Mythical Cultivation

Wu Ming and his group split into two groups. The elders had gone to the county government office, and Instructor Zhang led them to find an inn. Under Instructor Zhang's guidance, they found an inn to stay in while waiting for news from the elders. Not long after, the elders returned.

"The Qingyun Sect will recruit disciples the day after tomorrow, and the test will be held at the county government office. You should have a good rest in the inn for the next two days. I will take you to the county government office early the day after tomorrow." said the elder of the Li clan.

After breakfast, everyone headed towards the county government office. They were met with a sea of ​​people, hundreds of whom were waiting for the test.

A bearded old man in his forties or fifties walked out of the hall with three people. One of the three was a middle-aged man in official uniform, who was the county magistrate of Linhe County. The other two were wearing the same green long gown and looked to be around thirty years old.

"Everyone, please be quiet. The county magistrate will now give a talk." said the old man who took the lead.

"Today is the once-in-a-decade day for Qingyun Sect to recruit new members. Everyone has been looking forward to it for a long time. This is a chance for everyone to stand out and change their fate. I hope everyone will seize it. The two people next to me are disciples of Qingyun Sect, one is called You Anbai, and the other is called Lu Feng. They will test everyone from now on."

"You can call me Senior Brother Lu. I won't say much. The test is divided into two levels. Those who need to be tested should line up and come one by one." Lu Feng said. He took out something that looked like a crystal ball and asked everyone to concentrate and place their hands on it.

The first person to be tested stepped forward, and You Anbai asked, "Name, age, where are you from, and cultivation level." "My name is Zhang Wei, I'm sixteen years old, from Xiangyang Village, and I'm at the first level of Qi training." You Anbai recorded the information and told him to go to Lu Feng for the test.

Zhang Wei placed his hand on the crystal ball. After a while, he saw a few thin lines light up in the crystal ball. He looked carefully and found that three of them were lit, and the fourth was only slightly lit. He only heard Lu Feng say, "Junior Brother You, your Root Bone is low level four stars. Next..."

Testing one person took only a few dozen breaths, and in a short while, he had already tested dozens of people. Most of them had no aptitude, and the few that did were only one or two stars. Lu Feng's face grew worse and worse, thinking that he shouldn't have taken this task, it was a complete waste of time, and it would be better to do the daily tasks within the sect, until he had tested hundreds of people.

"Six-star bone strength, top-grade, Golden Core Seed. Great, great, this trip is worth it. What's your name?" Lu Feng asked with a smile. "My name is Huang Hao, I'm fourteen years old, from Mozhu Village, and I've just started practicing Qi," the boy replied. Testing will continue later.

"Grandpa, what does this "few-star root bone" mean? Why is Senior Brother Lu so happy?" Wu Ming asked. Upon hearing Wu Ming's question, the other children in the village all turned their attention to him.

"Root bones refer to a person's talent for cultivation and the degree of affinity with the vitality of heaven and earth. It also represents the speed and height of a person's cultivation. From one star to nine stars, the higher the root bones, the better, because a person's lifespan is limited." Wu Tianlong explained to everyone.

Hearing the elder's words, everyone secretly hoped to reach a nine-star physique. More than an hour later, they arrived at Wu Ming's Li Village. Everyone confidently took the test, but the results were disappointing. Of the ten people, two had one-star physiques, one had two-star physiques, one had three-star physiques, and the rest had no physiques at all.

There were five people left, Li Fei and Wu Ming among them. A fellow named Ishikawa tested positive for three-star superior aptitude, while the other two had no aptitude at all. Li Fei tested positive for five-star superior aptitude, while Wu Ming tested positive for five-star inferior aptitude. Although seven of the fifteen had aptitude, significantly more than the test results from ten years ago, this was only the first round, and it was unknown how many would ultimately make it into the Qingyun Sect.

After more than two hours, the 300+ people on site finally completed the test. A few surprises appeared along the way, surprising Lu Feng and You Anbai. Later, two more six-star aptitudes emerged: a boy named Zhao Xiaohai and a girl named Mei Lingshuang. The final tally totaled 141 individuals with aptitudes, leaving nearly 200 people barred from joining the Qingyun Sect. This was normal; in previous tests, the number of individuals with aptitudes was less than a third of the total.

"Next, those with good roots will start the second test. The house behind me is the test site. Ten people enter at a time and start the test." Lu Feng said.

Ten people entered the dark room, and within a cup of tea, someone stumbled out, pale and collapsed to the ground. A fellow village elder immediately arranged for someone to help him back to the camp to rest and give his name. You Anbai drew a bright red cross behind his name on the roster and said, "Unqualified." The elder walked away, heartbroken.

