Wu Jin carefully coated both his hands and legs with qi as he hugged the mountainside, he then gripped the protruding rocks and slowly began his descent.
And despite not being able to see the ground below, there was no trace of fear in his eyes.
Hao Jun and the others mimicked him.
Wooo! Wooo!
The wind howled like a grieving ghost, whipping against their backs as it tried to knock them off the mountain.
"The most troubling thing about climbing this mountain is this wind, if it weren't for this crazy wind most of the other kids would've made it back then."
"But it doesn't matter, now that I have this "qi" my grip strength is a lot stronger than before." Wu Jin thought.
Back then, the other kids mostly lost their lives to the fierce wind. Although it only came unexpectedly from time to time, they stood no chance against it after days of climbing the mountain had left them dehydrated, hungry, and exhausted.
Not to mention that long journey from Chi Huan Village.
"Brother Wu Jin, I didn't know you were so eager to become our leader," Hao Jun shouted mockingly as he watched Wu Jin rush off.
Wu Jin rolled his eyes. It's obviously you who wants to become our leader, the only reason I suggested this bet was so i could take your qi essence beads.
Wu Jin currently had eleven qi essence beads.
Of the fifteen beads Elder Feng Jing had given him, he had used one to replenish his shrine as an experiment and traded three to Xiao Mei Yue in exchange for her guidance.
He was well aware that by the time he reached the ground he might have already run out of all eleven qi essence beads.
"I can still absorb the natural essence, but that requires deep concentration, which isn't possible in this situation but If I descend faster before I run out of qi beads, I might not have to absorb natural essence at all, and reaching the bottom shouldn't be too difficult now that I have qi."
"I'm not sure how many days it took us to reach the mountain peak last time, but we were already exhausted from our long journey from Chi Huan Village anyways. This time, it shouldn't take nearly as long." Wu Jin deeply calculated as he quickened his descent.
"Wu Jin that bastard.." Seeing Wu Jin's climbing speed Wei long cursed in his heart. "No wonder he suggested that bet, he was confident in his speed, and if I remember correctly he was the guy who out ran those slave guards and almost escaped back in Chi Huan village."
"He was also ahead of me back when we were first climbing this mountain." Wei Long locked his eyes onto Wu Jin after feeling played.
But he wasn't giving up.
With a single thought a white milky substance gushed forth, covering both his hands and feet.
"so what if you were faster than me before?" Wei Long sneered, his eyes shining with excitement "Now all four of us have learned martial arts, we've surpassed our human limits as we can utilize the natural essence of the world."
In no time Wei Long caught up to Wu Jin. This was the power of qi, it enhances any part of the body where the martial artist master coates it with.
After catching up he stole a glance at him and said, "Wu Jin about these bandits we've been sent to deal with..." Seeing him not respond, He continued "Do you think there's a possibility they might be martial artists?"
Wu Jin lightly shook his head plainly replying "That's unlikely, with the way Elder Feng Jing described those bandits, it seemed to me like they were just mortals, but of course we can't rule out the possibility they might be martial artists."
Wu Jin's concerns weren't baseless. Back when they were traveling to Yu Peak Sect, they had encountered Old Man Song Yao who was a representative of the Ferocious Tigers and from what Wu Jin had seen, Old Man Song Yao was clearly a martial artist, as even Elder Feng Ming had addressed him as Senior Brother.
Wei Long nodded and jokingly said. "Haha anyway, this all happened so suddenly. Elder Feng Jing ordered us to climb down this dangerous mountain and confront those bandits without any prior warning. Is this what all martial arts sects are like?"
But then his voice grew quieter, tinged with bitterness and helplessness.
"Even though we're no longer slaves, we're still bound to people far stronger than us."
After saying that, he casted a meaningful glance at Wu Jin.
Among his three fellow disciples, Wei Long felt the deepest connection with Wu Jin because they had both once been slaves.
Noticing Wei Long's probing gaze, Wu Jin let out a light chuckle and said, 'Brother Wei Long, you need to look at the bright side. Back when we were slaves, we didn't even have the luxury of learning to read or write." He stopped speaking for a brief moment, his eyes brightly reflecting the sunlight,
he continued, "Now look at us. Not only can we read and write, but we've also become martial artists. This is a huge deal. Countless people dream of joining a prestigious sect and becoming martial artists, yet we've achieved this despite our lowly background."
Wei Long's eyes shined brightly as if this was what he wanted to hear.
