Chapter 16 Lingzhou

Lingzhou Canglong Mansion.

Among the twelve states of Wenxin, Lingzhou ranks fourth in terms of area, tenth in terms of aura resources, and second in terms of economy.

This place is located in the south of Wenxin, and it is a remote place in the far east like Qiongzhou, but geographically it is closer to Suoyun Island, forming an important cape without any limit.

Starting from Wuyajiao, sailing all the way along the coastline, you can reach Yahai Country in 30 days.

Yahai and Wenxin are not connected by land, but they can be reached directly by sea. The route advantage makes it have a huge amount of sea trade, which also makes Lingzhou the most important economic state in Wenxin Kingdom. Therefore, although there is a lack of aura here, the status cannot be ignored.

Canglong Mansion is the state capital of Lingzhou, and it is also the most prosperous place in Lingzhou. Here is Wenxin Kingdom's largest ship, the most upscale restaurant, the most luxurious inn and the most beautiful bitch.

On Changsheng Street, a young man was walking casually on the street at the moment, it was Tang Jie.

He didn't listen to Xu Muyang and went all the way north, but turned south immediately after leaving Anyang Mansion in the north, and went all the way south.

Xu Muyang asked him to go north because Xiyue Academy was in the north, and he wanted him to study there. But Tang Jie knew that Tianshen Palace would never let him go if he didn't get the Xuan Bing Jian. He traveled alone, and his whereabouts were too obvious, so he immediately changed direction after a feint shot, and walked the mountain path all the way. stay.

This trick is not complicated, but very practical.

No one thought that a twelve-year-old boy would be able to play this trick. Most of the people who pursued him looked north, and there were very few people in the south. Naturally, they searched every inch of Wenxin Kingdom and couldn't find him.

Another reason for heading south is that without Xu Muyang's recommendation, it would be difficult for Tang Jie to enter Xiyue College.

Xiyue Academy only enrolls 1,500 disciples each year.

But there are at least 100,000 people pursuing these 1,500 disciples.

And that's not even taking into account those who can't even afford tuition.

The tuition fee of Xiyue College is three hundred spiritual coins per year.

Spiritual money is the basic currency used by cultivators. If calculated according to the official value, a piece of spiritual money is only equivalent to one tael of silver, but in fact, it is difficult for ordinary people to exchange it. three to five times.

In other words, Xiyue College needs more than one million RMB for the tuition fee for entry every year. This is only the entry fee, and the subsequent expenses will be even more expensive. In fact, the entrance fee of Xiyue Academy is not profitable, but it is hard to say about the various expenses in the future, and there is quite a modern concept of selling peripherals.

The reason for this is that the establishment of Xiyue Academy was to satisfy mortals' desire to seek immortality from the very beginning, and what they practice is to teach without distinction.

In the earliest period, the major sects actually used the basis of testing as the method of selecting disciples within the sect.

But soon various sects discovered that this method has many disadvantages.

Immortal cultivation definitely needs a foundation, but it doesn't depend on the foundation alone. It's like if a person wants to achieve success, he must have an IQ, but it doesn't depend solely on IQ. There are always some people who have ordinary qualifications but make extraordinary achievements.

For ordinary people who haven't gotten started, this has become the best basis for the theory that aptitude is useless, so they are dissatisfied with the basic selection method. It's not my fault to say that I can't cultivate, but that the immortal sect is too pedantic and conservative, sticking to the foundation. Since there are people in the world who have a bad foundation but are successful in cultivation, who can say that he is not one of them?

The fact is that although such existences exist, they are so few in number that they are not worth imitating at all.

However, people in the world are ignorant and always think that if others can create miracles, so can they.

When Xianmen refused, it was inevitable to feel resentment towards Xianmen.

In order to avoid too many disputes with the secular world, maintain its image, and facilitate its rule, Xianmen finally adopted a compromise method, which is to open Xiuxian Academy, claiming that all people in the world can enter the academy to study, as long as they achieve certain achievements, they can be admitted to the sect.

