After a few minutes Min Li, Xiao Shi, and Sarah exited the building after saying goodbye to Yu. "Where did that child go? I mean I just asked some questions he didn't have to overreact..." Min Li said as she sighed.
"Don't worry, he is nearby. In fact, he is on the roof, it looks like he fell asleep." Xiao Shi said. "Min Li, go get him and carry him to the carriage." Xiao Shi said. Min Li jumped onto the roof of Yu's house and picked up Alphonse, then carried him to the carriage.
"Why did he go to the roof?" Min Li mumbled. "Well here comes a few days of travel..." Min Li grumbled.
(Fifth moon, twenty-first day, 459 Lu)
The carriage stopped in front of the entrance of a city as Xiao Shi stood up. "Children, this is our stop, the coach will take the carriage to where it needs to be, you all will follow me." Xiao Shi said as he stood up and left the carriage. Sarah, Min Li, and Alphonse quickly followed suit.
"Ah, Min Li, go ask Jian Feng to fetch some robes for Sarah and Alphonse as well as access gems, Orange for Sarah and Yellow for Alphonse." Xiao Shi said. Min Li did as she was told and after a few moments, she came back with the requested items.
"These should fit you two, and these are access gems, they allow you into certain parts of the sect and city. The gems are on necklaces that are linked to your body until you relinquish control over it, you cannot be forced into relinquishing control by anyone except the sect master, and the gems are ranked." Min Li said as she handed the robes and crystals to Alphonse and Sarah.
"The gems are divided into six ranks, going from lowest to highest they are, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple." Xiao Shi said as Alphonse and Sarah put the robes on over their clothes. Xiao Shi motioned everyone to follow him as he walked into the city.
"Sect leader, I believe we should get something to eat, the children aren't as dependent on spiritual ki as we are after all." Min Li said. Xiao Shi nodded.
"Yes, let's go to someplace quick, we don't want to spend to much time here after all." Xiao Shi said. After a few minutes of walking and around twenty minutes of waiting, food was prepared for the group at a small eatery. Sarah had already begun eating while Alphonse had still not started.
"A-are you sure I am allowed to eat this entire plate of food?" Alphonse asked.
"Of course, why else would we put a plate of food in front of you?" Xiao Shi responded.
"It's just... The portion is bigger than I am used to..." Alphonse said.
"Hm? This is the normal serving, isn't it Min Li?" Xiao Shi asked as he looked at Min Li. Min Li nodded.
"I-it is?" Alphonse asked.
"Of course. What size serving do you usually get?" Xiao Shi asked.
"It changed every time, though it normally didn't go past a small bun with a glass of water, some meat if I was lucky..." Alphonse said as he looked down.
"Weren't you the chief's son?" Min Li asked. Alphonse nodded.
"It is hard to explain... I had a twin, and in my clan twins are seen as a bad omen..." Alphonse said as his expression became grim.
"did that cause your treatment to be worse than that of your siblings?" Xiao Shi asked.
"A bit... Only my twin... C-Cedra... was in the public eye, I was hidden... But the awakening made it worse..." Alphonse said.
"What is the awakening?" Min Li asked. Alphonse looked up with a large amount of anger on his face.
"The awakening is something only beast-men of the gem clans can achieve, but if you fail to protect your mind you go insane!" Alphonse said with a strained voice.
"I-I see..." Xiao Shi said as his expression changed to one of shock. "Well, for now, eat." Xiao Shi said. Alphonse's expression became a bit lighter.
"Okay." Alphonse said as he looked down a little and began eating. In less than a minute the entire plate of food was gone. "Thank you..." Alphonse said quietly.
"Do you want some more?" Xiao Shi asked with his normal tone despite his surprise.
"N-no." Alphonse said as he looked down.
"May I have some more?" Sarah asked. Xiao Shi nodded and another plate of food was brought over for Sarah.
"Are you sure? You can eat until you are full." Xiao Shi said.
"I'm... I am fine..." Alphonse said hesitantly.
"Okay." Xiao Shi said as he sighed. After around twenty minutes they all left the eatery and started walking towards the center of the city. "This city is owned by the sect, though the actual sect itself is in the inner walls which is then separated into the inner and outer sect, you two will start off as outer disciples, though I am sure that at least one of you will pass the inner disciple test quite quickly." Xiao Shi said as they walked.
"As a member of the Jin-Mei sect, you get certain benefits, such as a cultivation technique which you get to choose during the first test, of course, you two will join whether you fail the test or not, for you guys it is just about choosing the right technique, but you will still have to fight a few people here and there during the test." Min Li said.
"The first test starts off with a tournament, then anyone who made it into the top twenty will join the sect, but this year we will be taking twenty-two people into the sect since you two are guaranteed a spot, this is just to make it a bit more fair. The test has several portions, but I'll just tell you about those two for now. Another benefit you will get is a monthly pill which will boost your cultivation." Xiao Shi said.
After a little while, the four of them reached the gate. "this is where I leave, Min Li, lead them to the test area." Xiao Shi said as he walked off. Min Li nodded slightly. She motioned to the children to follow her. The three of them continued into the outer sect walls. Once the three of them were inside the outer sect they continued on a path that has a fence along its sides.
Beyond the fences are several training areas where there are plenty of disciples training martial arts or meditating. After a few minutes of walking the small group reached a small building which they entered. The building was much larger on the inside than the outside.
"Old man, two test passes." Min Li said to the man behind the counter. The man stood up. He has white hair and a balding head, wrinkles line his forehead and his cheeks are like pouches full of coins hanging from his face.
"Oh? Are you sponsoring these two?" The man asked with a low gravelly tone. Min Li shook her head.