Like most young people, he believed that once he became a martial artist, he would live a life scot free. But to his surprise, from the day they joined the Yu Peak
sect until now, their lives had remained in the hands of the sect elders.
This was a devastating blow to him. Even after becoming a martial artist, he felt as though he had merely traded one master for another.
"Oh no, the wind... the wind is coming," At this moment Xiao MeiYue, who had been quiet until now, suddenly cried out. Her crystal clear eyes looking fearfully at the jade green clouds above.
Wu Jin and the others quickly followed her gaze. And saw the jade green clouds converge over the mountain peak they had just descended, as if an irresistible force were pulling the sky together.
"This... this looks familiar." As Wu Jin watched the clouds gather, his eyes widened. A vague memory stirred in the back of his mind as he desperately tried to recall where he had witnessed such a scene before.
Boom! Boom!
Wei Long punched two fist-sized holes into the mountain wall, shattering the rocks so he could firmly grab hold and prepare for whatever was about to happen.
Wu Jin, on the other hand, stabbed his sword deep into the mountain face. "I can feel a familiar qi within these clouds." he thought "But it doesn't belong to any of us here...
Hao Jun's sudden shout, however, answered his unspoken question.
"There's someone standing on the mountain peak!"
At the very crest of the mountain, a woman slowly revealed herself.
She had long, silky black hair that flowed gently in the mountain breeze, and wore jade green robes that seemed tailored perfectly for her stature. Although she wasn't strikingly beautiful, her deep, calm eyes reflected a lifetime of profound experience.
"So, it's Elder Feng Jing," Wu Jin muttered, drawing a sharp breath. "No wonder the qi within those clouds felt familiar. It feels just like when she showed us the map of Yu Mountain and its surrounding villages. But.... this certainly doesn't look good."
Xiao Mei Yue's smooth, snow white face paled. "Why did Elder Feng Jing come here?" she asked hopefully, her delicate voice trembling. "Is she here to watch over us as we descend the mountain?"
But Wu Jin and the others simply shook their heads. They weren't naive enough to be optimistic. The sect had shown them time and again just how cruel its reality truly was.
The very first time they arrived at the Yu Peak Sect, they had to climb this exact, towering mountain just to join. After that came the martial masters' ritual
In every single one of these events, young, precocious lives were lost.
Under their fearful watch Elder Feng Jing retrieved a palm sized paintbrush.
"Hehe," She lightly chuckled and said, "My disciples, if you can overcome the ordeals I put you through, you will become much stronger. You will definitely come to appreciate me later."
Even as they desperately clung to the precipitous cliffside with the gale ferociously howling, her voice reached them with absolute clarity.
"We will grow stronger if we overcome these ordeals? What bullshit. We won't even be alive to see that." Wei Long cursed in his heart, not daring to challenge her openly. He glanced sideways at Wu Jin. "Brother Wu Jin, if we survive this time and make it to the foot of the mountain, I'm planning to run away from this sect. What about you?"
Wu Jin didn't give him a straight answer. "Brother Wei Long, let's focus on surviving this first." In his mind, however, he scoffed. why drag me into your plans? If you want to run, run by yourself.
"Compared to my previous life of slavery, Yu Peak sect is like a free restaurant with only one or two poisoned dishes. I just need to be careful and watch what I put inside my mouth."
Even though Yu Peak Sect was a meat grinder where every upcoming trial threatened their lives, Wu Jin saw it as a golden opportunity.
In fact it was no different than when he was a slave, his life was as cheap as grass and could be cut down at any moment. Even in this sect His life was still cheap but this time there was hope of getting stronger and escaping that life.
Elder Feng Jing raised her hand, and the jade green clouds drifted toward her, swirling around her paintbrush like a localized tornado. The clouds rapidly compressed, transforming into a vibrant, translucent dragon the size of an elephant, sporting two long horns on its forehead, powerful claws, and a whipping tail.
Upon taking shape, the dragon let out a fierce roar. Its qi surged violently, sending powerful shockwaves of wind blasting in every direction.
Wu Jin and the others shuddered, cold sweat running down their backs. Feeling as though Elder Feng Jing had poured every ounce of her qi into the dragon, fully intending to sweep them completely off the mountain face.
"Oh, esteemed Elder! Don't you think descending this enormous mountain should be enough as a trial?" Wu Jin shouted, openly pleading for mercy. "And don't you want us to help Zhu Jiu Village? How will we help these poor oppressed people if we lose our lives here?"
