The wait was not boring or torturous.I took my time to study and understand the numerous formations on the floor.I used to study formations, but a lot of my mastery was lost in the battle, and only my core memories remained.
Since I was a master at formations, it only took a bit to familiarize myself and understand the concept and meaning of the symbols. It took me 10 years to master the basics and another 50 to master formations.My talent was ordinary and nothing unusual, but perseverance was very crucial.
One had to know that the path of cultivators was a very hard one. From the environment to the people, to the wealth to the talent. One could not master an art easily even with inhuman talent.
The processes were slow, and the milestones were few and far between. One could say that to pursue strength required one to trade in their sanity.Countless hours spent doing nothing but cultivating. Talking to no one, enjoying only one's presence and the slow accumulation of QI.
But even with these dangers, there were no lack of motivating factors. You did not want to cultivate; do not want to train?
Sure.
Starve; watch your family starve. Look at your mother; see the thin piece of skin that covers her bones; wonder.
Is it worth it to be lazy?
Look at your father, his hands barely able to pick up the spoon, his dead eyes looking at you with a hint of love.
Is it worth it?
The trembling of the ship signaled the arrival.Everybody looked excited towards the exit, preparing to disembark and see their future.
Looking at their eyes, Henry maintained an apathetic attitude. How many of these did he see looking excited towards the testing, and how many had their dreams crushed? Countless.
Life was not a tale of success. Nobody had such luck that effort was optional.The gods gave you a body not to idle but to work it until you exhaust all your energy.
The door opened and people began disembarking the ship.Sounds of awe could be heard.Henry also followed; he began looking around. They were situated on a tall platform far above the land.
A wide bridge was connecting the platform to several other such platforms that were differently decorated.
We were guided by the tier 2 cultivator to a wide expanse surrounding a huge black rock.
"Alright, when we signal, you will come one by one and touch the stone; if you are to be found talentless, then you will have to return to the same place where you came from and wait for the ship to take off."
Everybody nodded, and the cultivator next to the stone began calling out. Slowly people walked, touched the stone, and different results showed.
Many were disappointed to find that they were talentless.Some had shown low-level talent more often than most. One girl even showed a medium level of talent. This raised the brows of the surrounding cultivators.The announcer gave her a bag and instructed her to wait at the side.
After a while my turn came, and I began walking to the stone. I raised my hand and pressed on the cold surface.A subtle spiritual energy entered my body.I slowly coordinated my soul and used soul force to alter the result.This body is supposed to be lacking in talent and not even reaching the level of a lowly talent.
With the help of the soul force, in exchange for 10 years of my lifespan, I gained low-level talent.
The stone showed a low flickering aura, and the cultivator nodded, noting in the notebook my talent level and passing me a smaller bag compared to the girl I had seen earlier.
After an hour everybody was tested, and the ones without talent were escorted back to the ship. I looked at the surroundings and found the sect to be pretty big.I have seen some holy lands since I had to collect materials to craft pills.Without great talent, progress was very small, and my lifespan will run out before doing a breakthrough.
The cultivator turned to us and started describing the sect's basic rules. It wasn't anything special.Do not kill fellow disciples, do not steal, restrain violence, and do not provoke foreign powers without permission.
After the presentation we were escorted to a bunch of different courtyards.Each one was equipped with basic facilities such as a sleeping room, a big basin for washing, and enough room for training.
You could employ some servants if you wished to manage and tidy the place.This was mostly done by mortals who wished to have a more secure life and not die by some animals.
"Inside the pouch you have the uniform and a map of the sect; you also have a rulebook and some currency."
"You can do missions for spirit stones, or you can wait for the monthly allocation." Doing missions will obviously yield more stones but is riskier, and death is not uncommon."
We nodded and each left for the respective courtyards after the cultivator bade his farewell.
I walked into the room and looked around.In my earlier days I used to stay in such rooms because I didn't have any money and couldn't afford a more luxurious house.But now I will have to do with this for now.
The bed was not special and provided the minimum quality for comfort.I got to the road and started consulting the map.It showed a great area with a couple of buildings designated for disciples to use.
I looked for the library and followed the map.As I walked, I could see different disciples clothed in the sect uniform walking around, some hurried with frowned expressions, others with a carefree attitude.