Yang Junxiong suddenly leaped up from the ground, then charged forward like a tiger descending the mountain, rushing towards a person five meters away.
"Bang!" The punch broke through the shoulder, shattering bones.
The opponent let out a terrible scream, their body thrown into the air, the long spear in their hand slipping away.
"Clang!" Yang Junxiong kicked the spear, causing it to spin in the air and land in his hands.
Seeing Yang Junxiong holding the long spear, the others scattered, their greedy desires vanishing.
A skinny camel is larger than a horse; even though Yang Junxiong was injured, as an Entry-Level Martial Artist, he still possessed formidable combat strength.
Moreover, his vital Qi circulated continuously, and his breath quickly recovered to about eighty or ninety percent of its pre-battle state. From the outside, he appeared rosy, as if he had suffered no significant harm.
"Want to die? Come over!" Yang Junxiong scanned his surroundings.
"Let's go, hurry up."
"This person is awake again."
"Entry-Level Martial Artist, indeed tough to deal with."
"Hmph, what are you pretending for? You only dare to bully us, didn't you lose to Zhao Xing?"
Those who coveted the treasures on Yang Junxiong's body quickly dispersed.
Although he had lost to the Mountain Cat and Zhao Xing, he was still not someone they could contend with.
Once the crowd dispersed, Yang Junxiong let out a muffled groan, leaning on the long spear to steady himself.
He was indeed injured, and it was a serious injury.
His vital Qi was in disarray; the kick from the Mountain Cat had displaced his internal organs.
"What a wasted effort." Yang Junxiong's face turned pale, his eyes filled with gloom.
Now it was already the third wave of incense; he chose not to fight for it anymore. After resting for a moment, he dashed down the mountain.
He arrived at the cliff where Zhao Xing was located.
Upon seeing Zhao Xing riding a bamboo horse across the mountain gorge, Yang Junxiong's heart burned with rage.
"He really came here!"
"Stole my bamboo horse and discovered this opportunity."
"However, I still have a chance!"
Yang Junxiong quietly hid behind a boulder and began to adjust his breathing.
He still held a glimmer of hope, wishing that Zhao Xing would not find a way to gather the spiritual elegance, so that after the other party gave up, he could try again.
But he had barely sat down when his heart began to pound violently.
This intense beating was the 'sudden inspiration' encountered when meeting spiritual elegance.
It was stronger than ever, surpassing all the spiritual elegance he had obtained before!
"What? He found it?!"
Yang Junxiong's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked ahead.
He saw Zhao Xing riding the bamboo horse, leaping in the mountain gorge.
Above the gorge, there was mist, and within the mist appeared a faint golden light.
Zhao Xing weaved through the clouds, and as he raised his arm, that faint golden mist was absorbed into his hand.
"So that's how it is. No wonder when I left the Mountain Cat's lair, I always felt an intense reluctance, as if I had missed a great opportunity."
Zhao Xing raised his arm, continuously absorbing the golden light, which ultimately gathered into the 'stone cup' in his hand.
"The Fortune Golden Cup, so it has this effect. If I had discarded this cup, I really wouldn't have been able to gather this spiritual elegance."
At this moment, the stone cup shone brightly again, radiating golden light.
Yang Junxiong watched this scene, feeling an immense sense of unwillingness in his heart.
He was the first to discover the opportunity in this gorge.
However, at that time, he was uncertain about how great an opportunity he could gain from here.
On the first day, he merely searched casually and then left.
That night, after obtaining the first incense, he chose not to pursue the uncertain 'high-grade spiritual elegance' but opted for two portions of medium-grade spiritual elegance.
Since he was the first incense, the Temple of Divinity's True Lord directly informed him of the location and method of acquisition for these two portions of medium-grade spiritual elegance.
This first incense also allowed him and the bamboo horse's battle spirit to both reach Entry-Level.
After reaching Entry-Level, Yang Junxiong's sixth sense greatly improved. He returned here again, sensing the existence of spiritual elegance and confirming that it was an astonishing high-grade spiritual elegance!
He already knew the location, and after obtaining the first incense on the second night, he sought the method to acquire that spiritual elegance.
Yang Junxiong was indeed correct; it was high-grade spiritual elegance. If he sought medium-grade spiritual elegance, the first incense's offerings could directly know the location and acquisition method! However, although he was the first incense, he still needed to pass the test to get the answer.
This also indirectly proved that his speculation was correct.
However, his speed was a bit slow; just as the first incense was about to burn out, he barely passed the test.
By the time he arrived at the Mountain Cat's lair, Zhao Xing had already gotten there first, subduing the Mountain Cat. Upon sensing the Mountain Cat's strength, Yang Junxiong could only wait outside the cave. But at this time, Zhao Xing had already taken away the most crucial item—the Fortune Golden Cup!
