Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Chapter 95 This world is truly dark.

Wu Daoshi Lin Yuan glanced at the other Daoists, and seeing that no one had any objections, he immediately nodded to Gao Daoshi.

Seeing this, Master Gao asked Lin Yuan, "Your assessment is that you have excellent martial arts talent and were once ranked eighty-ninth on the Tiger List of Li Prefecture. Have you ever practiced martial arts?"

"I have been practicing martial arts for over a year." Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised. This so-called rigorous assessment only asked whether he had practiced martial arts.

How is this strict?

It's clearly a case of letting the water out.

"Then let's make a set," Master Gao said casually.

"Yes." Lin Yuan immediately began practicing Gao's Snake Fist.

The python emerges from its den, the fierce snake raises its head—

He had just made three moves, his hands were still warming up, and he was about to show off a bit more when he suddenly heard Master Wu stop him, saying, "No need to continue, go get your body checked!"

Lin Yuan was slightly puzzled. Was this going too far?

I only made three moves?

However, out of respect for Wu Yong, Master Gao took the initiative to explain on his behalf: "The moment you made a move, the Taoist master knew you were a martial artist. Go inside quickly, men, go to the left room."

"Thank you all, fellow Taoist masters and elders—"

Lin Yuan bowed, then cupped his hands to the Taoist priest, before turning and entering the small room on the left side of the main hall.

It's called a small house, but it's actually just a temporary space enclosed by screens.

An old Taoist master sat inside, with several young Taoist disciples standing beside him.

It was Master Qian, who had taken Wu Yong as a disciple, and also the old Taoist priest who had performed the rites for Manager Zhang.

Unfortunately, Master Qian didn't recognize him either, and his face was indifferent.

"Master Qian." Lin Yuan immediately bowed and handed over a pre-wrapped silver note.

Master Qian turned his head away, not wanting to look, but the young Taoist boy next to him took over and reminded him with a smile, "Extend your hand so that the Taoist master can take your pulse."

Lin Yuan did as instructed.

After taking the pulse, Master Qian nodded.

The young Taoist priest promptly reminded him, "Take off your clothes and stand in a stance."

Lin Yuan looked around and saw that they were all male Daoist boys. He immediately took off his clothes and stood in a stance, but he felt somewhat ashamed.

"If you know martial arts, then let's see how it goes," the young Taoist priest reminded him.

Lin Yuan immediately launched three or five attacks.

"Alright, no need to beat him anymore. He is without any disabilities, all limbs are intact, there are no scars, no tattoos, no hidden illnesses, and he is still a virgin—" Master Qian said calmly, circling his name on the list to indicate that it was over.

Lin Yuan dressed and went out of the hall through the back door, then went around to the front yard and found Xu Bin watching the commotion.

Xu Bin had just passed the identity assessment and would become a formal disciple after attending the entrance ceremony in a few days, so he was happy to watch the excitement.

After watching for a while, the two saw another person being brought out of the hall. It was a familiar face, the burly man who was the third first-place winner that Li Jing had chosen yesterday.

Xu Bin couldn't help but say, "Uncle-Master, there are so many people taking exams for others this year. This is the fifth one already."

Lin Yuan hummed in agreement and fell into thought. No wonder Li Jing couldn't call out that person's name yesterday; it turned out he was a substitute test-taker.

No wonder this burly man looks so mature beyond his years; he's actually only in his thirties.

This burly man was clearly a trained fighter; the fact that he could take exams for others suggested that his martial arts skills were quite impressive, perhaps even superior to mine.

Lin Yuan suddenly wondered if this burly man, besides taking the exam for the rich man, might also be protecting Li Jing and the others.

Having a guess in mind, he immediately inquired about it.

As expected, most of the substitutes were from prominent families, and most of them had already secured a spot in the competition.

These men were mostly in their twenties or thirties, strong and powerful, with impressive martial arts skills; they were clearly true practitioners.

This is like a professional athlete participating in a high school competition; they'd have it all figured out.

As Lin Yuan's guess was confirmed, the strong man who took the exam for the wealthy man was not only taking the exam for him, but also protecting the young men from other noble families and preventing them from refusing to give up their rankings due to personal feelings.

In other words, the scions of the four powerful families reached a secret agreement, first using their family background to intimidate others, and then introducing powerful external forces to suppress them with force, a double suppression and double insurance.

Lin Yuan couldn't help but sigh. If these mid-level martial artists were to enter the Autumn Competition, even with his considerable martial arts skills, he would most likely be unable to compete with them and would only be able to compete with the other disciples for the one or two final spots.

This world is truly dark!

Wait until the morning's identity verification is over.

Lin Yuan and Xu Bin counted, and there were more than a dozen teenagers who were brought out today. Most of them were cheating on exams or had physical disabilities, while there were not many who were criticized for inconsistencies in the evaluation or for being indecent.

In other words, ambiguous comments are not strictly evaluated; in fact, they are quite lenient. Only those comments that are obviously fake are singled out.

Finally, Master Gao came outside the hall and announced: "Today's identity assessment is over. The recommended disciples will enter to observe the ceremony in three days. The disciples participating in the Autumn Competition will have a day off tomorrow and should come to the Reception Hall early the day after tomorrow for the Autumn Competition. The Daoist Master said that the two vacant recommendation slots from today will also be given to the Autumn Competition. That means there are seventeen slots for the Autumn Competition this year!"

The crowd cheered upon hearing this, especially when they heard that two more spots had been added for the Autumn Competition. Many of the boys who hadn't yet secured a spot were overjoyed.

"Silence! Disperse!" Master Gao shouted repeatedly.

The crowd quieted down and left in an orderly fashion.

On the way, Li Jing quietly approached and whispered, "Lin Lang, are you free?"

