Aspiring to the Immortal Path Chapter 16: Lingzhou

Lingzhou Canglong Mansion.

Among the twelve Wenxin states, Lingzhou ranks fourth in terms of area, tenth in terms of spiritual energy resources, and second in terms of economy.

This place is located south of Wenxin. Like Qiongzhou, it is a remote place in the extreme east. However, it is geographically closer to Suoyun Island and forms an important promontory, Wuya Cape.

Starting from Wuyajiao and sailing along the coastline, you can reach Yahai Kingdom in thirty days.

Yahai and Wenxin are not connected on land, but they can be directly connected by sea. The advantage of the route allows there to be a huge amount of maritime trade, making Lingzhou the most important economic state in Wenxin. Therefore, although there is a lack of spiritual energy here, the status cannot be ignored.

Canglong Mansion is the seat of Lingzhou’s state council, and it is also the most prosperous place in Lingzhou. Here are the largest ships, the most upscale restaurants, the most luxurious inns and the most beautiful **** in Wenxin Kingdom.

On Changsheng Street, a young man was walking on the street at the moment. It was Tang Jie.

He did not listen to Xu Muyang's instructions and headed north. Instead, after leaving Anyang Mansion in the north, he immediately turned south and headed south.

Xu Muyang asked him to go north because Xiyue Academy was in the north and he wanted him to study there. However, Tang Jie knew that Tianshen Palace would never let him go if he could not get the Xuan Bingjian. He was traveling alone and his whereabouts were too obvious, so he immediately changed direction after taking a false shot and walked exclusively on the mountain trails, walking at dawn. Stay.

This trick is not complicated, but very practical.

No one expected that a twelve-year-old boy would be able to play such a trick. Most of the people looking for him were looking north, and there were very few people in the south. Naturally, they searched every inch of Wenxin Kingdom and couldn't find him.

Another reason for heading south is that without Xu Muyang's recommendation, it would be difficult for Tang Jie to enter Xiyue Academy.

Xiyue Academy only recruits 1,500 disciples every year.

But among these fifteen hundred disciples, there are at least one hundred thousand people pursuing him.

This does not take into account those who cannot even afford tuition.

The tuition fee for Xiyue Academy is 300 spiritual coins per year.

Spiritual money is the basic currency used by immortal cultivators. According to the official value, one spiritual coin is only equivalent to one tael of silver. However, in fact, it is difficult for mortals to exchange it. Therefore, in private transactions, spiritual money is The actual value has tripled to five times.

In other words, Xiyue College's annual entrance fee alone costs more than one million yuan. This is just the entry fee, and subsequent expenses will be even greater. In fact, the entry fee for Xiyue Academy is not profitable, but the various subsequent expenses are hard to say. It is quite a modern concept of selling peripherals.

The reason why this is so is because the Xiyue Academy was founded from the beginning to satisfy the desire of mortals to seek immortality, and the practice is to educate without discrimination.

In the earliest days, various sects actually used foundation testing as a method to select disciples within the sect.

However, various sects soon discovered that this method had many shortcomings.

Cultivation of immortality definitely requires foundation, but it does not rely solely on foundation. Just like if a person wants to be successful, he must have IQ, but it doesn't just rely on IQ. There are always some people who have ordinary qualifications but achieve extraordinary results.

For ordinary people who have not been able to get started, this is the best basis for the theory that qualifications are useless, so they are often dissatisfied with the basic selection method. It is not his fault that he cannot cultivate, but that the Immortal Sect is too pedantic and conservative and clings to its foundation. Since there are people in the world who are successful in cultivating Taoism but have poor foundations, then who can say that he is not one of them?

The fact is that although there are existences like this, they are very few in number and are not worth following at all.

However, people in the world are ignorant and always think that if others can create miracles, they can do it themselves.

When the Immortal Sect refuses, it is inevitable to feel resentful towards the Immortal Sect.

