Zhu Xiaosuo, who had just broken through to the Fourth Layer of the Rebirth Stage, erged from the restroom and spent an entire day reading the "Honoring the Ancient Stage Sprint Practice Collection" left by Song Zhong.
The exercises inside were manageable, much simpler than the cow eating grass problem that Chen Qinqiu had previously given him.
After a bit of preparation, he was ready to participate in the academy's teaching examination.
"Patriarch, do you not need Zhu Siyou and Zhu Sanng to accompany you?"
"Qigao, my godfather will be going with . This ti I'm in a hurry and can't travel by horse like before."
"Understood. Since the patriarch is in a rush, Zhu Siyou and the others would indeed be a burden."
"Alright, that's settled. I'm off."
"Patriarch, you will definitely pass the examination!"
"Patriarch, take care!"
Waving goodbye to everyone, Zhu Xiaosuo and Zhuang Yun activated their Wind-Chasing Steps and headed south.
Watching Zhu Xiaosuo leave, Madam Feng said:
"Zhu Qigao, Zhu Liude, Zhu Liusong."
"First Madam, what are your orders?"
"Inform the three major families and the County Magistrate of Mountain Chicken County that the Zhu Clan will sell all businesses except for dicinal herbs today."
"Today... but the patriarch..."
"If Zhu Xiaosuo returns, the entire Mountain Chicken County will be ours, so why care about these businesses? If he doesn't return, these businesses will be divided up imdiately, and the Zhu Clan won't get a penny."
Zhu Qigao and Zhu Liude exchanged glances, knowing that Madam Feng spoke the truth.
They couldn't help with Zhu Xiaosuo's examination.
They could only manage the Zhu Clan's affairs.
"Understood."
"Also, inform Dogged Luck to apply for a transfer back to Yellow Dog County now. And Wei Min, have him apply to be demoted to head constable. If they don't transfer now, it will be difficult later."
"Yes, I will contact them imdiately."
With Madam Feng's orders, everyone went about their tasks.
Looking at the empty Zhu Clan courtyard, Madam Feng sighed softly.
Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.
Zhu Xiaosuo and Zhuang Yun ran at full speed.
Having never been to Immortal-Knocking Town, Zhu Xiaosuo was about to reach the City of Seeking Immortality.
"Godfather, is there a big difference between a city, a town, and a county?"
Zhuang Yun thought for a mont and said:
"With your Fourth Layer Rebirth Stage cultivation, in the county, you are Zhu Xiaosuo, the patriarch of the Zhu Clan. In a town, you'd probably be Zhu Qisuo. In the city, you'd likely open a Braised Chicken Feet Shop."
"The City of Seeking Immortality has that many cultivators?"
"Didn't you participate in the Immortal Sect examination?"
"Yes, I did."
"Besides you, the rest of the examinees were from the City of Seeking Immortality. But from the county, only one person goes every few years, while from the city, there are three groups every month. Can you calculate the difference in numbers?"
"Got it. The city has about ten thousand tis more cultivators than the county."
"Yes. The city has millions of cultivators, and countless mortals. All the counties under the City of Seeking Immortality combined probably have only about a hundred cultivators."
For the first ti, Zhu Xiaosuo had a concept of the City of Seeking Immortality.
So many cultivators.
He couldn't help but feel a bit worried about the future.
Seeing Zhu Xiaosuo's worried expression, Zhuang Yun asked:
"Why, are you scared now that you've decided to take the teaching examination?"
"Actually, I've always been scared, very afraid of dying."
"Being afraid of death is good; it makes you strive to live."
"It's just that I've never even been to a town, and now I'm jumping straight to the city."
"Indeed, it's a big leap."
"Yeah, taking big steps can be risky."
The two chatted intermittently as they traveled for a day.
"In a few more hours, we should arrive. You can inform Ba Mingyang to et us at the city gate. Otherwise, who knows when we'll find the academy."
