Watch out! Something's wrong with this guard.

"Why not? This is such a great opportunity. Although staying at the foot of the mountain is not bad, only by going up the mountain can we truly begin our cultivation."

Upon hearing Li Hongyan say that she didn't want to go up the mountain, Lao Ba frowned, finding it hard to understand. Lao Jiu, not afraid of death, chimed in with his own comment.

"Are you scared?"

"Be afraid of you my foot! If you can't speak properly, then shut your latrine!"

Li Hongying glared at Lao Jiu, but after he withdrew his head, she hesitated, glancing at Lu Yunshi with a half-hearted look, without saying a word.

Seeing this, the eighth and ninth brothers exchanged a glance and opened their mouths in perfect unison.

"Oh~~~" x2

Lu Yunshi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand. However, before he could speak, Li Hongying seemed to sense his impatience and spoke first.

"Back then, the boss told me that wherever he was, I would be there too, and he wouldn't abandon me."

"They're all in the same academy, how can that be considered abandoning them?" Old Nine rolled his eyes.

Li Hongying didn't even bother to listen to what Lao Jiu was saying; she just silently looked at Lu Yunshi without saying anything more.

Lu Yunshi smiled upon seeing this. "Don't worry, if there are no unexpected events, I should be able to go up this time as well."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Li Hongying's pupils flickered instantly. "Is this true?"

"Hmm." Lu Yunshi nodded slowly, his expression teasing as he continued, "But if you really don't want to, then I can replace you with someone else."

"How could I not want to? I've wanted to go up the mountain and shove those arrogant but incompetent people in the ass for a long time." Li Hongying couldn't possibly say the word "unwilling" at this moment. She was a hundred times willing, and she would beg Lu Yunshi to let her go with her.

Seeing Li Hongying's beaming face, Lao Jiu shrugged and complained helplessly.

"So, it turns out it was us brothers who were left behind, and I was the clown?"

Lu Yunshi smiled slightly and looked at the two brothers. "Do you still remember the first time I met you?"

Upon hearing this, Lao Ba instantly recalled many scenes, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

"Of course I remember. Back then, my brother and I had just entered the academy. We were all alone and everyone wanted to bully us. We never had enough resources on us for even a day."

Old Nine also put away his expression and became more serious.

"I remember that day very clearly. My brother and I finally decided to fight back against those who bullied us, but we ended up getting beaten up. After they left, you came out and stood in front of us. You didn't say anything inspiring or offer to heal our wounds. You just slapped me across the face twice, leaving me completely stunned."

"Hahaha!" Lu Yunshi unconsciously scratched the back of his head and laughed. "Can't you remember anything good I did for you? You wouldn't listen to anything I said back then. I was so annoyed that I couldn't let it go without giving you a couple of slaps. Didn't I apologize to you afterwards?"

"Apologize?" Old Nine's lips twitched as he looked at Li Hongying. "After my dear Fifth Sister heard about your apology, she beat us both up again late at night."

"Hmph!" Li Hongying turned her head away, her face full of displeasure. "Who told you to hit you and you dared to resist?"

“You…?” Old Nine pointed at Li Hongying, but in the end, reason prevailed.

"I remember, back then, you asked us a lot of questions, and in the end you gave us two choices: revenge or no revenge," Lao Ba said with a cough.

"Did you make the right choice?" Lu Yunshi asked.

"Of course, although you didn't take action yourself or let the other brothers do it, you did avenge us. You gave us resources for cultivation, shared your cultivation insights, taught us how to fight, and let us defeat our opponents with our own hands." Lao Ba said, clenching his fist.

“I know this is your test, boss, but even though we've passed the test, you've still given us the final choice: to follow... or not to follow.”

"So, was your choice the right one this time?" Lu Yunshi asked again.

"Of course," the two brothers replied decisively, without hesitation.

Lu Yunshi nodded slowly. "If I remember correctly, I also made a promise to you. I said that I would not just let you stay at the foot of this mountain that can lock people's hearts. I will let you all go up the mountain and give you a bigger stage. Now I will ask you one more question."

"Are you willing to continue following me, even up to the mountain?"

"Big brother, don't ask such pointless questions." The eighth brother gave a wry smile. "Although the ninth brother and I came later among the brothers, the only place in this world that we can still call 'home' is where our brothers are."

“That’s right. Although I only have one relative by blood now, I actually have nine.” Old Nine chuckled, becoming mischievous again. “I have nine people who will stand up for me, which is better than one.”

Although it sounded strange, the eighth brother rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, instead agreeing with the ninth brother's words.

Although it was only a year and a half, it was nearly a tenth of their lives. A tenth of a year is enough time for many things to happen, at least enough time for the two brothers to have new families.

"Since that's the case..." Having gotten the answer he expected, Lu Yunshi threw a jade pendant at Lao Ba.

"A memory stone?" Old Eight glanced at it and knew what the jade pendant was, but he was still a little confused.

“I took your things, and as your brother I know you won’t mind, but I can’t leave without making amends. Inside is a combat skill that I won in a bet today. It’s a high-grade Yellow Rank skill. It’s not the best, but it’s not bad either. However, it’s quite troublesome to cultivate. You should keep it for now and not rush. I’ll get some resources first, and then you can start cultivating it.”

“This time, Hongying and I will go up first. You two, along with the other brothers who are still at the foot of the mountain, will also be brought up as soon as possible. Anyway, there are other ways to get up the mountain besides the assessment.”

"Since the boss has said so, it seems it won't be long. We're getting a bit bored down here, so it's time to go up and explore." After accepting the jade pendant, the eighth brother said.

As for how Lu Yunshi, who is currently only at the mid-stage of Body Tempering and lacks talent, could cultivate to the late-stage of Body Tempering in a short period of time, which would be sufficient for him to participate in the assessment, they had never considered this.

Lu Yunshi said he would pass the test, and he definitely would.

After a while, under Li Hongying's watchful gaze, the eighth and ninth brothers left first under the pretext of cultivation, leaving only Li Hongying and Lu Yunshi in the room.

Once there were only two of them, Li Hongying immediately put on a pitiful look. "Boss, you didn't go up the mountain this time just for that woman, did you?"

"Ah~"

Looking at Li Hongying, Lu Yunshi sighed again, knowing he would have to rack his brains to get rid of this woman.