After a few minutes of ignoring the existence of all the other kids, I notice a man with inner court elder robes about to enter the courtyard. Standing straight I earn the curious glances and snide remakes of a few others. I again ignore them as I stand waiting for the elder.
As the elder enters the stone courtyard many of the initiates stumble to their feet while others don't seem to care.
The elder stays silent as he approaches us closely observing the other students and giving me a curious gaze. The elder is around five foot eleven about seven inches taller than me who is among the taller students. His face is sharp and his eyebrows busy but despite that, he has kind eyes.
Glancing over the students again his eyes stop at me, "You must be Elder Ferran's recommendation?"
Many of the students give me odd looks as I nod at his words, "Yes, sir."
He smirks at me, "I am High Elder Ulises Stout, everyone calls me Elder Uli so you may address me as such." Pausing his eyes sweep over all the students, "That goes for all of you, I don't want to hear 'Sir' again today."
""""Yes Elder Uli,"""" The words echo from the twenty or so initiates around me.
With a strong nod he looks at me again, "What is your name young man?"
"Engres Jun," A few of the students near me begin muttering to each other and the elder seems a bit surprised. I hear every single word they say, even the overlapping conversations, but I ignore it.
"I look forward to your display today…" His words fade as he turns around and takes a few steps.
"On the day you passed the exams you were each given a training manual to suit your preferred path. Today you will put your cultivation mental to the test." He turns back to use with a stern gaze, "The only thing that determines your cultivation speed is your tolerance for pain and your willpower. THAT, is the strength of us Heretics."
Waving his hand out a little over a hundred small cooked beasts appear on a large gold platter between us.
"These are known as Sleeve Beasts, they are weak first rank devils. Your first trial of the placement exams is to eat as many as you can and fully cultivate their energy within the given time-frame. You will have thirty minutes."
"Depending on your score you will get zero to three points. One to five points you are assigned to the outer court, six to nine you are assigned to the inner court. If you find yourself unable to get a single point you will be assigned to the servant's quarters until you manage to reach the third rank.
One of the more pompous-looking boys raises a hand, "This is not a classroom, if you have a question ask it."
The boy seems taken aback by the elder's rudeness, "How long does it usually take for beginners to cultivate a Sleeve Beast?"
"For those with lower talent, it takes around fifteen minutes, with a good willpower it can be less than eight."
My eyes narrow remembering what Uncle said earlier, "Elder Uli, how many did Tarran Fen eat when he did this trial?"
I can see that many of the students don't know who I'm referring to but Elder Uli smiles, "Thirty-eight, the best record since the God Joor passed this valley. Though the record is still held by the founder, he ate seven hundred and twelve."
Audible gasps can be heard from the crowd causing the Elder to smirk wider, "Enough, grab yourself a few on a plate then sit down somewhere nearby. You will begin when I tell you to." With that, he waves his hand again and plates pile up next to the plater.
I sigh as I step up first and put around six on my plate causing the elder's brows to raise. He says nothing as I find a spot to sit not far from the platter as I intend to try and break that thirty-eight record.
As everyone finds a spot I cycle my Qi a few times preparing myself, "Begin."
Once the elder tells us to begin I keep focused on cycling my Qi and matching my breathing on the nature around me. The Sleeve beasts are about a fourth of my forearm so they will be easy to eat quickly it will depend on how energy-dense they are. Taking a big bite I am immediately surprised by how little energy it has.
Without my thought, I eat the rest of it and set the bones on the plate. I feel the scalding hot energy reach my stomach but compared to the devil dog this energy is too light and airy.
Within thirty breaths I have completely cultivated all the energy in the Sleeve beast so I quickly eat another. Just like the last one, there is very little energy to be found and I manage to cultivate all of it in only twenty-six breaths.
I go through this process four more times getting slightly faster each time. It is only then that I notice that a new platter with ten more Sleeve beasts has already been put in front of me. I don't think much about it and just move on to the next, the beasts themselves are quite delicious but I am beginning to get sick of it.
After my fifteenth, I am able to cultivate an entire beast within ten breaths and I realize that the pain is far less than before. Staring on my seventeenth I begin to eat two at a time which seems to speed me up substantially. Maintaining a focus on my breath I finish cultivating the thirty-second beast but as I am about to grab another I hear a voice break me out of my concentration.
"Time is up,"
Once again focusing on those around me I notice that a barrier has been erected around me. It makes sense, the quaking would break others' concentration if not controlled. The barrier falls as I look up at the elder a bit disappointed.
His tone seems conflicted as he eyes me, "I would like to give my congratulations to young master Jun. He has broken the record for the most consumed Sleeve beasts by four."
My brows furrow in confusion, "Elder Uli, I thought you said the record was thirty-eight?"
He doesn't look back at me as he states blankly, "Young master Fen was the second rank when he joined the Cult. The difference between the amount a first and second rank can cultivate is massive, the record for first ranks is only twenty-eight."
"By rank here are your rankings:
Engres Jun, Thirty-two
Chen Bolin, Eighteen
Fred Boggs, Thirteen
Tang Ling, Thirteen
Hisole Triss, Twelve
Olivia Helder, Ten"
His eyes sweep the courtyard, "The rest are below ten, which means you get no points for this exam. Engres Jun receives three points, the rest listed receive two points."
Well over half the children hang their heads with either angry or disappointed expressions.
"No time for sulking, your next exam will begin right away. I will give each of you the manual for the 'Devil's rush' and the 'Devil strikes' techniques, you will have one hour to learn them both to a competent level. Learning them will net you one point each and I will hand out additional points depending on your mastery."
Finishing his words he shifts his Qi to his calves and toes and dashes over to the nearest training pillar striking it while obviously holding back. Despite holding back I see that the pillar has caved in leaving a crater where his fist landed.
"This will be your only demonstration."
Waving a hand two piles of manuals appear in front of him, "Take one of each, I will not answer any questions you have so don't ask."
Getting behind a few others I take the manuals and open them, reading them both at the same time. Reading over the techniques I find that they are incredibly simple and Elder Uli displayed them perfectly.
'Devil's rush' is simply strengthening the tendons in your calf's and using your toes as a springboard to launch you forward. The only hard part is keeping it up past the first one because you have to strike the ground and use the technique at the perfect time. Though it does say if you accidentally strike your heel first you may shatter it so that's a bit scary.
'Devil strikes' is even more simple in concept, it is merely using your Qi as a counterweight. Since you can thicken Qi to add mass all you have to do is shift it like a weight in your arm or leg to bring the force forward and explode outwards. Again, like 'Devil's rush', the hard part is continuous strikes as you have to not punch through your targe but instead allow the explosive Qi to shift your weight for you and continue your barrage using another part of your body.
After reading the books I close them and begin visualizing what Elder Uli did. Standing up I slowly shift my Qi around thickening it and sliding it around my meridians. I practice slowly at first but begin picking up speed as I try to move my limbs out with my Qi and not my muscles.
In a basic fighting stance, I quickly shift my Qi from my elbow to my hand. My arm flings out and I feel a sharp pain in my arm as dark purple Qi jets out from my fist.
"Ow,' I groan rubbing my now painful arm.