Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Lin Ye turned to look at Ning Che in disbelief, his expression a mixture of shock and anger.

The sword energy looked ordinary, yet it instinctively made him feel threatened. A mere ninth-grade cultivator could unleash such powerful sword energy, making even an eighth-grade cultivator like himself feel threatened.

He almost wanted to roar, "How is this possible!"

Ning Che seemed unfazed by his emotions, asking in a calm tone, "If this gets out of hand and Commander Mu loses face, can you bear the consequences?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye's face turned pale and then flushed.

Without a doubt, he could be fearless with anyone here, but he couldn't ignore Mu Qingming's intentions.

"Fine, you win." Lin Ye gritted his teeth, glared fiercely at the three of them, and reluctantly withdrew his bloodlust. He uttered a harsh threat, "Once we're on the arena, let's see if you can still talk tough! Then, I'll show you what a true difference in strength is!"

After saying that, he slammed the door and left.

The barracks finally returned to quiet.

"This young man's magic is truly superb." The young man in the close-fitting clothes stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Ning Che: "I am Zhao He, a hunter from Qing Shi Village, and I am also here to compete for the position of mountain hermit."

"My name is Chen Mu, an apprentice at Huichuntang in the city," the young man in the long gown beside him introduced himself.

"Shizhu Village, Xing, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Ning Che finished his self-introduction concisely, then looked at Zhao He: "I must thank Brother Zhao for standing up for me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao He quickly waved his hand, a hint of simple awkwardness appearing on his dark face. He hurriedly returned the greeting: "Brother Xing, you flatter me! It was clearly my recklessness that almost got me into trouble. If it weren't for your help, I would have been bitten by that mad dog today. I should be thanking you."

Ning Che smiled and stood up, saying, "Don't mention it. You stood up for me, so it's not right for you to thank me—this time, I also owe a lot to Brother Chen for his righteousness."

After exchanging pleasantries, Ning Che, with his deliberate guidance, brought up the selection process.

The selection process involved signing a pledge, a deal that was considered a matter of life and death. Although there was a rule that if one side conceded, the other side could no longer fight, people were still beaten to death from time to time.

Some met their tragic ends due to misjudgment. Others, however, risked their lives to seize this rare opportunity to enter the Three Officials of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Chen Mu nodded in agreement and added, "There are quite a few tough contenders among this year's competitors. There are direct descendants of the six major families in the city, veterans who have retired from the border, and several cultivators who were brought in through various connections. None of them are easy to deal with. Brother Xing, although you have great skills, you still need to be careful when you step onto the arena in three days."

"There's one more crucial thing!" Zhao He slapped his forehead, quickly reminding everyone, "The first thing new recruits need to do upon entering the camp is to go to the library at the mountain peak to retrieve an introductory cultivation technique. The library closes at 4:45 PM, so we need to hurry!"

Ning Che nodded and bowed, saying, "Thank you both for telling me these inside stories. I will remember this favor. If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Brother Xing, you're too kind!" Zhao He laughed heartily, patting his chest. "From now on, we're brothers in the same barracks, so helping each other out is only natural! You'd better hurry, or you'll miss the library opening!"

Ning Che tucked the Crescent Moon Blade back into his waistband, turned around, and walked out of the barracks.

After leaving the Jiazi barracks area, he walked up the mountain along the corridor he had come from. Most of the soldiers patrolling the mountain along the way were on duty, keeping their eyes straight ahead. Their professionalism was quite outstanding in the context of ancient times.

Ning Che observed the layout of Demon-Suppressing Mountain as he walked, silently memorizing its intricacies:

The training ground is located in the center of the mountain and will be the core venue for future arena battles; to the east is a series of stone cave barracks where all the new candidates live; to the west is a heavily guarded dungeon; the south side is off-limits and is probably a vital area; to the north are kitchens and warehouses, which are arranged in a somewhat messy manner.

Ascending the winding steps outside the mountain to the upper level, one finds only three main halls: the council hall in the center, the library hall on the left, and the personnel hall on the right.

He headed straight for the library, only to find the two tall, vermilion doors tightly shut. Four armed guards stood before him, blocking his path and shouting in a low voice, "Halt! Show your identification!"

Ning Che took out the wooden plaque engraved with "Jiazi Yi" and handed it over. The guard glanced at the plaque, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately put away his gun and let him pass: "Just so you know that you can only receive one cultivation technique inheritance in the library. The original texts must not be taken out without permission or damaged. Those who violate this order will be dealt with according to the rules."

Ning Che took back the wooden plaque, not knowing what was so special about it, but he could guess that it was arranged by Mu Qingming, so he didn't ask any more questions and pushed the door open to go inside.

The hall was dimly lit, and the first thing you could see were rows of towering black wooden bookshelves filled with all kinds of martial arts manuals, from basic qi cultivation methods to combat techniques, and then to auxiliary movement techniques, alchemy and medical books, all categorized and displayed in a dazzling array.

In the center of the main hall, an elderly man with white hair and beard sat behind a counter, dozing with his eyes closed. Hearing the noise, he slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Ning Che, and said in a calm tone, "Newcomer? Which introductory cultivation technique do you want? Choose for yourself. After you've chosen, bring it over to register. You may only make copies; the originals are not allowed to be taken out of the hall."

Ning Che didn't rush to search the bookshelf. Instead, he remembered Mu Qingming's instructions before he left and said, "I want the 'Jieming Frost Flower Technique'."

Upon hearing this, the old man could no longer remain calm. He puffed out his beard and glared, saying, "What did you say? The 'Frosty Splendor of Calamity'? Boy, do you even know what kind of technique that is? How dare you ask for it?"

"I don't know." Ning Che used his position as a pretext: "But this was ordered by Vice Commander Mu to let me collect this cultivation manual. I wonder if there's anything special about this manual?"

Upon hearing this, the old man stared at him intently for a long time, then let out a heavy snort. His withered fingers pounded the black wooden counter, and his glaring expression was full of shock and disappointment: "Special? This is more than just special! Kid, do you know that everyone who practices this technique is dead?"

Ning Che raised an eyebrow slightly.

"This cultivation method is fundamentally a wild and unorthodox approach, completely disregarding the traditional method of cultivators absorbing the energy of heaven and earth to transform it into their own cultivation." The old man's tone was full of apprehension: "It requires cultivating life-and-death tribulations, and without this, one cannot make any progress. Moreover, the more one experiences life and death, the heavier the accumulated killing intent becomes, which can easily affect one's true nature."

That's not all; many are willing to risk their lives, but it still has a very high threshold. Unless one follows a path of extremely strong Yin energy, such as Taiyin, Zhiyin, or Chunyin, forcibly practicing it will inevitably result in being devoured by the frost. But in our Great Xia, the sun is revered; how rare are such paths?

The old man looked at Ning Che, his tone carrying a hint of admonition, "Young man, I've guarded this library for forty years and seen too many young people trying to rise to the top with this evil technique. None of them have had a good ending. If you switch to a proper introductory technique now, take it one step at a time, it's not too late!"

Ning Che sighed inwardly. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to disappoint his elders.

"No need, this one will do."