Due to the influence of Yang Junxiong's first incense, Zhao Xing had temporarily discarded the stone cup. But in the end, he picked it up again!
After Yang Junxiong entered the lair, he found nothing.
Thus, on the third night, Yang Junxiong revealed his trump card, ignoring both Gu Feng and Du Jiaojiao, and rushed straight for Zhao Xing, solely for the stone cup on Zhao Xing's body.
But unexpectedly, he still lost.
"If I had decisively targeted this opportunity on the first night... perhaps the outcome would have been different." Yang Junxiong felt a sense of unwillingness in his heart.
But unfortunately, there are no 'ifs'; time and fate, Yang Junxiong understood that this spiritual elegance was not meant for him.
"Ah~"
Zhao Xing gathered spiritual elegance in the clouds until his cup was full, and the golden mist had become too faint to sense.
The bamboo horse leaped back to its original position.
"Meow~~ Ha~" The Mountain Cat first called out, then opened its mouth and yawned.
The great cat was almost falling asleep while waiting!
"You see, I'm in a hurry. If I don't get stronger, how will I find food for you in the future?"
"Alright, alright, it was my fault. Here, have some candy."
Zhao Xing took a Heavenly Origin Pear from the bamboo box.
"Whoosh~" The Mountain Cat jumped onto the bamboo horse, clutching the Heavenly Origin Pear and began to gnaw on it.
Tap tap tap~
The bamboo horse walked leisurely forward, while Zhao Xing absorbed the remaining fortune.
Previously, in the Mountain Cat's lair, he had discovered only half a cup of the Fortune Golden Cup.
This time, however, it was a full cup!
After absorbing this portion of fortune spiritual elegance, Zhao Xing's fortune level finally changed.
It rose from Yan Two to Yan Three!
"How rare, my fortune level actually reached Yan Three." Zhao Xing felt a bit emotional.
It was difficult to elevate the fortune level; even if one's cultivation had reached the fifth grade, the fortune level might still be Yan Three.
If it were in the court, it would be somewhat better, but in the wild, even with a cultivation of the third or fourth grade, one might still only have Yan Three level fortune.
Especially after the fall of the Fortune Dynasty, the means of acquisition had become even more difficult.
"Clang! Clang!"
Suddenly, the sound of bells echoed through the mountains.
All the officials looked up, revealing reluctant expressions.
"It’s time to descend the mountain." Zhao Xing glanced at the time, knowing this was the Temple of Divinity reminding the officials to descend.
They had only three days and nights to compete.
Regardless of whether they had gained anything, once the time was up, they had to descend.
"This time, the harvest is quite abundant. I wonder if I will be shocked when I go out. I guess Old Chen and the teacher will be shocked too." Zhao Xing leaped on his horse and in the blink of an eye, dashed out more than ten meters.
The officials began to descend the mountain, but Lu Qian was anxiously searching for something.
Finally, he found Zong Shichang in a pavilion.
"Zong Eighteen, have you seen Zhao Xing?" Lu Qian asked.
"No, what’s wrong?" Zong Shichang replied, puzzled. "Did something happen?"
But Lu Qian refused to say anything, and after scanning around without seeing anyone, he left with Du Jiaojiao and Liu Muqing.
"Strange." Zong Shichang muttered, "I wonder what Zhao Sanjia did to provoke her."
At the foot of the mountain, in the Earth Altar Square.
At this time, the sky had not yet brightened, but many officials and family heads were waiting here.
Upon hearing the bell from the mountain, they knew that the officials' ascent to Ling Mountain was about to end.
Xue Wenzhong gazed from the observation area, his eyes filled with worry.
Seeing this, Chen Shijie comforted, "Old Xue, there's no need to worry too much. That kid may only be at Gathered Essence Fourth Level, but he is clever. Even if he gains nothing, he should be fine."
Xue Wenzhong sat down at these words; he did not reach for a teacup but sighed, "I’m just afraid he’s too clever. What if he doesn’t heed advice and goes up the mountain on the first day..."
Xue Wenzhong could see that Zhao Xing inherently had a streak of arrogance and was not one to follow rules. Despite repeated reminders to accumulate enough straw men before going up the mountain, he felt uneasy until he saw him.
He feared hearing any bad news.
Chen Shijie said lightly, "It won’t happen. I have confidence in him. Just wait; perhaps this kid can give us a surprise."
"A surprise is unnecessary; I just want him to return safely."
Since it was the third day, the excitement of the autumn equinox opening the mountain had passed, and ordinary people had come less.
However, Zhao Ruide still brought his wife and children, waiting in the dark at the foot of the mountain.
"Father, how much longer until Brother comes out?"
Zhao Ruide replied, "Soon, the bell will ring at the hour of the rabbit, and he will definitely descend before the hour of the dragon."
He had participated in gathering spiritual elegance in his youth, but Zhao Ruide had only gathered a low-grade spiritual elegance before descending, yet he knew the rules.
