Niu rushed over to the sect, he didn't know what exact time the protagonist appeared there so he rushed over.
When he got there, the examination just started. Niu sighed in relief. The elders and the sect master were surprised to see him there, since he was only in their sect for protection.
"Elder Niu? What are you doing here?" Xiang Tu, the sect master asked. He was a powerful person and had to power to change the course of a battlefield. He was over 500 years old, so his cultivation couldn't make him look that young anymore.
Xiang Tu was surprised that Elder Niu, who only came over for pills would come here.
"Greetings Sect Master, I need help at my pill refining so i'm here to get a disciple to help me." Niu bowed slightly.
"Ah, I see. But we may not have any geniuses fit to your liking here." Xiang Tu was a pretty laid back person, as a sect leader.
"It's fine. I just need 2 disciples to help me." Niu sat down on a empty seat that was meant for him. Even though he never showed up, they always put a chair there to respect Elder Niu. Now, it was coming in handy.
Elder Kung, a person in the middle of the elders, (Like in power.) tried to spike up a conversation with Niu. Niu responded politely, but wasn't interested in continuing talking. Kung was a bit annoyed, but he held it in.
Niu didn't like Elder Kung because his daughter fell in love with Zen. Zen rejected her, causing his daughter to fall into depression. Ever since then, he tried to make things harder for Zen. He died later on by Kien.
Niu paid attention to Elder Su. He was the Elder that Zen and Kien went under. He was 2nd in command next to Xiang Tu. He was a massive playboy whatsoever, he chased after beauties and was known for his one night stands.
He was shunned by others in secret for his bad deeds, but no one said it aloud because they were afraid of him. Elder Su and the old Niu were neutral. Elder Su thought that Niu's mask was ugly, and wanted him to take it off. Niu refused knowing that if Elder Su saw him, it would get troublesome.
They got into a fight because of it, but the sect master intervened and the both of them stopped. But that was over 50 years ago. Their relationship got better when Elder Su saved Niu. Niu then saved Elder Su and gave him pills. They got along, but they remembered the fight and just spoke on casual terms.
The disciple can pick what sect Elder they can go under, but almost all of them chose the best offer. Only those with relatives in a different sect would chose another. Niu needed to convince Zen to come under his wing.
Niu paid attention to what was happening in the examination room. The examination was pretty simple. Just sign in, measure your physical power, measure your spiritual power, see what spiritual root you have, and battle against other examines.
Zen had the "Golden Tree" spiritual root that came once every million years. Even old timers like Xiang Tu were lucky enough to see them. Xiang Tu didn't chose him though, because his way of cultivating didn't suit Zen's spiritual root. He didn't want a talent to be wasted just because of his selfishness.
The Golden Tree spiritual root was said to have come from the first tree in the world. A roaming cultivator ate it's fruit, causing him to reach ascension immediately. He didn't want to be lonely in the God Realm, so he passed some of the seeds of the fruit down. The seeds picked people who fitted their taste, and were like that roaming cultivator. Golden was added because people who had this root, bathed in riches.
Kien just had a "Jungle Cloud" root. It was a root that was rare and it is said to have come from a tree from a jungle, who fell in love with a cloud. They couldn't do anything to have offspring, but they merged their spiritual energy together and create the Jungle Cloud root. It would pick users who had the talent to cultivate on the heavenly path and Demonic path. Since it symbolized opposites together.
Ground and sky, Demonic and Heavenly. These roots were accepted anywhere. Kien was a outer disciple, but was treated better then the rest. Though, Elder Su saw that Kien couldn't achieve further so he didn't pay attention to him.
Kien found out he had more talent in the Demonic path, so he deviated.
Niu saw a short black haired boy with beautiful eyes in the crowd. He stuck out for some reason. Niu thought that he was the protagonist, but suddenly the examiner shouted.
"GOLDEN TREE! GOLDEN TREE!!!" The examiner was pointing at a brown haired boy with sharp eyes.
Niu's eyes widened a bit, that's the protagonist...but isn't he supposed to be pure and childish right now? Why does it look like he'll kill the examiner?...Probably just the looks. Niu shrugged and placed a offer for Zen, along with other Elders.
Xiang Tu was surprised, but he realized that regretfully his cultivation did not suit him. He looked over and nodded towards Elder Su. Elder Su smiled and placed a offer on Zen too.