A lucky cat fell from the sky.

Chapter 761 Taking the Assessment

While Zhou Fei was secretly surprised, Xu Qian abandoned him and ran away. Even though Zhou Fei was his brother-in-law, at this crucial moment, if he didn't run, he would become Zhou Fei's brother-in-law.

Most spiritual practitioners are selfish, and Xu Qian was no exception.

He had only run a few steps when he turned around and saw that Wu Cheng had caught up with him.

He sped up, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't shake off Wu Cheng.

Wu Cheng reached out and patted him on the back, saying, "Brother, don't be so nervous. I just want to ask you about some things."

"Just tell me, ask away, and I'll answer everything I know."

"I just want to inquire about some things within this Loose Cultivator Alliance."

"The Loose Cultivator Alliance is actually the strongest force in Dongji Town, and also the strongest force in most cities. Although the Loose Cultivator Alliance is powerful, it also has a big problem. The resources of the Loose Cultivator Alliance need to be exchanged for mithril, and mithril can only be obtained through doing business."

"What do you mean? Just tell me how they differ from sects."

"Sects usually have merit points, which can be used to replace mithril. Merit points are easy to obtain, but mithril is rare. After all, everyone needs mithril, while only disciples within the sect need merit points, and they only need to earn merit points for their own sect."

"Very good, so the Loose Cultivator Alliance doesn't have merit points or points, so they can only earn mithril little by little."

"Yes, great hero, your comprehension is truly remarkable. Do you have any other questions? Please feel free to ask. Once you're done, I'll head home. There's a meal waiting for me. Great hero, I have a seven-hundred-year-old mother and a three-year-old son. Please, please don't kill me."

Wu Cheng had no interest in killing him, so he patted his head and said, "Don't be afraid, I won't kill you, but don't think you'll be going home for dinner so soon. I have a lot of problems ahead of me."

"Please ask, sir."

"You say the Alliance of Loose Cultivators is better than the sects, why is that?"

"Great hero, the Loose Cultivator Alliance is not limited to accepting cultivators who primarily use a single element, while sects generally have a preference. For example, the One Qi Pavilion mostly accepts cultivators who use the wind element; only those whose primary element is wind can enter the One Qi Pavilion. The Canghai Pavilion is the same; it mainly accepts cultivators who use the water element. But the Loose Cultivator Alliance is different; it contains all sorts of cultivators."

For example, a cultivator might possess dual elemental attributes, either earth or wind, or wind and water, with both attributes roughly equal, each accounting for about 50%. Such a cultivator might encounter a situation where they are neither favored nor accepted by any sect.

This is just the general case; some even possess all four elemental attributes, with each element balanced at 25%. Such cultivators have only one place to go: the Loose Cultivator Alliance. Because of this, the Loose Cultivator Alliance has become the largest organization in the entire Purple Abyss Universe, since those who cultivate only a single element are a minority.

"This only shows that the Loose Cultivator Alliance has a lot of people, but it doesn't mean that the Loose Cultivator Alliance is powerful."

"You are truly astute, sir. Indeed, the Loose Cultivator Alliance's strength cannot be solely attributed to the large number of its members. The key lies in resources. Cultivating Yuan Power requires Dharma, companions, wealth, and resources. Dharma refers to Yuan Power cultivation techniques, companions to friends, partners, teachers, and so on, and wealth to resources."

Cultivating elemental power requires a lot of resources, such as weapons, pills, and equipment. Cultivators of the four basic elements each have their own specialty: fire element cultivators are good at crafting, earth element cultivators are good at tailoring, water element cultivators are good at alchemy, and wind element cultivators are good at talisman making.

Because the alliance is inclusive, these side businesses are plentiful, ensuring that those who cultivate in the loose cultivator alliance have sufficient resources. Of course, the prerequisite is that there is enough mithril. Only when there is enough mithril can resources be provided to you; otherwise, it is all just wishful thinking.

Another reason for the abundance of side hustles is the high demand. The alliance has many members representing various elements, so whatever is refined will sell. For example, earth element items are unsellable in water, wind, and fire sects, only fetching high prices in earth element sects. However, the alliance is different; many people need earth element items.

From materials and craftsmanship to finished products and customers, the Loose Cultivator Alliance has ample resources, making it the most powerful force it has accumulated over the years.

Wu Cheng then fully understood. Putting everything else aside, the Loose Cultivator Alliance was like a large trading market, while the sects were like small specialty stores.

Small specialty stores cannot compete with large trading markets in terms of sales volume, and sects naturally cannot compete with the power of independent cultivator alliances.

"So, what are the weaknesses of the Loose Cultivator Alliance?"

"Great hero, to be honest, our Loose Cultivator Alliance does have some significant shortcomings. While we are large, we are quite disunited. Other sects, though small, are united as one. Moreover, the lineages of our Loose Cultivator Alliance are rather diverse, unlike sects which have clear lineages and methods."

