C1 (1/2)
Taihang Mountains.
The Xu family of the farmhouse had lived in seclusion in the mountains for generations, ignoring all worldly matters.
The Xu family had five courtyards.
The Spring Festival, the Summer Palace, the Autumn Battlefield, the Winter Court, and the Sunnyside Courtyard.
Each courtyard was in charge of the farmers' lineage.
The Sunnyside Courtyard had been very powerful in the distant past, but it had declined since then.
In the end, he would become the descendant of those disciples with mediocre aptitudes who could only do hard labor and make mistakes in their family. Even if it was the direct bloodline inheritance, once they were exiled to the day courtyard, they would be no different from servants.
”Zong Yi, have you really thought this through? To participate in the trial of the Great Earth Hall? ”He will die!” Beside the well in the Sunnyside Courtyard, there was a young lady with a rather grave expression on her face. Her name was Xiao E, and all the good things she had ever done since she was young had been given to Xu Zongyi for him to eat.
”Even if I'm going to die, I want to give it a try. When I'm three, I look young; when I'm seven, I look old. When I pass the trial of the Great Hall, I can't participate anymore.” His eyes possessed a resolution that ordinary people did not have. On his face, there was a scarlet word of sin, which was exceptionally dazzling: ”I am already seven years old this year. If I want to remove this word from my face, I must cultivate, and go to the Great Earth Hall for a trial!”
The trial of the Great Hall of Earth was conducted by the Xu family of the peasant family to select a few young bloodlines. It was said that many people had obtained quite a bit of good fortune there, and many had died there.
”But it's too dangerous. I'm still worried.” Xiao E frowned.
”Elder sister Xiao E, all these years, you know what they think of me, every single day they call me the son of a criminal, I don't even know what mistakes my parents made, they even say that I'm a bastard, if I continue to stay in the day courtyard like this, my life would be over, I would never have a chance to recover.” Since young, Xu Zongyi had fought countless battles with the children of the day academy. Regardless of whether or not he could win, he would fight until no one could beat him, until those who bullied him did not dare to easily provoke him.
”I'm afraid that you have to tell the Sect Leader about this matter. If he doesn't agree, you won't be able to participate. As long as it's your decision, I'll support you.” In the end, Xiao E chose to compromise. Xu Zongyi's personality was extremely strong, and right now, she could only hope that he would not be able to pass through the barrier separating the two factions. Only then would he be able to avoid danger.
In order to participate in the Earth Hall's exam, one had to compete against the other four courtyards. After all, in the Sun Dynasty, regardless of how much food they consumed, they could not even compare to the farmers of the other four academies. How could they compete with them? Xiao E thought.
Training required rice and foodstuffs, not to mention training.
A child who grew up on a snack, compared to a child who grew up on a snack, their physiques were simply incomparable.
The other four courtyards were like children who grew up eating meat, while Xu Zongyi was a child who grew up eating bran.
”Don't worry, I'll go find him in a while.” Xu Zongyi let out a breath of relief. Xiao E was the person who treated him the best in the orphanage, so he made some decisions, hoping to get Xiao E's approval.
The Sunnyside Courtyard had occupied a very important position in the Xu family's household a long time ago.
He needed to understand a lot of minute details, such as how to chop firewood, how to bask in the sun, how to control the fire, how to improve the quality of the water and the soil, etc.
Xu Zongyi had learned nothing in the past few years and had learned how to cook large pots of rice, chop firewood, and carry water. He also had a partial understanding of water quality and soil quality.
However, many of his peers from the other academies had already stepped into the Qi Drawing Realm, yet he still had not cultivated.
This was because there was an unending stream of work to be done every day in the day courtyard. There was simply no time to cultivate, and every day, people from the other four courtyards would call for him.
Of course, there was no capital.
Cultivating required eating high-quality rice for a long period of time. It could strengthen a person's physique, boost one's cultivation, and speed up one's cultivation.
When a person cultivated, they would consume a large amount of vital energy and blood. When they ate something that could not support the consumption of their vital energy and blood, their cultivation would also harm their source energy. One could imagine how important high quality rice was to their cultivation.
However, even if they were the disciples of the Xu family, the monthly usage of high-quality rice was limited and relatively precious.
Xu Zongyi's family was left with only four walls, and there was nothing left at all. Furthermore, none of the items available in the sundry courtyard were enough.
The only reason why she could eat something good was because Xiao E had a cousin who was a maid of Xu Xindie's in the Spring Festival. She would often give out food to her servants.
