Chapter 322
The afternoon soon arrived .
A young disciple dressed in apricot-yellow came knocking on the doors of both them and the other candidates around them .
As Lu Sheng was packing, he realized that a crowd of candidates had gathered outside .
He tidied up his room a little before walking out .
"Relax, just pretend it's a normal test . " Yun Xiufei smiled, but his fist was clenched .
Wang Yunlong also smiled lightly . He was wearing blue tight-fitting clothes, outlining his muscular shape .
The three walked with the rest of the crowd toward the field in between the towers in the back .
"Next group . " A row of tables sat on the field . A couple of obviously annoyed disciples dressed in yellow were sitting behind them, unconsciously knocking on their armrests .
Of course they were annoyed—those candidates had been singled out, and all of them came from rural counties, whose other candidates made no impression in the past years .
The good counties' talented candidates were on the other side, while everyone that showed up on their side was either a candidate that had failed multiple times or ordinary candidates with basically no potential .
The few disciples acting as proctors were all annoyed, but they had no choice but to carry on with the testing .
A total of eighteen people—including Lu Sheng and his companions—stood on the field . They were all ordered to change into a gray uniform in a room to the side of the tower . All their personal belongings were also taken away for safekeeping .
Lu Sheng was the ninth . Many candidates from other places were in front of them . Wang Yunlong too . In fact, he was the one before him .
"Don't be nervous and perform well . You guys will be fine," Yun Xiufei encouraged from the back .
"Tch . " A slightly chubby youth chuckled on the side . "Yeah, right, brother . Yun Xiufei, isn't it? I've seen you so many times already . If you were really talented, you would be in the other group, and not here . "
"That's different . This time, we will succeed . I trust them," Yun Xiufei said seriously .
"That's what you said last time . " The chubby guy shook his head . "But you do have the persistent spirit of that mushroom-head from group 3 . That guy comes every year, but gets eliminated in the first round every time . "
"Mushroom-head? You mean that Zhao Cheng?" Yun Xiufei thought for a moment before realizing whom he was talking about .
"Who else?" The chubby guy nodded . "His whole family branch had been killed . Only he and his sister are alive . If it weren't for his sister, who managed to secure a direct disciple spot, who would let him try this one year after another? His spot would have been taken by others long ago . "
"I heard his sister is Zhao Ting? Clashing-Spirit Sword Zhao Ting?" Yun Xiufei asked in return .
"That's her . A very dedicated senior apprentice sister, probably desperate to avenge her family . She barely got into the inner sect, then risked her life to become a direct disciple . She nearly lost her life multiple times during that . The point is, many people admire her determination . Even though she ranks last among the direct disciples, making it there with only her talent is exceptionally impressive already . " The chubby guy chattered on casually .
Lu Sheng and Wang Yunlong listened to the two men chat on the side .
Wang Yunlong's face was unchanged, like he wasn't interested at all . Lu Sheng, on the other hand, seemed intrigued . Why did this Zhao Cheng's story sound like some sort of main character from a web novel on Earth?
Unfortunately, this Zhao Cheng didn't appear special at all . The main characters from stories were only useless on the surface, but in reality, every single one of them had ungodly talent . This Zhao Cheng didn't seem to be so lucky .
"Next, Cheng Ling . " The line advanced fast, and soon, only four or five people were left .
A short-haired girl with a numb expression and a white pearl stud on one ear walked up with her long sword in her hands .
Though the girl had short hair, her face was delicate . Her bangs hung low, almost covering her left eye . Her apricot-shaped eyes were larger than normal, and looked watery . A sliver of determination and seriousness shone through them .
As soon as she entered the field, her pretty yet slim and simply-dressed body drew the attention of many men .
"It's her, Cheng Ling . She's come to the testing for four years in a row already . How persistent of her . " The chubby guy behind Yun Xiufei shook his head .
"What about her?" Yun Xiufei also considered himself an "experienced veteran" of this test . Although he saw the girl before, he didn't know what had happened to her .
"She almost made it each and every time . Unlike you and me, she actually almost made it . Everyone thought that she could improve just a little when she comes back, but four years later, she's still only 'almost' making it .
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"What does her family do?" Wang Yunlong suddenly asked out of nowhere .
"Her dad is the head of a branch of a noble family . They have money and power in the family . She also has a brother, directly related, but he was accidently crippled by someone else . She's the only heir to the family now, so there's lots of pressure on her . " The chubby guy seemed to know everything .
"Couldn't her father just conceive another child?" Yun Xiu Fei was bemused .
"If only he could . " The chubby guy's mouth twitched .
