Amidst the curses, the tall young man’s body moved, a layer of blue light surged around him, protecting his clothes as he disappeared into the hall, heading straight for the inner part of the Dayuan Sect.

　　As he vanished, only then did David Clark, still kneeling and trembling on the stone platform outside the hall, finally manage to speak respectfully toward the interior, “Thank you, seniors.”

　　“Idiot!” The thin, sallow-faced youth rolled his eyes and cursed.

　　Time passed in a flash. After about a quarter of an hour, two more figures rushed through the rain curtain at another entrance deep within the main hall. One was surrounded by blue light, the other by blazing flames. Once inside, the one wreathed in fire finally withdrew the flames, revealing a strikingly handsome young face, who then walked toward David Clark with a strange expression.

　　“You’re still here?”

　　“Senior Gu? Please, Senior Gu, have mercy!” Only then did David Clark rejoice.

　　When the Dayuan Sect recruited disciples, over ten thousand youths came to pay their respects at the mountain. The applicants were divided into more than a dozen groups for the entrance examination, with many examiners in charge. The Brian Harris before him was the examiner for David Clark’s group, and it was he who had smiled and said that as long as David Clark showed sincerity, he would make an exception.

　　“……” Brian Harris’s expression froze, then he burst out laughing. “You actually believed that, you fool? I was just saying it casually, and you really knelt here for so long? You… hahahaha~”

　　Laughing wildly, Brian Harris nearly laughed himself sick.

　　With his status, even if he made an exception to accept a menial disciple, it wouldn’t matter. But how could he possibly accept a useless person rejected by forty or fifty sects? Did this guy think the Dayuan Sect was just any place? The Dayuan Sect was a prestigious sect in Wangshan County, not a refuge for failures!

　　He had only been joking at the time, just to tease this fool.

　　“……”

　　As Brian Harris laughed, the previously delighted David Clark suddenly froze, his pale face staring straight at Brian Harris, eyes full of disbelief. “Senior Gu?”

　　“You really are something, but only in how stupid you are. Get lost!” Brian Harris’s expression changed, and with a cold sneer, he stepped forward to stand before David Clark, stretched out his leg, and with a bang, kicked the still-kneeling David Clark so hard he tumbled backward.

　　Thud, thud, thud—under the torrential rain, David Clark, in his tattered clothes, rolled down the hundreds of stone steps like a sack, his stiff, trembling body bumping against the steps all the way. Dozens of breaths later, he finally gritted his teeth and lay sprawled at the foot of the mountain, his head battered and bleeding, face bruised and swollen, and his whole body covered in mud.

　　He really had been played?! He really had been played!

　　He truly couldn’t believe that someone so high and mighty would stoop to toy with someone as insignificant as him. But after being played, what David Clark felt most wasn’t anger, but heartbreak—a pain that tore at his soul.

　　He forced himself up with his arms, for after kneeling for three days and nights, his legs had long since lost all feeling. Propping up his upper body with his arms, rain mixed with blood slid down from his head, blurring his vision. Only then did David Clark take a deep breath and suddenly slam his fist hard into the ground!

　　With a bang, the back of his right hand split open from the impact. In a hoarse voice, David Clark said, “Thank you for your lesson, Senior Gu. David Clark will surely repay this someday!”

　　His body ached everywhere, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. The other had given him hope—just as he thought he might finally enter the world of martial artists, just as he saw a chance to find a way to save his father, just as he was filled with anticipation and excitement—he was told it was all a joke.

　　At this moment, no matter what David Clark had been through, he could no longer suppress his feelings!

　　He didn’t mind being played, or even being kicked and insulted. After all, there had been times at other sects’ entrance exams when, as soon as he gave his name, the examiners—knowing his “reputation”—would kick him out on the spot. He was used to that. But this time, the other had trampled and toyed with his hope of saving his father, and that he could not bear!

　　“Hm?”

　　With a hoarse growl, Brian Harris at the top of the steps let out a surprised sound, then strode down to the foot of the mountain in a few steps. His black robe was rimmed with rolling red flames, and the rain evaporated as soon as it neared him. Standing in the rain, Brian Harris frowned and glanced at David Clark a few times, then twitched his lips. What did this mean?

　　“With just you? You’ll always be fit only to kneel and beg before me. And as long as I’m displeased, I can take your worthless life at any time! Don’t believe me? If you have the ability, stand up in front of me first!” With a twitch of his lips, Brian Harris sneered coldly.

　　Amid the sneer, David Clark below tried to push himself up with both hands.

　　Even though his right hand was split open and pressing on the ground sent waves of soul-crushing pain through him, he still gritted his teeth and lifted his upper body.

　　But in the next instant, with a thud, David Clark crashed heavily to the ground again—his legs truly had no feeling at all!

　　His head spinning from the impact, David Clark took another deep breath and, using both hands, struggled to rise again.

　　“Thud~”

　　“Thud~”

　　……

　　Again and again he struggled, again and again he fell. His legs were numb, and his upper body was covered in blood, but in the pouring rain, David Clark never wavered, never gave up, just gritted his teeth and tried again and again.

　　Blood mixed with rain slid down his face—he didn’t even know if there were tears left. He only knew he had to stand up!!

　　“Thud~”

　　“Thud~”

　　……