Chapter 9: Teaming Up

The others present were only too glad to have one less competitor to worry about. They wished there were more fools like him; why would anyone speak up on his behalf? Besides, a Yonglu Mountain elder had already spoken. Even if the man forced himself to stay, he would likely never become a disciple of Yonglu Mountain.

The interlude of the fool defying Yonglu Mountain’s rules quickly passed. After he slunk away in disgrace, Elder Zhao began explaining the procedures for the Mountain Exam. Naturally, as a man of action and few words, he went through the process very quickly.

“First, this Mountain Exam is a team effort. Each team must have at least three members but no more than five. If a team has only two members, they must either withdraw or join another team.”

“Second, within the exam area, a total of fifteen low-grade magic treasures marked by Yonglu Mountain have been placed. Within one day and night, each team must obtain one and reach the finish line. The exam is only considered complete once all members of the team have arrived. If a team fails to obtain a magic treasure, they will receive no score.”

“Third, high-grade magic treasures are prohibited in this Mountain Exam, and killing is strictly forbidden. However, talismans, pills, and magic treasures within the Qi Refining Stage are permitted. Anyone found violating these rules will be disqualified immediately.”

“And one final point: shadow walls will be used to monitor the entire exam, so do not challenge the rules of Yonglu Mountain.”

Excellent. The elder had emphasized the rules of Yonglu Mountain once again.

Bian Chunzhou glanced at the blindfolded Wen Xuxu, thinking that the heavy burden of finding teammates was going to fall on his shoulders. But that was fine. Making friends was his specialty… or not?!

Wait, what? Did they really have to form teams this quickly? Did they not need to communicate at all? They just paired up immediately? Bian Chunzhou couldn’t help but look around. Well, aside from the two of them, there was only one other gloomy-looking guy left behind.

But this guy looked to be at least thirty. If not thirty, he had to be twenty-nine. Gloomy and older, the reason he was left over was glaringly obvious.

Bian Chunzhou wondered if these people had known beforehand that the Mountain Exam would require teams, which was why they had found teammates so early. He looked around; there were teams of three, four, and five. Teams of five were rare, while teams of four were the most common.

“I’ll join you.”

Bian Chunzhou hadn’t expected the man to be so proactive. After all, if this guy joined another team, he and Wen Xuxu would be forced to split up, or if other teams refused to let them join, they would be automatically eliminated before the Mountain Exam even began, according to the rules just announced.

It sounded like a dirty trick, but it was well within the rules.

“Welcome aboard, but why did you choose us?” Was he running a charity? Frankly, with him at the third layer of Qi Refining and Wen Xuxu at the second, and their meager supply of talismans obtained through freeloading, they really weren’t very competitive candidates for a team in the Mountain Exam.

“My name is Chen Zui, with ‘Zui’ meaning the best. The team I join must, of course, be the best team. You were first in the preliminary trial, right?”

Wen Xu nodded. “You speak the truth, Brother Chen, but my cultivation is low. I am only at the second layer of Qi Refining.”

“That’s enough. You don’t look like much of a fighter anyway.” Chen Zui wore a very wild beard. In fact, his facial hair was extremely lush; his hair, eyebrows, and beard all grew in a wild, untamed fashion. He looked incredibly weathered, and with his ragged style of clothing, anyone who didn’t know better would think Brother Sharp^[1] had been reincarnated into the cultivation world.

Bian Chunzhou couldn’t help but raise his hand. “I’m only at the third layer of Qi Refining. My name is Bian Chunzhou.”

Chen Zui didn’t even blink, showing no reluctance at taking on two deadweights. “That’s even better. You two are so weak I could knock you down with a single punch. If I can carry you both to get a magic treasure and reach the finish line, won’t that prove my abilities are far superior to everyone else’s!”

Bian Chunzhou: …So by “best team,” you mean the team that best highlights how amazing you are.

But having someone join was better than having no team at all. Bian Chunzhou thought relatively optimistically: what if they just stumbled upon a magic treasure right after entering? Right, a person had to have some wishful thinking to get through life.

“Let’s go, it’s time for us to head in. As long as you two don’t drag me down too much, I guarantee I’ll get you to the finish line.” Chen Zui patted his chest reliably. “I’m at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. In this Mountain Exam, only two others share my level of cultivation.”

Well, the two of them combined couldn’t match him. It was hard to complain about him treating them as deadweights.

Just as those words left his mouth, before Bian Chunzhou could deliver a little speech about riding his coattails, Wen Xu spoke up first. “I admire your righteousness, Brother Chen. But if there is anything you need us to do, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“Sure, sure. Are you really blind?” Chen Zui was straightforward and naturally spoke whatever came to mind. Besides, curing eyes wasn’t that difficult. Who was to say some people just didn’t like using their eyes to see? He had even met people who could walk perfectly fine but insisted their legs were broken.

Respecting other people’s quirks was something Chen Zui’s mother had repeatedly and earnestly warned him to do before he left home.

“Yes, but it does not hinder my walking. Please rest assured, Brother Chen.”

Chen Zui waved his hand, not caring at all. “You’ve already reached Qi Refining. If it still hindered your walking, you’d be no different from a fool. Just call me Chen Zui. ‘Brother Chen’ sounds like you’re talking to someone else.”

