The next morning.
Su Lan arrived at Jun Wuxie's courtyard early.
When Jun Wuxie pulled Xiao Yueyao out and saw her, he couldn't help but reveal a strange look.
"I'll go to Dahe Sword Sect with you, and take a look at their assessment this year, and join in the fun."
She smiled sweetly, walked forward, squatted down, and opened her arms: "Yue Yao, can you come and give me a hug?"
Yue Yao looked up at Jun Wu Xie, as if asking for his opinion. When she saw him nodding, she threw herself into Su Lan's arms.
After walking out of Jubaozhai, Qin Keqing stood at the door, seeming to have been waiting for some time.
Jun Wuxie was slightly surprised and said, "Miss Qin, you also went to Dahe Sword Sect to join in the fun?"
"No." Qin Keqing laughed and teased, "I'm here to see how you show off your prowess in the assessment."
Jun Wuxie smiled and shook his head.
…
The Dahe Sword Sect is just outside the capital, very close to the city, only a few dozen miles away.
There is a large mountain full of spiritual energy, and at the foot of the mountain there is a long flowing river, which is a tributary of the Yun River.
The Dahe Sword Sect was built on that mountain.
Looking from a distance, the palace stands tall and majestic, as if there is a faint sword energy rushing into the sky.
Crossing the river and approaching the foot of the Dahe Jianzong Mountain, many pedestrians could be seen along the way, all rushing towards the Dahe Jianzong. It was very lively along the way.
Not all of these people went to take the assessment.
In fact, there were only a few hundred people taking part in the assessment, and the vast majority of them just came to watch the fun.
After all, he is the first sect in the Great Zhou Dynasty to recruit disciples, so it naturally attracts attention.
There is a canyon ahead, which is the only way to the Dahe Sword Sect.
The canyon is not very wide, and slopes upward, reaching halfway up the mountain.
Jun Wuxie looked up and followed the crowd forward.
After entering the canyon, an indescribable feeling suddenly surged into my heart.
There seems to be an inexplicable tragic atmosphere in this canyon.
Continuing forward, not far away, the road gradually narrowed, and a sloped upward mountain road appeared in front of us. There was a line of sky above our heads, and the light was a little dim.
Many stone pillars were built on both sides of the mountain road, one every three meters.
There were lanterns hung on the stone pillars, with ever-burning lamps burning inside, giving off a faint light.
The moment she saw those lanterns, Jun Wuxie's pupils suddenly shrank.
It turned out to be a human skin lantern!
No! It should be said that it is a human head lantern!
Those lanterns were made by crushing human skulls and taking them out, leaving their facial features intact, and then lighting them with lights inside.
The lantern's facial features were a little twisted and ferocious, and there was blood congealed at the corners of the hollow eyes and under the eyelids.
"Are you a little uncomfortable with it?" Qin Keqing said softly beside him: "The world of cultivation has never been a pure land, but rather cruel."
"Who are they, and how come their heads were made into lanterns by the Dahe Sword Sect?"
Jun Wuxie was really not used to it. Although he was very ruthless towards his enemies, this method was too cruel.
At the same time, he found that other people who went to Dahe Sword Sect did not seem surprised by these human head lanterns, as if they were already commonplace.
"They are the disciples of Zongwang Academy in the past." Qin Keqing shook his head and sighed, "Dahe Sword Sect and Zongwang Academy have been fighting for a long time. Every year, they select disciples to fight. Zongwang Academy has almost never won in these years. , the defeated disciples are all here, these are the lanterns you see."
Jun Wuxie was speechless and silent.
It would be too cruel for the two sects to fight each other.
It is really sad that the disciples of Zongwang Academy are still made into lanterns with human heads after their death.
"Let's go."
He sighed and walked up the mountain road, passing through a line of sky. His vision became wider and the terrain became flatter.
This is nearly halfway up the mountain, a flat piece of land on the mountainside.
