Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Chapter 94 Learn to Consider the Big Picture

By the end of the morning, most of the disciples had registered, including a small number of young girls, though most of them were of average appearance.

During lunch, Lin Yuan heard that a total of thirty disciples were recruited this year, half by recommendation and half by the autumn competition, totaling fifteen.

Lin Yuan made a special inquiry and found that there were 56 teenagers participating in the Autumn Competition this year, which is about a quarter of the total.

in the afternoon.

A Taoist priest, accompanied by three young disciples, arrived at the courtyard where the disciples were to be served and gathered everyone together.

Lin Yuan and Xu Bin lived in a small courtyard and came together to meet.

Although the two reported for duty together, Xu Bin was recommended to join the temple and did not need to participate in the autumn competition; he only needed to verify his identity.

Therefore, Xu Bin felt relaxed and curious about everything, happily looking around.

Lin Yuan chatted and laughed with him, feeling confident but also uneasy.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he spotted a familiar face and quickly stepped forward, clasping his hands in a respectful greeting: "Master Gao!"

Master Gao held a roster in his hand, his face serious. He nodded casually, barely paying attention to him, giving off an air of "keep away," as if he had long forgotten the student who was possessed by a ghost last year.

Lin Yuan didn't care. When Manager Zhang died, he was just a young scholar and certainly wouldn't have caught the Taoist's eye.

He scanned the group of young disciples, but unfortunately Wu Yong couldn't come. According to Wu Yong's message, newly entered disciples had to learn the rules of the Immortal Temple for several months before being assigned tasks.

Once everyone had arrived, Master Gao counted the number of people according to the roster. When he called Lin Yuan's name, he remembered that this was someone the new junior brother Wu Yong had asked for a favor on his behalf. So he specially looked up to see him, recognized his face, and gave him a slight smile.

Lin Yuan was aware of this matter and guessed the reason, so he responded with a smile.

After taking attendance, Master Gao noticed that five people were still missing. He asked around and learned that one of them had broken his leg while practicing martial arts a few days ago and could not come.

Another person has just contracted a serious illness and cannot come.

Three others were late and will arrive later.

"The Immortal Master said this year that the assessment will be very strict! Anyone who cannot arrive before sunset today will be disqualified." After saying this solemnly, Master Gao instructed, "Tomorrow at dawn, you will all gather at the Reception Hall at the foot of the mountain. Master Wu will come in person. Anyone who is late will be disqualified."

After saying that, Master Gao turned and left, and four or five teenagers immediately surrounded him.

Seeing that there were too many people and it was difficult to squeeze in, Lin Yuan could not say anything private, so he listened to Li Jing, Liang Feng and others asking for information from the side.

Li Jing was a son of a concubine born to the Li family. Li Ye had introduced the two to each other so that they could look after each other during the autumn competition.

As for Liang Feng, he was a member of the Liang family and was introduced to Liang Yingxiao.

After Master Gao left, Li Jing and Liang Feng suddenly formed a small group and held a meeting, excluding Lin Yuan from participating.

They reached an agreement and then dispersed.

Li Jing immediately gathered the Li family members and their in-laws, and also called Lin Yuan: "I have discussed the first-round quotas with the Zhang, Liang, and Zheng families. The Zhang and Liang families will each have four people, the Li family will have three people, and the Zheng family will have two people."

Lin Yuan recalled what Wu Yong had said when he sent the message: the so-called "first-come, first-served" rule was a private agreement among the disciples of the four great families of Lin Yuan. They could have priority in the autumn competition, and other disciples had to give way to them, otherwise they would be considered enemies of the Lin Yuan family.

Wu Yong also participated in this round of the Autumn Competition, but with the strong support of his cousin Li Ye, he obtained an early winning spot from the Li family. As a result, he advanced to the next round in the arena by giving up his spot and because of his own excellent martial arts skills.

"Which three did our Li family win first?" someone asked.

"Me, my third brother, and him!" Li Jing said, pointing to the last person, a burly, strong man who was clearly a trained fighter.

