly anticipated martial arts examination, specifically the skills test phase, began.

Candidates who didn't perform well, after spending the afternoon adjusting their mindset, realized that only by going all out in the skills test could they gain even a glimmer of hope.

Many people were eager to try, straining their minds and unleashing their full potential.

The skills test is held on four stages, with participants competing at different levels.

Li Hongli, having already qualified for the C-level arena, was able to advance to the C-level arena from the very beginning.

Winning one match would advance him to the second-tier arena, making his status as a second-class martial arts student almost certain.

If a player wins two matches in Arena B, they directly advance to Arena A. The top three in Arena A become first-class martial arts students.

Each arena has only five chances to enter the arena. The chances are refreshed after each advancement, until Arena A has used up all five chances. The top three scores will be used.

Currently, the skills test begins at the Ding round, with the winner advancing to the Bing round, and so on, until elimination.

In the Ding Lei competition, a total of thirty people participated, but there were basically no high-quality matches.

In the stands, Yang Wenshan sat upright, his hands gripping the railing. Ye Qingsong squeezed in from the aisle and approached him.

"Uncle-Master!"

Yang Wenshan nodded. "Qingsong, since you have nothing to do, why don't you keep me company while I watch the autumn examinations?"

"Okay." Ye Qingsong bowed humbly, but felt helpless inside.

He was summoned here by Yang Wenshan amidst his busy schedule, and he was really unwilling, but the latter had too high a seniority in the business and was also his master's sworn brother.

The third round of skill tests has now begun.

After several rounds on stage, almost all the candidates were from the inner city.

Liang Shifan won two games and lost two, making it to the second round of the tournament with great difficulty.

Huang Shan had already been eliminated in the Ding arena. Niu Xiaorui was a bit luckier than him, but in just one match, he encountered Zhu Jiawupu in the Bing arena and conceded defeat.

Li Hong, who had been waiting for a long time, had already taken the stage.

Opposite them was Zhu Jiawu, who had just won two consecutive matches at Ding Arena but hadn't made a single move.

Zhu Fu, who is 1.9 meters tall, cracked his knuckles and looked at Li Hong impatiently, saying, "If you're going to admit defeat, then hurry up and do it."

His steward had sent him to participate in the martial arts exam, hoping he could stretch his muscles and bones.

As a result, a whole day was wasted. It seemed that the people in the outer city had heard rumors from somewhere, and when they encountered him, they basically all admitted defeat.

Please advise.

Li Hong waved his hand slightly.

The next moment, Zhu Fu's lips curled up, and he rushed towards her like a cannonball.

The Zhu family's traditional skills, "Soaring Dragon Step" and "Nine Forms of Zhenyue Fist," were vividly displayed in Zhu Fu's performance.

He used eight-tenths of his strength from the very first move.

Zhu Fu moved with incredible speed, his steps creating a powerful gust of wind, and his Zhenyue Fist seemed to vibrate even in the air.

"The Zhenyue Fist Technique is indeed powerful and domineering!"

Li Hong narrowed his eyes slightly. The Zhu Family's Nine Forms of Zhenyue were already considered a superior fist technique.

The Hundred Refinements Fist can only be considered mediocre.

boom!

Li Hong met the attack with a swinging punch, but with even greater speed, effortlessly deflecting the fierce and swift attack.

Zhu Fu frowned, his contempt gone.

Under the force of the test armor, his speed, power, and explosiveness were all faster than his?

Beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His punch had many flaws and was somewhat underestimating; if it had been a trap, it could have been deadly.

Zhu Fu's blood surged, and he suddenly stopped walking.

Li Hong knew he couldn't reveal too much of his strength, so he kept only what he had. He already had a good idea of ​​what he was capable of once they met.

He patiently engaged Zhu Fu in a "fight" for another ten or so moves.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Fu suffered repeated setbacks in trivial matters, and his frustration gradually built up until he finally lost his temper.

The two attacked quickly, and Zhu Fu gradually stopped holding back, throwing every punch with full force.

If someone in the late stage of internal strength cultivation were to be hit by this punch, they would inevitably suffer broken bones and tendons.

"You're too kind!"

Li Hong unleashed a burst of strength, meeting Zhu Fu's heavy punch aimed at his face.

boom!

Zhu Fu was suddenly shocked, and his face changed drastically!

As their fists met, he felt as if his right fist had struck something harder than a century-old piece of cold iron!

Visible ripples appeared on the skin of his right arm, starting from the back of his hand!

The pain traveled all the way to my shoulders, and it felt like half of my body had been crushed by a mountain!

"puff!"

His eyes widened, blood gushed from his mouth, and he charged forward like a cannonball, only to roll back to his original position like a cannonball.

P.S.: One more chapter.