Chapter 2: The Inevitable Plot of the Little Beggar Dragon Aotian

Fifteen days later, it was early morning. The sky was not yet fully bright, with only a hint of dawn breaking on the horizon. A light mist hung in the air, and a cool breeze carrying the dampness that had accumulated overnight swept in.

Long queues had already formed at the entrance of Qingyuan Sect. After all, it was a once-in-thirty-years opportunity, and everyone wanted to sign up as soon as possible, not wanting to miss this chance to rise to the top in one step.

Fu Yunshu also got up early and used a little magic to disguise his original appearance, quietly blending into the group.

He was brought into the Qingyuan Sect by his master when he was an infant, and has lived and cultivated in the Qingyuan Sect ever since he can remember. Naturally, he does not need to participate in the entrance examination like other disciples. Therefore, he is quite curious about the entrance examination of the Qingyuan Sect. Rather than sitting on the high platform with Song Wenzhuo and others and watching them, he would like to experience it for himself.

Fu Yunshu stood in line quietly, occasionally observing the crowd to see if there was anyone she liked.

Suddenly, the commotion ahead caught his attention.

"Where did this little beggar come from? Do you know how many spirit stones this outfit of mine is worth? Even if you were sold, you couldn't afford to pay for just one sleeve!" A young man in fine clothes cursed, followed by several other teenagers who were taller than the rest of the group. Opposite him was a thin, sallow-faced little beggar.

The little beggar kept his head down in silence, ignoring the young man in fine clothes. The young man seemed to be angered by his attitude and pushed the little beggar to the ground.

This young man in brocade robes looked like someone not to be trifled with, and everyone around him automatically made room for them, avoiding them as no one dared to get themselves into trouble for such a little beggar.

Fu Yunshu didn't rush forward, but instead observed the situation and wanted to see how things would develop. Although those teenagers were wrong, this was the reality of the cultivation world—survival of the fittest and strength was paramount.

The little beggar didn't react much after being pushed to the ground. He struggled to get up, seemingly unwilling to pay attention to the richly dressed boy, and silently continued walking forward.

The finely dressed youth instantly bristled. He gave a signal, and two other youths immediately stepped out from behind him to block the little beggar's path, preventing him from leaving.

"You're not allowed to leave today unless you give me a word!" the finely dressed young man said arrogantly.

The little beggar finally spoke, his voice cold and seemingly extremely impatient: "What do you want?"

The richly dressed young man rolled his eyes and said gloatingly, "Judging from your appearance, I know you definitely can't afford to pay. How about this, I'm in a good mood today, and I'll let it slide. All you need to do is kneel down and kowtow to me ten times."

A commotion immediately arose among the crowd, and Fu Yunshu frowned, thinking that this method was a bit too much.

He was about to go up and stop them, but someone else got there first.

"Stop! Don't push your luck!" A young man in red stood up angrily, helped the little beggar up, and then launched into a tirade against the group. "Do you think we're all blind? You guys were the ones who took up most of the space, which is why the little beggar was squeezed next to you. He only got a little dust on him. Is it really worth making such a big deal out of this?"

The young man in fine clothes was furious: "Where did this brat come from who dares to interfere in my business? Do you know who I am? You're protecting him like this? Fine, today I'll take care of both of you!"

At the command of the elegantly dressed youth, his attendants were about to make their move when Fu Yunshu silently unleashed several bursts of spiritual energy. To outsiders, it appeared as if the attendants had suddenly lost their footing and were in complete disarray.

Meanwhile, the commotion was so great that it successfully attracted the attention of the patrolling disciples.

"What are you doing? Fighting is prohibited while queuing. If this happens again, all of you will be disqualified from registering!"

Several disciples, dressed in identical Qingyuan Sect uniforms, with solemn expressions, quickly stunned the scene.

The richly dressed youth could no longer cause trouble, so he could only glare fiercely at the little beggar and the youth in red, before turning away angrily.

Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Fu Yunshu silently approached the little beggar and the boy in red.

Fu Yunshu saw it clearly: two of his followers had already slipped before being attacked by his spiritual power, and he guessed that it was one of the two who made the move.

Even he almost didn't notice that these two kids had a secret.

Fu Yunshu looked at the two of them with interest, then took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the little beggar.

"Let me bandage it up."

He looked at the little beggar's right arm, where there was a bloody wound, probably from being pushed over and cut by a sharp stone.

The little beggar didn't take it, but just stared straight at him with his clear, black grape-like eyes.

This look was not at all like that of a child of a few years old, but Fu Yunshu did not show any abnormality and continued to reach out.

Finally, the boy in red broke the deadlock. He smiled and took the handkerchief to bandage the little beggar's wound, while also thanking Fu Yunshu.

"Thank you, young master. My name is Qiu Nan. May I ask your surname?"

"Su Yun." Fu Yunshu calmly gave a fake name.

"Hello, Brother Su," Qiu Nan said with a smile, then looked at the little beggar, "Little brother, what's your name?"

The little beggar remained silent as always, and Qiu Nan didn't expect him to speak. Just as he was about to change the subject, he heard a still somewhat immature voice say, "Yin Lisheng."

Fu Yunshu frowned slightly. Yin Lisheng... Lisheng... This name doesn't have a good meaning.

"Li Sheng, that's quite nice," Qiu Nan praised. "It's getting late, let's hurry up and get in line."

They've been talking for too long and are already far behind.

The two had no objections and quickly followed.

