Chapter 43: The start of the trials
The crowd cheered as an enormous gord bottle inscribed in a unique language descended on the harbor's platform. They were awed in front of the divine treasure.
(E/N: Just a clarification for all those American English readers, read "gord" as "gourd", it'll make more sense)
On top of it were a group of men and women dressed in hanfu clothing. They had white robes and green inner garbs.
Their long black hairs were freely let loose on their backs which perfectly matched their image as cultivators.
They all had aloof and arrogant expressions as if they didn't care about the fact that they were greeted by thousands of people.
As the huge gord slowly descended, A cheerful and bright female voice suddenly spoke.
"Hey, Senior brother Yimu, how many youths do you think will pass?"
She was a beautiful woman who gave a friendly impression.
However, the person who she was talking to, remained silent and did not bother responding to her.
He acted as if he hadn't heard her. Instead, he was focusing his eyes while looking for a certain person within the crowd.
Seeing the serious look on her senior brother's face, she teased him. "Ooh... are you looking for your future dao companion? If I remember correctly, she was the princess of this Kingdom, right?"
"Junior sister Zhu Lian, please remain quiet." The man spoke while intending to continue his search.
The cheerful female cultivator named Zhu Lian pouted. "I told you to call me Lian!"
But the latter did not respond anymore. Zhu Lian became dissatisfied with this attitude as she pouted even more, making her cheeks look as if they were going to explode.
"...Mmmmmou! My senior brother is too cold! Hmph!" She sulks and faces the other way.
Even when she was angry, she still had enough charm to attract the other male disciples on top of the gord.
They could not help but think that their sister disciple was way too adorable.
...And that she was being wasted on the ignorant waste of a bastard, Ren Yimu!
Of course, most of the male cultivators swallowed their dissatisfaction and hatred, because Ren Yimu had powerful backing.
They did not dare show any negative feelings towards Ren Yimu even though they were very annoyed by the latter's arrogant personality.
However! They couldn't help but feel this way since Ren Yimu was nothing but an arrogant cripple!
It was known in the sect that he did not possess any Qi meridians and as for his prowess, almost everyone was sure that they were simple powerful artifacts given to him by his grandfather who was an elder of the sect.
And yet, he still had the gall to stand as if he was one of them!
Another fact that annoyed most male disciples was the fact that one of their most beautiful sister disciples, Zhu Lian was pursuing Ren Yimu.
Zhu Lian had a good and positive nature which made her popular and well liked by the entire sect. Similar to Yimu, she was also the daughter of another elder.
Another noteworthy fact about her was that she was also one of the most talented disciples in the Cleansing Jade Sect as she reached the peak of Qi Foundation stage at the tender age of 17.
She was one of the few seedlings that the sect was expecting to ascend into the Immortal planes.
Meanwhile, the male disciples did not understand why she was chasing an arrogant cripple like Ren Yimu, but most disciples contained their anger since they could not afford to offend an elder of the sect.
Thud.
The large gord finally landed and the thoughts of the disciples cleared up as the elder leading the group stood in front of them.
There were seventeen disciples in this journey and three elders were in charge of them. They were all at the Nascent Soul Stage.
The elder in the middle was a mature looking woman. She had a unique and elegant disposition, making everyone subconsciously feel respectful towards her.
Her gaze was sharp which showed her cold and aloof temperament.
To her right was a short old man with a brawny figure. His muscles were ripped as his arms were as thick as a log.
His robes were loose and he did not bother fixing them, making him appear sloppy and lazy. The top of his head was shining in baldness which matched well with his roguish appearance.
On the left side of the mature woman was a middle-aged man with hawk-like eyes. His long violet hair swayed freely behind his back, giving him a unique handsome appeal.
They too wore hanfu clothing, but their inner garbs were in a deep green hue. A badge with the letter of "Elder" could also be seen tied up on their waist which signified their position in the sect.
The mature-looking woman who had the position of an elder, stood in front of the entire group and spoke.
"All of you have already been briefed in what your duties will be." Her voice sounded rather cold and distant, as if she did not want to have anything to do with the group.
"I expect you all to follow through the process perfectly. One mistake and you will be demoted, is that clear?"
Her warning caused several disciples to gulp out of nervousness. They knew that she wasn't making a threat.
"Yes, Elder Han."
Their failure would cost their entire hard work. That was how heavy and important of a duty the disciple recruitment was.
Some of the disciples however, were unaffected by her threat. This included Ren Yimu, Zhu Lian, and other disciples who had some sort of backing in the sect.
The mature woman, Han Qiuyue, didn't look bothered by the fact that her warning was ignored. Actually, she just didn't care.
She was a newly appointed elder, who was at the same time, the direct disciple of the sect leader.
She was sent here to oversee the event, but her master also told her to adopt a disciple she deemed had potential.
After all, the woman herself was only a step away from breaking through the immortal realm and all she lacked was just a little bit of enlightenment.
She was considered as a generational genius and she is still called that to this day because she was only 75 years old and had reached the peak of the nascent soul stage.
Unfortunately, she had been stuck at the peak of the nascent soul realm for more than 20 years, forcing her to search for enlightenment by herself.
Her master had already taught her everything she knew, all that was left was for her to receive some enlightenment or divine comprehension so that she could break through.
One method her master suggested was to take in disciples, but Han Qiuyue herself did not like children.
Although she wasn't lazy, she just didn't like the hassle of teaching some brat and hoped that it would help herself in her own cultivation.
In short, Han Qiuyue was completely uninterested in anything else other than her own cultivation which normally wouldn't be wrong for cultivators since they pursued the path of immortality.
