Chapter 7

"Let the first test begin," Icewind said as she released a formless pressure that washed over the group of youngsters. As Yuha felt the pressure she nearly rolled her eyes as this was nothing compared to the pressure her sister would release when she was scolding her.

Yuha looked around and noticed most had gone pale and were barely able to hold on. Yuha could only shake her head as she knew most would be eliminated from this test. Only two other people seemed to withstand the pressure without much of an issue.

One was a well-groomed young man and the other was a girl around the same age as Yuha. As time passed the pressure got increasingly heavy causing the group to be whittled down to having only four remaining.

Seeing this Icewind smiled as it was extremely rare to have more than one or two pass even the first test. "Let's see how far these youngsters can go," she said to Dreamblade causing Dreamblade to offer a silent prayer for the group as he was very aware of how crazy Icewind was.

The pressure suddenly doubled causing the young girl and a burly young man to instantly collapse leaving only Yuha and the well-groomed boy standing. Even Yuha started to feel a bit of strain under the intense pressure.

A faint silver light flickered over the young man’s skin as he began to struggle against the increasing pressure. Yuha also began to release some wisps of black energy that merged with the air. Time quickly passed and the pressure had reached a horrifying degree.

Unable to take it any longer the suave young man collapsed leaving only Yuha standing. She expected that with her being the last one remaining that the teat would end but the pressure was still increasing causing Yuha to grit her teeth as she looked towards Icewind. Seeing Icewind's calm smile caused Yuha to feel a burst of annoyance.

"Hey, old hag isn't it time to stop the test already," Yuha nearly snarled as the pressure was still increasing. Hearing what Yuha said Dreamblade's mouth nearly hit the ground. Calling elder Icewind old let alone a hag was an absolute taboo. He remembered when an elder from a neighboring clan had jokingly called Icewind old. She had chased that elder down for three days and pummeled him ruthlessly. He nervously took a glance at Icewind and saw her mouth twitching slightly as clear flames of anger had ignited in her eyes.

"Shit," Dreamblade muttered and he retreated away from Elder Icewind as fast as he could. The pressure no longer focused on solely Yuha and erupted out around Elder Icewind along with a chilly wind. Yuha gritted her teeth as she was nearly being forced down by the increasing pressure. Yuha was releasing a constant stream of curse energy that she was using to barely resist the pressure.

"Is that all you got you old hag! I can see the wrinkles under your makeup! You're not fooling anyone!" Yuha snarled out through gritted teeth. Suddenly the pressure vanished as Elder Icewind let out a melodious laugh.

"It's been too long since I last saw such an audacious youngster. It reminded me of myself when I was younger,"Elder Icewind said as she looked at Yuha with appreciation. Upon hearing this Dreamblade was dumbfounded at the sudden change in attitude. Yuha on the other hand looked at Elder Icewind and smiled.

"Thank you Elder Icewind you are as beautiful as Dreamblade described," Yuha replied shamelessly. Hearing this Dreamblade was stupefied as to why Yuha was dragging him into this insanity. He knew that Elder Icewind would change her mood at a moment's notice but should imagine that the sheltered little girl he had picked up in the woods was the same way. Thinking about having to deal with this junior sister in the future was already causing him to have a headache.

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Icewind regained her calm as she made an announcement. "The ten that lasted the longest will be considered to have passed the test as for the rest you have failed and will have to try again the next time we recruit disciples." After hearing this the majority of the youngsters hung their heads and began to leave leaving only the top ten remaining. "Congratulations you ten have officially joined the Nine Peaks sect! Tomorrow we will have some tests that will determine what peak you will all be assigned to. For now, rest in the guest building," Icewind explained before leaving allowing the youngsters to relax.

Dreamblade approached Yuha with a slight smile. "Looks like you're my junior now. Figured you would easily pass considering how handles Leafdance."

