Wu Li opened his eyes from his night-long meditation to rays of sunlight streaming through a nearby window. His eyes glowed with a faint, light blue aura, an aura that was already beginning to dim.
He quickly got up from the cushion he was sitting on, turning to the window far to the right from where he was in the center of the room.
"It's almost time for the examination," he mutters to himself.
The cultivator quickly changes into a new set of robes, the very same Illuminated Sword Sect uniform that every disciple of his rank wore. However, it now sported a new addition: a conspicuous golden pendant, slightly yet noticeably smaller than his jade pendant, with the word "veteran" etched into it. A supposed honor for those returning from war. Even though the function it served was purely decorative.
Wu Li stared at his reflection in a nearby mirror for a moment, his eyes blankly fixed on that pendant, before emerging from his small house, stepping out into the courtyard. He stops for a moment and stares at the empty land.
"Maybe I should begin growing some spirit herbs," he says. "Especially now that I'm not going to be getting my regular soldier's salary of pills for my cultivation anymore. The qi in the soil here's pretty rich so I should at least be getting decent yields. I'll go purchase some seeds after the exam."
With that, Wu Li checks to make sure his sword was at his hip before quickly seting off towards the test area, trying his best to dig up its location from the recesses of his memories.
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The central square of the Illuminated Sword Sect was, without a doubt, the busiest part of the Illuminated Sword Sect all times of the day.
Although it was called the central square by its members, it was more like a university with some shops located sporadically. It was where all the disciples had their lessons or trained in combat or usage of their codex. No matter how dark or bright the sky was, no matter what the weather was, there were always cultivators out and about.
As Wu Li made his way towards the examination area in the very center of the central square, it didn't take long before he began to hear the quiet conversations all around him gradually transition to the subject of him.
"Hey, that guy over there has a veteran's badge?"
"Wait, seriously? Whoa, you're right! But what's a disciple from the lower reaches doing with a veteran's badge?"
"Could it be fake? But it doesn't look fake. Plus, if it were, he definitely would have been apprehended by now."
"If that guy really is a veteran, he must be somebody amazing. I wonder what his codex is."
Wu Li subtly raised an eyebrow at that.
Do the other disciples not know about what happens to those who fail the initiative skill assessment or the two year checkpoint?
Wu Li scratches his head.
But then again, if I remember right, I also didn't really know what would've happened if I failed that checkpoint. I just assumed that I'd be kicked out of the sect, not conscripted.
He tuned out the chattering as he navigated around the central square. It wasn't long before he found himself at his location.
The examination area was easily the largest section within the entirety of the central square, almost to the scale of being its own little town. Within was a huge courtyard area and numerous buildings, all surrounded by large walls and encapsulated within a large formation. It was built to host every examination that the sect would conduct, whether they be tests in alchemy, creation of formations, enhancements, artifact creation, or, most importantly of all, combat.
Wu Li looked up at the large double doors in front of him. They were still sealed shut, causing him to begin panicking slightly.
"Oh crap, am I late?" he asks himself. He reaches for his jade pendant and pours a bit of qi into it, activating it. "No. If anything, I should be pretty early."
"Indeed! No later than everybody else, in fact!"
A new voice cuts off his thoughts. Wu Li whips around to the source of the sudden intrusion.
Walking towards him was a man, around the same age as him, with short, dark black hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in the very same white and blue robes that Wu Li was dressed in, albeit without the flamboyant golden pendant pinned over his heart.
"Hello, fellow disciple!" he loudly greets. He walks forward several more steps before clasping his hands at a respectful distance. "A splendid morning, isn't it? Are you here for the upcoming exam?"
Wu Li blinked a couple times, somewhat startled by the disciple's enthusiasm. He quickly regains his wits, however.
"Yes, yes I am," he says. "And you are…?"
"Hm? You don't know who I am?" the disciple says.
He actually looked genuinely baffled at that. Wu Li raised an eyebrow at that.
Well, that was at least until the disciple's eyes flitted noticeably to the golden pendant tacked to Wu Li's uniform.
"Oh, you're a veteran!" he says, the confused look on his face breaking into a bright smile. "That explains it! Though it's unusual that a lower reaches disciple would be sent to the battlefield, the sect usually likes to wait until they at least rise to the upper reaches. But that's beside the point! You must have come back to the main school very recently!"
"Um, yeah, I actually just got back two days ago," Wu Li says. Wow, talk about being full of yourself. "Along with my fellow, uh, soldiers. We're all supposed to be here for the upcoming initiative skill assessment."
"Is that so? Well, good on you for being early!"
The other disciple walks up to Wu Li and holds out a hand. A friendly smile appears on his face.
"The name's Chen Jiayi, ranked top three out of esteemed elder Starry Sky's disciples!" he exclaims. "But please just address me as fellow disciple Jiayi!"
Wu Li stares at Jiayi for a moment, before reaching out and grabbing his hand.
"Wu Li," he simply greets, shaking the other disciple's hand.
"How nice it is to meet you, Wu Li!" Jiayi exclaims. The two disciples pull their hands away from each other. "Though we may have just now met, considering your status as a veteran, you must be somebody quite amazing! Tell me fellow disciple, which codex do you practice?"
And this is when things start getting a bit shifty, Wu Li inwardly grumbles to himself.
"Which codex do I practice?" he asks. "Well, um…I'm not completely comfortable with telling others about it. How about you?"
