Chapter 7: The Cult of the Gods

On the main street, Jiang Ning’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked ahead.

Before him was a procession beating drums and gongs.

"Big Brother, what is this?" Confusion showed in Jiang Ning’s eyes.

Jiang Li took a brief look, and upon recognizing the familiar emblem, he spoke: "These should be followers of the God-Worshiping Cult among the common folk. They are heading to the City God Temple to offer sacrifices and pray for blessings."

Jiang Ning’s expression turned to one of astonishment: "The God-Worshiping Cult? Isn't the God-Worshiping Cult a target for suppression by the yamen? Why would they be going to the City God Temple to offer sacrifices?"

Jiang Li shook his head: "I’m not sure either. According to the higher-ups, the general idea is that we don't need to worry about ordinary believers; our mission is only to suppress the cultists of the God-Worshiping Cult."

Hearing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

With such an approach, how could they ever suppress the God-Worshiping Cult? This attitude of indulgence would only cause the cult to grow more rampant.

He understood the immense power of religious organizations all too well.

In the history of his past life, the power of such organizations had been demonstrated countless times.

Whether it was the Yellow Turban Rebellion that swept through the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement at the end of the Qing Dynasty, both had displayed the terrifying power of such groups.

Even in that society with developed civilization and advanced technology, the world's largest religion still existed in the distant West, and it, too, had countless fanatics.

In this world—a world that perhaps once held gods and possessed extraordinary powers—any such organization would become even more formidable, with its ability to gather hearts and strength multiplied.

Jiang Ning did not believe that the three great families of Luoshui County and the County Magistrate were unaware of the dangers of indulging the God-Worshiping Cult in this manner.

At this moment, he was even more certain of his previous judgment and the information revealed by what Xu Yunfeng had said.

The current Luoshui County was clearly a battleground between a "dragon crossing the river" and the "local snakes."

His eldest brother, sister-in-law, and he himself had all been dragged into this struggle.

He dared not place any hope in the County Magistrate’s sense of loyalty or righteousness, so he understood that if he wanted to jump out of this whirlpool, he had to find a third party.

Head Constable Wang, stationed outside Luoshui County, was that third party. Holding military power, he was the source of the confidence needed to sit on the sidelines and watch.

If he wanted to leverage Wang's influence to escape this whirlpool and save his brother and sister-in-law, he could only rely on the connection through Wang Jin of the Canglang Martial Arts Hall.

Both shared the surname Wang and were blood relatives.

As long as he passed the Canglang Martial Arts Hall’s test and became a true disciple, he would have the qualifications to leverage that influence.

*I just hope the panel is magical enough!* he whispered to himself.

Soon after, the two brushed past the procession of cult followers and continued straight along the wide avenue toward the inner city.

Half an hour later, thanks to Jiang Li’s status as a constable, the two passed through the wall separating the inner and outer cities without obstruction and entered the inner city of Luoshui County.

In Luoshui County, there was a distinction between the inner and outer cities. The outer city was generally inhabited by commoners like peddlers and laborers, and the public security was relatively chaotic.

The inner city was different. The five-zhang-high inner city wall divided the two into separate worlds.

The people living in the inner city were either rich or noble, and the security was far superior to that of the outer city. The Canglang Martial Arts Hall was located in the inner city.

Upon entering the inner city, Jiang Ning felt as if he had arrived in a new world.

The roads, extending in all directions, were lined with towering, sturdy trees and vibrant flower beds.

Even the air carried a faint floral scent, and the roads were clean and wide enough for five carriages to travel side by side.

"To the Canglang Martial Arts Hall!"

The two boarded a carriage, and Jiang Li handed ten copper coins to the driver.

"Understood, sir!" The driver bowed and nodded.

The next moment, the carriage sped through the inner city with the two men inside.

After a full stick of incense had burned, the carriage slowly came to a halt in front of a large compound.

Canglang Martial Arts Hall.

Looking at those four characters above and the footprint of the building in front of him, no one would doubt the strength of this martial arts hall.

In the inner city, every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.

Knowing how hard Jiang Li had worked for so many years without being able to move his family into the inner city, one could tell how outrageous the prices were here.

The Canglang Martial Arts Hall was clearly vast; the wall in front of the hall alone spanned fifty or sixty meters.

"Halt!"

As soon as the two approached, they were stopped by two men standing on either side of the gate.

"Please announce us; Jiang Li has come to visit with his younger brother as agreed!" Jiang Li cupped his hands.

The two men at the gate sized Jiang Li up. Even though they saw he was wearing a constable’s uniform, their expressions remained indifferent, showing none of the fear that ordinary commoners usually displayed toward officials.

Then, one of them turned and walked into the martial arts hall.

A moment later, the man who had gone inside walked out with long strides.

"Master Wang says only your brother may enter."

Hearing this, Jiang Li nodded: "Understood!"

He then looked at Jiang Ning: "Little Brother, I have already paid the apprenticeship fee for you in advance. Once you go in, Master Wang will teach you martial arts, but to pass the test and become a true disciple of the Canglang Martial Arts Hall, you must rely on yourself!"

Jiang Ning nodded: "Don't worry, Big Brother! I will definitely become a true disciple of the hall."

Their conversation fell clearly into the ears of the two men guarding the gate.

Hearing this, both of them showed slight expressions of disdain.

Beyond that, they said nothing.

After all, they were long accustomed to this.

In their time guarding the gate, they had seen countless ambitious youths enter the Canglang Martial Arts Hall full of longing.

Before entering, who wasn't full of confidence?

Most of them were children of wealthy families from the inner city, and there was no shortage of direct descendants from great clans.

One had to know that while literature was for the poor, martial arts were for the rich; learning martial arts was a pastime for the wealthy.

Who among them didn't have abundant resources, having been nourished by precious medicinal herbs since childhood, possessing extraordinary bone structure, and naturally being more capable of going further on the path of martial arts than ordinary people?

Yet, to this day, only a handful had truly become disciples of the Canglang Martial Arts Hall.

It was difficult enough for children of wealthy and great families to pass the test; it was even harder for this youth, who looked like he was born to an ordinary family at first glance.

For an ordinary family, just coming up with the apprenticeship fee was extremely difficult.

After all, it was one hundred taels of silver—enough for a prosperous family of three to live on for three to five years.

And that was just the registration fee; there would be even more expenses for practicing martial arts later on.

Not to mention anything else, the daily intake of meat was a basic necessity for those practicing martial arts; without it, one would eventually ruin their body.

Therefore, they did not think highly of this somewhat thin and weak-looking youth.

"Follow me!" one of the burly men said to Jiang Ning.

Afterward, watching Jiang Ning’s figure disappear through the side gate of the Canglang Martial Arts Hall, Jiang Li left with peace of mind.