Lin Yuan did not recognize him, as he had not seen him when Li Ye introduced him. Judging from his appearance alone, this man was skilled in martial arts, but he looked older than his age, not like a boy in his teens, but more like a man in his thirties.

"What about us?" Six or seven other Li family boys who hadn't been chosen were getting anxious.

"Don't worry, there are still two spots left. You can compete for them then."

Although Li Ye had worked on Lin Yuan's behalf, and Li Jing had promised to try his best to secure a spot for Lin Yuan, there were only three spots available. Li Jing chose his two closest relatives, giving up on Lin Yuan and the other members of the Li family, as well as relatives by marriage.

Lin Yuan calculated that the four families of Zhang, Liang, Li, and Zheng had divided up thirteen early-win spots, leaving only two spots for the remaining forty-odd people, causing the pass rate to plummet to below five percent.

What was originally a high-probability event suddenly became a low-probability event.

This is considered an unspoken rule among aristocratic families: monopolize all resources that can be monopolized, leaving only one or two spots for others to compete for.

Lin Yuan did not argue, because making a fuss would not solve the problem, and he silently withdrew from the crowd.

Upon hearing the news, Xu Bin quickly approached: "Uncle-Master, why don't you send some gifts to plead your case?"

After saying that, Xu Bin took out some silver notes: "My father told me to bring a lot, I'll lend you some."

"No need." Lin Yuan smiled with relief and said softly, "Actually, Li Silang had already put in a good word for me, but the problem now is that there are only three spots available, not enough for everyone to share, so giving gifts won't help."

"Then what should we do?" Xu Bin was at a loss.

"You go back first, don't worry about me."

Lin Yuan sent him away and then went to try his luck with the Liang family's disciples, since Liang Yingxiao had previously spoken on his behalf.

As it turned out, there were even more people on the Liang family's side. Liang Feng looked distressed: "Lin Lang, I'm sorry this time. It's not that I'm unwilling to give you an early winning spot, it's just that we really can't divide them all up. I hope you can understand, and tell Wu Lang later not to blame us—"

Lin Yuan didn't insist. Under normal circumstances, people like Liang Feng and Li Jing might give him some face, but when it comes to personal interests, they wouldn't easily let go.

As for why Li Ye didn't go to great lengths to secure an early qualification spot for Lin Yuan like he did for his cousin Wu Yong, Lin Yuan didn't blame him. People have varying degrees of closeness and distance, and if it were him, he would definitely seek benefits for those closer to him.

Lin Yuan planned to reassess the situation during the autumn competition; he was not going to give up this opportunity easily, much less hand it over to someone else.

If a person doesn't look out for themselves, they'll be punished by heaven and earth!

I've practiced martial arts for so long, all for this day. At worst, I'll fight my way out.

So what if he offended them? They're just a few illegitimate sons from prominent families. At worst, he'll have Li Ye and Liang Yingxiao put in a good word for them, so that Liang Feng and Li Jing can learn to consider the bigger picture and be more understanding.

Lin Yuan simply ignored it and returned to his room alone. He didn't see Xu Bin, but he didn't care and continued practicing his snake fist.

He didn't push himself too hard; he just worked up a sweat to maintain his touch and make himself feel more comfortable.

Xu Bin returned after sunset. It turned out the boy couldn't stay still and had gone out to make friends. At the same time, Xu Bin brought him some good news: "Uncle-Master, I have two pieces of good news!"

"What?"

"Two of those three latecomers arrived after sunset and have already been disqualified. You've suddenly lost two rivals." Xu Bin counted on his fingers.

"Only two?" Lin Yuan said nonchalantly.

Seeing his reaction, Xu Bin quickly offered up more good news: "And another thing, Liang Feng saw me just now and asked you to go see him. From what he said, it sounds like something good is going on!"

Lin Yuan didn't know what Liang Feng was up to, but he wasn't afraid. He figured he might as well go and find out. After thinking for a moment, he also brought Xu Bin along, since that kid was good at gathering information.