Wen Xu: …Someone even more blunt than Bian Chunzhou has appeared.

“But if you can’t see, does that mean you can’t search for the magic treasures?”

Wen Xu shook his head. “No, the magic treasures will definitely be easy to find.” After all, the preliminary trial was about finding spiritual plants; there was no reason the Mountain Exam would test the exact same thing. However, being easy to find did not mean they would be easy to obtain. Competition from other teams was one aspect, but Yonglu Mountain would surely have set up obstacles as well.

Bian Chunzhou looked around. “What do you mean?”

“When the elder announced the rules just now, he mentioned there are fifteen magic treasures marked by Yonglu Mountain. Why magic treasures instead of other inanimate objects? The candidates participating in this Mountain Exam range from those at the second or third layer of Qi Refining like Chunzhou and me, to those at the fifth or sixth layer like you. If it were just a team-based treasure hunt and confrontation, it would purely test cultivation levels and the talismans or magic treasures one possesses. But if that were the case, those with high cultivation would simply band together. How could low-cultivation candidates ever stand a chance?”

Chen Zui scratched his head. “So what you’re saying is?”

“My point is, these fifteen low-grade magical artifacts might be meant for the examinees to use. This way, the gap in cultivation levels can be somewhat leveled out. Yonglu Mountain’s Mountain Exam this time is likely testing the examinees’ teamwork and adaptability.”

Wen Xu was someone who was very good at taking exams. In other words, dissecting a prompt was an instinct carved into his very blood. The moment the rules reached his ears, he had already analyzed them word by word in his mind. Since he dared to speak it aloud, he was already certain of it.

“Furthermore, the rules didn’t explicitly state that a team can only take one artifact.” From this, it was clear that the disciples Yonglu Mountain wanted to recruit were not fools who only knew how to cultivate blindly. They wanted disciples who could think, take action, and possessed a bit of luck.

Truth be told, they truly deserved their reputation as one of the Five Great Sects; the entry requirements for disciples were incredibly high.

Yet, despite such high requirements, they placed spiritual root talent at the very bottom. It sounded like a silent rebellion against the cultivation world’s belief in the supremacy of spiritual roots.

Wen Xu thought silently to himself. He had originally set out for the capital to take the imperial exams, but now he was climbing a mountain to take an exam. Although he had veered off course along the way, it could still be considered reaching the same destination by a different path.

“Oh, right! He only said we must get at least one, but he didn’t say what happens if we get more!” Bian Chunzhou slapped his thigh. “It’s highly likely some malicious people will snatch extra artifacts just to make sure others fail!”

Chen Zui, whose face was too weathered to make out any expression, said, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go grab some artifacts! Let’s snatch eight or ten of them!”

Bian Chunzhou: …Great, to think I have someone like this by my side!

Chen Zui led his two tagalongs around the mountains in high spirits for half the day. But let alone artifacts, they barely ran into any other people. It was a classic case of vast, empty land and terrible luck.

If this continued, they would probably eliminate themselves without anyone else even trying to scheme against them.

Bian Chunzhou even felt a sense of helplessness, as if he had returned to the preliminary trial where Danxiang Grass was everywhere.

“Wait.” Wen Xu stopped and pulled Bian Chunzhou back. As for Chen Zui, the man was so strong that Wen Xu couldn’t possibly hold him back. “I think an artifact might be nearby.”

“Are you sure?”

Wen Xu shook his head. “I’m not sure, but ever since we entered this area, the wind has stopped.” Ever since he opened his Qi sea, he had been able to gather information from the outside world through the wind, to varying degrees. Even when they first entered, he could still sense the wind, but now, he couldn’t feel a single trace of it.

Although he was new to the cultivation world, he knew that anything out of the ordinary boded ill. Since this was abnormal, it was either the influence of an artifact or a trap laid by someone. Given that they had walked around so much without encountering danger, the former seemed more likely.

Wind?

Chen Zui reached out to feel for it. Indeed, there was none, but… what did that prove? Besides, what kind of artifact only stopped the wind?

As it happened, none of the three had any knowledge of artifacts. Or rather, except for Chen Zui, the other two had barely even seen one. Heaven knew that the most valuable thing on Bian Chunzhou was the basic spiritual sword left behind by his cheap father^[2], and it didn’t even have a proper name.

Fortunately, Chen Zui stepped up to the plate. “That’s easy. If it really is an artifact, let me test it!”

With that, he unsheathed the broadsword slung across his back and began to swing it. The sword was clearly no magical artifact; it was just a very ordinary piece of mortal iron. Yet in Chen Zui’s hands, it gleamed with spiritual light, whipping up a miniature hurricane centered around him in an instant.

“Amazing!” No wonder they said he could take down two people with one punch. “Brother Chen, you’re born with divine strength!”

If an artifact kept the surrounding area windless, could it tolerate the sudden appearance of a miniature hurricane? Of course not.

Chen Zui was a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator after all. Seeing the wind from his blade instantly swallowed up, he immediately poured more strength into his swings. “Come on then! You think I’m afraid of you?”

Bian Chunzhou: …How should I put it? He’s a bit of a blockhead.