After saying goodbye to his mother, Xiulan and his grandfather, Shao Chen, Tianlan separated from his siblings and went to the area where those who had been selected by the Shimmering Sword Sect had gathered.
There, he saw a few girls from the Fang Clan who were excited to be going to the same sect as him, as well as the other notable juniors, who included members of the Wu Clan, two of which were the brother and sister pair of Wu Lin and Wu Lixue.
Those two, in particular, averted their gazes when Tianlan’s sight swept past them.
After all of the juniors had gathered, the representatives of the Shimmering Sword Sect brought them to the skies on a giant flying sword. It had plenty enough space for all thirty of the juniors who had been selected, and was a very smooth ride, easing the hearts of those who were experiencing this for the first time.
As the sword took off, the elder paid attention to the group behind him. Most of them quickly sat down in an attempt to lower their centres of gravity and have a more stable footing. Only a few had used their qi to stabilise themselves and had remained standing.
‘Well, that’s all you can expect from a small town like Spring Leaf City.’
It was a disappointing harvest, but that was just how it was. He knew from the moment that he had been assigned to Spring Leaf City that he wouldn’t be getting a bonus this time around.
As he was turning back to face the front, he remembered that there was one anomaly among the new recruits. It was that one member of the Shao Clan who they had selected due to a lost bet. The Shimmering Swords Sect wasn’t fond of illusions. They preferred a more straight-forward approach to fighting. Silly tricks and theatrics would only take one so far.
Even so, there was a decent amount of doubt in his mind. It was possible that the boy really did have some ability. That’s why he decided to seek him out. To see if he had become a coward when faced with something new and unexpected.
When he did spot him, he was surprised to see that he was one of the ones who had remained standing. What’s more, he was comfortably standing at the far end of the sword, quite a distance away from the wind barrier the elder had set up to support the new recruits.
The boy seemed to be looking back at something, but they were already high enough in the sky that it would be difficult to distinguish any details. And sure enough, it didn’t take long for him to turn around and start walking back to the wind barrier.
The elder noticed his calm and casual steps. It was as if he was walking on normal ground. He completely disregarded the fact that a single misstep would send him hurtling down to his death.
That fact was further confirmed when a young lady tried to walk to him, only to find herself thrashed around by the wind. She only just managed to get back to the barrier by the skin of her teeth.
‘Maybe there’s a chance I’ll get that bonus after all.’
***
The flying sword landed in the middle of a field somewhere, causing confusion among the new recruits. The elder noticed this and sent the young man beside him to explain.
“Having been selected through the five-sect summit doesn’t mean you’re a fully-fledged disciple of the Shimmering Sword Sect. There are still three more trials for you to overcome before you can be recognised as an outer sect disciple.”
At this point, the new recruits noticed a number of white figures floating in the sky. They started off small but got bigger and bigger as time moved on until it could be seen that they were all cultivators in white robes flying through the air on their swords.
The young man continued after they landed behind him.
“Your first trial is to survive the journey to the second trial. Any of you who are unable to endure will have failed and won’t be able to join the sect this time around.”
After he finished speaking, he allowed the sounds of concern to ring out.
“You don’t have to worry. Even if you fail during any of the trials, you’ll still be able to join the sect as a worker and through the merit points you accrue, you’ll be able to retry the trials at any time to become an outer sect disciple.” “Of course, you can return to your homes if you want, but in the case that you change your mind and want to try again, you’ll have to pay a fee. It’s not cheap, so I would encourage you to join as workers if you can.”
Some of the new recruits raised their hands. The young man selected one.
“What do workers have to do?”
Some of the other new recruits lowered their hands after hearing that. It seemed they had the same question.
The young man shook his head. “The fact that you’re asking that question leads me to think you won’t go very far.” He continued. “Workers handle the mundane tasks, allowing our disciples to dedicate more of their time to cultivation and furthering their understanding of the sword. The tasks include cooking, cleaning, weapon maintenance, administrative tasks, and, if a senior takes a liking to you, being a personal assistant. You’ll earn merit points accordingly. For personal assistants, you’ll be paid according to a contract you sign with your employer.”
