For the next five or six days, a large number of people came to Hua Xia Sect to seek mentorship every day, but very few passed the assessment.
During these days, only over three hundred disciples were recruited.
Chu Huaian was not anxious about this; he valued quality over quantity in disciples.
Zhao Mubai had seen the group of children around for the past few days, and no matter how she tried to shoo them away, they wouldn't leave.
Helpless, she could only report the matter to Chu Huaian and let him decide.
In fact, Chu Huaian had noticed these children long ago and initially didn't care, but now he had changed his mind and was willing to give them a chance to try.
The sun set, dark clouds enveloped the land, and a light rain drizzled down, bringing a hint of chill to the air.
At the mountain gate, a dozen or so children huddled under a tree, shivering from the cold.
"Brother, I'm hungry..."
A six-year-old girl curled up in the arms of a twelve-year-old boy, her lips chapped, and rainwater flowed down her cheeks into her mouth.
"Sleep, you won't be hungry when you're asleep."
The boy hugged her tightly, using his body to shield her from the falling rain.
"Little Hei Ge, why don't we leave here and try to make a living in the city?" a child asked weakly.
"We are refugees, we can't enter the city. It's safe here, we can survive," the boy's lips trembled, and he spoke with some difficulty.
Just then, a figure secretly snuck up beside them.
"It's Fan Xiaomei, we have food!" someone exclaimed in surprise.
Rustling, all dozen or so children gathered around.
"Shh, don't talk."
Fan Xiaomei quickly stopped everyone from talking, then took out a few large flatbreads from her bosom, broke them apart, and distributed them to everyone.
"Thank you, Xiaomei."
Everyone thanked her and began to wolf down the food, mixed with rainwater.
During this time, Fan Xiaomei would secretly sneak out of the sect to bring them food; otherwise, this group would have starved to death long ago.
In fact, Fan Xiaomei had no idea that her actions had long been discovered by many, but they simply didn't say anything.
Looking at this group of peers who shared her same fate, Fan Xiaomei's eyes reddened.
Suddenly, a small figure appeared beside her.
Everyone immediately stopped their movements and retreated slightly, somewhat fearful.
"Xiaomei, what are you doing?" Xia Ling asked curiously, her large eyes wide.
Hearing that voice, Fan Xiaomei startled and stood up in a panic.
"Senior Sister Xia, I..."
Fan Xiaomei was at a loss, lowering her head and not daring to speak.
"Brother, why isn't the rain getting on this older sister?" the six-year-old girl pointed at Xia Ling, her face full of curiosity.
The boy named Little Hei quickly covered the little girl's mouth and took another step back.
"Why are you afraid of me? I'm not a ghost!" Xia Ling pouted, somewhat angrily glaring at the children.
Seeing no one speak, Xia Ling was a bit deflated. She exchanged a pile of Grain Abstinence Pills from the shop and handed them to everyone.
"Are you very hungry? Eat this and you won't be hungry anymore."
No one dared to step forward to take them; they all collectively looked at Fan Xiaomei.
"Hurry and eat, Senior Sister Xia gave these to you," Fan Xiaomei said softly.
Now, finally, someone moved. One cautiously took a pill, and the others also reached out, each taking only one.
"So full, so comfortable," a child squinted, a happy expression on his face.
"I didn't lie to you, did I?" Xia Ling happily watched the group.
"Thank you."
Little Hei bowed gratefully to Xia Ling, and the other children followed suit, also bowing to Xia Ling.
"Oh no, you can't bow, Mama said you can only bow to elders..."
Xia Ling dodged to the side, releasing spiritual energy to lift everyone's bodies.
"Senior Sister Xia, can you, can you not tell the Sect Master about this?" Fan Xiaomei looked at Xia Ling weakly.
"Tell Master what?" Xia Ling blinked her eyes, puzzled.
"I, I'm afraid the Sect Master will kick me out of the sect..."
"Oh, Master won't. If he tries to kick you out, I'll stand up for you," Xia Ling patted her chest, lifting her chin proudly.
With Xia Ling's assurance, Fan Xiaomei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to express her thanks, her eyes suddenly widened as she looked incredulously behind Xia Ling.
"What's wrong?"
Xia Ling curiously turned her head and saw Chu Huaian standing behind her at some point.
"Only you can do that," Chu Huaian lightly flicked the back of Xia Ling's head.
"Master..." Xia Ling happily jumped into Chu Huaian's arms.
