In less than half an hour, Yan Liqiang took a shower and changed into a brand new outfit. Looking at himself in the mirror, Yan Liqiang almost didn't recognize himself.
Yan Liqiang in the mirror looked brand new. He wore a purple silk crown on his head, which was fastened with an amber flying feather copper hairpin. He was wearing a blue silk robe and a pair of trousers of the same color. Under the robe, he had armor, a shirt, and an inner collar. Around the waist of the blue gown, he wore a silver belt decorated with red turquoise, and on his feet he wore a pair of thick-soled deerskin leather shoes.
With this change, a handsome and elegant young man with extraordinary demeanor instantly appeared in front of Yan Liqiang. Not to mention anything else, even if the dead Wu Tao was called in front of Yan Liqiang again, Wu Tao might not recognize that the man in front of him was the young man he saw in the market yesterday.
The saying that clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha is absolutely true.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Yan Liqiang was also very satisfied.
When Yan Liqiang walked out of the room again, the fat shopkeeper looked at Yan Liqiang as if he was watching a magic show. He was completely stunned. He couldn't believe that the beggar just now and the young man now were the same person. He looked at Yan Liqiang, then at the changing room, and was completely speechless.
"Boss, just burn or throw away those worn-out clothes. Goodbye!"
Yan Liqiang bowed to the shopkeeper and then walked out of the store.
"My goodness, is this young man performing magic tricks..." The shopkeeper muttered to himself as he watched Yan Liqiang leave.
…
After arriving on the street outside, Yan Liqiang found someone at random and asked how to get to the Huzhou branch of Lingshan Sect, and then went straight to the Huzhou branch of Lingshan Sect.
…
An hour later, Yan Liqiang arrived outside the Lingshan Sect's Huzhou branch.
Lingshan Sect is indeed worthy of being one of the four major sects in the world. It is just a branch in Huzhou, but it occupies an area of more than 400 acres in the land-scarce Huzhou city. From a distance, the Huzhou branch of Lingshan Sect looks like a palace. Behind the high walls and red tiles, there are lush trees everywhere. Tall and imposing pavilions and other buildings are hidden in the lush shadows of the trees.
The gate of Lingshan Sect's Huzhou branch is like a miniature version of the gate of Huzhou city. It faces an open square. At this moment, almost a thousand young people have gathered outside the gate. Those young people are queuing in long lines and divided into several groups to participate in the selection.
Yan Liqiang had only seen such scenes in his previous life at the registration sites for the civil service examinations.
On the other side of the line, there is a registration office where hundreds of people are also queuing. Registration is the first round of selection. Those who are qualified will get a badge at the registration office and can participate in the subsequent selection. Those who are not qualified will be screened out at the registration office.
Yan Liqiang also came to the registration office and stood at the back of the line, ready to register.
In the registration line, Yan Liqiang attracted a lot of attention as soon as he arrived. Many people were secretly looking at Yan Liqiang, especially a few young women in the registration line. When they saw Yan Liqiang, their eyes lit up.
"Hello, brother. Nice to meet you. My name is Lu Wengang. Today I am here to sign up for the Lingshan Sect's Huzhou Branch disciple selection. I wonder what your name is..."
The person standing in front of Yan Liqiang was also a teenager of about fifteen or sixteen years old. The boy looked a bit honest, but his eyes were very smart, and there was a cleverness in his simplicity. When he saw Yan Liqiang coming, the boy took the initiative to greet Yan Liqiang.
"Hello, my name is Yan Liqiang!" Yan Liqiang smiled.
"Brother, you are not from Huzhou?"
"Well, no..."
"Oh, I'm not from Huzhou either. I'm from Xiaoshan County, Guanzhou. I heard that the Lingshan Sect's Huzhou branch is recruiting disciples this year, so I came here specially..."
"Does the Lingshan Sect's Huzhou branch usually rarely recruit disciples?"
