Chapter 4: Invitation to the Martial Exam (2/2)
The next day, Qin Yu hurriedly ran home as the marble white color of the dawn sky made its way into the horizon. He immediately climbed into his bed and slept. He hadn’t slept for long before Qin Wu knocked at his door.
“Yu’er, hurry and get up to go to Ten Thousand Beast Mountain to do training! Other people have already set out and you’re still sleeping?”
Qin Yu was woken up and bewilderedly got out of bed, shaking his head. “Training at Ten Thousand Beast Mountain?”
Training 3 was done to improve a person’s strength and combat experience as the Martial Examination’s final preparation for the pre-selections.
There was still ten days before the pre-selections and everyone who had received the invitation card was rushing to prepare.
Everybody was clear that rankings in the qualifiers didn’t mean anything and that there were people who didn’t even use their full strength to fight again at the pre-selections. There were also people who broke through just before the pre-selections and amazed the world with one brilliant battle, overthrowing and crushing those above them one after the other.
Therefore, before the pre-selections, every person who received the invitation card would spare no effort to improve their strength. The fastest way to improve their strength in a short amount of time was training by going through trials of blood and fire as they refined themselves.
The best area in Luosang City for training was Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, west of a hundred miles. There, magical beasts were rampaging everywhere and the mountain was filled with both danger and opportunities.
The Qin Family regarded the Martial Examination with utmost importance and in order to allow their younger generation to achieve the best results in the pre-selections, they organized training at Ten Thousand Beast Mountain for everyone in the younger generation who got invitation cards. The Qin Family also dispatched one of the Seven Great Elders—the fifth elder Qin Zhan—to bring the youths to Ten Thousand Beast Mountain followed by Qin Biao as an assistant.
Qin Biao was the father of Qin Zhao, who was the strongest representative of the Qin Family in the Martial Examination. In the qualifiers, he ranked fourth so after Qin Yu was crippled, he had become number one in the Qin Family’s younger generation. The Qin Family also placed high hopes on him too.
This honor originally should’ve gone to Qin Yu, but due to Qin Yu becoming a cripple, the honor was naturally handed to Qin Zhao.
Altogether, the Qin Family had ten youths that made it to the pre-selections and this number showed just how powerful the Qin Family was in Luosang City. If a normal family could have even one or two youths who made it into the pre-selections, it would already be considered good.
A servant quickly finished gathering the youths and found that there were only nine people. They were missing one because Qin Yu was nowhere to be seen.
Qin Biao noticed that the group was missing Qin Yu and he smiled pleasantly as he spoke to Qin Zhan. “Fifth Elder, that cripple doesn’t need to be bothered with. He will only be a burden if we take him along as well, so let’s just go.”
Qin Zhan’s face twitched and his thick dark brows tightened slightly before his mouth released two simple words: “Alright. Go.”
Under Qin Zhan’s lead, the nine youths of the Qin Family—followed by their family lining the streets to see them off—exited the Qin Family’s manor.
In the residence of Qin Yu’s family inside the Qin Family’s side courtyard, Qin Mother gave Qin Yu a neat set of clothes, as well as a robe of ordinary, rough, and gray cloth. This was considered Qin Yu’s best set of clothes. The luxurious robes he had when he was once a talent of the Qin Family were no longer his and were seized when he was driven away from the main courtyard. The Qin Family’s ways were very clear-cut.
“Yu’er, you’re really not going to go with them?” Qin Wu asked as he escorted Qin Yu to the door.
Qin Yu smiled and nodded. “Father, Mother, don’t worry, alright? I’m fine just going alone. If I go with the group, I’m afraid that they’ll just ignore me because I’m a cripple.”
“En, fair enough. Since you’re going by yourself, you have to be more careful. Remember, you absolutely cannot by any means make the same, disastrous mistake as last time.” A trace of concern appeared on Qin Wu’s face. Last time, Qin Yu was plotted against and turned from a genius into a cripple at Ten Thousand Beast Mountain.
Qin Yu’s gaze was firm. “Father, don’t worry. I won’t let the same thing happen a second time.” His body emitted a faint, domineering aura it didn’t have before. This made Qin Wu think that his son had truly matured after surviving that attack.