"Brother Wu Jin is right! Descending this mountain alone is life-threatening. Many youths died here during the recruitment trial! If you unleash that thing, we will really..." Hao Jun shouted, sweat heavily soaking through his headband.
Elder Feng Jing blinked, momentarily surprised by their desperate pleading.
Whether it was climbing the mountain or surviving the martial masters ritual, they had successfully passed those trials, earning the elders recognition and becoming disciples. Still, they have a long way to go before they could truly call themselves martial artists
Elder Feng Jing twirled her paintbrush between her fingers and offered a breezy smile. "Right, right. Normally, descending this mountain alone should have been enough. But after seeing how effortlessly you were strolling down the cliff, I thought I should toughen things up a bit.... Perhaps my compressed qi dragon is too much for you to handle."
Saying this, she tapped the handle of the paintbrush against her forehead, falling into deep contemplation
Wu Jin and the others let out a breath of deep relief. Feeling like there was hope in persuading her.
"Back then, when we first arrived at the foot of Yu Mountain, she wasn't interested in anything we had to say. But now, after we became her disciples, it seems she values our words to some extent." Wu Jin said. then turned to Wei Long and Xiao MeiYue urging "Brother Wei Long, sister Xiao MeiYue you two hould plead with us."
"She might change her mind and not send that thing after us."
"Hmph..." But before Wei Long and Xiao MeiYue could speak, Hao Jun scoffed, pointing an accusing finger at Wu Jin. "Wu Jin this is all your fault If you hadn't rushed, descending so fast we wouldn't be in this situation."
Wu Jin forced a smile, patting the air with his palm in a placating gesture. "Brother Hao Jun this is not the time to point fingers, our lives are in danger. We're in this together, we need to focus on the important matter."
"Brother Wu Jin did nothing wrong," Wei Long suddenly intervened.
He intently stared at Hao Jun. "Brother Hao Jun we were all planning to descent this mountain faster anyway before that deadly wind arrives, and in my eyes it seems to me like elder Feng Jing wasn't gonna let us off easily."
Hearing this Hao Jun subconsciously retracted his finger.
"None of us is to blame for this outcome, just as Brother Wei long said, from the looks of it elder Feng Jing was definitely planning to give us a hard time." Xiao MeiYue softly said.
Hao Jun deeply inhaled. Swallowing his anger. "If Even Xiao MeiYue is saying this then i must've overreacted. I was planing to rush off too because of the bet." He thought
"Brother Wu Jin, it seems I overreacted, forgive me."
He subconsciously wanted to cupp his fist but the howling wind reminded him he couldn't as he was clinging onto the mountain.
Wu Jin only smiled accepting his apology.
As it stood beside Elder Feng Jin, the dragon opened its mouth and said, in a deep, sharp voice, "Master Feng Jin, don't you think a profound scenery realm expert such as you attacking these juniors is overdoing it?"
Elder Feng Jing's brows formed a knot as she coldly stared at the dragon, "Are you saying I'm bullying my disciples?"
"No...no no of course not." The dragon flustered. deeply bowing it's head. "That's not what i meant, I'm just saying they still haven't adapted to martial artists so I think attacking them would be overdoing it."
Elder Feng Jing crossed her arms, her breasts perching against her forearms. She said. "Well, I called you to attack them and throw them off the mountain so what will you do? Either way I want them off the mountain."
The dragon's eyes widened, its jaw dropping open. Is she training them or does she actually want to kill them? it wondered.
With a sigh, the dragon said, "Very well. I'll attack them, but I won't use my full strength. They successfully constructed their shrines. In my eyes, that means they have potential and deserve to be nurtured."
Elder Feng Jing tapped the handle of the paintbrush against her temple. "That's exactly why I ordered them to climb down this dangerous mountain." Her voice grew cold and her once calm gaze burned with intensity. "This is my way of nurturing them. How can they grow if they don't experience any hardships? Even if there's a chance they might die, so what?"
"This is the way of my ancient Yu Peak sect. These are the trials all of its past disciples have endured. The weak are weeded out, and the strong survive."
Hearing this Jin and the others stood stunned.
Squinting, Wu Jin hit upon an idea and whispered "Brothers, let's make a run for it while she's distracted! Why are we just idling here waiting to be turned into minced meat?"
"Did you not hear what she said?"
Wei Long and the others hesitantly nodded before continuing their descent.
"Go throw them off the mountain one by one!" But before they could pick up their pace, Elder Feng Jing noticed them and shouted.
The dragon serpentined through the sky like the wind in tall grassland. Instantly looming over them.