The moderators were all instructed to tell the groups that it will only be a 30min walk to the main hall. So as the time crawled towards 5.30pm, many groups decided to make their way to the main hall for the opening ceremony.
At 5.30pm, group 19 started to head towards the main hall, only to realize that it would take them more time to get there in time by walking.
Even though it was just close to 6pm, the skies were already dark and torches were already lit, it was dark and everyone started to become a bit worried that they may not be there on time.
"At this pace, we're going to be late. I'm going ahead first." Yan Lide hopped onto his sword and flew into the darkness towards the main hall.
The remaining group members were not given a chance to respond and he was already nowhere to be seen.
"We won't be penalized if we are late, will we?" Cao Ying showed a sign of panic when she heard Yan Lide comment.
"My apologies… We didn't know that when Senior Jiang told us it would only take 30mins to go there it would mean that it is 30mins for gold people...Fellow group mates please go ahead first, me and Cao Ying will try our best to catch up. I don't want you to be late just because of us." Wang Ze Li apologetically said.
The green-robed cultivator walking silently with them stopped in his tracks and looked intensely at all the group members. But because he was so tall, it felt as though he was looking down on them (lol)
"Don't be silly. We are in the same group. If we are late and punished, we should be punished together! That's what a man should do!" Liu CongHai said in a clear and loud voice as he slammed his spear on the ground. "I'll teach that brat what it means to be a man later." He added as he continued to lead the group forward.
Wang Ze Li and Cao Ying smiled awkwardly but felt gratitude in their heart for the fierce-looking cultivator. He is such a righteous man and has great leadership skills!
The loud and firm voice woke Yin Li up and soon, a small wiggle was felt at the chest of Ye Chen's robes. Suddenly a small furry face popped up and peeked at the cultivator who made the loud voice, Liu CongHai.
As Ye Chen did not form a contract with Yin Li, he was unable to hide Yin Li in his spiritual core. Even though Yin Li was able to manipulate its size to hide in Ye Chen's robes, he couldn't control when Yin Li became curious and decided to take a peek.
Ye Chen stealthily shove Yin Li's head back into his robes and continued walking with the rest of the group with a poker face. He glanced at Mu Yang to see if Yin Li was exposed but only saw Mu Yang smirking to himself while holding his fan behind his back.
Not long after, a strong wind was felt and although some did not realize since it was dark, they were all walking a lot faster than earlier.
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Group 3 reached the main hall on time with all members present. Mu Lian highlighted his observation from studying the map and shared with the group that he believed that the timing given by the moderators may only be suitable for gold people.
Because it was brought up in advance, group 3 left earlier than most groups and arrived at the main hall.
When group 3 arrived, they were led to their number and were instructed to form a line behind it.
Behind number 19, Mu Lian noticed a blue-robed cultivator standing alone.
As time was nearing 6pm, the main hall started filling up with people. Mu Lian observed the hall and found out that not many groups were there yet and he also noticed that there were many incomplete groups, such as group 19.
"Tsk" Mu Lian showed an irritated face when he inferred from his observations.
"Ehhh… It's going to be 6pm soon, Ye Chen and Mu Yang are still not here yet?" Wen Jun frowned as he looked around.
"What happens if someone is late?" Zhu Si En asked her group.
"I'm not sure… but the moderator was EMPHASIZING about not being late earlier… It seems to be quite severe if there are late comers…" the other female groupmate answered her.
When it was a few seconds away from 6pm, the main hall started to become very windy. Mu Lian looked up and gave a smirk before relaxing his mind from worry. Suddenly a very strong wind blew into the main hall and the remaining groupmates of group 19 stepped into the hall.
Just as everyone was surprised by the arrival of group 19, a loud bell rang and the gates around the main hall started to close.
"So they are trapping late comers out ah!" Wen Jun said in surprise among the loud chatters.
"SILENCE" A loud voice echoed in the hall.
At the far end of the hall in front of the groups, an elderly cultivator walked out and exerted an immense amount of pressure in the hall.
The hall became silent and everyone could feel that dangerous aura even if some did not have any spiritual powers.
"Full teams that are here on time. You get 6 points."
"For incomplete teams here, a point deducted for every member in the hall."
"If the entire team is not present, no points will be awarded or deducted."
The elderly cultivator calmly explained and looked around the hall.
So this is the first test. This test misleads teams to believe that the timing needed to get from their cabin to the main hall was only 30 minutes. This allows the organizers to see what kind of personalities are in the conference.
If you are a careful person like Mu Lian and analyzed the map beforehand, you would realize that that time is not sufficient for silver people to keep up with the team and thus would depart early.
If a team isn't observant enough, they will depart for the main hall much later.
Of course they will probably realize halfway that they will be late. When this happens, there will be a few scenarios. In Mu Yang's case, he specializes in wind and speed spells. But even if so, casting it for themselves is easy, but to cast it on a group demands a strong foundation, which not everyone is able to have. Luckily for group 19, Mu Yang is gifted so the team was able to all reach on time.
If a gold person wanted, they would be able to make it on time on their own, but would they abandon their team members and get there first? Or will they all be willing to suffer the punishment together?
This is the first test of the conference.
"This is ridiculous, the three of us made it on time but because the silver people are slow and late, our team is deducted 3 points!" A black-robed disciple voiced out his unhappiness along with his two other groupmates.
"..." Ye Chen is speechless. Isn't it obvious that it is a test for teamwork? Which they obviously failed.
If everyone chooses to be late and get punished together as a team, the team will not be penalized. The black-robed disciple and his two group mates decided to abandon the other group mates to avoid getting punished, but instead, got punished because of his selfishness.
The elderly glanced at the black-robed cultivator and casually said "Did not know his mistake and even talked back. Group 21 deduct 3 more points"
The whole hall was quiet and everyone was giving each other glances in shock and worry. Those who want to raise their unhappiness can only silently swallow down their anger.
"Who is that?" Ye Chen whispered to Mu Yang.
"He is the Sect Master of ZhongQi Sect." Mu Yang replied as he stood in a line behind Yan Lide.
Yan Lide lowered his head in embarrassment as he almost cost his group to lose a point.