Lu Qingyun had been in confinement for almost a month and Qin Keqin had not visited him since.
He was looking forward to see her again but she had not appeared since the last visit and he was disappointed that he was not able to see her.
He thought, "Is it because she had been discovered by the elders for visiting me in secret and she had been confined?"
This day, a petite protégé had suddenly opened the door to his cell and said to him, "It is time for the grand selection. I'm going to take you to the inner hall now."
He was startled. This was the day that he had been looking eagerly to.
He quickly put away the manuals and said, "Senior Sister, I've read that there are six martial halls in the Heavens Ridge Villa. May I know which martial hall Celestial Qin Keqin is in?"
Accordingly to the history of the Heavens Ridge Villa that he had read, there were six main peaks in the Heavens Ridge Villa that was each led by a Grand Elder that was leader of their own peak.
As for the peak in the middle or the 7th mountain peak, it was also the biggest and it was also the inner sanctuary of the Heavens Ridge Villa. The sect leader was supposed to be in charge of this 7th peak.
However, the current Heavens Ridge Villa did not have a sect leader for a long time.
The petite protégé took a second glance at him and was immediately flustered. After all, Lu Qingyun was quite handsome.
She replied, "Please do not call me senior sister yet. If you manage to get into one of the six martial halls then you will be a core protégé. When that happens, I have to address you as senior brother instead." She paused ruefully, "I am just an ordinary protégé and not even an inner protégé."
Then she smiled shyly, "Hm, I do not know any Celestial Qin Keqin. Are you sure you got the name correctly?"
Lu Qingyun was stunned.
This protégé did not know any Celestial Qin Keqin? How was it possible? Did Qin Keqin lie to him? But did she not say that she was the one that had asked Elder Ouyang to allow him to be a protégé of the Heavens Ridge Villa?
The petite protégé pondered for a while before she said, "There are three Celestials that I know of. They are Celestial Shi Guanyin from the Red Heaven Sword Hall, Celestial Kong Guxin from the Green Fields Martial Hall and Celestial Bai Laoxiong from the White Spirit Hall."
Lu Qingyun stammered with disbelief, "There is really no such person?"
The petite protégé smiled weakly, "I've only been here for a year and is new too. Maybe she is a master that is in seclusion. Moreover, I'm only an ordinary protégé and not an inner or core protégé. My knowledge of the sect is actually quite limited."
This was only a small comfort to Lu Qingyun.
He had been looking forward to seeing Qin Keqin again and he was curious to know which martial halls that she had belonged to. He had wanted to join the same martial hall as her…
She was a golden celestial. How could she not be known?
He had really found this a little hard to believe.
Soon he had reached the grand hall and saw that there were several hundreds that had already gathered. More than half was like him and he was told to go to the middle and wait for the grand elders to arrive.
As he joined the crowd, he bumped into a familiar face and was surprised to see that it was Tang Bufan.
Tang Bufan was equally surprised to see him, "You actually got selected?" Then he asked with a smile, "I am so surprise to see you here."
Lu Qingyun smiled weakly. He had almost forgotten about this young master who was a Third Realm Expert. From the look of it, this young master had the highest potential among the candidates.
Tang Bufan smiled with cold sarcasm, "Remember that my name is Tang Bufan. I will definitely become one of the core protégés. As for you, I wish you the best of luck."
Although he appeared to be polite but he was full of disdain for Lu Qingyun. This did not escape Lu Qingyun's notice. Even if he was an idiot, he would still be able to tell.
Lu Qingyun answered politely, "I wish you luck as well."
Luckily for Lu Qingyun, he did not need to be bothered with Tang Bufan for too long. There were soon hurried shouts calling for everyone to get into lines and be quiet.
Lu Qingyun was actually looking quite perplexed about the testing to become a core protégé and he wondered what the trial would be?
He was unsure if he was able to overcome the hundreds of strong cultivators in this hall.
Maybe it was a survival trial where everyone would be sent into a trial wonderland for a hunt or be hunted trial which was the norm in most cultivation sects.
Many of the candidates were gossiping among themselves.
"Alas, I don't think that I can be a core protégé. I just want to become an inner protégé..."
"Do we need to fight with each other to have a chance to become a core protégé?"
"I am merely at the second realm cultivation..."
"I want to become a core protégé so that I can pick the profound arts of the martial halls for myself and I don't want to waste my time to become an inner protégé..."
"Even if we fail to become a core protégé this time, I've heard that every year, one inner protege could be allowed to take a trial to become a core protégé..."
"Actually I tell you a secret. To be a core protégé means to become a core protégé of a grand elder and not really a core protégé of the sect leader. It is because the Heavens Ridge Villa has no sect leader for a long time. So it is almost the same as an inner protégé. But being a core protégé will bring upon the protégé much prestige and honor in the Heavens Ridge Villa..."
All of a sudden, the eyes were on the dozens of newcomers had entered the hall now and from the look of it, they were the elders and grand elders of the six martial halls.
"They are here!"
"The trial is about to start!"
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Author Note:
1. Your spirit stones are crucial for motivations and releases. Thank you all in advance, many love! ლ(⌒▽⌒ლ)