Chương 25: The Test

He needed a fortune to advance his cultivation. Fortunately, his brother visited him at the sect. His brother did not return home. — He who calls himself Chi You, The Completed Works by He Shulin, foremost scholar of the Outer Realms Hundreds of youths stood on a field at the base of the mountain. Jianyi was one of them. Minghao had wished him well in the morning and sent him off with a strong clap on the back. A large gazebo with a pagoda roof stood at one end of the field.

Hushed murmurs provided a constant background noise for Jianyi's ever-faster spinning thoughts about the test and what it would be. One moment, the gazebo had been empty. The next a man stood on it, overlooking the young men and women silently. The murmuring died in the blink of an eye, and an excited, almost tangible silence spread across the field.

With the arrival of the cultivator, Jianyi's nervousness faded; he was still physically weakened, and his meridians were strained from his last opening attempt, but he would see this through. The man was of only medium height, his face a mask of unattainable beauty, younger than Elder Sun. His hair reached almost to his waist, and his hands were clasped behind his back.

"My name is Zhang Yongjie. It is my great honor to be the Patriarch of the Fivefold Spear Sect, and I welcome you into our brother- and sisterhood." The man's voice was loud and clear despite the size of the field. Jianyi was excited to see the patriarch in the flesh after having only heard rumors about him.

"Some people ask me why I welcome young cultivators like you every year personally, and the answer is simple. On the battlefield, we all stand side by side. Every one of you might be the one to block the attack that would spell my doom. And make no mistake, we are preparing you to join the battlefield. You might not end up a front-line fighter against the Demonic Tide, but you will be fighting." Goosebumps formed on Jianyi's arms as he thought about his future standing against the demons.

"Becoming a cultivator is the greatest privilege on this plane. It offers endless opportunities and paths to growth. But with it comes a responsibility. We are all that stands between the demons and the people behind you," he pointed towards Shiqiu City, "your friends, your families. I ask you to never forget about both, the opportunity to walk your path all the way to ascension and the responsibility to the Empire until that day comes.

"Again, I say welcome." Jianyi could feel that he was not the only one caught up in the emotion of the moment. Nobody near him even whispered to a neighbor.

"Before we move on, I would ask you all to swear an oath that you won't talk about the proceedings here with those who have not yet gone through it. Place your hand over your heart and swear." Jianyi followed the order.

"I swear," he mumbled, not wanting to stand out. But he need not have worried, hundreds of youths shouting their oath led to a roaring thunderstorm of conviction. Things quieted down quickly. The Patriarch waited for another moment. Then pointed to four individuals in the group.

Four inner disciples, Jianyi could tell from their robes, marched out from behind the gazebo, each one moving towards the three young men and one woman that the patriarch had pointed out and walked them out of the group, despite their protestations.

"You are cultivators. As such, you need to find your own path, and we won't give you many orders, but when we do, we expect you to follow them. Those that don't endanger all of us, and that is something that we can't tolerate." The patriarch paused and let his gaze slowly wander across the group of youths.

"Part of my role as patriarch is to communicate hard truths. Three hundred of you stand before me today. The truth is, not all three hundred of you have what it takes to succeed up on the mountain," he waved behind him towards the sect. For the first time, a slight murmur broke out, and Jianyi could feel doubt trying to claw its way through his calm. He clenched down on the emotion. After all, he had been thinking about—and dreading—this for the last three months.

He had made his decisions, and he would live with them.

"Every one of you is needed to fight in the Celestial Confrontation, but for some of you, a focus on basic body cultivation and intense spear training will be better than chasing what you cannot attain.

"In alignment with imperial law, we have therefore created a battalion with special facilities on the other side of the mountain where those of you selected for it will get the best possible training before moving towards the frontline." This had sounded a bit different when explained by Elder Sun. But Jianyi understood, there was no reason to frighten those who didn't know about this now. It didn't help unclench the fist that had a grip on his gut.

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"The others will move to the outer sect and pursue a more traditional cultivation path." The murmur turned into a crescendo as people shared their confidence, fear, and speculation.

"Silence." The patriarch did not need to raise his voice to shut everyone down in the blink of an eye.

"You have passed the heavenly trial; today, you will face a simple test. I wish you well, but know that all of you, no matter the outcome, are equally needed for us to win the war against the demons.

"I will leave you in the capable hands of Elder Gao Yingxue, who oversees the outer sect. May your path be long and fruitful." With that, the patriarch vanished, and a woman with long gray hair and a shocking amount of wrinkles ascended the stairs of the gazebo. She was small and thin, and her age showed more than with any other cultivator Jianyi had seen so far, but her spine was ramrod straight, and while her smile was benevolent, you could sense the unyielding no-nonsense spirit behind it.

"Good morning." Her voice was slightly raspy, and she took her time, looking them over.

"Words matter. Know that this is a test, not a competition. If you all pass, you shall all be admitted to the outer sect." That was something Jianyi was grateful for. If he did not have to interact with anybody here, the better.