In order to avoid too many disputes with the secular world, maintain its image, and facilitate governance, the Immortal Sect finally adopted a compromise method, which was to open an academy for cultivating immortals, claiming that all mortals in the world could study in it, and as long as they achieved certain achievements, they could join the sect.

This method can be said to kill four birds with one stone.

First of all, it avoids the prejudice of stupid people in the world, thinking that the sect will not give them a chance.

Secondly, it saves the effort of identifying the disciple’s foundation. Appraisal of a disciple's foundation is not something that can be done casually. It also requires the elders of the sect to take action and consume resources to test their qualifications. The accumulation of a little will make a big difference, and the consumption will be huge.

Three Lai can also add an extra income to the sect. Parents all over the world have the same heart. To cultivate Taoism for their children is to be willing to dedicate their life savings. If you don't accept it, he will be angry with you and blame you for not giving him a chance. As for his inability to learn, it is because he is incompetent and cannot blame the sect. The elders in the family have also given up on this idea.

Finally, it is indeed possible to avoid missing out on some disciples who have insufficient foundation but outstanding talents. After all, those who can achieve the achievements required by the sect, no matter what their foundation, always have value to create.

However, some sects believe that this approach is too secular. Immortal cultivators are worldly masters and only need to be admired by the world. How can they follow the secular example and open a college?

If everyone has the opportunity to become an immortal, wouldn’t it mean that the immortals would lower themselves?

But facts have proven that only by opening a wide door can we recruit talented people, and those who are closed-minded and conservative will eventually be eliminated by the times.

The reason why the Xiyue Sect, Tianshen Palace and other six major sects have become the strongest sects in Qixia Realm is not only because of their strong foundation, but also because they were the first to make changes, which ultimately enabled them to achieve their current dominance. And those stubborn and conservative sects, due to the few disciples and the lack of support, eventually gradually fell into silence and disappeared in the long river of history.

However, in the long process of evolution, Xiyue College has gradually changed from a college for all ordinary people to a college controlled by powerful and wealthy families. It can be said that it is very difficult for poor children to enter. .

Of course, cultivating immortals does not mean that there is only one way, but Xiyue Academy is difficult to enter, and other immortal sects may not be easy to enter.

Just like Xu Muyang, Tang Jie followed him for such a long time but failed to obtain the immortal method. Almost all the immortal masters who came out of the sect have sworn not to spread their sect's immortal magic to outsiders - when God opens one door for mortals, it often closes another door.

As the best and most promising path to immortality in Wenxin’s country, Xiyue Academy is also the most competitive and even the most brutal!

In short, if you are poor in literature, rich in martial arts, and poor in immortality for three generations!

The road to immortality is difficult, and just the journey to school is enough to be daunting for most people.

Speaking of money, Tang Jie still has it.

The green light sword that Xu Muyang gave him was a good magic weapon with high value, but selling the sword would be equivalent to exposing oneself. Secondly, Xu Muyang gave it to him, and he was reluctant to sell it. What's more, even if he has money, he still has no way to get in.

Unless he is in the ninth rank of the Jade Sect and has extraordinary talent, he can be admitted under special circumstances.

So if you want to enter the academy, you must find another way.

After following Xu Muyang for half a year, Tang Jie no longer knew anything about the world of immortality, so he had already made a comprehensive plan before coming.

While walking on Changsheng Street, Tang Jie saw a restaurant not far away, with people coming and going, which was quite lively. Tang Jie walked in, sat at a table, ordered a few side dishes, and then started eating and drinking by himself.

He was not in a hurry, just ate and drank slowly. When the meal time passed and the number of guests gradually decreased, Tang Jie waved to the waiter, took out a few copper coins and put them in his palm: "Brother, second brother, I have a question and I want to ask you."

The waiter put away the copper coins with a smile on his face: "What are your orders, sir?"

"I am new to this Canglong Mansion. I am not familiar with many things here. I would like to find someone to understand."

"What do you want to know about?"

"There are many, but what I want to know most is which family has the most status in Canglong Mansion."

"This..." The waiter hesitated.

