Danwu God Emperor

Under the bright sun, golden rays bathed Wushan Town.

On this day, people put down their work and went out of their homes. Children rode on their parents' shoulders, listening to the exciting world of martial arts, while the elderly leaned on their canes, reminiscing about their childhood passion for martial arts.

They walked along the cobblestone path, passing through magnificent buildings, all heading towards the same place.

The bluestone path leads to a large square, where a circular stone platform about one meter high appears before everyone's eyes. The platform is very wide, with a radius of ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), and has some pits in the middle, with four steps around it.

However, these four steps have a name in the hearts of all the young martial artists in Wushan Town: the Ladder of Dreams.

Behind the round platform was a huge grandstand, in the center of which was an exquisite square armchair. After being coated with gold powder, it looked even more grand. Even the surrounding seats were made of precious sandalwood.

Next to the chair was a small octagonal table with teacups on it, steaming slightly.

Around noon, the square became increasingly crowded, bustling with people; at a glance, there were at least a thousand people.

"Look everyone, the Wu family is here."

Suddenly someone shouted from the crowd, and thousands of eyes turned to the same direction. Wu Xuanqing, the head of the Wu family, led more than a hundred members of the Wu family forward with high morale.

"The two people standing on either side of the Wu family patriarch should be Wu Zhuofu and Wu Bing, the two prodigies of the Wu family."

"Wu Zhuofu had already reached the ninth level of internal strength a year ago, making him the undisputed number one prodigy of the Wu family. But how did Wu Bing also become a prodigy of the Wu family? What about his brother Wu Bo?"

"Don't you know? Wu Bo's inner core was destroyed for some reason, and he became a cripple. The Wu family has been focusing all their efforts on cultivating Wu Bing these days, and I heard that he has now reached the ninth level of inner strength."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized and couldn't help but envy the Wu family disciples. For ordinary people, it's quite common to spend several years or even ten years to develop a certain level of internal strength.

However, in the eyes of large families, as long as they are willing to devote all their efforts to cultivating a member of their clan, it is not a difficult thing to improve their internal strength by a certain level within a few days.

"The Ye family has arrived too!"

"And the Dong family too!"

In an instant, cheers erupted as the three major families appeared together, and the entire square seemed to be set ablaze.

"Look, that's Dong Qianqian!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and countless eyes were immediately fixed on one spot. A woman dressed in white walked gracefully towards them, with fair skin, a slender figure, and eyes that did not look to the side.

However, this indifferent gaze still amazed everyone. With her unparalleled beauty, exceptional talent, and early admission to Tianyi Academy, she was surrounded by too many accolades.

The prodigies of the three major families may be the focus of everyone's attention, but her position has already surpassed that of the prodigies and all the young martial artists in Wushan Town.

The crowd parted to make way, but the road leading to the Dong family's residence was mostly blocked on both sides. High-ranking officials and dignitaries were there to offer gifts and congratulations, while ordinary people were there to catch a glimpse of the stunning beauty. Dong Kuofeng, the head of the Dong family, greeted them with a smile and clasped his hands in response.

Dong Qianqian walked slowly to the seat in the Dong family's residence. She stood casually, and a gentle breeze blew, causing her long hair to dance and swirl. The simple act of tossing her hair made every man present feel a flutter in their heart.

However, Dong Qianqian looked down on all of this. In her opinion, everyone was as arrogant and ignorant as Ye Lou, which even disgusted her. If it weren't for the fact that Tianyi's enrollment was too important, they would never have shown their faces like this.

Thinking of this, Dong Qianqian looked in the direction of the Ye family, but she didn't see Ye Lou's figure. She couldn't help but sneer in her heart, thinking that he was a coward who didn't even dare to show himself. He was not even as good as a piece of trash.

Ye Lou was unaware of the commotion in the square, because he had just been fighting in the drug den, turning the entire casino upside down, which was why the owner had obediently handed over the note signed by Dong Qianqian.

They are currently on their way to the square.

In the square, the seats of the three major families were located on the left side of the round platform. At this moment, more and more people were giving gifts. Compared with the endless stream of gifts from the Dong family, the Ye and Wu families seemed rather deserted.

Especially the Ye family. Since Ye Leng's death and the family head's defection, the mountain supporting the Ye family collapsed in an instant. Although Ye Lou appeared out of nowhere and quickly became the Ye family's prodigy with his amazing talent, he was still slightly inferior to Dong Qianqian and Wu Zhuofu in their eyes.

Naturally, those who initially intended to give gifts to the Ye family all turned to the other two major families.

"Qianqian, you are my pride!"

Dong Kuofeng calmly accepted the gift, his emotions surging uncontrollably. The three-way power struggle in Wushan Town, which had remained unbroken for decades, had finally ended with his Dong family emerging as the ultimate winner.

He knew even more that all of this was brought to him and the Dong family by Dong Qianqian; her talent, her beauty, and even more so to the Dong family.

boom! boom! boom!

A deafening roar filled the sky as dazzling fireworks burst forth, and the cheers in the square reached another climax, for Tianyi's enrollment had officially begun.

