The first trial exceeded Chu Huaian's expectations; all twelve remaining children actually passed.
They supported and encouraged each other, climbing under pressure, finally reaching the second trial.
"Have you killed anyone? Why did you kill?"
Xiao Hei: Yes, he wanted to kill me and my sister, so I killed him.
"What is your purpose in joining the Hua Xia Sect?"
Xiao Hei: To fill my stomach.
"Why cultivate immortality?"
Xiao Hei: To survive.
The second trial wasn't too difficult for these children.
Every step they took afterward was slow.
Each child's eyes were filled with determination, their lips already bitten through, mixing with rainwater and swallowed down.
The third trial involved choosing between personal gain and the sect.
This trial was undoubtedly the most fatal for these children; a total of five chose to betray the sect to enjoy wealth and glory.
Chu Huaian sighed inwardly and teleported the five children back to the foot of the mountain.
The remaining eight immediately knelt, wanting to plead for them, but Chu Huaian coldly refused.
"Continue or give up, you decide for yourselves."
Only nine steps remained, and the other seven looked towards Xiao Hei.
"Continue!" Xiao Hei gritted his teeth, leading the rest step by step towards the finish line.
Every step upwards was incredibly heavy, pressing down on everyone so much that they couldn't straighten their backs.
At the 97th step, everyone collapsed, cracks began to appear on their bodies, and trickles of blood seeped out.
"Even if you have to crawl, crawl up there!" Xiao Hei roared, pulling everyone to crawl to the very top.
Finally, they succeeded.
Hoo—
The eight people lay supine on the ground, letting the heavy rain beat on their faces.
Xiao Hei endured the severe pain in his body and knelt before Chu Huaian: "Sect Master, please take them in."
"Sect Master, please take them in," the others also knelt and pleaded collectively.
Chu Huaian was unmoved; he took out a bag of spirit stones from his storage ring and placed it in front of Xiao Hei.
"This bag of items is enough for them to live a stable life. Go."
With that, Chu Huaian, holding Xia Ling, disappeared from the spot.
"Thank you, thank you, Sect Master."
Xiao Hei heavily kowtowed several times in the direction Chu Huaian disappeared, tightly gripped the bag of spirit stones, and ran towards the foot of the mountain.
He handed the spirit stones to one of the children and solemnly said, "Leave here, then find a way to get into the city. Remember, don't show off your wealth, and be extra careful with everything."
"Brother Xiao Hei, we're sorry..." Someone cried loudly, wiping away tears.
"Don't cry. Being able to live well is already the best outcome. Hurry and go."
Everyone cried and hugged each other, then looked back every three steps as they disappeared at the foot of the mountain.
This farewell might mean they would never meet again in their lives.
Xiao Hei wiped away the tears on his face, unable to calm down for a long time.
"Let's go, I'll take you into the sect," Fan Xiaomei said softly.
"Okay, thank you, Xiaomei." Xiao Hei calmed his emotions and led the others to follow behind Fan Xiaomei.
...
In the early morning, when the first ray of sunlight appeared, the quiet sect began to become lively.
More than three hundred servant disciples gathered in the center of the square, vigorously swinging their fists.
In the lower right corner of the crowd, eight children dressed in old coarse linen clothes seemed out of place.
They imitated others, swinging their fists.
Above the square, Chu Huaian overlooked everyone, supervising their every move.
Occasionally, players passing by would stop out of curiosity to observe.
But there were always a few people who were particularly an eyesore.
Fang Yuan, Qin Hao, Sun Yiyi, Lin Ting, and Huo Sichun, these five were mixed at the back of the crowd, diligently doing calisthenics.
"Hey, little brats, where are you from?" Fang Yuan asked, scrutinizing Xiao Hei and the others while moving his body.
Xiao Hei quickly stopped what he was doing, awkwardly bowed towards Fang Yuan, and respectfully said, "Senior Brother, we are from Lujia Village in Qi Country."
"Qi Country?" Fang Yuan looked at Lin Ting beside him.
