Chapter Five: Entrance

  In the late afternoon, after the test ended, the chief examiner and Qi Feng led the newly selected disciples up the mountain.

  Arriving at the halfway point up the mountain, the chief examiner led everyone into a magnificent grand hall and bowed respectfully: "Disciple Fang Zhong pays his respects to the leader and all the senior masters. This year's new disciple selection has been successfully completed."

  "Alright, let's take a look." In the center of the grand hall, a white-haired old man with a gentle expression said. His voice was calm and natural, but it had great power.

  Apart from the white-haired old man, there were several monks standing in the great hall, most of whom were elderly. Even those who were somewhat younger had reached middle age. However, even among the elderly, their faces rarely showed wrinkles, and their skin seemed to radiate a subtle luster, as if made of special materials.

  Seeing many new disciples coming in, these cultivators' eyes all turned over here.

  The crowd of new disciples immediately felt as if they were being seen through, their hearts racing and trembling with fear, standing at attention without daring to lift their heads.

  The white-haired old man's gaze swept over one by one, finally falling on Zhuo Bufan and Li Yuanyao, his eyes lit up: "Hmmm, these two new disciples look very good, what do you think?"

  "Indeed, it's been many years since I've encountered a disciple with such excellent innate talent."

  "This young man is naturally talented and has a refined appearance. This girl is stunningly beautiful, lively and beyond ordinary people, can be called a genius."

  The monks nodded one after another, their eyes revealing eagerness, and they looked very favorably on Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao.

  "Fang Zhong hastily said: 'Master, the young man's name is Zhuo Bufan, and the girl's name is Li Yuanyao. Both of their aptitude tests were excellent, and they both broke through to the first stage of postnatal refinement. They are the most talented disciples selected by our Zhengxuan Sect in nearly ten years.'"

  The old man with white hair slightly moved his face, revealing a few points of joy: "No wonder, it turns out that you have excellent qualifications. Fang Zhong, you've done very well!"

  "Fang Zhong smiled and said, 'This is what a disciple should do. Besides, there's another new disciple whose test results were unexpected, and I couldn't judge his situation, so I brought him up the mountain to ask for your decision, Master and fellow elders.'"

  He told Xia Chen about the strange phenomenon of the test stone self-igniting.

  "Oh? Such a thing exists? It's worth taking a closer look at this young man, what makes him so special!" The white-haired elder and the other cultivators were shocked, their eyes shifting back to Xia Chen.

  Just now when sizing up the new disciples, Xia Chen was not out of the ordinary, so they didn't pay attention to him. Who would have thought that this young man was actually so extraordinary? Could he be a legendary hidden genius?

  Many new disciples had subtle expressions in their eyes, all thinking that this guy was quite impressive, having surpassed both Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao.

  Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao's eyes were burning with a deep sense of discontent, as geniuses themselves, they naturally didn't want to meet an even more powerful genius.

  With so many people staring at him at the same time, Xia Chen couldn't help but feel a chill all over his body, his heart pounding with worry that the foreign object inside him would be discovered, and he could only pretend to calm down on the surface.

  Half responded, and all the monks looked at each other in dismay, revealing a disappointed expression.

  "This child looks like he has a strong will, seems suitable for cultivation, but his roots are ordinary, his talent is mediocre, and can't even compare to an average disciple."

  "What kind of extraordinary genius is this, who is no different from ordinary people? It's all just barely managed to cultivate true energy and sense."

  "How disappointing! This child's behavior is quite strange, didn't expect it to be so mediocre, sigh!"

  "He can cultivate at most up to the third level of Houtian, that's his limit. His innate talent is too poor and his potential is very limited."

  The monks all shook their heads, withdrew their gaze, and instantly lost interest in Xia Chen. They were all senior monks who could easily see through the later generations of disciples.

  The old man with white hair also sighed regretfully, thinking that he might have picked up an extraordinary genius, but it turned out to be a huge joke.

