Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Outer Sect Disciples

The little disciples who entered the three doors all ran into difficulties on their paths. Some were trapped by snow. Some were tossed up and down by fierce winds. Some were baked until they were nearly dehydrated. Some were chased by wild beasts. Everyone was exhausted from dealing with it all.

After enduring heavy rain, heavy snow, scorching sun, and fierce winds, Wei Yun Xi faced pursuit by a spirit beast. She felt it was fake, but she did not dare stop, because the feeling of being hurt was far too real.

As she ran, Wei Yun Xi muttered to herself, “Yun Xi, you have to hold on! You’re the best! You’re definitely first place! Come on! Charge forward!”

The Hao Ran Sect’s big shots watching through the water mirror could not help laughing.

“This girl is pretty interesting.”

“Looks like she refuses to lose.”

“You shouldn’t laugh at her. In the first two rounds, she really was first place. It’s only because she has three spiritual roots that you didn’t take notice of her.”

“Then let’s see how she performs in this round. If she’s still first place, I’ll take her as a registered disciple. Spiritual roots are important, but character and perseverance are important too. Everyone knows that after reaching the spirit realm, aptitude matters less, and comprehension matters more.”

The one speaking was Elder Lu Dan Yang of Alchemy Peak.

“Elder Dan Yang is right, but she also needs to be able to cultivate to the Divine Transformation Stage. There are countless disciples who don’t lack character or perseverance, yet are limited by aptitude. Taking disciples should still be based on overall consideration,” said an elder with an immortal air.

Elder Lu did not get angry. He smiled and said, “Elder Yu Yang is right too. Then we’ll keep watching.”

Wei Yun Xi had no idea that her muttering had successfully caught someone’s attention. She was still running forward, not daring to relax at all. But after sprinting at full speed for a while, she started to run out of steam.

“Awoo!” sounded behind her, scaring her so badly she immediately sped up. She felt those sharp teeth scrape past the corner of her clothes.

This time, she poured the spiritual energy inside her into her legs so she could keep charging forward. She did not want to use her own flesh to test how sharp the beast’s teeth were.

On the surface, she was at the first level of the Qi Refining Stage. To hide it, she ran while gripping a spirit stone in her hand, making it look like she had spirit stones constantly supporting her. That way, she covered up the fact that her spiritual energy reserves were greater than someone at the first level.

She ran for another day. Just as Wei Yun Xi felt she could not go on, she finally saw a bright light at the end of the bluestone road.

“Almost at the finish line. Wei Yun Xi, you have to push!” She kept cheering herself on and sped up into a sprint. This last step was all that was left. She had to gamble on it.

But as Wei Yun Xi ran, she realized that the bright point was ahead, yet no matter how she ran, the distance between them did not seem to shrink.

Wei Yun Xi felt exhausted in her heart. It was like dangling a yellow carrot in front of her and making her run herself to death just to chase it.

In her heart, Wei Yun Xi sent greetings to the Hao Ran Sect’s founding patriarch. In the end, she simply closed her eyes and ran, deciding she would rather not look. Anyway, once she could not run anymore, she planned to lie flat.

The Hao Ran Sect would not just watch her get bitten to death. They were recruiting disciples, not letting good seedlings die.

Once Wei Yun Xi’s mindset settled, the distance between her and the light point began shrinking quickly. But she kept her eyes closed, and she did not dare release her divine sense, so she did not know that after a quarter of an hour, she had already run out of the exit. She only opened her eyes when she slammed into a wall of flesh.

Wei Yun Xi rubbed her forehead and looked up, only to find she had bumped into someone she knew.

Song Ke smiled at the slightly dazed little girl. “Congratulations, Wei Yun Xi. You passed this test and are now an Outer Sect disciple of the Hao Ran Sect.”

Hearing that, Wei Yun Xi lowered the hand rubbing her forehead and said in disbelief, “Senior, I passed? Really?”

Song Ke replied with a smile, “Naturally. You can call me Martial Uncle Song now. From now on, we’re fellow disciples.”

“Disciple Wei Yun Xi greets Martial Uncle Song. Thank you, Martial Uncle Song, for your guidance.”

“Good. Go rest over there. After the testing ends, someone will take you to handle the sect entry procedures.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle!”

Wei Yun Xi felt delighted. She had finally passed. Right after that joy came overwhelming exhaustion. She walked to a corner, plopped down, and began meditating to recover.

The core of this test was perseverance. As long as the children who entered the doors held on to the end, most of them passed.

Because of her inner obsession, Wei Yun Qing also passed this test. Seeing that Wei Yun Xi had again passed before her, she felt terrible inside.

The Wei Family’s eight members all performed very well this time. Because they had already done Qi Induction, the difficulty of their tests had increased. If ordinary children faced light drizzle, then what they faced was a violent storm.

After gathering the children who passed, Song Ke smiled and introduced himself. “I am Song Ke, an inner sect disciple of the Hao Ran Sect. I accepted the task of testing the newly recruited disciples this time. Next, when I call your name, come gather over here.”

Then Song Ke began reading names. “Mu Chen, Liu Yu Xing, Feng He Yong…”

After reading a string of names, Song Ke said, “You will enter the Hao Ran Sect’s Service Peak. Once you cultivate to the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage, you can advance to become Outer Sect disciples. Of course, if you don’t want to be menial disciples, you can withdraw now.”

The thirty-plus people whose names were called looked at each other. No one wanted to withdraw. Their aptitude was poor, but it did not mean they could not cultivate. As long as they entered the Outer Sect, there was still hope.

“Good. If no one is leaving, Elder Su of Service Peak will come to pick you up in a moment.”

After saying that, Song Ke turned to the remaining disciples. “You will enter the Outer Sect to cultivate. I’ll take you to the Outer Sect Disciples’ Hall to register your identities first.”

As he spoke, he released his flying sword. The flying sword grew larger and wider amid the children’s surprised cries. Once all twenty-two little disciples stood on it, Song Ke rode the sword to the Outer Sect Disciples’ Hall.

The steward of the Outer Sect Disciples’ Hall was a middle-aged cultivator with a small goatee. When he saw Song Ke, he smiled and went up to greet him. “Martial Brother Song, you’re here?”

“Steward Zheng, I’m bringing the new disciples who passed the test. Please trouble yourself to make new identity jade tokens for them, and also settle this group of new disciples.”

“Martial Brother Song, you’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me!”

After exchanging a few polite words with Steward Zheng and greeting the little radish heads, Song Ke rode his sword away again.

Steward Zheng’s smile faded. He said sternly, “Everyone line up here to handle your sect identity jade tokens.”

This time, all of the Wei Family entered the Outer Sect. Wei Yun Ting stood first in line. She reported her name, age, and cultivation level, then stood quietly.

When Steward Zheng learned they were disciples of the Wei Family, he put his smile back on and said to Wei Yun Ting, “Your Wei Family disciples scored well in the tests. After your identity jade tokens are done, wait outside the Disciples’ Hall. I’ll take you to the Outer Sect disciples’ residence.”

“Thank you, Steward Zheng, for your trouble,” Wei Yun Ting immediately said.

“No need. It’s my duty.”