They arrived at Liang Feng's courtyard.

Liang Feng invited him inside for a private chat, then clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute, saying, "Congratulations, Lin Lang! You've secured one of the four qualifying spots for the Liang family!"

"Brother Liang, why so suddenly?" Lin Yuan couldn't believe that such a good thing could fall into his lap.

Liang Feng hesitated for a moment, then told the truth: "Wu Lang sent someone this afternoon. He had one of the clan brothers withdraw one of their spots for you."

O

Lin Yuan understood immediately and didn't refuse politely. He clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Fifth Brother, thank you, Brother Liang!"

"No need to be so polite!" Liang Feng didn't really care. He was taking the spot himself anyway, and since Liang Wulang was going to play the villain, he was happy to oblige. He laughed and said, "I heard that Young Master Lin is at the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm and his martial arts are quite impressive?"

"Not bad. Brother Liang, would you like to have a friendly spar?" Lin Yuan gestured for him to join in.

Liang Feng chuckled, "No need, no need. With Lin Lang here, we'll be even stronger this autumn!"

Lin Yuan smiled faintly, taking it as just a polite remark.

Back in his lodgings to rest, Lin Yuan, having worked up a sweat practicing martial arts, slept soundly through the night without a single dream.

The next day, at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

Early in the morning, Lin Yuan and Xu Bin gathered at the Pilgrim Reception Hall at the foot of the mountain.

There were many disciples guarding the front of the hall, forming a well-organized formation.

The high-ranking Taoist priest stepped out of the hall and addressed the group of youths outside: "This year, the Immortal Master has demanded rigorous examinations and strict verifications. Anyone found to have cheated should leave immediately to avoid physical punishment."

After waiting for a while, no one left.

They began calling out names one by one, allowing each person to enter the room individually.

Initially, fifteen people were recommended, and indeed, two young men were singled out by the two Taoist priests.

"This person concealed their physical disability. They are hereby expelled from the workforce and will never be employed again."

After a while, it was Xu Bin's turn. His comments were well-founded and there were no other problems, so the Taoist masters approved them.

After a while, another person was called out: "This person has an immoral lifestyle and poor character. He is hereby expelled from the list and will never be employed again."

The crowd was in an uproar. The so-called "immoral lifestyle" mostly referred to promiscuity.

Lin Yuan sized up the young man and noticed that he appeared to be anemic, as if he had indulged in excessive sexual activity. This was obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

There were fifteen nomination slots, but two were not eligible, leaving two slots vacant.

As far as Lin Yuan knew, the number of places recruited each year was fixed, neither more nor less. He wondered if these two places would be added to the autumn competition's quota.

When the boys who were going to participate in the autumn competition entered the hall, even more people were pulled out.

"This person is not the actual individual; the name does not match the person. Therefore, this person is hereby removed from the register and will never be employed again."

Lin Yuan chuckled upon hearing this; wasn't this just cheating on exams?

Taking exams for others is the same all over the world.

Those who were later removed from the list included those who had falsified their evaluations and those with physical disabilities, but most of them were obvious to anyone with eyes to see. Their defects were so obvious that they could not be concealed.

Lin Yuan understood that no matter how strict the rules were, these Taoist masters had definitely accepted gifts. As long as it was acceptable on the surface, they would still be allowed to pass. But for those who were too obvious, he couldn't show any mercy.

"Lin Yuan".

When it was Lin Yuan's turn, he entered the main hall, bowed, and announced his name.

At this moment, the Taoist priest in the hall began to recite Lin Yuan's selection document: "Lin Yuan, a native of Linjia Village, Taoli Township, Linyuan County, whose ancestor was—eight feet tall, with phoenix eyes—".

The official documents contained his identity information, his ancestors for three generations, his height and appearance, and so on.

As Master Gao recited the mantra, Master Wu and the others in the hall scrutinized his appearance.

He was a real person, and he passed this round smoothly.