Chapter 24: The Young Masters' Tournament (Part 1)

  Jincheng, located at the intersection of the three major empires, although not a must-pass route, has the entrance to the Magic Beast Forest in the south and the Jin River in the north, so it is also a prosperous place.

  Moreover, near Jincheng, there are the three largest sects on the mainland: Fengtian Sect, Yunzong, and Haizong. Each of them occupies a large mountain, arranged in a very regular pattern.

  Jincheng is an independent and self-governing city, detached from the control of the three major empires. This is because there are countless sects on the nearby mountains, as well as the inheritance of the three major sects. Of course, there are also several aristocratic families that even the empire finds troublesome. It's said that the ancestors of these families had formidable powers and some were veterans of the Human-Demon War.

  Such a tangled character, the Golden City, which is mixed with fish and dragons, faced the beast tribe's 100,000-strong army without any fear, and used only five days to defeat the beastman army, causing them to drop their helmets and run away.

  A seventy-zhang-high city wall, with some young sect disciples patrolling on top.

  "Halt!"

  The gatekeeper stopped Long Tianyu.

  "Hey kid, you look new around here, is this your first time in Jincheng?"

  "Haha, big brother has good eyesight! Little brother is indeed here for the first time." Long Tianyu thought that entering the city would require a small fee, and his face smiled in a rather sly manner, implying that he was poor and could give less.

  However, Long Tianyu was indeed very poor, with not a single cent on him. The conical hat and cloak he wore were washed in the village of Daliu, but they were still black. The sword hilt on his back was also tattered.

  "Hey kid, in three days' time, Jin City will be hosting the 'Youth Championship', and during this special period, everyone entering the city must register."

  The guard took out a notebook after finishing speaking.

  "What's your name?"

  "Autumn wind!"

  "How old?"

  "In China, sixteen is considered fifteen."

  "Sex?"

  "I'm telling you, big brother, does my figure look like a girl's?"

  "Suppose you are Pingyuan?" said Shouwei with a glance.

  “……”

  "Country?"

  "Tian Long Empire!"

  "Family?"

  "Nothing?"

  "What's your father's name?"

  "Autumn!"

  "What's your mother's name?"

  "Wind Leaf!"

  …………

  Long Tianyu stood at the city gate for half a day and made a simple "household registration book".

  "Big brother, do you know where to sign up for the competition?"

  "You want to sign up too?" Looking at Long Tianyu, who was dressed in tattered clothes and carrying a broken sword, he had just lifted his hat and taken a glance. Apart from his face looking decent, everything else was simply unsightly.

  "Kid, the registration place is on West Street, you'll know it when you get there." The guard replied casually, then went to register another person.

  Watching Long Tianyu's distant figure on the city wall.

  "Cousin, what do you think of the young man who just entered the city's abilities?" A handsome young man wearing a black robe asked a beautiful girl wearing a flowing white dress beside him.

  "What's there to see? I've never seen such a poor swordsman. A true swordsman treasures his sword like his life, just look at his broken sword, he must be a person of extremely poor character, and his strength is at most that of a fifth-rank swordsman." The girl took a glance at Long Tianyu, then withdrew her gaze to search for other young men entering the city.

  "Is that so? Why do I feel like I just can't see through him at all!" Watching Long Tianyu disappear into the crowd, Hei Pao Jun lightly jumped down to the city gate.

  "Prince of Clouds!" Seeing Yun Tianfeng suddenly arrive, the city gate guards immediately paid their respects.

  "No need for formalities, what's the name of that young man in tattered clothes who just entered the city?"

  The gate guard respectfully said: "This young master's name is Qiū Fēng!"

  "Autumn wind?" Yun Tian's gaze was solemn as he looked into the distance.

  ………

  "Ah, wonderful!"

  Long Tianyu let out three loud sneezes in a row, ruining his radiant image.

  "It's not necessarily a beauty thinking of me, after all. Another beauty has arrived!" In the Golden City, many sects' young ladies seized this opportunity to relax and have some fun, accompanied by their own guards, forming one beautiful scene after another on the bustling streets.

  This greatly satisfied Long Tianyu's eyes, and he couldn't stop swallowing his saliva. The girls and young women here were really beautiful, no, the young women shouldn't be described as beautiful, but rather elegant.

  Jincheng is not only prosperous but also has a strong sense of awareness and is at the forefront! There are even trash cans on the streets! This is forward-thinking.

  Upon arriving at West Street, Long Tianyu immediately saw a huge flag planted in front of the entrance to a guild, with three or four layers of people outside, who should all be there to sign up.

  "Is this big brother signing up for the 'Youth Championship' here?"

  Long Tianyu finally squeezed in and saw a man and a woman registering in front of him.

  "Of course, little brother, you should also sign up, shouldn't you?"

  It can be said that people judge by appearance, and Long Tianyu, dressed like this, looks like a down-and-out young man, or even a beggar, and the people around him all retreated far away.

  "Yes, big brother, I want to sign up!"

  The middle-aged man did not have a greedy expression, but had a peaceful face. He moved over a transparent stone slab and said: "Young brother, registration requires the strength of a fifth-grade swordsman or above. This stone slab is a trial stone. You will input your fighting energy into it."

  The young masters and misses who were signing up on the side looked at Long Tianyu's stunned expression and burst out laughing: "Haha, this kid thinks he can become a fifth-rank swordsmaster?"

  "Look at his thin arms and legs, most likely he is from that mountain valley."

  "Look at him, he hasn't even seen a trial stone!"

  Facing others' cold ridicule, Long Tianyu is indifferent. These are just some small people, too lazy to see them at the same level, it's beneath him.

  Slowly stretching out his hand to press on the trial stone. The transparent trial stone slowly began to brighten up.

