It's really not his fault. No one can guess what the girl and Xiao Yunting are thinking.

Ye Lan was amused by his honest words.

The couple... are quite sweet-talkers.

By the time we got to the martial arts training ground, quite a few people had already gathered there.

Located behind the rockery, the spacious bamboo building is filled with weapons, and there are all kinds of strange and bizarre props for practicing martial arts in front of the door.

The gravel pit in the middle was filled with dust and a fierce fight was going on.

As the youngest walked over, he exclaimed, "Isn't it only Wu Heng who passed the first level? Then who are these people?"

Standing with them on the periphery were several young men in plain clothes, with injuries on their bodies and looking disheveled. Among them were two neatly dressed young girls.

The two people competing on the field were also two completely unfamiliar faces.

These people are obviously not disciples of the sect, but more like...exam candidates.

Ye Lan had long since forgotten what happened before. Looking at the two figures on the scene, he said calmly, "The Xuan Sect occupies the entire mountain. No one stipulates that we must go through the main gate."

ah?

The youngest opened his mouth and finally understood where these people came from. However, when he thought about the fog all over the mountains and the countless mechanisms, he suddenly felt a toothache and admired the perseverance of others even more.

In fact, there are basically no weak people who can reach this level.

For example, the two people who are fighting hard on the field, although they don’t look very old, their every move is clean and neat, and they are fierce. It can be seen that they have a solid foundation and are at least Taekwondo black belts or above.

There were several people sitting on the platform extending from the front.

These people all looked young and handsome, with elegant temperaments, but they were all wearing the black robes of elders.

The elders of Xuanzong are generally at least sixty years old.

They have looked like this since Ye Lan was very young, and even after so many years, they haven't changed at all.

This is the anti-aging technique that ancient martial artists have mastered to a certain level.

In his previous life, Ye Lan was a successful young man, but his appearance remained at the age of fourteen or fifteen. He was troubled by this for a long time and even developed a poison himself to stimulate his body's development. Finally, he barely recovered to the age of around twenty.

There were obviously too many elders coming today, but it was probably because of the man sitting on the armchair on the left.

"Mr. Xiao, these are just some kids fighting. Why don't we go to the front hall and talk it over?" The elder sitting next to the man resisted the urge to yawn and tried to persuade him to go back.

However, the other party seemed unmoved.

"It's quite interesting." Xiao Yunting stared at the battlefield, but his eyes lightly glanced at Ye Lan. Seeing that she just appeared at this moment, he frowned slightly.

The next second, Ye Lan shook his head gently at him, indicating that he was fine.

Xiao Yunting then withdrew his gaze and directly asked, "When can Wu Heng play?"

Upon hearing this, Liancheng's face immediately turned bitter, and he lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Xiao, we all came here in order, and there is no backdoor entry. We will also be looking for candidates of equal strength to compete one-on-one later."

The news that this big shot came in with the examinee had spread a long time ago, and it was hard for them not to know about it. They also guessed that he insisted on coming to watch the test before discussing things, hoping to operate behind the scenes, but they did not expect the other party to be so blatant.

Liancheng looked at the others miserably, but unfortunately all the people under Xuanzong were experienced and sophisticated. They were all dignified and polite, staring straight ahead at the field without even glancing at him.

You obviously know everything.

Xiao Yunting was just trying to strengthen his domineering personality. After asking a question, he didn't care anymore and just sat steadily in his chair to watch the competition.

The fight lasted for a long time before the winner was decided. Seeing that one side was unwilling to give up and wanted to fight again, the elder on the stage immediately called a halt and announced the winner.

"You are allowed to kill in a competition, but if you take advantage of your opponent's relaxed state to attack after the winner has been decided, it is unethical and Xuanzong will not accept such a disciple."

The female elder in the middle spoke, and the young man on the losing side retreated with gritted teeth and red eyes.

The youngest couldn't bear to watch and sighed, "It's obvious that he's a child from a poor family. It's normal for him to be unwilling to give up after finally getting here."

That's why they want to win by any means necessary.

Hearing this, Ye Lan glanced at him from the corner of his eye, then spoke slowly, "Being poor is no excuse for him to do evil. Today he can sneak attack others for survival, and tomorrow he will betray the sect for wealth."

Because they are afraid of and used to being poor, they will sell anything as long as the profit is big enough.

"But..." The youngest hesitated when he heard this, but he still held back his energy.

At this time, Ye Lan looked away and gestured, "Look over there."

The youngest followed the sound and looked to the other side, where he saw the victorious young man.

He walked out of the field with steady steps, then sat on a rock and bent down to feel the soles of his feet.

At first, the youngest child didn't understand what he was doing until the other person took out a small stone from it.

The stone was already covered in blood, and looking at the other person's torn soles of his shoes, they were also soaked in blood.

"You only saw him win, but you didn't see his washed-out trouser legs and shoes, nor did you see that his shoes were coming apart and the soles of his feet were punctured by stones while he finished the entire match."

Ye Lan's voice was neither fast nor slow, as clear and cold as a cold moon in the mountains, as if it could penetrate people's hearts and reveal the truth.

The youngest boy lowered his head in embarrassment for a moment, feeling that the girl had seen through the dirtiest part of his heart.

All of them came from poor backgrounds. Some of them would launch a surprise attack after losing, while others never lost their fighting spirit from beginning to end.

Moreover, if we look at the other candidates, more than half of them were dressed simply, which proves that Xuanzong took special care of those from poor conditions when selecting talents.

He thought about the dirty things he had done on the mysterious island. Although he had to do them because of life's pressure, he actually knew it was wrong from the beginning.

But once I started using the excuse of 'having no choice' to cover myself up, those actions became more and more natural, even killing people, and it didn't seem like much of a big deal...

"Ye Lan, have you known what I did for a long time?"

He looked back at the girl beside him and mentioned the mysterious island for the first time since his escape.

"Yeah." Ye Lan responded, without any intention of hiding anything, and said directly: "The Xiao family captured a few people and tortured them. They knew that you helped them monitor the people in the cave in order to get the medicine for Lao Guaizi, so you can come and go freely."

This was told to Xiao Yunting when they met in the imperial capital.

Even if he didn't say it, Ye Lan had already expected it.

After all, it is reasonable to sneak out of the cave once or twice under strict security, but going to buy medicine for Lao Guaizi at a fixed time and place for more than ten years is already the biggest loophole.

After his true identity was exposed, Xiaoer could hardly face anyone. He covered his face for a long time before choking out, "I... I feel sorry for the elderly who have taken care of me for so many years."

People are all made of flesh and blood. Over the years, he has been using the differences between rich and poor to numb himself, doing things for that group of people and preventing the old people from passing the news on.

Those expectant eyes looking at him almost became his nightmare every night.