“Welcome potential disciples to the Nine Swords Sect Recruitment Test!” A small figure shouted to the thousands of young men and women below.
Her voice permeated loudly into the ears of the crowd through the use of qi. Hazel was surprised to see the barely discernable pint-sized person up there. Qi was an amazing phenomenon capable of miraculous things. To think that reverting someone’s age or appearance was possible. That was what she believed when looking at the tiny figure up those steps. Maybe that why was all the old people in the Yingjie Clan looked so young. Somehow, qi had an effect on one’s body and made them look or stay younger longer.
“For the first part of the Recruitment Test, you all will have your talent measured by this talent-measuring rock! All you have to do is give it your strongest punch or kick and it’ll do the rest. Now come on up, we have quite a few of them for all of you. You’ll know if you passed or failed just by the reaction of the rock.” She informed.
And as if that was the call for the start of the race, the people started running up the grand staircase leading up the sect. Hazel pulled back on Kai’s robes to stop him from getting caught up with the rest of the overeager people.
“What’s the big deal, Hazel!? They’re going to get noticed first if we don’t hurry!” He jerked himself out of her grip.
“It is not a race. Why are you in such a rush? Do you think the Nine Swords Sect would be lacking in talent-measuring rocks? Are you assuming that you would somehow gain more attention or focus by the sect if you’re the first one up those stairs to get your talent measured?” She questioned him, as she always did when he was about to do something stupid.
“Tch! So annoying!” He slowed himself down and calmly walked behind the racing disciples.
“The Nine Swords Sect isn’t a sect that would allow themselves to miss out on talents even if they’re the last to get their talent measured. Plus, we get to avoid that massive brawl that’s about to break out on the stairs.” Hazel smiled.
“Brawl? I don’t see anyone brawling.”
“GAH!” A disciple came flying down the stairs from above them.
It was only an educated guess on Hazel’s part. When you have this many overeager young people in one place all going for the same thing. It's only a matter of time before violence breaks out. That is also something she learned during her eight-month training period. The “civilized” people in this place seemed to love violence, fighting, and power. But Hazel understood why. Power was basically everything here. There seemed to be little care for rules, laws, and the such. Because with power, you can skip out on those things! Why care about anything when you can punch it to death or slice it to death with a sword?
‘Stupid barbarians...’ Hazel thought to herself as she saw the thousands of men and women fighting to the death just to punch some rocks.
“Oi! Who just touched my ass!? I’ll kill you and all 10 generations of your family’s ancestry!”
“You dare place your hand on a member of the Boling Family?! You’re courting death!”
“Hahahaha! I’ll get my talent measured first! I’ll cut down anyone that stands in front of me!”
“I see why you stopped me now.” Kai spoke.
Fire, lightning, water, wind, earth, swords, fists, legs, and more were included in that fight ahead of them. Even walking behind them on the steps was dangerous! Some of the disciples included in that battle were an even higher cultivation stage than himself! It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he could lose his life just by standing close to those eager people. So, as a precaution, both him and Hazel walked back down the steps until they felt safe enough to keep walking behind that mess.
“My arm! How the fuck am I going to punch the rock without my dominant arm, you pieces of shit!?” A disciple roared out in rage after losing his arm to a passing wind blade.
“You can kick, you bastard. Quit crying and get out of the way!”
“Who dares to stand in front of this Daddy when he has his big long sword in hand?!”
The disciple who lost his arm went on a rampage after losing his arm. In his rage, his skin began to emit steam and turn dark red like a demon. He soon began to wildly lash out at anyone nearby to cripple them in any way he could, just like he was. In no time, he was kicked down the stairs by someone far higher than him in the cultivation stages and his eyes landed on Hazel and Kai.
Stolen story; please report.
It was Hazel’s first time seeing someone with a bloodline. She would’ve loved to find out more about him but Kai had other plans. The bloodline cultivator leaped towards them and Kai killed him. He covered his hand in lightning before shoving his fist through the chest of the red man and tossing his corpse down the stairs. Hazel was disheartened to see that but thinking about it again, now wasn’t the time for such a thing anyway. Finding another bloodline cultivator shouldn’t be too hard once they get accepted into the sect.
“Trash.” Kai grinned as they continued walking up the stairs.
Hazel was honestly impressed by the savages still fighting. Even knowing that they could lose their lives or get crippled, they continued to fight with one another. While more than a few started running down the stairs once they felt their life was in danger, many more didn’t have the choice to flee. All of this fighting was literally for nothing! Nowhere did the elder state that only a certain number of people would get to have their talent measured. Being first or last didn’t matter at all! It was complete insanity. And if the people around her age were like this, Hazel couldn’t imagine a large group of adult cultivators aiming for something.
