Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, several days have passed. Chen Mo and his party finally arrived at the surroundings of Kuoshan Zong with the help of beast-drawn carriage.
"Brother Chen, I have heard that you have a connection with Kuoshan Zong. What kind of connection do you have with Kuoshan Zong?"
After getting off the beast-drawn carriage, Sun Qian, whose injuries had been healed, followed curiously and kept asking questions.
Su Keke blinked her eyes, and her gaze fell on Chen Mo's back. She also felt curious.
The Kuoshan Zong, which was one of the three major sects in Tianlong Dynasty three hundred years ago, is now the largest sect in Tianlong Dynasty. It is a well-known sect not only in Qing State but also throughout the whole Jiu Zhou. Its strength is on par with that of Tianlong Dynasty.
Left Quan Sheng held the paper he had copied, reading it carefully. As for other matters, he didn't take them to heart, for in his opinion, there was nothing more important than cultivation.
"The origin, hehe, I don't know where to start. To be honest, they owed me a favor before..."
"That favor, it's a good one"
Sun Qian became excited immediately. He hurriedly moved closer to Chen Mo, "Kuoshan Zong is the top sect in Qing State. Their favor is worth a lot."
The top sect in Qing State... Chen Mo was surprised for a moment before saying, "However, the favor they owed me has already been repaid."
"What's the point of mentioning it?"
Sun Qian muttered with a hint of resentment.
"Although the favor has been repaid, our relationship is still good. I believe that their sect leader will give me face when he sees me... Currently, we are in danger and need the protection of a powerful force; by the way, just now you mentioned that Kuoshan Zong is the top sect in Qing State. What's going on? Shouldn't the top sect in Qing State be Kuangsha Zong in Lincheng?"
"Kuangsha Zong is indeed strong, with a swordsman immortal who has reached the third-grade level of cultivation. However, Kuoshan Zong is even stronger; there's an elder who has reached the second-grade level. Not to mention Kuangsha Zong, even the Martial Defense Bureau and the Tianlong Royal Family have to give him a bit of face."
The elder of Kuoshan Zong?
Chen Mo's brow furrowed. In his memory, three hundred years later, Empress Nu was the strongest, commanding the eight directions in submission, and the three major sects were mere accessories. They had to bow their heads when they saw Empress Nu.
Now, however, he found the plot development a bit unclear.
As for who has become the elder of Kuoshan Zong and entered the second-grade realm, is it Song Chengfeng or some other elder...
Unconsciously, Chen Mo and his party had arrived at the foot of Hua'an Mountain. The three big characters of 'Kuoshan Zong', written in vermilion, caught the eye; a gate stood tall at the foot of the mountain, guarded by several disciples of Kuoshan Zong in white clothing on the path leading to the sect.
Compared to three hundred years ago, the Kuoshan Zong now is more prosperous, with even the gate looking more luxurious. The gatekeepers, in terms of temperament and strength, are far beyond what they were three hundred years ago.
Chen Mo and his party stepped forward, and two disciples immediately stepped forward, "This is Kuoshan Zong. Who are you, and what do you want?"
Oh, this way of asking seems to be the same as three hundred years ago... Chen Mo sighed in his heart and then said seriously, "I am Chen Sanzang. I have a past with your sect leader. Please inform him."
The two disciples looked at Chen Mo up and down and sneered disdainfully, "You say you have a past with our sect master? Do you know how many people come to our Kuoshan Zong claiming to have a past with our sect master, just to take advantage of it? You're so scared even to deceive people. How can you say you have a past with our old ancestor?"
Chen Mo's mouth twitched, suppressing the urge to beat up those two disciples. He thought for a moment and realized that he couldn't produce any evidence to prove that he knew the sect leader of Kuoshan Zong.
Previously, Song Chengfeng had given him a token, but he had given it to Fu Bo; besides, three hundred years have passed, and it's unlikely that the sect master is still Song Chengfeng.
It's really difficult to do things without connections.
Chen Mo was just thinking when suddenly a beast-drawn carriage stopped next to him. The flag on the carriage was inserted upside down, and the three big characters of "Martial Defense Bureau" were written on it.
Five people got off the beast-drawn carriage, all dressed in the black robes specific to the Martial Defense Bureau, with jian blades hanging at their waists, looking imposing and formidable.
The five people were of varying ages, with two middle-aged, one young, and two teenagers.
After getting off the beast-drawn carriage, the five men went straight into Kuoshan Zong without any interference from the crowd outside. Instead, they were respectfully ushered in by the people outside.
"Why can they just go in like that?"
Sun Qian was a bit dissatisfied and asked in a questioning tone.
"They are from the Martial Defense Bureau. Their identity is there. How can you compare them to you?"
"I, I still..."
Sun Qian opened his mouth and closed it. He was from the Xuanjing Bureau, and his identity was there. However, because he was from Hanhai Empire, he dared not reveal his identity while investigating in Tianlong Dynasty. Therefore, before setting out, he and Su Keke had exchanged ordinary casual clothing.
Faced with the question from the Kuoshan Zong disciples, he hesitated for a moment, and dared not reveal his true identity at all.
This is the territory of Tianlong Dynasty, and as an official from the Xuanjing Bureau of Hanhai Empire, he ran around in Tianlong Dynasty without permission. If those Martial Defense Bureau people heard about it, they would certainly not spare him or them.
Several more people got off the beast-drawn carriage after the Martial Defense Bureau personnel went up. Their clothing appeared to be of average quality, and it was hard to tell what faction they belonged to. After exchanging a few words with the gatekeepers, they could easily enter the mountain.
In contrast, Chen Mo and his three companions were still blocked at the gate. He couldn't help but frown slightly, pointing at the figures heading up the mountain and saying, "Why can they go up, too? Are they also from the Martial Defense Bureau, or are they from a famous family of Tianlong Dynasty?"
The disciple shook his head and said, "They are here to participate in the martial arts competition. Our Kuoshan Zong's elder recently wants to recruit a direct disciple and is holding a martial arts competition for talents from all over the world, hoping to find someone suitable...".
"Recruiting disciples?"
That's an opportunity... Chen Mo's eyes flickered, "I want to participate in the competition as well."
As soon as he said that, the disciple was stunned and looked at Chen Mo in surprise, "Are you sure?"
"I am a disciple of Kuoshan Zong. Even I don't have the qualification to participate in the competition. How can you say that with such confidence?"
The other disciple looked down and up at Chen Mo, then spoke haughtily with an air of disdain.
They could feel no lingering aura from Chen Mo, which was no different from ordinary people; although the current era is flourishing, lingering auras are often used as a standard to measure one's strength in many cases.
Such as Qi Wushu, Shuoshiyi, and Witchcraft are all like this. Without lingering aura, there are two types of people: scholars and body martialists. Chen Mo doesn't look like a scholar with literary grace, and body martialists are rare and mostly weak in strength. This has become the reason why the disciple looked down on Chen Mo.
My confidence comes from my fists, how about you give it a try?"
Chen Mo smiled slightly, not letting the other party's tone anger him.
"Alright, since you've said that, I'll have to see how hard your fists are."