This method can be described as killing four birds with one stone.

One is to avoid the prejudice of fools in the world, thinking that sects do not give opportunities.

Secondly, it also saves the effort of appraising the disciple's foundation. To identify the disciple's foundation,

It's not just a matter of touching two hands casually, it also requires the elders of the sect to take action, consuming resources to test their qualifications, and the accumulation of small amounts of money is huge, and the consumption is also large.

Thirdly, it can also increase an extra income for the sect. Parents all over the world have the same heart, cultivating the Tao for their children is a willingness to dedicate their life savings. If you don't accept it, he will annoy you instead and blame you for not giving him a chance. As for his inability to learn, it is because he is incompetent and can't complain about the sect, and the elders in the family have given up on it.

In the end, it is indeed possible to avoid missing some disciples who lack foundation but have extraordinary talents. After all, those who can achieve the school's stipulations, regardless of their foundation, are always valuable.

However, there are also some sects who think that this practice is too secular. Immortal cultivators are high-ranking people outside the world, and they only need to be admired by the world. How can they follow the example of the secular world and open academies?

If everyone has the opportunity to cultivate immortals, wouldn't immortals lower their value?

But the facts have proved that talents can only be recruited by opening up the door, and those who are closed and conservative will eventually be eliminated by the times.

The reason why the six major sects of the Xiyue School, including Tianshen Palace, became the strongest sect in the Qixia Realm, is not only their strong background, but also the fact that they took the lead in making changes, and finally achieved their current dominance. And those stubborn and old-fashioned sects, because of the few disciples and lack of acceptance, eventually gradually fell silent and disappeared in the long river of history.

However, in the long process of evolution, Xiyue Academy has gradually changed from an academy open to all ordinary people to an academy controlled by the rich and powerful from all walks of life. It can be said that it is very difficult for poor children to enter.

Of course, cultivating immortals does not mean that there is only this way, but Xiyue College is difficult to enter, and other immortal sects may not be easy to enter.

Just like Xu Muyang, Tang Jie followed him for such a long time, but he still failed to obtain the immortal law. Almost all the immortal masters who came out of the sect swore an oath that they would not spread their sect's immortal methods to the outside world—when God opened a door for mortals, it often closed another door.

As the best and most promising righteous way of cultivating immortals in Wenxin's country, Xiyue College is therefore also the most competitive and even the most miserable!

All in all, the poor cultivate literature, the rich practice martial arts, and the poor cultivate immortality for three generations!

The road to immortality is difficult, and just the entrance to school is enough to make most people daunting.

When it comes to money, Tang Jie still has some.

The blue light sword that Xu Muyang gave him is a good magic weapon, and its value is not low, but selling this sword is tantamount to exposing himself. Secondly, it was given to him by Xu Muyang, and he was reluctant to sell it. What's more, even if he has money, he has no way to get in.

Unless he was Rank Nine of Yumen and had extraordinary talent, then he could be admitted exceptionally.

Therefore, if you want to enter the academy, you must find another way.

After following Xu Muyang for half a year, Tang Jie was no longer ignorant of the world of cultivating immortals, so he had already made a comprehensive plan before coming.

Strolling on Changsheng Street at this moment, Tang Jie saw a restaurant not far away, bustling with people, quite lively. Tang Jie walked in, sat at a table and ordered a few small dishes, and then began to eat and drink by himself.

He was not in a hurry, he just ate and drank slowly, and when it was time for dinner, the number of guests gradually decreased, so Tang Jie beckoned to Xiao Er, took out a few copper coins and put them in his palm: "Little Brother, I have a question." I still have to ask."

The little errand put away the copper coins with a smile on his face: "What's your order, guest officer?"

"I'm new to Canglong Mansion, and I'm not familiar with many things here, so I want to find someone to understand."

"What aspects does the guest officer want to know?"