"Sect leader wanted to get them in the test, we're even taking extra members this year." Min Li said. The man became shocked.
"The sect leader is sponsoring these two?!" The man asked with a surprised tone. "This hasn't happened since... since... When was the last time this happened?" The man asked.
"Since fifty years ago." Min Li said apathetically.
"Yes, fifty years... I wonder what made him pick such young fellas..." The man said lightly as he searched under the desk for something. After a few moments of rustling around under the desk, the man stood up and placed two pieces of paper onto the desk. "Here you two are, I am sure many people will expect many things from you two." The man said as Min Li picked up the pieces of paper.
The pieces of paper had a kanji character meaning 'leader' and another which means 'sponsor' over the numbers 1, on one and 2 on the other. "Thanks. You two follow me to the test area." Min Li said as she began walking towards another part of the building. "Oh, and hand me your access gem, you aren't supposed to have those until you finish the test." Min Li said. Alphonse and Sarah complied.
The group continued further into the building into a large circular room with a stage on the far end. the room is around fifty yards in diameter and several dozen test takers are there, most appearing to be around the ages of twelve to fifteen.
"Take these and place them somewhere people can see, it is necessary to take the test." Min Li said as she handed the paper strips to Alphonse and Sarah. "This is where I take my leave, socialize, or don't it doesn't matter, most of the people here won't pass the test anyway." Min Li said as she started to walk towards a door on the left of the room. The door's doorknob is blue.
Alphonse placed the strip of paper on the front of his robe and Sarah did the same. Sarah walked towards the group and spoke with a few people while Alphonse went to the side of the room, staying as far away from people as possible.
After a while, a man came onto the stage and a large rectangular stone was carried onto the stage. "Welcome to the first stage of the test. In this portion, we will be testing you on your spiritual ki and physical strength, one at a time, when called, come up on the stage and punch this energy stone." The man said loudly.
Another man walked onto the stage. "There are 439 test-takers today, only those who manage to make the energy fold to their fist will progress! If you manage to do more than fold the stone to your fist it would be a surprise. The stone will form back to its original shape after being hit, how much time it takes depends on how much damage it sustained, so be patient, every cultivator needs patience." The man said.
"No-sponsor 1! On the stage!" The first man said. Someone started walking towards the stage. Alphonse went over to Sarah.
"Can you read?" Alphonse whispered a question to Sarah. Sarah looked at Alphonse.
"Are you unable to?" Sarah whispered back.
"I wouldn't be asking you if you could read if I could read..." Alphonse said bluntly.
"Yes, I can read, I didn't expect you to be illiterate." Sarah whispered.
"What do our papers say?" Alphonse asked.
"yours says 'Leader Sponsor 1', mine says the same except a two instead of a one." Sarah whispered.
"Okay." Alphonse whispered as he walked back to where he was standing originally. After around an hour of people being called one by one someone who was sponsored was finally called.
"Sponsor 1!" The man called. A boy around thirteen walked up and punched the stone leaving a hole the length of his arm and width of his head. "Oh, quite talented and strong!" The man said. "Sponsor 2!" The man said.
...
"The last two, it says reverse order, so... Leader Sponsor 2!" The man yelled. Sarah walked up to the stone.
'This is smart... They cleared the room before allowing us to go, meaning the only ones who will know our true strength is the instructor, Sarah, and me.' Alphonse thought to himself. Sarah stood at the tone then punched, leaving a small indent, though still nothing compared to the other sponsored test takers.
After only a few seconds the small indent disappeared. "Leader Sponsor 1!" The man said unenthusiastically. Alphonse stood up and walked up to the stone.
"Full power... Or...?" Alphonse asked.
"Full power... After that, I am not expecting much..." The man said as he looked at Sarah. Alphonse went into stance for a moment then a moment of realization hit him.
"I can't go full power without an adrenaline rush because I can't just use hysterical strength without it." Alphonse said.
"I have no idea what half of what you just said is." The man said. "Just use the maximum amount of force you can right now." The man said lightly. Following the instructions, Alphonse got into stance, then punched as hard as he could. The stone went flying as it split in two.
'Whoops, accidentally held back there...' Alphonse thought to himself
Both pieces of the stone continued forwards, breaking the wall and flying over the other test takers who were waiting in the next room over. {Warning: You appear to have caused a commotion.} Prism said.
'No duh!' Alphonse thought to himself.
"Wh-what!?" The man said as he jumped out of his seat.
"Sorry, that was pretty weak... I accidentally held back out of habit..." Alphonse said casually. The man, who was speechless, just motioned for Alphonse and Sarh to go to the other room. Both of them went through the hole in the wall and entered the next room.
"It would appear we need a new affinity tester..." The man on the stage of the next room said. Alphonse looked at the stage and saw that the top half of the energy stone crushed the object which the man was referring to.
"Were you actually holding back?" Sarah whispered.
"I used around... 40% I think..." Alphonse whispered his reply.
"Is that a lot?" Sarah whispered.
"A little under half." Alphonse replied.
"Ah, okay." Sarah said. After a few minutes, a small orb was brought out on a small pedestal.
"This orb tests your affinity with spiritual ki and how well you will be able to cultivate in the future, it scales by color, our access gems are made off of the same color scale! Affinity is divided into six ranks, going from lowest to highest they are, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, if you get orange you barely pass the test!" The man said.
After around an hour and a half, Sarah was finally called up. She walked to the orb and sheepishly reached out her hand over the orb. After a few seconds, it started to light up. It began on red and after a few seconds became lighter until it was orange, then it became lighter and settled on yellow.
"Yellow isn't half bad considering most of the test takers that managed to pass were orange!" The man said.