In the Selection

At this moment, only half the children who had stood atop the mountain remained. Worry showed on every face. The first trial had already been so difficult; the next two would undoubtedly be even harder.

"The next trial is a test of endurance. Each of you will carry ten jin of weight and climb the steps to the summit plaza of Green Bamboo Peak. You have two hours. It begins in half an hour, so prepare yourselves."

Elder Wang looked at the exhausted children without the slightest trace of pity on his face.

Qin Fengming and the other children had been brought here early in the morning and had not yet eaten breakfast. By now, they were ravenous. Hearing Elder Wang's words, they could not stop sobbing.

Green Bamboo Peak stood more than two hundred zhang high. Its stone steps wound upward along the mountain wall, steep at times and gentle at others. It was said that the entire peak had a hundred thousand steps.

Under ordinary circumstances, it would still take these children an hour or two to reach the top.

Yet now, with barely any strength left, they were required to carry ten jin of weight and climb to the summit within two hours. The difficulty was truly no small matter.

"The time has come. The second trial begins now."

Half an hour later, Elder Wang stood up, glanced at the children, and spoke without expression.

Though the children were terrified, they still rose one after another, picked up their weights, and began climbing.

At the beginning, the children progressed fairly smoothly. In less than half an hour, they had already climbed sixty or seventy zhang. But after that, their speed plummeted.

Children sprawled across the mountain path everywhere, crawling over the stone steps, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

Although Qin Fengming had not stopped to rest, he too felt somewhat tired. Fortunately, for someone accustomed to mountain roads, this level of difficulty was not particularly arduous.

Along the way, he encountered Duan Meng and the others. They did not speak, merely encouraging one another with their eyes.

What greatly astonished Qin Fengming was that whenever he felt utterly exhausted, as soon as he stopped moving, he would feel a stream of heat swiftly flow from his abdomen into his limbs. Then his entire body would become incomparably comfortable.

The sensation was exceedingly strange. Yet no matter how hard he tried to control that warm current, it remained entirely beyond his command. Its arrival was peculiar, and its departure even more bizarre.

Thus, Qin Fengming walked and rested by turns, appearing exceptionally relaxed among the children.

After Qin Fengming had rested three times on the stone steps, he rounded a bend, and the summit of Green Bamboo Peak unfolded before him.

Climbing the final steps to the summit, he found only one lean but sturdy-looking child seated at the entrance. That child was watching Qin Fengming with an odd gaze.

Qin Fengming said nothing. He simply lifted his foot, walked past the child, found a rock, and sat down.

The child gave Qin Fengming a cold look, then turned back to watch the steps leading up the mountain.

After quite a while, another child finally climbed up the steps. Upon reaching the summit, he found a boulder and immediately collapsed to the ground. His eyes were shut, his chest rising and falling without cease, while rough breaths poured from his mouth.

Time passed little by little. By the time the allotted period was nearly over, among the children who had ridden in the same carriage as Qin Fengming, only Duan Meng and Wei Boqiang had reached the summit. The others were nowhere to be seen.

There were already more than forty people on the summit. Every one of them looked completely spent, as though they had exhausted their last scrap of strength merely to make it up.

Just as two hours had passed, Hall Master Zhang and Elder Wang silently appeared before Qin Fengming and the others once more.

"Time is up. Only forty-three of you passed this trial. The other children have lost their qualifications to continue the selection. Even if you fail the third trial, however, you may still become external affairs disciples of Luoxia Valley."

Upon hearing Elder Wang's words, Qin Fengming and the others all looked surprised. They had never heard of external affairs disciples and had no idea what they were.

At this moment, Qin Fengming had only one thought: to pass the third selection trial and become an official disciple of Luoxia Valley.

"Now, rest for a while. After the time it takes to eat a meal, the third trial will begin."

Elder Wang's face remained expressionless. He showed no pity whatsoever for the utterly exhausted children, and there was not the slightest hint of joy or sorrow in his voice.

As for the third trial, Qin Fengming and the other children knew only that it would test their courage. They had no idea how it would be conducted.

But having witnessed the hardships of the first two trials, they all knew in their hearts that the third would certainly be no easy hurdle to cross. Qin Fengming turned to look at Duan Meng and Wei Boqiang. Both wore equally bewildered expressions.

Only after seeing that the forty-odd children had rested enough did Elder Wang rise and say:

"The third trial tests courage. Compared to the previous ones, this assessment is much easier. You need only pass through a mountain path filled with venomous snakes, pick one ripe Vermilion Fruit from the small fruit trees beside the path, and return. That will count as passing."

"However, I must remind you that those venomous snakes may attack you. Injuries are certain, but whether your lives will be in danger depends on your luck. Anyone who is afraid may choose not to take the trial."

After saying this, Elder Wang glanced at the children, turned, and headed deeper into Green Bamboo Peak.

At Elder Wang's words, the faces of the forty-odd children turned pale at once. Children were naturally afraid of snakes, and now they had to walk through a mountain path crawling with snakes and insects—venomous snakes, at that. The terror in their hearts was beyond description.

They stood frozen for the time it took half a candle to burn before the children finally rose one after another and followed Elder Wang, who was walking slowly ahead.

Elder Wang did not look back, but he knew full well what the children were doing behind him. Only after everyone had caught up did he quicken his pace and head toward a narrow path beside the plaza.

After walking for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a long, winding path appeared before them.

"You will enter the forest ahead one by one, pick a Vermilion Fruit, and return here. That will count as passing."

Pointing ahead, Elder Wang spoke in an utterly flat tone.

Following the direction of his finger, Qin Fengming focused his gaze ahead. He saw a narrow path stretching into the woods. Within the forest, on the trees and along the path, long snakes of every color could be seen everywhere. One after another, they raised their heads, flicked their tongues, and let out hissing sounds.

Faced with so many venomous snakes, even Qin Fengming could not help feeling a wave of fear.

When the other children saw so many venomous snakes before them, they all began trembling. Some had already started crying aloud. Worse still, some had collapsed to the ground, too frightened to move an inch. Every one of them looked utterly helpless.

Elder Wang remained expressionless, merely staring sternly at them. His voice was devoid of all warmth:

"You have the time it takes one incense stick to burn. Those who pick a Vermilion Fruit will pass. You may begin now." With that, he took an incense stick from his robes, lit it with a paper taper, and inserted it into a crack in the stone.