Beef Jerky (Please consider bookmarking and recommending, I beg you)

Jiang Feng was in high spirits. In fact, after killing the earth dragon, he was actually in greater danger than before. He had exhausted all of his Ming Force, and no longer even had the strength to stand, let alone defend himself or counterattack.

Ping Luanshan had also consumed a great deal of energy, but he still had some reserves left. Last time, just a tier-six shadow lizard had been enough to make Li Feng and those young men from the Jiang family try to kill and rob him. Now, there was a tier-three, first-rank earth dragon lying dead beside them! If Ping Luanshan harbored any ill intent, Jiang Feng would surely be in grave danger.

However, just as Ping Luanshan had insisted on holding off the earth dragon earlier so that Jiang Feng could escape, this man truly was a decent sort!

Jiang Feng took the gourd, pulled out the stopper, and took a sip. Warmth flowed down his throat into his stomach, and he let the last trace of golden blood energy guarding his heart disperse freely through his veins.

“Excellent wine!” Jiang Feng praised.

Ping Luanshan replied with pride, “Of course! I brewed it myself! Believe it or not, even if I didn’t become a martial artist, I could make a fortune just selling my wine!”

Jiang Feng smiled and said nothing. Ping Luanshan didn’t touch the earth dragon, but instead plopped down beside Jiang Feng with a thud. He gazed at the drifting white clouds overhead, took a couple of silent sips, and suddenly said, “I used to have a lot of confidence, but after today, I’m starting to worry.”

“What are you worried about?” Jiang Feng asked casually.

“In a couple of days, it’ll be the Tianzhao Preliminaries. I thought, with my abilities, handling the beast test would be no problem. But now…” He spread his hands, grabbed a fistful of earth, and tossed it up. “I’m still too weak!”

Jiang Feng’s expression grew a little odd. “Tianzhao Preliminaries?” He turned to Ping Luanshan and asked, “How old are you this year?”

The Tianzhao Preliminaries were usually taken soon after advancing to the Dawn Realm; those taking the test were generally not very old.

Ping Luanshan stroked the beard on his face. “I merged my four-ring Ming Heart Seed two years ago, so I’m eighteen this year.”

To advance from a four-ring Ming Heart Seed in just two years was already quite impressive. Jiang Feng’s expression became even stranger. “Eighteen? I thought you were forty-eight…”

Ping Luanshan spat. “Shave off this beard and you’ll see—underneath, I’m quite the dashing youth!”

Jiang Feng chuckled. “The Tianzhao Preliminaries are in four days, right? You just dispatched that gryphon with ease. The beasts in the exam are only tier-one, first rank; unless something unexpected happens, you won’t have any trouble.”

Ping Luanshan rubbed his nose and leapt to his feet with a nimble flip. With a snort, he declared, “What do you mean ‘unless something unexpected happens’? I won’t have any trouble at all!” He shouted toward the sky, “Old man, just watch me! Before I’m twenty, I’ll definitely pass the Grand Exam!”

He clapped Jiang Feng on the back. “Come on, let’s take care of that big fellow!”

Ping Luanshan drew a slender long blade, ran his finger along it, and a faint golden light flashed. With a swift slash, the earth dragon’s hide split open with a tear.

Jiang Feng asked in surprise, “With a weapon that handy, why didn’t you use it earlier?”

Ping Luanshan shook his head. “My master left this to me. It’s a precious artifact and must be powered by Ming Force. But I don’t have the accompanying martial technique, so all I can do is use it for simple slicing—no way to wield it in actual combat.”

As he skillfully dismantled the earth dragon, he explained further. Upon reaching the Dawn Realm, one could wield precious artifacts. These were usually crafted from exotic beast materials with special techniques, and only revealed their true power when fueled by Ming Force.

When it came to armor and such, it wasn’t such an issue, but weapons required the matching Ming Force martial arts. In combat, how to circulate the force, how to unleash it, how to maintain a drawn-out fight—all of it was highly specialized.

When Ping Luanshan’s master died, he hadn’t yet reached the Dawn Realm. The old man left him this Scallion-Leaf Fang Blade and made him memorize the corresponding martial technique, word by word. The language was abstruse and difficult; after much study, Ping Luanshan could barely use the blade’s tip, but not in true combat.

He spun the blade in a flourish, the golden light tracing a pretty pattern in the air. With a sigh, he said, “If I use this in battle now, I’d burn through all my Ming Force in ten seconds flat. If only I could wield it freely—what would I have to fear from the preliminaries?”

He suddenly glanced at Jiang Feng. “That move you used to fell the earth dragon—was it a Ming Force martial art? Quite a technique—tremendous burst. Once you advance, you should get some gauntlets or similar artifact to match your moves. You’ll be even stronger!”

Perhaps Ping Luanshan had been too lonely for too long, because now he was talking Jiang Feng’s ear off.

