Chapter 51 - Trials Day
When the sect leader left, Hei made sure that she came entirely out of his sight before returning hastily with Lian inside the spiderweb house. Waiting for him were his mother and his two little sisters who had listened to everything that had been said between him and the sect leader.
"Mother, I guess you heard it all, right?"
"Yes, my little one. I heard everything. Tell me, what are you going to do?"
"I do not know. Overcoming the five waves is the goal that I think I'm aiming for, but the test to enter the continent worries me. Even with passing only the five waves, I would get more attention than I already have; but if I pass the next wave, I don't know what could happen. Honestly, I'm curious to see what that continent’s trial consists of, but I'm hesitant because no one has ever managed to overcome it."
‘Because you are my son, I am sure you will be able to overcome it as well as Lian. However, if you pass that test, you would create an enormous commotion not only in the Flower Sect but throughout all the Rainbow Island. The news could also spread to other islands. Even if the sect leader blocked the information leak, it doesn’t mean that one of the elders could not try to do something or that there isn’t another sect’s spy in the inner sect.’
"Yes, as I imagined. So I have to give up once I get over the five waves?"
‘It could be an idea, but there is something that worries me. From the sect leader’s words, it seems that those imaginary opponents are generated based on the age of the challenger. The problem is that the assignment should be calibrated on the results achieved by the Rainbow Island’s martial artists. Therefore, an opponent of your age, and with the same strength doesn’t exist here.’
"Mother are you saying-?"
‘Yes, if the formation measures the five waves based on the island's strength criteria, it could immediately create an opponent on the continent's level.’
"But then how can I pass the test? If it doesn’t make me fight against the five waves and sends me directly to the test to enter the continent."
Hei's tone of voice became slightly alarmed. He wasn't afraid of his imaginary opponent’s strength, but he didn't like the implications behind his eventual victory.
If he won, he would surely get fame and attention from everyone, but he didn't care about those things. They were just useless baggage. If it weren’t for the rewards, he would have been satisfied with a mediocre score. But even if he were to receive more resources for passing the continent test, the negative aspects were higher than the positive ones. He didn’t want to have to end up in a situation that required the intervention of his mother. Not now that she was resting and recovering her strength.
‘There is a method, and you could easily do the test without being discovered.’ Bao Bei thoughtfully said as she looked at her son before continuing.
‘I can cast an illusion on all those present and show them what I want. The level at which the sect’s martial artists are is low, so there would be no problems that they discover something during the test. They will only think that you have passed the five waves but failed the continent test. The only thing is that I should first see what happens when the five waves are completed so as to generate all the details and not to make them suspicious.’
At Bao Bei’s words, the spiderweb house’s residents were impressed. Although they knew that she was able to generate illusions and had seen her doing that during the bandits' attack on the Leaf Village, they were still affected when they heard this. Creating an illusion on multiple people without them realizing that they didn't see the reality but an illusion, it was something incredible.
With this method, they could cover every trace, and if they wanted, they could abuse it in any situation. But never Hei would do it. First, he wasn’t the type that would cheat just to get rewards, second, and that was the most important reason, that method implied that his mother would have to consume her strength.
"No, mother. We can't use it. You're finally starting to regain your strength. I can't let you consume your energy.” Hei said firmly.
He wouldn’t allow it to happen even if it meant giving up the combat trial and, therefore, the rewards offered by the sect. However, Bao Bei would certainly not let him give up such a good opportunity for his future.
‘I know what worries you, but you don't have to. I have recovered enough energy, and creating such an illusion isn’t a problem. Furthermore, as I told you, the targets are extremely weak from my point of view so I won't be spending too much energy. Listen to me well Hei, I like how you care about my health, but I'm your mother. My job is to help you on your path to the future. It is normal that if you are having a hard time, I come to help you, and even if it means consuming my energies, I will do it anyway because that is what it means to be a mother.’
The tone of Bao Bei was firm and contained a strong pride. With her eight eyes looking straight at Hei's, she announced that she wouldn’t accept further protests on the issue and that he could only resign himself to her decision.
After a while, Hei sighed and couldn’t help but accept the situation.
"All right, we'll do as you want, mother. But I won’t let you consume too much energy. I will beat my opponent as soon as possible. I swear."
Hearing this, Bao Bei chuckled.
"I am pleased to see you pumped about the test, but remember that it would be better something more relatable. Maybe just a bit faster than the second-fastest, alright?"
Hei nodded reluctantly and could only pray that the elder and sect leader’s personal disciples were really talented as they were called and would pass the test as soon as possible.
Bao Bei actually wanted to use this method to train Hei and Lian for the dream trial as well. By generating illusions against them, she wanted to prepare them mentally; with adequate training it was indeed possible to obtain some self-control inside an illusion. Moreover, because it was a test designed for the island’s young martial artists, it shouldn’t be such an advanced and frightening illusion.
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However, she knew that if she proposed it, her son would surely refuse. He would never let her do it even if it meant disobeying her. And indeed, even though creating such trivial illusions didn’t cost much energy for Bao Bei, the very fact of activating her spirit power accelerated the process of decay she was undergoing.
In the end, she decided to leave it alone. Although it was risky, she would trust Hei and Lian. She would be content to help them only in covering their tracks for the combat trial. And even if in the end they didn't get the first positions, it was fine, provided they were safe.
Once the discussion on the upcoming trials was over, it was time to focus on training. Bao Bei decided to leave the spider hair technique for the end of the tests and ordered Hei to concentrate on his cultivation as well as training on what he already knew, particularly in his spear art.
