Zeng Meirong awoke to sound she never heard before as she turned to stare at the large light screen that displayed, 'Talisman Knowledge Test @13:00'.
"Silence, you infernal demon", Meirong said aloud and the alarm terminated, "Oh, it responds to voice commands!"
She looked over at the 'clock' on the wall to see 11:00 displayed on it and rose from bed. She took a shower even though she didn't need to, fairly early in cultivation, cultivators will reach a state where dirt and dust are driven away. But she enjoyed the feel of water, especially warm spirit water, and the scents from the cleaning products, mainly 'soap, shampoo, and conditioner' smelled wonderfull. After finishing and getting dressed in some robes provided by the city, she warmed a meal using the video instructions and ate. She left the room and made her way to the street, where she located the taxi stand that light screen informed her about. She waited in line for a minute before a taxi bike appeared in front of her as the covered top slide open and she entered the pod.
As the cover closed she heard, "Swipe your identification card please. "
She reached into her sleeve pocket, pulled out both cards, and complied with the request.
"Select your destination or use a locator card to set your destination", the voice said.
She swiped the second card and heard a confirmation sound, "Zeng Meirong, Sun & Moon City Education Center, is this correct?"
"Yes", Meirong responded.
The taxi bike smoothly accelerated and entered traffic and the light screen in front of her had multiple sections. The first section was a map of the city with the route highlighted by arrows, the speed, approximate distance, and time displayed. The second screen was blank with a indicator glowing with the words 'Press here to power on'. Curious, she pressed the space and the light screen displayed a man and woman sitting behind a desk with flowers on it, and behind them on the wall was a sign that said 'Sun & Moon News'. The woman on the left spoke, "Over the past several days over nine thousand people in total have traveled to Sun & Moon Island. When asked for comment, the ministry said that the additional citizens were recruited by Boss Wei, and the residents were made aware that this will not affect the security or resources of the island."
The man spoke next, "In other news, we have been informed that the temporary holiday for industry professionals has ended and personnel were seen boarding the trains again this morning heading back to work. When asked went the three day suspension of work was necessary, we received the answer that Minister Ye Peizhi of the Administrative Department will hold a press briefing at 21:00 tonight to explain all the new plans."
Meirong was baffled, 'why was the Ministry explaining their plans with the normal citizen of the island. Do normal residents even need to know about the plans of their exalted leaders?'
She was about to hear the next story when the screen blanked out and text appeared on the screen 'Destination reached. Please enjoy your day!'
A little disappointed, she exited the taxi bike and walked towards the large building with many others entering inside. A sign on the building read 'Sun & Moon City Education Center' and she scanned the building with her eyes, five rows of glass windows were seen as she walked inside the front doors along side other people. Everyone made their way through the lobby towards the reception area, a large circular desk in the middle of the room with clerks at each station assisting the guests. Along the walls were giant light screens and more experienced guests were using them to take care of their business. Meirong lined up with the closest terminal, and after a few minutes she was greeted by a man, "Welcome the the Education Center of Sun & Moon city, is this your first time visiting here?"
"Yes it is", Meirong said while handing the two cards to the clerk.
"Thank you, ok, Miss Zeng Meirong, it says here that you applied for the Talisman maker job on arrival, and you require a placement exam for a Class 1 apprentice license. I'm inputting the directions to your classroom now, and you are ready."
Meirong took the cards and activated the blue icon that had appeared on the locator card. She followed the arrow that had appeared in front of her, and made her way to room 231. She opened the door with her ID card, and was greeted by a room filled with large but sleek pods and a man sitting behind a desk in the front of the class.
"Welcome Miss Meirong, please select a pod and open it with your card but don't do anything else until all everyone has arrived", the man instructed her.
She nodded, went the the pod closest to her, and opened the door with her card. She sat in the seat and waited, more people began to enter the room and accomplish the same steps as her. When the last person had opened their pod, the man in the front stood and walked to the front of the room, "Welcome to the Talismans knowledge placement examination. You maybe curious what these pods are and why they are here, so let me answer your questions. First of all, I am Lui Yijun, a class 2 apprentice talisman maker, and will be your proctor today. These pods that you now sit in are QR pods or Qi Realm pods, and are the creation of Boss Wei. They have the ability to simulate essentially anything, but today you will use them to take a knowledge based test and a practical skills exercise. Now, before you become to skeptical of my claims, just know that I have used both the pod and real materials to craft the same talisman. The results was identical and all artisans of all professions have trained in the pod to reduce the waste of valuable materials. Any questions so far?", Lui Yijun asked.
"What is a class 2 apprentice?", a man in the back asked.
