Chapter 155: Aptitude
There was an incredibly tall mountain on the southern plains of the Spirit Province, and it resembled a pillar that connected both heaven and earth to each other.
Beyond the mountain was a complex system of mountain ranges that stretched southward for hundreds of kilometers, separating the Spirit Province and the Luo Province.
Soon, Jiang Longyu arrived at the rendezvous point at the foot of the mountain courtesy of his horse-drawn carriage. He discovered that there were already over ten people waiting there.
One of them approached Jiang Longyu and introduced himself. "My name is Huang Xiangyu. Are you Jiang Longyu?"
Jiang Longyu nodded in response, looking very cold and arrogant.
However, Huang Xiangyu was completely unbothered. He was the son of a wealthy merchant, and he was accustomed to dealing with people from all walks of life since he was young.
He had come to the rendezvous point at the foot of Jade Face Mountain a month early, and he had even gotten to know an official on the mountain through a chef who had come down the mountain to purchase ingredients.
Through a series of bribes, he gathered a lot of information, and he was already familiar with the other people set to take part in the Demon Vanquishing Department's training.
Among them, he deemed Jiang Longyu to be the most important.
He was completely unfazed by Jiang Longyu's cold demeanor and even invited the latter for some tea.
"I only drink the spirit water from Ancestral Dragon Mountain," Jiang Longyu said, refusing in an indifferent voice. "Water from anywhere else doesn't sit well with my stomach."
Huang Xiangyu revealed a sheepish smile, but before he had a chance to say anything to alleviate the awkwardness in the air, Jiang Longyu was approached by an attendant from the Demon Vanquishing Department.
Attendants were the lowest-rank officials in the Demon Vanquishing Department, and they were only a rank higher than ordinary soldiers.
The attendant rushed down the mountain, and upon arriving before Jiang Longyu, he said in a respectful manner, "Young Master Jiang, a room has already been prepared for you, along with a hot meal. Please come with me."
"Make sure to bring my luggage as well," Jiang Longyu instructed.
The attendant took a glance at Jiang Longyu's horse-drawn carriage and nodded. "Rest assured, I'll have everything transported up the mountain for you."
"There are still around a dozen more carriages to come," Jiang Longyu said. "They contain food ingredients, medicinal ingredients, clothes, and other things that I'll need over the next half a month. I didn't want to bring them with me, but they were all bestowed upon me by His Majesty, so I had no choice."
While Jiang Longyu was being escorted up the mountain, a young man approached Huang Xiangyu, asking, "Who was that? I've never seen such a cocky little brat before."
The young man was a long-time acquaintance of Huang Xiangyu's. He was the son of the Long Wind Armed Escort Agency's chief escort, and he was famous as a formidable young martial artist in his hometown.
"You seriously don't know who that was, Li Chu?" Huang Xiangyu scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "That was Jiang Longyu, the number one third-state martial artist under the heavens; he's probably about to reach the fourth state."
"That can't be right," Li Chu argued. "How can he be the number one third-state martial artist under the heavens when everyone knows that he was defeated at the Northern Mountain Manor?"
"You're talking about Chu Qiguang?" Huang Xiangyu scoffed. "You don't know anything! Chu Qiguang only managed to defeat Jiang Longyu through underhanded means, and Jiang Longyu only lost because weapons were prohibited. The battle had also taken place on a platform.
"This is already common knowledge by now. Perhaps sometime this year, he'll become the number one fourth-state martial artist under the heavens."
"No wonder you were so eager to suck up to him," Li Chu remarked.
Huang Xiangyu remained unbothered. "What choice do I have? If I don't suck up to him, am I supposed to rely on myself?"
"Why not?" Li Chu argued in a proud manner. "Men should have confidence in themselves!"
"Have you been to the capital and seen the wujinshi in action?" Huang Xiangyu sneered.
"No. Why do you ask?" Li Chu asked.
"I've seen the wujinshi battle it out in the highest level of the martial examination every year for the past ten years," Huang Xiangyu said with a jaded face. "The first time, I was sixteen years old. That year, I was already a first-state martial artist, and I thought I was a prodigy.
"I felt like I would surely be able to bring glory to my clan someday, and perhaps even reach the Dao Comprehension state to be recorded in the history books."
Li Chu nodded in response. He also had the same aspirations.
"Every year since then, I've been visiting the capital with my father for business purposes, and he'd take me to see the wujinshi every year," Huang Xiangyu continued. "Even now, I still clearly remember the first battle that I saw as if it happened yesterday.
"It was between Qi Baige and Si Changhong. Both of them were fifth-state martial artists, and just the wind generated by their attacks was enough to almost knock me off my feet in the spectator stands.
"I had never seen such powerful martial artists before, and I wanted to become just like them. The rest of the combatants were also all fifth-state martial artists. In total, there were over a hundred fifth-state martial artists competing for the top spot in the preliminary test, and any one of them could crush me like an ant.
"None of them possessed an aptitude inferior to mine. In fact, many of them were far above me in that regard.
"It's been ten years since then, and I haven't been able to catch up to even a single one of them. I saw Qi Baige three times in total. He took the preliminary test three times, yet he still wasn't able to secure the wujinshi title.
"Si Changhong was able to become a wujinshi on his second try, but he was beaten back down to the fifth state after attempting to impeach the emperor, and even now, he has yet to recover.
"Do you understand it now, Li Chu? We're both among the cream of the crop in our hometown, but in the grand scheme of things, we are nothing. People like Jiang Longyu can easily exceed our limits, and he'll be sure to reach the Dao Comprehension state in the future.
"There's a limit to how far our aptitude can take us, and only by sucking up to true prodigies like Jiang Longyu can we hope to have any chance of exceeding those limits."
Li Chu was stunned into silence for some time, and then he asked with a dazed face, "Wh-Why didn't you tell me all of this before? If that's the reality of our situation, then I don't even want to cultivate martial arts anymore!"
"You still have to keep cultivating," Huang Xiangyu said, encouraging him with a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Otherwise, even I am going to leave you behind."
Meanwhile, more and more people arrived at the rendezvous point, and soon, there were over a hundred people here.
Those at the rendezvous point included the entourages of those participating in the training.
Huang Xiangyu constantly scanned the crowd. All of a sudden, his gaze settled on a lone figure. He immediately approached the figure and introduced himself, saying, "My name is Huang Xiangyu. Are you perhaps Chu Qiguang?"
After receiving confirmation from Chu Qiguang, Huang Xiangyu cupped his fist in a salute. Then, with an excited face, he said, "What an honor it is to meet you here, Young Master Chu! I've heard about your brilliant victory over Jiang Longyu in the Northern Mountain Manor, but I never thought I'd get to meet you in person!
"It's really incredible to know that you're such an exceptional martial artist at such a young age, but you also have the business acumen to found the Azure Sun Trade Association!"
