Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
“Brother Lu, have you achieved Enlightenment?” Yu Xiao Tiea asked.
“Why do you ask that?” Lu Ye countered with another question without answering her question.
She pointed at the Storage Bag hanging at his waist.
He had a moment of realization and nodded in response. “That’s right.” Then, he asked, “What about you?”
She lifted a hand and a faint light bloomed from her palm. It was clear that she had also achieved Enlightenment. It was just that he did not know how many Spiritual Points she had unlocked. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something he could ask since they were not that familiar with each other.
They were both cultivators who had unlocked their Spiritual Points, so there were many common topics between them to talk about. Even though there were close to 1,000 people gathered in this place, not many among them had achieved Enlightenment. Moreover, those who had achieved Enlightenment had very low cultivation. Those with real aptitude for cultivation had been taken in by Evil Moon Valley and subsequently became Evil Moon Valley’s disciples. One could only imagine what had become of them now.
She lowered her voice and said, “The opportunity tomorrow is extremely important. You must not let it slip by. Brother Lu, you should showcase your talents as much as possible if you have any special talents. This will affect your entire future.”
She seemed to know something.
He replied, “I got it.”
Having said that, he didn’t have any special talents. All he had was a Skill Tree that nobody could see. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to reveal the Skill Tree to anybody. 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐
It wasn’t good for him to remain among a group of women for long, so he only said a few more words to her before taking his leave. There were a lot of enslaved people gathered in this place, but the range they could move in was limited. He looked around briefly and headed directly in the direction of a corner.
Somewhere in that direction, the brothers of the Liu Family Clan were hiding behind a group of people and shivering in fear. Their complexions turned deathly pale when they saw Lu Ye heading in their direction. By the time he arrived in front of them, both of them looked even more panicked than before.
“W-W-What do you want?” Big Brother Liu shouted in a threatening manner even though he was shaking inside. While speaking, he kept glancing in the direction of the fat cultivator as if trying to reach out for help.
The only answer he received was a fist that zoomed at him and endlessly magnified in his eyes. One punch was all it took to break his nose and he instantly collapsed to the ground. Then, Lu Ye kicked Second Brother Liu in the stomach. Before Second Brother Liu could fall to the ground, Lu Ye grabbed him by the hair. “Strange. You don’t seem to recognize me anymore.”
Second Brother Liu’s expression was filled with pain. He even had stars spinning around in front of his eyes. How could he answer?
Lu Ye snorted coldly. Exerting some strength in his hand, he threw Second Brother Liu behind him. Second Brother Liu fell headfirst to the ground and ate a mouthful of dirt. Two of his teeth were knocked out as a result.
After occupying their spot, Lu Ye sat down crossed legged and closed his eyes to meditate. His first Spiritual Point was brimming with power, but he couldn’t locate the spot to unlock his second Spiritual Point. He didn’t continue cultivating, lest he waste his vitality.
When evening rolled around, the people from Grand Sky Coalition came over to distribute some food and bedding. Everybody received some, but Lu Ye didn’t have enough to fill his belly. Fortunately, there was some food in Zhou Cheng’s Spiritual Bag. Taking some out, he began eating with gusto.
The people beside him practically drooled as they watched him, but nobody dared to step forward to ask him for some. Ever since he taught the brothers of the Liu Family Clan a lesson, he occupied a large area all to himself. It saved him a lot of trouble. After he began refining his vitality into Qi, his appetite grew larger and larger by the day. Thus, he even managed to eat that dried meat with great relish.
Nothing happened that night. When the next day arrived, Lu Ye was full of energy. He was looking forward to that so-called opportunity. It wasn’t until after breakfast that more than 10 cultivators dressed in different styles came to stand in front of the crowd. The person leading them was a middle-aged man. That person stood with his hands behind his back and swept his gaze over the crowd with a small smile. “You youngsters come from different Sects and Clans. Having been taken into captivity and enslaved in this place, you have gone through a lot of hardships. However, that kind of life has come to an end. All the Sects in Grand Sky Coalition are recruiting talented people. Those among you who achieved Enlightenment or have the aptitude for cultivation will all have the opportunity to join one of those Sects. Make good use of this opportunity, and we might be able to fight side by side in the future.” After saying that, he beckoned lightly with his hand.
More than 10 cultivators dressed in different styles standing behind that person stepped forward. The first person swept his hand out in a circle. “All of you, come with me.”
That sweeping gesture was accompanied by a burst of Spiritual Power that enveloped approximately 100 people. When those people walked forward, that cultivator led them to one side.
The same went for the second person…
There were around 1,000 slaves. It was just enough to split between these 10 cultivators.
Lu Ye was in the innermost location, so he fell into the hands of the last cultivator. The last group followed that cultivator a short distance away and came to a certain area where there were other cultivators dressed in the same style as the cultivator who led them here. Those cultivators came forward to maintain order and got everybody to stand in a line.
Lu Ye stood in the middle of the line. Glancing around, he saw that all the other slaves who were taken away earlier were in the same situation as him. Thus, he realized that they were about to undergo some sort of test to see who among these slaves had achieved Enlightenment or were suitable for cultivation. Judging by the words of that middle-aged cultivator from before, those who had achieved Enlightenment would have a greater advantage. As for those who had neither achieved Enlightenment nor have the aptitude for cultivation, they would not be valued highly.
Once everybody was lined up in an orderly fashion, the cultivator who led them here took out a table from within his Storage Bag and sat down behind the table. Afterward, he lifted his head to say, “Let’s begin.”
The first slave walked over to him at his signal.
Another cultivator asked, “Have you achieved Enlightenment?”
The slave shook his head. “No!”
“Okay.” The cultivator who asked the question took out a Crystal Ball and pushed it over to the slave. He instructed, “Put both hands on it.”
The slave did as he was told, but the Crystal Ball did not react.
The cultivator sitting behind the table shook his head. “No aptitude for cultivation. Next!”
The slave was a little sad and frustrated to hear those words. He hurriedly said, “I wasn’t ready! Please let me try again!”
“Next!” The cultivated flicked his sleeves and the chattering slave was swept aside and fell to the ground. That scene made all the other slaves who were waiting in line very uneasy. They understood that whether or not they could change their fates would depend entirely on that Crystal Ball. Hence, their energy faltered slightly.
The slaves came forward, one by one. None of them had the aptitude for cultivation. It wasn’t until the 13th person placed both hands on the Crystal Ball that the Crystal Ball that had not reacted up until now suddenly glowed with a faint blue light.
“Finally! There’s one!” The cultivator sitting behind the table broke out into a smile. He looked up at the slave. “Name.”
The slave’s face flushed with excitement, and he answered truthfully.
The cultivator sitting behind the table took out something that looked like a jade tablet. Spiritual Power flowed through his hands and that jade tablet soon displayed that slave’s name. Handing the jade tablet over to the slave, he said, “Take good care of this. You will be using it in the future. Now, go to the tent over there and look for my Third Senior Brother to check how talented you are.”
“Yes. Yes. Thank you, Sir.” The slave held the jade tablet in his hands as though he was holding a precious treasure and jogged toward the back. There was a simple tent set up at the back.