Because of the time wasted earlier, it was already noon when it was the third person's turn.

Under the blazing sun, the disciples responsible for testing everyone's aptitude were clearly getting impatient. He merely glanced at the three of them and then lazily said, "Put your hands on this stone."

This is a Celestial Observation Stone used in the cultivation world to test aptitude. When the stone lights up, it means that the person has the aptitude for cultivation and has reached the qualification to enter the outer sect. The brighter the light, the better the aptitude.

Fu Yunshu was already in the mid-stage of the Mahayana realm, so tampering with the Sky-Gazing Stone was a piece of cake for him. He placed his hand on the Sky-Gazing Stone, and a soft halo emanated from the stone, which was of average quality.

"Pass." The gatekeeper yawned wearily; it seemed there weren't any particularly talented disciples this year.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Observatory Stone in front of him emitted a blinding light, attracting the attention of everyone present.

—It's Qiu Nan.

He smiled shyly at everyone and asked, "May I go in?"

"Of course!" The gatekeeper disciple grinned from ear to ear. The last time the Heavenly Stone shone so brightly was Yu Jiangheng, the current senior disciple and chief disciple of the Qingyuan Sect. It seems that another genius is about to emerge in their Qingyuan Sect.

The gatekeeper looked at Qiu Nan with satisfaction in his eyes. This was probably the best prospect of the year, and this boy was sure to have a bright future!

He was still secretly pleased with Qiu Nan when he suddenly heard a loud "smack" in his ear.

Looking in the direction of the sound, one could see that the disciple with ordinary talent was tightly holding a little beggar in his arms, protecting him, while the ground beneath their feet was littered with fragments of the Sky-Gazing Stone.

The Sky-Gazing Stone shattered...

It's broken?

It's broken!

The gatekeeper stared at the two in shock, pointing to the mess on the ground, his voice trembling: "What... what happened here?"

Fu Yunshu ignored him, looking down at the pile of rubble at his feet with an unreadable expression.

At the crucial moment, Qiu Nan broke the awkward atmosphere again. He explained to the gatekeeper disciple, "Just now, Li Sheng put his hand on it to test it, but the Observation Stone suddenly exploded. Senior brother, do you think there is something wrong with the Observation Stone? Why don't you get another one for Li Sheng to test?"

"Yes, yes, it might be broken," the gatekeeper disciple said as if waking from a dream. He quickly took out another Observation Stone from his storage bag. Just in case, he put his hand on it to test it first, and only handed it to Yin Lisheng after confirming that it was working properly.

"Young man, try again."

Just to be on the safe side, he also put a layer of spiritual energy shield around Yin Lisheng.

As it turned out, his approach was correct, because as soon as Yin Lisheng placed his hand on it, the Sky-Gazing Stone exploded again.

If the Sky-Gazing Stone isn't broken, then the problem lies with this child.

The gatekeeper swallowed hard and said, "Young brothers, please wait here for a moment while I go and fetch the elder."

He gave some instructions to the disciple beside him, and then hurriedly flew away on his sword.

At this moment, the area in front of Qingyuan Sect's mountain gate was quieter than ever before. No one dared to utter a sound, and they could only secretly peek at the little beggar.

The Sky-Gazing Stone exploded directly; this is something unheard of in the entire cultivation world.

The gatekeeper disciple hurriedly arrived at the cave dwelling where the elder in charge of the entrance examination was located.

"Elder Huang, something terrible has happened!"

"What's all the noise about? What happened that you're so panicked? Your behavior is completely inappropriate and you've utterly disgraced our Qingyuan Sect!" Elder Huang's irritable voice came from inside.

The gatekeeper disciple, calmed down by his shout, quickly said, "This disciple knows his mistake."

"Come in and tell me what's wrong."

The gatekeeper agreed, pushed open the door, and found two people playing chess inside.

Elder Huang was glaring at him irritably, while the other person had his back to him, so his face was obscured, and the gatekeeper disciple dared not investigate. He respectfully bowed to the two of them: "Greetings, Elder Huang, greetings, seniors."

"Speak, what has caused such panic?" Elder Huang calmly took a sip of tea.

"Just now, when we were testing qualifications at the mountain gate, there was a child who was very strange. As soon as he put his hand on the Sky-Gazing Stone, it exploded."

Elder Huang spat out his tea. "Cough cough—cough cough, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

The gatekeeper disciple shook his head and said, "I originally thought so too, so I took another Sky-Observing Stone. This time I personally tested it and confirmed that it was fine before giving it to the child. Who knew that the Sky-Observing Stone would explode again!"

"This is utterly alarmist! How could the Sky-Gazing Stone possibly explode!" Elder Huang roared angrily.

“Why not?” the person playing chess with Elder Huang suddenly said.

He stood up, his thick, jet-black hair hanging naturally down his back like a piece of fine silk. His eyes were long and narrow, and his skin and lips were pale, with faint blue veins visible beneath.

The gatekeeper looked over in surprise, and this person was actually Ye Xiuzhu, the peak master of Weapon Peak!

Recalling the rumors about this Peak Master Ye within the sect, the gatekeeper disciple quickly lowered his head and respectfully bowed, saying, "Peak Master Ye."

Ye Xiuzhu responded almost inaudibly, his tone playful: "Let's go, take us to see the kid who made the Sky-Gazing Stone explode."

After all, the last person to cause the Observatory Stone to explode was that one.

A note from the author:

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