1 Chapter 2: Holy Mountain sects

Eight years later, the country continued to rise and maintain its balance and peace. Fear for certain things no longer lingered in the hearts of the people. At present, the traditions were altered and changed. In addition to the new norm, seven new mountains also emerged and dominated this coutry. Namely: Rising Mountain for the west, Cleansing mountain to the north, flourishing Mountain to the south , Absolute mountain to the east and three central mountain in the central plains namely Moon, Sun, and star Mountains. Each mountains has its own faction residing within. These seven mountains made up the legendary holy Mountains. Holy mountains , as the name indicates, are mountains that are said to have been blessed by the seven Gods that appeared with a mission to stop the canibalism at that time and is currently being used for cultivation. It was said that when those Gods were tired, they rest on top of the mentioned mountains that were unnamed at that time and their powers were Absolution, Flourishing,Cleansing, and so on thus, the origin of the name of the mountains. As for the rest of the majestic story, it was written in the books. The cold breeze blew and brushed through the young man's long ink- black hair, the strands fluttered and danced magnificently with the man's white robe. His robe was embroidered with exquisite eagle patterns and the collar of his robe was neatly sewed with gold wavy contours. The man appeared like a peak lord from afar , standing near the cliff with his hands clasped behind his back when suddenly, a voice echoed from behind "Senior brother Lu Qingxian!" The shout was filled with anxiety as the person who called out hurriedly rushed forward. That youngster gasped for air when he finally arrived beside his senior brother and immediately blurted out. "Senior brother Lu, what are you doing? You're not thinking of jumping are you?" That youngster boldly said and, although his voice carried his concerns, it did not manage to please the person beside him. That youngster was just about to speak when suddenly his senior brother spoke up with indifference "Who said I'm jumping?" Hearing this remark, the youth seemed to relax a bit, his hazel brown eyes retracted "If I jump from this height, I wont die anyway" "...." Lu Qingxian had a Phoenix eyes that were cold, thin pale lips , straight nose and his eyebrows were quite thick which added to his beauty that could be described as ethereal and when he turned to the youngster, his eyebrows were slightly raised. Patting the boy's head, he said : "Xiao Ying, I'm just saying nonsense. No need to take it to heart" as he said this, his lips slightly curved into a faint smile. "Why have you come? Has master returned already?" Xiao Ying just snapped out of his daze and upon hearing Lu Qingxian's query, he seemed to have remembered something and said "l have come for this reason. Senior brother Lu, master Yan Shan recently came out from seclusion and he wants to see you" Hearing this, Lu Qingxian's gaze slightly focused. He need not need to know more about the details for he himself had a slight premonition about the reason why his master suddenly wanted his appearance. Spring Water Peak's second Peak master , Yan Shan , after rising to the position of a peak master , suddenly got an unknown illness. Due to this, he had to go to seclusion to recover before finally performing his duties. It was also due to this that he had called for an apprentice to take care of his duties while he was gone shortly after ascending, and that apprentice is precisely Lu Qingxian Lu Qingxian had a strong cultivation, powerful determination, and clear judgement which helped him excel in literary, martial arts and the art of swordmanship. With a few steps , Lu Qingxian arrived shortly at a bamboo cabin. The bamboo was exquisite and delicately refreshing. Paired with the lush green surrounding, the scene gave off a serene atmosphere. Inside the bamboo house, a man in his thirties, sat in a lotus position before a small table. Lu Qingxian knocked twice before entering. The inside of the cabin was not at all small and the furnitures as well as the walls were naturally brown in color as they were fresh made out of the finest wood, Yet the delicately made furnitures were looking rather rare and exquisite. The walls were designed with gold eagle symbols. Since most of the things inside were made from the finest most fragrant lumber, naturally, the whole place emitted a fragrant that is rather calming to the mind. "Come, sit " Lu Qingxian took a quick glance at the man. He was already around thirty yet the man already appeared to be in his fifty. Yan Shan , the second peak lord of Spring Water Peak which was the main foundation of Rising Mountain Sect. He wore a light green robe embroidered with intricate styles, his facial features could also be described as handsome while his demeanor was calm and collected. This creates an illusion if of a pair of father and child. Lu Qingxian lowered his gaze once more and bowed his head before sitting in the same lotus position. When he saw the teapot at the side, he naturally served the man. "How have you been? I heard that you are about to reach the manifestation realm as of late. How is it?" When his words fell, Lu Qingxian slightly revealed a simple and somewhat restrained smile "It's true, I am about to reach the manifestation realm. If there are no accidents, I may be able to reach it in two