Starting from the Greyhound, seventy-two changes.

The lake is like a mirror, with occasional ripples, reflecting a streak of red in the distant sky.

Liangshan Lake.

It is located to the east of Qiulong Prefecture, between Qiulong Prefecture and another Qianyang Prefecture.

Liangshan has majestic mountains and is surrounded by water, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. As a result, it has attracted heroes from all over the five states and eight lakes. Gradually, it has formed a huge force that is not only powerful in Qiulong Prefecture, but also a well-known bandit den in the entire Youzhou area.

In the Juyi Hall.

The nine-foot-tall leader of Liangshan, Tie Zongtang, nicknamed the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, held a communicating bird with his hands behind his back. After hearing what the bird said about Chen Ku's deeds.

He turned around and looked at the many leaders sitting there.

In his words, he did not hide his admiration and respect for Chen Ku:

"When this young hero named Chen Ku defeated Pei Qingzhi in Baojiao County, I concluded that if he came to Qiulong Mansion, he would be like a latent dragon emerging from the abyss, soaring into the sky, and it would be unstoppable. Sure enough, he came to Qiulong Mansion and was able to defeat the ruthless young master Zhou Li. The key is that he is only seventeen or eighteen years old this year. If we don't care, he may really become the second champion marquis in the future. At that time, if the court sends him to suppress bandits and become an enemy of Liangshan, who can stop him?"

"Since my brother said so!"

Sitting on a chair at the table, a man with a complexion as white as iron drank a bowl of wine, threw the bowl on the table, and said in a muffled voice:

"I'll go down the mountain right now and bring the man here!"

"Don't be reckless!"

Tie Zongtang said in a deep voice:

"What I need is for him to sincerely serve me in Liangshan and add another powerful general to my Liangshan. I don't want to make an enemy of him. If you directly tie him up and send him to Liangshan, he will only be submissive to me in name only."

Why is it so troublesome?

The black-faced man muttered a few words.

"Does the military advisor have any plan?"

Tie Zongtang finally looked towards the left hand side, at the scholar in a robe whom he regarded as his military advisor.

"Can he join me in Liangshan?"

This scholar, wearing a feather fan and a long scarf, sitting in the first chair on the left hand of Liangshan, is nicknamed "Mr. Tianji". He is good at fortune-telling, can read people's horoscopes, and is very resourceful.

He silently deduced the two words "Chen Ku" for a moment and said, "As the Heavenly King said, after I took his name and analyzed the characters, I can make a conclusion: 'If this boy enters the government, he will rise step by step and become a king or a noble; if he falls into the underworld, he will be a lake dragon and a rare hero.' His future is limitless."

"Really?"

When the leaders of Liangshan heard Mr. Tianji's evaluation, they all felt awe.

This was because each of them had had their fortunes told by this military advisor, and they all knew Mr. Tianji's abilities, and his comments were almost never wrong.

This is because Mr. Tianji was born with a magical power called "Observing Fate", which allows him to see other people's fate and give an evaluation.

Tie Zongtang heard this and said, "He can be a prince in the court and a hero in the wild. The evaluation is indeed high, but seeing that he is only seventeen years old now, he has such talent and bones. It will not be surprising if he can achieve such achievements in the future."

"Therefore, we must bring this brother Chen to Liangshan."

At this time, a man standing straight like a spear on Tie Zongtang's right hand side said with a serious look in his eyes:
"The reason is very simple. Although the Daji Dynasty has only had two emperors, it is still ruled by Emperor Taizong. On the surface, the five provinces and thirteen provinces of the country are prosperous and flourishing, but this is actually just an illusion. In fact, the foundation of the Daji Dynasty has long been unstable and it is about to collapse.

We all know that in the two lakes area of ​​Jiangnan Road, Huang Xianke's Shen Ce Sect has begun to imitate the Northern Yuan Dynasty and openly raise a "sect army".

