Ascending to Immortality by Slaying Spirits

Chapter 11: The Examination at the Song Family Mansion
Song Mansion
Lin Le looked up at the plaque and followed Hou Guang inside.

A servant led the two to a room and said, "Young Master Hou, please wait a moment. There is another person to introduce us today."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and two men walked out. One of them still had a small mustache on his chin, and his appearance was somewhat withered.

Upon seeing two more people outside the door, the man with the mustache paused for a moment, then recognized one of them, whose voice had a slightly sarcastic tone:

"Hey, isn't this the little monkey? You're here today too? Oh, and you brought a tiny monkey with you."

The man with the mustache patted Hou Guang on the shoulder: "I'm telling you, no matter how much you want to make money, you shouldn't bring a kid who hasn't even grown his beard yet. If the host sees this, he'll think we're here to scam money."

Hou Guang glanced at the man with the mustache, chuckled, and said nothing, but the disdain he exuded was evident without words.

He turned to the servant beside him and asked, "May the person I recommended go in?"

The man with the mustache immediately turned pale. He hated Hou Guanglai's tricks the most; even a few words of retort would have been better.

They were all just peasants who had climbed up from the bottom, no matter who was more noble than whom, but Hou Guang looked down on him and didn't even bother to speak to him.

The servant nodded: "Yes."

Hou Guang looked at Lin Le and said, "Junior Brother Lin, you can go in now."

"Okay." Lin Le stepped inside without glancing at the man with the mustache or the other man.

Unexpectedly, the man next to the mustache suddenly stretched out his leg and blocked Lin Le's way, seemingly trying to trip him up and embarrass him.

A cold glint appeared in Lin Le's eyes. He slightly raised his foot and then stomped down.

Unexpectedly, the man reacted quickly, and when he saw that things were not going well, he quickly withdrew his foot. However, his reaction speed was ultimately slower than Lin Le's.

He escaped the fate of a broken leg, but he couldn't escape having his foot trampled.

Lin Le turned her head to look at the man, and sneered, her disdain evident in her words.

The man's face immediately turned a deep purplish-red, and his fists clenched, but Lin Le simply looked at him quietly, her eyes indifferent.

That indifferent expression only fueled the man's anger. He took a quick step forward, and the man with the mustache whispered beside him, "Junior Brother Zhu, this is the Song residence!"

The man calmed down, glanced at Lin Le, snorted coldly, and decided to teach the kid a lesson when he got out.

"Ha!" X2
Two sneers rang out, Lin Le and Hou Guang letting out disdainful laughs once again.

The man with the mustache and his face turned a deep purplish-red again.

If it weren't for the servants realizing the situation was bad and stopping them, these two would probably have already thrown punches at Lin Le and Hou Guang.

"Let's go, Junior Brother Zhu, we still have a chance to meet them!" The mustachioed man's last words were almost uttered one by one.

Lin Le didn't say anything, but continued walking into the house.

Hou Guang didn't make a move, but just glanced at the two of them and watched Lin Le walk in.

This silent indifference fueled their anger and added a murderous intent to their hearts.

Once inside, a woman who looked to be in her thirties looked up at Lin Le and said, "That's strange, two of them have come today. Kid, take off your clothes."

Lin Le took off all his clothes, and the woman glanced at him and said, "Take off your knee pads too. What are you ashamed of, a grown man?"

Helpless, Lin Le took off his knee-length trousers as well.

The woman took his pulse and adjusted his clothes before nodding in satisfaction: "At this age, you're older than those who have just had their coming-of-age ceremony. Not bad at all. Put it on. You're qualified."

After saying that, the woman turned and left, though her steps were somewhat hesitant.

Lin Le put on his clothes, silently recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, and waited for his blood and qi to calm down before going out.

"How did it go? Did you pass?" Hou Guang asked when Lin Le came out. "I passed," Lin Le nodded.

"Let's move on to the next item then." Hou Guang led Lin Le away.

