Chapter 3 Different People

  "I'll go and ask around again about the other masters among this group of examinees, to see if there are any fish that have slipped through the net." As soon as Hou Er's words fell, he swiftly blended into the crowd.

  Gu Chao smiled helplessly, his right hand grasping the hilt of the sword, slinging the scabbard over his shoulder, giving off a heroic aura reminiscent of ancient warriors on horseback, like those in some old TV dramas.

  Because the assessment of the outer disciples of Mount Tai Sect has not started yet, Gu Chao continued to observe other opponents in the corner. These young boys and girls who were his opponents were very young, basically around 10, 11, or 12 years old. He remembered that he had heard that Mount Tai Sect only recruited people under the age of 13, because martial arts training must start from a young age, and if one is too old, their bones will be fully formed and it will be difficult to cultivate them. What a close call! The body he had transmigrated into was already over 12 years old, but fortunately, his cheap father suddenly became enlightened and sent him to participate in the assessment on time.

  Gu Chao continued to observe and found that these young men and women could be roughly divided into three categories.

  These people, one by one in brocade clothes and jade robes, mostly with a group of highly skilled family members following them. Gu Chao listened to their discussions and knew that these people were basically from the Black Iron aristocratic families. The upper echelons of this world's power structure are arranged according to Golden-level sects, Silver-level sects, Bronze-level sects, Black Iron-level aristocratic families, middle-ranking families, and lower-ranking families. Those young men and women from the Black Iron aristocratic families, due to their birth, mostly have a somewhat arrogant attitude, looking down on others.

  And the second type of people, their clothes and entourage are obviously lower in grade. Most of them do not have a high-ranking family member following them, but many have an elder or someone similar by their side. These people mostly come from middle-class families and lower-class families. They can't compare to those from first-class black iron families, they don't have as much confidence, and are somewhat humble in front of the first type of people, automatically lowering themselves a notch. However, many of them are quite arrogant in front of third-class people.

  As for the third type of person, they don't even count as a martial arts family background, but rather come from ordinary families, such as merchant families, artisan families, or poor scholar families. This type of person is absolutely inferior in front of the first two types and even speaks in a soft and cautious tone. Gu Chao is a third-type person, coming from an average merchant family.

  Only the first-class boys and girls were talking loudly, they had the most confidence, just like the protagonist of this test. The second type of people slightly echoed with a smile, for the second type of people, if they could get along well with the first-class black iron-level family background, even if they couldn't become an outer disciple of the Tai Shan sect, they would be able to find more ways out for their future career. Due to being born into a middle or lower-class family, there were no major family problems, and education was sufficient, so emotional intelligence was mostly adequate. The third type of people were much quieter, when the first and second types of people were talking and laughing, they would either be silent, or forced to smile, or be nervous, relatively speaking, they were the most self-abased.

  The first and second classes can play together because they are both from martial families, while the third class is from non-martial families. The first and second classes and the third class are like heaven and earth, often appearing clearly distinct.

  Hou Er mentioned those with strong abilities basically belonged to the first and second types of people, but there wasn't a single third type of person.

  Where there are people, there is a world of its own; where there are many people, there are classes!

  The squares at this moment are one by one classes.

  。。。。。。

  As he observed the other boys and girls, Gu Chao suddenly felt an extremely powerful aura coming from a distant mountain. When that aura approached nearby, Gu Chao instantly felt himself to be extremely insignificant, as if like an ant in front of a giant. Gu Chao abruptly lifted his head, only to discover a grey-robed old man slowly walking out from the mountain gate.

  Isn't this feeling the same as what I saw in those so-called strong people's auras in my past life? I always thought that the aura of strong people was ridiculous and nonsense, but I didn't expect it to be real. Gu Chao secretly marveled at this in his heart.

  The sudden appearance of the old man in grey had an immediate effect on the noisy scene, which instantly fell silent.

  That grey-robed old man's footsteps seemed slow but were actually fast, and he was getting closer and closer. When he arrived in front of them, they saw that his face was ruddy, his skin smooth, and he had a somewhat youthful appearance despite his white hair, with a hint of sharpness in his half-open eyes. With just one casual stance, he exuded an aura of grandeur. The old man with the youthful appearance cleared his throat, his voice old but powerful: "Everyone, I am Elder Nan Gongyuan, responsible for this external disciple examination."

  "Our Taishan Sect was founded by Dong Ling Zu Shi over 2,000 years ago and has had twenty generations of leaders. We now occupy several provinces near the sea. The current leader, Dong Wang Dao Ren, is one of the Grand Masters of the Great Qi Empire. With our sect's current prosperity, we will only continue to grow stronger. Joining our Taishan Sect is a correct choice." The white-haired and youthful Nan Gong Yuan elder said, after briefly introducing the glory of the Taishan Sect, Nan Gong Yuan returned to the main topic.

