2: Passed!

The next day, Jiang Hanwen got up with dark circles under his eyes.

Last night, he had slept for less than two hours.

Yet, he felt no fatigue at all; his whole body was full of vigor, incredibly excited!

His Golden Finger was simple, yet also perverse: eternal life!

As long as he wasn't killed, he could live forever, without limit!

While others Cultivated, striving towards Rome, Jiang Hanwen was already in Rome from the start!

"Alright, I won't see you off. The fields can't be left unattended.

There's meat and other things on the table. Eat quickly, wash yourself, and preferably don't come back." With that, Jiang Yong picked up his hoe, turned around, and left the room.

Three breaths later, Jiang Hanwen emerged from the house.

On the table, there was a bowl of thick rice porridge, with two plates of sliced beef next to it, and a bulging blue cloth bundle containing clothes.

Farmers all knew that beef was nutritious, but also more expensive and thus more reluctantly eaten.

He and his cheap father usually only had meat twice a month, and each time it was no more than three thin slices of pork.

But now, on the plates, thick chunks of beef were piled high like a small mountain.

Jiang Hanwen sat down, his eyes slightly red.

He had seen this much meat at home only twice in his life.

Once was six years ago, when the teacher who taught him literacy visited, and the other time was now.

Yesterday, Zhu San mentioned eating meat, so today's selection likely involved a physical assessment.

A bite of beef, a mouthful of porridge; Jiang Hanwen didn't consider saving any for his cheap father.

At this stage, getting into the Zhuang Manor was the urgent matter.

As a person with two lifetimes totaling over forty years, he naturally knew what was more important.

After slowly chewing and swallowing the two plates of meat, taking a bath, and changing into clean clothes, Jiang Hanwen strode towards the Zhuang Manor.

Some time after he left, a shadow holding a hoe peeked out from behind the house, gazing at the small figure in the distance, tears blurring his vision, and he mumbled softly:

"Son, this world devours people. If you go, don't come back."

An hour later, having passed through the village, Jiang Hanwen arrived at the foot of the mountain at the end of the village.

A five-meter-wide stone staircase, paved entirely with bluestone, wound its way up into the forest.

Looking up, behind the lush, flowing dense forest, morning mist drifted, and dense walls and courtyards appeared and disappeared in the clouds, like a palace in the clouds.

The Zhuang Manor was not in the village, but on the mountain!

After another half an hour of walking, with a slight sweat on his back, Jiang Hanwen saw the main gate of the Zhuang Manor.

Ten meters to the side of the main gate, there was a side entrance, where people were already waiting—nine of them, all youths about his age.

The difference was that these people all had their parents seeing them off, and their clothes were adorned with brocade.

Only he, in his worn robes and tattered clothes, came alone.

A servant dressed in a black robe stood by the side gate, glancing disdainfully at the people outside the gate.

"May I ask, Senior, will Steward Lin be coming here later?" Jiang Hanwen squeezed to the gate and asked politely.

"Those participating in the selection, wait where you are!" the servant said unhappily, looking down his nose at him.

"Thank you for the information." Jiang Hanwen stepped back.

"Does the Zhuang family even accept such country bumpkins?"

"How could they? The Zhuang Manor is the only major clan within a hundred-li radius."

"I think they just heard some rumors and came to try their luck."

"Just wait, this kind of trash won't even pass the written test later."

...Although the others spoke softly, standing downwind, Jiang Hanwen heard everything clearly.

The mockery of the crowd left his heart undisturbed, and he even felt a little like smiling.

If it had been yesterday, he would definitely be very annoyed and want to retort with vulgarities.

But now, with eternal life in his grasp, his mindset was completely different; their taunts were so endearing.

Jiang Hanwen had no desire to refute them. In another hundred, two hundred years, would these people still be around?

Getting angry at corpses, wouldn't that just be causing himself trouble?

People arrived one after another, looking at each other, only daring to whisper softly.

"Brother, are you also here for the selection?" A voice sounded beside his ear. Following the sound, a young man dressed as simply as himself was to his left.

"Hehe, my name is Fang Tong. Our shopkeeper's son died, and my dad paid for this spot..."

Fang Tong was naturally friendly, chatting unilaterally with Jiang Hanwen.

It wasn't until the end of the sishi (9-11 AM) that a middle-aged man in a blue robe walked out from the side gate.

The newcomer had long, slender eyebrows and a fair complexion, but his voice was deep.

"I am Lin Wen, the chief examiner for this selection. All those participating in the selection, come in and sign. The rest of you, go back down the mountain."

The parents repeatedly assented, left their sons, and departed.

Jiang Hanwen glanced around; there were about sixty people, which was quite a number.

The remaining people walked into the side door one by one, circling their names on the roster held by the servant beside them.

The gray-white floor tiles were uniformly laid, without a single fallen leaf or mud stain, exceptionally clean, truly befitting a prominent family.

"Everyone, come over here." Lin Wen stood on the steps, looking down at the crowd:

"Among you, some paid money, some pulled strings. I don't care how you got in, but since you're in, you must follow arrangements, otherwise—don't blame me for not giving Face!

Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded in unison: "Understood!"

"Good, follow me."

The group was led to a huge square training ground, nearly two hundred meters long and wide.

With a command, a servant led the way, and the others ran behind, beginning the selection.

"Buddy, I'm off!" Fang Tong grinned at Jiang Hanwen and darted out.

Jiang Hanwen was not in a hurry; instead, he maintained a slow jog with a steady breathing rhythm. In just ten breaths, he was left behind by everyone.

Lin Wen, holding the roster, pointed at Jiang Hanwen and asked the person beside him:

"Who is he?"

"His name is Jiang Hanwen."

"Oh~" Lin Wen drew out the end of his voice, then said no more.

One lap, Jiang Hanwen was last.

Two laps, still last.

By the sixth lap, some people began to be overtaken by him.

"Why aren't they stopping?"

"So~ tired."

"I knew I shouldn't have pushed myself."

Discussions were constant around him, and Jiang Hanwen slowly overtook one person after another.

The selection rules were not stated; they just started running. Clearly, one needed to think about the selection criteria.

If it was for comparison of speed, they would just be told to run. Why would a servant be specifically sent to lead?

Since it wasn't about speed, the only thing running could compare was—endurance.

Each lap was eight hundred meters. By the twelfth lap, Jiang Hanwen had already pushed into the top ten.

The taste of rust lingered in his throat, and his chest felt like it was burning.

His back was already drenched in sweat; he was severely exhausted.

Others endured until now through sheer physical strength, but he relied on a trick, controlling his breathing and pace, gritting his teeth, and pushing through.

Ultimately, it was due to his usual lack of meat consumption. If it were a genuine contest, he definitely wouldn't be a match for these people.

"Bro... brother, impressive." Fang Tong exclaimed.

However, Jiang Hanwen paid no attention to anything else, focusing intently on adjusting his breathing as he passed by him.

A momentary look of distraction crossed Fang Tong's eyes, and he seemed to want to speak but held back.

By the fifteenth lap, only Jiang Hanwen was following the servant. Everyone else was more than twenty meters behind, a significant gap.

"Alright." Lin Wen spoke from the platform:

"The top twenty will advance to the next round. The rest of you, go back!"

Jiang Hanwen looked up in surprise.

I passed!

The next second, the world spun before his eyes.