Although Yancheng lacked the sound of birds chirping, it remained bustling. The heavily trafficked streets presented a scene of noisy, thriving prosperity.

On his way to Yancheng, Su Mohan had already sent word through his messengers to notify the assassins taking part in this job, telling them to blend into the various small sects on their own. He had done this because he planned to infiltrate the main force of the upcoming siege—the Qin Estate of the Money King.

Su Mohan felt that only by embedding himself within the Qin Estate could he better test and refine his skills in this grand battle, and more easily integrate into this violent, chaotic martial arts world.

However, the Qin Estate was not a place just anyone could join. Su Mohan had heard before that to enter the Qin Estate, one had to pass three difficult trials set by the estate itself.

The Qin Estate was divided into four wings: the East Wing, West Wing, South Wing, and North Wing.

Among these four wings, the East Wing was reserved strictly for the immediate Qin family line and did not recruit outsiders. The other three wings, however, were made up of martial arts heroes who had flocked there out of admiration. Therefore, anyone wishing to join the Qin Estate had to pass the trials designed by each of these three wings to even qualify. Yet, qualifying did not guarantee final entry, because the managers of the three wings still had to make their choices. If none of the three managers took a liking to you, you would just have to come back next time. If two or more managers wanted you, the resulting trouble would be even worse than being sent away, though that is a story for another time.

Amidst the heavy traffic and constant flow of people on the Yancheng street stood a handsome young man. In such a massive crowd, anyone would normally become completely unnoticeable, but he was different.

Standing in the crowd, he could not help but strike people with his stunning good looks. His sharp, heroic aura was so striking that it was virtually impossible for passersby not to look his way with deep admiration.

This was Su Mohan. In truth, it was not that he wanted to stand in the crowd to show off his handsome face; he honestly just had no idea which way to go at the upcoming crossroads.

When the passing pedestrians spotted Su Mohan, they instinctively steered clear of him, but their eyes never left him from start to finish. Some looks were filled with adoration, some with envy, but most were filled with sheer amazement.

Those who felt envious could only lament secretly, wondering why the gap between human beings could be so incredibly vast.

Those who felt amazed looked at him as if they were looking at a monster. How could such a handsome man exist in this world? He was practically an enchanting creature!

Those who felt adoration wanted nothing more than to go over and get to know him. Even speaking just a couple of words to him seemed like the greatest honor. If they could use the chance to get a little close to him, they might never take a bath again for the rest of their lives just to preserve the scent of this handsome man, never wanting to look at anyone else ever again.

Whether they were envious, amazed, or smitten, absolutely no one dared to step forward and chat. First, they feared the cold sword in Su Mohan’s hand; second, they feared being beaten to death by his other admirers. Who would dare to be the first one to step out of line and claim the prize for themselves? At least for now, no one dared. Even if Su Mohan were to ask them for directions, they would only back away, terrified of accidentally stirring up a hornet’s nest.

Su Mohan had been standing at this intersection for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, yet he had not managed to get any directions at all. He was starting to regret his choice, thinking he really should have stayed in disguise. Having never shown his true face to others, he truly had no idea that being a spectacularly beautiful man came with this kind of helplessness. It seemed that if a person was handsome to the extreme, it was not entirely a good thing. Everything has two sides, and it just depends on whether the downside is worse than the upside.

Just then, Su Mohan vaguely heard someone in the crowd mention the Qin Estate. He couldn’t help but prick up his ears to listen, and within a moment, he could clearly hear the conversation between the two men.

Passerby A said, “Let’s hurry over and watch the Qin Estate recruit heroes. There’s going to be a great show this time.”

Passerby B said, “What great show? How come I haven’t heard about it?”

Passerby A said, “I only just heard about it myself. This time, the Qin Estate is apparently going to siege the Baiping Sword Sect and act as the main force. Because they’re worried they won’t have enough manpower, they are frantically recruiting martial arts heroes right now!”

Passerby B said, “What’s so exciting about recruiting martial arts heroes? For so many years, the Qin Estate has always used that same old method to recruit heroes. We, the locals of Yancheng, are already sick and tired of watching it.”

Passerby A said, “This time is absolutely, absolutely different.”

Passerby A repeated the word absolutely several times, which piqued Passerby B’s interest, who followed up by asking, “What’s different this time? Don’t tell me they’ve set up a stage to recruit heroes the same way they do for a martial arts matchmaking tournament?”

Passerby A said, “How cliché of you. I guess if I don’t lay it out for you, you’ll never guess it. I heard that this time, the difficult trials designed by the three wings of the Qin Estate have been merged together, and it’s being called the hardest trial in history. Anyone who manages to stand out in there will serve as the main force in the siege against the Baiping Sword Sect this time. What’s more, when they return, they can join the immediate East Wing and be granted the Qin family surname.”

Everyone in Yancheng knew that being a part of the Qin Estate’s East Wing meant having your food and clothing taken care of for life. However, the East Wing had always been reserved for the immediate descendants of the Qin family. Though a few deeply loyal people who had won great merits had been allowed into the East Wing in the past, that was already a decade ago. Since this opportunity was so incredibly rare, it would definitely attract countless heroes. Putting aside how difficult the three combined trials might be, just having so many heroes gathered together was bound to be a spectacular show.

Many people around them overheard the conversation between Passerby A and Passerby B. They originally had chores to run, but hearing that there was such a once in a century show to watch, they headed straight in one direction. Su Mohan also moved along, flowing with the surge of the crowd.

Su Mohan followed the crowd out of the busiest streets, through the eastern city gate, and walked for several miles, yet not a single person stopped or even murmured about turning back. In their eyes, no matter how far away this place was set up, they had to see it for themselves. After all, if they missed it this time, they might have to wait another hundred years, and who could survive the toll of a hundred years?

The crowd quickly arrived at a beach east of Yancheng. The shoreline was already packed with spectators. There were elderly people leaning on walking sticks, young adults holding toddlers, and even disabled individuals missing arms or legs, but the vast majority were martial arts figures from all over the country. No matter what their backgrounds were, they all shared one common hobby: they loved a good spectacle.

Their eyes were all fixed on a thatched hall built in the middle of the beach. This thatched hall was constructed with exceptional detail, looking just like a palace made of straw.

The thatched hall covered a vast area and could probably hold several hundred people. From its location, it was easy to see that this hall must have been built very recently.

If it had been there for more than a day, the hall would likely have been destroyed by the rising and falling tides. Yet, it showed no signs of damage whatsoever. It seemed the builders had timed the gap between high tide and low tide perfectly in this part of the sea to construct such a grand thatched hall.

For the Qin Estate to spend so much manpower and resources to build such a thatched hall just for this extraordinary test, what kind of test was this going to be?