When the incident happened on the street, Shao Xuan and the rest had not gone far. They heard the commotion. Even though they couldn't see clearly what happened, Black Bear and Maoda could guess based on their past experience.
"I think a mammoth ran past," said Maoda. He heard the sound of elephants just now, but it stopped after a while. The city guards would not let them rampage around the city and cause destruction.
"Thank goodness we left quickly or we would've been affected." Then, Black Bear remembered what Shao Xuan said before they left the shop. His eyes darted towards Shao Xuan, deep in thought.
In the past, Maoda would've gone to watch but compared to the Gongjia family, the commotion here was not as interesting. "Let's go, let's go to the Gongjia residence. Right, where does Gongjia Heng live?" Maoda was curious. He returned to the Royal City late so he only found out about Gongjia Heng through private conversations with the people who stayed in the Royal City.
"I've been there before." Black Bear pointed and walked in front to lead the way.
Most of the Gongjia family members lived in one place in the Royal City, surrounded by a large wall. Although there were others who lived elsewhere, there were fewer of them. However, because there were so many people, there were doors in all four directions of the Gongjia residence's wall.
Actually, they did not have to worry about not finding the right door. Because of Gongjia Heng, there were many people outside. No matter how big the Gongjia residence was, they just had to ask around to find out where it was.
"What, you're going to watch the sword test too?" asked a passerby who knew Black Bear.
"Mm." Black Bear did not say much. If he said they were going to look for Gongjia Heng, they would definitely be pestered.
When they arrived, Shao Xuan saw many people before they even saw the door. Some were here to test the sword while others were here to watch.
"Sigh, he failed again!"
"The sword is broken, he has no chance at all."
"He can't even compare to the previous one. But how many failed today?"
"Twenty-one, but only one succeeded. I didn't see him, but I heard that he was from the Feng Clan of the Sixth Division."
The surrounding people were discussing among themselves. Someone squeezed out from the crowd, looking dejected. He was even being pointed at by the people around him. Obviously, this was the person who had failed the sword test.
"So many people!" Shao Xuan sighed as he looked at the crowd that had filled the door.
"There aren't that many now. There were more people when Gongjia Heng came back," said 'Black Bear'.
Heng, who had been away for twenty years, returned from Gongjia Mountain. The Gongjia family's jaws dropped. Back in the day, Gongjia Heng wasn't a genius. He wasn't even ranked in the Gongjia family. When Gongjia Heng left for Gongjia Mountain, many people didn't think highly of him. Every year, many people had the same idea but after they left, they never came back. Very few succeeded and they were all very intelligent people. Gongjia Heng was just an ordinary person. Going to Gongjia Mountain was suicide.
Unfortunately, not only did Gongjia Heng come back alive, he even managed to learn the skills left behind by the best craftsmen of Gongjia Mountain.
Not just the Gongjia family, even the Royal City was in an uproar. Many people came to ask for weapons. The aristocrats loved swords so many people came to ask for swords.
However, Gongjia Heng's status was high enough that he dared to be rude to the aristocrats of the Sixth Division. There were too many people here and Gongjia Heng was impatient. He came up with this sword test. Only those who passed would be registered and qualified to talk to Gongjia Heng. Otherwise, they would all be blocked outside.
The so-called sword test was actually a test where Gongjia Heng prepared some large rocks and placed them outside the door. Then, he placed some weapons on top of the rocks. If anyone could use these weapons to cut through the rocks without damaging the weapons, they would pass. If the weapons were chipped, they would have failed, much less broken weapons.
This was actually a test of one's ability. Gongjia Heng had specially selected the quality of the weapons and rocks. If one was strong enough, they would be able to cut through the rocks without damaging the weapons. Even if the rocks were not broken, as long as they met the standards and the weapons were not damaged, they would be included in the list.
To most people, these conditions were too harsh and difficult. However, they could understand. Many people even thought that this was how it should be. After all, Gongjia Heng was a master, how could he just casually make weapons for others?
After the test was set up, many people came to try. However, as more and more people failed, fewer people came out to try. They were not afraid of failure. They were afraid of breaking their weapons and not being able to ask Gongjia Heng for weapons in the future. They might even be ostracized by the Gongjia family's craftsmen. Many of the Gongjia family's craftsmen and apprentices followed Gongjia Heng's footsteps closely. This was called the idol effect. When Gongjia Heng said that he would not make weapons for anyone in the future, the craftsmen and apprentices who followed him would do the same.
When Shao Xuan and the other three arrived, they happened to see a swordsman who broke his copper knife while chopping a rock. He was disqualified immediately and Gongjia Heng would not make weapons for them in the future. That was why the swordsman looked so defeated. In the future, if he wanted to ask the Gongjia family to make weapons, he would have to ask the craftsmen and apprentices who did not follow Gongjia Heng.
'Black Bear' opened up a path in front like an armoured car, forcefully pushing the crowd aside as he walked in. Shao Xuan and the other two followed behind.
The people who were pushed aside by Black Bear wanted to scold him, but when they turned around and saw Black Bear, they shut their mouths. No matter what, only those with power had the right to speak.
Some of the people standing on the outer layer did not dare to say "Black Bear". When they saw Black Bear pass by, they wanted to take the opportunity to squeeze forward. However, they did not expect that as soon as they moved forward, they were squeezed out. One was fine, but they were squeezed out three times in a row.
