From a country cook to a master chef

After signing the life-or-death agreement, the two men got into position and began their life-or-death battle on the stone platform.

Both being 58th-dan martial arts masters, Zhang Kuang's combat experience was clearly superior to Mai Dali's, giving him the upper hand from the start and steadily suppressing his opponent.

From time to time, cheers and shouts of encouragement could be heard from the crowd.

Since the outbreak of war in the western part of the Great Wu Kingdom, there has been no life-or-death battle between disciples in Tianwu Mountain for a long time.

It was a rare sight to see a duel today, and the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger, including many elite disciples of the Xuan class who possessed supernatural powers.

Martial artists practice martial arts by fighting and learning, and learning through practice.

Observing other people's duels can be beneficial.

And so, amidst the watchful eyes of countless Tianwu Mountain disciples, the two on the stone platform fought with increasing ferocity, each move ruthless and deadly.

Lin Jue stood in the crowd, his eyes fixed on Mai Dali. The two of them were throwing punches very fast, but in Lin Jue's eyes, which had reached the Divine Power Realm, it was as if they were slowed down. He could see every move clearly.

He noticed that Mai Dali seemed to be wearing something on his hand. It wasn't obvious from the outside, but upon closer inspection, one could find something suspicious about it.

Lin Jue suddenly felt uncertain. After all, with everyone watching, would they dare to violate the rules of Tianwu Mountain?

Just as Lin Jue was deep in thought, a person suddenly flew out of the stone platform and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Arrogant!"

Lin Jue was shocked. He never expected that the one who would ultimately lose would be Zhang Kuang, who had been steadily in the lead. It was unbelievable.

But that's just how it is. Just like that, Zhang Kuang lost his ancestral treasure sword. The only saving grace was that the girl surnamed Ding intervened, and he was able to save his life.

On the other side, after Mai Dali received the spirit knife, he did not keep it for himself, but instead respectfully handed it over to Diao Qian.

Out of respect for Consort Dingxiang, Diao Qian did not continue to make things difficult for the two, and left with his knife.

At this moment, Lin Jue also realized that the person who had been coveting the spirit blade was not Mai Dali.

After a while, Ding Xiangfei came to Lin Jue, handed him a pill, and calmly said, "His injuries are too severe. Take this medicine first."

Thank you.

Lin Jue took the pill, helped Zhang Kuang up, and fed it to him. Before long, Zhang Kuang, who was originally seriously injured and listless, slowly recovered. The efficacy of the medicine made Lin Jue secretly marvel and he became very interested in the pill that the woman had handed him.

Seeing that Zhang Kuang's injuries had lessened, Ding Xiangfei glanced at Lin Jue and sighed softly, "You don't need to hold a grudge about this. Such things often happen among the disciples of Tianwu Mountain. You've just arrived, so you need to know how to be patient."

"Tianwu Mountain is a sacred place for martial arts. Shouldn't the academy's higher-ups be concerned about something like this?"

Lin Jue looked at the girl in confusion. If he allowed his disciples to act like this, how would they be any different from bandits and tyrants? Wouldn't that ruin the reputation of Tianwu Mountain as a sacred martial arts place?

"Logically speaking, that is indeed the case, but this is just outsiders' imagination. The real Tianwu Mountain is not as wonderful as you imagine." Ding Xiangfei didn't waste any words and directly stated the purpose of her appearance. "Now that you have become a martial artist in the Divine Power Realm, come with me to the inner courtyard to register. At that time, you will have a more comprehensive understanding of Tianwu Mountain."

"I will follow your instructions, Senior Sister."

Lin Jue looked up at Ding Xiangfei and said softly, "But before that, please allow me to send Zhang Kuang back to his residence first, and then I will go to the inner courtyard with Senior Sister."

Seeing Lin Jue's calm demeanor, Ding Xiangfei smiled slightly and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that Lin Jue, unable to contain his anger, might do something impulsive.

In hindsight, she was overthinking it.

After sending Zhang Kuang back to his residence, Lin Jue wanted to say something to comfort him, but Zhang Kuang remained extremely calm, claiming that he was fine and would not cause any trouble.