Setting off fireworks and beating drums are traditions of Tianyi's student recruitment. The event takes place simultaneously in more than twenty towns, creating an unprecedented spectacle and becoming the biggest event for each town.

At that moment, a group of people walked towards them from the side of the platform. The man in the lead was about forty years old, dressed in a simple blue linen robe. He didn't care much about his appearance and had a restrained yet intimidating presence.

The two young men and women who followed him looked to be no more than twenty years old, and their strength was unfathomable. The three major families who had just taken their seats immediately stood up.

Tianyi Academy is divided into two academies: the outer academy and the inner academy. Each student must first enter the outer academy to study, and only through continuous improvement and competition can they enter the inner academy. The outer academy is divided into four academies: east, west, south, and north. Outsiders call these the four smaller academies of Tianyi Academy.

The newcomer was Liu Changfeng, the administrator of the West Courtyard and a top silver-medal instructor at Tianyi Academy. People called him Mr. Liu. Since arriving at Tianyi, he was comparable to many gold-medal instructors in the inner courtyard.

Every year, the administrators of the four courtyards personally supervise the examination of a small town. This year, it just so happens that it was Liu Changfeng's turn to supervise Wushan Town.

"Unexpectedly, the proctors this year are Liu Changfeng, along with his two prized students, Xi Yan and Ding Mao. Although they are only bronze-level instructors now, their teaching skills are no less than some silver-level instructors."

Many people in Wushan Town had heard of the three men's formidable reputation and held them in high esteem.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves rose in the distance, and six fine horses galloped towards them. The riders were full of vigor, especially the leader, who exuded an imposing aura. In no time, they arrived at the center of the square, attracting everyone's attention.

"Whoa!" The horse came to a steady stop, and the six men dismounted one after another. The leader stepped forward and said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, how have you been lately?"

"Ouyang Liang?" Liu Changfeng was slightly taken aback, quite shocked, as he was not familiar with the Ouyang family. "Why are you in Wushan Town? Did the Ouyang family send you here to discuss business?"

"No, that's not it. I came here today specifically to help with the recruitment of students for Tianyi in Wushan Town. One of the candidates is our Ouyang family's fiancée, and I'm just here to cheer her on."

The entire audience was in an uproar. Previously, it was only rumored that Dong Qianqian and Ouyang Wei were engaged, but it had not been confirmed. Now that the Ouyang family had taken the initiative to bring it up, all eyes immediately turned to the Dong family, looking at the beautiful woman with envy.

Dong Kuofeng walked out with a smile and came up to Ouyang Liang, saying with a smile, "My daughter is not talented, but it is her good fortune to have won the favor of Young Master Ouyang."

"Brother Dong, you flatter me. Your daughter is stunningly beautiful and exceptionally talented. She has also been admitted to Tianyi Academy ahead of schedule. She and my young master are a match made in heaven. Don't you think so?" Ouyang Liang said politely with a smile.

"Yes! Yes! Brother Liang, please take a seat!"

Dong Kuofeng invited Ouyang Liang and the others to his seat, where they chatted and laughed.

This made the Ye and Wu families look bad, especially the Ye family. Without an absolute power to back them up, they could only place all their hopes on Ye Lou.

Although Ouyang Liang was just a minor steward in the Ouyang family, his abilities were certainly not lacking.

"Haha, Ouyang Liang, you're here too?"

The sound didn't come from far away. When everyone looked over, they saw five burly adult men walking out of a small path. They walked with a swagger, their faces covered in stubble and unkempt. However, most people present couldn't tell their strength.

"Dingjiabao?" Liu Changfeng frowned and looked at the two students behind him. What was going on in Wushan Town? Why were all the big families from Guanghui City coming here? However, with his experience, he could guess some of the reasons.

Upon seeing the newcomers, Wu Xuanqing, the head of the Wu family, beamed with joy and went to greet them.

"Instructor Ding, we've been waiting for you for a long time! We even saved a seat for you!"

Although everyone was equally surprised, they dared not make a sound. Ding Dao Kuang of Dingjiabao was the head instructor of the Ding family. He was notoriously irritable, domineering, and unreasonable. In addition, he was incredibly strong, and it was said that many people had suffered at his hands.

"Hmph!" Ouyang Liang sneered. Others might be afraid of Ding Daokuang, but he wasn't. The Ouyang family and the Ding family were evenly matched in power, and neither would provoke the other first.

However, this seems to have isolated the Ye family, one of the three major families. With their relative strength already inferior to the Dong and Wu families, the addition of the Ouyang and Ding families is like adding insult to injury for Ye Haotian.

Lou'er, we can only rely on you!

In the eyes of the Dong and Wu families, the Ye family is now just easy prey and nothing to fear.

“Interesting. I didn’t expect that both the Ding family and the Ouyang family from Glory City would be interested in the Tianyi Recruitment in Wushan Town. This has piqued my interest as well. In that case, let’s get started quickly.”

After Liu Changfeng finished speaking, he looked at the positions of the Ouyang family and the Ding family and smiled meaningfully, looking forward to what would happen next. He then turned around and returned to his seat.

At this moment, Ding Mao, a student behind him, stepped forward and said, "Tianyi's admissions process has begun. Qualified candidates, please come up on stage."