Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

"Qingzhu, look carefully." Lin Ji informed Liu Qingzhu of the special characteristics of the dish through the earpiece: "The left eight are warm and moist, the right eight are cold and yin. Choose the left one and don't take the right one. Only one is needed. Do not take more than one."

Liu Qingzhu immediately recognized the dumpling and precisely picked up the leftmost one. It was soft, sweet, and fragrant, and its pure nourishing power swept over her whole body without any toxicity.

Wang Zhenhuai was skeptical, but he followed suit and selected the left-side dumpling. Sure enough, it was unharmed, which gave him a fright.

The seventeenth dish followed, named "A Moment of Life and Death".

The dish is a bowl of ordinary white porridge, bland and tasteless, the most simple food of the human world, yet it hides the most unsolvable test of the human heart.

"This porridge is surprisingly neither poisonous nor malevolent," Lin Ji commented, a glint of insight flashing in his eyes as he discerned its secrets.

"If you eat it, you will pass by mediocrely; if you don't eat it, you will become arrogant and think too highly of yourself. Your martial arts mindset will be flawed, and you will never be able to make any progress in your life."

The greatest truths are the simplest; the most ordinary food is the one that truly tests one's ability to set aside pride.

Liu Qingzhu was completely unpretentious, calmly eating a mouthful of plain porridge, her mind becoming increasingly pure and clear.

Having held a high position for half his life, Wang Zhenhuai had long since disdained ordinary coarse tea. After hesitating for a moment, he finally put aside his arrogance, took a small bite, and passed the test smoothly.

Finally, the last dish was served.

"The Eighteenth Path: All Laws Return to Their Origin!"

The fat cook shouted the announcement, his smile fading and his expression turning serious.

There was no fancy plating on the plate, just a bowl of pure white soup, milky white and mellow, with a subtle aroma. It seemed ordinary, but it encompassed all the characteristics of the previous seventeen dishes, with poison and nourishment coexisting, and the real and the unreal complementing each other.

"This is the grand finale of this banquet, a culmination of the essence of the previous seventeen dishes. Poison is contained within nourishment, and death is hidden within life. Only the first one in this level can completely neutralize it!"

Lin Ji's eyes brightened slightly as he smiled and spoke into the earpiece, his playful side emerging: "This thick soup is a hodgepodge of flavors, all thanks to the blending. To put it bluntly, it's all about cutting-edge technology."

"Based on evaporated milk from the West, various flavorings and additives are blended together, resulting in a complex, chaotic, and pungent mixture of toxins, which is quite difficult to counteract. To counteract this, simply let it sit for three quarters of an hour, allowing the impurities to settle, then take a small sip of the clear, rich broth from the top."

Liu Qingzhu sat quietly as instructed, enduring the ordeal for more than three quarters of an hour.

Even the audience members below the stage were getting impatient.

Just then, tiny black scum slowly seeped out from the bottom of the thick soup; this was all the remaining toxins.

She gently scooped up the top layer of pure white soup and took a small sip.

Instantly, a hundred flavors filled his mouth, and the pure nourishing power swept over Liu Qingzhu's entire body.

The mental and physical energy expended in the previous trials were fully replenished, and his internal strength became increasingly profound and refined.

In contrast, Wang Zhenhuai drank the sediment directly before Liu Qingzhu could make a move.

The poison instantly entered his body, causing his blood and qi to surge. However, much of the poison had already been removed, and with the protection of his Transcendent Realm, he was not poisoned. He just did not benefit as much as Liu Qingzhu.

Thus, the eighteen exquisite delicacies came to an end.

On the high platform above the eighteen delicacies challenge, only Liu Qingzhu solved each one perfectly, retreating unscathed. His mental state and cultivation both improved, firmly securing his position at the top of the challenge!

There was a faint feeling that he was about to break through the shackles of internal energy.

