The white-clothed elder pointed at the leftmost person in the group and instructed, "Let's start with you. Each of you should take turns to perform the basic sword moves. Let me see what you've grasped."
The leftmost person in the group was a youngster with a naive-looking face. He seemed to be around 14 or 15 years old and was wearing blue sports attire.
He took a few steps forward and went up to the open area.
Before he even started, his body was already shaking non-stop. He accidentally dropped his sword on the ground and quickly bent down to pick it up, but almost fell over due to the excessive force used.
The other applicants held their breaths when they saw this. They were infected by the tense atmosphere and subconsciously clenched their fists.
Chen Yiming, on the other hand, was not affected. With his Level-1 swordsmanship talent, he could easily execute the basic sword moves. He was fully confident that he could pass the test.
A short while later, the white-clothed elder spoke. "Stop, next."
The youngster in blue sportswear awkwardly sheathed his sword and returned to the team with a dejected expression.
He had only managed to execute two basic sword moves before he was told to stop. He knew that he had failed without waiting for the result.
The next applicant stepped forward to take the test.
The second applicant's performance was worse than the first, perhaps due to the influence from the previous applicant.
He didn't even have the courage to raise his hand to perform any moves. He stood there for several moments before giving up and returning to the group.
Chen Yiming was the sixth to perform. The first five contestants didn't perform well, and their movements were far from the required standard.
This made him heave a sigh of relief. He was initially worried that the school would limit the number of students recruited. If many people could meet the standard for all the basic sword moves, there was a chance he might not make the cut.
It was clear that there were many people who had registered without proper preparation. Seeing that the world was about to be thrown into chaos, they were just grasping at straws and throwing their money away.
"Next."
The moment the white-clothed elder spoke, Chen Yiming raised his sword and charged forward more than half a meter in one smooth move.
The explosive power from using his entire body was channeled into the sword, which instantly pierced through the air barrier, creating a loud vibrating sound. He made use of inertia from the previous move and followed up with a jump slash…
The entire set of movements was smooth and natural, without the slightest bit of stiffness. Compared to the previous applicants, the difference was obvious.
"You pass."
The white-clothed elder didn't wait for Chen Yiming to display all the basic sword moves before giving his evaluation.
Chen Yiming returned to the group reluctantly. He had planned to show off the combo he had created, but the head didn't pay him any special attention or ask him to display more of his skills.
All the tests had ended.
As expected, the two people after him had failed. Chen Yiming was the only one who had passed.
The other seven people had basically spent 5,000 yuan to let the owner evaluate their mastery of the basic sword moves.
The seven of them were very depressed. Since they could not become trainees, they would not be able to rely on the backing of a martial arts school in this soon-to-be chaotic world.
The white-clothed elder had remained very calm from the start to the end. At the end of the session, he commented, "Everyone can master the basic sword moves by putting in the time and effort into training. Those who did not pass this time can still try again, especially those who are 14 or 15 years old and are new to martial arts."
He paused for a moment so that the applicant could take in his words before continuing,
"There is a limit to a person's time and energy. It is impossible to be proficient in everything. The most important thing when starting out in martial arts is to settle on one direction. If you encounter any difficulties, you must overcome them. When you suffer setbacks in training your sword skills, you must not switch to using a knife or fists. If you split your time and energy across different types of martial arts, you will not be able to master anything."
Finally, he emphasized, "The Mantis Snake Sword Technique is also formed from a combination of basic sword moves. Newcomers need to patiently build up their foundation at this stage. When you have a strong foundation, you are welcome to join us any time. I hope that next time, more of you will pass."
The white-clothed elder's words were incisive and cut straight to the core of the nature of cultivation. The seven who had failed immediately regained control of their emotions, and his words reignited hope in several of them.
Chen Yiming thought that the elder's words made sense, but after some deliberation, he felt a little puzzled.
According to the head, his body's owner also had a chance to enter the school.
However, from the memories of his body's owner, he had also started practicing the sword when he was about 14 or 15 years old. However, by the time he transmigrated, this body was almost 18 years old, and his mastery of the basic sword moves was still slow.
For example, his body's owner had practiced the stabbing movements for a few years, but he just couldn't stab accurately, no matter how much he practiced.
Using another example, his body's owner was unable to grasp the distance of each step or the rhythm. As a result, he would either go too far or move too short a distance.
These were all due to a lack of talent. It was far from what the white-clothed elder had said, that patience and perseverance could overcome everything.
…
The storage room on the first floor
was the place where daily consumables and miscellaneous items were stored.
Chen Yiming was wearing a brand new set of loose-fitting white training robes with an emblem of a golden sword on the chest. On his feet, he was wearing a pair of shoes made from the skin of the alien beasts.
According to his senior brother, Wang Bowen, there was no need to worry about damaging these specially made shoes. He could use as much force as he wanted.
The receptionist Shen Jia's eyes lit up as she brought over two more sets of training robes. She stood beside Chen Yiming and fussed over his clothes in front of the mirror. She was standing so close that it was as though she was glued to him.
She was the one who had handled Chen Yiming's contract and knew his contact number. It was first come, first served.
Senior Wang Bowen glanced at Shen Jia and leaned against the wall and scoffed.
"Junior Brother Chen, don't take Master's words too seriously. He was just trying to be nice."
"Which words are you referring to?"
Chen Yiming turned around, a look of confusion on his face.
"It's just some heartwarming words for the applicants who didn't pass. It's to trick them into coming here to register again the next time they think they're good enough."
"So that's how it is!"
Chen Yiming's jaw dropped.
He didn't expect his suspicions to be proven true. The head was just trying to trick people into wasting their money.
Wang Bowen thought nothing of it, and continued,
"Don't leak this to outsiders. There are some things that only the Master can say. You'll just cause trouble for yourself."
"This sort of thing is an unspoken rule for those in the know. The test fee is 5,000 yuan each time. Accumulated over the years, that's a lot of money. No martial arts school will let go of such easy money."
"You have to know that martial arts relies most on talent. If you can do it, you can do it. If you can't, you can't — unless you have been eating the alien beasts' meat since a young age to improve your physical ability. However, ordinary people don't have the means to buy such things."
Hearing this, Chen Yiming confirmed his prior suspicions. He said sincerely, "So that's how it is. I'll be in your care from now on, Senior Brother."
Wang Bowen gave a little wave and replied, "It's no big deal. We'll be spending a lot of time together in the future. It seems like you live in the eastern part of the city, so you will be assigned to the eastern branch for training. Another junior brother and I are in charge of that place."
"You have a solid foundation. Although you are entering the school at an older age, you still have a future in the path of cultivation."
"However, I'll say this first. My requirements for cultivation are very strict. Do what you should. Don't slack off and play around just because your foundation is good. I won't go easy on you."
Wang Bowen was one to first use some honeyed words to cajole the trainees who were about to join his branch school. Then, he would use strict words to establish his authority.