Their inner sect disciple guide led the group of fifty applicants to an open area with a circle carved into the stone floor. “Everyone in the circle. It’s big enough for more than fifty at a time, which is why we group up this way.”

Yu heard a few muttered questions and saw some members of their group delaying for one reason or another.

“Shut up and do what you’re told!” their guide yelled. “Or you can leave a failure, which would be our preference if you can’t even follow the simplest of instructions.”

Yu and Gui Ai stood shoulder to shoulder as they shuffled inside the circle with the other applicants. Everyone managed to get settled a few breaths later, all standing too close together for comfort. Yu was forced to hold Bai and send the basket into her ring. Poor Gui Ai was constantly flinching at all the contact. For whatever reason, Yu felt somewhat protective of the girl and wrapped the arm not holding Bai around her. Gui Ai flinched but then saw it was Yu and relaxed.

All of a sudden, Yu saw what appeared to be a brightening light around everyone. The source was below them, causing the shadows of the surrounding faces to be amplified, making everyone look somewhat sinister. Looking down, Yu saw a glowing silver, almost white light laid out in what she recognized as a formation of some sort with circles, scripts, and swirls.

Then there was a bright flash and Yu found herself and the rest of the group in the stifling heat of a dome of some sort with a dirt and stone floor. Everyone immediately began spreading out, both because of wanting their personal space back and also due to the oppressive temperature. The room was lit not by lamps but by bright veins of glowing orange magma that ran along the rough walls that all seemed to lead to the very top of the dome.

All the magma gathered in an apparently natural cone of glowing stone and dropped in a flood straight down into a four-story red and gold pagoda in the heart of the room, the only structure of obvious human creation. Black dragons of various sizes and in various states of motion were carved and painted all over the red walls. Yu assumed this was the testing center her master had mentioned.

In front of the tower was a woman of middle years in mortal time, her hair an almost identical blue color to that of the girl who had so openly disliked Yu at the entrance. This woman’s hair, however, was straight and only reached the bottom of her ears. She was dressed in a sect robe showing the opposite colors of those of the applicants, primarily white with black seams and edges. Her hands were behind her back, and she watched the students with a neutral expression on her face.

Most of the group members were looking around and speaking in low tones to each other. They were all interrupted when a firm voice that caused Gui Ai to jump called out, “Welcome, applicants.” The woman still hadn’t moved anything but her mouth. “There will be no speaking from this point forward without my permission. I am Outer Sect Elder Bao Zhonghua.”

Yu figured that her being an outer sect elder explained the robe colors. Then, recalling something, she realized too that there was a clan at home surnamed Bao. Could it be a branch of the same family? Or might it just have the same name?

“You may call me Elder Bao or simply Elder. I am here to guide you in your testing, which will determine if you are worthy of joining this prestigious sect. We only accept those of a certain… quality.” There was something of a sneer on her face at that.

Finally, she moved, turning to show the group her right side while raising her left arm to point at the building in front of everyone. “You will notice the testing building. It is a structure that determines your potential. I will not go into how as only a few of you will ever have seen such a thing, never mind entered one.” Her tone was really quite derisive in Yu’s opinion. She wondered if this was the kind of snobbery she should come to expect from the sect’s elders.

“All you need to know is that most of you will not meet our strict standards,” Elder Bao continued. “In most years, nine out of every ten applicants are declined entry due to lack of pedigree, bloodline, or talent.”

Pedigree? Bloodline? She’s even worse than when the sect snobs visited father’s palace.

Her parents had warned her, but this was ridiculous. Who cared about parentage as long as they could fight or serve?

Continuing in the tone of someone who smelled something rotten, Elder Bao said, “Those of you who inevitably fail will lose your robes and badges and be escorted out so you don’t pollute this institution. The few of you with the potential to add to the sect will be returned above to begin your cycle’s three-day Welcoming.”

A few students actually whispered or mumbled at the elder’s speech.

“Be silent!” Elder Bao snapped. She glared at the group, moving from one face to another. “Any further disruption will result in immediate failure.” Gui Ai hunkered down even lower as if hiding from the elder’s wrath even though she had not said a word.

“Inside, you will face four tests, each being a different measure of your potential,” the elder continued. “The first floor will measure your body-strengthening quality. The second, your meridian type. The third will test your Qi purity, and the last test is your combat capability. No, we do not care if you are not a combat cultivator, so do not ask. All four tests are judged independently, and the results will be stored in your badge.” She pointed at the black dragon medallion attached to her robes like those of the students. “You are required to reach certain minimums individually and when added together. So if you have average meridians but extremely pure Qi, you may still pass depending on how you do in the body and combat tests. If you do not meet the minimum standard on any one test, you will fail.

“Once you complete the final test, your badge will either glow gold for a moment or crumble to dust. I am sure even you lot can guess which is good and which is not. There is a formation inside the building which will send you to where you should go depending on if you have a badge or not. Before anyone decides to ask and force me to fail them, no, I will not tell you what any of that means. Either you will learn in your classes, or you will not. All results are confidential, so do not speak of them until you know what you are talking about. For those of you with bonded beasts, place them on the formation next to the entry doors and they will join you upon your exit, whether you have passed or failed.”