This also made Hazel question something. Where in the hell were the elders? Why weren’t they putting a stop to this or at least making sure people weren’t dying? Did they not care about them until they were officially accepted into the sect? It seems so. That kid elder was nowhere to be seen anymore.
It only took over 5 hours before the remaining survivors made it to the top of the stairs. Ignoring all the fighting, the stairs themselves were very large. These stairs led to the mountaintop that the Nine Swords Sect was housed at. So, mountain-sized stairs in length. Even if a majority of the disciples weren’t fighting to the death to get to the top, it still would’ve taken considerable time. There was also the factor of pacing one’s self so that they didn’t wear themselves out before getting to the talent-measuring rock. This didn’t factor in when talking about the fighting disciples who didn’t care about that at all.
Hazel and Kai were one of the last disciples to make it to the top. Kai was still somewhat upset about being one of the last to show his talent but Hazel placated him by telling him that most people save the best for last. It’s why most cultivators hide their most dangerous techniques instead of using them at the start of the battle. This was a good enough reason for him. He did think he was one of the best.
“You are allowed to use martial arts if it helps you bring out your full strength but no weapons are allowed.” An elder informed them.
Kai smirked as lightning zapped around his fist. With a casual punch, the rock lit up with a bright yellow light before dimming. A big smile popped up on the elder’s face once he saw this. Everyone who was staring over at them because Kai was a famous youth, learned that yellow light meant good. None of them were surprised to see him almost be escorted away into the giant entrance of the sect but he refused his goodwill and stayed to watch Hazel’s results.
“Why is someone as talented as Yingjie Kai interested in someone like that?”
“Ah, you must not have heard but that’s actually Yingjie’s personal servant. For some reason, he keeps an ugly woman like her around and no one knows the reason why.”
“I wouldn’t be able to handle having someone like that next to me every day. She’s simply too hideous!”
“Several women from high-ranked clans and noble families have tried courting Yingjie but he refused all of them. Many people began to think that she’s the cause of it and Yingjie is in love with her.”
“Really!?”
“Shhh! Don’t let Yingjie hear you!”
“Talented people really have such weird tastes...”
Hazel made sure to remember the two of their faces before getting started on her rock. While she practiced swordsmanship, she also practiced a fist art in case she was ever disarmed somehow. Her skill in the Earthen Core Fist wasn’t anywhere close to her mastery of her sword but that was normal. It was impossible for her to focus on two different paths of martial arts. But it was good enough to get by in Liang’s opinion.
Many eyes were now focused on her because of Kai’s focus on her. She didn’t let this affect her mentally or physically despite their many comments about her appearance. If she could survive the Yingjie Clan's obscene and rude behavior towards her for eight continuous months, this was nothing in comparison. Hazel placed her sword on her back and got into her martial stance.
Unlike how most fist martial arts utilize mainly the fist, Earthen Core Fist used more than just the fist. It used the entire body. Hazel’s palms were faced towards herself with her right leg forward and left leg back. Legs bent as she slowly inched towards the human-sized black rock. With a deep breath, she attacked on the exhale. Her right foot stomped the ground with a sizable crack in the ground before moving forward with her elbow covered in stone. Hazel struck the rock with her rock-covered elbow and then moved back as it lit up with a blue light.
“Hmm...” The elder wasn’t as impressed by this. He walked over to Hazel. “Show me your sword skills.” He demanded.
“Yes.” Hazel had a feeling he was giving her a second chance.
And she would be right. The only reason he didn’t fail her on the spot was because of Yingjie Kai’s interest in her. She must hold a special place in his heart for him to stay by her side instead of moving on to the second portion of the test. However, if she wasn’t able to show sufficient swordsmanship, he would have to fail her regardless. Even if someone as talented as Yingjie refused to be accepted along with her.
Hazel didn’t unsheathe her sword and simply grabbed it by the handle. The elder’s eyebrows rose as this but she didn’t let it get to her. Her swordsmanship was something she was quite proud of. She readied herself to showcase the results of all her training.
“Remove the cloth.” Kai ordered.
“You think it's necessary?” Hazel questioned.
“Just do it.” He said in an annoyed tone.
“Yes, yes, Master Kai.” Hazel did as he said and as soon as she removed the sheath, the chattering came to a close and a serious look came on the elder’s face.