The smell inside the carriage was obviously unpleasant, which Chapter Three: The Seven Profound Gates
was no surprise considering that nearly thirty children were crammed into a space meant for only a dozen or so people. Although children are much smaller than adults, the carriage was still uncomfortably crowded.
Han Li cleverly squeezed his frail body into a corner of the carriage, sneakily observing the other children inside.
From their attire and appearance, the children who came to participate in the entrance examination could be clearly divided into three categories.
The first category consisted of a well-dressed young man sitting in the center of the carriage, surrounded by most of the other children. This young man was named Wuyan, thirteen years old, the eldest among them. Although he was already older than the stipulated age, his elder cousin married a prominent figure within the Seven Profound Gates, so his age naturally became a non-issue. Wuyan's family owned a martial arts gym, and they were quite wealthy. He had been practicing some martial arts since childhood, although not particularly skilled, it was more than enough to deal with someone like Han Li, who only had brute strength and had never learned martial arts. Obviously, people like Wuyan, who were wealthy, influential, and had some martial arts skills, naturally became the "big brother" of most children in the carriage.
The second category consisted of children surrounding Wuyan. These children came from various backgrounds: some had family-owned shops, some worked odd jobs, and some made a living with their skills... etc. However, they all had one thing in common: they all grew up in towns, so naturally, they had learned some skills from their elders, such as observing people's expressions and acting for profit. Therefore, these people surrounded Wuyan, addressing him as "Young Master Wuyan" or "Brother Wuyan" on the left and right. Wuyan seemed accustomed to this and enjoyed these titles very much.
The last category consisted of people like Han Li. These people came from remote and impoverished areas, where their families lived off the land and were very poor. There were only five or six people of this category in the carriage, most of them looked timid and dared not speak loudly. They only watched others laugh and talk loudly from time to time, forming a sharp contrast with the noisy and boisterous group.
The carriage raced westward from Qingniu Town, stopping at several places along the way to pick up more children. Finally, on the fifth evening, they arrived at Caihua Mountain, the location of the main gate of the Seven Profound Gates.
As all the children got off the carriage, they were deeply enchanted by the colorful sunset scenery of Caihua Mountain, until Elder Wang urged them to continue walking.
Originally named Luofeng Mountain, it was said that in ancient times, a five-colored phoenix landed here and transformed into this mountain. Later, people discovered that the mountain was exceptionally beautiful at sunset, like being covered in colorful clouds, so it was renamed Caihua Mountain. Of course, since being occupied by the Seven Profound Gates, outsiders could no longer come here to admire such beautiful scenery at will.
Caihua Mountain was the second largest mountain in the Mirror Province, second only to another mountain called Baimang Mountain. It occupied a vast area of more than ten square miles, with numerous peaks, each one very dangerous. Therefore, they were all occupied by various branches of the Seven Profound Gates. The main peak of Caihua Mountain, "Sunset Peak," was extremely treacherous, not only was it steep, but there was only one path from the foot of the mountain to the peak. After the main gate of the Seven Profound Gates was placed here, thirteen checkpoints were set up along this path, whether visible or hidden, making it absolutely safe and secure.
As Han Li looked around while following the others, suddenly, the front of the queue stopped, followed by a hearty voice.
"Brother Wang, why are you late? You're two days later than the scheduled time."
"Brother Yue, there were some delays on the road. I apologize for the inconvenience," Elder Wang stood in front of the crowd, respectfully bowing to an elderly man with a flushed face, completely changing his previous arrogance and revealing a hint of flattery.
"How many batches of disciples have been sent up the mountain?"
"This is the seventeenth batch."
"Hmm," the Master Yue glanced at Han Li and the others with an imposing manner.
"Take them to the Qingke Courtyard, let them rest well for the night, and start selecting qualified disciples early tomorrow morning. Those who fail to pass, send them down the mountain early to avoid breaking the rules here."
"Yes, Master Yue."
As they walked up the stone steps, all the children were excited, but no one dared to speak loudly. Although they were all young, they knew that this place would determine their future destiny.
As Elder Wang led the way, he smiled and greeted the people they encountered on the road, showing that he had many acquaintances within the sect and had good relationships with them.
Most of the people they encountered were dressed in blue satin clothes, some carrying knives, some carrying swords, and occasionally, some people with empty fists also had bulging waist pouches, presumably carrying something. From their behavior, it could be seen that these people were agile and had decent martial arts skills.
Han Li and the others were taken to a slightly lower mountain peak, where there were some earthen houses at the summit. They stayed there for the night. In his dreams at night, Han Li dreamed that he was wearing brocade clothes, holding a golden sword, and possessed unparalleled martial arts skills. He beat the blacksmith's son, whom he had never been able to defeat in the village, and felt quite powerful even when he woke up the next morning.
When they woke up in the morning, Elder Wang didn't let everyone have breakfast. Instead, he took them to a large slope covered with bamboo trees at the foot of the mountain. There, Master Yue and several other young people they hadn't met were already waiting