  Many of the new disciples' eyes immediately turned disdainful, thinking that this guy seemed to be a prodigy at first glance, but was actually far inferior to them, and they had overestimated him.

  Zhuo Bufan and Li Yuanyao let out a sigh of relief, casting a faint glance at Xia Chen, revealing a hint of disdain.

  There was only one thin old man who looked at Xia Chen with a thoughtful expression in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

  Xia Chen's expression was calm and composed, from the time he was a miscellaneous servant, these blows had been endured by him countless times, his heart had long been as hard as iron, no matter how others ridiculed him, he only regarded it as the barking of dogs and the braying of donkeys.

  The monks no longer paid attention to Xia Chen, and after a discussion, Zhuo Bufan and Li Yuanyao were chosen as direct disciples by a monk named Yue Zifeng and a female monk named Xu Fang due to their excellent qualifications.

  As for Xia Chen and others, no one asked about them, they could only follow the old rules, starting from the most ordinary disciples.

  Then, Fang Zhong took the new disciples to another executive hall to go through the registration procedures, distribute disciple handbooks, school uniforms and daily necessities, and then took everyone to walk around inside the school, explaining the rules and precautions.

  Through Fang Zhong's explanation, Xia Chen finally understood that the difference between a personally transmitted disciple and an ordinary disciple was enormous. A personally transmitted disciple not only received personal guidance from senior cultivators but also enjoyed various resources and privileges, such as elixirs, techniques, and treasures, etc., and their status was fundamentally different from that of ordinary disciples.

  As for ordinary disciples, they are very miserable. They have no master inheritance and no resources. Their status is the lowest. Everything relies on their own hard work in cultivation. Only when they cultivate to the fifth level of acquired state or have a special opportunity can they be noticed by senior cultivators and become direct disciples. Of course, such opportunities are extremely rare, and the vast majority of ordinary disciples are just stepping stones for the masses.

  Finally, Fang Zhong assigned a courtyard residence to his new disciples and then left.

  All the new disciples were invigorated. From the moment they started climbing the mountain, they had been facing either their seniors or the elders of the sect, and didn't even dare to breathe loudly. Now, they could finally relax a bit.

  "Senior Brother Zhuo, Senior Sister Li, I'm Wu Gang, a new disciple. Please take care of me, haha." A pockmarked disciple smiled and bowed to Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao.

  He was obviously several years older than Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao, but he called them "Shixiong" and "Shijie" with extreme naturalness, his smile full of flattery.

  "My name is Yang Er, and it's an honor for me to join the sect with geniuses like Zhuo Shixiong and Li Shijie. If there's anything you need in the future, just let me know." Another burly new disciple also patted his chest and welcomed him.

  Many other new disciples also came forward, surrounding Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao like a multitude of stars around the moon, trying their best to curry favor with them.

  Zhuo Bufan and Li Yuanyao are both geniuses and also become his personally selected disciples, they will surely stand out in the future and become outstanding disciples, so it's natural to take this opportunity to fawn on them.

  However, there were also a few new disciples who did not step forward, and Xia Chen was one of them.

  Li Yuanyao's face was pale and calm, as if she hadn't heard the flattering words of the crowd. She had a high self-esteem and didn't even bother to talk to ordinary disciples.

  Zhuo Bu Fan just slightly nodded, as if responding in kind.

  "Uncle Zhuo, Sister Li, my cousin Song Qing Shan is an old disciple of the Zhengxuan Sect and has a good reputation. He can handle things easily within the sect. If you have anything that needs to be taken care of, just let me know." Wu Gang said with a smile.

  He observed their words and expressions, knowing that the two were arrogant and had no interest in people like him, so he specifically brought up his relationship within the sect.

  Zhuo Bufan's expression changed slightly. Although he was a personally selected disciple, after all, he had just entered the door and his feet were not yet stable. It would be inappropriate to ignore Wu Gang's relationship, so he slightly cupped his hands and said: "Brother Wu is being polite. Since we are fellow disciples, we should naturally unite and help each other."

