Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 222 - 154 Nascent Souls Everywhere, Foundation Establishment as Lowly as Dogs_2

Chapter 222: Chapter 154 Nascent Souls Everywhere, Foundation Establishment as Lowly as Dogs_2

The woman was sitting face to face with Jiang Feng, which caused several people discussing nearby to frown.

Because at this table, everyone was above the realm of Foundation Establishment, and their group might find it difficult to prevail, but it was quite common to ally with one another before entering the mountain.

After briefly considering, this group of people with nefarious intentions still chose to leave, it was quite apparent that they had a hard time coping, yet the beautiful woman merely watched this ill-intentioned group leave the floor, and then turned to the youth with a kind smile.

"Young Master Jiang guessed correctly, this entrance examination indeed doesn’t have many rules."

She picked up the teapot, courteously poured a cup of hot tea, and indicated for him to continue.

The woman didn’t beat around the bush and directly said: "The entrance examination of Purple Cloud Palace is very different from other sects, or rather, it’s very simple, so simple that no explanation is necessary."

"Arrive at the town at the foot of the mountain, and you can ascend the mountain from any direction, entering the mountain foothills, and finally reaching the Mountain Gate, you will then be accepted into Purple Cloud Palace."

"The rules are also absent, within the range of the mountain foothills, whatever method you use is allowed... no, it should be said that no one will care what methods you use."

"The only precaution is that one must not strike in the town, must not affect the commoners, and certainly must not engage in Sword Flight."

His brows furrowed tightly, not allowed to engage in Sword Flight?

What is the reason behind this? The entire Zixiao Mountain stretches for thousands of miles, even just traveling from here to the vicinity of the mountain gate is a hundred miles, not allowing Sword Control?

"...are their brains waterlogged that they need to trouble us before they feel at ease?"

"Pfft!"

He almost spat out a mouthful of tea.

Even the two robust men sitting beside were quite shaken by these words, they hastily looked around, fortunately, their voices weren’t loud and no one paid attention to their table.

She quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve, knowing that Jiang Feng was capable, already having achieved Foundation Establishment at such a young age, he was the youngest in their group.

Furthermore, he had significant connections, during this journey, she had seen more than once Jiang Feng talking with Yu Ying Pavilion Master.

She didn’t have other talents, but she was exceptional in perceiving and observing others, Yu Ying Pavilion Master always maintained a polite but distant smile in front of everyone, which was clearly constrained by propriety.

Only when facing Jiang Feng, her smile was truly natural, and sometimes the two would even go out alone for a while, then return looking like they had been arguing.

Originally, she thought that Yu Ying would directly bring this talented young man to the sect to report, but unexpectedly, they met today, so she asked a few more questions.

"Young Master Jiang, some words must not be spoken carelessly, this town has many patrolling teams from Purple Cloud Palace, if heard by them, trouble is unavoidable."

Lowering her voice, before Jiang Feng could speak, Qiao Yuan immediately continued: "Not allowing Sword Flight is for our own good because Purple Cloud Palace had conflicts with other sects multiple times before."

"There were even several instances when enemies sought them out, therefore they set numerous arrays in this vast mountain foothills, and not allowing Sword Flight is precisely to avoid triggering the arrays."

The youth sighed.

"Don’t they find it troublesome themselves going up and down?"

"Of course not, their Sect Disciples naturally have a special path, it’s just that they won’t allow us to use it, and from now on, please be careful with your words, Young Master."

With a bitter smile on her face, she really didn’t expect Jiang Feng to be so bold, but it was this realization that assured her that Jiang Feng must have a reliance, and likely has connections within Purple Cloud Palace.

A woman’s intuition is always precise.

And naturally, Jiang Feng didn’t know what this woman was thinking, his expression revealed curiosity, because Qiao Yuan’s understanding of Purple Cloud Palace was definitely more than what one could learn in just three days.

Sensing the peculiar look in the young man’s eyes, Qiao Yuan merely pursed her lips with a smile.

"Five years ago, Qiao Yuan visited once, but at that time I had just achieved Foundation Establishment, not stable in my realm, and sixty miles into this Zixiao Mountain foothills I was defeated and had my token taken."