to three years" Yan Shan nodded before putting a hand at his shoulder "You are only seventeen years old yet you already shoulder our Peak's businesses" "It is not a heavy task" Lu Qingxian replied almost instantly. Yan Shan wasn't stupid. Seeing that Lu Qingxian did not want to talk further about this, he immediately dropped the subject "Master, why did you want me to come over?" Lu Qingxian did not intend to beat around the bush as he himself was anxious for his master's sake. Yan Shan took a few sips before answering in a soft manner "Sigh, I did not wish to be bounded by seclusion therefore, I have decided to accept Wen Mao's request " Hearing this, Lu Qingxian's eyes flashed with a slight surprise. He hastily opened his mouth to speak but Yan Shan stopped him, raising his hand " No need for you to intervene. It is my job anyway. As for you, you should just take care of yourself " in fact, Yan Shan, as a Peak Master, naturally can handle things alone even without Lu Qingxian's help "It's just that I haven't completed my seclusion yet so I have to continue it after the job. Some matters had to be handled personally by me" Lu Qingxian nodded. He understood this fact: as long as his status was weak, he couldn't rebuke so recklessly Wen Mao is Lu Qingxian's sister-in-law whose realm was at the Ascension realm! Frequently, Wen Mao had been assigned to different continents to execute who knows what orders. This resulted in her being always busy. It was at this moment that Yan Shan brought up another thing "Oh also, Sect Master Yuan informed me that the examination for tomorrow will be supervised by our Peak" Lu Qingxian was slightly shocked but it was only for a moment. he had been handling half of his master's heavy works so adding another one would not be different. With this in mind, Lu Qingxian lightly took a sip from his tea. He thought : tomorrow is a big day The next day, Lu Qingxian woke up early just like the usual days except today was an exception. Today, the weather does not look nice : dark clouds were in the sky , indicating the upcoming rain whilst a dense mist covered the whole Spring water peak making it difficult for anyone passing by to see. "What's going on?" A young disciple from another Peak inquired upon seeing the fog. Another student passed by saw the scene and replied with pride "Didn't you know? Spring Water Peak is assigned for this year's entrance examination and that thing you're seeing is but the opening tribulation for the nominees" the student was precisely Xiao Ying who was also preparing for the entrance examination. That student's jaw almost dropped as he pointed toward the direction where the fog was seen "S-so that is..." Xiao Ying: "Yup! that is the arena" Alll the students who heard this had their jaws dropped. Since the place is covered in fog, who could have imagined that there's actually an arena there? in fact, the fog had already spread beyond the Spring Water Peak. Thus, when Xiao Ying, who was far more familiar with the place, pointed in a certain direction, some students who were not familiar, we're shock with the thought that there was an arena within SpringWater Peakk. "How is that possible? isn't the arena over there?" Another student pointed towards a random direction yet who knew when he pointed in a certain direction, he would see nothing but white fog. The students were all stunned. Luckily, the fog wasn't so thick to the point they could no longer see their hands so they could still see their classmates. Xiao Ying, who was standing at the side with his arms crossed, coolly explained: "Naturally, due to the mysterious effect of the fog, students with weak mind control will most likely get confused especially those who are not familiar with this place" when the words fell, the students all had different expressions as they expressed their thoughts one by one "So it seems like the first test for the examinees has something to do with mind control?" "Isn't it a bit ... difficult?" "Of course, it should be a level difficult. If one wants to enter our sect then they should not be weak! they must possess an extraordinary strength hahaha.." Xiao Ying instantly replied, laughing awkwardly. After a minute or so, the fog that had covered almost the entire mountain finally dissipated. The sun shone from above and finally illuminated the scene below. The students all had shocked gazes as they watched the huge bright arena that had suddenly appeared in front of them. Even Xiao Ying was slightly surprised. In the past, there had only been Evergreen Peak, Misty Peak, Lotus Peak, and Purple Snow Peak who were assigned to the entrance examination. Now, after all the elders have had their meeting, they suddenly decided to involve the Spring Water Peak in this examination so who would not be shocked? Furthermore, it was the very first time that the Spring Water Peak lord's apprentice showcased his power despite being seventeen on top of that! most disciples around fifteen or eighteen couldn't even compare to his power which is already equivalent to a practitioner who cultivated for twenty years! If the elders were here, they would surely be petrified. the students watched in awe as the glamorous stage flickered a few times before it solidified into a shiny stadium bringing with it an esoteric atmosphere that caused everyone to shiver with excitement. "This year's examination seems more interesting than the last!"

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