Having finished her introduction, she walked forward and stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the open doors of the first level. Looking back at the group, she ordered, “Line up. Only one student is permitted in at a time, so you will follow my directions. When I tell you to enter, you will do so. Not before.”

Everyone scrambled to line up, Gui Ai standing behind Yu. Yu turned to her and whispered in her ear, which was only reachable because the girl was slouching so much. “You should go first. Then you won’t be alone with the elder while you wait for me.”

Gui Ai looked at the elder and then at Yu and then back at the elder. She thought for a moment and shook her head.

“Are you sure?”

Gui Ai nodded, and Yu shrugged.

A tall boy with long straight black hair was at the front. The elder asked, “Your name?”

“Gong Mozhi,” he answered.

She pointed at the door and instructed him to enter.

He stepped inside the dark entrance, and everyone shuffled forward a step. They were all standing there for a dozen breaths while watching the building or looking around at the astounding glowing construct. All eyes were suddenly drawn to the building when a lamp as tall as Yu’s torso hanging on an eave of the bottom floor and was glowing white went out.

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Nothing else happened, and the elder didn’t react except that her nostrils flared. About as much time passed again before another lamp went out, this time on the second floor. The third lamp had an identical outcome, and the elder sneered openly and shook her head. Only thirty or so breaths later, the top floor’s lantern, which Yu realized was glowing yellow, went out for a few breaths and then relit itself.

“Failed,” the elder said derisively. “Next.”

The entire test had taken about a hundred breaths.

***

The process continued as everyone gave their names and then failed for whatever reason. Only a few of the disciples had bound beasts, all were small, and they disappeared from the formation by the entry doors when the last lantern went out. All eleven applicants had failed when the boy with white hair who had run into Yu stood before the elder. Interestingly, she didn’t ask him his name. She simply looked at him with a superior expression and motioned him forward. He entered with strong, confident strides, and shortly after, the first floor’s lamp flashed brighter. The elder narrowed her eyes but nodded to herself. The second and third floor lamps flashed as well, and the last brightened from yellow to white briefly.

“As expected, a pass,” the elder said, not sounding particularly happy. Gui Ai slouched even lower, by now practically climbing on top of Yu’s back. White hair wasn’t exactly a rare trait so it did not mean anything in and of itself, but that plus the girl’s reaction made Yu think they might be related in some way. Perhaps Gui Ai was from a different line that was not favored? The poor girl was clearly not interested in talking about it so Yu wouldn’t press her. And family status didn’t matter to her either way.

A few disciples later, there was a pass that surprised the elder. Yu didn’t understand the criteria, but she noticed that the final lamp flared brightly, if not as brightly as for the first passer. The only giveaway was that on the second floor, the lamp had flashed brightly as well.

Eventually, it was Yu’s turn, and she answered the request for her name.

“Fenghuang Yu, Elder.”

Yu’s teacher at home, Grandma Huan, had taught her many things about survival, combat, politics, plotting, planning, and Qi generally. But one of the greatest things she had taught was something Yu had struggled with for a long time – how to hide her emotions so they did not show on her face and body. In the process of understanding how to control her visible reactions through mastery of her muscles and disciplining her thoughts, Yu learned about how most humans gave away certain things in their reactions. All one had to do was know what to look for.

What Yu saw in this elder’s face two breaths after she had said her name was first the wide eyes of recognition and surprise, followed by the narrowed pupils of strong emotion, such as fear or anger. The stiffening of lips and clenching of fists, and eventually the narrowing of those thin and clearly suspicious eyes that scanned Yu from top to bottom, told her much about the opinion this elder had of the sect master’s personal disciple.

Clearly, Elder Bao remembered hearing about Yu from the headmaster – and just as clearly, she did not like it. Whether it was because of what she saw or something else that Yu didn’t have knowledge of, the woman looked on with disfavor. Either way, the Elder pointed at the open doorway through an obviously clenched jaw, the muscles showing through her light, but not quite pale, skin.

Not wanting to antagonize a sect elder, Yu silently bowed and walked forward. Looking from the outside, the arched double doorway led to complete darkness. She placed Bai in his basket on the formation, petted him, and whispered that she’d see him soon. Then, taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.

The moment she passed through the doorway, Yu found herself in what might have been an orange glowing cavern like that of the family of the vermillion bird she had met over a year ago, except this was made of wood rather than stone. There were walls and columns filled with various drawings, formations, and whatever else Spiritualists had added to the amazing structure. Yu wondered if it was the magma that was powering this building. She figured that would make sense as it certainly had to be something strong.

The dry heat was sweltering, and Yu immediately began to sweat in her disciple clothes and outer robe. Not wanting to hold everybody up, she scanned the area and found a path beneath her feet that did not glow. It led past and around some walls and columns into what she believed was the center of the floor. Interestingly, as she followed the path, the heat did not increase or decrease. It stayed at a survivable but scorching hot as the nine hells. After following the path for a few torrid breaths, she reached an irregular glowing white crystal as tall as her, floating in the middle of the floor. On the other side was a spiral staircase leading up.

