#1947 - Ancient Town Registration
The next day, early in the morning.
The entrance of Apricot Blossom Village was crowded with people.
Jun Wuxie, accompanied by Hua Qi and two middle-aged men from the village, was preparing to go to the ancient town to register for the Heaven-Bestowed Battle competition.
These two men were the leader and deputy leader of the village's hunting team, the two strongest individuals.
The village chief and others gave repeated instructions, and the villagers' eyes were filled with reluctance.
This departure would mean a long time before they could return, as the journey was too far and fraught with danger, facing targeting from various forces along the way.
"Lord Jun, you must take care. We in the village will surely follow your instructions to stockpile more resources, and await your triumphant return with glory!"
"Old Village Chief, before we return, do not enter the mountains.
Also, when planting and harvesting the divine-grade corn, you must be careful and cautious.
Although Mang Village has been destroyed, I worry that after some time, the person behind the scenes will learn of the Mang Village incident and send people again."
"Lord Jun, rest assured, we will be careful."
The old village chief nodded, watching them leave with eyes full of reluctance.
The villagers waved at the village entrance until their figures disappeared into the mountains, still waving even when they could no longer be seen.
Especially Hua Qi's mother, she was the most reluctant.
Her husband had died young, and in recent years, it had only been her and her son at home.
Now that her son was leaving, it would be at least several years before he could return.
With her son not by her side, she felt very unaccustomed, her heart empty, and she worried about the various dangers they might encounter on their journey.
… …
Several miles away on a mountain path, Jun Wuxie suddenly stopped.
He released an Origin Manifestation Body, ordering it to lie dormant in the mountains near the Apricot Blossom Village's cornfields, secretly guarding the villagers.
Hua Qi and the two middle-aged men, seeing this, felt greatly relieved.
Although this journey was destined to encounter many dangers, what they worried about was not themselves, but the village.
The clansmen staying in the village were naturally safe, but they had to leave the village when planting and harvesting the divine-grade corn.
At that time, if there were enemies lying in ambush.
Even though the cornfields were very close to the village entrance, it still could not be guaranteed that everyone could safely retreat back into the village.
Now, with Lord Jun's manifestation body hidden near the cornfields to guard them, everything would be worry-free.
Lord Jun was so thoughtful, constantly thinking about the safety of the village, which greatly moved them.
With the safety of the village resolved, Hua Qi was not worried at all.
With his master's manifestation body there, anyone who came to cause trouble would only be courting death.
He believed that his master could deal with any enemy, even if what his master left behind was only a manifestation body, it still had that kind of strength!
Without any worries, he felt relaxed, and his steps became much lighter.
Thinking of going to the ancient town soon, he felt a little excited and very much looked forward to it.
His anticipation came not only from participating in the Heaven-Bestowed Battle competition, but also from his curiosity and longing for the outside world.
The ancient town was relatively far from Apricot Blossom Village.
They hardly rested along the way, eating the corn that the village had cooked for them before they left when they were hungry, eating as they walked.
They only stopped to rest for two hours late at night, and then continued on their way before dawn.
It took Jun Wuxie and the others more than a day to arrive.
When an ancient town appeared in their sight, it was already noon on the second day.
After such a long journey, Hua Qi and the two middle-aged men, Hua Qing and Hua Hu, felt a little tired.
This world was different from the outside world. The rules of heaven and earth were powerful, and even True God Realm cultivators needed to rest.
If they did not rest, the consumption would be great, and their physical functions could not maintain their peak state.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Such as Jun Wuxie, a pervert.
His energy was too vigorous, beyond what ordinary people could match.
All the way here, he was still full of energy.
"Is this the outside world?"
On a hilltop, Hua Qi stood beside Jun Wuxie, looking out over the distant land.
There stood an ancient town, not small in scale, probably a hundred times the size of their Apricot Blossom Village.
Looking at the ancient and rich buildings in the town, the wide streets, and the passing pedestrians, Hua Qi's eyes were full of curiosity.
From childhood to adulthood, he had not left the village many times. The only few times were to harvest divine-grade corn outside the village, and the two times he went to the mountains.
The people of Apricot Blossom Village were in a special situation and usually would not allow underage children to leave the village, for fear of accidents and being killed.
Not to mention this ancient town thousands of miles away.
"It's been a long time since I've seen the outside world… …"
Hua Qing and Hua Hu couldn't help but sigh.
They remembered the last time they saw this ancient town, it was more than twenty years ago.
At that time, they were ordered to come and purchase some living resources.
They hid their identities and entered the town, each step cautious and careful, as if walking on thin ice.
Once their identities were exposed, they might face death.
"The road ahead is still long, this town is just the beginning."
After Jun Wuxie finished speaking, he walked towards the ancient town, Hua Qi, Hua Qing, and Hua Hu followed closely behind.
This time, they did not hide their identities, and the clothes they wore were all clan clothes.
Although they named the village Apricot Blossom Village, many things retained the characteristics of the Hua clan.
The clothes they wore were one of them.
