Celestial Kong Guxin from the Green Fields Martial Halls was the next grand elder to test the candidates.
"Alright then, show me some basic strokes."
This was to be the very first question that all the grand elders would ask if they are able to pass the first round of the test.
Celestial Kong Guxin had suddenly asked the testing candidate, "Do you know how to brew the Heavenly Lotus Tea?"
The testing candidate who was a young man was stunned, "What?! Erm, just throw the tea leaves into the teapot and brew it?"
He was a young master from the Gu Clan and had never brewed tea before; it was always his servants that brewed the tea for him.
"Then you are dismissed."
The young man was shocked, "You can't do this. I am from the Gu Clan..."
All of a sudden, Celestial Kong Guxin had given him a fierce look with his golden eyes and this young man was toppled onto the ground by his powerful oppressing aura, "Then you will crawl away!"
The frightened young man then began to crawl panicky away from the powerful built and fierce looking Celestial Kong Guxin.
This also caused many of the candidates to switch from his lines to the others.
This grand elder was too fierce!
The next grand elder to test the candidate was Grand Elder Bai Laoxiong from the White Spirit Hall.
"Show me a few basic strokes."
"What is the White Spirit Hall renowned of?"
The number of candidates was quickly eliminated as very few of the candidates were actually studying the books about the history of the Heavens Ridge Villa.
Then it would become apparent that the killer test was the second one and it was no wonder that the 6 grand elders were able to test so many of the candidates so quickly by gathering them together.
"Tell me the history of the six martial halls."
"What is the most renown palm profound art of the Heavens Ridge Villa?"
"How big is the Heavens Ridge Villa?"
"Including the main peaks, how many other peaks are there in the Heavens Ridge Villa?"
Some of the questions asked were simply too ridiculous. It was suddenly obvious to many of the candidates that the grand elders were not particularly interested in selecting anyone of them as a core protégé.
Finally, Celestial Shi Guanyin asked a candidate, "Who is Fairy Jade Light? What is her background?"
This candidate was a young maiden and she was smiling.
This was an easy question for her to answer without a need to study in the confined cells of the Iron Tower.
She was thankful that her clan had secretly pay the bribes to one of the elders of the Red Heaven Sword Hall and Celestial Shi Guanyin must have purposely given her a special treatment.
So she replied quite eagerly, "Fairy Jade Light is the founder of the Heavens Ridge Villa."
This was too easy for her and it seemed that she had a high chance of being a core protégé…
"No, she is the matriarch. You are out." This was the reply.
The female candidate was left stunned by Celestial Shi Guanyin.
Soon another candidate was asked the same question by Grand Elder Yun Xing and he answered confidently, "She is the matriarch of the Heavens Ridge Villa…"
Grand Elder Yun Xing hummed coldly, "How dare you address our matriarch as just 'she'. This is too disrespectful. Out you go."
Everyone: …
In just a short while, nearly a hundred candidates had already been eliminated!
When it was Tang Bufan turn to face Celestial Shi Guanyin, he was told to display a sword stroke by a smiling Celestial Shi Guanyin who said. "Finally a decent one. He is a Third Realm Expert already. Not bad. What is your name?"
This caused Tang Bufan's nervousness to vanish immediately as he greeted, "Protege Tang Bufan greets Grand Elder Shi Guanyin."
His Tang Clan did pay the bribe to the Heavens Ridge Villa, right?
Tang Bufan immediately displayed a sword stroke that was imbued with sword energies enveloping around his sword.
Many of the candidates and even protégés were gasping, "He has grasped the principles of the sword energies already."
"He has the Sword Energy Body!"
Celestial Bai Laoxiong from the White Spirit Hall turned to smile at Celestial Shi Guanyin, "If you don't want him, I want him."
Celestial Shi Guanyin chuckled softly, "Too bad, I do want him." She raised a flag, indicating that she had selected a core protégé and that she was no longer accepting any core protégés.
She did not even ask him a question about the history of the Heavens Ridge Villa or some other questions.
The candidates that were queuing to enter her Heavens Ridge Villa were all forced to switch to the other lines.
Elder Ouyang said aloud, "Protégé Tang Bufan, you are now a core protégé of the Red Heaven Sword Hall."
Tang Bufan was smiling with pride when he saw that he was now in the limelight. He bowed respectfully to Celestial Shi Guanyin, "Protégé Mistress, your Protégé Tang Bufan pays my humble respect to you."
Celestial Shi Guanyin was pleased and said, "Good, good. Go stand at that corner first with the other protégés."
With a haughty air, Tang Bufan began to walk to the corner where the other protégés were standing. He even had the mood to cast a glance at Lu Qingyun as he curved his lips at him.
Lu Qingyun smiled bitterly when he saw that. He was only a First Realm Expert and compared to Tang Bufan who was a Third Realm Expert, he was really nothing at all.
But this was something that he did not mind.
By now, he had already known that getting to be a core protégé was really such a difficult thing. He was forced to throw his dreams away. Even if he had known that Qin Keqin was in one of the six martial halls, it was quite impossible for him to be selected.
Another candidate was soon selected. This candidate was a young man who was a Second Realm Expert. The grand elder of the Crystal Cloud Spirit Hall, Immortal Celestial Wang Ming had chosen him as he said, "This lad does have some potential. I am willing to use the resources of my hall to groom him."
Soon it was Lu Qingyun turned to face the grand elder of the Yellow Hills Martial Hall which was the Grand Elder Yun Xing. She did not even glance as him as she asked, "Show me a few basic strokes."
She did not even ask him to report his name.
Lu Qingyun was immediately awkward as he tapped his scabbard to flash his sword as he displayed the basic sword strokes that he knows.
He wished that this testing would be quickly over, because...
All of a sudden, his sword had shattered and startling everyone!
Many of the proteges and candidates were all roaring with laughter at him.
"What? He has such a lousy sword that shatters during a demonstration?"
"He can't even afford a good sword..."
"What a joker!"
Tang Bufan laughed the loudest at Lu Qingyun.
Grand Elder Yun Xing had even looked up to look at Lu Qingyun and she was startled. It was because she was thinking: What a handsome looking young man...
Lu Qingyun began to sigh.
This was game over for him.
The reason why he was not good with a sword was that he seemed to have been afflicated by a curse and most swords don't last in his hands for some unknown reasons.