After Lin Fan walked in, there was a strong scent of incense that hit his nose.
He walked past the guards at the gate who just gave him a simple nod and then continued down the corridor until he reached the main hall.
Inside of this hall, there was a group of old men who were already waiting for him.
There were eight different old men to the sides, sitting in rows of four respectively on each side of him. Then right in the middle of the hall, there was another old man who was dressed in fancier robes than the rest of these old men, who clearly should be the most important one here.
If Lin Fan had to guess, he would say that this was the sect master that the gatekeepers had mentioned.
The moment that he walked in, everyone’s eyes fell onto him with inquisitive looks.
It was clear that they were all sizing him up and no one was holding back.
But Lin Fan didn’t shrink under their gazes and he met them head on.
He knew that in this situation, he would have to show his strength or he would be looked down on by these people.
His gamble had paid off in the end as everyone revealed satisfied looks and nods as they looked at him.
He stood there in the center of the hall, waiting for the sect master and elders to speak, but there was only a silence that filled the room.
Lin Fan could feel the aura coming from the sect master and the elders, this was an aura that was similar to the aura of his master, Mu Bao Bao…
That meant that every single one of the old men sitting in front of him were…in the Golden Core Realm!
Not to mention that there would certainly be other ancestors of the sect hidden away deep in the depths of the sect that would have a greater level of cultivation. It seemed like the Hidden Dragon Sect really wasn’t weak…
Now his only concern was whether they had good intentions or bad intentions towards him…
After a long period of silence, the sect master finally broke the silence by saying, “Owner of the Mark of the Hidden Dragon, welcome to our Hidden Dragon Sect. We have been waiting a long time for you.”
As he said this, the elders all nodded in agreement.
Then the sect master said, “I’m sure that you have many questions for us, but before that, let us tell you a story.”
Lin Fan was surprised by this sudden turn of events and he couldn’t help raising one brow as he looked at the sect master, but then he still gave a nod.
After all, he still needed to find out the use of the Mark of the Hidden Dragon for his side mission, so it wasn’t as if listening to this story would be a bad thing for him.
The sect master gave a nod in return before telling his story.
The story wasn’t actually that long, but it did have some important information, such as why the Hidden Dragon Sect had suddenly closed itself off from the outside world.
Several decades ago, the sect master at the time had received a sudden oracle about a crisis that would come to the Hidden Dragon Sect. The only way for them to overcome this was with a special chosen one that would come and save them.
To find that chosen one, they had closed off the sect as per the oracle and they had sent out a total of five Marks of the Hidden Dragon that would bring candidates to them.
As for the other four Marks of the Hidden Dragon, they had already all been found and the candidates had arrived. However, they had failed and it turned out that they weren’t the chosen ones that they were waiting for.
Now that Lin Fan had arrived with the final Mark of the Hidden Dragon, he was their greatest and final hope.
It was naturally hard for them not to be excited.
However, Lin Fan couldn’t help finding this strange.
There were many things that seemed off to Lin Fan about this.
The first was why they had created five different Marks of the Hidden Dragon.
Instead of looking for a chosen one, it was almost as if they were specifically looking for a certain type of person. Almost as if they needed him for something instead of him being a chosen one.
Second, they didn’t tell him what happened to the people that had failed to become the chosen one.
They just told them that they had failed and refused to elaborate any further.
It wasn’t hard for Lin Fan to guess that these people…had most likely died in the process of becoming the chosen one.
There were also many other suspicious things, but the most important one for Lin Fan in the end was…
The fact that his side mission still hadn’t finished yet.
The goal of the mission was to find the use of the token, so once he had heard the story of the background of the Mark of the Hidden Dragon, the mission should have been completed. But he found that even after he heard this story, the mission still didn’t trigger.
So what they had told him was most likely…not the truth.
He didn’t know if they lied to him on purpose or if they truly didn’t know the real purpose of this token, but he knew that this was getting dangerous.
