Imperial Capital

After crossing lofty mountains and rugged ridges, plains and highlands, and detouring around countless county cities, Luo Zheng finally arrived at the Imperial Capital half a month later.

Luo Zheng had thought Chongyang County was no small city among all the counties. Yet when he stood at the gates of the Imperial Capital and looked up at the golden city gates dozens of zhang high, his mouth still fell wide open.

Even though all kinds of books had spared no effort in exaggerating and praising the Imperial Capital's grandeur, and Luo Zheng had mentally prepared himself for its magnificence and luxury, when he first set foot here, he was still deeply shaken, like a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time.

In truth, Luo Zheng had seen many of the Imperial Capital's sights in books. The records in those books had been incredibly detailed, even including paintings copied from the actual scenery.

For instance, the golden city gate before him was called the Gate of Gazing at the Heavens. It stood thirty-six zhang tall and nine zhang wide.

Thirty years ago, Princess Qi of the Devil Race had married the Crown Prince of the Burning Heaven Dynasty. This Gate of Gazing at the Heavens had been part of Princess Qi's dowry.

Seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times. Only when Luo Zheng saw the golden gate forged from refined gold and all manner of gemstones did he understand the meaning behind Princess Qi's dowry: In the eyes of us Devil Race, you humans of the Eastern Region are all poor.

Passing through the Gate of Gazing at the Heavens, Luo Zheng walked along the Imperial Capital's main road, admiring the sights on either side: the Blazing Heaven Pavilion, piercing the sky like a single pillar and nearly a hundred zhang tall; the majestic and enormous Earth Dragon Altar; all kinds of Flying Carriages weaving back and forth...

Those sights swept past Luo Zheng's vision in a blur. What concerned him most was still the Azure Cloud Sect.

After asking around in many places and spending an entire day crossing more than half the Imperial Capital, Luo Zheng finally found the Azure Cloud Sect.

The immense Azure Cloud Sect occupied nearly a quarter of the Imperial Capital, several times more land than the Imperial City. This did not even include the endless Azure Cloud Mountain Range stretching behind it.

Compared with the boundless splendor of the Gate of Gazing at the Heavens, the Azure Cloud Sect's entrance appeared far more modest. Apart from the three vigorous, sweeping characters, "Azure Cloud Sect," there was little else worth noting. Verdant trees surrounded it, green vines coiled around it, and it brimmed with ancient charm.

Beside the sect gate, two lines were currently queued up for registration.

The line on the left had only a scant dozen or so people, while the line on the right formed a Long Dragon. It twisted and wound so far that its end could not be seen at a glance, and there were likely no fewer than a thousand people in it.

Luo Zheng walked directly to the sparsely populated line on the left. Since there were so few people, it was not long before his turn came.

The receptionist in charge of registration gave Luo Zheng a once-over, then held out his hand. "Please present your Scholar Clan Document."

"Scholar Clan Document?" Luo Zheng's face filled with bewilderment.

The receptionist pointed at the desk and said, "I only receive Scholar Clan members here. If you do not have a Scholar Clan Document, please line up over there!" As he spoke, he pointed toward the Long Dragon beside them.

Only then did Luo Zheng understand why there were so few people in this line. It was specifically for Scholar Clan members.

The Scholar Clan was a special class personally conferred by imperial decree.

Throughout the entire empire, only a very small number of powerful lineages were qualified to call themselves Scholar Clans, and these powerful lineages were basically all concentrated in the Imperial Capital.

The Luo Family of Chongyang County was naturally not a Scholar Clan, so Luo Zheng could not possibly produce any "Scholar Clan Document."

Seeing this, the people in the Long Dragon beside them let out low snickers, their faces full of contempt. Waiting in line was indeed boring, and Luo Zheng's blunder made for rare entertainment.

"Where did this country bumpkin come from..."

"He does not even know about Scholar Clan Documents. These days, just anyone is squeezing their way into the Azure Cloud Sect..."

Luo Zheng showed no reaction whatsoever to those irritating voices. He merely nodded to the receptionist, then walked to the end of the Long Dragon amid everyone's contemptuous gazes.

Two years of life as a Family Slave and several narrow escapes from death had long since made Luo Zheng's state of mind exceptionally calm. Such insignificant provocation and mockery were nowhere near enough to anger him. Instead, they made him even calmer.

The line moved forward very slowly, so Luo Zheng simply closed his eyes to rest his mind.

"Is this your first time taking part in the Sea Trials?" Before long, a voice came from in front of Luo Zheng.