Qin Mother walked over to Qin Yu with a small bamboo hat. “Yu’er, the sun outside is very strong. Take this and put it on, it can block the sun’s rays. Remember, you have to be careful of everything.” She personally placed it on his head.
“Thank you, Mother. I’m going now. Wait for my good news, ok?”
“En, you must be careful.” Although she was very worried about Qin Yu’s safety, as his mother she knew that walking the border of life and death was something that every martial cultivator on the Ancient Wu Continent had to experience. She was powerless to stop him and could only pray for him in her heart.
……
Qin Yu silently left the Qin Family from the side courtyard.
Walking around the city, he directly went to one of the weapons shops on the street. Before going to Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, he wanted to find a suitable weapon first.
This weapons shop was called Tie Shou 4 Craftsman Shop. Tie Shou was the name of a famous Tool Refiner Master and the shop was very famous in Luosang City.
As a profession, tool refiners were divided into seven levels: Apprentice, Tool Refiner Worker, Tool Refiner Master, Tool Refiner Scholar, Spirit Tool Master, Sacred Tool Master, and Godly Tool Master. Each level was divided into three grades and Tie Shou was Luosang City’s only third-grade Tool Refiner Master.
The former Qin Yu had always longed to get a weapon personally crafted by Tie Shou and had finally gotten his wish fulfilled a year ago. He had personally negotiated with the Qin Family Master and Tie Shou promised to smelt a saber for him. But since he became a cripple, the deal never seemed to have been settled.
Qin Yu only came to try his luck. If by any chance Tie Shou, that old fellow really did finish making the saber, there was no reason not to take it. Even if he didn’t make it, then just buying a weapon in the craftsman shop to use temporarily was also fine.
If it was before, he would never even touch a weapon made from a third-grade Tool Refiner Master, however, it was still better than nothing in his current situation.
When he finally arrived at Tie Shou Craftsman Shop, a shop assistant immediately greeted Qin Yu with a wide smile as soon as he stepped through the door. “Hello customer, may I ask what kind of weapon you’re looking for? Here we have every weapon you can think of.”
On the shop’s front desk, there were all sorts of weapons spread out over it. But in Qin Yu’s eyes, those items weren’t even fit to be called trash, and so he had no interest at all, directly taking off his hat to say, “I came to pick up my weapon.”
The shop assistant was startled for a second. After he saw Qin Yu’s face, the smile on his face immediately disappeared and was replaced by a cold and contemptable sneer. “Haha! I was just thinking who it was. So it was just you ah. Sorry, but our shop’s master won’t make a weapon for a cripple; it would only humiliate his family. Our shop also doesn’t sell weapons to a cripple, so just get lost.”
The shop assistant had barely finished speaking when a big foot kicked him with a bang. The speed was too fast and he had no time to dodge. He released a high screech as his body was sent flying out, landing ruthlessly on the front desk. The front desk shook violently before loudly collapsing with a bang.
The weapons clanked together as they fell into a mess on the floor.
“Ahhh!!!”
The shop assistant released another miserable shriek as the front desk collapsed over his body. The pressure was enough to make him spit out a mouthful of blood.
“What happened?!” A dark-skinned man of about thirty shouted from inside the shop and jumped out. Once he saw the scene, his anger skyrocketed.
Tie Shou Craftsman Shop had always been revered in Luosang City and even city masters would have to show at least some respect here. Nobody had ever dared to behave atrociously, but today, there was actually a person who was so bold as to come and smash the reception area. 5
1. “兄长” (Xiong Zhang) is another term for “elder brother,” and can also be interpreted as a title of respect for a man who is older, but about the same age
2. “To lick the other man’s cold butt” means to flatter or kiss up to someone.
3. The text originally says, “历练,” which translates to experience. For the sake of English and helping our readers understand, we changed it to “training.”
4. “铁手” (tie shou) literally means “Iron Hand”
5. Text originally says “谁吃了豹子胆,” which literally translates to “Who ate a leopard gut?” Eating a leopards gut is a saying that means someone is very bold/daring