Day of Sect Selection Trials, Azure Cloud Inn, Kaiqi City
Yu Ming wakes up as soon as the sun rises. Finishing his daily routine and wearing the new robes given by Big Sister Wei, Yu Ming admires himself for a brief moment in the mirror.
The robes are white with black and gold threads forming bell designs at the cuffs.
Yu Ming feels momentarily proud of his appearance before his nervousness comes into force.
Once Li Wei and Qian Hai wake up and get ready, the three leave together for breakfast. Zhang Xin informed Yu Ming yesterday that Chen Li and her will depart for the grounds along with Lady Jin.
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Sect Selection Trial Grounds
Qian Hai looks in amazement as nearly 15,000 young children stand on the grounds in groups as even more trickle in every minute.
"There must be at least 10,000 children here! "
"I am afraid it is much more than that, Brother Qian; I asked around the day before yesterday and found that every year at least 30,000 children attend the trials, with some years even crossing the 50,000 mark! "
"I am afraid to ask, Ming, how many do the Sects accept from these? "
"It depends on the year, usually between 1,500 to 3,500. "
Li Wei adds, " Let us stop these meaningless talks. We need to wait for the tests to start. We might see a sharp decrease in the number then. "
Yu Ming shakes his head, " Brother Li Wei, you are wrong. Many children here are from the city's Minor and Major Clans. The ones who may get eliminated are the villagers. "
"You mean only the ones with Qi Roots are here? " questions Li Wei incredulously.
"Well... not all, but quite a few, I guess. "
Just as the three are about to continue their chat, a voice seems to penetrate their heads and they are momentarily unable to move.
"Silence!"
The entire ground is covered in eery silence as a plump man with stern eyes appears on the platform in a flash. Surrounded by guards wearing metal armor, he continues to speak,
"The Trials shall commence shortly! Your name will be announced and you must come to put your hand on the Root Sensing Disk immediately. "
As he spoke, his voice seem to reverberate clearly across the entire ground, audible to everyone.
The Kaiqi City Lord turns around to take a lower seat on the platform as a metal armored man comes up and shouts,
"For those who do not know, the Root Sensing Disk will detect if you have a Qi Root. "
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Beside him stood a large circular disk with a diameter of nearly 6 feet, divided into five parts:
Wood-> Earth-> Water-> Fire-> Metal
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"Depending on how many light up, we determine the branches of your Qi Root; Now listen carefully; I will not repeat myself!"
"If none of them light up, you have no Qi Roots; you will be eliminated!"
"If all of them light up, you have 5 Elements Qi Root; you are still eliminated!"
"In any other case, you have passed the Root Test!"
Once the man finished his one-sided declarations, the grounds erupted in murmurs of conversation.
Yu Ming, Li Wei, and Qian Hai scrambled to find some of the more knowledgeable seniors to ask for clarification.
"Calm down! I will explain, and take a deep breath. "
replied the tanned boy who had led them to Azure Cloud Inn.
Looking at the impatient looks on the three's faces, Li Qiang explained in a calming tone,
Stolen novel; please report.
"If an element lights up, you have that branch in your Qi Root,"
looking to see them nodding their heads, Li Qiang goes on,
"If a single element lights up, you have an Elemental Qi Root; that is considered the best. If you have two elemental branches in your Qi Roots, you are still considered an elite; with three elements being average and four elements the worst. "
"If we have 4 Elements Qi Roots, will we be accepted by Sects ?" Li Wei stares at Li Qiang anxiously.
"...No, at least not unless you achieve good results in the upcoming two tests. "
"Liu Yang!"
"Liu Yang, Rootless. Eliminated!"
The group watches with complex emotions as the first person is called and eliminated.
"Zhang Lei!"
"Zhang Lei, Rootless. Eliminated!"
"Chen Jing!"
"Chen Jing, 4 Element Root. Go to Arena 4!"
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It had been 10 minutes since the first name; only 7 have passed out of 206 people called.
With only one 3 Element Root from the 200-odd children, the group felt the chances of them passing looked meager.
Yu Ming and Qian Hai look as Li Wei is called to the platform.
"Li Wei!"
"Li Wei, 3 Element Root. Go to Arena 3."
Yu Ming feels a rush of jealousy, shame, and joy at the result.
"Ming, if Wei can do it, we can too. " Qian Hai comforts both of them with a strained smile.
But Yu Ming knows that Qi Root is decided by fate.
None of his ancestors were cultivators, so the chances of him being one are minuscule as well.
"Jian Xinting!"
Yu Ming looks up to see the scary Lady has pressed her palm against the center of the Root Sensing Disk, where Water and Metal are glowing.
"Jian Xinting, 2 Element Root. Go to Arena 2."
The ground erupts as the first Elite appears.
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After another 15 minutes,
"Wang Feng!"
"Wang Feng, Rootless. Eliminated!"
Yu Ming looks on as nearly 450 people get eliminated.
Yu Ming feels a rush of anger at the Sects; he does not understand the need to announce the result and humiliate them further.
"Yu Ming!"
Yu Ming freezes for a moment in fear, afraid that someone has seen his inner thoughts before relaxing and walking stiffly toward the platform.
Yu Ming feels like he is walking toward his execution as he approaches the Disk.
After a moment of hesitation, his palm is pressed deeply against the center of the Disk and he has long closed his eyes, unwilling to see his results.
There is a brief silence before the announcement,
"Yu Ming, Earth Elemental Qi Root! Please go to Arena 1. "
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Arena 1, Sect Selection Trial Grounds
Yu Ming feels as if the entire thing is a dream. He has no ancestry; his parents were regular huntsmen who died to wild beasts.
Yet he has an exceptional Qi Root.
'I will definitely make a name for myself! And money !! make a lot
of money!'
Yu Ming promises himself with a fervent gleam in his eyes.
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Sect Selection Trial Grounds
Qian Hai is standing alone amongst the crowd; Li Qiang has long disappeared.
Qian Hai has a dark expression as he recalls Yu Ming's Qi Root.
"Qian Hai! "
Qian Hai nervously goes to the Disk;
"Qian Hai, 5 Elements Qi Root, Eliminated!"
Qian Hai can't remember how he is back on the grounds again as he feels everything has been a dream.
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Arena 1, Sect Selection Trial Grounds
Yu Ming looks up as a beautiful tall woman with long hair reaching her back enters the arena.
"Lady Jin ?"
"I never expected to meet in these circumstances, Little Brother Yu. You can call me Big Sister Jin. "
" Which Element is your Qi Root, Big Sister Jin ?"
"That's not something you should ask, Little Brother Yu. It's a Cultivation Taboo to ask about others' Qi Root. "
"Oh," replies Yu Ming, not understanding yet scared to offend Jin Ya.
"It's Metal. " Jin Ya frowns, " Little Brother Yu if you continue being this naive, it will be embarrassingly easy to take advantage of you. "
"Mine is Earth. "
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2 Hours Later, Sect Selection Trials' Ground
All the eliminated people have been moved beyond the perimeter as all the passed children return to the ground.
The Kaiqi City Lord once again stands up and addresses the crowd, " All of you have passed the Root Test. Once the Three Tests finish, the Sect Selection will start. Remember that even if 4 Element Roots perform decently in the tests, they will be eliminated. If they want to select a Sect, they must perform extraordinarily well. If the 3 Element Roots perform poorly, then there is a high chance for them to be eliminated as well. "
He continued, " The Sect Members will also watch the tests from now on. Do not embarrass Kaiqi City! "