"Heh that kind of pressure was not much considering what my master used to use on me when I stirred up trouble," Yuha replied with an impish grin. For some reason, Dreamblade felt a chill run down his spine as he saw the rascally look on Yuha's face. Before he could respond he heard some movement behind and saw that other members of the Nine Peaks younger generation had arrived to take a look at the newbies.

"Hehe, Dreamblade look at you bring back a little cutie," a charming voice said. Dreamblade visibly flinched at hearing the voices. The one who had spoken was was a blond-haired girl dressed in a yellow robe that was trimmed with gold. She was the genius of summoning peak that struck fear in the hearts of all young girls in the Nine Peaks.

"Sister Lumi I thought you were still in isolation trying to breakthrough," Dreamblade said with a slight tremor in his voice. Just as he finished speaking he felt a slight gust of wind as she completely ignored and appeared in front of Yuha.

"Hi little cutie I'm senior sister Luminous Heart but you can just call me sister Lumi. Since you have already joined the sect I'll take you to pick up your uniform," Lumi said while grabbing Yuha's hand causing Yuha to be stunned at the sudden action. As Lumi started to drag Yuha off Dreamblade stepped in front of Lumi.

"Lumi she has not been assigned to a peak so she can't get a uniform yet," Dreamblade said firmly while pulling Yuha away. This caused Limi to narrow her eyes and give off a murderous aura. Before any more moves could be made a huge figure appeared before them.

"Lumi no need to scare the little one off. So soon you will have plenty of chances to win her over," the huge figure rumbled out.

"Alright since Senior Brother Blackearth said so I'll take it slow," Lumi nodded. She then looked at Yuha and with a wink said "We will get to know each other very intimately in the future my cute little junior." Yuha felt her skin crawl at the gaze that this crazy senior sister gave her.

Seeing Lumi retreat Dreamblade heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Senior Brother Blackearth if you hadn't shown up who knows what craziness Lumi would have caused."

Blackearth simply smiled and nodded. As he inspected the new arrivals. At the same time Yuha was inspecting Blackearth. He was huge with dark skin and a bald head but had gentle gray eyes. As they were observing each other a snort sounded out from an approaching group.

"Hmph and here I thought the person Dreamblade would have brought over was someone with some looks but she can't even hold a candle to sister Lumi. Just look she has barely matured and almost looks like a young boy," a man dressed in a red robe said as he began to laugh along with the people behind him.

Dreamblade felt like his head was going to explode as dealing with this guy after handling Lumi was a special kind of torture. Yuha stood there for a moment as she was stunned by the sudden insult before fury erupted in her heart. Unfortunately, her instincts were telling her that this red-robed man was not someone she could fight. So she began to plot in her heart that she would get back at him as soon as she could.

"Tyrantblaze I think it's better if you returned to your peak," Dreamblade growled.

"Who's going to make me? You? Go ahead and try!," Tyrantblaze roared.

"What if it's me?" A pleasant voice responded. Tyrantblaze looked at the newcomer. She was a purple-haired girl with deep purple eyes.

"Tsk fine. Keep protecting your little lover Sister Melodydream. He can't hide under your skirt forever," Tyrantblaze responded before turning and leaving.

"Alright, all my new brothers and sisters go get some rest. The tests tomorrow will determine where you go and even how the rewards will be distributed so you want to be at your peak condition," Melodydream said will ushering the group of ten into their rooms to rest.

"I wonder how these fellows will do tomorrow," Dreamblade pondered aloud.

"Hopefully we gain some talents. Currently, we only have me, you and Brother Blackearth that can be considered true pillars of the younger generation. We could use another to help out," Melodydream said with a sigh.

"You’re not counting Tyrantblaze and Lumi?"

"They have the strength and the talent but have not proven they have the personality to be worthy of such a title."

Dreamblade nodded in agreement. "Let's return to Dream Peak and wait for tomorrow's events," Dreamblade said as he grabbed hold of Melodydream's hand.