At the end of the flat land, a huge sword-shaped stone tablet stands, with four characters painted in iron and silver hooks engraved on it - Dahe Sword Sect!
Each stroke of these four words is like the interweaving of sword energy. At a glance, it looks like four swords that are about to leave the monument, and they are sharp and menacing.
At the top of the sword monument, there was a female corpse nailed there. It was unknown how long she had been dead, and the blood on her body had turned black.
The female corpse's hair was disheveled, her feet, hands, and neck were all nailed. Her eyes were wide open, and blood flowed from her eyes to her face, where it froze and looked very miserable.
"That was the former deputy master of the Dahe Sword Sect. Because he fell in love with the previous master of the Zongwang Academy and gave birth to a daughter for him, he was sentenced to death by the sect. He has been hanging on the sect sword monument for twenty years. .”
Jun Wuxie withdrew his gaze.
He now finally understood what Ji Yinlan said to him some time ago.
Some things can only be understood when you get here.
The Dahe Sword Sect was indeed different from what he had imagined.
At this moment, people gathered in front of the gate of Dahe Sword Sect.
The disciples participating in the assessment stood at the front of the crowd, while those watching the excitement stood at the back. There were tens of thousands of people in the crowd.
"Yue Yao, just wait here obediently. If my brother joins the Dahe Sword Sect, he can invite the sect's doctors to treat you."
Jun Wuxie touched Yueyao's face, walked away from the crowd, walked to the crowd taking the assessment, and waited quietly.
Not long after, an old man and two middle-aged men came down from the mountain, glanced at the crowd in front of the mountain gate, and said loudly: "Today is the assessment day for our Dahe Sword Sect to recruit disciples. The first round of assessment is very simple, that is, climbing on the mountain. Go to the end of the stairs in front of you, otherwise it will be considered a failure."
Jun Wuxie looked at it and saw that there were more than a hundred steps on the stairs, which were not very high, but it must have been restricted.
In addition to the staircase in front of me, there is another staircase more than a hundred meters away.
The stairs were covered in dust, as if no one had walked on them for many years.
There are many sword monuments on both sides of the staircase, and the steps are covered with kendo symbols. There are ninety-nine steps in total.
"Is this the only staircase that can be climbed?" Someone pointed to the staircase next to it that was engraved with kendo symbols and said, "Can we take that staircase?"
"If any of you want to try, of course you can." The old man looked indifferent and said: "That staircase is called the Ladder of Heavenly Sword. It was built by the founder of the Dahe Sword Sect with his own hands and imposed a ban on the way of swordsmanship. If anyone can pass smoothly, , is a swordsman prodigy who can be directly promoted to a true disciple. However, in the past thousands of years, no one who has entered has survived."
Suddenly, the person who asked the question stopped talking.
"What are you thinking about? You still want to pass the Ladder of Heavenly Sword? In the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, among the younger generation, perhaps only the Seventh Princess can try it. Others can only die!"
Someone said this.
"Ladder of the Heavenly Sword?"
Jun Wuxie watched from the crowd. The sword symbols on it were indeed terrifying.
Others may not be able to feel it, but people like him who are in the field of military masters can indeed clearly feel the terrifying edge contained in it.
At this time, the old man standing on the high platform at the end of the stairs said: "Now, check your Great River Sea Selection Order, and then gather in front of the assessment stairs."
Immediately, a group of Dahe Sword Sect disciples came forward and began to check the sword sect orders of those who participated in the assessment. Those who passed the examination were checked and arranged to wait in front of the stairs.
The process is quick.
Two of them did not have the Dahe Sword Sect Order and tried to muddle through, but their legs were broken on the spot and thrown out.
"Now, the first round of assessment officially begins, and the time limit is quarter of an hour."
Following the old man's announcement, the assessors in front of the stairs rushed forward like a tide.
The moment they stepped onto the stairs, everyone felt their bodies sinking, and the weight of their bodies seemed to have suddenly increased tenfold.
