I'm glad I passed the second trial, but what the heck? How will I inform Luli about not coming home for a year? I thought, and I could see the same worries written on the other participants' faces.
"Please head inside the sect," instructed the trial conductor with a smile.
"Father will have to endure my absence this time," said Fei Fei, as she shook her head in despair.
"We should take good care of ourselves," said Mimi with a smile, as Muyang nodded in agreement.
The trial coordinator led us into the sect, handing us over to another man who was neatly dressed in a blue robe.
The Mount Hua Sect is indeed a paradise on earth. There were people dressed in blue, white, and red, each practicing swordsmanship. Their swords brought out flashes of light according to the colors of their robes as they wielded them smoothly.
"Mount Hua is responsible for cultivating great disciples. We have three masters: the sect leader, who is Master Taiyuan, the sword master, and the earth master," explained the man with a smile.
"There are three senior disciples under them: Senior Disciple Zhang Han, who is the best disciple of Master Taiyuan, Senior Disciple Wang Lei, who is the best disciple of the sword master, and Senior Disciple Qui Kong, who is the best disciple of the earth master," the man continued.
The thirty participants were soon led to a playground, more like where the disciples were practicing earlier. There stood a man with white hair, wearing a white robe, a woman with long black hair, wearing a red robe, and a man with black long hair, wearing a blue robe.
"Those are the three masters," I thought, grinning from ear to ear, as I stared at them, neatly dressed and with this elegant look.
"Welcome to the Mount Hua Sect. I'm the sect leader," said the man dressed in a white robe, with a long, cold face.
"Yes, welcome, all of you. We're so happy to have you here. I'm the sword master," said the woman dressed in red.
"You all passed the test, that's why you have the opportunity to be here. I'm the earth master," said the man dressed in blue as he introduced himself.
"This is the third trial. Before you is a big box which contains the name of the master you'll be serving for a month, the master who you will be a disciple of after the trial ends," explained the sect leader, pointing to the box before us.
"The box contains the names of the three senior disciples who are under us. You will come forward one at a time and pick a paper, on which you will reveal the name of your master after the completion," the sect leader continued.
"As you all know, the third trial is to test your patience. The three masters have different personalities. Only those who are able to endure without quitting will pass the third trial," said the sword master with a comforting smile.
"Does that mean if we quit and want to leave, we fail the third trial?" asked one of the participants.
"This is good. We can decide to leave or stay by ourselves," said another.
"It's not a death sentence anyway. We're not fighting any monsters!" exclaimed another with a smile.
"Are you saying we will be serving under someone, attending to their needs like a maid?" asked Fei Fei, her brows raised in confusion.
"Yes and no. Yours is a trial, not like a normal slave. Although you'll be serving under your masters, you won't be treated like slaves. You only need to attend to one master, a senior disciple who has served under us, the three masters," said the sword master, dissolving Fei Fei's confusion.
"Your robe will be purple pending the time you become a full disciple in the sect. You're not wearing orange like the servants," said the earth master, pointing to a group of people wearing orange as they were busy carrying out different chores.
"Every disciple in the Mount Hua Sect has served under a senior disciple, and you were able to see them here because they passed without giving up," said the sword master.
"It's still like being a maid, purple or not. We're still going to serve under someone we know nothing about," said Fei Fei with a serious tone.
"You can give up on this trial and walk out now. The gate is open," stated the sect leader with a serious expression.
"Calm down, Fei Fei. We've made it this far. We can't give up yet when we haven't even started," I whispered into her ear, and I'm glad she agreed.
"I'm not giving up no matter what," said Fei Fei, her brows raised at the sect leader who replied to her with a nod.
"Since no one is giving up yet, step up one after the other to pick a paper that has the names of the three disciples written on it. The name of the person you choose is the person you'll be serving under," said the sword master.
After a series of queues, it was finally my turn. I dipped my hand into the big box, fiddled with the paper, and finally took one.
I just hope I choose a good master, someone who will be able to teach me all the important skills. It's not easy to be in this world after all. It's been a series of dramas upon dramas since I got here, I thought, with a frustrated sigh.
"Please reveal the name written on the paper you took. That is the senior disciple you will be serving under," instructed the sword master.
Fei Fei was the first person to reveal her paper. It was Senior Disciple Wang Lei, the senior disciple under the sword master.
I'm so happy for her. She's so good at sword fighting. Having a master like the sword master is a blessing. I really wish to have the same master. I also want to serve under Senior Disciple Wang Lei, I thought, my hands placed on my chest like someone who is about to pray, now opening my eyes to reveal my master's name.