Tang Jie smiled and stuffed a few more copper coins in his hand: "Don't get me wrong, do you think I am a gangster?"

The waiter looked at Tang Jie and saw that he looked like a young man. He did not look like a bad person, and it was unlikely that a real gangster would pry in this way. Then he said with confidence: "There is someone in Canglong Mansion. The five great families, Jin, Zhang, Gu, Wei, and Zhou, are all famous in Canglong Mansion. It can be said that half of the wealth of Canglong Mansion belongs to these five great families."

"Tell me in detail." Tang Jie pointed to the dishes on the table.

The waiter saw that there were no guests, so he simply sat down, picked up his chopsticks and ate while saying: "The biggest family in Canglong Mansion is the Jin family. The Jin family started by running boats, and now this pier There must be six out of ten ships on board, either belonging to or controlled by his Jin family. He has more than ten immortal cultivators under his command, which is quite impressive. The Zhang family It is a family of officials. The current old man of the Zhang family once served as the left secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He was a fourth-grade official. His disciples are all over the world. Even the Canglong Mansion has countless officials who are from the Zhang family. The current head of the Canglong Mansion , and they still visit the old lady every year to pay their birthdays. They own the most fields in Canglong Mansion, especially the spiritual fields, which are almost all controlled by the Zhang family."

After taking a few bites of food, the waiter continued: "The Gu family started out as a gangster. It is said that they had unified the gangsters in Canglong Mansion earlier. The head of the family seemed to be a cultivator. It is said that he was involved with some sect. I’m not sure about the details, but I know that this family is very ruthless and has the worst reputation. They mainly run **** agencies, casinos, and pawns. In addition, they make loan sharks and collect money from some small local gangs to support them. There are a lot of thugs. The Wei family and the Zhou family have only grown up in recent years. Most of their business is street business. Many of the large and small shops in Canglong Mansion belong to these two families. The head of the Wei family Business shops, cloth shops, restaurants, inns, medicine shops, clothing shops and food shops are all engaged in the business of ordinary people. The Zhou family mainly deals in flower shops, jewelry, calligraphy and painting and money shops, and most of them deal with dignitaries. Our restaurant is It was opened by a relative of the Wei family."

"So that's it..." Tang Jie thought for a moment and then asked: "Then if I want to take refuge, which company do you think is better?"

The waiter smiled, took a deep look at Tang Jie, and with an "I knew it was like this" expression on his face, replied: "It's not easy to join us. These people, the first three, are all here. It has been in existence for hundreds of years, and even the servants who are under my control are passed down from generation to generation. The son of the manager will be the manager, and the son of the concierge will also be the concierge in the future. He is very loyal. It is difficult for outsiders to get in. !"

"Then the Wei and Zhou families..."

"They are recruiting outsiders, but they need to be clean."

"Innocent..." Tang Jie murmured.

The origin of my net worth is not entirely innocent.

After asking the waiter some more questions and finding out the general situation here, Tang Jie said goodbye and left.

In the following days, Tang Jie wandered around Canglong Mansion for more than ten days, and then he disappeared again...

——————————

In a blink of an eye, winter has arrived.

The winter in Canglong Mansion seems to be extremely cold this year, and it snowed heavily all night.

When Old Man Wu woke up early in the morning, he saw a vast expanse of white on the street, and his yard was actually filled with thick falling snow.

Shaking his head, the old man went out to clean the snow in the yard.

After finishing his work, Old Man Wu slumped his sore back and sighed: "Oh, I am really old and useless. My bones have become worse this year."

As he spoke, he coughed a few more times.

An old voice came from the house: "Old man, don't forget to sweep the snow in front of the door."

"I know, old woman." Old Man Wu responded angrily.

I opened the door and was about to clean it when I suddenly felt something kicked under my feet.

Looking down, Old Man Wu's expression changed drastically: "It's terrible, old lady, someone... someone died in front of our house!"

"What?"

The next moment, an old lady ran out of the door. She came to the door and took a look. No, there was a person lying at the door of her house, covered with snow. If Old Man Wu hadn’t kicked her, she would have been there. Won't find out yet.