Looking at the Youzhou territory, Ping'an Dao has occupied Baojiao County. In the past half month, the army sent by Qiulong Mansion has hit a wall.

In addition, the Yuan Dynasty, which was eyeing the north, was frequently active on the border.

The Daji Dynasty seems peaceful, but in reality it is just a piece of broken porcelain stuck together. It will break into pieces and scatter in all directions if a strong wind blows at any time."

"Master Lin is right. The Great Era has already shown many signs of the end of a dynasty. Generally speaking, in this kind of dynasty cycle, unless there is a wise and heroic ruler or a great general, it cannot be saved."

Another red-haired man came out and said:

"This Chen Ku is quite similar to the young champion marquis back then. If he were to surrender to the imperial court and be given important positions, he would definitely be the first to lead the army to attack our Liangshan in the future. We must make plans for him early."

"so……"

Tie Zongtang looked at Mr. Tianji and asked:
"What is the military strategist's plan?"

The others also looked at the military advisor.

They have occupied Shuipo Liangshan for fifty years. Over the past fifty years, they have evolved from a small mountain village to the number one underworld force that dominates half of the state and has an influence that radiates to eight prefectures. Half of the credit goes to Mr. Tianji.

With his magical power of "observing fate", he constantly added various rare talents to Liangshan, absorbed elites, and strengthened the mountain gate.

For example, Master Lin with his straight figure.

He was originally a martial arts master in Qianyang Prefecture of Youzhou, who was older than Qin Yu of Qiulong Prefecture. It was Mr. Tianji who saw that he would have a "career setback" in his life, so he specially brought many leaders down the mountain to rescue him, which allowed him to sit on the top position in Liangshan.

In addition, one-third of the people present here who went to Liangshan also have an inseparable relationship with Mr. Tianji.

Mr. Tianji pondered and said, "These days, I call on all the brothers on and off the mountain to collect more information about him, and I will make detailed plans."

With his ability to see through fate, it is not difficult for him to spot talented people, but the real skill is how to get them to Liangshan.

Over the years, some people were rescued to Liangshan, some were dragged to Liangshan, some hid in Liangshan, and some were... forced to go to Liangshan.

…………

Chen Ku didn't know that his existence had become important information on the desks of certain major forces, and they had already begun to make some plans against him.

After arriving at the house of the old scholar in the Temple of Martial Arts, knocking on the door and waiting for a while.

Then I saw a little old man wearing a red coat and a goatee on his chin. He walked over with his hands behind his back and smiled, saying:

"Chen Ku, you've made quite a fuss. I just confirmed your title as a scholar, and now you've defeated Zhou Li, the number one disciple under Qin Yuxian."

"Are you Scholar Tang Lie?"

Chen Ku felt the old man walking towards him. Just from his aura, he felt that the other party was unfathomable, but he did not have the kind of aura that his master and senior brothers brought to him. So he guessed that this old man should be at the peak of the sixth realm, half a step away from the seventh realm of controlling the aura.

"Student scholar Chen Ku greets you."

He greeted him as a disciple, then smiled and explained:

"It was just a sparring match between me and my nephew. I didn't expect that it would reach Elder Tang's ears in just half a day."

"It's not just my ears."

Tang Lie smiled and said:
"Believe it or not, among the Thirty-Six Martial Arts Conference in the mansion, most people's desks are filled with information about you. You are invincible in the Sixth Realm at the age of seventeen. Your potential is too terrifying."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Tang." Chen Ku was well-mannered, neither proud nor reserved.

"Well, after all, you and I have a destiny as 'question master' in the world of martial arts. Come in and we'll talk." Tang Lie invited Chen Ku in.

Chen Ku bowed and after entering the old man's house, he was asked to sit down by the old man.

"Thanks to you, senior, I was able to get that piece of Jiuli Armor Leaf. This is a small gift, please accept it." Chen Ku simply prepared a gift.

