Filling Out Preferences

Pang Dahai said that someone would soon come to distribute some items to Lu Ye and the others, letting them make certain choices. As a cultivator of the Righteous Qi Sect, he clearly knew the procedures that would follow.

Sure enough, not long after he left, everyone who had passed the test and possessed a Jade Token was gathered in one place.

More than a thousand slaves had been rescued earlier, yet only a little over a hundred still stood here now—a ratio as low as one in ten.

Everyone stood quietly as cultivators came over and handed each person a sheet of paper. Lu Ye took one and lowered his head to look. From top to bottom, ten sect names were written on it.

The Righteous Qi Sect stood at the top, with the Azure Jade Sect in second place. There were several other sects Lu Ye had never heard of, but he spotted Burning Moon Mountain and Hundred Flowers Valley, which Pang Dahai had mentioned before.

These should have been the sects that had come to attack Evil Moon Valley this time.

Each sect had its rank marked behind its name.

The Righteous Qi Sect and Azure Jade Sect were undoubtedly both First Rank Sects. The ranks of the remaining sects varied widely, mostly ranging from fourth to seventh rank.

After the rank was another line of text, listing the schools encompassed by that sect—all information Pang Dahai had mentioned before.

Lu Ye felt somewhat grateful to Pang Dahai now. Otherwise, he probably would not have understood what was written on this paper.

Just as he was studying it closely, a cultivator at the front of the crowd spoke. "Whichever sect you wish to join, come forward and take a brush to circle that sect's name. You may choose up to three sects. As for which sect you ultimately enter, that will depend on your luck and the decisions of each sect's stewards. If you are lucky, perhaps you may even enter one of the two great First Rank Sects."

After he finished speaking, the area fell silent for a moment. Soon, someone asked, "Senior, do you mean that while we choose sects, the sects are choosing us as well?"

"That is exactly right," the cultivator replied blandly. "So do not dream of ascending to heaven in a single step. If your aptitude and talent are insufficient, choosing a First Rank Sect will be useless."

Someone else asked, "What if none of the three sects I choose selects me?"

"Then you have no destiny with cultivation. You will later be settled together with those who lack the aptitude to cultivate!"

The moment those words came out, many who had been nursing hopeful fantasies secretly became alert.

Just now, many had intended to choose both great First Rank Sects. But if they truly did so, there would definitely be no good outcome. The Righteous Qi Sect and Azure Jade Sect would not have low requirements for accepting disciples. Once they were eliminated by those two great sects, they would have only one final chance left. If they failed to seize that last chance as well, they would miss this Opportunity entirely.

For people like Lu Ye and the others, entering a sect to cultivate was undoubtedly the best path forward. No one wished to miss it.

At once, everyone's expressions turned grave.

Lu Ye, on the other hand, held the paper in his hand and listened to the cultivator's words with an expression strange beyond measure.

Why did this feel so much like filling out university preferences?

When his talent had been tested, Third Senior Brother of the Azure Jade Sect had read him an admissions introduction. The Jade Token he received after the test could be considered his exam score. Each sect was like a university, the schools were like majors, and now everyone was filling out their preferences.

There were even first, second, and third choices...

Looking again at the major sects on the paper, the top two were undoubtedly elite prestigious institutions. Were the fourth- and fifth-rank sects below them ordinary first-tier universities? And the sixth- and seventh-rank ones second- and third-tier universities?

Lu Ye's gaze traveled downward, and he was startled at once.

Why was there even some no-name diploma mill here?

The Crimson Blood Sect, ranked last, was actually a Ninth-Rank Sect. He had somehow failed to notice it earlier.

The current situation was obvious. The hundred-plus people who had passed the test needed to choose three sects from among these ten. Though the matter did not seem difficult, there was hidden competition beneath it.

If too many people chose the same sect, then a portion of them would certainly be eliminated.

Lu Ye gripped his Jade Token and sighed inwardly. With his One Leaf talent, he had no competitive edge at all in such matters.

But he still had to give it a try.

Considering that his Cultivation Attribute was primarily fire and secondarily metal, Lu Ye gradually formed a plan.

A desk had been set before the cultivator who had spoken, with several brushes and an inkstone placed atop it.

People went forward one after another, picked up brushes, and marked their papers. Then they handed them, together with their Jade Tokens, to the cultivator.

Before long, only about half of the hundred-plus people remained.

Yu Xiaodie walked over. "Brother Lu, have you decided?"

"Mm... I have."

Yu Xiaodie said, "Then shall we go together?"

"You go first. I'll think a little longer." Lu Ye had already made his decision, but when he remembered his One Leaf talent, he still lacked confidence.

Ten sects and over a hundred people meant that, on average, each sect could accept more than ten people. But that was only the most ideal distribution. Lu Ye was certain that the Righteous Qi Sect and Azure Jade Sect would at most accept two or three people as a token gesture. They would never take many.

That meant the other sects would need to accept more people.

Lu Ye had never expected to enter one of the two great First Rank Sects. But if the competition was too fierce, then even if he chose one of the sixth- or seventh-rank sects, he would still be eliminated.

He had been in the Nine Provinces for over a year and had spent one year as a Mine Slave in Evil Moon Valley. Although he had now successfully Opened an Aperture, he could not even find his second Spiritual Aperture. How could he speak of cultivation?

It would be different if he could join a sect. Then he could ask the experts within the sect to guide him. Thus, no matter what, he was unwilling to miss this chance, even if it meant starting from a lower point.

With that in mind, he stepped forward to the desk, took up a brush, and first drew a circle around the Crimson Blood Sect. The Crimson Blood Sect was the lowest-ranked sect. Lu Ye guessed that apart from himself, no one else would choose it. This was insurance, ensuring that he could enter a sect.

After choosing the Crimson Blood Sect, he raised his brush again and pointed it toward Burning Moon Mountain.

Just as the tip of the brush touched down, he suddenly recalled what Pang Dahai had said to him at the end.

He had told Lu Ye to set his expectations as low as possible and not to be of two minds. Only then could he have his wish fulfilled.

Lu Ye had not understood at the time and had only assumed it was advice. But looking at it now, Pang Dahai had clearly been hinting at something.

Moreover, Pang Dahai did not think highly of him. When Lu Ye had asked which sect he should choose, Pang Dahai had bluntly said that choosing any of them would be hopeless.

He was a cultivator of the Righteous Qi Sect. Though he was somewhat greedy for money, there was no reason for him to mock Lu Ye for no reason. In other words, even if Lu Ye chose other sects, he would most likely fail.

Lu Ye closed his eyes. Every choice at a fork in life's road was incomparably important, especially the choice before him.

He suddenly raised his head, looked at the cultivator before him, and asked, "Senior Brother, what would happen if I chose only this one sect?"

The cultivator had been observing him with great interest. Before Lu Ye, no one had chosen the Crimson Blood Sect, and it was foreseeable that no one would after him either, because the Crimson Blood Sect's rank was far too low.

But what the cultivator had not expected was that Lu Ye had not only chosen the Crimson Blood Sect, but had also asked such a question.

The cultivator stroked the mustache at the corners of his mouth and grinned. "Choose it, and you'll find out."