  "It's out! The red light! This kid really has fifth-grade strength!"

  The trial stone was still brightening and had turned blood red. The middle-aged man next to him also nodded slightly, looking at the young boy's appearance of only ten or so years old, yet having the strength of a 9th rank swordsman, which was quite impressive.

  "Oh my god!"

  "It's impossible!"

  As Long Tianyu continued to increase his aura, the Trial Stone turned pale orange! This was a symbol of a Sword Master's power. The people who had just mocked him couldn't help but want to bite off their own fingers.

  Those young people began to regret their earlier mockery, otherwise they could have gone forward to make friends, you know that those who reach the sword master before the age of 20, even if they are inferior thirty years later, will still be a fifth-rank sword king.

  Long Tianyu withdrew his arm, he didn't want to show all his strength.

  A middle-aged woman smiled slightly and walked up to Long Tianyu, "At such a young age, you're already a master swordsman. We've been too slow. Younger brother, what's your name and which country are you from?"

  "Beautiful sister, I am Autumn Wind, a citizen of the Tianlong Empire!"

  The middle-aged woman smiled and said: "Little brother's mouth is really sweet, registration is done, little brother still needs to pay five gold coins!"

  "Still want gold coins!" Hearing that Long Tianyu was in trouble, he had become so poor that even the sound of coins clinking together couldn't be heard. He only had a few dozen corns left, and the five scrolls given by Xue Fei were the most precious things he had. These scrolls were extremely dangerous and could only be studied under very safe conditions, and they needed to be kept in their best state.

  "Now that I'm short of money myself, it's not necessarily true that I'll let myself perform a stunt to find money by smashing my chest on a big rock." Long Tianyu was worried that the heavens were unjust and the earth was uneven.

  "This is five gold coins!"

  A pair of white jade hands stretched out, handing five gold coins to the middle-aged man. Long Tianyu turned around in surprise, and a girl appeared before his eyes, dressed in blue cloth armor, with a majestic chest protruding a beautiful curve, braided pigtails, carrying a long sword on her back, with a smile on her face, her pure appearance made many young men nearby infatuated.

  "Thank you, sister. Autumn wind will definitely come to your door to repay this kindness one day."

  The young girl smiled slightly, as if a hundred flowers were blooming: "We're all from the Tianlong Empire, no need to be so polite."

  "Thanks, sister," he said, looking at her clothes, which were also luxurious and expensive. Long Tianyu was no longer polite.

  "Gurgle gurgle."

  A discordant voice echoed in Long Tianyu's belly.

  "Hey Autumn Wind, have you eaten yet? Why don't we eat together?"

  The beauty invited Long Tianyu, who would never be polite: "Beauty invites, then courtesy is better than obedience."

  Long Tianyu and the girl entered a pretty good wine house. The wine house was doing well, with many large families and imperial clans' young masters and some adults.

  Ordered three dishes and sat down in a corner, because Long Tianyu also felt that he was dressed too "simple" and damaged his image.

  "Haven't even asked for your sister's name yet." Long Tianyu took off his bamboo hat, and there were only a few people here who could recognize him.

  "Brother Autumn Wind laughed and said, 'I am called Murong Qingyue!'"

  "Pffft!"

  Long Tianyu spat out the tea he had just drunk into his mouth all over the floor.

  "Brother Autumn Wind, are you okay?!" Murong Qingyue asked with concern as she saw Long Tianyu being choked by the tea.

  "It doesn't matter, it's nothing."

  Long Tianyu pulled out a brilliant smile. In his heart, he secretly said, "My god, I can even meet that dead girl's sister like this!"

  Murong Qingyue is eighteen years old this year, and she is the elder sister of Murong Xueyi. In the empire, Murong Qingyue is also a peerless beauty, but she is like the brightest star in the sky, although far surpassing other girls, but compared to her third sister Xueyi, it's like comparing stars to the moon.

  In the same family, third sister Murong Xueyi was valued more, followed by big brother Murong Luohui. She, as the second sister, did not have the bravery of her brother or the talent of her younger sister. This time she couldn't bear the loneliness and secretly ran out to participate in this grand event.

  "Autumn Wind, you're so young yet have the skills of a sword master, you must be from that big family!"

  "Murong Qingyue, sister, guess what?"

  Murong Qingyue took a good look at Long Tianyu, carefully recalling the outstanding talents of the imperial family and nobility. Because she was often neglected and rarely entered the palace, she had only seen Long Tian'ao and Long Tianling before, but had never seen what Long Tianyu looked like.

  Murong Qingyue thought for a moment and said: "Is it the Ice Snow God Sword's family, the Xue family?"

  Long Tianyu shook his head.

  "Is that Xiao Jia's murderous autumn wind blowing dead leaves?"

  Long Tianyu shook his head again.

  "Is that the Huyan family, the home of the fierce general?"

  Long Tianyu picked up a small dish and continued shaking his head.

  "Is Bagua Xuanlei from the Lei family?"

  "Where is the eagle's home in the clouds and fog?"

  “……”

  Murong Qingyue had almost guessed all the big families in the empire, but Long Tianyu kept shaking his head with a smile, as if he had taken a shake-off pill.

  Long Tianyu carefully discovered that Murong Qingyue was not simple, although she didn't have the talent and intelligence of Murong Xueyi, nor her beauty, but her memory was extremely good. "No one is perfect! Everyone has their own talents!" The key is how to use them.

  "I couldn't guess, could it be that you are still our Murong family's unfulfilled one!"

  Murong Qingyue's red lips rose, with a wronged expression, really making Long Tianyu have the urge to go forward and kiss her.

  Long Tianyu stirred his fork and smiled secretly at Murong Qingyue, saying: "Sister Murong Qingyue, why didn't you guess that I am from the Long family?"