"Alright."
Zhu Xiaosuo sent a Sound Transmission Order to Ba Mingyang.
Ba Mingyang promised to personally greet them.
Finally, they saw the towering and magnificent city walls.
The walls stretched endlessly, with no end in sight, enclosing a city of unknown size.
In front of them were three city gates, with three large characters inscribed in iron and silver strokes:
Seeking Immortal City.
"We're here, let's go in. Cultivators use the left gate, mortals the right, and dignitaries the middle."
Zhu Xiaosuo nodded and lined up at the left gate.
The line for the left gate was long.
As expected of the City of Seeking Immortality with a million cultivators.
Of course, it was still better than the right gate.
The line at the right gate seed like it would take days and nights to reach the front.
He sent a Sound Transmission Order to Ba Mingyang, telling him he was in line and would et inside the city.
"Brother Zhu! Brother Zhu!"
Zhu Xiaosuo and Zhuang Yun hadn't been in line long when they saw Ba Mingyang running out from the middle gate.
"Brother Ba!"
Ba Mingyang, dressed impeccably and with a pair of dead fish eyes, exuded a certain charm of arrogance and elegance.
Zhu Xiaosuo almost didn't recognize him.
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Ba Mingyang ran up to Zhu Xiaosuo and pulled him and Zhuang Yun out of the line.
"Co on, co on, don't line up, follow through the middle gate."
As the son of Ba Shanyue, the representative of the Immortal Sect in the City of Seeking Immortality, Ba Mingyang naturally had the privilege of using the middle gate.
"This... this is too ostentatious, isn't it, Brother Ba?"
"Ostentatious my ass, Daoist Zhu, you're a Fourth Layer Rebirth Stage coming to take the academy teaching examination, isn't that more ostentatious?"
"...Wait, you heard about this three days ago?"
"Of course, who doesn't know? You and those two idiots from the Shang Shan family and the Chen family discussed this all the way here, and everyone going for the examination heard it. It spread throughout the City of Seeking Immortality."
"..."
"Those two idiots gave you an idea that offended half the city's families. The one from the Shang Shan family got beaten by his father so badly he can't get out of bed, it's tragic."
"...Sigh, I got them into trouble. What about Chen Pusuo?"
"He was hung at the entrance of the Chen family's iron shop for two days, probably barely alive now."
Unexpectedly, Shang Shan Qiusuo and Chen Pusuo, who gave him this idea, had to pay such a price.
The Shang Shan family and the Chen family were using their sons' punishnt to make a statent.
Their sons' actions were personal and shouldn't be attributed to the fathers or the families.
Zhu Xiaosuo knew that if he couldn't successfully pass the examination, it wouldn't just be his life at stake.
It would also be the future of Shang Shan Qiusuo and Chen Pusuo.
Without him, their actions to disrupt the cultivator clan's plans would be nailed to the pillar of sha, never to rise again.
They might even lose their lives.
Shang Shan Qiusuo and Chen Pusuo had already lost over a dozen siblings; their fathers wouldn't mind losing one more son.
Especially a son who only caused trouble and couldn't clean up after himself.
Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs, but a cultivator clan leader is much harsher than a tiger.
The reason they weren't dead yet was because Zhu Xiaosuo hadn't taken the examination.
If he succeeded, those two would still have a reason to live.
Zhu Xiaosuo, who had repeatedly achieved the impossible, was a mystery as to how high he could reach.
Not to ntion a Rebirth Stage academy teacher, even a Bone Transformation Stage academy teacher had never appeared in the City of Seeking Immortality.
The city had produced many cultivation geniuses, but it had been a long ti since an intellectual genius appeared.
Shang Shan Qiusuo and Chen Pusuo were the original shareholders of Zhu Xiaosuo's rise, and they might just elevate their families to the heavens.
Their fate was likely tied to Zhu Xiaosuo's examination results.
(Next chapter is under review, not sure when it will be released.)
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