Chapter 39 – Annual Examination (1)
6 AM.
Similar to the Silver Phoenix Sect, the Mountain Goose Sect's elders brought their best outer and inner disciples down the mountain. Aside from the disciples, several hundreds of their employees and minor disciples tagged along with them to assist the elders for the event.
Luo Cheng, the dwarf blacksmith, was also one of Mountain Goose's elders. However, he stood behind all of them as he intentionally kept himself a low profile.
A long black-haired middle-aged swordsman in full-plate knight armor stood in the middle of the stage. His trimmed curve mustache and thick eyebrows were so iconic that it drew the attention of the crowd.
Jian Meng, one of Mountain Goose's elders who was in charge of teaching sword techniques, acted as the host of this examination.
"Welcome fellow daoists to the grand annual examination!"
The crowd stopped talking and listened to Jian Meng.
"Today is an auspicious day to hold a trial in searching for talented young cultivators of this continent. Many great heroes began their tales in this event, such as Master Jia Shan, the current sect master of our sect, and Fairy Xu Xiuying, the vice master of Silver Phoenix Sect. By showing their promising talent in this examination in the past, their names became famous…"
Jian Meng narrated the biography of Xu Xiuying and Jia Shan, the two leaders of the powerhouse sects.
The Xu Clan was built by Xu Xiuying's mother, but the one who contributed the most was none other than Xu Xiuying. As a female cultivator, she went through many ordeals, such as being oppressed by male cultivators, being treated like an object, being pursued, or being threatened. Yet, Xu Xiuying overcame those obstacles and established the current Silver Phoenix Sect with her mother, who was the current sect master.
The biography was briefed as Jian Meng skipped the minor details about how Xu Xiuying defeated her enemies. However, Miaomiao could guess how she did it since she practiced Joyous Yin arts. He, too, had the experience of being sucked dry by her clone.
As for Jia Shan, he was a sword saint that showed his talent when he was young. His sword skill was second to none. Even today, no sect master on this continent had defeated him in sword fight even once.
Listening to the fabricated tales of two powerhouse masters, the crowd was in awe. Only the insiders like Qi Hong, Miaomiao, and several elders from the Mountain Goose Sect tried their best to hide their cringed expression. Even Xu Xiuying herself sighed a few times as she couldn't endure the false stories.
Jian Meng's stories were like fairy tales, but the reality was much darker. No cultivator in this world became a powerhouse without dirtying their hands.
"And now, let's not delay the event. Both sects, please send your best outer disciples on the stage to open the trial ceremony and demonstrate your strength!"
Miaomiao had been briefed about this arrangement yesterday. Both sects would send their best outer disciples to exhibit their prowess by taking the same trials with other examinees. They would take the tests first, but their scores wouldn't be calculated in the exam rankings. Still, their scores would become the face of their sects.
More importantly, there were special rewards that both sects had prepared for the best disciples. The winner would get 100 refined spirit stones, a low-graded magic weapon, and a technique manual from one of the sects. A Mountain Goose disciple could request a technique from the Silver Phoenix Sect, and vice versa.
Miaomiao wasn't interested in the rewards, but 100 refined Yang or Yin stones were still precious to him. It wouldn't hurt winning a few prizes for his future cultivation. Moreover, winning the event would raise his standing in the sect, and Xu Xiuying might give him extra rewards for his trouble.
10 Outer disciples from Mountain Goose Sect and 10 outer disciples from Silver Phoenix Sect leaped down from their spectator stands.
When the crowd noticed that Miaomiao was one of the representatives, they booed.
"What the hell!? A 1st Stage wastrel as one of the 10 best outer disciples? Do you take us for a fool!?"
"Get that trash down the stage! He doesn't deserve to be called the top dog!"
"The Xu Clan has sunk a new low. I can't believe that Xu Xiuying has spoiled her son so much. The Silver Phoenix Sect is on the highway to ruin."
"Pffft. Let's wait and see that spoiled brat embarrassing himself in the trial. Remember that some tests are dangerous? He will probably die if the tests are the same as last year."
"Right. That horny dog won't make it to the last round. Hell, he will probably fail on the first round!"
Everyone looked down on Miaomiao because of his infamous reputation. As for the guy that got booed, he tilted his head to the side, confused why everyone underestimated him.
'I'm not an MC. I no longer have short hair, but these assholes think that I'm a pushover? What the hell? Do you think I'm a protagonist or something? Sorry, pals. Since y'all acting annoying, you'd better keep running your mouth because I will face-slap you motherfuckers to oblivion.'
Instead of getting angry, Miaomiao almost burst into laughter. He had read too many novels and had seen so many plots with these scenes. He knew exactly what was coming for them.
Miaomiao's mocking expression triggered the crowd. The boo got louder, and many noble family leaders were scorned by Miaomiao's immature behavior.
The ten disciples from the Mountain Goose Sect also heard of Miaomiao's reputation. One of their representative, a young man in white robes with golden long hair, dissed Miaomiao in a loud voice.
"This place is for the best of the best. A sex maniac like you doesn't belong here. Go home and suck on your mama's titties."
