Chapter 362: A Few Matters of Challenging the Pagoda

"Martial Uncle, Junior Brother Li has already broken into the sixth floor, no need for him to take part in the preliminary selection."

Before Li Mou could answer, Chu Hun Tian Zhu gave a light cough and spoke, looking toward Li Mou with a forced smile:

"Junior Brother Li, I have a presumptuous request......"

"Li Mou is merely passing by on a stroll, Senior Brother Chu, please don't make things difficult for me."

Before he could finish, Li Mou had already opened his mouth to refuse. What Chu Hun Tian Zhu sought was nothing more than going to take part in the preliminary selection, but this was not something he could decide.

Over there, Yan Yan Qingyuan was being watched over extremely tightly. A little preferential treatment could still be explained, but letting him out to take part in the selection would truly be showing far too little respect for the imperial court.

"Chu was being abrupt."

Casting a glance at Zhong Li Wang Luan, who appeared calm and composed, Chu Hun Tian Zhu regretted for the umpteenth time—how had he ever thought of coming to Mount Hengshan City together with him?

"The imperial court keeps over a hundred Golden-Eyed Red-Plumed beasts, and although Shendu City is far, a little over a month should be enough to get here. There's still over a year until the preliminary selection—what are you afraid of?"

Zhong Li Wang Luan glanced at him:

"When the imperial court's people arrive, things will be sorted out on their own."

This big-bearded fellow isn't reckless at all.

Li Mou's heart stirred slightly. Waiting for the imperial court's people to come before dealing with Yan Yan Qingyuan—Li Mou had only just heard this from Elder Long before. Yet this Zhong Li Wang Luan seemed to have guessed it long ago.

"What is a mere preliminary selection?"

Facing the rebuke, Chu Hun Tian Zhu sheepishly lowered his head, but listening to the exclamations that came from time to time through the rain, he still couldn't quite contain himself.

Seeing this, Zhong Li Wang Luan said nothing, but shook his head inwardly.

Talented disciples born of great sects each have their own flaws—some are overambitious, some are arrogant and proud, some are wild and conceited. Chu Hun Tian Zhu belonged to another type.

Born into too good a background, with excellent talent, having walked an entirely smooth path, he could not withstand setbacks.

This was a flaw bred by decades of smooth sailing, not something that could be changed overnight.

"Compared to him, this Li Mou is far more steady."

Zhong Li Wang Luan swept a glance at Li Mou. The latter was gazing into the distance at the Dragon-Tiger Pagoda. Through the curtain of rain, in his Daoist robe and wearing a bamboo hat, he already had some of the bearing of a Daoist True Person.

Li Mou continued his stroll. The rain grew heavier, but it did not affect the preliminary selection outside the Dragon-Tiger Pagoda in the slightest. Even from a great distance, he could hear waves of exclamations.

"Senior Brother Zhuang has broken into the sixth floor!"

At a sudden exclamation, Li Mou turned his gaze. Even through the rain curtain, he could see the stir among the crowd.

The Dragon-Tiger Pagoda served as the site for the preliminary selection. Breaking into the third floor meant passing the preliminary selection and qualifying for the All-Dao Martial Exhibition a year later. For Pei Jiu, Yan Yan Qingyuan, and Chu Hun Tian Zhu, this was naturally no difficulty.

What they wanted was to seize the chance to make a name for themselves, thereby attracting the attention of the higher-ups of their respective sects. Beyond fame, there was profit.

"Zhuang Jiu's talent is no less than Senior Brother Long's, but it's a pity he's a bit younger in age, with no hope of contending for the top spot of the Temple Martial Exhibition."

On the mountain path, Li Mou paused to watch.

At this moment, there were at least over a thousand people beneath the Dragon-Tiger Pagoda. Zhou Sects such as the Changhong Sword Sect, the Samadhi Cave, and the Unified Qi Mountain Manor all had disciples present, and the majority were Dao-level and prefecture-level sects.

He swept his gaze a few times and spotted Lord Master Gongyang Yu in the crowd.

"Eighth Senior Brother has gone to challenge the pagoda too?"

Li Mou's heart stirred, and he edged closer.

"Changhong Sword Sect's Zhuang Jiu ascends the sixth floor!"

"Unified Qi Mountain Manor's Yu Yuan, Yellow Dragon Mountain Manor's Shi Shi Yu Shu ascend the fifth floor......"