On the way, Lin Le suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Hou, who were those two people just now?"

“The people from the Crouching Tiger Martial Arts School,” Hou Guang said. “The one with the small mustache is called Hu Zigui. He’s a petty person with many underhanded tricks. You should be careful in the future. The other one should be called Zhu Gaoyuan. He’s already stuck at the boundary of the mortal realm, just one step away from giving birth to Qi and blood.”

"Oh." Lin Le nodded thoughtfully. "That Hu Zigui, Senior Brother Hou, you called him a villain, so he must have done a lot of bad things, right?"

“He has committed countless evil deeds.” A hint of disgust appeared in Hou Guang’s eyes. “Some people are clearly not very talented and would not have much of a future even if they learn martial arts, but he deceives these people and lends them money.”

“If he can’t pay back the money, he’ll exploit him to the bone, causing countless fathers and sons to turn against each other and families to be destroyed.”

"So how strong is he? Is he also a first-level martial artist?" Lin Le asked.

"It should be." Hou Guang nodded. "Otherwise, given his petty and smug nature, if he broke through the second limit, he would have already made it public."

"Oh, I understand." Lin Le nodded slightly, a glint of light appearing in his eyes.

Hou Guang then retorted, "Junior Brother Lin, why are you asking about his strength?"

"Didn't you teach me to be wary of him? At least I know the strength of the other side," Lin Le shrugged.

"That's true." Hou Guang didn't say anything more.

Soon they arrived at a reception room, where a refined middle-aged man sat in the main seat, while standing beside him were Hu Zigui with a mustache and the man he brought, Zhu Gaoyuan.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Lin Le immediately knew who Song Shanhai was, since Hou Guang had told him to be especially careful on the way here.

Upon seeing Lin Le and Hou Guang arrive, the middle-aged man Song Shanhai said, "Little Hou, you've come?"

"Greetings, Master Song. May you be blessed." Hou Guang and Lin Le bowed respectfully.

"Let's skip the formalities." Song Shanhai waved his hand. "Perfect timing. Xiao Hu said the man he brought has good combat talent, so why don't you let your man give him a try?"

"But my junior brother has only been practicing martial arts for less than half a month. Isn't this a bit too much to push him?" Hou Guang asked anxiously.

"Half a month of martial arts training? Are you trying to trick me, young master?" Song Shanhai's gaze shifted to Lin Le, and Lin Le's body tensed up instantly. He felt as if this Master Song had seen through his physical condition.

“This young man has firm muscles and a steady, powerful gait. I would believe he has been practicing martial arts for ten years. You’re saying he’s only been practicing for half a month?” Song Shanhai said.

Hou Guang glanced at Lin Le, recalling what he had seen. Even if he had doubts, he could only force himself to say, "It's absolutely true, Master Song."

Song Shanhai nodded slightly: "That's fine, kid. Would you like to give it a try? I can give you a separate fee for your trouble, how about ten taels?"

Lin Le nodded slightly: "Okay."

Seeing that Lin Le had agreed, Hou Guang didn't say anything more and watched as Lin Le and Zhu Gaoyuan went to the courtyard outside the hall.

Zhu Gaoyuan clenched his fist, making a deliberate cracking sound, and grinned maliciously: "Kid, I might go a little rough later, so you'd better bear with me!"

Lin Le looked at him quietly, then simply beckoned with one hand: "Come here."

"You're asking for death!" Seeing Lin Le's dismissive attitude, a hint of bloodlust appeared in Zhu Gaoyuan's eyes. He took a step forward and charged towards Lin Le like a tiger.

Lin Le's eyes reflected Zhu Gaoyuan rushing towards him, his right fist tucked to his side, making him very conspicuous.

Zhu Gaoyuan reached out with his claw towards Lin Le, his eyes also glancing at Lin Le's right fist. Then he noticed a mocking smile on Lin Le's lips.

clap clap clap!
Zhu Gaoyuan froze on the spot.

(End of this chapter)