14 Test Of Will (I)

The buzz of conversation in the throne room had completely died down. Everyone was completely occupied with staring at the monk and swordsman who had so brazenly entered the throne room. Wei was completely unable to tear his gaze from the two cultivators. And they were cultivators- he knew it in his heart as sure as he knew the sky was blue. They could have been any number of beings but for some reason, Wei just knew they were human cultivators.

It was something about them, he couldn't place his finger on it but he just knew without a doubt they were what he was going to become; a cultivator. Wei stared at them intently, trying to find what it was about them that made him so sure of what they were. He felt some vague familiarity coming from them that he couldn't quite place. It annoyed him like a word on the tip of his tongue that he couldn't quite remember. The two cultivators had entered the room together but know the monk stood in front while the swordsman stood respectfully to his side a few steps behind him.

The monk was nothing like the monks Wei had read about in his many books. He was young-seeming to be in his twenties. He was not bald; his hair was luxurious and long stopping midway down his back. He had a kind face, with lines that could only be gained from smiling a lot. His eyes were squinted and made it difficult to know where he was looking at. He wore plain robes of black lined white with prayer beads hanging from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist.

The swordsman was an old man with a long beard and long luxurious white robes. The left sleeve of his robe was cut off at the shoulder, clearly indicating that he only had one hand. He had a strict face and hard eyes. And most glaring of all was the sheer arrogance he radiated. It was especially evident in contrast to the kind, gentle aura the monk exuded. He carried a sword in a blue sheath in his only hand, idly tapping his index finger on it as he waited for the monk to make a move.

This didn't surprise Wei as there were many explanations as to why the monk was in charge. In many of the stories, he had read about cultivators. Not judging a book by its cover was a common theme. The young monk could be much older than the swordsman or just simply more powerful.

While the entirety of the throne room stared at them the cultivators made no move of acknowledging them. Instead, they scanned the room casually and exchanged glances a few times with each other.

The swordsman spoke up and addressed the monk sounding annoyed "alright senior, you have proven to me once again that your eyesight is truly unparalleled, here you go." With a speed too fast for Wei to see clearly a small object shot out from the sheath of the swordsman and zipped toward the monk where it seemingly disappeared.

"My young friend, to be young is to be ambitious, reckless and daring. However, these attributes must be tempered and used in moderation lest they bring you problems in the future. This is the reasons why your elders told you to come under my tutelage." The monk replied his voice smooth and soothing. It was truly odd to see the young man address the old man as his young friend.

I knew it they are cultivators. What could they possibly be doing here?

King Chen An seemed to have the same question "respected immortals, please identify yourselves," he said somehow managing to sound both cautious and polite.

The monk finally turned towards the king and looked at him closely for a second "we are here to find a fitting core disciple for the Supreme Sword Sect, does that answer your question?" he asked amusement clear in his voice.

"The Kingdom of Chen is under the protection of the Supreme Sword Sect and any cultivators not having their permission to enter my kingdom will face the consequences. Not to be disrespectful immortals but do you have any proof to back up your claim?" He asked sweat dripping from his brow. Wei could practically see the kings shaking from his position.

So he's finally realized the merit of thought before action. How funny. I didn't think he had it in him.

The swordsman stepped forward in answer to the question "how interesting, you follow our instructions to the letter, but only when it suits you. Do you recognize what this is?" he asked. Suddenly a small wooden sword appeared floating atop his head, on it Wei could barely see the faded image of a sword pointing upward as if piercing through the heavens.

Before Wei could analyze it more clearly the small wooden sword floated towards the king, startling the enforcers flanking him. A few enforcers fidgeted but seeing as the king did not order them to act; they opened ranks and let the wooden sword head toward the king.

The king stood his ground admirably only flinching slightly when the sword came to a stop mere inches from his face. Wei saw the moment he fully understood what the sigil meant. "I apologize for my rudeness, I was simply following the orders I was given by your sect honored immortal," he said.

"Oh, is that so? Then why did you disobey our orders?" the swordsman asked. The king seemed to struggle to find a suitable answer but thought better of it. "Immortals, I have no excuse for my actions, I know that I shouldn't have killed the people who hadn't gone through the ceremony yet. I intended to imprison them but couldn't contain my anger. Please forgive me." The king briefly bowed his head which was as good as groveling considering his position and then looked up at the swordsman's face hopeful.

"It is not my place to forgive you or punish you, the official personnel from the sect will be here in a few days, and you will take it up with them. Considering this is the first time your family has made a mistake in many generations if you show the same humility you showed me today they may forgive you."

