Two days later, the day of the new disciples' trials arrived.
Tang Yao and Chu Song headed to the main peak for the new disciples' ceremony.
Neither the Profound Heaven Sect nor the Azure Cloud Sect had many female cultivators. The Luo River Sect's pill cultivators and the Beast Taming Sect's beast tamers had the most!
As such, Tang Yao and Chu Song attracted plenty of attention along the way.
Tang Yao nudged Chu Song with her elbow and teased, "Brother Chu, your charm really is something."
Chu Song said, "That's... naturally."
After speaking, she even gave a cold snort and raised her chin high, revealing a sharply defined jawline. After these past few days of Tang Yao's torment, Chu Song's skin had grown thicker by the day.
Standing up high, Elder Ling stared at the scene in shock and instantly wanted to poke his own eyes out. He hurriedly turned away and began silently chanting, It's perfectly normal for genius disciples to have little quirks.
Meanwhile, the surrounding outer disciples had already packed themselves around these two talented, good-looking "female fellow disciples" so tightly that not even water could get through.
"Xiaohua looks even prettier than on registration day, sob, sob, sob! What a sweet, adorable senior sister! Aah!"
With her talent so high, calling her senior sister was fine, right?
"All you know is staring at your Xiaohua. Our Xiaocao is the truly stunning one. That cool, aloof air, paired with the unapproachable impression her ice spirit root gives off-she loves an ice-cold beauty most." A staunch Xiaocao stan spoke up.
"What are you arguing about? Don't you know how to ship a CP? One's cold as frost, the other's adorably innocent. The Flowers and Grass Group is the fucking best! Huge points for the Flowers and Grass Group!"
A CP could be niche, but it couldn't be cursed.
Tang Yao kept her expression unchanged, but inside, she was utterly baffled. No, what about me looks cold? These people must be looking at me through an ice spirit root filter.
Still, she glanced back at Chu Song.
This...
She really is adorably innocent. They're not wrong about that.
"Silence." A powerful voice brimming with pressure reverberated across the entire square.
At Elder Ling's very first words, the crowd fell silent.
The disciples looked over.
A youth stood beside the elder, his long hair hanging loose. He wore purple sect robes with gold-stamped lotus patterns on the sleeves and collar, his features cold and his expression arrogant.
In contrast, Elder Ling was in excellent spirits. He had recruited two exceptionally talented disciples. So what if they had a few little quirks!
Genius disciples had to be secured no matter what. Everyone knew what happened when you failed to hold on to them-
A certain Song from the Azure Cloud Sect, who possessed an innate sword bone, had been poached with all the Pill Sect's might.
"Ahem, the sect master will be back today. Until then, I'll oversee the new disciples' trials in his stead. These trials are especially crucial: they're intended to bring in fresh blood for the inter-sect tournament a year from now!"
"We recruited one hundred disciples this time. The top three can become direct disciples, the top twenty can become inner disciples, and the rest will cultivate in the outer sect!"
"These new disciples' trials consist of three rounds: physical fitness, talismans, and a secret realm, primarily using individual points. In the third round, the secret realm trial, the more demon beasts you kill, the more points you earn. If you encounter a life-threatening situation, remember to crush your identity token and come out safely!"
After delivering his earnest instructions, Elder Ling stroked his beard and turned toward the youth beside him. "Yueyan, do you have anything to say to your junior brothers and sisters?"
Hearing this, the youth spoke coldly, his expression indifferent. "Good luck."
Elder Ling was clearly dissatisfied. That short?
At the elder's prompting, Jiang Yueyan furrowed his brows and awkwardly said, "I'll be waiting for you... among the direct disciples, okay?" After speaking, he gave the elder a dark look, and the elder nodded in approval.
Now that was the image of a warm, approachable head senior brother. Elder Ling was thoroughly satisfied.
Those below the platform were already beside themselves with excitement, especially Jiang Yueyan's diehard fans, who regretted not having taken out recording stones to capture it. After all, Jiang Yueyan was cold and proud through and through.
This pumped everyone full of chicken blood, apart from Tang Yao and Chu Song.
Tang Yao said, "Why aren't you excited?" Isn't this guy Jiang Yueyan's little fanboy?
Chu Song rolled her eyes, puzzled. "Why would I be excited? I barely know him. Besides, people outside call him some genius talisman cultivator. Who knows whether that's watered down!"