"Is that so?" Jiayi quickly replies with. "I will respect your decision, then! After all, it most likely pales in comparison to mine, speaking as a dedicated practitioner of the Codex of the Tiger King's Indestructible Vessel!"
Wu Li's eyebrows rose.
The Codex of the Tiger King's Indestructible Vessel was infamous for being, without the slightest shadow of a doubt, among one of the strongest codices in not just the Illuminated Sword Sect's grand library, but in all the righteous lands. As the user cultivated further and further along the codex, his senses were gradually refined and sharpened to an almost superhuman level. The user's qi would be replaced with a much more primal, animalistic variant of it, one that ravenously devoured any forms of qi that wasn't its own. At the same time, it refined the bones and muscles of the user, making them more powerful. The combination made for a deadly duo that, despite what the name may sound like, abandoned all defense for an indefensible offensive potential.
The top third disciple already has a codex this amazing? Wu Li thought to himself. It's starting to get scary just thinking about the top two. His standing within the sect as a whole must be pretty high as well.
Jiayi laughed at Wu Li's expression.
"Quite amazing, aren't I?!" he boisterously exclaims. "But worry not! Pass the initiative assessment and I will personally help you become almost half as amazing as me as your senior disciple!"
"Thanks, I guess. But aren't you and I about the same age?"
Chen Jiayi laughed again as he kept vigorously shaking Wu Li's hand. Meanwhile, the former squadron leader assessed the man in front of him.
Definitely a goofball. But if he really practices the Codex of the Tiger King's Indestructible Vessel…
Wu Li's expression became marginally more serious.
Then in a direct one-on-one encounter, I don't think I'd be able to win. I don't think Baoxian or Hua would be able to either. But it's only understandable that the top third strongest of a sect's elder's disciples is so formidable.
"Wu Li!"
A familiar voice cuts him from his thoughts. Wu Li and Jiayi both turn to the direction of the voice.
Xue Hua, dressed suitably in the sect's standard female uniform with a brand new addition, a flamboyant golden pendant with the word "veteran" etched into it pinned right above her right breast.
"Xue Hua!" Wu Li greets back.
Both cultivators unstrapped their sheathed swords from their sides and smacked their sides together as if they were crossing blades. Meanwhile, Jiayi just stared, slack-jawed, at the female disciple.
"You're here early," she says as they both restrap their sheaths to their hips. "And I see that you've already made a friend."
"Ah, well, not really," Wu Li says. "We just met. Heh, you'll never guess who this guy is. He-"
Wu Li's words were suddenly cut off when Jiayi wrapped his arm around the back of his neck and suddenly spun the two of them around, forcefully Wu Li into a small huddle. When Wu Li came to, the first thing he saw was Jiayi's face, right next to his with a cheeky smile that could only possibly mean trouble.
"Hey, fellow disciple," he says, his usually loud, boisterous voice reduced to a near silent whisper. "Why didn't you tell me that you knew such a pretty fellow female disciple?"
"Huh? Well, the topic never came up," Wu Li whispers back. "If you're looking to try courting her, I really advise against it. She'll steamroll you."
"I'm assuming you speak from personal experience," Jiayi whispers with a smirk. "Besides, I like a good challenge."
"Well good luck with that," Wu Li says. He dislodges himself from Jiayi's embrace.
Time went on as Jiayi excitedly talked up Wu Li. More and more people gathered before the large double doors of the encapsulated area. It didn't take long before the crowd was so large that a portion of the middle of the sect's central square was completely occupied with cultivators. Zhou Baoxian, who was unfortunate enough to arrive at the examination area fairly later than a majority of the cultivators, struggled to reach the other former squadron leaders at the front of the group.
However, Wu Li noticed something strange.
"Almost time for the exam!" Jiayi exclaims. He grins and nudges Wu Li with his elbow. "You feeling nervous?"
"Not particularly," Wu Li says as he looks around. "But, uh, everyone here's from the encampment. They all have veteran badges."
"And you expected otherwise because…?" Jiayi asks.
"What are you doing here then?" Wu Li says. "I knew that Elder Starry Sky would be proctoring the assessment, but why're you waiting here as if you're also waiting for the exam to begin?"
"Ah, I'm only stuck out here because I was…very late," Jiayi says with a sheepish laugh. "The other disciples and I were supposed to meet up there very long before the actual assessment."
"Huh? Why?" Wu Li asks.
"Well, that's because-"
A loud rumbling sound suddenly appeared from nowhere. Almost instantly, everybody turned their attention to the large double doors leading into the examination center of the Illuminated Sword Sect's central square, both of which began to slowly open up.
"It's finally time," Zhou Baoxian says.
The crowd they were in slowly began to surge forward towards the doorway. Despite how large their group was, thanks to how large the entrance was, it didn't take long before everybody was able to go through.
Wu Li turned around as the last of the large flood of veterans entered the examination square. The large double doors leading into it slammed shut behind them with a very loud boom.
Inside was a very, very large and open plaza, surrounded by buildings of various shapes and sizes, almost large enough to seem like its own town. Standing in the center of that plaza was a large crowd of Illuminated Sword Sect disciples, their numbers almost as large as the number of veterans standing before the opened doorway.
Wu Li's eyes widened at the sheer number of people. One of Xue Hua's eyebrows rose in curiosity while Baoxian just whistled.
As the doors finished opening completely, they all clasped their hands together and raised them towards the former soldiers.
Then, their voices resonated with simultaneity, booming across the entirety of the central square.
"Welcome back to the main school, fellow disciples!"