Chapter 26: Vermillion Bird Hall
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Mystical Sword Sect was divided into five halls, and each hall occupied a majestic mountain.
The Qilin Peak was in the middle, the Azure Dragon Peak was on the east, the White Tiger Peak on the west, the Vermillion Bird Peak on the south, and the Onyx Tortoise Peak on the north.
The new apprentice enrolment test was held at the mountain before the five halls, and that was the main gate of the Mystical Sword Sect.
When Lu Ming and Qiu Yue arrived at the gate, the entire area was filled with people hustling and bustling about. There were about tens of thousands of generally young people below their twenties.
At the foot of the mountain, two broad pathways led towards the center of the Mystical Sword Sect.
“Those with jade credentials, head towards your right. Those without jade credentials, head towards your left for the enrolment tests!” a dashing young man yelled with a sword on his back.
Lu Ming was told that those with jade credentials were exempted from the enrolment tests and were allowed to join the Mystical Sword Sect right away. Possessing a one-in-a-million jade credential signified that the person had already been tested and was deemed exceptional by an expert from the Mystical Sword Sect.
Lu Ming had received the jade credential from Mu Lan, so he was naturally exempted from the enrolment tests.
“Qiu Yue, go ahead and take the tests!” Lu Ming said to Qiu Yue.
“Oh, alright, Young Lord!” She nodded.
“You can do it!” He smiled encouragingly at her.
The enrolment tests included many sections like a willpower test, meridians check, meridians testing, and many more.
There were professional meridian inspectors there to evaluate the blood meridian levels, so it did not matter if one’s blood meridians were not awakened yet.
This was a good chance for Qiu Yue to find out what kind of blood meridians she had, so she nodded vigorously and made a beeline toward the left.
1
There was a long line of people on the left mountain path.
Meanwhile, Lu Ming waited outside patiently for Qiu Yue’s results.
“Sigh, why such high standards? I don’t think I’ll stand a chance to be accepted into the Mystical Sword Sect..”
Time after time, Lu Ming saw people walk out dejectedly. Some were even sobbing. Those were the people who had obviously failed the enrolment test.
Slowly, Qiu Yue disappeared into the mountains as the queue progressed.
All of a sudden, three rainbows shot up from deep within the left side of the mountain.
The rainbows pierced through the clouds and rose above the heavens, shining as brightly as the sun. Three rainbows signified three unlocked divine meridians.
“Is that Qiu Yue?” Lu Ming’s eyes gleamed.
At the sight of the three rainbows, chaos erupted at the main gate of the Mystical Sword Sect.
“Three rainbows! This means that someone has unlocked three divine meridians! There’s actually such a genius in this generation!”
“I’ve only unlocked six acupuncture points from the first divine meridian after stalling at the peak of top Novice Realm for two years! It’s impossible to compare one human to another!”
“If that person’s willing, he or she could totally enter Qilin Hall.”
All eyes were fixated at the direction of the rainbows as chatter broke out.
Squawk!
A gigantic white crane flew out from deep within the Mystical Sword Sect and headed towards the rainbows.
“A master from the Mystical Sword Sect has appeared! This genius should be heading towards the skies soon!” some people exclaimed with envy in their eyes.
“It looks like Qiu Yue’s been accepted into Mystical Sword Sect without a doubt.” Lu Ming smiled as he made his way to the mountain path on the right.
There were also Mystical Sword Sect’s apprentices on guard at the entrance on the right mountain path. Since there were only very few people, Lu Ming entered with ease after flashing his jade credentials.
It was a steep incline up though not for long. Soon, there were rainbows on the left side of the mountain once again.
This time, there were two rainbows.
Right after that, there were another two rainbows.
‘It looks like a gathering of geniuses in this batch of new enrolments!’ Even Lu Ming was shocked to see two consecutive geniuses with two unlocked divine meridians.
Not forgetting those with jade credentials that were exempted from the tests, like him.
How many geniuses in this group of people?
It was a genius galore.
“How interesting!” Fighting spirit flashed before Lu Ming’s eyes.
He continued on his journey to the end of the mountain path, and there it was before him, a vast plaza.
At that moment, there were thousands of people on that plaza.
The plaza led to four different pathways, and along each pathway was a ten-meter slab of stone in height with one of the four great beasts (azure dragon, white tiger, vermillion bird, and onyx tortoise) carved on them.
The only pathway missing was the one that led to Qilin Hall.
“Onyx Tortoise Hall, this way to the Onyx Tortoise Hall! Join us, dear juniors, we guarantee loads of benefits!”
A few youths hollered at the top of their lungs at Onyx Tortoise Hall’s entrance.
“White Tiger Hall, joining us at the White Tiger Hall will be the best choice you’ll ever make! We’re the strongest hall secondary only to the Qilin Hall!”
“Come, join the Azure Dragon Hall! We’re the oldest of them all!”
“Vermillion Bird Hall! We have many beautiful girls here at the Vermillion Bird Hall!”
1
One after another, voices rang out as the four halls tried their best to attract newcomers.
Newcomers represented new blood, and they spoke for the future of the hall, so it was extremely vital, especially given the fierce competition between the four halls.
Newly enrolled apprentices were given free will to enter into any of the four halls. People with jade credentials like Lu Ming were the exception. They belonged to the hall that had issued them their jade pieces.
Only Qilin Hall operated differently.
Qilin Hall was extremely mysterious and was the most powerful hall among the five. Qilin Hall apprentices were carefully handpicked and they were all the cream of the crop.
No one knew how many new apprentices Qilin Hall would accept in a year. Furthermore, it was only normal for it to have the least amount of people.
Suddenly, something captured Lu Ming’s attention from the corner of his eye.
Near the entrance of the White Tiger Hall, dressed in a white dress, Lu Yao was the center of attention.
“That’s Lu Yao. I heard she’s awakened a Fifth Level blood meridian with two unlocked divine meridians! She’s also engaged to Duanmu Family’s super genius, Duanmu Lin. What a Cinderella story!”
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“I know! I’m so jealous! If it were me, I’d wake up smiling every day.”
“You? Why would Duanmu Lin ever consider you?”
A few young women whispered enviously near Lu Ming.
Lu Yao’s gaze swept across the area even as she charmed the crowd around her. When her gaze landed on Lu Ming, her face darkened as anger flashed in her eyes.
Then, she looked at the crowd surrounding her and glanced back at Lu Ming with disdain in her eyes.
Lu Ming merely smiled.
Suddenly, a bird song erupted from above them, and right after that, an enormous white crane descended. It was far bigger than a normal white crane. When extended, the length of its wings was a terrifying 20 meters.
There were two people on the white crane. One of them was a middle-aged lady with a golden threaded robe while the other was a beautiful young maiden.
‘Qiu Yue!’ Lu Ming’s heart was filled with glee upon seeing the young maiden.
1
“Gold-robed Elder! That’s a Gold-robed Elder!”
“It’s really a Gold-robed Elder! Who’s that young lady? How did she manage to catch the Gold-robed Elder’s attention?”
“She’s a super genius, I reckon!”
“Who’re they here for?”
The young people around clamored in reverence toward the middle-aged lady.