Finlay had been eager to arrive since he initially noticed the distant mountain and the surroundings that were clearly the sect, their final destination. But they kept approaching and approaching, for a few hours before they made it to the rather large city at the foot of the main mountain. The total land covered by the sect was massive. Especially that mountain right before him. The visible, sharp peak became hidden in the clouds at some point, either due to a change in weather and the arrival of clouds or it was some sort of magical phenomenon. If he had to bet, he thought he would choose the latter.
The cultivator finally showed a change in expression as they appeared near the city in question.
“This is my sect, The True Sky Immortal Sect, a Mighty sect with jurisdiction over a massive land even when compared to the rest of our Hidden Golden Immortal realm! I have cut you brats enough slack on the way here, from here on, you lot better behave!”
As he said that, he stared pointedly at the newer ‘kid’. Finlay almost stumbled and fell as he then turned and almost glared at him.
‘What the hell did I do?! Wasn’t it that guy who ate our brains on the way here?’
Ignoring the confusion in Finlay’s eyes, the cultivator finished with a stern warning.
“If I find out that you have behaved in a manner not befitting my sect, don’t blame me for being ruthless. You would be lucky to be delivered back with one less arm or leg, let alone be thrown out in the wilderness to fend for yourself.”
The message was very clear even to the seemingly oblivious new ‘brother’ of Finlay. They both took in an audible gulp, thinking about the consequences.
“We wouldn’t dare!”
“Okay good. Now follow me to register for the testing of new arrivals. Upon which, you will be provided temporary lodging till the start of the test date.”
They directly flew over to a relatively large open ground right inside the walls instead of going through the long queues in front of the gates. Clearly, it was a facility to provide entry checkup for Higher level sect cultivators.
The Guarding officer was very polite to the cultivator but gave somewhat odd looks towards the two of them. Finlay soon understood why. He could soon see another, much larger, flying vehicle with another of the sect's elders arrive as they were about finished. The notable difference? There were a lot more candidates on it.
The arriving flying device looked a bit funny in that it was a very large row boat with paddles fixed onto the sides. Finlay couldn’t help but find the boat design for a flying device amusing.
‘I wonder what exactly was going on in the head of the designer at the time of making that boat, especially with those paddles. They clearly couldn’t serve any purpose.’
The Elder Peng An, the cultivator who bought them here, was about to step onto his own flying device to leave with them but a loud laugh and a shout came from far away.
“Hahaha! Elder Peng An! It’s such a coincidence to encounter your much awaited arrival here. Don’t be in such a hurry to leave yet.”
Hearing the seemingly cheerful voice, Peng An’s face not only didn’t show any positive change but turned a bit dark instead.
“Elder He! It is indeed such a coincidence to be meeting you here, but I’m busy at the moment. As you can see, I have also got candidates to take care of, so I will take my leave.”
“Haha! No need to be in such a hurry. Afterall, you only have got 2 candidates….in total, not much time consuming. Although, I do wonder…. wasn't the mission this time a bit different? I thought we were supposed to bring along a minimum of 15 suitable candidates. I myself am making my 3rd trip this time. Haven't you just come back for the first time after being gone all these days? To think you bought only 2 little kids along…Hmm…”
There was a hint of sharpness to his gaze as he looked over the two of them.
Only now did Finlay took proper notice of the candidates bought in by the new elder. There were 9 of them in total with 4 young girls and 5 young boys, all seemingly decently dressed, with a refined look, a calm attitude and their heads lowered, Only occasionally sneaking glances at the flying device of Finlay and the others.
“*Snort* Of course I’m aware of the mission assigned, but those rules only apply to normal people and circumstances.”
Elder Peng An was clearly undeterred by the hidden accusation by the new arrival.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Ohh…., so you’re implying you and your situation isn’t normal then? Now you’ve got me curious. What’s so special about this trip of yours? Why don’t you enlighten me on why you saw fit to disregard a mission directly issued by the sect leader himself.”
Although there was a smile on his face, his eyes were showing a condescending sneer instead.
“Elder He Don’t go too far. I have neither the ability nor intent to disregard the sect leader’s orders. As for the circumstances of my trip and how it is more special, you don’t need to know for now. You will naturally hear about it at the time of the test date.”
“*Snort* We will see.”
The new elder was clearly displeased with the answer he received, but didn’t pursue further as they left the place.
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As the Cultivator took them flying over the city, Finlay saw a colourful blanket of lights and moving forms over the streets of the city. It was in stark contrast to the technologically backward, mediaeval atmosphere he was expecting. Not just him, his fellow candidate, a silver spoon from a bigger mortal city was also watching with a gaping mouth at the various magical lights.
“No need to be so awed by such trifling things. Those are very crude implements of Qi. In fact, back in the heyday of my sect, they wouldn’t even be allowed to display such crude, unreformed images. You will naturally see the true grandeur of my sect if you manage to pass the test and become an official desciple.”
The Cultivator surprisingly took the initiative to explain. There was a hint of pride in his voice when he talked about his sect. Finlay didn’t miss the fact that he still kept referring to it as ‘his’ sect instead of ‘our’.