Tang Lie took a look and saw that it was a six-level demon bird's vegetarian bag. It was not very expensive, but it was good for the old man's health. He smiled and accepted it without any hesitation, saying:

"I might as well tell you the truth. Over the years, many martial artists have solved the questions I have given, but I want to meet you. The reason is very simple. You are growing too fast and your future is limitless. I want to interact with you more. I hope that if you really become successful in the future, you can have an impression of me in your heart."

"So, tell me straight, how can I help you?"

Chen Ku was slightly stunned. He did not expect the old man to speak so bluntly. He coughed and said with a smile, "Since you are so blunt, I will not say anything else. I want to ask, how can I be promoted from a martial arts scholar to a martial arts candidate in a short period of time? In addition to the annual imperial examination, is there any other way?"

Tang Lie looked at Chen Ku, and thinking of his current cultivation level, he nodded secretly and said:
"In the Wu Temple Imperial Examination, both Wusheng and Wuxiucai are easy to pass. They are held to select students, but if you want to go further and become a 'Seventh Rank Juren', there are two ways. One is to participate in the 'Fushi' held every three years. It is the imperial examination system. Twenty candidates are selected each time, but the next 'Fushi' will be two years later. So you should be asking about the second way, which is the recommendation system."

"The system of selecting candidates?" Chen Ku asked, "What is the content of this examination? Is it also a martial arts world?"

"The system of recommendation is a recommendation system handed down from the ancient dynasties. In the Confucian Temple, it is called 'recommendation of filial and honest officials', which means 'using culture and education to assist the world'. In our Martial Temple, it is called 'recommendation of rebellion', which means 'using military force to settle disasters and chaos'."

Tang Lie said:

"In addition to the imperial examinations, every year the Wenwu Temple has ten quotas for the recommendation system. Let's not talk about the content of the Wenwu Temple's recommendation of filial and honest officials. Let's just talk about the content of our Wu Temple's recommendation of suppressing rebellions. As the name suggests, one needs to have the merit of 'suppressing rebellions'. If one has such qualifications, he can be recommended as a juren."

"Quit the rebellion?" Chen Ku took a breath and asked subconsciously, "Are you going to quell the rebellion in Pyeongan Province in Baojiao County?"

"Placing the Heian-do rebellion in Baojiao County?"

Tang Lie immediately shook his head:

"No, no, no, it's not that outrageous. Two days ago, our lieutenant general, Lord Zhao Qiansong, personally took over the Shenji Camp of 'Captain' Ye Zhong and formed another 10,000 soldiers to recapture Baojiao County, but they couldn't even get through the gate of Baojiao City.

It can be seen how difficult it is to recapture Baojiao County.

If the recovery of Baojiao County is really regarded as a merit for the "Cao Ju", then this merit should at least be worthy of a "Grandmaster" or even a Jinshi!"

Chen Ku breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

He was really afraid that the requirements for promotion to Juren were so outrageous.

"Then what are the conditions for being nominated as a 'military candidate' in the recommendation system?" Chen Ku asked subconsciously.

Tang Lie seemed to be waiting for Chen Ku to ask this, so he took out a folded book from his waist and said:
"All of these are the records of the Martial Temple's achievements that are eligible for recommendation for the 'Martial Examination'. You may have heard that completing certain tasks here will even reward you with 'Martial Luck'."

Chen Ku opened it and took a quick look, and suddenly saw the merit book of the top ten.

Ranked first: Eliminate Shuibo Liangshan

His heart twitched slightly.

It was the Shuipo Liangshan, the place where Tie Zongtang, the Pagoda-Bearing King, the top underworld figure whose reputation was slightly higher than that of his senior brother Qin Yuxian. After hearing about this place that day, he went to inquire about it.

It is said that there are now fifty-four chairs in Liangshan, which have attracted masters from all walks of life. The people sitting in the first ten chairs are masters of at least the seventh level. (End of this chapter)