"Now, returning to this place is Qiao Yuan’s last chance. If she cannot successfully attain entry this time, there may be no more opportunities after five years."

There was no intention of concealment; during her previous visit here, she suffered from fighting alone, particularly since she was completely inexperienced. Jiang Feng understood this and nodded in agreement.

"Times have changed compared to before. Miss Qiao has clearly made significant progress. In this town, I hardly see a few cultivators whose cultivation is stronger than Miss Qiao’s. This time, you will definitely achieve what you wish."

Yu Ying, seeing Jiang Feng’s current gentle demeanor, would probably be infuriated.

During the month of travel, Jiang Feng almost always came over during rest times to argue, or rather, to tease each other. Whenever possible, she would bring up the Little Saintess of the Southern Border to reopen old wounds.

Jiang Feng, on the other hand, would often bring up his injuries, whether there was reason to or not, and they would argue daily, sometimes nearly coming to blows in moments of frustration.

So, you’re playing the nice guy when facing others, huh?

Qiao Yuan’s expression froze for a moment, even looking a bit astonished. How did Jiang Feng discern her realm? Wasn’t he just recently through his Foundation Establishment?

However, she didn’t mind because the young man had already refilled the boiling tea and was all ears, clearly piqued by curiosity.

"Since Young Master Jiang is interested, I’ll start by talking about this entry examination."

"The entrance at the foot of the mountain is about twenty miles north of this town, where there is an archway. Under the archway, Purple Cloud Palace disciples responsible for recruitment will be waiting, with the Mountain Gate opening promptly at tomorrow’s morning dragon hour."

"To enter the mountain, one needs to obtain a token engraved with the character ’trial’ from the hands of the Purple Cloud Palace Disciples, marked with the year and a trace of Spiritual Energy as proof."

"The time limit is one month. One needs to successfully reach the Purple Cloud Palace within this month, and possessing more than two tokens in hand is considered the standard to be recruited as an Outer Disciple."

"It is said that the number of tokens reflects one’s strength. Naturally, the more tokens, the better. There was once a Loose Cultivator who performed exceptionally during the examination and was directly recruited as an Inner Sect Disciple, truly a matter of envy."

"From the archway to the jade steps in front of Purple Cloud Palace is about a hundred miles, Young Master Jiang might think this distance short, given our journey of thousands of miles from Fengzhou, and that this mere hundred miles could be swiftly reached in half a day."

"But that is not the case."

While he listened and nodded, these rules were all within his expectations; after all, the sect must have some selection methods in place, and not just any worthless individual can be recruited.

Issuing tokens, besides acting as a symbol for candidates, probably also facilitates tracking and determining positions, and requiring more than two tokens tests your practical combat skills.

This means you must at least experience a life-and-death combat with an opponent at least once.

"The terrain of Zixiao Mountain is complex and intricate, with towering mountains rising straight from the ground, thousands of feet high. It’s impossible to reach the top whether walking on foot or flying with Sword Control."

"The only path winds tortuously along mountain roads, and together with densely packed peaks, these hundred miles might be even more difficult than our usual thousands of miles of walking."

"Moreover, with a large number of people wanting to join Purple Cloud Palace from all different places, and converging towards the Mountain Gate from all directions, just from the southeastern corner where we are, which is part of Long Country, there are no less than five hundred people."

"Not to mention the four or five small countries along the way; just the town we are currently in has at least a thousand cultivators, and there are at least ten entrances around Zixiao Mountain."

"Even just calculating based on our current numbers, the total number would probably be ten times that."

With a silent sigh in his heart, he picked up the teacup and took a sip, his expression neither sad nor happy.

Finally.

It begins.

Hearing this number, he understood that he was about to enter the era where Nascent Souls were everywhere and Foundation Establishments were as common as dogs.

This feeling was all too familiar.

Just like... him, fresh out of college, full of confidence going for an interview at a listed company, only to find batch after batch of people with Master’s degrees disheartenedly leaving the company.

It made him hesitant to proceed.

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