While they dismantled the earth dragon, Jiang Feng learned almost everything about Ping Luanshan’s family history. He’d been raised by his master since childhood, with no other family. The old and the young lived together on the far side of Mount Taiwu in Chuan Shi Town, depending on each other. When Ping Luanshan was seventeen, the old man died of a longstanding illness. After that, Ping Luanshan trained alone, preparing for the Grand Exam.

“The old man was in the Demon Suppression Army in his youth. He never stopped telling me how he killed enemies and wiped out demons back then. I’ve already decided—once I pass the exam, I’m applying to West King Military Academy! From there, I’ll join the Demon Suppression Army, and the day I cut off a demon’s head, I’ll brag to the old man in the afterlife!”

Ping Luanshan laughed heartily, his eyes shining.

Jiang Feng smiled. “Gu Zhu, Bei Hu, West King, Ri Xia—West King is one of the four great academies. If you want in, you’ll have to pass the Prefecture Exam first!”

Ping Luanshan grinned. “Just the Prefecture Exam!”

But he knew full well how hard it was to get into one of the four academies. With a sheepish laugh, he added, “If I can’t get into West King, Zhen Shi Academy will do. Graduates from there also qualify for the Demon Suppression Army, just not in the main division…”

He split open the dragon’s massive heart, dug out the earth-yellow core, and tossed it to Jiang Feng. “Anyway, let's focus on passing the preliminaries first! You killed the earth dragon, so this is yours!”

Jiang Feng accepted it without ceremony. “The dragon swallowed the gryphon earlier; it probably hasn’t digested it yet. We should look for it.”

Sure enough, Ping Luanshan soon found another green core. He put it in his pouch, glanced at the sky, and shook his wine gourd before handing it to Jiang Feng. “Meeting you today was a real pleasure. I hope we’ll meet again someday.”

Jiang Feng took the gourd and replied with sincerity, “Yes, I’m glad to have met you, too.”

He raised his head and took a swig; a fiery warmth streaked down his throat, spreading through his entire body. He returned the gourd with a smile. “I hope next time, I’ll get to taste your wine again!”

Ping Luanshan drained the last drop, shook his head, and said, “Wine without meat—hardly perfect!”

He tossed the gourd behind him, nudged the ground with his toe, and in a flash of green, vanished into the grass.

Jiang Feng watched him go. Perhaps the wine was still in his system, but he felt a lingering warmth in his heart.

…

At the foot of Elephant Trunk Mountain, aside from the gryphon, the other beasts were too weak for Ping Luanshan, but just right for Jiang Feng. Killing the earth dragon had only been possible because Ping Luanshan had distracted it, giving Jiang Feng time to gather enough data. On his own, he couldn’t have managed.

However, earth dragons were highly territorial; there would only be one in any given area. Jiang Feng made a circuit and, on the far side of Elephant Trunk Mountain, found a group of tier-seven Bullhorn Porcupines—the real target of his trip today.

With his Ming Force restored, thunder rumbled faintly across the grasslands, and one porcupine after another fell.

During a break, Jiang Feng’s thoughts returned to Ping Luanshan’s matter—or more precisely, to the last Half-Moon Gathering. At that gathering, he’d overheard people discussing the Tianzhao Preliminaries. Some had taken the exam the previous year. They had passed the Heaven Test, only to unexpectedly fail the Human Test. All of them felt the result was suspicious. Of course, it could have been overconfidence or misjudgment, but there was a chance something was truly off about the preliminaries…

A faint unease stirred in Jiang Feng’s heart.

At sunset, Jiang Feng returned to the nameless little valley. Zhong Fan saw him return and greeted him with a smile. “Come, try this!”

Night Snack the rabbit crouched nearby, happily gnawing at something.

On the plate were several pieces of jerky, each about finger-sized, golden and tempting. The jerky was tender and delicious. As soon as Jiang Feng swallowed, he felt a mild warmth in his stomach; then, a burst of Ming Force exploded like fireworks, surging through his body.

Power surged beneath his skin. Jiang Feng walked over to a boulder and struck it with a heavy punch! He hadn’t even used the Thunderfall Palm, yet still felt a force flow smoothly through his muscles. With a bang, a crack split the stone and quickly widened.

After so much data collection, Jiang Feng knew his own strength thoroughly. New information filled his mind, and he quickly made an assessment.

Zhong Fan raised his brows and smiled. “Well?”

“It’s excellent!” Jiang Feng praised. “My strength has increased by at least thirty percent!”

This was the best result Zhong Fan had achieved after much experimentation. The youth grinned. “That’s right—the effect lasts five minutes. And this time, I made it into jerky, so it keeps well and is easy to carry.”

Jiang Feng’s eyes lit up as he grasped the significance. That meant, as long as he carried enough jerky, his combat power would be permanently increased!

Jiang Feng smiled approvingly. “Excellent—this skill alone will be enough to support you for life.”

Zhong Fan couldn’t help but laugh at that. Support himself? To be honest, he’d never even thought about that since birth. Still, he was quite satisfied with the jerky’s effect. “With this, your chances of passing the Grand Exam just got even better!”

Jiang Feng was taken aback, then shook his head. “No—I won’t use it for the Grand Exam!”