Metal Briefs...

Lei Kongming noticed that Ye Qingqing had taken a step back after tying the pendant and was saying something to Lei Longwei. The pendant should probably be the betrothal gift, but what annoyed him was that Uncle Shi should have definitely asked Lei Longwei to give the betrothal gift to Ye Qingqing first. However, Lei Longwei didn't give her the gift first, instead, it was Ye Qingqing who took the initiative to give the gift first.

It will make others think that we, the Lei family, are unhappy with the marriage and that it's because of the city lord's face that we agreed to it. But in reality, all the family members are very happy with this marriage... probably except Lei Longwei.

Suddenly, Lei Longwei also took a step forward and came closer to Ye Qingqing, but before anyone could understand what happened, Ye Qingqing's leg struck towards Lei Longwei's third leg.

Thankfully, this time Lei Longwei didn't lose consciousness as he stood there stiffly, his eyes wide open and his hand reaching toward Ye Qingqing's neck.

"Eh?"

At this time, everyone noticed a pendant in Lei Longwei's hand and realized it was a betrothal gift. Lei Longwei was also trying to put it around Ye Qingqing's neck, just as she had done to him.

Because of the distance, Lei Kongming could not hear what Ye Qingqing said to Lei Longwei, but she accepted the betrothal gift from Lei Longwei and left after exchanging some words.

After waiting for some time until Ye Qingqing got far away, Lei Kongming got up to meet Lei Longwei.

As Lei Kongming met Lei Longwei, he found him standing next to the tree with a slight smile, as if his previous scenes of embarrassment had never happened.

"Brother Long, how was your conversation with Sister Qing? Did you get beaten again?" Lei Kongming also decided to act along with Lei Longwei and pretend not to know anything, in case his good brother decided to commit suicide due to embarrassment.

"Beaten? Brother Kong, why do you always think that I will be beaten? We had a pleasant conversation and exchanged the betrothal gift."

"Kyaaaaaa!"

Before Lei Kongming could pretend to be confused any further, he heard a scream. Turning around, he found that it was the Lei family girl who was eating melon seeds with him. At this moment, her face was red as she covered her eyes with one hand and pointed toward Lei Longwei's waist with the other hand.

Previously, he wanted to avoid embarrassing Lei Longwei, so he decided to refrain from asking about Lei Longwei's torn clothes. But now, he could no longer avoid it.

"Eh?" Lei Kongming discovered that there was a golden light flashing from under Lei Longwei's torn clothes.

"Aren't those the metal briefs I gifted you as a congratulatory gift? No wonder, Brother Long, you didn't lose consciousness after receiving Sister Qing's kick."

"…....."

"....."

"....."

"Brother Long, don't worry, I will keep my mouth shut. Brother Long, why do you keep digging? Brother Long, stop…"

...….

At this time, Lei Longwei had a cold face, while Lei Kongming and the girl who was also peeking with him stood behind him with embarrassed smiles. All the other Lei family members had confused expressions because they couldn't understand what happened.

Suddenly, a very powerful aura spread all over the place, enveloping both the Lei family and the other participants. It was so powerful that even Lei Kongming had difficulty breathing, and the other Lei family members had already started sweating.

An old man floated above the Purple Cloud Palace gate, and he was also the source of the powerful aura that covered everyone.

"Firstly, I want to congratulate all of you who are here. Just being able to receive the token means that you are better than 95% of people out there. But this is not the end of your journey; it is just the beginning…"

The old man continued to give a long motivational speech, but Lei Kongming didn't bother to listen. It's not that he didn't agree with the old man's opinion, but oftentimes talent and hard work get crushed by external circumstances.

A very simple example is that if a casual cultivator who is both hardworking and talented accidentally provokes a second-generation playboy who is also a powerful sect disciple, then what awaits him is likely total destruction.

Of course, there is a high chance that the old man will not mention this bitter reality, otherwise, he may truly earn Lei Kongming's respect.

"And lastly, I want to mention that for those who obtained the token deceitfully, it is best if you retreat now. You can leave this place peacefully. However, once the selection starts and you are caught, you will be punished heavily."

"Eh? Brother Long, is this old man talking about people like me?"

Lei Kongming's question attracted strange glances from other Lei family members because they also knew that Lei Kongming was in seclusion when the token was distributed to the selected people.

"Why do you always ask stupid questions? Your token was given by my mom and registered your breath as soon as you held it," replied Lei Longwei in a cold tone, apparently still angry about what happened earlier.

"Then who is the old man referring to?"

"The old man is talking about those who snatch the token or buy it at a high price from other candidates."

"Oh"

Lei Kongming nodded, adopting an expression of being taught, likely to calm Lei Longwei's anger.

After waiting for some time and seeing that no one was leaving, the old man waved his hand and flew towards the distance, asking everyone to follow him.

They didn't travel far before they found a huge mountain in front of them, with the old man standing at the peak. Stairs were attached to the mountain, leading directly to the top, but there were disciples of the Purple Cloud Palace standing at the bottom, preventing everyone from moving further.

*Cough*

The old man coughed to attract everyone's attention and said, "For the next stage of selection, all you have to do is climb the stairs and reach the peak. Those who are able to reach the top 100 steps will qualify for the next stage of selection."

At this time, the Purple Cloud Palace disciples stopped blocking the way to the mountain, but no one moved forward. Everyone was waiting for others to check the situation so they could get a general idea of the content of the test.

Neither the old man nor the Purple Cloud Palace disciples urged them to move forward, but after half an hour of waiting, some people decided to take the first step.

As soon as they took a step... nothing happened. They were able to climb the stairs step by step without any problems.

Seeing this, more people grew impatient and started climbing the stairs, but no abnormalities were found.

Lei Kongming grew suspicious when he realized that everyone was able to climb the stairs easily. He didn't think the Purple Cloud Palace selection would be this simple, especially after learning about the previous year's selection process.

Sometimes, even knowing there might be a pitfall, you still have to proceed. So Lei Kongming stopped wasting time and led all the Lei family members to climb the stairs like the others.