Wu Cheng nodded: "Alright, I've finished asking my questions. You can leave now."

Just as Xu Qian and Zhou Fei were about to leave, Wu Cheng called them back.

He gave them both 100 mithril and said, "Consider this a small reward for your hard work. I'm really sorry for hitting you."

One hundred mithril is quite a sum of money. The two brothers were so moved by Wu Cheng's gesture of giving a sweet treat after a slap that they repeatedly said they would follow Wu Cheng from now on.

They also politely led Wu Cheng to the entrance of the alliance.

When the old gatekeeper saw Wu Cheng return, he was about to go up and ask for the mithril, but when he saw Xu Qian and Zhou Fei respectfully following behind Wu Cheng, he was also taken aback.

I stood there, too afraid to go forward.

Wu Cheng told Xu Qian and Zhou Fei, took out one hundred mithril, and was about to hand it to the old gatekeeper when Xu Qian quickly came over to stop Wu Cheng: "Great hero, he's just a lousy old man, dizzy and blind, he doesn't know how powerful you are. You actually took his words seriously."

As he spoke, he pulled out a tael of mithril from his pocket and tossed it to the old man: "Trying to swindle money from an elder? Here, take this little bit and spend it. Don't expect anything from the world."

The old man hesitated for a moment when he received the small amount of money.

However, Wu Cheng quickly blocked Xu Qian and the others, and said to the old man, "This is our agreement between the two of us. Since I said it, I will definitely do it. Old man, here is one hundred mithril. Take it. I am not a person who goes back on his word."

The old man saw that Wu Cheng was genuinely trying to give him money, but he didn't dare to accept it. He looked at Xu Qian and Zhou Fei and said, "Alright, since you two are friends of this newcomer, then I won't accept it. I'll take this mithril as my reward."

As he spoke, he glanced at Wu Cheng's registration materials and secretly memorized Wu Cheng's name.

The two men led Wu Cheng to the registration office of the Loose Cultivator Academy, the registration office of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. There was a Yuan Master recruiting students. This Yuan Master was drinking a little wine and looking at a little yellow book that he had obtained from who-knows-where. No one knew what was written in the little yellow book, but the guy was reading it with great interest.

"Old Zhao, we've got a job." Xu Qian patted him on the shoulder.

The guy looked up and saw Xu Qian and Zhou Fei: "Weren't you two going to open the box? You're back so soon?"

"Enough with the nonsense. We've brought this hero here to join the alliance. You can handle the paperwork for everyone now."

As he spoke, he secretly slipped ten taels of silver to the man called Old Zhao.

After receiving the money, Old Zhao quickly and efficiently completed the formalities for Wu Cheng. After finishing, he gave Wu Cheng a token and said, "This is your identity token. Go and participate in the entrance examination. After passing the entrance examination, you will be a formal member of the alliance, and you will be able to have a dormitory and an alliance badge. In addition, everything in the alliance requires mithril, including food, clothing, and accommodation, so I hope you can prepare plenty of mithril."

"You don't need to tell me that," Xu Qian said on behalf of Wu Cheng. "Later, you can introduce some ways for the hero to make money."

Old Zhao nodded slightly.

Liao knew Xu Qian quite well. Xu Qian usually bullied many newcomers because of his strength. Now, seeing that he was so respectful to this newcomer, and looking at Zhou Fei's face which was swollen like a pig's head, he understood that this young man whom Xu Qian called a hero was quite skilled.

However, I've at least made a good impression on this young man, so if he really succeeds in the future, I can benefit from his success.

Wu Cheng had no idea what these people were thinking, but he didn't care anyway.

Following Xu Qian, they arrived at the assessment area, which was quite lively. There were seven or eight people in line ahead of Wu Cheng, waiting to take the assessment.

These people glanced at Wu Cheng as he arrived, seemingly making an assessment in their minds. Among those participating in the assessment, there was a hierarchy, and they had to consider in advance who to curry favor with and who to attack.

Xu Qian explained to Wu Cheng, "Hero, this assessment is actually quite simple. It consists of testing elemental purity, strength, and combat skills. After passing these three tests, you will be assigned to one of the three zones—upper, middle, or lower—based on your score. We brothers are all in the middle zone, but with your potential, you should be able to go to the upper zone."

Wu Cheng had a good idea of ​​what to expect. These tests wouldn't be too difficult for him. He also wanted to see the real situation in this loose cultivator alliance. He would be living and cultivating here from now on, and he estimated that it would be a long time before he could make a name for himself.

Now that the poison in his body has been cured, he still can't use storage rings or anything like that, nor can he communicate with other systems besides Qingli using his thoughts.

He learned from Qing Li that in this Purple Abyss World, once one's Yuan Power cultivation reaches a certain level, one can also use something called Yuan Consciousness. Once one has Yuan Consciousness, one can communicate with Jin Wanliang and open the storage ring.