"Dragon-Tiger Temple, Wang Shan Xuan Ying, fails the pagoda challenge, stops at the second floor!"

"Huailong Palace's Yan Yan Qingyuan ascends the third floor, passes the preliminary selection!"

Through the rain curtain, people called out loudly from time to time. Even through the heavy rain, the calls carried far, and everyone beneath the Dragon-Tiger Pagoda could hear them clearly.

"The heroes of the realm, gathered in great numbers."

Outside the crowd, Lord Master Gongyang Yu held an oil-paper umbrella, watching from afar, and from time to time sighed with feeling:

"The All-Dao Martial Exhibition truly lives up to its reputation as a grand event of the martial world. In ordinary times, where could one see so many talented disciples gathered together?"

Those calling out names beneath the Dragon-Tiger Pagoda were without exception elite disciples of various sects, geniuses famous for a time. But in fact, those who could gather here to watch were also no ordinary folk.

Ordinary martial artists, for the most part, could not enter Dragon-Tiger Temple. Being able to take part in the preliminary selection was already being among the chosen of the moment.

"Indeed."

Feng Feng Zhongyi stood nearby, and hearing this could not help but feel some sentiment as well:

"I hear people say that Mount Hengshan City now has over six hundred sects. It's only because of the All-Dao Martial Exhibition—even the Dry Emperor himself could not gather so many sects at any other time."

The Great Fortune's five Dao regions and nineteen Zhou regions: five Dao Sects, nineteen Zhou Sects, and over a hundred prefecture-level sects. And sects like the Fire Dragon Temple and the Iron Sword Sect, which were not much inferior to prefecture sects, numbered several times that.

Those sects and forces that didn't even count as proper sects were even more numerous.

Many sects only had that one or two disciples qualified to take part in the preliminary selection, but added together, they numbered in the hundreds and thousands.

"Ba Wan has come out!"

It wasn't that Lord Master Gongyang Yu had sharp eyes—truly, even here, Ba Wan stood out like a crane among chickens.

His clothes were tattered at this moment. After going all-out, he couldn't keep his Bone Shrinking Art under control, and his height of nearly a zhang drew sidelong glances from everyone present.

"Was his name called?"

"Seems like it wasn't......"

"Eighth Senior Brother actually couldn't even break into the first floor?!"

Behind Lord Master Gongyang Yu, a group of Divine Armament Valley disciples all cried out in shock. Most of them had no real concept of the Dragon-Tiger Pagoda, and didn't quite understand what the sixth floor, fifth floor, or third floor meant.

But Ba Wan's ferocity, they had experienced firsthand.

Seeing with their own eyes that even he had failed, their hearts were naturally filled with shock.

"Wasted such a big frame—couldn't even break into the first floor?"

"All show, no substance? Divine Armament Valley, seems to be a prefecture sect under Huizhou? Oh, I have some impression—this is a sect that smiths iron."

"That explains it...... wait, no, the name Divine Armament Valley sounds a bit familiar."

Ba Wan wiped the rainwater from his face, his head buzzing a little. He had expected the tower to be hard to climb, but he hadn't imagined it would be this hard.

Fortunately, he was a man who could accept losing. Though the surrounding gossip was harsh, there was really nothing to say against it.

But soon, the onlookers' attention was no longer on him. Another batch had failed the preliminary selection, while yet another group entered the tower with solemn expressions.

"You lost too?"

Seeing the somewhat dazed Fang Fang Bao Luo, a smile immediately appeared on Ba Wan's face, and he felt much comforted.

"......"

Fang Fang Bao Luo didn't even want to look at him. He glanced around, saw that Yan Xiong had also been eliminated, and only then did his heart feel a little better.

Even the inner disciples of Dragon Tiger Temple couldn't defeat them; his defeat didn't really count for much.

"This tower is truly hard to climb."

Ba Wan sighed, followed Fang Fang Bao Luo's gaze, and on the enormous stone tablet saw a familiar name:

"Dragon Tiger inner disciple Li Yuan, tower-climb level six, Viscera Refinement achieved."

"Junior Brother actually made it to the sixth floor......"

Even having seen it many times, Ba Wan was still somewhat shaken. Fang Fang Bao Luo's gaze, meanwhile, fell on "Viscera Refinement achieved," and his head buzzed for a moment.

