Not all the attackers were quick thinkers. One of them charged at our group and started swinging indiscriminately, hitting both allies and enemies alike. Naturally, he was quickly subdued, and the fastest member of my group managed to snatch his token.
"Yes! I’ve already got one token!" - he shouted triumphantly, raising his hand to display his prize.
"Hand it over!" - Dao Yu barked, smacking him on the back of the head and snatching the token.
"You bastard!" - the boy roared in protest, unwilling to relinquish his prize.
A scuffle ensued as the two alpha males attempted to assert dominance. Meanwhile, another group approached us from behind.
"Hey, there’s already a fight going on here!" - came an excited voice. Everyone turned toward the potential attackers, momentarily distracted. Taking advantage of this, the beaten boy who had lost his token suddenly leaped up, kicked Dao Yu square in the jaw, grabbed both his and his own tokens, and run away.
"Stop!" - Dao Yu yelled, but the thief had no intention of stopping. On the contrary, he picked up speed, fleeing as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Tan Ji Tao, we need to catch him!" - Dao Yu turned to me, panicked.
"No, you need to catch and kill him" - I replied with a smug grin. - "No one else here wants to run through the forest to save your skin."
Dao Yu looked at his "teammates" with a mix of fear and hatred before reluctantly sprinting after the thief into the woods. I, however, had no time to bother with him, as the group approaching from behind had already struck a deal with the earlier attackers, and they now planned to collectively rob us. As the saying goes, the predator stumbles upon the trap.
Charging forward, I reached the leaders of the two groups in a single leap and knocked them out with light blows, splitting their heads like overripe melons. I calmly picked up their tokens and pocketed them. This trial was shaping up to be surprisingly easy.
Meanwhile, the free-for-all melee among the rest escalated, and yet another group of candidates was approaching from the base.
"Tan Ji Tao, help us! We’re a team!" - one of my companions called out desperately, fending off two attackers at once.
"Alright, you convinced me" - I said, feigning benevolence before shouting at the top of my lungs. - "Listen up, all of you! Stop what you’re doing and kneel! Anyone who voluntarily gives me one token will be allowed to leave here alive. I’ll count to three. If you’re not kneeling and handing over your token by then, you’ll lose a hand. One… two…"
At that moment, one of the attackers tried to flee with his loot. Unfortunately for him, I was faster. In a flash moment, I caught him, grabbing his collarbone with one hand and his shoulder with the other. With a slight effort, I ripped his arm clean off. He screamed in agony, blood spraying everywhere, as I bent down to collect the three tokens he had been carrying—one of which belonged to my group.
After this demonstration of power, everyone present decided to comply, and the approaching group turned tail and fled. I gathered the surrendered tokens, breaking a few limbs of those who tried to hide their spoils, and redistributed them among my group. Then, I tossed an "extra" token dramatically into the crowd of losers.
"This is for you. I don’t need more than I deserve."
A fierce fight broke out over the lone token as we moved on, leaving the unlucky behind. There were now only nine of us, as Dao Yu hadn’t returned. I wasn’t in a hurry, and my companions followed me, glancing nervously over their shoulders. Being in the same team with me was sheer luck for them.
The disciples we encountered along the path didn’t dare challenge such a large group, especially knowing my reputation. About ten minutes later, a familiar figure emerged from the bushes—it was one of the girls from my "harem."
"Tan Ji Tao, can you please help me?" - she asked, wrapping her arms around herself to accentuate her breasts. - "I already have two tokens…" - She glanced at me nervously, clearly afraid I might attack her instead.
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"Of course. You can repay me later in the way you’re best at" - I said, making no illusions about her intentions. I knew she was only using me to climb over others. Not that I blamed her — weak people didn’t survive in a pit of vipers like this.
"Wait here" - I instructed.
Using psionics, I scanned the area, rushed into the bushes, and dragged out a boy in muddy clothes. I didn’t even need to beat him to take his token. After checking the girl’s tokens, I gave her one of mine and kept the newly acquired one for myself. The victim was from the same group as my companion, which explained why she had been targeting him.
After that, we encountered no further resistance. The trail followed a stream winding through the valley. Within an hour, we reached a spot where the valley, now a narrow gorge, was blocked by a fortress wall. At the center of the wall stood an iron-bound gate, wide open.