Once the time was up, the living would see the living, and the dead would see the dead.
"Mother, don’t sleep. Big Brother is about to come down."
"Ugh, Zheng Er, don’t disturb me. Let me sleep a little longer..." Madam Cai had risen early and was now too tired, finding a stool in the observation area to fall asleep again.
In the observation area, there was a temporarily constructed tent, and within a larger tent, a plump middle-aged man was pacing back and forth.
"Master, please stop pacing; it makes me anxious." A woman lifted the quilt from the bed and got up. "Chang Er will be fine."
Zong Yonglong sighed, "How can I be at ease without seeing Chang Er?"
He had been waiting here for three days.
Originally, Zong Yonglong would not be so worried, but unexpectedly, on the first day, one of the four skilled protectors he hired had died!
So for the past few days, Zong Yonglong had not slept well, always fearing hearing bad news.
Fortunately, in the following two days, he did not see Zong Shichang's corpse appear, but now that it was nearing the end, he could not help but feel anxious again.
"It’s about to end." Two fishermen who had come early, casually looked at the fish in the bucket. "I wonder which fish will survive and which will soar."
"Heaven bless." Another fisherman, showing his yellow teeth, fiddled with the water in the bucket, "I hope these fish can live well so we can sell them for a good price."
"Keep an eye on them; it’s not just the fish; watch those officials too."
"Got it, got it."
Qin Feng and his three companions walked down the mountain path, listless.
This time ascending the mountain, they had truly gone home empty-handed.
Clearly, they had obtained spiritual elegance multiple times, yet it had all been snatched away. Not only that, but they had also lost some money.
"It’s all that damned Zhao Xing’s fault!" Qin Feng said resentfully, "If it weren’t for him, we might have already broken through."
"And that Zhou Gang and Fang Jie, equally detestable!"
If they had not seen any spiritual elegance from the beginning, that would have been fine, but after going through so much trouble to obtain it, only to have it snatched away, it was truly frustrating.
"Qin Shixiong, what are you talking about?" The Seventh Junior Brother turned back in confusion, looking at Qin Feng, "Who is Zhao Xing?"
"Yeah, what are you talking about?" The other two also turned back in puzzlement.
"You all..." Qin Feng was about to explain, but as he took two steps forward, he unknowingly crossed the stone stele at the foot of the mountain.
"What was I saying? Did I just speak?" Qin Feng's eyes showed confusion.
"You seemed to mention something about Zhao something, and also mentioned Zhou Gang and Fang Jie."
"Did I?" Qin Feng turned back in bewilderment, only to see a rolling mist. "What happened on the mountain?"
After passing the Forgetting Worries Stele, with each step they took, the four of them found their memories of the mountain growing weaker, everything about the mountain fading from their minds.
By the time they had walked a hundred meters away from the Forgetting Worries Stele, they could no longer remember anything, only knowing they had walked around the mountain and gained nothing.
Shaking his head, Qin Feng and the others arrived outside the Earth Altar Square, where the Wu Si of Lake City was waiting. Upon seeing Qin Feng and the others come out, with no changes in their cultivation, there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes, and he casually encouraged them a few times before leaving them to the side.
As Qin Feng and the others left the tent, they immediately saw Fang Jie and Zhou Gang.
"Qin Brother, did you gain anything?" Zhou Gang asked politely.
"Nothing at all." Qin Feng forced a smile, "What about you, Zhou Brother and Fang Brother?"
"Strangely enough, Zhou Brother and I don’t know why we descended the mountain yesterday, gaining nothing, yet we ended up with an extra hundred taels of silver notes." Fang Jie said.
"Huh? Did the mountain god return silver notes? That’s indeed strange." Qin Feng felt it was odd, yet there was a hint of envy.
A hundred taels, that was quite a windfall.
At the foot of the mountain, Zong Shichang, along with Uncle Cang, Uncle Hu, and Uncle Yuan, walked out of the mist together.
There were quite a few of them, at least seventeen or eighteen people.
"Huh? I broke through!"
"Hahaha, I’ve reached Gathered Essence Seventh Level!"
"Hiss, my secret technique, Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains, has actually reached the Ninth Level?"
Three of them exclaimed joyfully, while the others looked on enviously.
Those who had gained something on the mountain were, after all, a minority of lucky ones; most people had gained nothing.
"Uncle Cang, you’ve reached Ninth Level? No, I’ve also reached Gathered Essence Seventh Level. Hey, where’s my money?" Zong Shichang shouted, rummaging through the bamboo box, "Two thousand taels of silver notes, just like that, gone? Not a single cent left?"
Uncle Yuan looked around and then at Zong Shichang, "Young Master Zong, you’ve reached Gathered Essence Seventh Level, made considerable progress, and came down with us, so it seems the agreement has been fulfilled."
