Furhad Academy's Assessment Begins!
/Brother Cao, are you ready?/ Was the first thing I heard on the morning of the assessment. It was Zin, who looked nervous.
"I'm ready. What about you?"
She nodded. She was wearing a navy blue dress, and Ruha had helped braid her hair last night when we came out of closed door cultivation.
/I'm scared. I'm not that gifted. Do you think I'll be selected? What would happen if you and Brother Oki and Sister Iris and Ruha all get selected and I'm not? What will I do then?/
I moved closer to her and held her arms. Zin's skin was poisonous and only I was immune to it.
"I believe in you, sister. If I am selected, you will be."
She looked at me with her doe eyes, then plunged into my embrace.
/Okay. I'll be brave,/
"Brother Cao? Sister Zin? Let's go," Ruha's voice came from outside our door.
"We're coming!"
Our first sight of Furhad Academy's disciples was when we saw them showing people in at the entrance of the plaza. They wore lapel tunics of blue and white, and each carried a defensive weapon. Iris tittered excitedly to Ruha about something, and Zin rolled her eyes.
"Are you here for the assessment?" One of the male disciples asked us when our turn came.
"Yes," Ruha replied for us.
He looked us over, then pointed to a crowd of applicants chattering boisterously, under a canopy of trees.
"Go over there for now. You'll soon be ushered in,"
"Okay, senior," Ruha said automatically, and ushered us to the place. We stood near a group of other applicants who glanced at us.
"Are you five all going for the same department?" One of them, a tall girl dressed in a black tunic, aske d us.
"I don't think so," Iris replied.
"Don't you know about any departments? Naturally, you choose where to go based on your affinity; but if you're really gifted, the elders would basically fight over you. That's rare, though,"
Just as she was about to continue talking, an elder arrived, escorted by two seniors.
"The assessment will now begin. Follow me,"
We all thronged after the elder and entered the plaza. The stands all round it were filled with people already, and there was a frenzied excitement in the air. Parents were rooting for their children, and also, the city lord as well as the royal house of Axihome's representative were also on seat, with wide beams on their faces. More cultivators meant greater power for Axihome. The Furhad elders were seated next to the city lord. There were about four of them. After them were the bigwigs of Lesser Axihome, the major clans and families. All of these people were surrounded by attendants and servants, as well as those who wanted to get into their good books.
We applicants filled the space before the stands, and the elder who brought us in went up to say something to one of the other elders. There seemed to be some sort of hierarchy among them.
After a while, the seemingly most senior elder raised his wiry hand for silence, and rose.
"Today is the day that you've all been looking forward to! It's the day of Furhad Academy's assessment! In our homeland Axihome, there is only one Furhad! To be a cultivator, someone has to aid you on your way. Not many have the fate of having a master, so our predecessors founded a school! For centuries, we have supplied this mainland with peerless cultivators. That is why our standards remain high. That is why we do not accept any random chap. We accept talented disciples, peerless geniuses, that will one day bring honour to our homeland. As our predecessor said, 'It is better to train one genius than twenty mediocre folks'. That is the principle that governs our school. And that is why this assessment today is taking place. You want to attend Furhad. Show us your skills. Show us your talent. We elders are watching. There will be no bias. That is all,"
He signalled to a senior, and an intimidating drumroll assaulted our eardrums.
"Let the assessment begin!"