This time he would have his sisters and Shui as his sparring partner. Intrigued by the hustle and bustle, Mi also ended up attending their sparring sessions, and even though she was the youngest among them, she worked hard to try and do her best during training.
As for Lian, she received Bao Bei’s personal attention instead. So far, the spider had devoted more attention to her son, but since Hei had achieved a certain degree of autonomy as a martial artist, she then switched to focusing on the young girl.
For the occasion, she made for Lian a special 1-meter long ribbon with her silk. Even if Lian couldn’t yet control the ribbon with her spirit power, by stretching it, she could still block a weapon attack. But what Bao Bei made Lian concentrate on most was teaching her to come closer behind her opponent and strangle him with the ribbon while dodging the various blows that were thrown at her.
It was a risky method of fighting, but since Lian had learned various styles of dance, she had developed a curved and agile body that allowed her to avoid blows easily. The only problem was that once she found herself in the strangling position if her opponent got free, she would most likely lose. Unfortunately, the lotus style power would be visible entirely only later, and therefore, now they had to settle for it.
Therefore they started training day and night. The time available was short, but the fundamentally had already been laid, so it wasn’t something impossible to train Lian to the point of defeating her enemy.
*
On the trials’ day, the younger generation's inner members were in turmoil. Some were upset because they didn’t want to lose the younger generation's privileges. Some were anxious to see the fruits of their training and show the results to others. And some didn’t have so many worries because they knew they would be classified in the middle. They were instead more curious about who would earn one of the 50 places that would be rewarded.
Regarding the rewards, the prizes given to the first seven were revealed as well as the choice of a second prize for the first place. That revelation did nothing but increase the climate of tension within the younger generation. Excluding the first five places for the five personal disciples, there was indeed a definite possibility of earning one of the other two spots.
Among the inner members, there were even those who dreamed of reaching the first place. But the chances of that happening were almost non-existent, given the participation of personal disciples. But they couldn’t help but hope for a stroke of luck.
The trials would be carried out in one of the sect's training grounds. Usually, this training ground was closed throughout the year and opened only during this classification period. It was because the cost to activate the formations wasn’t insignificant for the Flower Sect, and therefore, it remained unused for most of the time.
Of course, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t tried to look for alternatives. However, it was difficult to create a system that could impartially evaluate the younger generation's inner members based on their talent and future prospects rather than on their current strength.
After all, the younger generation's inner members weren’t all the same age, and the older ones were usually stronger than the younger ones. However, that difference in age was beneficial. It encouraged those who had talent in overcoming their limits by rivaling and confronting those who were stronger and older than them.
In the end, therefore, they remained with the system imposed by the empire, considering that within each of the big sects hoped to produce a talent suited to the continent's level.
When Hei and Lian arrived at the training ground, they found themselves a bit disoriented when they saw all the younger generation inner members gathered there. Although participation wasn’t mandatory, an absence meant an absolute exclusion from the younger generation and the need to start working in one of the sect divisions.
At the center of the training ground, there were two buildings made of a strange shiny material. The first had a rectangular structure with a single floor and a large entrance while the second was built in the shape of a pagoda with five stories, although the overall height didn’t exceed 15 meters.
Around the training camp, there were some inner members, no longer belonging to the younger generation, who had in their hands a list of names and were running around calling a different name each. Once confirmed the presence, they would make a sign on their list and went on to call the next name. After a while, Hei and Lian’s names were called, and he answered for both.
For that occasion, Hei and Lian were alone. Bao Bei, Ye, and Xing were hidden at the edge of the training ground watching the situation from a large tree. Although Bao Bei had faith in her illusory abilities, she decided that it was better not to implement their plan from there. After all, it would have seemed strange to bring spirit beasts there, considering that they couldn’t be brought into the structures containing the formations.
When the participation of all the younger generation inner members was confirmed, one of those who had made attendance came forward and, increasing the volume of his voice with his spirit power, to make himself heard by everyone, he began to speak.
"Welcome to all the participants of this year's younger generation ranking. I know that most of you already know the rules, but by formality, I will briefly explain what the two tests consist of." Here the man paused briefly before continuing.
"The building with only one floor is where the dream trial will take place. Fifty people will enter at a time; once inside, you will find bedrolls, where you have to lie down, and potions. Drink the potion and lie down. In a short time, you will feel sleepy, and the test will begin. You will have to face illusions and free yourself from them. The illusions are random, and each of you will experience something different, so it is useless to ask around. The less time you spend, the higher your score. If within 15 minutes, you haven’t been able to free yourself from the illusion, you will be woken up by us and assigned a zero score."
When he had finished explaining the first trial, he then went on to explain the second one,
“Once the test the dream trial is completed, you will have 15 minutes of rest before moving on to the pagoda-shaped building containing the combat trial. The combat trial consists of facing five waves of increasingly stronger illusory opponents. Inside, you will always find a bedroll and a potion to take. You will have 5 minutes for the wave to defeat your enemies. If you can't finish by then, the enemies of the next wave will join those already present. If you finish early, you can use that time to catch your breath and get ready for the next wave.
Five people can enter at the same time, and as you go through the various waves, the pagoda floor assigned to you will change color, and it will be visible for everyone outside. There are five colors that change, depending on the number of waves passed - green, blue, yellow, orange, and red. Once you pass the fifth wave, you will have the chance to start another wave, but it isn’t something most of you need to worry about. Well then, let's begin. We've lost enough time."
He signaled to start preparing the first 50 participants for the first trial using the list of names they possessed.