"There are many, but what I want to know most is which families in this Canglong Mansion have the most status."

"This..." The little girl hesitated for a moment.

Tang Jie smiled, and stuffed a few more copper coins in the past: "Don't get me wrong, I look like a gangster?"

The little second looked at Tang Jie, seeing that he looked like a young man, and he really didn't look like a villain, and it was unlikely that a real Jiangyang thief would inquire in this way, so he said in peace: "There are five families in Canglong Mansion. Jin, Zhang, Gu, Wei, and Zhou are very famous in Canglong Mansion, and it can be said that half of the wealth in Canglong Manor belongs to these five families."

"Tell me in detail." Tang Jie pointed to the dishes on the table.

Seeing that there were no guests, the waiter simply sat down, picked up his chopsticks and ate while saying, "If you want to talk about the biggest family in Canglong Mansion, the Jin family is the first. There must be six out of ten ships, either belonging to his Jin family or controlled by his Jin family. There are more than ten immortal cultivators under his command, which is a great one. The Zhang family is a family of officials and eunuchs. , the current old lady of the Zhang family used to be an official of the Zuo Sishi in the Ministry of Officials. They have to come to pay respects to the old man. They have the most land in Canglong Mansion, especially Ling Tian, ​​almost all of which are in the hands of the Zhang family."

Seriously took a few bites of food, Xiaoer continued: "The Gu family started out as a gangster. It is said that they once ruled the gangsters in Canglong Mansion earlier. The head of the family seems to be some kind of immortal cultivator. It is said that he is involved with some sect. I don't know the details. It's too clear, I know that this family is cruel and merciless, and has the worst reputation. It mainly operates escort agencies, casinos, and pawns. Thugs. Both the Wei family and the Zhou family have only grown up in recent years, and most of their business is on the street. Many large and small shops in Canglong Mansion belong to these two families. The Wei family mainly deals in goods. , cloth shop, restaurant, inn, pharmacy, clothing store and grain store, they are doing business for the common people. The Zhou family is mainly engaged in flower shops, jewelry, calligraphy and painting and money houses, and most of them deal with dignitaries. Our restaurant is one of the Wei family. It was opened by a relative."

"So it's like this..." Tang Jie thought for a while, and then asked: "Then if I want to seek refuge, which one do you think is better?"

Xiaoer smiled, took a deep look at Tang Jie, and with an expression of "I knew it was like this", replied: "It's not easy to seek refuge. These families, the first three, all exist here. For hundreds of years, even the servants under his command have been passed down from generation to generation. The son of the steward will be the steward, and the son of the concierge will also be the concierge in the future. He is very loyal, and it is difficult for outsiders to enter!"

"The Weizhou family..."

"They are recruiting outsiders, but they need to be clean."

"The net worth is clean..." Tang Jie murmured.

The origin of my own wealth is not innocent.

He asked Xiao Er some more things, and after finding out the general situation here, Tang Jie took his leave and left.

In the following days, Tang Jie wandered around Canglong Mansion for more than ten days, and then he disappeared again...

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In a blink of an eye, winter is here.

The winter in Canglong Mansion seems to be extraordinarily cold this year, and it snowed heavily all night.

Waking up early in the morning, old man Wu saw a vast expanse of whiteness on the street, and his yard was actually covered with thick falling snow.

Shaking his head, the old man went out to clear the snow in the yard.

After finishing the work, the old man Wu hung his sore back and sighed: "Oh, I'm really old and useless. This year my body is getting worse again."

Then he coughed a few more times.

An old voice came from the room: "Old man, don't forget to sweep the snow in front of the door."

"Understood, old woman." Old man Wu responded angrily.

Pushing open the door and about to clean it, I suddenly felt that something was kicked under my feet.

Looking down, old man Wu's face changed drastically: "It's terrible, old woman, someone...someone died in front of our house!"

"What?"

The next moment, an old lady ran out of the door. She came to the door to see, but there was a person lying in front of her house, covered with snow all over her body. Discover.

