Chapter 455: The Pure Yang Trials

At eight in the evening, Wang Sheng led the youths, who had finished their dinner, to the area behind the thatched cottage. He then summoned Flying Haze before them and raised his left hand slightly in a sword finger, sending Flying Haze to the core of the array.

Wang Sheng pointed ahead. "What happens next depends on you."

A faint white fog rose and enveloped the area. The fifty or so youths hadn't even reacted when Wang Sheng lightly leaped backward and vanished into it.

Above them, seven or eight drones slowly descended, hiding within the fog. They hovered over the heads of the youths, transmitting the scene within the formation onto a projection screen inside the great palace.

The Daoist elders and masters had already returned to the sect's great palace. The cultivators related to the young candidates watched anxiously.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Inside the white fog, many of the youths began to panic, but some remained calm, clearly aware beforehand that they would be undergoing a trial. A trial format like this was nothing new. They were usually one of several common types.

A youth standing in front took a step forward, and the surrounding fog suddenly dispersed. To their surprise, the group found themselves in a bustling, ancient-style town. They could hear lively chatter and shouts all over the place.

"We're in an array!" an older boy shouted. "Everything around us is fake! Don't believe it!"

A little girl nudged her glasses. "It's just a holographic projection, not some array."

Another boy muttered, "Why do I feel like we've traveled through time? Look at the ground and the buildings. It all feels too real!"

"Steamed buns! Fresh steamed buns! Authentic taste!" the nearest vendor advertised. He then turned to a few of the youths at the edge. "Hey, kids! Come try our buns! Two copper coins per basket!"

The group maintained good overall vigilance. They simply stared intently at the vendor.

A small girl whispered, "Doesn't seem like the big brother from before just put on a disguise."

The man certainly wasn't Wang Sheng. However, since he was the master of the array, the scene was created entirely from his imagination.

When the vendor lifted the lid from the steamer, the rich aroma of buns spread through the air. The group had just eaten, and though they restrained themselves, many still began to water at the mouth.

From within the group, someone shouted, "Come on, let's keep moving! Maybe getting out of this town means getting out of the array."

The suggestion seemed reasonable enough that they began to walk onward. However, a small and thin girl remained where she was, her bright, lively eyes fixed on the bun stall. She timidly walked closer.

"Uncle, how much for the buns?"

"Two copper coins a basket. Would you like one, young lady?"

***

Inside the great palace, an elder from the Wudang Mountains pressed a hand to his forehead, a trace of fondness showing in his eyes. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Daoist Master Wen, that's your grandniece, isn't it?"

The Daoist master embarrassingly muttered, "Ah, forgive her, forgive her. The child has been spoiled all her life. She has a soft spot for buns."

The others chuckled.

Even if the Pure Yang Sword Faction did not choose these youths, they could still join the sects that had brought them here. This was only a missed opportunity, not the end of the road.

***

The frail little girl took out a banknote and handed it to the vendor. Unable to identify it, he refused the sale. The girl pursed her lips and then fished a few arcade tokens out of her purse.

"Young lady, please don't joke around," the vendor said.

The girl's eyes lit up. She removed a jade bracelet from her wrist, offered it to the vendor with both hands, and looked up at him hopefully.

The vendor blinked. Seemingly recognizing it as genuine jade, he accepted it at once. He then wrapped two baskets of buns in oiled paper, tied them with a string, and handed them to her.

"Take care, young lady. Come again next time."

The girl nodded brightly. "

Mm!

"

She opened one of the packages and carried the other in her hand. Turning around and realizing that the rest of the group had already disappeared, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was as though she was glad that she wouldn't have to share.

With a delighted expression, the girl took out a bun and began to nibble at it while walking deeper into the town.

Back in the great palace, many Daoist masters laughed aloud. They weren't mocking her; they simply found the bun-loving little girl interesting.

In the array, a group of soldiers in armor suddenly appeared and surrounded the rest of the candidates. A man dressed like a general shouted, "Take them away!"

The burly soldiers swiftly charged into the crowd and captured every youth in mere moments. Though most were too confused to act, some did show enough courage to resist.

Still uncertain about what standard Qing Yanzi was using to choose his disciples, many Daoist masters and Daoist elders secretly observed his expression. They also wondered what would happen next and what kind of array it was. After all, none of the modern cultivators were anywhere near powerful enough to construct it.

Meanwhile, the bun-holding little girl had clearly lost her way. Wandering through the alleys had caused her to miss the "soldier encounter" sequence. Instead, she reached a dead end. The wall she faced was the very boundary of the array. Fortunately, she did not try to touch it. She just found a quiet corner, sat down, and focused on... eating her buns.

The captured youths were taken to a military camp and separated by gender. The girls were locked in large tents, awaiting generals who would come to choose attendants. The boys were locked in six wooden cages. They all felt as though they had walked a long distance, but in truth, they had only moved two or three meters. All that changed was the environment around them.

The real trial finally started. A military officer in front of them instructed, "We'll begin selecting new soldiers tomorrow. Those who fail will be fed to the war beasts."

