One by one, the crowd starting thinning out. Many failed. The few that did pass slowly crowded the waiting area.
Li Feng counted perhaps fifty around him, maybe even more.
The sheer percentage of people who were disqualified shocked him.
If this was how hard the first trial was going to be, then just how many would the second trial eliminate? How many did the sect even plan to take in?
Finally, a few minutes later, everyone finished the test, bringing the tally of those passing to a staggering sixty two.
Shi Hou and the Gentle Sword slowly walked in front of them, glancing at all the young men and women in front of him.
"Alright. We finally brought that giant crowd down to something we can work with." He stretched his arms as he looked at everyone.
"And it looks like this time, we have more than usual. That's interesting." The Gentle Sword said.
"Well then. Time for introductions. I am your Senior Brother. Shi Hou. Well, for some of you, at least." Shi Hou chuckled as he turned around.
"Time to move. We need to go to the second trial, after all. There are so many trials ahead of us. We can't just stay here, waste time." He said as he started walking.
Quickly, the people around Li Feng started following the two figures in front of them.
This time, the walk was much faster, as they quickly reached a pavilion in the same road that the tests were held.
From where he stood, Li Feng could see a giant staircase up the mountain in front of them. Perhaps this was the entrance to the actual sect.
But that was beyond him.
For now, he had to pass the test that was in front of him.
The pavilion was giant, and could house way more than just the sixty that had come in.
At the side, there was a small desk, with an old man slouched over it, his eyes half closed.
"Why is it that everyone I see in this sect just loves to be so lazy?" Li Feng wondered.
Shi Hou stepped up to the old man and cupped his hands.
"Elder. We are here for the second trial. If you could so please, we will enter the Dream Pavilion." Shi Hou asked.
The old man rose up, glancing at Shi Hou and then at the youngsters who arrived with him.
"New Meat? Fine. Let's hope there's some promising ones among them." He grumbled as he got up.
Putting his hand on the doors of the Pavilion, he held a jade token with an inscription on the back.
The jade token shone with a lush green as the doors of the pavilion slid open, revealing the dark inside.
"We have very little time, so follow me and let's make this quick. We don't want to keep the elder waiting for long." Shi Hou quickly said as he walked in.
Li Feng glanced at the old elder who had his hands on the door.
It appeared that even after opening the pavilion, the old man didn't move. Instead, he stood there, leaning against the door.
"Does he need to keep prying the door open?" Li Feng wondered.
He looked back at the single file that was walking through the thin slit of an entrance that the old elder had created.
Li Feng followed through, and walked into the dark room that awaited him.
As he passed the threshold, and cold gale rushed through him. It felt very different from when he saw the veiled woman in the waiting area.
This felt more malicious, whereas that felt more aloof.
"Come now. Look at the mats on the floor and take a seat." Shi Hou said as he walked further into the giant hall.
Even in the dim lighting, Li Feng could indeed make out the different mats on the floor. Next to each dusty mat was an incense bowl with one stick of incense already burning.
Seeing most of the big weights from the largest families take their pick, Li Feng resigned himself to the edge of the hall.
As he sat on the mat, cross legged, he could smell the gentle scent of the incense calming him down.
He felt like he had to close his eyes, and bask in the presence of the smell.
Losing all control, his eyelids slammed shut as the smell created some sort of barrier around him.
It was like all the sound and light around him was slowly fading away, and all that remained was him, and the smell.
"What is this feeling? It feels so odd?" Li Feng wondered as he opened his eyes.
But what he saw was nothing close to what he imagined.
Instead of returning back to the giant hall, he was dangling in space?
Thats right!
He was hovering in the middle of this dark space. His arms and legs were flailing about as he desperately tried to look around.
"What is going on? Where am I?" He wondered to himself.
And as he did, the same thoughts echoed around him with amplified sounds.
Li Feng took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He looked at his hands. They were no where similar to what he was used to seeing.
They were translucent, like that of a ghost.
And around him, the darkness settled, and he seemed to be able to see past it.
It appeared as if he was in the starry sky that he loved looking at as a child.
It was his own starry sky. The same section that he saw every single day when he laid on the grass with his parents.
"Feng'er. Come inside!"
All of a sudden, he heard a familiar voice shout at him.
Li Feng got up, and turned around.
"Wait a minute! When was I sitting on grass?" Li Feng looked down at the solid grass beneath him, and the starry sky above him.
A gentle figure was calling for him from behind.
Li Feng knew where this was. How could he not?
He was home.
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