After that, a few more questions were asked pertaining to the three trials, but the young man answered in round-about ways, not giving the new recruits any useful information.
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“For any further questions you have, you can ask your senior brothers and sisters on your way to the second trial.”
After that, he called out the names of the new recruits one by one and pointed them to the senior brother or sister they were to accompany.
“Shao Tianlan.”
Tianlan stepped forward and caught the attention of all of the senior sisters, who eyed him like a piece of meat.
“His face is still a little round, unlike the brothers from the sect, but he’s still more than handsome enough.”
“Mm. After a few years of sword cultivation, he may just be the most handsome brother in the sect.”
“That depends on him passing the trials first. Soft boys like him are more suited to reading books than wielding swords.” That particular young lady licked her lips with a gleam in her eye. “But that’s okay. I’ll hire him as my personal assistant if he doesn’t make it.”
“Not if I get him first.”
“In your dreams. I’ve been looking for a decent personal assistant for a while now. I think I like this one.”
“Wait a minute now…”
The exchanges continued, but the senior sisters were surprised when they felt killing intent directed their way. They looked over and noticed that some of the new recruits, the young women among them, were looking at them with sharp eyes.
In response, they released some of their auras, sharpened through practice with the sword and managed to scare a good chunk of them away, but those dressed in white robes with the character ‘Fang’ written on them weren’t scared off so easily.
The senior sisters awkwardly exchanged glances then laughed among themselves.
“It looks like the girls are feisty this time.”
“Yeah. Especially the Fang Clan ladies.”
“Maybe we should put them in their places.”
The difficulty of the first trial was up to the senior brothers and sisters. They could make it easier or more difficult at their whim. The senior sisters had decided not to go easy on the new girls.
***
“Hello.”
Tianlan went up to his assigned escort, but it seemed the fellow didn’t like him very much. He stared coldly at him for a while before putting on a fake smile.
“Step on the sword. If you have any questions about the sect or the second trial, feel free to ask me. I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Ah. Thanks. Will do.”
The senior brother watched as Tianlan placed a foot on the sword then immediately took off without giving him a chance to fully get on, and before anyone else had taken off.
He dashed off into the sky with his back turned to the rest and stopped abruptly once he was high enough to be seen by everyone in the area, including his sect sisters.
Once he was in position, he combed his hands through his hair and flicked it into the wind.
“Ah. Sorry about that, junior brother. But you have to be prepared at all times. That’s the first lesson a sword cultivator must learn. I hope that you can see that I did this for your sake and not out of spite.”
The senior brother stopped speaking and closed his eyes, ready to hear the applause.
It was actually more than he expected. Among the claps and cheers, he could clearly make out the sounds of his fellow apprentice sisters. They were clearly impressed by his display.
Content with the result, he plastered a smile on his face and spread his arms out as he turned on his sword.
“No hard feel-”
His eyes shot open and he almost coughed up a mouthful of blood. The junior brother was still standing on his sword, right in front of him. He only had one foot on it, and as he placed the other one down, he smiled and cupped his fist.
“Thanks for the lesson, senior brother. I’ll keep it in mind.”
It was now that the senior brother realised that the applause and the screams of adoration hadn’t been for him. He had set the stage for someone else.
Too embarrassed to stay behind, he shot off into the distance, Tianlan in tow, heading to the second trial. He made sure to make the ride as turbulent as he possibly could, but this junior brother was able to match his every move.
‘You think you can make a fool of me? Let’s see how well you fare on the hardest path.’
The senior brother had already decided to make Tianlan’s journey as difficult as possible. That was what happened when arrogant young recruits thought they could act any which way.
He diverted his course and headed to a place very few new recruits were made to go.
***
“This is the second trial. The Melancholic Forest. All you have to do is make it to the end by sundown and you’ll have passed.”
The senior brother landed on the ground and turned a frustrated gaze to Tianlan.
“Get off my sword. You have to go the rest on your own.”
Tianlan got off the sword and the senior brother disappeared as fast as he could.
‘Hei was right about the main character aura. People hate you for no reason.’