  Li Yuanyao didn't say a word, but her expression eased up a lot, and she nodded slightly towards Wu Gang.

  Wu Gang's eyes lit up instantly, and the pockmarks on his face seemed to shine with a radiant glow. He smiled and said: "Unity is strength, Brother Zhuo has put it well! Brothers, I have a proposal - why don't we new disciples form a small group, with Brother Zhuo and Sister Li as our leaders? What do you think?"

  "Good!" The other new disciples responded enthusiastically. Of the three people in front of them, two were personally selected disciples, and one had connections within the sect, so they naturally couldn't wait to get along with them.

  Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao exchanged a faint smile, although they did not confirm or deny anything, but being flattered by the crowd, their eyes also showed a few points of pride.

  "Hey, you few, why don't you come to pay respects to Brother Zhuo and Sister Li?" Wu Gang glanced over, saw Xia Chen and several other new disciples, and immediately shouted in a domineering tone.

  Xia Chen and several other new disciples were about to leave when they heard this and immediately stopped in their tracks, furrowing their brows.

  "Can't you understand what I'm saying?" Wu Gang's face turned unpleasant, he took big strides to approach them, pointing and scolding, "Didn't I just say that everyone has to listen to Master Zhuo and Master Li? Hurry up and come over!"

  "Especially you, Xia Chen." He looked at Xia Chen with a proud and arrogant attitude. "A miscellaneous servant who only entered the door by luck, originally with your mediocre qualifications, you didn't even have the qualification to sit with us as equals, now giving you an opportunity is your honor, do you know that?"

  "I don't want to join you, nor do I want to listen to anyone's orders." Xia Chen said. He couldn't stand Wu Gang's despicable two-faced appearance, but since he had just entered the door of the sect, he still wanted to keep a low profile for now.

  "Not bad, we don't want to join you either." Those new disciples also said in succession.

  "How dare you refuse?" Wu Gang's face turned gloomy, "What a big nerve, this is disrespect to Master Zhuo and Master Li."

  "Wu Gang, we want elites, not trash." Zhuo Bu Fan said calmly, "A potential that is at most only three times that of an ordinary person, what can they do here? Are we raising waste?"

  "A mere clown, even if he kneels on the ground and begs, I won't want him." Li Yuanyao glanced at Xia Chen with disdain, instantly withdrawing her gaze.

  Xia Chen stole the show during the test, overshadowing Zhuo Bu Fan and Li Yuan Yao, who had been feeling uncomfortable about it all along, and now they seized the opportunity to lash out.

  "Yes, Master Zhuo, Master Li, I didn't plan on taking this miscellaneous task, just teasing him for fun." Wu Gang hastily nodded and bowed.

  "I didn't want to join you guys in the first place, even if you knelt down and begged me, I still wouldn't join." Xia Chen's heart was filled with anger, he coldly threw out a sentence, and was about to turn around and leave, these people were like flies that made him feel disgusted.

  "Halt! Did I let you go?" Wu Gang shouted.

  "What do you want?" Xia Chen's eyes gradually turned cold.

  "Xiaosan, what nonsense were you spouting just now?" Wu Gang sneered coldly. "I'm ordering you to apologize to Master Zhuo and Mistress Li immediately. When we allow you to leave is when you can leave, and from now on, whenever you see us, you'd better walk around us. Do you understand?"

  "Get out!" Xia Chen's face turned icy cold, his anger could no longer be contained.

  "You're asking for death, you shameless thing! Today I'll beat you until you eat shit!" Wu Gang was furious, and with a loud slap, he slapped Xia Chen's face.

  Bang! His palm had just swung halfway when a powerful iron fist suddenly shot out, heavily striking his abdomen.

  Wu Gang's eyes bulged out instantly, his face turned blue and purple, completely twisted and deformed. He clutched his abdomen, thudded to the ground with a loud noise, and before he could struggle, Xia Chen's foot heavily trampled on the back of his neck: "What did you just say?"