"A small country, about a thousand li from Hua Xia Sect," Lin Ting explained.
"That's quite impressive." Fang Yuan showed a hint of surprise.
To walk a thousand li to reach Hua Xia Sect, they must have suffered a lot.
Fan Xiaomei in front suddenly turned back and whispered towards Fang Yuan, "Brother Fang Yuan, the Sect Master is watching you all."
Upon hearing this, the few of them lifted their eyelids and met Chu Huaian's gaze.
"Let's get out of here."
The five smiled sheepishly and slinked away.
...
At noon, Lin Ting put on his sword sheath and left the Hua Xia Sect.
Recently, demons and evil spirits had become increasingly rampant; he needed to descend the mountain to slay demons and eliminate evil, and also to seek an opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.
Fang Yuan and the others couldn't hold back, clamoring to also descend the mountain to slay demons and eliminate evil.
Originally, Chu Huaian planned to let the players settle down for a while and then prepare for the Mo Yun Battlefield.
But during this time, Fang Yuan and the others simply couldn't stay idle; they either researched alchemy and blew up the alchemy room.
Or they ran to the servant disciples, teaching them to play childish games like 'eagle catches chick' and 'hide-and-seek'.
Even more infuriating was that they even went to peek at female disciples bathing. Such shameless acts, Chu Huaian couldn't tolerate, so he immediately hung them in the center of the square and gave them a severe beating.
That day, the square was incredibly lively; all the servant disciples watched with trepidation, and when they studied afterward, they put in two hundred percent effort, fearing that Chu Huaian would give them a taste of it.
In short, these few people were a menace when kept within the sect, so if that was the case, it was better to let them play outside by themselves.
However, considering the personalities of Fang Yuan and the others, Chu Huaian decided to send Li Taibai along, otherwise, if they were not careful, slaying demons and eliminating evil might turn into others slaying them.
As the afterglow of the sunset fell, the sect was peaceful.
Fang Yuan, Qin Hao, Sun Yiyi, Huo Sichun, and Li Taibai, the five of them, left the sect with Zhao Mubai and his group.
Along the way, everyone was like little birds just released from a cage, darting around everywhere, chirping incessantly.
To be honest, they had been there for so long and had never really explored outside; the most they had gone to was a nearby town.
Li Taibai carried a long sword on his back, his white robes fluttering, like an immortal banished to the mortal world.
"Junior Sister Mubai, how far is it to Zhao Country?"
"Replying, Senior Brother, it's nearly ten thousand li, passing through Zhou Country, Qi Country, and Yan Country along the way," Zhao Mubai respectfully replied.
After waiting for so long, they finally looked forward to this moment; it would be false to say she wasn't excited.
Moreover, this time, Senior Brother Li Taibai was also accompanying them; the hope of restoring their country was within reach.
Li Taibai nodded slightly, holding a compass and continuing forward.
Fang Yuan and the other four beside him had no particular thoughts; they picked wild fruits by the roadside and stuffed them into their mouths, regardless of whether they were poisonous.
When night fell, the four squatted deep in the secret forest, relieving themselves with great satisfaction.
Zhao Mubai secretly grumbled about this, thinking how beautiful Senior Sister Sun and Senior Sister Huo were, yet they always did unreliable things with their pretty faces.
The four supported themselves on trees, staggering out of the secret forest.
"Damn it, with my Golden Core Stage physique, I was actually poisoned! This is truly terrifying!"
Fang Yuan clutched his stomach and plopped down by the campfire.
"It's all your fault! I told you that green fruit was problematic and couldn't be eaten, but you insisted it was a Devil Fruit and that eating it would turn me into Luffy. I believed your nonsense!"
Sun Yiyi's face was pale, and she glared fiercely at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan was about to retort when he saw Li Taibai suddenly stand up.
"Old Bai, what's wrong?" Fang Yuan asked weakly.
"It sounds like a cry for help."
Hearing this, everyone immediately held their breath and listened carefully.
"It is indeed a cry for help."
"Let's go, let's check it out."
Everyone stood up and rushed towards the source of the sound.