Chapter 2: The Deities’ Disciple Selection
Probably because of the so-called deities’ disciple selection, along the way, Zhu Yao encountered several people holding onto their kids, as they rushed to the city. They all looked really excited, and their topics of discussion were all about the deities’ descent and the disciple selection. Zhu Yao silently praised the frauds’ appeal, they’re actually able to gain the deep trust of this many people.
Zhu Village was actually not that far from the city, in just an hour on foot, they had arrived at the city gates. Because there were too many people entering the city, she had no choice but to hold onto the little wimp’s hand, to prevent losing him from her sight. The little wimp, however, did not resist, he only instinctively tug his hands a little, and after that, quietly allowed Zhu Yao to pull him along. It’s just that he still had that huge frown on his little face.
They finally arrived at that disciple selection venue, only to find the place already packed with a large number of people. In the center of the crowd, a huge stage was erected, and on top of it, were four men. Every single one of them wore a clean set of white clothes, and on the corner of clothes, cloud-like symbols were embroidered, which gave a very divine feeling. Unexpectedly, the four of them were very young, and they were more bearable to look at than the white-bearded old men in her imagination.
Zhu Yao silently gave them a praise in her heart. She did not expect these frauds to be so professional. Just by looking at the uniform set of clothes, she understood that these people were definitely part of an organization, and there were standard rules set in place. Just by this ostentation alone, it was inevitable that there would be this many people who would be fooled to take part and observe.
A long queue of people were at the right of the tall stage. Although there were both men and women in the crowd, every single adult was holding onto one or two children, and their age ranged from those who had only just began to learn how to walk, to those who were half an adult’s height. But most of them were children who did not look more than ten years old. Zhu Yao guessed that was the registration queue. Although she was not entirely interested in this obvious fraud activity, she still had to complete Uncle Wang’s request. In any case, she was not the one being scammed, so, she did not hesitate and stood at the end of the queue.
This time around, little wimp was really obedient, and followed after her to the end of the queue. Earlier, he still had that huge frown on his small face, but now, it was replaced with a face filled with high expectations, and he would occasionally stretch out his little head to look at the front of the queue. After all, kids would always be curious when it came to new things.
Not long after, among the four people on the stage, a middle-aged man stood up, took a few steps forward, and cleared his throat. “Everyone, every decade, there will be a day when our Ancient Hill Sect will take in disciples, and that day is today. There’s no restriction in gender, nor in birthright. May the participants please proceed forward to take the test.”
This guy sure was direct. Zhu Yao thought that he would not miss out on a long drawn-out speech, but she did not expect he would immediately start the selection after only saying a few words. This caused Zhu Yao to even grow a little curious. Just what kind of arrogant fraud organization is this?
“First person!” The middle-age man called out, and the woman, who was standing right in front of the queue, held onto a little child on each hand, and walked forward. On the stage, a younger white-clothed deity waved his hand, and a round crystal ball suddenly appeared at the center of the stage. The people on stage exclaimed at the sight of this.
There was not the slightest of change in the youth’s expression, as he coldly said to the two children on the stage, “Place your hand on it!”
The two children took a step back out of fright, and finally, the children’s mother, pushed the two of them from their backs. “What’s there to be afraid of? If you’re selected, you two will instantly rise into prominence. Hurry, go!”
Only then did the two children put their small hands onto the clear round ball, but unfortunately, the ball did not show any sort of change.
The white-clothed middle-aged man shook his head. “No Spirit Veins, next.”
The woman sighed, and she momentarily had a slight face of disappointment. However, she did not argue, and held onto both her son and daughter as they walked down the stage.
Zhu Yao, however, was a little dazed. This scene… Why did it look so familiar? Hey, isn’t this the commonly seen disciple selection scenario in Xianxia novels? In every introduction of Xianxia stories, the scenario of testing one’s Spirit Veins would always appear! She had always thought that she had crossed over into a peasant life novel, and would only be able to live as a peasant woman for the rest of her life. But looking at the current situation, did she happen to enter the Xianxia route? But… Zhu Yao looked at herself, and then, once again looked at the little turnips queueing in front of her. Kuh… Did she not crossed over a little too late? Only to begin cultivating at the age of twenty-eight, even if she were to climb, she would not be able to climb faster than these bunch of little turnips, right!?
It was only the first time she had ever crossed over, and Zhu Yao had already begun to feel absolutely disheartened.
“Hey, hey…” Zhu Yao felt a slight tug on her hand, and when she turned to look, she realized the little wimp beside her had been pulling her.
“What is it?” You should not interrupt a woman who was currently dejected over her own beauty.
The little wimp pointed to the stage right in front. “Hurry and go, it’s almost our turn.”
Only did Zhu Yao realized that a large empty space appeared right in front of them, as she hurriedly brought little wimp over to close the gap.
The test for Spirit Veins progressed really quickly, but unfortunately, not many children had Spirit Veins. “No Spirit Veins, next.” That middle-aged man had also been repeating this over and over. A large number of children went up, but only three to four children were left on the stage, and all of them were either Tetra or Penta Spirit Veins holders. Looking at the expressions of the four deities on the stage, she doubted they were really good Spirit Veins as well.
“Next!”
A kid who was entirely covered in dirt climbed up. He looked extremely weak and frail, as though he would fall with a gentle breeze of the wind. His clothes were even utterly torn and ragged, there was not a single complete patch of cloth anywhere, and he was not accompanied by any adults. Evidently, he was a little beggar. The people below could not help but pinch their noses, as though they were a little disgusted from the smell.