He tried to force a smile, but couldn't, and ended up with a wry smile.

"What is it, Jinglang?" Lin Yuan didn't understand what he wanted to do for a moment, but then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he guessed that he might have come to ask him for protection.

After all, although he couldn't compare to a mid-level martial artist, he was one of the most capable fighters among his peers.

Now that Li Jing no longer has any substitute test-takers to protect him, he can only choose the best among the short ones, and he himself is one of the tallest.

Li Jing glanced at Liang Feng and Xu Bin and said, "Young Master Lin, may I have a word with you in private?"

"We're all family here, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Lin Yuan said, generously pulling Liang Feng and Xu Bin inside.

Li Jing had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "Brother Lin, I heard you're at the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm?"

Lin Yuan thought to himself, "Just as I thought," and immediately lost interest, simply nodding perfunctorily.

Seeing this, Li Jing was delighted and pressed on, "I heard that Lin Lang's Snake Fist technique is so masterful that even Liang Wulang greatly admires it?"

Lin Yuan glanced at Liang Feng, then acquiesced.

"Young Master Lin truly lives up to his reputation as a Tiger Ranking hero, defeating Xu Zhan and making a name for himself in Lin Yuan City. I admire you greatly!" Li Jing immediately cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, a smile finally appearing on his face. "Yesterday, I had no choice but to do this. Today, a spot for the early winner has become available, and out of respect for Li Silang, I'll give it to you. I hope Young Master Lin won't let my good intentions go to waste—"

After listening for a while, Liang Feng finally understood Li Jing's intention. Now that the Liang family no longer had any substitute test-takers, they were in dire need of manpower.

As the saying goes, "Every man for himself," how could they possibly hand over Lin Yuan to someone else in order to ensure their own victory?

Liang Feng immediately stood in front of Lin Yuan and said to Li Jing, "Jinglang, you're being unfair! Yesterday you didn't give Linlang a spot to win, and now you're trying to snatch him away. What kind of good deal is that?"

Young Li Jing couldn't hide his emotions; his smile vanished instantly, replaced by an embarrassed expression. After stammering for a while, he said, "You? Young Master Lin is a retainer of the Li family—"

"Once we enter the Immortal Temple, we are all monks. We are all disciples of the Immortal Temple. How can we still be mortal guests?" Liang Feng was quite eloquent.

Lin Yuan remained silent, enjoying watching the two of them bicker. Xu Bin also watched with great interest, his big eyes occasionally scanning the three faces.

Liang Feng continued, "Besides, Lin Lang got the first-come, first-served spot from my Liang family yesterday. Everything has its order of arrival—"

After being rebuked a couple of times, Li Jing couldn't win the argument and felt embarrassed, so he had no choice but to flee.

After Liang Feng chased Li Jing away, he immediately comforted Lin Yuan, saying, "Lin Lang, don't be afraid of him. With Wu Lang here, he can't do anything to you."

""

"Yes, please thank Wulang for me." Lin Yuan still had some goodwill towards Liang Yingxiao, but as for anything else, he didn't care.

"Of course, I will definitely pass on the message! Come on, let's have a meal together." This was the first time Liang Feng had invited Lin Yuan to have a meal with him, and he also called over the other two Liang family members who had secured early qualification spots.

He intentionally brought Lin Yuan into their group, and everyone knew that Lin Yuan was skilled in martial arts, so the atmosphere became very lively.

We had lunch.

In the afternoon, Lin Yuan returned to the courtyard and practiced his boxing for a while to maintain his skills.

As a result, Li Jing's third brother came over, also as an intermediary. However, compared to Li Jing, he spoke much more gently and was more respectful.

But in the end, it all boils down to one thing: they hope he will be included in the Li family's first-come-first-served spot, so that he and Li Jing can win.

Lin Yuan silently gave Xu Bin a wink. This kid was pretty smart; he turned around and called Liang Feng over.

Liang Fengmei struck again, using his silver tongue to drive the man away on the spot. After these two incidents, he was still a little uneasy, so he simply switched rooms with the boy in the same courtyard and moved in.

With him guarding the place, Li Jing and the others indeed didn't come.

That evening, Liang Feng enthusiastically taught Lin Yuan how to play Go. Lin Yuan was a beginner and his skills were not good. After playing a few games, Lin Yuan asked Xu Bin to play with Liang Feng.

Xu Bin is a skilled chess player, and the two played a close game.

As night deepened, Liang Feng went back to rest. Xu Bin quietly returned and whispered, "Uncle-Master, this person has ill intentions. He definitely wants you to ensure their victory first."

Although Xu Bin was only ten years old, Lin Yuan felt that he was very perceptive. No wonder Master Xu did not allow his son to become an official, but instead let his grandson enter the Immortal Temple.

This grandson is just like Confucius!

"How did you figure that out, Xu Lang?" Lin Yuan asked, seemingly testing him.

"Hey, it's not hard. You can tell just by listening." Xu Bin chuckled.

"Hmm, you have good comprehension, and your future is limitless!" Lin Yuan commented, then earnestly advised, "Once we enter the Immortal Temple, we must all act carefully. Sometimes, playing dumb is also an art."

"Oh, I see. He's just pretending to be confused." Xu Bin rolled his eyes, then asked curiously, "So, is Martial Uncle going to protect them?"

"Since you're pretending to be confused, you shouldn't have asked. Everything is understood without words." Lin Yuan didn't answer him; some things can be done, but not said.

In any case, getting through the autumn competition is the top priority. As for other things, if it's convenient, I'll lend a hand and earn a favor along the way. If it's not convenient, then I can only ask them to be more tolerant.

Lin Yuan slept soundly through the night.

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