This time, following Lord Jun, and also registering to participate in the Heaven-Bestowed Battle competition, they could not hide their identities at all, so there was no need to do anything extra.
Because, once they registered, their identities would inevitably be exposed to others.
Before long, they arrived at the entrance of the ancient town.
The town was like a small city, surrounded by walls and with city gates.
The city gates were not very grand, the city walls were about five meters high, made of bluestone, covered with the erosion of time, precipitating the vicissitudes of the years, recording the endless time it had experienced.
There were no guards at the city gate, and people came and went freely.
After entering the city was a wide street, a full dozen meters wide, enough for several carriages to travel side by side.
The center of the street was the lane for vehicles, occupying half the width of the entire road, and on both sides were sidewalks, with a bustling crowd, very lively.
On both sides of the street, there were mostly shops and stores, and there were also vendors with carts selling along the street, their shouts adding a lot of worldly atmosphere to the ancient town.
Hua Qing asked a passerby where the registration point for the Heaven-Bestowed Battle competition was.
The passerby looked at them with some surprise, wondering why these people had only come to register today, because the official start of the Heaven-Bestowed Battle town-level competition was in two days.
Other people participating in the Heaven-Bestowed Battle competition had arrived here many days ago.
In these two days, there were almost no new registrants.
"Which village are you from? It must be very far away, otherwise you wouldn't have come to register today."
This passerby was a natural conversationalist and talked to them very enthusiastically.
He said that the people from other villages had come long ago because they had more time to recuperate.
Like them, coming to register two days before the competition, they were cutting it too close. Tomorrow was the registration deadline, and if they were any later, they might miss the opportunity.
"To tell you the truth, our village is indeed very far from here, so we came a little late."
Hua Qing said with a smile, not saying that he came from Apricot Blossom Village.
"You follow this street to the end, then turn right, enter Changning Street, then go to the end and enter Anchang Street, and follow Anchang Street down, and you will see the registration location.
There is a Heaven-Bestowed Divine Hall there, which is the registration point you are looking for.
Speaking of that Heaven-Bestowed Divine Hall, it only suddenly appeared on the day when the Heavenly Music sounded and announced the holding of the Heaven-Bestowed Battle competition… …"
This passerby was really talkative, rattling off a lot, and he was very detailed in giving them directions. After that, he started chatting with them again, like a curious baby.
Hua Qing and the others dealt with him a few times, thanked him, and then left.
Otherwise, they had no doubt that if they didn't take the initiative to leave, this person could have talked to them for several hours.
According to the path pointed out by that enthusiastic guide, they came all the way to the central area of the ancient town and saw the so-called Heaven-Bestowed Divine Hall.
The Heaven-Bestowed Divine Hall did not look big or majestic, but it gave people an indescribable sense of solemnity.
The divine hall was filled with ancient charm, and the door was open.
It was empty inside, with only a stone platform.
Hua Qing and Hua Hu stopped at the door, while Jun Wuxie and Hua Qi entered the divine hall and walked to the stone platform.
A magic circle was engraved on the ground in front of the stone platform.
The moment they entered the magic circle, the runes of the magic circle lit up, and mysterious energy entered their bodies, conducting a test.
Hua Qi took out the horn of a True God Realm Vicious Beast and respectfully placed it on the stone platform.
Then, a scroll placed on the stone platform slowly unfolded.
After the scroll unfolded, it flew away from the stone platform and floated in the air, covered with dense text.
It could be clearly seen that the scroll recorded the names of a certain village and a certain person.
Obviously, this scroll was the Heaven-Bestowed Battle competition registration book.
On a blank space on the corner of the scroll, a light lit up, as if an invisible hand was writing.
Apricot Blossom Village, participant — Hua Qi.
Visitor from outside, participant — Jun Wuxie.
"Name left on the register, passed the test, obtained the competition qualification, registration successful, good luck."
A voice sounded in the divine hall, thick and ethereal, as if it had traveled through time and space.
Almost at the same time, above the Heaven-Bestowed Divine Hall, a scroll of light and shadow appeared, which was exactly the scroll in front of Jun Wuxie and Hua Qi.
Instantly, everyone in the ancient town who was on the street noticed the scene above the divine hall.
The people here all knew that someone had successfully registered again.
Originally, people just looked over as a conditioned reflex, already accustomed to this these days.
But when people's eyes fell on the two lines of words that flickered with light, they suddenly revealed a strange color.
Xinghua Village? It's actually Xinghua Village?
The descendants of that fallen imperial clan.
I never imagined they would participate in the Heaven-Bestowed Battle. It's truly surprising.
Everyone in the ancient town knows that Mang Village has always targeted Xinghua Village.
It is said that Mang Village has powerful forces behind them, and it is highly likely they are acting under someone's orders.
A fallen Great Emperor's descendant clan is inherently sensitive.
How many people in this world can resist the temptation and not covet the things passed down from the imperial clan?
It can be said that it is very dangerous for the people of Xinghua Village to come here.
Yet, they still chose to participate.
Besides Xinghua Village, there is also a cultivator from the outside world.