So, all her mind was entirely filled with cultivation as she would rather cultivate all day every day to which her master surprisingly disapproves.
She would not socialize, much less interact with her fellow cultivators. It seemed that she even abhorred the idea of socializing.
Her master thought that this was most likely one of the reasons she couldn't ascend and that her introverted and lonely mentality needed to be fixed.
As a result, her master sent her here, much to the latter's displeasure.
She turned her back towards the group and scanned the mass of youths that were eager to join the sect.
Noticing the nervous and respectful gazes of the young nobles, she clicked her tongue as she didn't find anyone worthy to teach.
The Cleansing Jade Sect group started floating.
Before they could all descend, She did not forget to say, "If there is any youth who has unblocked their Qi by themselves, bring them to me."
This time, the two other elders looked at her. Their eyes slightly narrowed while trying to guess what she was thinking.
Han Qiuyue simply ignored them and descended first.
The other disciples didn't find anything strange with her words and simply followed behind her.
They landed on the concrete ground of the harbor. The sun was shining brightly which complimented the clear blue skies.
Han Qiuyue looked at the sky in irritation, thinking that it was too damn bright. She preferred to be inside the cave where her house was.
At least there, she could be focused on cultivating, and not wasting time talking to people who she was sure she would forget.
Shaking off her sentiments, she began to float in mid air and stopped in front of the King of the Xia Kingdom who was standing on a tall stage. The King focused on Han Qiuyue who seemed to be the leader of the group.
The crowd quieted down as they waited for the exchange between their King and the female elder. They couldn't help but think that this elder seemed pretty young. Not only that, but she was a rare beauty as well.
But they did not dare to get any ideas about her since for all they knew, she could actually be a hundred year old woman that focused on retaining her youth.
After all, most cultivators were like that.
"Get to work." The female elder spoke coldly.
The seventeen or so disciples scattered and forced the countless youths to form an orderly line. This included even the young nobles as they left their comfortable carriages and stood in front of the youth commoners.
They all had various ages, ranging from 10 to 21. All were free to test their abilities and hope to join their Cleansing Jade Sect.
The disciple recruitment was simple, The disciples of the sect were to oversee the costumary trials which included, strength, endurance, intelligence, and flexibility.
They were in charge of banishing any foul play or cheating during the trials.
Meanwhile, the elders were there to guard the disciples, to stop them from conducting any favoritism.
The trials lasted for seven days and as for the venue...
Three disciples opened the large cap of the gord. It had a wide diameter, allowing at least two adult persons to enter.
On the entrance was a picturisque illusion of a part of nature. There were several woods and grasses, but that was all they could see.
It seemed as if it was an entrance to another place, a portal of some sort.
The crowd clamored while the parents encouraged their children. Some were waving back to their parents, telling them to wish them luck while others were orphans with determined gazes.
The disciples guided them in an orderly manner and before anyone realized it, five lines with numerous youths were formed that were ready to enter the entrance of the gord.
During this time, Zhu Lian was enjoying the fun experience and cheerfully greeting some of the youths.
Apart from her, everyone else ignored the youths.
To them, mortals would be a waste of time since they were similar to ants.
Meanwhile, some of the male disciples had their own interests as they observed the line of youths, looking for any interesting beauty that could catch their attention.
-
During all this, Han Qiuyue stood in front of the King of the Xia Kingdom. The two elders did not bother them and focused on the three clan heads who were standing beneath the King's stage.
The elder with long purple hair had a strange flash in his eyes as he unhesitatingly went towards the head of the Wan Clan.
As for the short browny elder, he was conversing with Marshal Tian, who seemed like a giant compared to him.
The head of the Shi family was left out, but he did not show any dissatisfaction, but he did hide his ugly face while thinking of dozens of ways to destroy the Tian Clan.
"So? Where's your supposed talented daughter and what stage is she in?"
Han Qiuyue asked tonelessly towards the King of Xia Kingdom.
The latter didn't seem to mind the lack of respect of the former. Instead, he merely answered, "She had been in seclusion this entire time so even I am not sure."
The nearby crowd and noble heads perked up their ears as they finally heard something about the princess.
The female elder's face didn't change as she asked, "And? When will she arrive?"
The lack of interest was evident in her attitude but the King still continued to answer.
"She will arrive a little sooner. I hope that elder Han could take care of her in the sect."
Although the King was blatantly implying to have the elder take his daughter as a disciple, the former didn't find it disrespectful and simply responded in a vague manner.
"We'll see..."
Their attention turned to the entrance of the gord where the youths in front of the line were ready to enter.
"The Cleansing Jade Sect disciple recruitment shall begin!" A male disciple announced with qi imbued in his voice.
The crowd cheered as the youths were beginning to feel a myriad of emotions such as determination, fear, anxiety, excitement, and more.
Tian Delun, the grandson of the Marshal Tian, sighed as he did not find the person he was waiting for.
He could only shake his head and enter the gord first since he was in the front. Similarly, Shi Jingfei constantly glanced towards the King's stage, thinking that Meixiang would appear there along with his sister.
He clicked his tongue at the thought that his sister would once again show herself. He honestly thought it was better for her to die.
As for why his hatred went to this extent, only the experiences he had during the past years where his talented sister disappeared could tell what happened.
Actually, his body still had the markings of this hellish experience.
While he stood in front of the entrance of the gord, he glanced one last time towards the Royal Family's stage.
'Don't let me see you again, Sister. For I will really kill you this time... whether you are here or not, your existence brings misery to me...' With a dangerous glint in his eyes, he entered the portal without looking back.
Edited By: WorthyAdversary