Tianlan retrieved a book from inside his robe and looked at the cover.
‘Rules To Live By: The condensed experiences of Ancestor Myriad Fates.’
Tianlan shook his head. This was a book Hei had written. He had named it in accordance with the nonsensical story he had told to Ji Dian about a Shao Clan ancestor who had lived one hundred lives.
When he opened the book to read the introductory information behind the front cover, he couldn’t help but cover his face with his free hand.
These are the experiences of Shao Judon. Some knew him as Patriarch Myriad Fates, others knew him as He Who Walks Beneath the Stars. But the name he was most often called by is Xuduo Shenghuo.
After entering the cycle of reincarnation for the ninety-ninth time, he mastered fate and was able to see the futures of all people. Contained within these pages are some of the patterns he was able to see. The profound truths contained within hold immense power and shouldn’t be allowed to fall into the hands of those who would misuse them.
As a member of the Shao Clan and a direct descendant of Shao Judon, you are one of the few who are worthy of inheriting the title of Xuduo Shenghuo. Use this power wisely, for it may very well alter the fate of the world.
‘How does he come up with this stuff?’
Tianlan walked down the dirt path through the Melancholic Forest with a smile on his face as he read through the notes.
He had no idea what kind of danger lurked behind the trees and bushes.
***
Half a day passed and the first few successful recruits were making their way through the end of the second trial.
Wu Lixue was covered in dirt and her clothes were in tatters. She breathed heavily as sweat beaded down her face and fell to the ground, but she didn’t stop moving for a single second.
This was the hardest thing she had faced in all her life, but she was almost there. Just a few more steps and she would have rightfully earned her place as one of the few who were good enough to take the third trial.
She looked up to the sky and saw that she still had a good amount of time left. She couldn’t help being excited at the prospect of being one of the first to pass the trial.
As her hand brushed away the final bushes blocking her way, she found herself in an open field with grass as far as the eye could see. She knew she had successfully completed the second trial.
She looked around and noticed that, aside from the senior brothers and sisters and the elders from the sect, she was the only new recruit there.
“A-Am I the first one?”
She turned to the senior sister who had brought her here. Upon seeing the smiling face of that senior sister, Lixue finally let herself relax. She had performed the best out of everyone. Even that half-brother of hers.
Finally letting her body relax after a gruelling trial, she collapsed.
Fortunately, that senior sister caught her.
***
“This crop isn’t too bad. These are from Spring Leaf City?”
The elder in charge of the second trial had to ask the first elder. It was known that Spring Leaf City would produce some decent talents every now and then, but they had never had such a strong showing on average.
The first elder was surprised himself.
“On the way here, I didn’t think they were much, but it seems they have decent levels of determination.”
“A lack of skill is always something that can be made up for through practice, but a weak heart is difficult to train.”
The two elders were discussing when one of them heard some sound coming from an unexpected direction.
The second elder extended his spiritual perception to take a better look, and a ways away, he could detect something moving slowly through a section of the forest that was barely ever used.
He turned to the disciples who had transported the new recruits.
“Did someone send a recruit down the despair path?”
The senior brother from earlier started to sweat. He never imagined Tianlan would make his way far enough to enter the elders’ range. In truth, the despair path wasn’t supposed to be used unless an elder had supervised it directly. By setting Tianlan on that path, he had invited trouble onto himself.
He could only curse in his mind as he stepped forward.
‘Why couldn’t you have just stayed down? I would have just picked you up afterwards.’
“It was me, sir. I thought that recruit had what it takes to pass it. I should have gotten your approval first.” He cupped his fist and bowed. “I’ll accept whatever punishment you deem fit.”
The second elder focused his spiritual perception and monitored that recruit to the best of his ability. The nature of the Melancholic Forest made it difficult to get specifics, but he was able to tell that the new recruit was making slow but steady progress.
“Make no mistake, you will be punished, but there may be a reward for you as well.”
“Hm?”
“It seems your eyes were sharp on this matter.”
The senior brother was at a momentary loss of words. What did that mean?
His answer came in the form of a blue-eyed boy leisurely making his way through the bushes, standing with the other successful recruits.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’