It was just too bad that it was impossible for him to run away from nine Golden Core Realm Cultivators on his own like this.
He could tell from the excited look on their faces that they clearly wouldn’t let him go if he asked. So if he did try to go, they would most likely resort to using force, which was the last thing he wanted.
Not to mention, there was the strange array that hid the sect.
Even if they allowed him to leave this hall, he wouldn’t be able to get out of this sect with that array there.
So the only thing that he could do now was…
After a long period of silence, Lin Fan looked at the sect master and asked, “So what do you want me to do?”
The sect master revealed a happy smile when he heard this.
He and the elders could tell that Lin Fan was a smart person, so they knew that all they needed was to give him a bit of time to think it through so that he would do what they wanted.
If he was willing to do it willingly, naturally it was better than forcing him to do something.
The sect master then said in a very calm voice, “To prove that you are the real chosen one, you must take the Hidden Dragon Trial. This is the trial that the previous sect master has set up in accordance with the oracle. As long as you can pass this trial, you will be recognized as the true chosen one.”
Lin Fan had a calm look on his face, but deep down, he was worried.
He wasn’t a fool and he could guess that it was most likely this trial that had killed the people that had come previously.
So if possible, he would want to avoid this trial as much as possible.
After all, his only goal in coming here was to find the use of the Mark of the Hidden Dragon and then leave. He had already given up on finding a way to activate all of the artifacts that he had bought from the villagers.
It was a lot of money for the villagers, but for him, it wasn’t that much. He didn’t mind suffering a loss if it meant that he would get out of here safe and sound.
But under the supervision of these nine Golden Core Realm Cultivators, it was impossible for him to leave. As for not participating in the trial, that was even less of an option since it was clear by the way that they were looking at him, they weren’t giving him a choice.
However, that didn’t mean that there was nothing that he could do.
So after a long pause, he suddenly said, “When do I have to take the trial?”
The sect master and all of the elders were surprised by this question, but the sect master calmly said with a smile, “This is a very important trial for our Hidden Dragon Sect, so it would be best if you headed off as soon as possible.”
The way that he said it, it put pressure on Lin Fan.
It was as if the longer he delayed, the more that he would be letting down their Hidden Dragon Sect.
But Lin Fan didn’t mind this at all. As if he didn’t feel any pressure, he casually said, “Then that doesn’t mean that I have to head off right away, correct?”
The sect master and the elders all slightly knitted their brows when they heard this, but the sect master still responded with a nod, “That’s right, there’s no time limit for this.”
Lin Fan nodded with a smile and said, “Good, then I’ll go later.”𝞸𝑽𝓁𝒩xt.𝗇𝓔t
The sect master deeply knitted his brows this time as he said, “This is a matter of utmost importance, so I have to insist that you…”
Before he could finish, Lin Fan suddenly knitted his brows and cut in, “Are you telling me to go right away? I have just come a long way to arrive at the Hidden Dragon Sect to help you and now you’re telling me that I have to take this trial right away? I’m tired from traveling this far and I haven’t made any preparations yet, so are you telling me to send myself to death like this? If so, then I don’t think there’s a reason for me to stay, is there?”
The sect master and the elders were all taken aback by Lin Fan’s words.
Their lips couldn’t help twitching after hearing this, but then they forced themselves to reveal smiles as the sect master said, “Little friend Lin, of course we didn’t have this intention at all. We were just too anxious because this involves the fate of our entire sect, we would never want to do anything to affect your chances of completing this trial.”
Then after a pause, he added, “Of course, you don’t have to worry about your survival because this was a trial that was set up by our Hidden Dragon Sect. If you do not pass, all it will do is send you back out.”
Lin Fan revealed a look that clearly showed that he thought otherwise, but he just stood up and walked out as he said, “Then I’ll be heading off to rest first.”
He didn’t even let the sect master or the elders say anything as he walked out.