On the street, Jiang Ning's gaze suddenly stiffened as he looked ahead.
Before them was a procession beating drums and gongs.
"Big brother, what is this?" Jiang Ning's eyes revealed confusion.
Jiang Li took a quick glance and upon recognizing the familiar symbol, he immediately spoke, "This should be the followers of the God Worship Sect among the common people, going to the City God Temple to worship and pray for blessings from the God."
Jiang Ning's expression instantly showed surprise, "The God Worship Sect? Isn't the God Worship Sect the target of eradication by the government office? Why would they go to the City God Temple to pray for blessings?"
Jiang Li shook his head, "I'm not sure either. According to the higher-ups, the general idea is that ordinary followers need not be concerned; the task is to eradicate the followers of the God Worship Sect."
Hearing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but shake his head silently.
With such an approach, it was impossible to suppress the God Worship Sect, and this indulgent attitude would only make the God Worship Sect more rampant.
He knew all too well the strong power of the sect.
In previous lives, history had shown countless times the strength of the sect.
Whether it was the Yellow Turban Rebellion that swept through the end of the Eastern Han or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement at the end of the Qing Dynasty, both had demonstrated the terrifying power of the sect.
Even in that advanced and technologically developed civilization, the same terrifyingly powerful world's largest religious sect existed in the far West with countless zealots.
In this world, where there might once have been gods and supernatural powers, any religious sect would become even more terrifying, gathering both hearts and power to a greater extent.
Jiang Ning also didn't believe that the three major families and the County Lord of Luoshui County were unaware of the dangers of indulging the God Worship Sect.
At this moment, he was more certain than ever of his previous judgment and the information revealed by Xu Yunfeng's words.
Presently, Luoshui County was clearly in a struggle between outsiders and local snakes.
And his elder brother, sister-in-law, and himself had all been entangled in this struggle.
Given the County Lord's emphasis on loyalty and righteousness, he dared not place any reliance on him; thus, he understood that if he wanted to extricate himself from this vortex, he must seek a third party.
Master Wang, stationed outside of Luoshui County, was that third party, holding military power and providing him a foundation to observe from afar.
Now if he wanted to use his influence to escape this vortex and save his elder brother's family at the same time, then he could only rely on the relationship with Wang Jin from the Canglang Martial Arts Hall.
Both of them surnamed Wang, sharing a blood relation.
As long as he passed the tests of the Canglang Martial Arts Hall and became a true disciple of the hall, then he would qualify to leverage this influence.
"All I hope is that the panel is magical enough!" he murmured silently to himself.
...
Soon after, the two of them brushed past the procession of God Worship Sect followers and then proceeded directly towards the Inner City along the wide avenue.
An hour later, thanks to Jiang Li's constable identity, they passed unimpeded through the wall separating the Outer City and Inner City and entered the Inner City of Luoshui County.
In Luoshui County, there was a distinction between the Inner City and Outer City; the Outer City was generally inhabited by commoners such as peddlers and porters, where the public order was rather chaotic.
The Inner City, on the other hand, was different. The five-zhang-tall walls of the Inner City separated it into two different worlds.
Those living in the Inner City were either rich or noble, and thus public order was far superior to that of the Outer City. The Canglang Martial Arts Hall was located within the Inner City.
Upon entering the Inner City, Jiang Ning felt as though he had arrived in a new world.
The roads, connecting in all directions, were lined with tall, stout trees and contrasting flowerbeds.
Even the air carried a light scent of flowers, with roads that were clean and wide enough to accommodate five carriages side by side.
"To the Canglang Martial Arts Hall!"
The two of them got into a carriage, and Jiang Li took out ten coins and spoke to the coachman.
"Alright, sir!" the coachman bowed his head and nodded.
The next moment, the carriage sped through the Inner City with them.
After half an hour had passed, the carriage finally came to a slow stop in front of a large courtyard.
Canglang Martial Arts Hall.
Looking at the four large characters overhead and the size of the buildings in front, no one would doubt the strength of this Martial Arts Hall.
The Inner City can indeed be described as a place where land is as valuable as gold.
It had been so many years of struggle for Jiang Li without being able to lead his whole family into the Inner City, which spoke volumes about the outrageous prices here.
The Canglang Martial Arts Hall itself seemed to cover a very large area, with just the walls in front of the hall alone spanning fifty to sixty meters.
"Halt there!"
As the two approached, they were stopped by two men standing on either side of the gate.
"Please announce us, Jiang Li is here with his younger brother as promised for a visit!" Jiang Li greeted with a bow.
The two men at the door took a closer look at Jiang Li, and even though they saw Jiang Li dressed in the uniform of a constable, their expressions remained indifferent, showing none of the usual fear civilians held upon seeing a constable.
Then one of them turned and walked into the Martial Arts Hall.
...
A short while later.
The man who had gone inside quickly returned.
"Master Wang said that only your brother may enter," he stated.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Li nodded, "Understood!"
Then he turned to Jiang Ning, "Little brother, I've already taken care of the apprenticeship fee for you in advance. After you go in, Master Wang will teach you martial arts, but to pass the challenges and become a true disciple of Canglang Martial Arts Hall, everything will still depend on you!"
Jiang Ning nodded, "Don't worry, big brother! I will definitely become a true disciple of the hall."
Their conversation was clearly overheard by the two men guarding the gate.
Listening to this, both men showed a slight disdain.
Beyond that, they said nothing more.
After all, they had seen too many ambitious young men filled with dreams entering Canglang Martial Arts Hall during their tenure as gatekeepers.
Before entering the hall, wasn't everyone full of confidence?
Many were rich youths from the Inner City, even direct descendants from major families.
It's well known that the wealthy engage in martial arts, a pastime of the affluent.
These youths had been nourished with precious herbs from young, their extraordinary talents predisposed them to advance further in the path of martial arts than ordinary people.
But so far, only a few had really become disciples of Canglang Martial Arts Hall.
It was difficult for rich youths and scions from major families to pass the tests and become disciples of Canglang Martial Arts Hall, let alone someone who at a glance appeared to be from an ordinary family.
For ordinary families, just coming up with the apprenticeship fee was extremely difficult.
After all, it was a hundred taels of silver, enough to sustain a well-off family for three to five years.
And that was just the registration fee; practicing martial arts required much more money going forward.
Not to mention others, just daily meat consumption was essential for practitioners to maintain their physical condition, without it, they would ruin their bodies through training.
Thus, they held no high hopes for this somewhat frail-looking young man.
"Come with me," said one of the burly men to Jiang Ning.
Afterward.
Watching as Jiang Ning's figure disappeared through the side entrance of Canglang Martial Arts Hall, Jiang Li also left, reassured.