After becoming the Young Valley Master, his Wu Gong had advanced extremely quickly. Coupled with receiving the transmission of the Five-Colored Spirit Void Blade, his Wu Gong had already surpassed Ba Wan's, but he still hadn't reached Major Completion of Channel Opening.

"Viscera Refinement achieved......"

Before Ba Wan could react, Fang Fang Bao Luo had already pulled him aside to clear the way. In the brief moment they were spacing out, another batch of people had walked out of the tower.

"Yue Chongtian has broken into the first floor."

Ba Wan heard the name being announced. Those who couldn't even break into the first floor wouldn't get on the stone tablet, nor would their names be announced.

"Dragon-Shaped Root Bone, truly extraordinary."

The two didn't linger. With Li Yuan's brilliant example ahead, Yue Chongtian breaking into the first floor really didn't stir any ripples in their hearts.

"Eighth Senior Brother, Fang Senior Brother."

Outside the crowd, Li Yuan had just exchanged a few words with Lord Master Gongyang Yu and Feng Feng Zhongyi when he spotted the rather bedraggled Ba Wan and the other, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"This tower is way too hard to climb!"

Seeing Li Yuan, Ba Wan first complained, then exclaimed: "Only now do I realize what an incredible feat it was for you to fight your way to the sixth floor."

Fang Fang Bao Luo nodded, still feeling some lingering fear.

Before today, the weight of climbing to the sixth floor of an eighteen-story tower—they truly hadn't felt anything about it.

"Climbing this Dragon Tiger Tower does involve a fair amount of luck."

Li Yuan had anticipated the two's defeat in his heart. They had only just broken through to Channel Opening not long ago; facing Channel Opening Major Completion upon entering the tower, the difficulty was naturally much greater.

Still, he estimated that at the very least Ba Wan had the strength to break into the first floor—that body of his horizontal-training tremendous strength wasn't for nothing.

"What luck?"

Ba Wan shook his head repeatedly: "I went all out and only took one strike; the second strike's opening move already knocked me out of the tower......"

"Mm?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred, and his expression couldn't help but turn a little odd:

"Who was the tower guardian you faced?"

"A big Monk, called something 'Yin Fa.' His fists were harder to withstand than a heavy hammer; two punches could smash me to death."

Yin Fa......

Li Yuan's mouth twitched: "Senior Brother Yin Fa ranks second under Master's tutelage."

"Ah?"

Ba Wan was stunned, scratched his head: "No wonder he was so overwhelmingly strong—so he's a disciple of Monk Master Fulong. Then I didn't lose unjustly!"

The randomness of the tower guardians, ah.

Li Yuan shook his head inwardly. The Dragon Tiger Tower's randomness was greatest only upon entry; afterward, the strong and weak were still quite clearly distinguished. Ba Wan's luck this time was really quite bad.

Yin Fa's talent may not match Dou Yue's, but the difference isn't too great, and he's trained in Wu Gong longer, his foundation more solid.

"What about Fang Senior Brother?"

Fang Fang Bao Luo didn't hide it either: "Surnamed Chu, named Chu Shan Xuan Kong, Wu Gong extremely high. I dodged hastily and only barely took three strikes; I couldn't take the fourth."

Well then, two unlucky eggs.

Li Yuan was immediately somewhere between tears and laughter.

"Chu Shan Xuan Kong, former Vice Hall Master of Yintangfutang, a Chengdezhun Sect Master of Blood Exchange Major Completion."

"......"

Fang Fang Bao Luo also felt speechless; he'd been hit so hard he nearly shut himself in.

"Is this tower really that hard to climb?"

Feng Feng Zhongyi was somewhat shocked. He had assumed Ba Wan and the other had fought before being defeated, but hadn't expected they were actually driven out of the tower in just two or three strikes.

"It's also that the two senior brothers' luck wasn't good."

Li Yuan wasn't merely consoling them. Given Ba Wan and Fang Fang Bao Luo's Wu Gong, if they tried a few more times and were randomly matched against somewhat weaker opponents—such as Yue Chongtian—they'd have a chance to break into the first floor.

"Then, let's try again!"

After hearing Li Yuan explain the rules of tower-climbing, Fang Fang Bao Luo's spirits were much better. He grabbed Ba Wan and went to challenge the tower again.

It wasn't that they wanted to pass the preliminary selection, but they'd come all this way—wouldn't it be a wasted trip if they couldn't even leave their names on the stone tablet?

