A blinding black flash of light covered a large field of orange grass for a second. Youths from various races materialized onto the field after the flash of light in a total daze. One moment they were still in the luxurious main hall and the next they were on a patch of orange grass outside.
Long Wei appeared next to Elder Cai and Elder Bohai on a floating platform next to the other elders. He gave Elder Bohai a knowing glance. A few words were stuck in his throat, he wanted to give him a piece of his mind for taking such drastic action when they could have flown and arrived here a few seconds later. But he understood the reason. Time was a precious commodity. Especially for young cultivators like him. The sooner they got through the ceremony, the quicker they could get to more important things.
Except for the geniuses from Transcendent level factions, all the others were randomly teleported to the expansive orange field below. The red-haired kid with the phoenix pendant stood next to a muscular man and a frail lady. Besides his admiration for the kid's talents, an odd sensation thrummed within him whenever he gazed at the pendant. It held faint traces of an aura he couldn't make out, yet the familiarity was there. As for the people next to the kid? They weren't worthy of his attention.
An old man spotting a white robe decorated with golden cloud-shaped symbols walked to the forefront of the platform. A collection of elders dressed in golden robes with hints of blue around the edges walked behind him in a disciplined fashion. He drew an arm to his long beard and coughed lightly. Instantly all the want-to-be-disciples shot their attention to the platform floating above them.
"I don't have much to say. But. I hope you have all prepared sufficiently for this entrance exam. My Spectral Haven Sect emphasizes quality...over quantity. So we don't mind letting you return whence you came from if you don't pass. The preliminary examinations is simple. We will do a Talent Verication test first. This simply means we will test your soul and bone age, potential and talent and lastly your cultivation relative to age, " the old man spoke powerfully with his elderly voice," May the Recruitment Ceremony officially begin. Elder MO it's your turn. "
The old man waved his hand. The platform they stood on began to shift, slowly changing its shape. Within the next few seconds, it morphed, letting go of its square shape to form a giant ring in the sky. More platforms rose from the ring, pushing those with a higher status higher and those with lower statuses lower. Another few seconds later and those platforms became intricately designed pavilions fit for kings and queens, filled with drinks and food of the highest order. Only five pavilions sat at the highest point, far above the rest. One held all the Core Disciples of the Spectral Haven Sect. Two of them were claimed by the Tian Clan and Yu Clan. The other held the Spectral Haven's Core Elders and Vice Sect Master. The last one was taken by Long Wei.
Elder MO, littered with scars across his face. broke away from the legion of gold-robed elders behind the old man and flew down the platform-turned-ring and landed on the orange grass. With a wave of his hand, a purple ring on his index finger glowed. Not a second later and a massive archway materialized behind him. The moment it fully materialised, it released massive amounts of pressure that nearly swept away the recruits
The archway was an archway made from pieces of wood and inscribed with various ability runes. As long as anyone walked through the archway it would scan for all the required information.
"All you need to do is step through this archway. As long as you are under a hundred you'll make it to the other side. If you don't? You'll be repelled. The talentless are not welcome to my Spectral Haven Sect, " Elder Mo said, "The first batch can go through. "
With those words, the recruitment ceremony began. The crowd of youths closest to the archway took minutes to begin moving. Very few were courageous enough to stare the obstacle that could make or break their life in the eyes and push forward. Those from noble backgrounds were simply trying to find the perfect timing to showcase their talents. Going right after someone that showed epic results was dumb, but letting too many weaklings go ahead was dumb as well.
A young man from an unknown background ushered all the courage he could muster to his core and dashed, hoping to arrive on the other side of the archway before it activated. A fool's dream, unfortunately. Massive amounts of force tore through his body, shooting him back into the distance. No one paid heed to the man's end and dashed towards the archway. Whether they remained mediocre or became an expert depended on their ability to walk through that gate. And they just weren't going to give up.
The crowd swarmed the archway. Countless individuals shot back after hitting an invisible barrier, signalling their advanced age. The archway mowed more than fifty per cent of the youths present, something that confused Long Wei. Clearly, the elder explained the age requirement to pass through the archway, why bother going through the pain if you knew your age? Masochism?
"Don't be confused young master, " Elder Cai said, reaching into a bowl of peanuts, "You'll see."
Long Wei took note of Elder Cai's words and focused a bit more on the commotion beneath them. He could practically feel the ground walk as countless feet stomped on it. A spark of silver covered his black pupils as he gazed at the participants. All colour disappeared from his vision, leaving him with various black flaming masses to work with: Life Force. The taller the flaming black mass, the older the individual. A two-meter black mass meant an age greater than a hundred. His Heaven Shrouding Eyes gave him the peculiar ability to see through the origins of the world. Peering into a being's true life force was just one of its many abilities.
Countless flaming black masses greater than two meters dashed through the archway, unaffected by the barrier that should have stopped anyone older than a hundred. Silver disappeared from his eyes, replaced by black. That gave him all the information he needed.
"Truly an ingenius test, I must say, " Long Wei smirked, "So people can be tricked in this way as well. But, only a few of them stayed behind. Could it be that they weren't tricked? "
"Not at all, " Elder Bohai spoke, "Most of them don't know anything, they just simply wield one of the most core principals for any cultivator. Stubbornness. And those that stayed behind simply resigned to their fate. Young Master. That is something you should never do. Never resign to your Fate. That goes against everything we cultivators stand for. Do remember that strategic surrender and resigning to your fate are too different concepts though they may seem similar in practice."
"So they are only testing cultivation relative to age...huh. That is the most comprehensive way of doing it. It allows them to gather promising talents without having to sort through them one by one. To think I was fooled," Long Wei laughed, "I'm loving this. "
More than half of the participants failed the first major barrier to entering the Spectral Haven Sect. Those that made it gathered behind the archway, sitting down crossed-legged. Most of them were smart enough to immediately begin absorbing spirit qi in order to readjust their physical conditions.
Long Wei's gaze constantly focused on Feng Li, the kid with bright red hair and the Phoenix pendant. The ease with which the kid sieved through the archway amused him. It was almost as if the pressure barring down on the participants was none existent. Not even a single drop of blood or sweat dribbled down his puffy cheeks.
"When will I get my report in that kid? I really want to carve him into a wonderful piece of art," Long Wei said.
"A few more days," Elder Cai rolled his eyes.
"With the first part of the test complete. It's time to move on to part two, "Elder Mo said," Next is testing your martial talent. If your talent is below Golden Immortal Potential then my Spectral Haven Sect will not even bother to have you here. You are not worthy. "
As Elder Mo finished his words, a giant pillar shot from the centre of the orange field, straight for the sky. It had a grey surface, etched with various types of runes. Light constantly pulsed around the edges, signalling its status as a divine artefact. Long Wei remained silent watching for other talents that he may have overlooked.
"Fuck this shit! Why the fuck are we going through this tedious places when those Transcendent Dao Children aren't even being tested?"