‘I suppose we’re still only considered candidates till we join. I doubt I would have trouble qualifying though. If something unexpected happens, I just might have to reveal a bit more of my potential.’
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at what appeared to be tall buildings that provided housing and basic amenities for the new arrivals. There were hundreds of other candidates for this time’s test as was evident by the words of the previous Elder He. Soon, the two were given a room to share and were finally separated from the cutivator after registering their candidacy, only a small wooden carved tablet, hung by their waist, showing any proof of it. The test date was supposed to be in 3 days.
Once they were inside their lodgings, Finlay released a sigh of relief. Being around a not so friendly superhuman for such a long time was a bit stressful to say the least. Once they placed their baggage, cleaned up and had some food that was delivered, Finlay couldn’t help turning to the fellow candidate, Lu Bao.
“Brother Lu, what’s wrong with you? Why couldn’t you get my hint on our way here. I’m afraid your incessant talk might have annoyed Elder Peng. It’s only luck that he didn’t decide to throw you off in the wilderness.”
Hearing the clearly dissatisfied and criticising tone, Lu Bao clearly wasn’t the least bit guilty.
“Senior Brother Ming, how could a human being stay quiet on such a monotonous ride for so long? Besides, the Elder wasn’t really going to throw me off after the heavy gifts presented by my father and the other city representatives. Originally, we were expecting him to take a lot more of us...” he said the last bit in a mutter.
At the blatant admission of him taking his ‘revenge’ on a cultivator, Finlay couldn’t help but fall momentarily speechless.
‘No wonder he was so tolerant of the boy. He had already accepted some heavy gift. Although, it’s really interesting that a bunch of mortals were able to give such a gift to a peak Qi condensation expert. Now I’m really curious what it is.’
“Brother Lu, again what is with the weird way of addressing me? We’re both of the same rank, so why must you insist on calling me senior brother?”
“How can that be?! Even though we’re of the same rank, my spiritual root and cultivation potential pales in comparison to your’s. It won’t be long before you reach a much higher status. At that time, I would proudly be able to say I’m the first to call you senior brother, won’t I? You are the one who should stop using my surname. Call me Bao.”
At the cheerful and overly optimistic reply, Finlay couldn’t come up with a solid reason to counter the argument and he had to accept his first junior brother.
After that, as usual, there was another excessive, one-sided talking session, but this time, it proved somewhat useful to Finlay. The silver spoon from a big city was clearly much more informed about the happenings and local stories than him.
That is how he was found out about how this time’s testing was a bit special, that there were going to be a lot higher candidates and eventual recruits into the sect. This all stems from the losses suffered by the sect in the recent conflict against the Demonic Cultivators and that is why Lu Bao’s city prepared so many candidates from the entire city after hearing the information from the other cities.
Like this, they spent the next 3 days without wandering too far away from their lodgings. All amenities, including food, were prepared for them in specific halls in the building. It was finally the day of the test and several high level Elders and other prominent sect cultivators have come to rally all their respective candidates in groups on an open field not too far away from the foot of the mountain.
Each cultivator in charge of a group took the responsibility to teach them the various things essential for their stay at the sect regarding etiquette, rankings, rules, rights etc.
Elder Peng also took the opportunity as their in charge and explained various things in detail including how to greet the truly important figures of the sect, basic information on them etc.
After nearly an hour, finally, some big shots arrived as everyone quieted down and stood in their best posture. Soon, a young looking man came forward from the middle of the group and stood at the forefront of a dias and silently took in all the hundreds of candidates. Finlay immediately recognised the rather young looking man as the internal affairs teaching hall elder, Senior Elder Kang, from the information provided by Elder Peng earlier.
“It is an honour for both you and your families to be serving my sect. I officially welcome you to the True Sky Immortal Sect!”
“But don’t forget that you’re all just candidates for now. That means you have the potential to become a cultivator and join our ranks, but potential isn’t everything. There will be a period of time when we will judge if you are truly qualified to be accepted as disciples of the sect. Don’t worry. Even if you are judged otherwise, you will still have the opportunity to serve the sect and we will provide some basic cultivation resources and techniques in exchange for any services you render.”
“The period of testing will last for a maximum of 2 years and during that time, you will all live in the red mortal valley. Male and Femal sections of the valley will be seperated initially. We will provide each of you with an equal amount of resources to cultivate your body strength, at least to begin with… If you are still not through your body transformation stage at the end of those 2 years, you will have to serve the sect to receive further resources and teachings. Of course, the faster you finish, the better.”
“Without delay, I officially announce the beginning of the 301st recruitment test. I wish you all the best of luck.”
Each group of candidates were then quickly divided into two age groups and also, according to the gender. Finlay couldn’t help but notice how the number of girls were significantly lower even though he is now living in a world of superhumans. He was puzzled but he shelved such thoughts for later when his group was called first to be transported to the valley.
The valley looked normal for belonging to an immortal sect, except for a more abundant life and a significant portion of the area filled with dense woods. Finlay and Lu Bao were given the same quarters upon request and so they started what for many is a two year long test.
To be continued.