The portly chef on the stage gave Liu Qingzhu a deep look, then glanced at Lin Ji below the stage, a hint of awe flashing in his eyes. He cupped his hands and said in a deep voice:

"Eighteen delicacies, half divine, half poisonous, the only one to achieve a perfect finish—Liu Qingzhu!"

"The reward for first place in this round is hereby awarded immediately!"

The entire Qingkeping was shaken, and the eyes of thousands of martial artists were focused on Liu Qingzhu, filled with shock and admiration.

Wang Zhenhuai looked up at Lin Ji, who stood calmly below the stage, his eyes filled with increasing coldness and apprehension.

This old man is far more terrifying than he imagined! In this life-or-death situation on the mountaintop, he must strike first!

The competition at Qingkeping has come to an end.

This is only the first major hurdle in the three levels and twelve checkpoints.

Eight more challenges await these warriors.

Many martial artists stopped in their tracks when they saw the steep steps they had to take to climb the mountain.

So many warriors have died after only four trials. Will they risk their lives if they continue?

In the end, very few martial artists chose to climb to the top; nearly nine out of ten remained at Qingkeping.

Lin Ji and his group traveled uphill.

With fewer people, the ascent was much faster than before.

but.

The remaining challenges were somewhat unexpected for Lin Ji and his companions.

It wasn't as difficult as I had imagined.

It was just a simple puzzle game, and Lin Ji and his group quickly reached the top of the mountain.

……

The summit of Mount Hua is the most precipitous in the world.

Ten arenas are scattered throughout the area.

The arena was simply set up.

The wooden stakes, wedged into the rocky ravines, were barely enough to keep the arena from wobbling.

"Old man, look..."

Bai Yu'er pointed to the very center of the mountaintop.

A very ingenious viewing platform was built in the center of the mountaintop. The wooden piles under the platform were solid, making it much safer than a fighting ring.

On the observation deck.

High-ranking officials in the government.

The consul from Japan.

There were also Western envoys.

It sits high above.

As they chatted and laughed, they would occasionally point at the martial artists climbing up from the foot of the mountain, their eyes filled with contempt.

"Ha, is this all the martial arts people from your China have sent?"

In the Western group, a burly man crossed his arms and loudly mocked, "I thought Chinese martial arts had many capable people, but after climbing the mountain for so long, all we have left are these ugly and deformed ones?"

The foreigners on the observation deck burst into laughter.

The government officials on the reviewing stand smiled obsequiously, some even loudly echoing the sentiments.

"Mr. Rett is joking. It's just folk entertainment; it's not worthy of your attention."

These words immediately caused an uproar among the martial artists climbing the mountain.

"Bullshit!"

"You corrupt official! You traitor!"

"We're risking our lives down here, and you're all sucking up to the foreigners up here? Have you no shame?"

Curses erupted, and the crowd was filled with indignation.

The officials on the viewing platform just sneered and didn't care at all.

Below the observation deck.

There were ten figures.

The accountant from when we first arrived at the mountain was bowing and chatting with a muscular Western man next to him.

The burly man was covered in a layer of fine, fish-scale-like armor, which completely covered his skin and flesh.

Beside the accountant was the fat cook from Qingkeping, who had his arms crossed and was holding a pig-slaughtering knife more than a foot long.

The cook looked completely different from the one he had seen at Qingkeping. Upon closer inspection, one would find that his aura was entirely different from when he was at Qingkeping.

His sharp, menacing aura was simply overwhelming.

But the person standing next to the fat chef made Lin Ji's pupils shrink slightly.

Wang Zhenhuai!

Wang Zhenhuai was surprisingly a player from the Western camp.

Although Lin Ji had suspected it beforehand, he was still quite surprised when he actually saw it.

The remaining six were all masters from Japan and the West.

One of the figures caught Lin Ji's attention.

"Ahem!"

At the back of the crowd, a gaunt middle-aged man covered his mouth and coughed lightly.

Occasionally, she would take out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off her fingers.