So I know where to go next, but what do I do now?

Scanning the crystal, she saw an indent in the shape of a right hand slightly lower than halfway down. Walking up to it, she reached out, placed her hand in the indent, and waited.

A moment later, Yu felt the oddest sensation. Like something was examining her from her toes to the ends of her hair. It started with a slight tingle and then intensified to an itching. Then pinpricks, similar to before she had been healed and had sat for too long, causing her legs to go numb and then to hurt when she moved. Yu gritted her teeth, but it didn’t compare to what she had already been through in her life.

“Oh. What do we have here?” a deep male voice echoed through Yu’s mind.

Yu blinked and looked around, her hand still on the crystal. “Umm. Hello?”

“Hello,” the voice said. “And what are you exactly?”

Unsure how to answer, she said, “I’m Fenghuang Yu and I’m a cultivator. I’m trying to enter the sect.”

“Clearly. But what else?”

Yu had absolutely no idea what that meant. “Nothing else, senior. I’m just trying to enter the sect to learn and become strong.”

“Humph! Nothing indeed. Well, I do enjoy a mystery. Maybe we’ll meet again.”

Yu scrunched her face. Why would she have to come back to the testing center?

“Do you have a name?” she asked, but then she heard the voice laughing in her mind. Why was that funny? Whoever was controlling this crystal must have a name.

“I do, but I have not been asked in ages. Perhaps I will share it if we meet again.” Then, in an inflectionless tone that removed all the prior emotion, the voice said, “As directed by your badge, your results will be private.”

Yu shrugged and said, “Thank you, senior,” just before her hand was pushed away by a force from the crystal and it flashed a golden color. Hopefully, that meant she had passed since the voice hadn’t explicitly said either way.

Realizing she could not do anything about it either way, Yu walked around the crystal to the stairs and climbed to the second floor. Once she reached it, she found herself facing an even more unexpected sight than the floating crystal. The stairs led to a set of five wooden pedestals glowing with more lines and drawings than anything Yu had seen yet. Opposite them was another spiral staircase leading up.

On all the pedestals appeared to be pearls twice the size of Yu’s fist, and each was a swirling cacophony of mostly white with streaks of different metallic-looking colors. Yu looked around and saw a small circle formation in front of each pearl. The formation on the far left, closest to the stairwell she had just climbed, was lit, so Yu walked forward and, shrugging, stepped into it. It was much bigger than her, probably so it could accommodate some of the larger cultivators she had seen in the group.

Why doesn’t the sect just give instructions? Then, thinking about it, she figured, Probably to weed out the uninformed or timid.

Concerned at that thought, Yu hoped Gui Ai would be able to get through it.

The pearl in front of her lit up, disrupting her musings, and Yu felt power flood through her body. It was not painful, but it felt quite invasive, like fingers crawling all over her insides. Two breaths later, the feeling was gone, and Yu shuddered as the pearl darkened to black along with the formation beneath her feet. Her eyes widened, and she was terrified for a few moments, thinking she had failed this part of the test. What would happen? Would she be sent back home?

Her anxiety calmed when the formation in front of the adjacent pedestal lit up. Letting out a breath and nearly wilting from relief, she stepped over and stood in it. The same feeling coursed through her body, but even more invasively, and the same result happened. Yu immediately looked over to the next formation, still nervously hoping she hadn’t somehow messed it up. Once again, it lit up. This repeated for the next pearl and the one after that as well.

Yu was biting her lip now. What would happen if the last pearl didn’t like her either? Tentatively, she stepped into the final formation and the invasion of power repeated itself. This time, it crawled through her and made her shudder, but the pearl in front of her didn’t turn black, although it did darken. The white dimmed, and a gentle violet began to show through the swirling pearl. It became a deeper violet until the strong color flashed brightly once, causing the entire orange room to be highlighted in purple for a blink of time.

“Aren’t you an oddity,” a female voice said in her mind.

Not again.

“Hello,” Yu called to the room.

“Whoever did that to your meridians accomplished something I haven’t seen in ages. Who did it?”

Yu could swear that the voice contained not just curiosity but also a trace of… fear?

Her meridians were a sensitive topic, so she only said, “Oh. Umm, my name is Fenghuang Yu. What’s yours?”

“Whoever did that may want them back one day. Hopefully, you will be long gone when that happens. Now get out.” As below, in a bland tone, the voice then said, “As directed by your badge, your results will be private.”

Then all the pearls returned to their original swirling white, and the formations started again at the beginning. Yu shook her head and moved to the stairs, figuring the elders or whoever was running the tower were strange.

Considering her meridians were an “oddity” because of a weird encounter with a tiger who had sadly died, as well as a tribulation she had no memory of, she was pretty sure nobody had given them to her, nor would they be asking for them back. Or maybe they would?

Who in the nine hells knows with me?