Seeing this, Lin Jue didn't say anything more. He then instructed Yuan Rou to take good care of Zhang Kuang before meeting up with Ding Xiangfei and heading towards the inner courtyard of Tianwu Mountain, which was higher up, along the stone steps leading up the mountain.

Along the way, Ding Xiangfei began to explain to him various things about Tianwu Mountain that were incomprehensible to ordinary people.

Lin Jue listened with great interest, his face occasionally showing surprise, and he began to gain a deeper understanding of Tianwu Mountain.

As a sacred place of martial arts in the Great Wu Kingdom, Tianwu Mountain has nearly 10,000 disciples, of whom the majority, around 5,000, are martial arts masters.

Of the remaining 5,000-plus people, the majority, numbering nearly 4,000, were disciples at the Divine Power Realm.

There are only a few hundred disciples in the Divine Illumination Realm, and fewer than thirty martial artists in the Divine Harmony Realm. They are all high-ranking and powerful figures such as elders and deacons of Tianwu Mountain.

Above them, the Divine Manifestation Realm experts were two supreme martial artists who founded Tianwu Mountain: the Grand Preceptor and the Grand General of the Great Wu Kingdom.

These two possess unfathomable strength; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them martial arts masters, practically living immortals.

There is a story in the mountains that people often talk about. It is said that when Tianwu Mountain was first established, a rogue cultivator who had reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage challenged the general. The two fought for several rounds. No matter how many magical treasures the cultivator had, he could not withstand the Dragon Gallant Tiger Soul Spear in the general's hand. In the end, he was killed by the spear on the top of Tianwu Mountain.

Tianwu Mountain has many martial arts masters, and every disciple of Tianwu Mountain can enjoy resources that ordinary people cannot.

In addition to enjoying the benefits of superior medicinal baths every day, the families of each martial arts master disciple are exempt from taxes, and once they break through to the supernatural realm, they can be exempt from taxes altogether.

To prevent disciples from becoming complacent, Tianwu Mountain stipulates that disciples who do not enter the mountain will undergo a series of assessments every year. Those who fail to meet the standards will be expelled from the mountain and never be admitted again.

In this way, Tianwu Mountain can select outstanding and powerful disciples.

Furthermore, due to the difference in realms, Tianwu Mountain divides its disciples into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Heaven corresponds to the Divine Harmony Realm, Earth corresponds to the Divine Illumination Realm, Profound corresponds to the Divine Power Realm, and Yellow corresponds to martial apprentices and martial masters who have not yet entered any realm.

Tianwu Mountain was established by special order of Emperor Wu, and all expenses in the mountain are borne by the national treasury of the Great Wu Kingdom. In essence, it is somewhat similar to a special army established by Emperor Wu.

Except for the lowest-ranking Yellow-rank disciples, Heaven-rank disciples enjoy the treatment of a third to second-rank military officer in the Great Wu Kingdom, Earth-rank disciples enjoy the treatment of a fifth to fourth-rank military officer, and Mysterious-rank disciples enjoy the treatment of a seventh to sixth-rank military officer.

Therefore, strictly speaking, apart from the two founders who are rarely seen, even the elders who are as powerful as the Heavenly Rank are still considered disciples of Tianwu Mountain.

The mountain is divided into inner and outer courtyards. The outer courtyard is where the Yellow-character disciples reside, while only those who have reached the Divine Power realm can enter the inner courtyard.

Upon reaching the Divine Power Realm, one can not only enter the inner courtyard for cultivation, but also, after registration, enjoy the treatment of a military officer of the Great Wu Kingdom while possessing the honorary status of a disciple of the Great Wu Emperor.

While both are registered as martial artists at the Divine Power Realm, outside of Tianwu Mountain they can only enjoy the benefit of tax exemption, but for disciples of Tianwu Mountain, it represents a leap in social class.

Consort Ding Xiang and Lin Jue chatted and laughed, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the entrance to the inner courtyard.

At the inner courtyard gate, a long table was set up on the right, with a young man sitting beside it. Upon seeing Ding Xiangfei's arrival, he stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "So it's Junior Sister Xiangfei! And this must be my junior brother who has just advanced to the Divine Power Realm? May I ask your honorable name, Junior Brother?"

Lin Jue smiled slightly, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "I am Lin Jue, a native of Yucheng in Xiaoyao Prefecture. I greet you, Senior Brother."