A quarter of an hour later, the ten people who had gone in came out one after another. Some had their names checked, others crossed. Some were happy, some were sad, but this did not affect the continuation of the test.

"This round of testing should be about soul strength, but I don't know which direction it will test. It could be comprehension, willpower, or courage. Apart from comprehension, the longer you persist in the other two, the greater the chance of success. You should grasp it well. If you succeed, you will enter a different time and space." Wu Tianlong reminded everyone.

Why is the test a little different from the novels I read in my previous life? Isn't it a direct test of talent or combat power? I thought everyone needed to compete in a ring together. Wuming complained in his heart.

After several more groups of people finished testing, it was finally Wu Ming's turn. Ten of them entered the gate one after another. All that greeted them was pitch black. Wu Ming paused for a few seconds before adjusting. He could barely make out his surroundings; he was in a forest. He could sense a faint pressure all around him, which grew stronger as time passed.

Wu Ming braced himself and walked forward. Suddenly, he sensed the scent of blood behind him. He dodged quickly, only to see a raccoon cat pounce right where he had been. The cat was ten feet long, its fur bristling, its claws gleaming. With a single swing, a cyan wind blade streaked toward Wu Ming. "Isn't this a demon beast?" Wu Ming thought, drawing on his knowledge from books. He hadn't expected his first encounter with a demon beast to be during a test. He had no weapons, so how could he fight it? Wu Ming grumbled.

He could only roll over to avoid it, but before he could get up, he saw the raccoon cat lunging at him again. He had no choice but to face it head-on. He threw his Fu Niu Fist, colliding with the raccoon cat's claws. The cat screamed and flew three or four meters away. But Wu Ming no longer cared about the raccoon cat. Five bloody scratches, about an inch deep and two inches long, marked his fist, revealing the sharpness of the raccoon cat's claws. The pain made Wu Ming sweat profusely. If that claw had caught him, it would have ripped him apart. However, through this blow, Wu Ming also understood the raccoon cat's combat power. It was fast and had sharp claws, but it lacked strength.

While he was thinking, he saw the raccoon cat roaring and another wind blade shot towards Wu Ming. Wu Ming hid behind a tree. There was a loud bang, and a tree with a diameter of more than ten feet fell down. The power was so great that he was almost eaten. Wu Ming was speechless. Fortunately, the raccoon cat could not release wind blades continuously. It only released one after a while, giving Wu Ming a chance to catch his breath.

Wu Ming used the terrain to play hide-and-seek with the raccoon cat. Various large trees provided Wu Ming with places to hide, and by the way, prevented the raccoon cat from using its full speed.

But time passed slowly, and the wound on his hand, untreated, continued to bleed more and more. He began to feel dizzy, probably from the excessive blood loss. Wu Ming had forgotten this was a test, and now he was only concerned with survival. His consciousness grew increasingly hazy. After an unknown amount of time, Wu Ming seemed to hear a commotion while running. He perked up and saw hundreds of people staring at him. He then remembered this was a test, and that he had finally made it out, though he didn't know if he had succeeded.

At this time, Wu Tianlong helped Wu Ming up and told Lu Feng his name. He then helped Wu Ming back to the Lijia Village camp. Seeing that his hand was not injured at all, Wu Ming finally understood why the testers all came out with pale faces. It must be an illusion, but he still had to ask his grandfather.

"Grandpa, in the second test, I encountered a raccoon cat. It chased me for a long time and I was injured. How come the injuries disappeared as soon as I came out?"

"It's an array, an illusion array, which makes people think that everything they encounter is real. In fact, it is all fake. However, the soul power consumed is not fake, so everyone comes out very tired. You should have a good rest." Let's wait and see the results after the test.

Half a day passed in a blink of an eye, and all the personnel had completed the test, but no one had left yet, and everyone was waiting to hear the final news.

"Today's tests are over. The names I'll read next are the ones who will be admitted to the Qingyun Sect. Gather at the county government office early tomorrow morning and I'll take you to the sect. Huang Hao, Zhao Xiaohai, Mei Lingshuang..." A total of fifty-four people became Qingyun Sect disciples. Over three hundred people took the test, and finally, fifty-four entered the Qingyun Sect—not too many, but not too few either. Wu Ming, Li Fei, Shi Chuan, and Wang Xiaohu were all on the list. The fact that four people from Lijia Village were selected was great news for the village. The elders were overjoyed.