Xiao E treated him as a relative of hers, so she couldn't bear to eat him. She knew that he was growing up, so she tried her best to give him good food.
Naturally, Xu Zongyi was able to see through all of this, which was why he wanted Little E to live a good life even more.
After helping Xiao E pick up the water, Xu Zongyi immediately ran to the main hall of the courtyard.
Currently, the Sun Clan Head's manor had committed a grave mistake and had been exiled here. As for the specifics, no one knew and no one dared to ask.
His temper was very strange, and he was very irritable. Basically, he didn't care about matters of the heart. Even if there were usually some deacons, the elders and deacons in the courtyard weren't very willing to face him.
This was because participating in the trial of the Great Earth Hall would result in certain death situations. One would require the approval of the Headmaster's clan to nominate a candidate.
Most of the people who were exiled to the courtyard would accept their fate because they could not compete with the people from the other courtyards. Rather than dying for nothing, it was better to live on, because children a few years old did not have that kind of courage. Slaves were used to it, so they naturally would not be able to stand up after kneeling for a long time.
Xu Zongyi entered the hall directly. There were no seats on either side of the hall, because there were no official meetings here. Instead, it was like a public hall.
There was an old man sitting at the head of the table who was dozing off. The air was filled with the rays of the rising sun, causing dust to fly in the air.
His yellow hair was disheveled, as if it had not been combed in a long time. His clothes were tattered, and he was like a statue, unmoving.
”Xu Zongyi greets the sect head!” He bowed respectfully.
Only then did the old man lift up half his eyelids and glance at him, saying in a bad mood, ”Fart quickly now!”
”I want to participate in the test of the Great Earth Hall!” Xu Zongyi's gaze was resolute, his words sonorous and resounding.
”Did you get stuck in the door?” The Sect Leader became impatient and waved his hand. ”Scram. You have not even entered the Qi Drawing Realm. Are you courting death?”
”I don't know if it's suicide or not, but I feel that it's better to just die if we continue living in the day courtyard.” Xu Zongyi's gaze was sharp and he had no intention of leaving.
It had to be known that if it was any other deacon elder, they would be scared stiff by the headmaster's shout. Although this headmaster had been exiled to this place, he was actually very strong.
”From your words, it seems that you really look down on the day courtyard?” The two droopy eyelids of the head of the sect raised up with sinister eyes. A faint smile could be seen at the corner of his mouth, making him look extremely horrifying.
”At the very least, in the long ago time, the day courtyard wasn't like now. The legendary Water Melting Ceremony was one of the secret techniques of the day courtyard. But how many people are able to master it now?” Xu Zongyi looked at the old head, not avoiding him in the slightest.
”The Day Courtyard may not be as glorious as the other four courtyards, and the things it does usually are extremely trivial, but it still has a lot of knowledge.” The Headmaster stood up and approached Xu Zongyi step by step as he said, ”However, you brat, you actually know about the 'Water Melting Ceremony'. Do you know what it can be used for?”
”Legend has it that different types of water were mixed together to raise the quality of the water, teach the race what kind of things to use, and record the growth of many plants …” Xu Zongyi said seriously.
”Do you want it?” The messy, dried-up yellow hair of the Sect Leader covered most of his face. Only two eyes could be seen, making him look extremely horrifying.
His actions were very perverted, and even the elders and deacons in the courtyard would be afraid if they looked at him.
”Yes!” Xu Zongyi felt excitement in his heart.
If you can enter the top three, I'll give you the Water Melting Grand Ceremony. If you can't reach the top three, then don't come back alive and die inside. If you dare to come back, then I have ten thousand ways to make you live a life worse than death. With a cold smile and a sinister gaze, the Sect Leader turned around and returned to his seat of honor.
Xu Zongyi felt an extremely terrifying aura envelop him and he was unable to move at all. Fear arose involuntarily in his heart and he instinctively wanted to tremble, but he still did not hesitate in the slightest. ”Sure!”
”Do you know what the trial of the third floor of the Great Earth Hall looks like?” The Headmaster was somewhat surprised. He did not expect Tang Wulin to actually agree.
”I don't know.” Xu Zongyi shook his head.
”Then let me tell you, during the first stage of the training, you have to walk through the area where the miasma is emitted from. Many seven-year-old children are already amazing to be able to walk up to nine hundred feet.” Then let me tell you, during the first stage of the training, you have to walk through the area where the miasma is emitted from, where many seven-year-old children are able to reach nine hundred feet. The Headmaster looked coldly at Xu Zongyi, ”Do you still dare to go now?”