The old lady quickly squatted down, looked carefully, and whispered: "Oh my God, this is still a baby, why is it dead?"

"Sin!" Old Man Wu also sighed.

At this time, he also saw clearly that the person who died in front of his house was clearly a young man who was not yet an adult.

At this moment, the body on the ground suddenly moved. The two old men jumped up at the same time in fright, but when they reacted, the old lady shouted: "He's still alive!"

"Quick! Carry the man back into the house!" The two old men started to carry the young man on the ground into the house. After all, although the two of them were older, they were both accustomed to doing the same kind of work. The young man was light-boned and could move it easily.

As soon as he put him on the bed, Old Man Wu shouted: "Hurry up, old lady, go make him a bowl of **** soup. Don't be careless at this time!"

The old lady has hurriedly made **** soup.

After a bowl of **** soup, the young man seemed to have some energy, and his eyes gradually opened.

"Wake up! Wake up!" the old lady shouted excitedly.

The old couple heaved a sigh of relief at the same time, and Old Man Wu even smiled: "It'll be fine if you wake up, just wake up! I didn't expect that I, Wu Nanfu, could save another life in my old age. Same as last time, haha."

The old lady rolled her eyes at him angrily: "Look at how proud you are, let Xing'er know about it tomorrow, I have to laugh at you."

But my heart is also very happy.

The young man woke up and looked around, seeming to realize something.

Suddenly he turned over and sat up, then knelt down with a plop: "Thank you two old men for saving this boy's life. Even if I am broken into pieces, I will swear to repay the kindness of my two elders!"

"Get up, get up, what are you talking about?" The old lady quickly helped the boy up, and then asked him why he fainted in front of her house.

The young man then replied that he had escaped from Yeguyuan, where thieves were rampant and families were often wiped out. Although the Immortal Family has a clean-up campaign, these horse thieves are like weeds in the ground. They often kill one after another, but they cannot be wiped out completely.

This young man was killed by the Noghara horse thief, causing his family to be destroyed. He eventually fled all the way to Canglong Mansion, but ended up living on the streets for food and clothing~IndoMTL.com~ and almost died of freezing in front of the Wu family.

The old lady felt pity in her heart when she saw the young man's thin appearance, and said, "It's really **** this kid. He came from such a long way alone and caught up with the first day of winter." It snowed heavily and almost killed him. If he were to go out and become homeless, he would probably freeze to death on the streets."

As she spoke, she looked at Old Man Wu. Although he didn't say anything, Old Man Wu already knew what she meant.

"Well...Xing'er is not here, and we are the only two old people at home. I'm afraid it's not appropriate..." The old man hesitated for a moment.

The old lady patted the old man on the head and cursed: "What are you thinking? This little baby is all alone. Do you really want to see him starve to death and freeze to death on the street? Save people to the end!"

"But his origin is unknown..."

"If you have an unknown origin, are you, Wu Nanfu, or someone from a wealthy family, who deserves to covet you?"

Old man Wu rubbed his head and thought about it. Although the Mengwei family's chief steward had taken care of him in recent years, and his life had become much better, after all, he was just an ordinary family, and he couldn't be regarded as someone who would be interested in him.

Besides, Old Man Wu has always been kind to the village and has a good reputation, so he is not likely to have any enemies.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said: "In that case, you can stay at my house for the next few days, and then..."

He wanted to say that he would move out after he found a job and a way of living. Unexpectedly, when the young man heard this, he immediately fell to the ground: "Thank you, old man, for taking me in. I have received the kindness of my two elders for saving my life. From now on, I will treat you as my elders." As parents, let your children serve you!"

"Huh?" The old man was stunned. The old lady smiled and touched the young man's head: "Okay, okay! There are just more than one set of bowls and chopsticks for more than one person. It doesn't matter. Yes. I have a baby, and I still don’t know your name.”

The young man has raised his head, revealing his eyes as bright as stars: "My name is Tang Jie!"