"Of course, the last time the Lingshan Sect's Huzhou Branch recruited disciples was three years ago. It's not easy to come across such an opportunity. Brother, have you passed the horse stance test..."
"It's past..."
"It's good that you passed it. Did you see those people who just left? They didn't pass the horse stance test and couldn't even register. To enter the Lingshan Sect's Huzhou branch, unless you have special talents, you have to pass the horse stance test at least just to register!" Lu Wengang turned around and said to Yan Liqiang, then blinked, "In fact, I just passed the horse stance test two months ago. I want to join the Lingshan Sect, not to learn any martial arts from the Lingshan Sect..."
"Brother Lu, if you didn't join Lingshan Sect to learn martial arts, then why?" Yan Liqiang asked curiously.
Lu Wengang raised his head and said in an admiring tone, "The one who is now in charge of the Lingshan Sect's Qianji Hall is none other than Zhang Yourong, the world's number one master of mechanical devices. I heard that when Zhang Yourong was 30 years old, he made a flying wooden bird that could fly in the sky for hours without falling to the ground. It's amazing. If I join the Lingshan Sect, I might be able to enter the Lingshan Sect's Qianji Hall in the future and learn the art of mechanical devices from the world's number one master of mechanical devices. That would be much more interesting than practicing martial arts..."
Since there is an emperor who likes to be a carpenter and locksmith, it is not surprising that there is a boy who joins Lingshan Sect because he likes mechanical engineering. Yan Liqiang smiled in understanding and said, "I wish Brother Lu to join Lingshan Sect's Qianji Hall as soon as possible..."
"Well, my dream is to make wooden oxen and flowing horses one day. If those wooden oxen and flowing horses that don't eat or drink can be made to work in the fields and pull things for people on the road, people will have more free time, and the poor will become rich and have enough food to eat. Isn't that interesting..."
"Yes, very interesting, this is a good idea!" Yan Liqiang smiled. He did not tell Lu Wengang that the wooden oxen and flowing horses he dreamed of were not difficult to manufacture. All he needed was a steam engine. However, no matter what kind of machine it was, it could only improve labor efficiency and productivity. Machines could not change the nature of social production relations and class contradictions. Even with wooden oxen and flowing horses, the poor would still be poor, and the rich would still be rich.
Hearing Yan Liqiang's praise for his idea, Lu Wengang suddenly became interested, as if he had met a bosom friend, and talked to Yan Liqiang non-stop about his favorite mechanical arts...
…
After waiting in line for more than half an hour, some of the people in front passed the registration process and received a badge to queue up at the side. Others did not pass and left with sighs.
When it was Lu Wengang's turn, Lu Wengang told him about his home town and address, and showed a little of his knowledge of mechanical engineering. The person who registered checked the strength of his fist, nodded, asked him to leave a handprint, gave him a sign, and asked him to line up on the other side.
"Brother Yan, I'll wait for you over there..." Lu Wengang happily waved the sign in his hand towards Yan Liqiang and ran over to queue up.
…
As soon as Lu Wengang left, it was Yan Liqiang's turn next.
"Name?"
"Yan Liqiang..."
"age?"
"14..."
"Home address, parents' names, what do they do for a living?"
Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment...
Seeing Yan Liqiang hesitate, the man at the Lingshan Sect registration office stared at Yan Liqiang's face and said seriously, "I remind you that once you become a disciple of the Lingshan Sect, the Lingshan Sect will send people to the place where you come to verify the information you said. If it is false, you will be expelled from the Lingshan Sect at the least, and treated as a spy at the worst, and executed immediately..."
Yan Liqiang was silent for a moment, then he spoke, "I have been wandering around the world since I was a child, without a fixed place to live, and I have never seen my parents..."
"Who raised you, then?"
"An old beggar. He died several years ago!"
The two people from Lingshan Sect at the registration desk whispered to each other for a few words, then shook their heads at Yan Liqiang, their faces turning cold, "Lingshan Sect never accepts disciples with unknown origins, so please go back, next one..."
(End of this chapter)