He rushed to distance himself, afraid Tang Yao would say something else shocking in the next instant.
Like her remark the day before yesterday: "Do you have a secret crush on Jiang Yueyan?"
At the thought, he rolled his eyes again. Does she take me for that Tang Yao from the Tang family?
Tang Yao shrugged.
In the book, it did seem that Chu Song had only become a fanboy after becoming Jiang Yueyan's junior brother. The two didn't know each other yet.
Hopefully, Chu Song wouldn't get slapped in the face later and could still repeat those words with just as much backbone.
Just then, a massive teleportation formation appeared before everyone.
The once-noisy square quieted down, and the crowd looked toward Elder Ling on the raised platform. His hands formed seals while he muttered incantations.
Then a bright light flashed, and the formation leading to the physical trial grounds slowly activated.
They stepped into the formation, and when they emerged again-
Clouds and mist swirled around them, and a lofty mountain appeared before the disciples, towering into the clouds, with flight upon flight of steps ascending straight into the heavens.
Tang Yao: "?" What a classic opening!
Isn't this the classic stairway to heaven?!
An old "friend."
Elder Ling's voice echoed all around them. "As talisman cultivators, it's best to possess a certain level of physical fitness. This year, the Profound Heaven Sect has reformed its new disciples' trials. This trial is newly added physical training! Climb the steps before you. The higher you climb, the higher your score!"
This time, however, he was seated inside the Elders' Pavilion, with two other old men whose beards were likewise grizzled beside him. The other two were staring excitedly at the trial footage cast by the projection stone, seemingly searching for the two newly recruited disciples with mutated spirit roots.
After much hesitation, Elder Ling told the others about Chu Song and urged them not to expose the child!
Although the other elders found it strange, they agreed.
After all, disciples with precious spirit roots were far too rare.
Before the stairway to heaven.
Tang Yao lowered her gaze, holding back her excitement as she whispered to Chu Song, "This round is free points!"
After all, sword cultivators who fought without a care for their lives and beast tamers who hid behind their contracted beasts and desperately turtled had the strongest physiques!
After beast tamers obtained contracted beasts, the special cultivation methods they practiced allowed some of their contracted beasts' abilities to combine with their own, thereby strengthening their physiques.
Tang Yao had made up her mind. How could she not max out this round!
The next round was drawing talismans, and she didn't know how at all.
If she didn't max out this round, she'd get a big fat zero in the next!
At least she had to scrape her way into the inner sect and gain access to the scripture library.
With that thought, Tang Yao resolutely charged straight toward the spirit mountain, right before all the disciples' eyes.
"As expected of Senior Sister Xiaocao! Look at her determined strides, her calm, unhurried gaze! Even as a talisman cultivator, she doesn't belittle herself at all!"
"I wholeheartedly agree!"
"No, Senior Sister Xiaocao's enthusiasm is rubbing off on me! I'm bursting with strength now! Senior Sister Xiaocao, wait for me!"
Chu Song's eyes widened as he watched the many people around him dwindle to a scant few in an instant. An autumn breeze blew past, sending a leaf spinning.
"Hey! Can you stop being so sweaty?!" Chu Song shouted at the main group ahead, then immediately rushed after them.
Before long, the foot of the mountain, once packed with a sea of people, had become quite empty.
Just then, a youth slowly emerged from a corner, his expression gloomy and pale. He narrowed his eyes at the crowd ahead, a mocking smile curling at his lips.
Holding a devil cultivator's voice transmission talisman, he said softly, "Everything is going smoothly."
The talisman paper instantly turned transparent, then flew straight out, ignoring the Profound Heaven Sect's defensive formation.
The youth's originally black eyes suddenly turned purple, then returned to their original black in a fleeting instant. His smile deepened.
The barrier at the boundary between the Devil Realm and the Immortal Cultivation World was a formation the Profound Heaven Sect's ancestor had established years ago by splitting the sect-guarding law artifact, the Seven Stars Disc, in two. The weaker half of the sacred artifact was inside the Profound Heaven Sect.
The youth's storage ring held a powerful strike from the Devil Venerable. If he found this half of the sacred artifact and destroyed it, would the strength of the entire sacred artifact be greatly diminished?
Also, the Dao heart of Jiang Yueyan, the Profound Heaven Sect's most prized disciple, seemed rather unstable.
The youth smiled with a sinister softness. "Then this young master will show you some great mercy and lend you a hand..."