However, the four men on the stage did not show any change in their expressions, as though they did not even notice the boy’s ragged look. They had cultivated for many years, and had never made fun of others because of their looks. One might be living in poverty now, but who would know for sure that he would not rise into prominence the next day?
The middle-aged man pointed at the round ball on the stage. “Place your hands on it!”
Although the kid was dirty, he did not mind the gazes from everyone else, as he walked straight towards the center and placed his hand on the ball. The ball which was clear and transparent earlier, slowly revealed a green light. As the green light was about to fill the entire ball, another ray of golden light flashed, which filled the rest of the ball.
“Metal and Wood Duo Spirit Veins!” The three youths sitting behind suddenly stood up at the same time, and their blank expressions earlier had instantly changed. They looked at that poverty-stricken boy with faces of joy.
“I did not expect to encounter a disciple with Duo Spirit Veins this year!” The four men nodded at the same time, and even their tone had become extremely courteous. Someone with Duo Spirit Veins was definitely able to be enter the inner sect. “This little junior, please first head over to the side and have some rest. After the end of the test today, you will return to the sect with us.”
The little beggar nodded. Strangely, his little face did not show any joyful expression like the four men. He simply obediently stood beside the rest of the children who stayed, and his expression looked as though he had known the outcome before he came for the test.
Zhu Yao glanced at the calm-looking little beggar, and momentarily felt a little strange. She could not describe it in words, and simply felt there was something wrong about him.
“We’re up next!” The little wimp beside him was completely unable to sense the change in Zhu Yao’s mood, and simply pulled her hand with an excited expression.
“Next!”
“It’s our turn!” The little wimp pulled her along as he sprinted excitedly up the stage. Without even the slightest hint of nervousness, he instantly placed his hand on the round ball.
Zhu Yao lowered her head and looked at the little wimp beside her, and then, he once again looked over to the little beggar on the stage. She finally understood, the less Spirit Veins one had, the better one was. But a Duo Spirit Veins holder was already this amazing, just what would their reaction be if someone had only a single Spirit Vein?
While having this thought in mind, suddenly, she heard a large uproar coming from her surroundings. Even the four white-clothed deities, who were standing far away earlier, suddenly closed in tightly around them, and they looked disbelievingly at little wimp, who was beside her.
“Heavenly… Heavenly Spirit Vein!” The middle-aged man actually stuttered, as he snatched the child away from her hand, as though he was about to carry him up. “He’s actually a Fire Heavenly Spirit Vein holder!”
“Hey, hey, hey. What are you doing?” Zhu Yao became really anxious, and no longer cared whether they were actually real deities or not, as they actually tried to snatch a child away from her. If she were to lose this little wimp, Doctor Wang would definitely stab her to death when she returned! She forcefully took little wimp back from the white-clothed man. Human traffickers, get away from him!
Little wimp seemed to be a little frightened as well, as he hid his head in her chest.
The four of them finally regained their senses. When they saw Zhu Yao’s protective figure, the middle-aged man stood forward, cleared his throat and said, “Miss, you have misunderstood. We were simply too agitated after seeing a talent that would only appear once every thousand years. What your child possess is the Heavenly Spirit Vein, and it only appears once in a million.”
It must be known that, let alone Ancient Hill Sect, even the entire cultivation realm had not seen a person who possessed the Heavenly Spirit Vein for thousands of years. The moment this child returns with them, he will definitely become one of the elders’ direct disciple. How could they not be agitated?
The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched, she momentarily felt an immense blow, which was capable of pushing her to the ground and prevent her from getting up, coming from the two words ‘your child’. Did she really look like someone who could have such big child? She thought of the age when women would give birth in ancient times. Alright, she did indeed look like it.
“He’s not my child!” This point was something she had to make clear of.
The middle-aged man was startled. He sized Zhu Yao up from head to toe, and his brows began to slightly crease.
Hey, hey, hey! What’s with that expression as though you’re looking at a human trafficker? “I was requested by his parents to bring him here in their stead.” You’re the human trafficker, you bastard!
The middle-aged man finally nodded out of realization, but he still held a hint of suspicion. “With a Spiritual Vein this extraordinary, he will definitely experience great success in the future. We will be staying here for another day, so there is still enough time for him to say his farewells to his parents.”
How would she be sure that he would not be sold if she were to leave him here? No, she had to hurry and bring little wimp back home.
“Deity, are you saying, I have been selected?” At the key moment, little wimp actually came out of hiding. When he saw the four men nodding their heads, he instantly got out of Zhu Yao’s embrace, and before she could even react, he had already happily stood at the center of the row of selected children. As he ran, he happily chimed, “This is great!”
This traitor! Zhu Yao’s face slowly darkened. However, it was a good thing that they were going to stay for another day. After this, she would simply return little wimp to Doctor Wang, and it would no longer be something she had to care about.
Left without any other options, she simply followed after little wimp and took a few steps back. Seeing the excited little wimp chatting with the rest of the children, she silently sighed.
“You don’t have be this sad!” Little wimp seemed to have felt her depression, as he suddenly approached her, and pulled her hand. “Don’t worry, earlier, I asked the four uncles. They said I’m allowed to bring someone back to the sect. So, I have forced myself to bring you along!”
Zhu Yao was startled. She suspiciously looked at the child who was only half her height. This little wimp wanted to bring her along to the sect? When did he become so thoughtful?