Miaomiao chuckled, finding this disciple cute, "I don't know about my mama's titties, but I know what your mama's titties taste like. She cried, "Oh, yes, baby" when I pound her to heaven!"
"WHAT!?"
Knowing how talented Miaomiao was in a real fight, Kang Yan and other VY disciples covered their mouth, holding back their laughter. They were looking forward to seeing how Miaomiao would "strip" this young man.
But after listening to Miaomiao's childish comeback, they burst into laughter. Even some of the Miaomiao-haters found it amusing.
"Hahaha! He said he fucked your mama!"
"No, no, Hahahaha! He said that he's your father!"
"Oh, boy. I didn't know that you can comeback this way… Pfft! Hahahaha!"
Getting humiliated and mocked, the disciple was fume with rage. He drew his long sword from the side sheath and rushed at Miaomiao.
However, one of the Mountain Goose disciples stood between Miaomiao and the angry disciple, "Nie Ping! Stop!"
Nie Ping, the angry disciple, came to a pause. He glared at the one that stopped him.
Surprisingly, Miaomiao knew this person. It was the guy that gave him a dangerous jade sword, but he didn't know his name.
Wei Feng, the youngest young master of the Wei Clan, was one of the top outer disciples of Mountain Goose Sect. His cultivation strength had already reached level 3 of the 3rd stage.
Because Wei Feng was the strongest fighter of this group, Nie Ping didn't dare to defy him.
As Wei Feng couldn't recognize Miaomiao's new appearance, he took a formal stance and cupped his fist to Miaomiao, "My name is Wei Feng, a representative from the Wei Clan. I'm sorry about my friend's rude behavior. I hope that you can forgive him."
Miaomiao shrugged and cupped his fist, "Well, We're just joking. Let's have a fair competition first, then we can find ourselves a place to drink and get to know each other. By the way, I'm Xu Miao."
"Hahaha! Young master Xu. I see that you're a cultured man. I admire you. Very well, may the best man wins."
The two had fake smiles on their faces and pretended to be friendly toward each other. However, both Miaomiao and Wei Feng were planning to kill the other during the competition.
Miaomiao had a grudge against the Wei Clan that had robbed his stolen jade sword. Wei Feng also had a reputation to uphold. Both had a reason to cripple or kill the other if there was an opportunity.
Without realizing it, Miaomiao slowly acted and thought like a local villain.
The tension died down after both sides behaved.
Jian Meng had been observing the confrontation between the youths. He was ready to stop it at any moment, but it was no longer necessary. He continued to explain the rules.
"Ahem! The first test is your aptitude test! We will have all examinees stand on the prepared arrays on the stage. Once an examinee stands on it, the array will analyze the examinee's spiritual roots and display the evaluation score for everybody to see! The minimum requirement to pass this test is 51 in overall attributes."
As soon as Jian Meng finished speaking, twenty magic circle arrays appeared on the stage. Each of them had a diameter of one meter, which was large enough for one person to stand inside the formation.
"Now, outer disciples. Go and stand on the arrays and display your potential and statuses!"
Nie Ping laughed and walked toward one of the arrays. He didn't forget to mock Miaomiao.
"Hahahaha! I don't think this test is necessary for you, Xu Miao! A wastrel that can't even advance to the second stage doesn't have the right to be a disciple. Hell, I doubt that your overall point will even reach 30 points! Hahahaha!"
*WHOOM*
The array under Nie Ping's feet activated. A blue hologram appeared above his head and revealed his status.
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[Evaluation – Nie Ping]
Muscle: 82
Bone Marrows: 88
Meridian: 62
Dantian: 67
Qi Volume: 63
Overall: 72
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The evaluation was simple. They measured the contestant's muscle, bone marrows, meridians, dantian, and Qi volume.
The muscle score was evaluated from physical strength and impurity within the muscle fibers. If one didn't get rid of their impurity in their muscle tissues, the evaluation point would be low.
Bone marrows were similar to muscle evaluation. However, it also measured the amount of Qi that the cultivator could produce naturally. Once a cultivator reached the 2nd stage, which was Bone Refinement Realm, the person's body would be able to produce Qi without relying on external sources. Usually, only the 2nd stage or stronger cultivators could have a high score on this part.
Meridian was blood vessels and blood cells. The test evaluated if the person's blood and blood vessels could carry Qi strands to various parts efficiently or not. The point reflected the speed that the examinee could circulate their Qi throughout the body – the faster, the better the score.
Dantian reflected the maximum Qi volume that one could hold. This part of the test couldn't be trained as everyone had a different limit. In other words, it reflected the examinee's potential and natural talent.
Qi Volume was the current amount of Qi strands and Essence drops inside the examinee's dantian. The array tested if the examinee had come here prepared or not.
As for the overall point, it was the average point of all categories. As long as the examinee's status was high in all attributes, they would pass the test.
"72 Points! Pass!" Jian Meng announced the result and allowed Nie Ping to pass to the next round.
Nie Ping laughed as he was looking forward to seeing Miaomiao humiliating himself in public.
"Get your ass to the array, Xu Miao. Go and tell everyone how weak you are! I bet that your point won't reach 30!"
Miaomiao giggled when he heard that someone wanted to bet, "Ah, a bet? I love gambling. How much will you bet, then?"