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Whoosh!
After an indeterminate amount of time tumbling in the void Lineir suddenly felt the folds of darkness seem to bend. Instantly a brilliant flash of light came and he slammed into hard earth.
"Where am I?" He murmured though he didn't expect Mei to know. Looking around, behind him there was a majestic forest. Ahead, an imposing and huge mountain shot into the clouds, seeming to seek to loft in the Heavens themselves. It was no place that Lineir had ever seen before.
"Kiddo, that expert has definitely sent you somewhere strange this time. However, I think I know why. From the sound of it, by breaking through the door, you gained the right to be acknowledged by his will. As such, I suspect this is some form of trial for you. Should you succeed, the rewards from such a senior are no doubt otherworldly compared to your small world. However, should you fail, I doubt that senior will intervene. You had best be careful, the tests of the elder generation are not something meant for those without legacies and heritages. If you are not careful, and even if you are, there is always the possibility of instantaneous death with a misstep!" Mei's timely warning as always was taken extremely seriously by Lineir, but regardless, he had to continue on.
Soon, as a brilliant Sun rose in the sky, Lineir's sharp cultivator eyes picked up a line of people in the distance. They were crowded and queued up patiently like a flock of mortals might wait for entry to a scholarly exam, but they were obviously no mere mortals. Everywhere one looked, eccentricities abounded and jade smooth skin and lustrous perfect complexions swam with the impatience of those who did not usually have to wait. These were men and women of power from throughout the universe, cultivators and Chosen of places unknown. Suddenly a ringing voice swept the plateau on which this line of Chosen gathered.
"CHOSEN OF HEAVEN! The test begins one day from now. Enter the gate and pursue your goals within the 1000 Chosen Cups Trial! Whatever fortune you may seize is yours to take. But remember that while we of the elder generation may be watching, we will not casually intervene even if you are on the brink of death! With risk comes reward, your destiny is determined by Fate itself!"
The voice boomed out and faded away as the line of Chosen unruly began to sprint forwards. As he watched, Lineir saw through them all pass through a giant golden gate. A mystical enchantment whirled in-between the golden arches and as each cultivator entered, they would disappear through some space time enchantment. As the last Chosen entered, suddenly an elderly man came down and tried to close the gate. He swept out his arms casually and in a majestic manner, crossed them. The gates trembled, but the whirling space time enchantment continued to glow and spin inside.
"What the hell, which tardy brat dares to hold up this Administrator, whoever it is can forget about entering the 1000 Chosen Cups Trial! Show yourself!" He looked around, and Lineir debated whether or not he should get closer and reveal his presence for he was quite far away and even this senior who looked incredibly strong had no way of detecting him. Before Lineir could act however, the elderly man snorted and withdrew a long scroll which he unfurled.
"Hmph! Trying to hide huh? After all the resources your sect spent to enter you into the Trial, and yet you are too cowardly to accept your own good fortune? No matter, keep hiding and see how this one punishes you, all entrants are listed on the administrator's scroll, and the entrant's location as well, it is pointless to hide!"
His eye's quickly scanned the scroll before growing narrower and narrower and widening in shock at the end.
"Huh? Every one of the 1000 Chosen have entered the Trial. Then why is the space time enchantment not shutting down, why can't I close this gate!" He crossed his arms furiously over and over again his sleeves flashing only to grow increasingly furious as the gate refused to even tremble. Suddenly, something seemed to occur to him, and he activated a martial technique. His eye's glowed violet and his head swiveled around to stare directly at Lineir despite being several miles off.
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"YOU! I don't know how you managed to confound the administrator's scroll, but I'll be sure to beat it out of you while you face your punishment! HIDE FROM THIS!" He instantly appeared next to Lineir and raised an arm to deliver a truly terrifying blow. Lineir felt a terrible sense of impending doom and furiously tried to retreat but the blow came too fast. He rushed backward with Mei screaming every warning imaginable!
"SHI--------!!!!" As a terrifying palm slap with the authority of Heaven's might came slamming down an inch away from Lineir's face, suddenly an even more powerful aura appeared from above!
"STOP!!"
BOOOOOOM
The elderly man's hand was but a mere centimeter away from Lineir's nose when a huge shockwave hurtled from the heavens and the elderly man was smashed by an invisible force straight down into the ground. He crashed horrifically into the ground and vomited several mouthfuls of blood before his head lolled and he stopped moving, unconscious or dead. Lineir, dumbfounded by his sudden salvation looked up to find his savior. A majestic man even more elderly and administrative looking came down. He carried a wooden cane in one hand, and in another a teacup which had clearly been hastily repaired with a horrifying crack down the middle. He emanated a grand and majestic aura of the Heavens and Mei quickly urged Lineir to thank this senior lest he be offended. However, before Lineir could utter a word, he was left speechless as the elder reached forward....and began to pat him all over!
"You're ok right young master??? Not hurt anywhere?? Here have some healing pills! This one is so sorry young master, this one must apologize for my underling's rudeness, this one hopes young master won't take it in stride. Suffice to say, he will be punished, the strictest of punishments, this one will personally administer the lashes! Young master can rest assured he will never make such a mistake again. As a matter of fact, calling him this one's underling would be a bit of an overstatement... no a grand misunderstanding! I have nothing to do with him! I could care less if you pronounced the death penalty! This one will personally order him stripped down, lashed, and beheaded if you so desire!"
This majestic elder who had easily cut down the administrator of the trials in a single blow went down on his knees and began kowtowing furiously offering a handful of golden pills to Lineir. Lineir, completely dumbfounded simply stood there, for once completely out of words. In his mind, Mei didn't know whether to laugh or cry and was beginning to make noises which sounded suspiciously like a mixture of laughter and choking. The elder, seeing Lineir's confused silence seemed to confuse it with disapproval.
"Ah! This one is foolish indeed, of course the Three Heaven's Healing Pill is unworthy of even gracing your lordship's presence. Here, this one knows it's hardly befitting of your status, but I happen to have encountered these life saving miracle pills, the Five Phoenix Rebirth Pills in a fortuitous encounter in my youth. This one humbly requests your lordship give him face and accept this elder's offering, even if it might be trash in your lordship's eyes." The elder immediately cast away the golden pills he had been offering and pulled several pills stamped with the emblem of a phoenix ascending the Heavens. Lineir, recovering his senses felt a pang of loss as the priceless pills were cast off incredibly far with a casual toss, beyond the horizon, but started when the elder desperately pressed the even more illustrious and grand Five Phoenix Rebirth Pills into his hand.
"Come, come, this one will punish that foolish assistant once your lordship has been off, I cannot believe someone unable to recognize your grand presence was actually allowed to become an administrator of the trials under my watch! You must understand, I don't personally oversee the appointment of lesser officials, who would have known they let in such riffraff these days! You can rest assured young master that I will personally be sure to find those culpable and they will be punished as strictly as possible...no more strictly than the Heaven's mandate, you can be sure of this! Ah, excellent, the gate is still open, perfect, you're not late at all, thank the Heavens, this one would truly have no face if you were late to the trials because of something so silly as this. Off you go!" He patted Lineir on the shoulders and pasted a massive painfully stretched grin on his face before giving Lineir a push which catapulted him into the gate's space time enchantment. Right before Lineir passed through the gate he swore he heard a relieved sigh from behind and the sounds of a sound thrashing beginning.