"Who else wants to try?" shouted someone in the crowd.
"Hurry up, I still have to go home for dinner after this. I'm starving," complained someone else.
It was as if they were watching a show but the show never happened.
When they saw 'Black Bear' squeeze in, many people's eyes lit up and they perked up. Perhaps this muscular man could put on a good show?
'Black Bear' really wanted to try. He had only been scouting and observing for the past few days. Now that he had brought Shao Xuan here, he wanted to give it a try. Even if he failed, perhaps he could use Shao Xuan's connection to change Gongjia Heng's mind?
It was no wonder he was not confident. In the past, he had only chopped people and vegetables. When had he ever chopped rocks?
After making up his mind, 'Black Bear' said to Shao Xuan, "Wait here, I'm going to try."
Just as Black Bear was about to go over, a man dressed in a linen gray robe squeezed in from the other side of the crowd. His hair was simply tied behind his head with a cloth strip. His face was expressionless, and he looked quiet and inconspicuous.
While 'Black Bear' was talking to Shao Xuan, the man had already squeezed through the crowd towards the rock. Since he had taken the lead, 'Black Bear' could only wait behind. This made the leader of the trade caravan a little unhappy.
The man in grey looked at the weapons on the table next to him. There were knives, swords, axes and so on. He picked up his sword and without much preparation, walked up to the rock and slashed at it. It was the size of a winter melon.
There was no technique involved. It was a simple slash, but the moment it slashed down, it gave people a sense of sharpness.
Clang!
There was a deep mark on the rock but it did not break. Looking at the man's sword, there was a shallow dent.
The onlookers booed. No one knew if they were regretting or gloating.
The man in front of the rock did not care about the crowd's reaction. He just held the sword horizontally and brushed his fingers across the sword. He looked at the dent on the sword with deep affection, as if he wanted to imprint it deeply into his heart. Then he looked at the deep mark on the rock. He held the sword with both hands and bowed to the door with a solemn expression, "I've learned something!"
After he finished speaking, the man in grey put down the sword and turned to leave without any reluctance. His lonely back was like the wandering swordsmen in the old stories.
The onlookers were astonished by the other party's reaction.
"Wait, this warrior, what did you understand after you slashed the stone? Why did you look like you understood the true meaning of this place?! "
"Why don't we find a place to drink and talk about life?"
Some onlookers followed up to ask. Unfortunately, the unknown man still did not speak. His back was straight like a sword as he walked away quickly in the autumn wind.
Could he be a master?
The masters in the world always had different ideas. They could not be understood. Maybe he would become a famous swordsman in the future? Some people thought.
However, Black Bear did not pay attention to the person who left. Seeing that another person had failed, he was nervous. "What kind of weapon do you think I should choose?"
"Sword? I heard the Gongjia family makes more swords. Maybe that sword will be stronger than other weapons, "said Maoda.
Black Bear looked at Shao Xuan.
"Use whatever weapon you're used to. When you slash, just treat it as if it's a ferocious beast that's about to kill you. Don't think about anything else," said Shao Xuan.
Black Bear nodded. Shao Xuan's thoughts were the same. He should use whatever weapon he was used to. His favourite weapon was still the axe.
On the other side, the guards outside the door had changed the rock. Every time, the rock was different but the material was the same.
Just as Black Bear was about to go over, Shao Xuan whispered something to him. Black Bear's eyes lit up and he nodded.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the bear-like leader of the caravan picked up an axe. He weighed it in his hand and flicked the blade of the axe with his finger. He had a rough understanding of the axe. He did not know much about rocks but he had used many weapons. He knew this much.
Thinking about Shao Xuan's words, Black Bear did not face the rock directly like the others. Instead, he moved slightly to the side and looked at Shao Xuan. Seeing Shao Xuan nod, Black Bear took a deep breath and focused. He emptied his mind and imagined himself leading a group of merchants out on a journey when a ferocious beast suddenly charged at them. In this critical moment, without hesitation, he roared, raised his arm holding the axe and swung it down heavily!
As he swung the axe, Black Bear's eyes were filled with cold murderous intent. The crowd shuddered at his murderous aura.
Bam!
Unlike the previous sword tests, the crisp sound this time was especially clear.
The rock split in half and the axe was deeply embedded in the wood below.
The crowd was silent for a moment, then exploded. The crowd was even more anxious than Black Bear. "Quick, pick it up and see! See if there's a chip on the axe! "
The coldness in Black Bear's eyes dissipated. He came back to his senses and was now nervous. He pulled the axe out of the wood and looked at the blade. His face lit up with excitement.
"No … no chip?!"
"There's no chip!!"
"Haha, Boss! You did it! "Maoda ran over excitedly, rubbing his hands and wanting to try too.
Shao Xuan also went over to congratulate him.
"Get lost if you're done!" A cold voice rang out. It stood out among the excited crowd.
Black Bear's joy was dampened by this. He stopped smiling and looked over with a straight face. Then he snorted. "I was wondering who it was. So it's from the Linlu tribe."
Linlu tribe? Shao Xuan knew about this tribe because the person driving the carriage to the Ji residence yesterday was from the Linlu tribe. It was said that they were riding on the Ji family's coattails and had become a new noble family in the Royal City.
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