Lu Sheng noticed that Wang Yunlong was looking at Cheng Ling strangely . Not the kind of look given to a pretty girl, nor did his look contain pity or sympathy . It was more like a dull assessment .
He looked away instantly . If it weren't for Lu Sheng's extremely sensitive senses, he wouldn't have noticed at all .
Cheng Ling's first test was the strength test .
She held her sword with both hands, and swung it at a rock covered in a layer of amber-colored slime .
"Puff . "
A tiny mark appeared on the slime, then disappeared after a few breaths .
"Three breaths," a proctor casually called out a number .
Next was the speed test . It involved sprinting the distance between two towers while bearing a three hundred pounds of load as quickly as possible .
Cheng Ling put on the special weights . She bit her lip and moved her feet . Then, she lowered her back, and got into a sprinting position on the starting line .
"On your mark . . . Get set . . . Go!" a woman to her side shouted .
Cheng Ling sprinted forward, but her speed really wasn't exceptional at all . It was about the same level as an ordinary human's . For mortals, it was considered fast, but compared to the other candidates, it was still a tad too slow .
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She didn't pass her speed test . Cheng Ling's face paled a little . The last test was for potential talent . The result was average, and she didn't get a lot of points—not nearly enough to make up for the points she'd lost during the speed test .
Hence, the final result was still a failure .
After the test, she stood dumbstruck in place, her eyes blank . No one knew what she was thinking .
Then it was Wang Yunlong's turn . He walked up and whispered something as he walked pass Cheng Ling . Suddenly, her whole body shook, and she stared at him with a shocked expression on her face .
But Wang Yunlong said no more after that, and started his test .
The first was the strength test . He walked in front of the amber slime-covered rock, and took a sturdy long sword into his hands .
A senior apprentice brother walked to his side . "You may begin . "
Wang Yun smiled, unsheathed his sword, then glanced at it . Then, he casually swung it in front of him .
"Puff . "
White light shot out from the blade .
A clear scar at least a finger deep appeared on the amber rock .
The disciple in charge of testing blanked out for a second . He inspected the rock carefully, then looked at Wang Yunlong .
"Very nice . A tier strength!" His face softened considerably . A tier was only one tier lower than jade third tier . Aside from those prodigies, A tier was one of the best that normal candidates could achieve .
Wang Yunlong bowed slightly with a smile, then walked onto the speed test field . He carefully put on his weight, and positioned himself properly .
His A tier strength drew the crowd's attention already . As the speed test started, many onlookers looked toward him .
"I told you he could do it," Yun Xiufei spoke proudly as if he'd just passed the test himself .
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"Let's see his speed . " The chubby guy shook his head . "Too bad he didn't make it into jade tier; otherwise, he could've skipped the other tests and gotten accepted right there . "
Lu Sheng didn't speak, and instead looked at Cheng Ling . The girl's eyes stared straight at Wang Yunlong with a mix of anticipation and hope .
"Go!"
At the command, Wang Yunong shot out like a horse freed from its reins, and flew toward the other tower . His speed immediately surpassed the tester's expectations, and he reached the other tower in five short breaths . His face was still relaxed, looking as if he could do better .
"A tier!" the tester shouted . "A tier speed!!" He was excited . After testing so many trash-tier candidates, he finally came across someone with real talent .
That was like a pretty woman suddenly jumping out of a crowd of ugly ones . The feeling of surprise was amazing .
The last potential talent test, regrettably, was only B tier . Otherwise, had he reached A tier in all his tests, he would have reached the lowest jade tier, and he would have been directly accepted into the inner sect .
As Wang Yunlong walked down, he whispered to Cheng Ling again . She visibly paused, then nodded her head .
It was Lu Sheng's turn next .
He looked at Wang Yunlong as he walked up to take his test . He felt something off about this guy as if there was something familiar about him . But he clearly didn't recognize his face, and the aura about Wang Yunlong was foreign to him as well .
Standing in front of the amber-colored rock, Lu Sheng decided not to overthink it . The whole goal was to make a splash and show off his peerless talent in order to attract the attention of the sect leaders, which would then lead to more resources being allocated to him . All that was in order to climb to a higher place in the way of True Qi cultivation .
"Power test begins now," the test proctor shouted .
Lu Sheng hesitated before he accepted the testing sword .
He showed at most Bind level strength before . That was the limit considering the talent he displayed . Any higher than that wouldn't be normal .
"What's the matter? Is there a problem?" the test proctor asked on seeing that Lu Sheng didn't make a move .Please download our sponsor's game to support us!