Challenge the Cultivation Clans!
The Fang Family Disciples were scared, even Fang Hanyu subconsciously tightened his grip on the sword sheath.
Zhou Xue didn't say much, she took the lead and walked onto the street, following the flow of people, with Fang Wang and others closely behind her.
All the way, Fang Wang was feeling the aura of the people around them, not everyone could conceal their aura as Zhou Xue did, and he sensed quite a few fluctuations of Spiritual Power.
Many people had already cultivated Spiritual Power, and there were mortals like the Fang Family Disciples, so they didn't stand out too much.
It seems that so-called Cultivation Clans also have their strong and weak, perhaps even having one Cultivator amongst one's ancestors could count as a Cultivation Clan.
Fang Wang thought so, and soon he noticed a figure with particularly robust Spiritual Power almost catching up to him.
The person was wearing a Bamboo Hat, dressed in black, carrying a bookcase, and had a gourd hanging at the waist, the attire was strange, attracting many curious glances.
Taiyuan Town had a main thoroughfare that led straight to the end, where there was a large lake. The lake was surrounded by high mountains and the town, with a diameter exceeding one hundred feet. The water was a clear blue, gleaming under the sunlight's reflection.
Along the lakeside stood a row of men and women in identical robes, each with upright postures, the men handsome, the women beautiful, like the disciples of Immortals. Fang Wang guessed they must be Tai Yuan Sect Disciples, wearing white robes as the base with black on the cuffs, shoulders, waists, and boots, embroidered with delicate patterns.
Zhou Xue stopped walking, and Fang Wang and the others halted around her. Looking around, there were at least five hundred people gathered, and the number was still growing.
This made Fang Wang reflect; living in Southern Hills City, one would never know of the existence of the Cultivation World. Now that they had left the mundane world, there were so many people pursuing The Path of Immortality.
Southern Hills City could be considered one of the wealthiest cities in Grand Qi, often visited by martial arts masters. Fang Wang made many such acquaintances, yet had never heard of Cultivation, which showed how great the cognitive gap between Immortals and mortals truly was.
Zhou Xue remained silent, while the other members of the Fang Residence whispered among themselves. Fang Hanyu looked around, seemingly calm, but Fang Wang noticed that the youngster kept a tight grip on his sword sheath, clearly very nervous.
After about half an hour, the crowd by the lake had grown to over a thousand, and there were even some whom Fang Wang couldn't gauge their cultivation level.
Boom—
The sound of the bell from before rang out once more, quieting everyone by the lakeside.
Fang Wang focused and saw that it was a male Disciple striking the bell. The bell was only the size of a palm, entirely made of brass. A gentle tap with an iron pick produced an effect as if it could shake mountains and forests.
Another male Disciple stepped forward, looking to be in his early thirties, with a refined and scholarly aura.
"I am a fifth meridian Disciple of the Great Abyss Gate, Guan Linfeng. Today, I will oversee the admission assessment. The assessment is divided into two stages. The first stage is Spirit Attraction—everyone will come before me and place their hands on the Spirit Stone in my palm. Any person who causes the Spirit Stone to light up will immediately proceed to the next stage."
"The second stage lies behind me—leap over this lake, climb over that mountain, and follow the guide of the white crane in the sky. The journey is fraught with difficulties, but if you shout loudly to give up, someone will save you. The further you travel, the higher your score. Remember, do not stray from the direction the white crane points. If you do and perish, you have only yourselves to blame."
This Disciple who called himself Guan Linfeng spoke with a tone that wasn't arrogant but contained an indescribable pressure.
Fang Wang looked up and sure enough, there were white cranes circling the summit ahead. Looking further, there were more cranes in the sky, which from his perspective lined up into a straight trajectory.
Looking at the large lake in front of them, panic struck the Fang Family Disciples, aside from Zhou Xue, Fang Wang, and Fang Hanyu. How were the others, with their mere basic martial arts skills, to leap over this lake and climb over that mountain which was at least a hundred and fifty feet tall?
Zhou Xue reassured, "As long as you make that Spirit Stone light up, you are considered to have entered the gates. The second stage is for those who have a foundation in Cultivation to compete over."
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Fang Hanyu looked towards Fang Wang and asked, "Can your Sword Control Technique fly over that mountain?"
Fang Wang raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "What? You want me to carry you?"
Hearing this, Fang Hanyu rolled his eyes irritably, "Of course not, I was just asking. I don't need you to carry me, and don't you carry anyone else either. Carrying someone while controlling a Flying Sword would surely deplete Spiritual Power greatly. You need to try your best to bring glory to the Fang Residence."
This was also a reminder to the other Fang Family Disciples.
Fang Wang shook his head with a wry smile, saying nothing more.
Meanwhile, some had already approached Guan Linfeng, and a long queue quickly formed, with Zhou Xue leading everyone to line up.
"Pass!"
Guan Linfeng's voice rang out from the front. Subsequently, Fang Wang saw a man leap up, a Flying Sword shot out from the storage bag on his waist, quickly expanded, settled under his feet, and carried him towards the horizon.
This scene amazed many onlookers and made them desire the Great Abyss Gate even more.
A young disciple from the Fang Residence named Fang Mo exclaimed, "If one masters the Sword Control Technique, wouldn't that ensure the highest score?"
Zhou Xue glanced at him and said, "It's not that simple, how do you know how long the journey is, or whether there are demon beasts or Spirit Demons in the sky to obstruct you?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Mo scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile.
The first stage of the assessment was quick, averaging ten breaths per person. Fang Wang and the others were not too far back in the line, and they waited patiently.