"This old man originally didn't want to bring them, afraid they'd be traumatized."

At this point, Lord Master Gongyang Yu finally spoke. He had anticipated the two's defeat in his heart.

"The two senior brothers were just a bit unlucky, and having only just entered Channel Opening not long ago, they were at a disadvantage to begin with."

"Mm."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu only sighed slightly, with no intention of looking down on his own disciples:

"At the elixir gathering on the sixth of June, I'll take two bottles of Qi-Augmenting Pills — that should be enough for them to reach Great Accomplishment of Meridian Opening. When the time comes, the preliminaries are hard to say, but leaving a name on the stone tablet would mean the trip wasn't for nothing."

"Given the two senior brothers' talent, one bottle of Qi-Augmenting Pills is enough for Great Accomplishment of Meridian Opening."

Li Yuan mulled it over, wondering how he could get the eight of them to break into the third layer, but on reflection, it was probably impossible.

This wasn't just a matter of elixirs — there was also a gap in martial arts levels. Inner disciples of Longhu Temple at the very least had half a Supreme Art on them, yet most of them still couldn't make it into the preliminaries.

Lord Master Gongyang Yu nodded, then asked, "I've brought quite a few gold drafts on this trip, and afterward I should still be able to buy three or five more bottles of spirit pills. Is there anything you need?"

"That's — not necessary."

Li Yuan was startled and hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.

He also knew a thing or two about Longhu Temple's elixir gatherings. It was said that across these three elixir gatherings, Longhu Temple

had taken in over three million taels of gold along with all manner of heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

Alchemy was a windfall for Longhu Temple.

Other sects and factions had nowhere else to find spirit pills, so they had no choice but to buy. But no Longhu Temple disciple would willingly pay more than eight times the price to purchase elixirs.

"Mm?"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's brow furrowed slightly.

"Don't misunderstand. What I mean is — how about... converting it into gold and silver instead?"

Li Yuan simply didn't want to be a sucker, but he wouldn't refuse the support of the Divine Armament Valley.

If he refused, the valley would instead feel the distance between them.

"That works too."

Only then did Lord Master Gongyang Yu's brow smooth out.

These past two years, Divine Armament Valley's situation had greatly improved. Not only had Dechang Prefecture stabilized, but even taking back Zhe Long Prefecture was already showing signs of progress — all of this naturally owed a great deal to Li Yuan.

This wasn't just support; it was also gratitude.

Seeing this, Feng Feng Zhongyi, who had been standing nearby, also breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If Li Yuan hadn't accepted this favor, he himself would have felt uneasy.

After a short stroll, Li Yuan already had an extra fifty thousand taels in gold drafts, thirty thousand taels in silver drafts, and ten taels of pure gold on him. Lord Master Gongyang's generosity was, as always, lavish.

"Counting the gold and silver previously rewarded by the sect, the materials for the advancement of the Soldier-Forging Art are already enough!"

Divine Armament Valley, about to control two prefectures, was rolling in wealth. But Longhu Temple, which had dominated a province for over two thousand years, was more than just rolling in wealth.

After drawing the blade for the old dragon head, the sect's rewards had been extremely generous — one Long Hu Longhu Dadan, one upper-grade divine armor — he had already gotten them in hand. As for things like spirit beasts, he was still keeping them penned at Hundred Beasts Mountain.

Besides that, there were no shortage of shops in Mount Hengshan City, mineral veins in the mountains, and the like. Only at the very end came gold and silver.

"Mm, should be about right?"

After a quick mental tally, Li Yuan had no mind to charge into the tower either. Clutching the gold and silver, he headed down the mountain. Ever since learning that the Dragon Hall Master might be lurking in the shadows,

whenever he had any secret matters to attend to, he would go down the mountain into the city.

These past ten-plus days, apart from materials like pure gold and Jin Jing that he couldn't find elsewhere, he had instructed Liu Zheng to handle the purchasing and bartering down at the foot of the mountain.

The rain was falling heavily; there were hardly any pedestrians in Mount Hengshan City.

Li Yuan wore a bamboo hat, went to several money shops and draft banks to exchange for fifty thousand taels of gold, hired a few small carts to haul it back to the Forging Soldier Shop. The small courtyard he lived in had long since been connected to a large warehouse.

Closing the door, Li Yuan took out all the materials, inventoried them one by one, then pressed down with his right hand:

"Advance."