Hearing this king seemed to calm down slightly his pale face regaining a bit of its color "Then if not because of my misconduct, why did you come great immortal?" he asked puzzled. The swordsman opened his mouth to answer when the monk interrupted with a wave of his hand. "I know you like to be referred to as an immortal Xing but now isn't the right time to socialize. Stop stalling, have you found him?"

"Okay senior Zixin it's that youngster over there, "he said nodding towards the second prince Chen Ping. The second prince seemed to have not heard a word being spoken, his gaze being focused as it was on the sword in Xing's single hand.

"Impressive, Xing I never expected you would understand my lessons so quickly, but then again your problem has never been your talent, only your demeanor, and patience. I'm glad to see you are improving. It will only be a few more days before I am satisfied with your progress and you can go back to your sword training." He said.

"It was all thanks to your tutelage senior. Without you, it may have taken me many years' perhaps even decades before my demeanor changed. By then my sword arts would have stagnated and I would never reach my goal. Thank you." He said raw sincerity in his voice.

The heartfelt student and teacher moment seemed to make the people in the throne room feel awkward and everyone pointedly averted their gaze from the one-armed old man bowing to the youthful monk.

They're completely treating us as furniture. Still, I can't blame them, who would've thought they came here to choose a core disciple.

Huh. Guess the second prince really is as talented as the people say. He's even cultivator material. He must be the first imperial of any significance to ever become a cultivator. If there were any others the royal family would've proudly made note of them in their records.

So what now? Wei wanted to have a chat with the cultivators very badly, especially the monk but doing so now would be incomparably rude and so he waited patiently, ignoring the pain in his chest and focusing on the cultivators once more.

Xing once more respectfully stood behind Zixin who stared at the second prince intently "youngster do you wish to enter the Supreme Sword Sect?" he asked.

The second prince looked up at the monk and answered with a question of his own "so I am a chosen?" "Yes, you are a chosen and one with a particular talent towards the sword. A special sword physique if I was to guess"

Upon hearing the answer the second prince had a wide smile on his face "so I am special even among chosen, I knew it! I always knew" How strong is the Supreme Sword Sect.?" He asked voice brimming with happiness, barely able to contain his excitement.

"The Supreme Sword Sect is one of the most powerful Sects in the Enlightened Realm," he said.

"Then I'm in." Chen Ping replied simply.

"It's admirable that you're so decisive but it's not entirely up to you." He nodded towards Xing who gave Chen Ping a casual look and then a more searching one when he saw how Chen Ping's gaze seemed to always flicker to his sword every few seconds.

A few seconds later Xing seemed to have made a decision and changed his look from a searching one to a full-on glare. Chen Ping's head immediately snapped up startled, and without conscious thought took a few hurried steps back away from Xing.

"Do I have your attention?" Xing said while walking forward slowly. Chen Ping made to step back again but something stopped him and he simply nodded while visibly shaking. "Not everyone is cut out to follow the path of the sword. In fact, while many people use swords they are not swordsmen." He suddenly paused in his walk towards Chen Ping.

"Do you want to be a swordsman?" The weight Xing put behind the question was evident. The second prince with great effort looked once more at Xing's sword and gathered himself, he exhaled loud enough to be heard by everyone and then yelled "YES. I want to be the greatest swordsman".

The loud answer had barely finished its final echo when Xing's sword materialized in his hand his sheath nowhere to be found. Upon seeing his sword Wei grew extremely excited. It was the first time that he had ever seen a magical technique after all.

The sword was elegant and lethal. Its presence seemed to chill the room and when the light hit it at an angle it almost seemed alive. If Chen Ping was giving the odd glance before, now he was unashamedly staring at the sword, hungrily, as if he wanted to run up and snatch the sword from Xing's hand consequences be damned. Seeing his gaze Xing nodded slowly "your deep respect and admiration for swords are clear." With a swish of his sleeve, his sword disappeared from his hand to 'somewhere' and he walked back to stand behind Zixin once more.

Chen Ping stood there not knowing what to do until after a few seconds Zixin waved him over. Feeling inwardly confused but very grateful that his 'test' was over so quickly, Chen Ping jogged over to the two cultivators and stood respectfully behind both of them still in shock.

Wei meanwhile was experiencing the exact same thing. That's it! So Quick! I thought I would have more time to think of a way to approach them. What should I do?

Zixin gently cleared his throat – drawing the attention of everyone in the throne room and spoke. "Chen An, we have what we came for. We'll be leaving now." His soft voice had a great amount of authority and unconsciously everyone in the throne room nodded together. Without another word he slowly started walking away Xing and Chen Ping following close behind him.