Yumen Pass is the first pass between the Gilded Kingdom in the north and the Yunxiao Kingdom in the south. On both sides are thousands of feet of mountains stretching into the clouds. It itself is thirty miles long. Between the two hundred-foot-high city walls connecting the mountains is the highest point of the Yunxiao Kingdom. A city near the northwest frontier, Yumen City.
To the north and south of Yumen Pass is a vast desert. In the past, it was said that this place was all fertile grassland, but this level has experienced countless battles over the past millennium, and both sides were completely deserted due to attacks by powerful men.
One hundred and thirty years ago, ten Tianwu Realm experts from the Yunxiao Kingdom took action together and completely destroyed the Yumen Pass at that time, regaining three thousand miles of lost land. Therefore, the current Yumen Pass is a new city that was renovated a hundred years ago.
However, the continuous fighting still added countless scars to the northern city wall.
A long procession, numbering up to a thousand people, walked out from the northern city wall of Yumen Pass. The people were dressed in different clothes, but they were all men between the ages of seventeen or eighteen to thirty-five or sixteen. They were walking on the desolate desert, heading towards the Three Gorges. Ten miles away, the "Jade Dragon Army" military camp closest to Yumen Pass was marching.
In the queue, people talked to each other and occasionally laughed. However, soon a sergeant on horseback came over quickly and shouted loudly to stop the conversation and laughter: "You are here to sign up to join the army, not to visit casinos or brothels! You all should be serious. If you don't want to go, go back to Yumen now." city!"
“…”
The people who were preparing to join the army naturally did not dare to offend their superiors at this time, so they all fell silent.
But there are also people whose mouths are still not closed tightly.
"What are you doing? You're so arrogant just because you have a horse? I'll be your boss in three days, and you're showing off your authority to me?"
A chubby young man made a face at the sergeant who was riding forward. His voice was drowned in the desert wind and sand, and only a few people nearby could hear him clearly.
The chubby young man seemed to feel that the scolding was not enough, so he spat forward fiercely, and then stretched out his arm to poke a strong young man next to him who was about eighteen or nineteen years old: "Brother, what is your name? Look? You have an outstanding appearance and extraordinary cultivation. You must be the young master of some family. Let’s be friends! My name is Wu Sanjun, from Qingling County.”
"Qi Yun."
The young man's tone was very calm. He turned his head and revealed a face that made the chubby young man raise his eyebrows: "Brother, what's going on on your face?"
However, I saw that on the right side of this young man's face, from the eyebrow bone downwards, there was a long scar that stood upright from his eyes to his cheek. It was particularly ferocious. If ordinary people suddenly saw it, they would probably He was so frightened that he didn't even want to take a second look.
"It's nothing. When I killed people before, I was stabbed back."
The young man named Qi Yun said calmly: "The man wanted to rob me in a remote place because of his wealth. I stabbed him to death with a sword. I threw the knife out before he died. I couldn't dodge and almost failed. "
His tone was very calm, as if he was talking about a very ordinary thing.
"Strong! If you dare to kill someone, it means you are a ruthless person!"
Wu Sanjun stretched out his hand and hit his chest, and it felt very strong indeed: "Although my brother used the Qi Condensation Technique, looking at his posture, he must have already reached the Spiritual Martial Realm!"
"Yes. Brother, you are very strong. I can't see through your cultivation."
Although Qi Yun looked like he would keep away from strangers, he didn't seem to resent Wu Sanjun talking to him.
Wu Sanjun chuckled: "That's right! When we enter the military camp, I will be a junior commander at the level of a thousand captains! If brothers are interested, you can join me under my command!"
Qi Yun seemed to be curious and asked: "Can I still choose my own position in the military camp?"
At this time, a furry little head emerged from the clothes on Qi Yun's chest.
Wu Sanjun's eyes flashed: "You can't choose the position, but we can sign up at the same place! We are all new here, so we can take care of each other... Brother, is this your spiritual beast? Why is it a field mouse!"
The furry thing climbed onto Qi Yun's shoulder and stared at Wu Sanjun with a pair of eyes. It had brown and gray fur, very close to the color of the desert.
"This is the monster 'Ground Rat'. It is very good at finding elixirs growing underground and detecting enemies around it." Qi Yun said, "I used to hunt for a living, and this is my best companion!"
Wu Sanjun was startled for a moment: "So you are from a poor family!" Then Wu Sanjun hit Qi Yun's chest again: "Then I just want to make more friends with you... Anyway, the journey is boring, let's chat for a while!"
The two chatted for almost the whole time, and Wu Sanjun roughly understood that Qi Yun was from a minority mountain village in the southern part of the kingdom and was a well-known local hunter. He came to Yumen Pass after a half-year journey because he wanted to join the army and perform meritorious service and win a reward. Return home proudly and marry the daughter of a retired veteran from their side.
Wu Sanjun also introduced his identity. He was from Qingling County. He was a branch of the Wu family, a prominent local family. He came to Yumen to train in the army. After five years of military service and sufficient meritorious service, he would return. He went home to serve as the commander of the local garrison.
"You and I, as well as the people around us, all want to make a difference at Yumen Pass!" Wu Sanjun said with emotion, "Whether you are a child from a poor family or a child from a wealthy family, if you achieve great fame on the battlefield, you will be promoted to a higher rank. The best way to become a marquis and worship a prime minister! Hey, sometimes I envy those sour poets. Not long ago, a talented man came out of the royal capital and composed a poem, "When will the bright moon come? Ask the wine to the sky." I was named a Bachelor of Literature by the King! Tsk! If I could be a Bachelor of Literature, I would chat and laugh with the King every day, and even come to Yumen Pass!"
The people around him had different expressions and different opinions after hearing Wu Sanjun's remarks. Some people expressed envy that they were so lucky to become famous with a poem, and they would have to work less for half their life; some laughed it off and said that it was all about elegant people, and it had nothing to do with rough guys like themselves; some people were quite disdainful, saying that literati are useless and have no real power. No, if you want to become famous, you must have enough strength. For example, the young master later awakened the useless martial spirit and disappeared from the royal capital.
"Brother Yun, what do you think?" Wu Sanjun noticed that Qi Yun's expression had a subtle fluctuation just now, and he was suddenly curious.
"Me?" Qi Yun smiled and immediately responded, "I also think that no matter how good the lyrics are, it is of no use! But now that we are in the Yumen Army, we don't have to worry about those romantic things and work hard to improve ourselves. , make achievements, and then go home and marry a wife is the way to go!"