A soldier asked, "Sir, will you be sharing a few of those young ladies?"

"Sure. I'll be choosing a good one first, though."

Several boys flared up with righteous anger and hurled insults at the officer.

They had already forgotten that they were trapped in an array. Everything around them looked real. Combined with the subtle hints guiding their minds, the novice cultivators without any true cultivation failed to see through the illusion.

The Daoist masters inside the great palace leaned forward, eager to see who would be the first to fight back. However, the boys' attempts to break through their predicament all ended with the soldiers beating them up. Eventually, they lost their courage.

The girls performed a whole lot better. Two of them quickly got everyone together and formulated a plan. Using frightened cries, they lured in the guards at the tent entrance. The girls then rushed them all at once, knocked them out, and seized their weapons. Afterward, they surveyed the terrain, calculated the patrol routes, and set fires to the tents to create chaos.

They carried out every step flawlessly until the two girls disagreed on who should take command. They fought for control, giving the soldiers time to surround and trap them in a desperate situation.

On the other side, the boys escaped amid the chaos that the fire had caused. Since a few of them had some martial training, they managed to fight decisively enough after getting their hands on some weapons. Drawing blood for the first time made them panic, though.

The situation kept changing along with the entire illusion. Smiling faintly in the distance, Wang Sheng watched them while twirling a jade bracelet in his hand.

Gradually, Li Jing'an, a twelve-year-old boy whom a Daoist master from Mount Lao had recommended, drew the Daoist masters' attention. He had been quiet and unremarkable at first, but when the fire broke out, he climbed out of his cage, swiftly subdued a soldier, and snatched his longsword.

Seeing blood visibly shook him and made him blank out, but half a minute later, his resolve returned. He grabbed a torch and set the nearby tents ablaze.

Winning a fierce fight, the boys broke through and escaped. They then heard the cries of the trapped girls.

They split into two groups. Half wanted to return to rescue them, while the other half insisted that they lacked the strength for it.

Meanwhile, Li Jing'an charged into the night with his sword and soon vanished.

Half of the boys fled, losing any chance of being chosen as disciples. The remaining dozen rushed toward where the girls were trapped, only to be swiftly surrounded.

Li Jing'an's moment of glory followed.

The entire military camp suddenly spiraled into chaos. The stables had caught fire, causing the panicked horses to neigh and run wild.

Amid the commotion, Li Jing'an somehow struck the general's son from the shadows, capturing him. With his hostage, he forced his way into the command tent and demanded that the general order the release of the captured youths. He then slowly retreated with the general's son. Once he had created enough distance, he shoved the boy forward and turned to flee.

A troop of soldiers chased after him. From the side, he heard galloping hooves. One of the boys who had fled earlier had returned on horseback, showcasing his great riding skill. He reached out and pulled Li Jing'an onto the horse.

Light and agile, the two urged the horse forward at full speed.

"Where did you learn to fight like that, Hero?"

"I've been this way since I was little," Li Jing'an answered as he stared at the trembling hand he was gripping the longsword with. The pain from the wounds on his back brought tears to his eyes. "You're the hero. Are you a native of this world? How do you already know how to ride?"

The rider smiled. "Native? We crossed over together. My family owns a ranch, and my dad used to take me horseback riding all the time. I learned it years ago!"

"

Woah,

your family must be rich. I'm Li Jing'an, from Mount Dong."

"I'm Zhou Liuji, but you can just call me Xiao Ji. My family does business overseas, but I'm a full-blooded Hua Republican."

The two clasped hands, making the Daoist masters in the great palace all nod approvingly.

They quickly shook off their pursuers, but Li Jing'an ran out of strength and fainted on the horse. Panicking, Zhou Liuji tied Li Jing'an to himself with his belt and rode hard through the night. He eventually spotted a town ahead and galloped toward it, hoping to find help, but the moment they entered, they fell from the horse and tumbled into a cloud of fog. Confused, they got back to their feet and found themselves in a narrow alley.

In a corner, a familiar girl was sitting on a stone step, a paper bag of buns in her hand. She was feeding bits of bun skin to a small white cat.

"Where did my wounds go?" Li Jing'an patted himself all over. He then stared at his empty hand. "Where's my sword?"

Zhou Liuji scratched his head as he watched the fog swirl around them. Realization dawned. "Eh, so it really is an array? This is amazing."

Creak~

The courtyard door behind the girl opened, and Wang Sheng stepped out. He looked at the two boys, then at the seated girl. Their eyes met for a brief moment.

"You three, come in," Wang Sheng said gently.

Li Jing'an was a little dazed, but Zhou Liuji quickly tugged at his arm and pulled him toward the courtyard gate.

Li Jing'an frowned. "So it's not like those transmigration stories?"

He sounded disappointed.

The girl looked completely bewildered. She picked up the white cat and stepped through the doorway first, causing the light around her to ripple gently. In the next instant, she appeared at the side entrance of the Pure Yang Sword Faction's great palace, becoming the third martial sister to the two boys.