Luo Zheng nodded and opened his eyes. The speaker was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, with a gentle tone and a kind face.

When the young man saw Luo Zheng open his eyes, he smiled slightly and added, "This is my second time."

"What do you mean by 'Sea Trials'?" Luo Zheng asked, voicing his confusion. He knew that the Azure Cloud Sect's requirements for accepting disciples were extremely strict, and one had to pass layer upon layer of examinations before qualifying to enter Azure Cloud Academy. But after all, he was not from the Imperial Capital, so he did not know the process by which the Azure Cloud Sect admitted disciples very well.

The young man smiled faintly. "As a sacred land of cultivation beneath the heavens, the Azure Cloud Sect has countless people who wish to join it. If every single person had to be assessed, then even if everyone in the sect were called out, they still would not be able to keep up. Therefore, the Azure Cloud Sect has decreed that, aside from Aristocratic Clan Disciples, everyone else must pass the Sea Trials before they can take part in the Azure Cloud Sect's assessments."

"Brother, may I ask what exactly the Sea Trials involve?" They said the Azure Cloud Sect was exceedingly difficult to enter, and now it seemed that was indeed true. There were actually so many Rules. Yet what price had Luo Peiran paid to be directly accepted as an Inner Sect Disciple?

The young man laughed. "The so-called Sea Trials are actually just gathering us together and making us run. The Azure Cloud Sect requires Sea Trials participants to be at least in the Bone Refining Realm. Those in the Viscera Refining Realm and Marrow Refining Realm may participate as well, but the requirements differ according to realm. For example, those in the Bone Refining Realm only need to run a certain distance. If one is in the Viscera Refining Realm, then one must run farther..."

Just running? Luo Zheng blinked. The Sea Trials did not sound difficult. After all, anyone could run, and since entering the Viscera Refining Realm, Luo Zheng's breath had become long and steady, while his body's breathing had reached Micro Control. No matter how far the distance, he could persist.

Having learned the requirements of the Sea Trials, Luo Zheng finally settled down. He chatted with the young man a little longer and learned that his name was Mo Can, a disciple of a small lineage in the Imperial Capital.

The Azure Cloud Sect's Sea Trials were held once every month. Mo Can had already failed once last month, and this was his second attempt this year.

As they chatted idly, time passed quickly. Before they knew it, it was their turn.

After registering his name, Luo Zheng received a jade pendant from the reception desk. His identity information was recorded within that pendant.

After carefully putting away the jade pendant, Mo Can said, "Brother Luo Zheng, you should get plenty of rest tonight. Running may sound simple, but the Azure Cloud Sect's path is somewhat unusual. As for the specifics... you will find out the day after tomorrow." Mo Can thought for a moment, then added, "I see that Brother Luo Zheng is from out of town. If you have nowhere to stay, you may stay at my home."

Mo Can was quite a warmhearted person.

However, Luo Zheng politely declined Mo Can's invitation. Two years of seeing the warmth and coldness of human nature had shown him many things. One should not accept a gift without merit. He would not casually suspect others, but neither would he casually trust them.

At that moment, quite a few people emerged from the Azure Cloud Sect's gate. Most wore long white robes, while a scattered few wore long black robes.

Seeing Luo Zheng studying them closely, Mo Can told him, "Those in white robes are all Outer Sect Disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect. Once we pass the Sea Trials and then pass the Azure Cloud Sect's assessments, we will qualify to wear white robes."

"What about the black robes?" Luo Zheng asked.

"Black robes? Those are Inner Sect Disciples! Whether in status or in the pills they can collect each month, they receive far more than those in white robes! The goal Father set for me is to wear a black robe and become an Inner Sect Disciple." Mo Can's face revealed boundless longing.

Luo Zheng nodded, but he thought of Luo Peiran. That day, Luo Junyi had announced during Clan Training Day that Luo Peiran had been accepted as an Inner Sect Disciple. What was the reason for that? Could the Heaven and Earth Creation Pill truly possess such miraculous effects that Luo Peiran's cultivation had advanced so quickly?

Just as he was thinking this, six or seven black-robed disciples approached from ahead. One of them glanced at Luo Zheng several times, an odd expression appearing on his face. "Luo Zheng! I never expected you to be alive. You actually still dared to come register, dreaming of entering the Azure Cloud Sect?"

Luo Zheng's eyes narrowed as he recognized the man's face. He sneered inwardly. What a coincidence. He had just been thinking of this person, yet this person had actually appeared before him.