The old lady quickly squatted down, looked carefully, and said in a low voice: "My God, this is still a baby, why did he die?"

"Sin!" Old man Wu also sighed.

At this time, he also saw clearly that the person who died in front of his house was clearly a young man who had not yet grown up.

At this moment, the corpse on the ground suddenly moved, and the two old men jumped up in fright at the same time, but immediately reacted, the old lady shouted: "It's still alive!"

"Hurry up! Carry him back into the house!" The two old men worked together to lift the boy on the ground into the house. In the end, although the two of them are old, they are both used to work, and the young man is so light-boned that he can move it.

As soon as he was put on the bed, the old man Wu had already shouted: "Hurry up, old woman, go and make a bowl of ginger soup for him, don't be careless at this time!"

The old lady has hurried to make ginger soup.

After eating a bowl of ginger soup, the boy seemed to regain some energy, and his eyes gradually opened.

"Wake up! Wake up!" The old lady exclaimed excitedly.

The old couple breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, and the old man Wu even smiled: "It's good to wake up, it's good to wake up! I didn't expect that I, Wu Nanfu, would be able to save another life when I was old. It turned out to be the same as last time." ,Ha ha."

The old lady rolled his eyes at him angrily: "Look at your complacency, hurry up and let Xinger know, I have to laugh at you."

But also very happy in my heart.

The boy woke up, looked around, and seemed to realize something.

He suddenly turned over and sat up, and knelt down with a plop: "Thank you two old men for saving the boy's life, even if the boy is smashed to pieces, he will repay the favor of the second boss!"

"Get up, get up, what are you talking about." The old lady hastily helped the boy up, and then asked why he passed out in front of her house.

Only then did the young man reply that he had escaped from Yeguyuan, where horse thieves were rampant, and there were often incidents of extermination of families in Yeguyuan. Although the Xian family has been cleared up, these horse thieves are like weeds in the field, they often kill wave after wave, and they can't be wiped out.

This young man was killed by Ye Guyuan's horse thief, causing his family to be ruined, and finally fled all the way to the Canglong Mansion, but ended up living on the streets because of food and clothing, and almost died of freezing in front of Wu's house.

Seeing the boy's frail appearance, the old lady felt great pity in her heart, and said: "It's really hard for this boy, he came from such a long distance alone, and it's just in time for the first heavy snow this winter. He almost killed his life. If he is allowed to go out and be homeless, he might freeze to death on the street."

As she spoke, she looked at old man Wu. Although he didn't say anything, old man Wu knew what she meant.

"This... Xing'er is not here, we are just the two old ones at home, I'm afraid it's not suitable..." The old man hesitated for a moment.

The old lady patted the old man's head and cursed: "What are you thinking? He is a lonely little baby. Do you really see him starve to death and freeze to death on the street? Save people to the end!"

"But his origin is unknown..."

"Is there any unknown origin, you, Wu Nanfu, are you still a big family, who is worth coveting?"

Old man Wu rubbed his head, thinking about it, although in recent years, life has become much better after being taken care of by the head of the Mengwei family, but after all, he is just an ordinary family, and he can't be regarded as someone who is interested in him.

Besides, old man Wu has always been kind to the village, and he is well-known, and it is impossible to have any enemies.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said: "Since that's the case, you can stay at my house for a few days, and after you find out what happened..."

He wanted to say that he would move out after he found something to do and had a way to survive, but he didn't expect that the young man immediately fell to the ground when he heard this: "Thank you for taking care of the old man, the boy was saved by the second elder, and from now on he will take the second elder as his parents. Do it with your son!"

"Ah?" The old man was stunned, and the old lady smiled and patted the boy's head: "Okay, okay! There are many people, but it's nothing more than a pair of bowls and chopsticks. By the way, kid, I don't know your name yet."

The young man raised his head, revealing his bright eyes like stars: "My name is Tang Jie!"