"Life as a cultivator is a multi-faceted challenge. So is the test you will have to pass today. We will test your body, your spirit, and your ability to handle complexity. Importantly, we test potential, more than skills, so whether you hail from a long line of cultivators or are the first in your family, your chances to pass are the same." Behind him, Jianyi heard two young women grumble about having to go through the test despite their parents being respected cultivators, but he focused on Elder Gao.

"You will face five challenges today. To make good use of our time, you will be split into five groups and run through those challenges in parallel. Pass by the gazebo to the left or the right, you will be handed a slip with a number. Go to the respective number in the field behind us and follow the orders of the disciples there. Show us your true self." With that, the elder stepped from the heightened platform, and the mass of young men and women started to slowly move forward.

Jianyi was in the middle of the crowd, and it took a few minutes until he had reached the gazebo where a handful of outer disciples were handing out wooden slips seemingly at random. He got one from a girl, not much older than him, which had the number three engraved. As they slowly moved forward, they came to a field where five poles with numbered boards on top were placed in a line. Groups had already formed, and under each pole two inner disciples stood, patiently waiting for the last youths to join them.

When even the last stragglers had made it, one of the disciples raised his hand, asking for silence.

"Good morning, candidates. My name is Liu Guangming, and we will be spending the day together. As Elder Gao said, this is not a competition. In my experience, the day passes by quicker and more pleasantly if you behave accordingly, but that is obviously up to you." Jianyi's gaze quickly flew over his fellow candidates, but made no plans to interact with them. It would be a distraction, and he certainly didn't want to gain anyone's attention.

"Optimists would say that you are lucky, because you will face one of the most difficult challenges first," Guangming said with a chuckle.

"Follow me." The disciples led them to an area close to the path up the mountain. A few desks were lined up, manned by a few disciples, and Elder Gao sat at the entrance of a tent that was placed behind them. She seemingly paid no attention to them.

"This challenge is called 'Everlasting Ascent'. Your task is simple." Guangming addressed them once they were all assembled around him.

"Follow this path," he pointed up the mountain, "you will come to a plateau where disciples will hand you a small flag. Return the flag to these desks. You have ninety minutes." Jianyi assumed that this was unlikely to be achievable with a stroll. They needed to run. Up the mountain and back. That was very close to his worst-case scenario. His body had recovered to some extent, but endurance was still his biggest weakness. His gut clenched.

A future as a foot soldier without the ability to make the most out of his Celestial Core Card threatened to become reality. His resolution to not question his decisions wavered. What if he had gambled the Empire's hope away? His ability to take revenge for his father? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was only one path—forward.

"Step to the line. Begin!" Guangming yelled. He had to pace himself. Be smart about this. Run his own race. Ignore everything else. The group separated within moments. Some raced ahead. From how they looked, Jianyi thought that some did so because they were experienced runners and some because they were naïve. But quite a few seemed to either be of a similar mind as him, entering a measured trot, or simply couldn't go faster. One boy bragged about how you had to be smart about a challenge like this.

Despite the ever-changing incline, sometimes steep, sometimes gentle, the first league, a thousand paces or so, was surprisingly easy for Jianyi. He focused on his breathing and managed to shut out all distractions. Unfortunately, it did not look like they were anywhere near the promised platform. From time to time, Jianyi caught a glimpse of runners way ahead of him, but he ignored that and continued to focus on his own race.

After two leagues—he had to guess the distance, there were no measurements – his breath started to get a bit shorter, but still manageable. He knew things would get harder. But he also knew why and for what he was doing this. He could endure. He managed to keep his pace constant, but at what he guessed was three leagues, his legs had started to burn fiercely.

If the upward slope had been constant, it might have been easier, but the winding road with the constantly changing gradient made it difficult to find a rhythm. The initial group around him had spread out. Some falling behind, many moving ahead. At four leagues, the incline had increased; he started to doubt whether he could make it all the way back; it felt like half his time must be gone. He had to keep going, despite the pain and shortness of breath.

A few hundred paces later, he saw a girl coming back down the path. She was lithe, quick of step, and did not seem fazed by the exertion. A yellow cloth was stuck under the sash of her otherwise red robes. Relief flooded through Jianyi. No matter how much faster she had been than he, the turning point could not be far. Movement from slightly ahead of him.

The boy who had earlier bragged about being smart about the challenge, dressed in fine robes, with long hair pulled into a tail with a couple of carved white jade rings, swerved into the path of the girl. He was so much heavier, and she was so surprised that he had no problem tackling her to ground, grabbing the yellow cloth, and turning back down the mountain before anybody around them had a chance to react. Jianyi was flabbergasted. Never would he have expected shameless behavior like this.

This was not how a cultivator was supposed to act. Getting involved was a mistake. It would risk his muscles locking up. It would garner attention that he didn't want. Time was running out. Not getting involved would be undignified.