"Good question", Yijun replied, "Here on Sun & Moon Island, we don't follow the ranking system of artisans used by everyone else. While we still use the ranks titles, we do not use junior or senior ranks. Instead, we split ever rank into class 1, 2, or 3, and each class has a standard of what must be achieved and knowledge learned to be given that rank. Until you fulfill these requirements, you all are Novice level Talismans crafters. I don't want to spend too much time answering questions, when it is easier for you to understand by starting the examination. Please close the door of your pod, put on the helmet and begin."
Meirong did as she was told and as the door closed the pod illuminated. The light screen or simply 'screen' as they called it here demonstrated how to insert her ID and exam card into the pod, and how to wear the helmet. Accomplishing these steps, she suddenly felt like she was in a whole new world. A desk with a scroll and pen and ink sat on top and she sat down in the chair.
"Write all runes, formulas, and formations you know. If your pen stops moving for five minutes, you will be considered finished and will move onto the next portion of the test", a disembodied voice instructed her.
Kong Chun was sitting in his cave on a mountaintop in the center of the White Tiger Sect. As the sect leader, he had led the eastern side of the Xian region for hundreds of years and soon another tournament would be held by the sect to search for talents buried in third rate sects and families. Something unexpected happened this year that had caused him concern, two sects and two families had dropped out of the tournament, citing that all their recent disciples didn't meet the standard set by the White Tiger Sect. A knock at the door caused him to refocus on his visitor, "Elder Ya Yu, enter."
Ya Yu opened the door and walked in front of Kong Chun and bowed, "Sect Master Kong, I have come as requested."
"Elder, why have the Tang and Chen families, Mountains and Rivers and Sword Heart sects, abandon our recruitment tournament", the sect master asked.
"Sect Master, there is a recent development that I must inform you of now that I have the chance. Do you remember the island the sits in the middle of the three continents, and the senior that stays there in secluded cultivation?", Ya Yu asked.
Kong Chun frowned as he recalled memories of his days exploring that island in search of the senior. The rumors were that the cultivator that made his home there was the pinnacle power of the world, but since he was only interested in breaking through the next level, he had ignored the rest of the world.
"Yes, I recall that the senior you mentioned", Kong replied.
"He has exited his seclusion and taken a disciple. This disciple has changed the island drastically, but it has become a cultivator's dream if you are a Qi Gathering or Foundation Establishment stage disciple.", Ya Yu explained, "I went with the disciples assigned to me along with those four third rate organizations, and I believe it would be beneficial to send more disciples there right away. But we have to make sure we carefully select who goes, there are very strict rules there and violators will be punished or exiled from the island. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the lesson that there are taller mountains everywhere and that Senior suppressed my cultivation the entire day and night we were there. So if we have problem disciples that are greedy or naught attack the citizens of the island, it would be best to leave them here."
Kong grew alarmed as this giant bombshell landed in his lap, 'that Senior is out of seclusion and is backing up a disciple', he thought as his mind raced.
"Elder Ya Yu, prepare our finest core disciples and send an invite to every sect and family in the eastern region. Explain the situation, and offer them a spot to join us in our journey to visit the island. Since he exited seclusion, we must go greet him and make a good impression", Sect Master Kong looked valiant as he order Elder Ya Yu.
Eighteen different sects or families received the invitation to join the White Tiger Sect on a expedition to the island to greet the senior. All leaders replied that they would attend this event with a few of their elders and disciples. The four third rate organizations that had already visited the island grew excited and sent people ahead to the island to reserve hotels rooms for large groups of their members.
Zeng Meirong sat there in the pod as she had just finished her practical exam, feeling like the dumbest person in the world. When she was told that most of the questions and skills tested in today's exam were what was expected of a class 1 apprentice Talisman crafter, she felt like she the task ahead of her was a giant mountain that was almost impossible to climb. When she remembered that the proctor of the exam was a class 2 apprentice Talisman crafter, her respect for him tripled.
Lui Yijun clapped his hands, "Time's up, everyone must exit the pods and return to the second floor to receive their grades and class schedule. I wish you luck and hope to see you in the workshop one day working along with the rest of us."
The attendees shuffled out of the room and made their way to the second floor. Each person received their report and most of them were despairing the result. Meirong looked at her results 'Zeng Meirong scored an over all 27 out of 100. Recommendations include attending Runes 101 and Formulas
101' and after a few moments of reflection, she calmed herself and went the the service counter for signing up for classes.
"Welcome to the Education Center, how may I be of service to you?", the attendant asked.
"Please enroll me into Runes 101, Formulas 101, and Calligraphy 101", she requested with a look of determination in her eye.