The Crane landed gracefully near the resident enclosures. Li Meirong slipped off of Furifuri's back and nearly lost her footing. She managed to stabilize herself right before her butt almost collided with the ground.
Several servants were occupied with handling the incoming mounts when they suddenly heard a raucous. Curiously, they turned their gazes in the direction of the sound and witnessed the rookie's clumsy slip, covering their mouths as they snickered in amusement.
Li Meirong was too far and too preoccupied to pay them any attention. As promised, she gave Furifuri all the grains in the bag, spilling its contents on the ground near the Crane so he could reach it easily.
Afterwards, she marched toward the gathering hall. There were a lot more disciples congregated near the hall's entrance than she had anticipated. Plenty of senior disciples had also arrived to spectate. The grandmasters were seated at the end of the hall atop an elevated platform. Each one of them looked fearsome and awe-inspiring.
Li Meirong rushed to the designated newcomer's location. The new recruits stood right outside the grand halls, waiting patiently to be called upon.
Suddenly, she felt a hand clutch hers from within the crowd. She turned around and was happy to discover Shu Qianqian's adorable face beaming at her.
"Sister Meirong!" Shu Qianqian cried and gave her a tight hug.
"Sister Qianqian… can't breathe..." Li Meirong struggled to speak. She couldn't believe how strong the frail-looking girl actually was!
"Ah, sorry! I'm just so glad to see you! Come quick, the others are waiting for you."
Shu Qianqian loosened her grip and immediately dragged her forcibly through the crowd. With her bossy attitude, she easily got the disciples standing in front to make way for them to march through.
The girls quickly reached Mo Cheng and Mo Jing who waited for them nearby. As soon as they arrived, the youngsters had their eyes glued to Li Meirong, their mouths wide open.
"Sister Meirong… you're actually this beautiful." It was Shu Qianqian who spoke first. She didn't hesitate to grab Li Meirong's smooth cheek and squeeze.
Her skin was soft like tofu! Shu Qianqian couldn't believe it. Only yesterday Li Meirong seemed as though she was disfigured beyond recovery.
Seeing Li Meirong's eyes tearing up, Shu Qianqian sheepishly let go of her, giggling.
"Ahem, I'm glad the medicine worked! I was hoping you'd be pleasantly surprised. Are you happy?" Mo Cheng cleared his throat, his cheeks slightly reddened. Mo Jing averted his eyes nervously, staring instead at a nondescript point in the distance.
Li Meirong was moved by their thoughtfulness and bowed in gratitude. "Thank you so much! I really was surprised." Heck, every day was a surprise, so far.
She wasn't sure exactly how this herbal medicine worked to clear the scars but she was glad to have received it. Although her soul only recently transmigrated into this body, Li Meirong especially disliked the stares filled with pity and disgust she'd been getting up till now.
"This is nothing in comparison to what you did for us. We were paralyzed by that awful creature but managed to stay conscious the whole time. You saved us." Mo Jing admitted. It was a terrible experience he wished he could forget. Mo Jing and Shu Qianqian shuddered, remembering the horrible ordeal.
Mo Jing had his reservations about Li Meirong but from that moment on, he swore that he would be a genuine friend to her.
Meanwhile, the "awful creature" was peacefully resting inside Li Meirong's sleeve, oblivious to the slander he was receiving.
'I'll have to make sure they'll never discover Chou.' Li Meirong thought, biting her lip. If they found out she had kept the Plant Spirit that had almost eaten them as a pet, they would never forgive her!
After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, the companions set their sights upon the ceremony taking place inside the hall.
There were several divisions to be cast in. The Sword Bearers were the martial artists, training and honing their techniques of both pen and sword and mastering their offensive attributes. They were the strongest fighters of all the divisions.
The Armament division specialized in weapon making, tinkering and crafting day in and day out. One had to have a distinct affinity with the subject to excel in this division.
The Pill Refiners was a subdivision of Healer's Peak. Pill Refiners didn't necessarily hone their skills for healing and therefore weren't lumped in with the rest of the healers. Healer's Peak usually took in disciples with supportive attributes such as wind, water or any cultivators who preferred to aid others in battle, instead of acting as an aggressive force. It is worth mentioning that while Healer's Peak specialized in an assisting role, they were also taught the art of poison making, making them both valuable allies and deadly opponents.
The Bestiary Coalition inhabited disciples who felt a kinship with Spirit Beasts or those who dared to tame Demons. They focused their energies by bonding with familiars and operating alongside their pet companions as a team.
The final division was the Herb Caretakers. It was considered an outer sect disciple, or "servant", job but actually, it had a lot of merit on its own. If one succeeded in excelling as a herbalist, the skies wouldn't even be the limit.
Only disciples that possessed the earth attribute were permitted to join this division as inner sect disciples. They had to learn about herbs, agriculture, farming and also hone their communication skills with plant life. Herbs were required for certain armaments and were a necessity in Healer's Peak.
The ceremony passed by rather quickly. The majority of the rookies were ordained as outer sect disciples. A select few dual attributes were taken in as inner sect disciples and naturally, the single vein attribute disciples were highly sought after and given the best possible positions.
Mo Cheng was taken in as a succeeding disciple under the Sword Bearer division's Grandmaster. Shu Qianqian followed the same division and Mo Jing was taken in as a succeeding disciple for the Herb Caretakers division's Grandmaster.
While each division specialized in diverse aspects, there was a unified goal for all of them; To cultivate and grow ever stronger.
Finally, Li Meirong's moment arrived. She entered the hall to be assessed, lowering her eyes to the ground, as instructed.
While walking through the grand ceremonial hall, she couldn't help but overhear the gossiping murmurs of the spectating senior disciples. Plenty of disciples were hypnotized by Li Meirong, finding her to be a stunning vision to behold.
She wore the same garment as the rest of the disciples but somehow in a way that made her seem like a fairy immortal. Her fair skin was smooth and glowing and the hair cascading down her back was so dark it possessed a blue sheen. Her eyes were large and shining like obsidian jewels. She was quiet and demure. The very image of an ideal beauty.
When Li Meirong approached the grandmasters in charge of the divisions, she knelt down and kowtowed, imitating the previous disciples.
A succeeding disciple standing at the side held a scroll containing all the necessary information about the new disciples. Once she'd assumed the position, he read Li Meirong's attributes out loud.
"Li Meirong. Multiple Attributes. Average talent."
The grandmasters kept quiet, totally overlooking her.
Li Meirong heard some of the attending senior disciples snicker behind her back. There was no longer any awe or admiration. Their voices were filled with derision.
"I heard she's a furnace…"
"She was all scarred up before, but now that she fixed her face, this Young Master wouldn't mind taking good care of her!"
"Only the servant quarters would be suitable for her." A female disciple spoke with undisguised contempt.
Indeed, Li Meirong was quite a beauty but in a cultivator's viewpoint, beauty means very little in a land where strength is everything.
Li Meirong kept quiet and swallowed her indignation. The scornful words were heard by all but nobody silenced the mocking mob.
'Master, why are they talking badly about you?'
Li Meirong heard Chou's drowsy voice asking, however, she was unable to respond at the time.
'I was given very bad specs upon my rebirth, that's why!' She thought bitterly to herself.
The succeeding disciple holding the scroll glanced her way. He mumbled, "Well then, distributing Li Meirong as an outer sect disciple-"
"Wait!"
The succeeding disciple's verdict was interrupted by a commanding shout reverberating throughout the hall, causing all the attendees to realign their posture and seal their mouths shut.