Under Zhou Xue's arrangement, Fang Wang was the first in line, and she was at the very end to look after the others.
Such thoroughness made Fang Wang wonder if she really was a Demonic Cultivator.
Can a Demonic Cultivator become an Immortal Venerable?
She wouldn't be bluffing him, would she?
That's what Fang Wang thought. He found that he could no longer see through Zhou Xue, who after adapting to her rebirth, became unfathomable. Like these past few nights, when he would hear her footsteps leaving in the dead of night, without knowing her purpose.
He had considered pandering to Zhou Xue like mad in order to gain more cultivation techniques, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Not only was he unsure if Zhou Xue would fall for that, but he also did not want to demean himself.
Besides, he couldn't follow Zhou Xue's exact path. Her rebirth indicated a failure in her previous life, and he had to forge a stronger path.
Time quickly slipped away amidst Fang Wang's thoughts.
Finally, it was Fang Wang's turn for the assessment. He had noticed that the light emitted by the spirit stones varied among the individuals, with more than half unable to make the stones light up at all.
Having already cultivated spiritual power, he wasn't worried for himself; he was merely curious about the intensity of the luminescence he could trigger, suspecting that the brighter the light, the better the talent.
He approached Guan Linfeng and placed his right hand on the spirit stone held in Guan Linfeng's hand.
A cool sensation penetrated his palm, followed by a pull that tugged at the spiritual power within him. Without resisting, he let his spiritual power flow into the stone, causing it to burst into light.
"Pass!"
Guan Linfeng spoke, his expression unchanging.
Fang Wang was slightly disappointed since his light was clearly brighter than that of the others, but it seemed not to signify talent, maybe it was just related to cultivation level.
He stopped overthinking it, saluted Guan Linfeng with a fist-clasped bow, then headed towards the lake. With a leap, he jumped into the lake and began to rapidly stride across the surface.
This scene did not attract the attention of the Tai Yuan Sect disciples; others before him had done the same, as not everyone was adept at the Sword Control Technique.
Guan Linfeng summoned another disciple to take his place and then turned around, watching Fang Wang glide across the lake surface like a swan and swiftly scale the cliffside with ease.
Fang Wang's performance buoyed Fang Hanyu and the others; with Fang Wang there, the Fang Residence wouldn't be embarrassed, even if they lacked reputation here, they still felt a hint of pride.
"Impressive,"
Guan Linfeng murmured as he watched Fang Wang reach the summit, appreciation filling his eyes.
"This batch of disciples is remarkable. There may well arise individuals of the single lineage's top disciple level. It remains to be seen who will claim that superior grade spiritual weapon and rise to prominence."
Meanwhile, standing atop the mountain, Fang Wang's waist-bound white robe fluttered in the breeze, with strands of hair brushing backward, revealing his handsome face.
Bewitched by the magnificent plains ahead, Fang Wang was astonished by the landscape beyond the mountain, with two mountain ranges stretching to the horizon and a vast plain lying between them, as if carved by an immortal's sword.
Fang Wang did not have the luxury of lingering appreciation, as he leaped from the summit. The wind howled during his swift descent; as he neared the ground, he drew his treasured sword, twisted his body mid-air, and thrust the sword into the cliffside. With rock fragments flying and his descent slowing substantially, the sword proved its worth – indeed, it was tough!
As he came within less than five zhang from the ground, his fall nearly halted. He immediately kicked against the cliff, withdrew his sword blade, flipped in the air, and landed safely on the grass.
He sheathed his sword and ran in the direction indicated by the crane above.
Although his Sword Control Technique at the Great Perfection level would allow him to fly with the sword, the consumption was enormous, for the sword was not a magic sword; it couldn't channel spiritual power but only be wrapped and driven by it, so he planned not to use it prematurely.
He had a premonition: at the end of this path, there might be a battle awaiting.
If the test was merely about who could run the farthest, then it would be a mere comparison of spiritual power; Tai Yuan Sect wouldn't be so hasty.
Fang Wang dashed across the plain, using his spiritual power to perform the Shadowless Step, consuming much less than the Sword Control Technique, and his speed surpassed that of the fastest horse. At a glance, his feet barely seemed to touch the ground as he ran, leaving trails of fluttering grass.
Before long,
Fang Wang caught sight of two figures battling near the mountain wall to his front left. They moved with extreme agility; one wielded a curved blade that produced quick lightning strikes while the other held a folding fan, releasing bursts of fiery wind that set ablaze the grass within a ten-zhang radius.
Fang Wang merely glimpsed the scuffle without stopping.
Indeed, such an extendable path for the assessment was definitely not as straightforward as it appeared.
A whooshing sound swept past Fang Wang's head. He looked up to see a woman in yellow clothing wearing a bamboo hat and a white veil. She had three sword scabbards on her back and was dressed like a wandering swords(wo)man. Most critically, she was not flying with a sword but was riding a fiery-red gourd.
That was too...
Fang Wang felt jealous; that was definitely a magic artifact, and the woman's cultivation was surely not low, estimated to be at the eighth or ninth layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm.
After only a few glances, he maintained his speed and continued on his way, in no rush to catch up.
In the sky.
Gu Li stood on her treasured gourd, gazing into the distance with an absent look. Even veiled, her eyes were inviting to the imagination.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, she turned her head and saw a man in black, also wearing a bamboo hat, flying past her on a sword at incredible speed.
"Qi Cultivation Realm, ninth layer. It seems my father was right, Great Abyss Gate is on the rise. However, I have no intention of losing to my peers!"
Gu Li let out a cold snort and started to speed up.