  "This time's recruitment of outer disciples' assessment, there are a total of 521 applicants, divided into eleven groups, fifty people per group entering the Wooden Dummy Alley at once. The last group has twenty-one people. If they can pass through the Wooden Dummy Alley within one hour, it will be considered as passing this assessment. This time's assessment content is the Wooden Dummy Alley, which tests everyone's strength, teamwork ability, observation power and wisdom."

  "Now, the assessment begins." After finishing the introduction, this grey-robed old man named Nan Gong Yuan immediately declared the start of the assessment, his manner was very concise and efficient.

  "I'll read the first list of names now. Those whose names are on the first list, please step forward. First, Zhang Sheng; second, Wan Lin; third..." After reading out fifty names, the white-haired but youthful-looking Old Man Nan Gong Yuan said, "You fifty people, go into the mountain gate and prepare to begin the assessment." At this point, fifty young men and women stood up, their faces filled with anticipation, excitement, and nervousness.

  Gu Chao was not among the fifty people on the list, so he could just stand by and watch. Gu Chao even saw that some of the fifty people's hands were trembling slightly, unsure if it was from excitement or fear.

  These fifty people walked into the back of the towering Hanbaiyu pillar-supported mountain gate, and not far behind the mountain gate, there was a square entrance with a seven-foot-high copper door standing upright, unable to see inside. On the door, two knife-shaped copper rings were hung, only to see in front of the door a wooden sign with three vermilion characters "Mù Rén Xiàng". At this time, Gu Chao could still see it, and the gate slowly opened first, after these fifty young people entered the entrance, that big gate slammed shut quickly, and Gu Chao couldn't see the scene inside Mù Rén Xiàng anymore.

  This batch of people started assessing and it took a good hour. The remaining 471 people had nothing to do, some chatted idly.

  "This time's test is actually Mugenkyo? Sokoro, you think this assessment will be very difficult?" A girl asked with some unease and tension.

  "Rong Mei, don't worry, if we can get through this together, I'll definitely protect you. With my abilities, it shouldn't be a problem." A young man said with extreme confidence.

  "Mù Rén Xiàng, also don't know what's inside, do you know?" someone asked.

  "How could I possibly know? And what does a wooden person look like anyway? What's the rate of passage?"

  "I've heard of it, I've heard that Moku Jin is a combat tool with infinite strength." said a thin young boy.

  "Do you know what a wooden man is? I also know about the copper man!" A rough-browed young man said with a heroic tone, and the people chatting nearby became interested. A girl quickly asked what a copper man was, but this rough-browed young man himself only half-understood and couldn't explain it clearly, he had only occasionally heard of the name "copper man", so he could only say what he had heard: "It's said that the copper man is more powerful than the wooden man. I've heard that both the copper man and the wooden man come from the mysterious Mo Sect and Gong Shu Sect." He couldn't make clear where the copper man was more powerful, so he simply talked about the origins of the wooden man and the copper man.

  The conversation was getting heated, and these young boys and girls were basically chatting about trivial matters related to the Wooden Man Alley assessment.

  Some people chatted idly, while others seemed to be meditating with their legs crossed, but they weren't truly calm. As soon as they heard a sound, they immediately opened their eyes and looked around. Whether chatting or meditating, everyone's minds were wandering, waiting for the results. The first group of fifty people was the first batch of candidates. What was their success rate? This would determine whether they could enter the Tai Shan Sect as outer disciples, so how could they not be nervous?

  Everyone is waiting for the outcome of the first group in different ways.

  Under such a tense atmosphere, Hou Er, who suddenly flashed back at some point, was also like a monkey, looking around in all directions, jumping here and there, he was actually very nervous too.

  Gu Chao listened to the gossip and chatter of the people next to him, and at this time he was also quite curious about what the wooden man looked like. In his imagination, it should be different from the kind of wooden stake with a horizontal bar that Donnie Yen used for training in the movie "Ip Man". It shouldn't be as exaggerated as the eighteen bronze men formation in Shaolin Temple on TV either. Just analyzing it rationally, the statement that it's a combat tool is probably true, but saying that it has infinite power is definitely nonsense! Since the Wooden Man Alley assessment is an initial assessment, the difficulty of the wooden man shouldn't be too high or too low.

  Gu Chao was very interested in Mugen no Jikan, and at the same time, he also paid attention to the Tongren, Mozong, and Gongshu Zong mentioned by the rough-browed young man.

  The early bird gets the worm, I should have updated earlier, seeking collection and recommendation votes.