Passing through the gate, we found ourselves in another camp. Guards from our previous camp greeted us. Among them, I recognized Liu Zhi, my old sparring partner. We exchanged a few words, but since I wasn’t sure what had happened to his sister, we quickly parted ways.
We were assigned to another small cabin, designed for ten occupants. While I indulged in the pleasures of life with my girl, the others wallowed in despair, contemplating their chances of surviving the rest of the trial.
By sunset, all those who had passed the trial had gathered near the fortress wall. The final minutes ticked away, and the gates were about to close. Cheerful as ever, Liu Zhi stood beside his sister, chatting with her about something. The guards were just about to shut the gates when suddenly, out of the forest, came… Dao Yu.
He was covered in blood, his arm visibly broken, but he still stumbled forward. Noticing the gates starting to close, he mustered his strength and broke into a run. The examiner barked an order to the guards, and they paused, allowing the would-be alchemist to slip inside. After all, being Chu Zhu Zhu’s personal student had its perks.
"Excellent, we’ve got 65 of you here. Not a bad result" - declared the same man who had handed out the tokens that morning. - "We’ve rid ourselves of most of the dead weight, though in my opinion, some of you didn’t pass entirely honestly. But that just proves that strength and the ability to curry favor with those stronger than you are what truly matter."
He cast a knowing glance at me and the girl clinging to my arm. Clearly, he was well aware of how she had obtained the tokens today.
In my view, this entire examination system was utterly flawed. Among the "finalists" were not necessarily the strongest or most talented, but the most ruthless, shameless, cunning, and devious. Of course, there were plenty of strong ones too, like me, for example. It was obvious that with such a selection process, the sect itself would be rife with deceit, violence and extortion. I still couldn’t understand how this sect managed to sustain itself.
"You’ve all passed the first stage of selection and earned the right to receive the Seal of Loyalty" - the examiner announced. What? What seal? - "This seal ensures that you will never betray the sect and will always obey those above you."
Damn it! If I’d known about this seal, I would’ve ditched this sect and run off into the wilderness. The last thing I needed was some slave seal to cap off my day.
"Each of you will now be taken in turn to the Master of Spiritual Seals, who will inscribe on your chest the mark of belonging to our sect. This mark is on all sect members and will help you distinguish allies from enemies in the future."
The examiner gestured to one of the guards, a bare-chested man, who revealed a strange tattoo on his torso. The mark, located directly over his heart, resembled a mass of clouds bristling with knives or perhaps a porcupine cloud, as I privately dubbed it.
"After this, you’ll have time to rest. Tomorrow morning, you’ll begin the second part of the trial, which will be far more challenging than today’s. Details will be shared tomorrow. For now, form a line and head to that building over there."
I tried to position myself in the middle of the line to get a good look at the seal with psionics before it was my turn, but the examiner personally approached and placed me at the very front. Of course. Just my luck.
"As the most gifted student, you have the honor of being the first to receive a seal from Cheon Wan Yu today" - he whispered in my ear. - "Usually, after inscribing a few dozen seals in a row, he starts making mistakes, and we lose candidates as a result. The sect leadership has big plans for you."
With that explanation, the man gave a polite knock on the door and shoved me into the building. Inside, two burly guards immediately grabbed me, forced me to remove my shirt, and strapped me into a stone chair with iron chains binding my hands and feet. Well, they’re certainly taking security seriously.
"Ho-ho, so this is the young man the elder Sun Wei Bonk mentioned?" - came a voice from the shadows. - "I agree, an excellent specimen. If he survives, he could become the strongest fighter in our sect."
The speaker emerged from the dark corner: a wizened old man radiating immense spiritual power. I couldn’t gauge his exact level, but he was clearly at the upper echelons of Core Crystallization, even surpassing the elder Sun Wei Bonk I had seen earlier.
The old man didn’t waste time on pleasantries. Stretching out his hand, a glowing, intricate circle of light filled with lines and inscriptions appeared on his palm. I focused all my psionic strength on memorizing the circle’s details.
"No need to strain yourself" - the old man chuckled. - "I never make mistakes… the first time each day. Heh-heh-heh."
Oh, that’s comforting.
Then, the glowing palm pressed against my chest, and a bolt of searing pain shot through me. Now I understood the need for the chains, without them, I would have torn this geezer apart, no matter his celestial cultivation level.