Zong Shichang nodded, "Yes, fulfilled, beyond expectations! Thank you three."
The old official cupped his hands to the others, "In that case, I’ll take my leave first. Uncle Cang, Uncle Hu, farewell."
"Farewell."
Uncle Cang and Uncle Hu also cupped their hands to Zong Shichang, "Young Master Zong, we’ll return to report."
"Alright, regarding your matters, my Zong family will certainly pay attention." Zong Shichang bid farewell to the two.
"Thank you."
As Zong Shichang descended the mountain, the number of people and the significant progress he made immediately attracted attention.
High Linong from the Agricultural Affairs Bureau and Zong Yonglong soon appeared before Zong Shichang.
"Son, you finally came out!" The middle-aged woman immediately rushed over, holding Zong Shichang's arm, looking him over, "Chang Er, are you injured? Is there anywhere uncomfortable?"
"Mother, I’m perfectly fine." Zong Shichang held his mother’s hand.
"Are you hungry? Oh, look at your little face, so thin. There’s food in the tent; I’ll go get it for you right now..."
Zong Yonglong frowned, "Alright, no need to cry. Lord Gao is still here; you should go to the tent first... Lord Gao, I apologize for the disturbance."
High Linong smiled, "Madam Zong and Young Master Shichang share a deep mother-son bond; how could it be a disturbance?"
Zong Yonglong called his son over, "Let Lord Gao take a look."
High Linong held Zong Shichang's wrist, then congratulated Zong Yonglong, "Congratulations, President Zong. He has reached Gathered Essence Seventh Level and is in good health, with no hidden injuries."
"Good, good, good." Zong Yonglong finally felt relieved, revealing a smile, "This is all thanks to Lord Gao's guidance; I will certainly visit to express my gratitude another day."
High Linong also smiled happily, "This is my duty, President Zong is being too polite."
Then he cupped his hands to take his leave, giving the father and son some private space.
"Father, has Wang Dong come down?" Zong Shichang asked, "I gained a lot this time; I definitely couldn’t have done it alone."
The self-awareness of the young master of the Zong family was quite clear.
"Wang Dong died." Zong Yonglong said flatly.
"What?!" Zong Shichang was shocked.
"He died on the first day. But don’t worry, his family will be taken care of." Zong Yonglong said, "You don’t need to worry about this; just rest for now, and then go see Lord Gao to make an appearance in front of the officials in the county."
"Oh."
More and more officials descended the mountain, and various departments of the Grain City government were eagerly awaiting.
The happiest was High Linong.
Because his two proud disciples, Zong Shichang had jumped from Gathered Essence Fourth Level to Gathered Essence Seventh Level. Although there were no breakthroughs in spells, this was already a significant improvement.
As for Li Chengfeng, it was even more exaggerated; before ascending the mountain, he was at Gathered Essence Fifth Level, but after descending, he had actually reached Gathered Essence Ninth Level! Moreover, his spells had also greatly improved!
In contrast, the other officials from the Agricultural Affairs Bureau had yet to show anything particularly impressive.
"Lord Gao, congratulations." Tang Wanchun felt uneasy in his heart because his student, Xiao Ze, had made no progress at all.
Pang Yuan's Wen Nanxing had only broken through from Gathered Essence Fourth Level to Gathered Essence Seventh Level.
"Not at all, not at all. Congratulations are unnecessary; that’s all their own fortune, what does it have to do with me?" High Linong feigned humility, but the corners of his mouth were raised high.
He felt proud and could not help but ask, "The results from the last assessment should be coming out soon. I wonder if Zhao Xing from Huai Liu Academy has come down?"
"Not yet." Pang Yuan replied.
"Could something have happened?"
Chen Shijie was too lazy to pay attention to this person, but Xue Wenzhong could not help but scold, "You better shut that filthy mouth!"
"You..." High Linong was stunned, about to erupt, when Tang Wanchun stepped in to smooth things over, "Old Xue, why get angry..."
"You shut up too!" Xue Wenzhong stood up, his beard and hair crackling with electricity.
Pang Yuan tactically sipped tea, but when he saw Xue Wenzhong's gaze sweep over, his actions suddenly froze.
This... I didn’t say anything?
But he slowly placed his hands on his knees; with Xue Wenzhong's age and seniority, if he slapped him, he would have no way to argue.
When an honest person gets angry, it’s extraordinary; they had never seen Xue Wenzhong angry before, and it was truly imposing.
For a moment, all the officials from the Ninth Rank of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau sat straight like quails, not daring to make a sound.
Just as the atmosphere reached its peak of oppression, suddenly a commotion erupted outside.
"Someone else has come out! It’s an official from Grain City!"
"Heavens, who is that? How did they gain such a great harvest?!"
Chen Shijie’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly stood up, rushing outside.
(End of Chapter)