Unlike Xia Ling, Fan Xiaomei became much more reserved upon seeing Chu Huaian, quickly bowing in salute, "Disciple greets the Sect Master."
After speaking, she lowered her head and retreated to the side, feeling uneasy.
Chu Huaian looked at the children and spoke softly, "Now I'll give you a chance. If you can walk up from here, you can become a disciple of Hua Xia Sect."
These children had originally prepared to be driven away, so when they suddenly heard such words, they were stunned for a moment.
Fan Xiaomei saw their inaction and couldn't help but feel anxious, quickly opening her mouth to remind them, "Hurry and thank the Sect Master!"
Little Hei was the first to react, quickly putting down his sister in his arms and kneeling down towards Chu Huaian. The others immediately knelt on the ground as well, saying in unison, "Thank you, Sect Master."
"Rise. Whether you can seize this opportunity is up to yourselves."
With that, Chu Huaian flew up and landed above the steps.
This time, he increased the difficulty; the gravity was about twice as heavy as before.
These children's talents were all miscellaneous spiritual roots, making cultivation difficult to reach the heavens. If they couldn't even pass this test of perseverance, then entering the cultivation world would only harm them.
The rain grew heavier, and the night swallowed the last sliver of light, plunging everything into darkness.
A dozen children, bathed in the heavy rain, began to ascend the steps.
Creak, creak—
The sound of bones being compressed.
Just at the first step, a child fell to the ground.
"Er Niu, get up!" Little Hei gritted his teeth and pulled up the child next to him.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter—
Heavy footsteps accompanied by the sound of rain echoed in the dark night.
"Hoo, hoo..." Their breathing became heavier and heavier.
At the ninth step, Little Hei's foot slipped, and he slid all the way back to the starting point.
"Little Hei Ge!"
Everyone was greatly surprised and rushed back to the first step without hesitation.
"What are you doing back?! Go back!" Little Hei trembled as he let out a roar towards the crowd.
The twelve children remained silent, collectively pulling his body up.
"Little Hei Ge, let's do it together," someone wiped the rain from their face, speaking calmly.
"Okay..."
Little Hei wiped his blurry eyes and, holding his sister, continued to step onto the stairs.
This time, everyone took a longer time, barely managing to reach the ninth step.
At the tenth step, everyone fell into an illusion.
The surroundings were a sea of fire, bandits on fast horses massacring in the village, blood spreading to Little Hei's feet.
His face was pale, and his steps involuntarily retreated.
A bandit in front saw him and charged towards him on horseback, the large saber in his hand gleaming with a red light.
Thump, thump-thump—
His heart pounded violently, a chill spread throughout his body, and the aura of death approached step by step.
He turned and fled without a word.
"Wah... wah..."
Suddenly, a young child's figure appeared in front, sitting beside a corpse and wailing loudly.
Little Hei's face showed anxiety. He rushed over, scooped up the child, and ran forward with all his might.
The sound of hooves behind him grew closer. He decisively circled behind a house and hid in a water vat.
He tightly covered the child's mouth, not daring to make a sound.
The sound of hooves lingered around, finally coming towards him.
Seeing the enemy getting closer, Little Hei's face was covered in cold sweat, and his heart pounded uncontrollably, as if it would leap out.
Bang—
Suddenly, a shattering sound exploded in his ear; the water vat next to him was broken.
He knew that if he waited any longer, he and the child would surely die, so he decisively jumped out of the water vat to attract the bandit away.
Whoosh—
A whooshing sound came from behind him; the large saber sliced past him and directly plunged into the ground in front.
In that instant, he acted on instinct, rushed over, forcefully pulled out the saber, then turned around and threw the saber forcefully at the bandit.
Thud—
The bandit failed to dodge; the saber plunged into his body, and he fell to the ground.
But the bandit was not dead and was still struggling on the ground.
Seeing this, Little Hei rushed over like a madman, picked up a stone from the ground, and smashed it down fiercely.
Bang, bang—
He only stopped when the flesh was a bloody mess, then he lay on the ground, panting heavily.
"Cleared."
The illusion disappeared.
In fact, there were many ways to pass the first test, such as daring to face the challenge when facing a life-or-death crisis.
Or saving the child during the escape could also pass the assessment.
When there was no escape, sacrificing oneself to save others could also pass.
But Chu Huaian was not satisfied with just these; he wanted to see how much potential this child had.
So, during the escape, he deliberately threw the large saber at Little Hei's feet to see how the other party would choose.
Clearly, Little Hei did not disappoint him; in fact, he did even better than he had imagined.