"I'll be honest. I don't know what we should expect." A dark-haired woman sat at the head of a long table with several different people flanking the sides.
"We have no other information than that? Not how many there are? Or how talented they are?" An elderly woman in white robes asked, looking toward the dark-haired woman.
"No one knows much, and if they do, they aren't saying anything." The dark-haired woman sighed. "All I know is that there is going to be an influx of outsiders, people beyond Eden."
The room got a bit rowdy at those words—unease filling the room.
"Sect Leader, you can't seriously believe they are from beyond Eden. I've never heard of anything else even existing."
A lot of people seemed to agree, nodding their heads in approval.
The dark-haired Sect Leader only sighed. "I'm not sure myself. Before this, I'd never believed there was anywhere else either. But, with how many different factions are preparing for this event, we can't simply rule it out."
The sect leader looked down the table at all of the people seated. These were the people who had been around her for many years, the people she built her sect with. She trusted the people in this room more than anyone else in the world.
"Although we don't know much about them, we are permitted to test all of their talents. However, we must send them to the first circle; there can be no exceptions to this rule. If you see one of them that has extreme talent, you are allowed, even encouraged, to make some connection. But, we are not allowed to take them in straight away. Is that understood?"
All of the people in the room nodded. Several of them had doubt still written on their faces, but they weren't going to say anything. The sect leader noticed their doubtful faces, but she didn't call them out, for she also had her doubts.
"One last thing before we go and greet them. I heard they might all be. Umm. How should I say this? A little odd. So try not to take anything they say too seriously." The sect leader looked over everyone once more before waving her hand, "dismissed."
…
Elder Biang thought back to the Sect Leader's words as he gazed over the strange people before him. 'They might be a little odd.' He now knew what she meant. "Odd indeed." He mumbled under his breath.
The group of strangely dressed individuals stared up at him wide-eyed, seemingly awed by his ability to fly.
Elder Biang quickly stopped thinking about how strange they all looked and continued his introduction. "This is a world of cultivation! A world of opportunity and adventure! A world where anything can happen! This is a world that all of you are now a part of!"
A boy who looked no older than eleven or twelve years old raised his hand. "Excuse me, will we be able to fly like you?"
Seeing the excited expression on the boy's face and hearing the enthusiasm in his voice, Elder Biang smiled. "We aren't supposed to tell you much about the world so that you can figure it out on your own. But this much shouldn't hurt. Yes, my boy, everyone who makes it far enough into their cultivation will gain the ability to soar in the sky."
Not only the kid but everyone in the crowd seemed to light up at his words. Murmurs began to spread as excitement was building inside them.
Elder Biang could only sigh when he saw this. 'Although you will be able to fly if you make it far enough, most people don't make it that far. They will be lucky if most of them survive the next year.'
Clearing his throat, Elder Biang once again grabbed the crowd's attention. "Before you can go into the world, we must test your aptitudes, your innate talents if you will."
A small crystal orb then appeared in Elder Biang's hand. "This is an aptitude crystal. It is what we will use to measure your talents. He then gestured to the girl who followed him through the portal.
The girl nodded her head before also floating into the air. She didn't change her cold icy look as her eyes swept over the crowd from above. If it seemed like she was looking down on them before, now it was guaranteed.
"This is my granddaughter, Wendy. She is here to demonstrate the aptitude crystal and show a simple cultivation technique."
Elder Biang then gestured to the girl, and with a wave of his hand, the orb flew, floating in the air right before her.
Wendy reached her hand out, placing it onto the orb. As she did, the energy within began to swirl and shift before slowly beginning to glow with a bright green color.
The green glow lasted for several moments until she removed her hand from the orb. Once Wendy released her hand, the sphere once again shifted back to its clouded white color.
"As you can see, it is quite a simple process." Elder Biang looked over the crowd to see if any looked confused.
One man raised his hand, calling out. "What do the colors mean?"
"The colors represent your talent. Different colors represent different levels of talent. However, I cannot tell you what the colors are; that is something you must find out."
The man nodded in response.
Suddenly a young man's voice called out. "If my talent is good. Would you give me your blessing to marry your granddaughter?"
After the comment, several people in the crowd began to laugh, while some young men kicked themselves for not asking the same question.
Elder Biang's gaze immediately snapped onto the origin of the comment. A handsome brown-haired young man looked back. Elder Biang's eyes narrowed as he looked at the foolish boy. He didn't speak, but he memorized the boy's features. If he saw him in Eden, he silently planned to teach him a lesson.
Beside Elder Biang, Wendy's eyes grew extremely cold. The temperature around the area froze along with her eyes. The crowd began to shiver as their breaths solidified in the air. A thin layer of ice began spreading along the lake's surface.
Wendy was upset, but Jaime didn't seem to mind as he spoke out, this time to Wendy directly. "It will take far more than this to cool my burning love. Your cold eyes could never snuff the raging fire in my heart."
Wendy could see a teasing smile on the boy's face, and it irked her so much. Her rage began to take over her mind as ice condensed in the air before her. No boy had ever so openly spoken to her like this. She was a core disciple in her sect. Only wealthy princes and young masters would ever think of chasing after her, and yet, here was a bum-looking kid who didn't have any cultivation chasing after her like they were on the same level. Disgusting.
Just before Wendy fired her attack at Jaime, who still had a carefree expression on his face, a hand grabbed firmly onto her shoulder. "Enough." Elder Biang spoke out.
With his words as a catalyst, the temperature seemed to rise again as the ice melted from the lake. The ice condensing before Wendy also dissipated, like it was never there to begin with.
Jaime looked up at the cold girl floating in the sky and made a heart gesture with his hands. A mischievous smile never leaving his lips.
'Where does he get his confidence?' Elder Biang wondered. 'He has no cultivation. If he had been attacked, he would have disappeared from existence. Did he expect me to save him?' Elder Biang was confused by Jaime's seeming lack of care. 'Maybe I should pay a little attention to him.'
Wendy's anger had dissipated slightly, but looking at the boy made it flare up again. If her grandfather weren't here, she would have already turned the boy into an ice sculpture.
Elder Biang could see that Wendy was still on the verge of attacking the boy, so he continued his speech. "Alright, let's test some aptitudes."