The First Trial

When Li Feng walked through the doors, he felt a warm feeling wash through him. It was like hugging a pillow, or a cloud.

As he stepped inside, he felt a strong wave rush toward him. But this time, he didn't feel the hostility of the attack from before.

Instead, he felt like he had to embrace this feeling. The wave rushed past him, and as it did, Li Feng could feel his muscles tightening up slightly.

"Is this Qi? So this is why everyone wants to enter the Seven Sword Sect. This is truly wondrous." Li Feng told himself.

"Wow. You were able to stand completely tall in the first test. You must be very strong." A chirpy voice came from the side.

Li Feng looked to his left as he slowly followed the crowd that was walking along Shi Hou's steps.

The newcomer was just as young as he was, or perhaps even younger. He had glistening amber eyes that shone with the sun.

His yellow robes had a weird symbol on them that Li Feng seemed to recognize. It was oddly familiar, yet he couldn't put a name to it.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you, friend?" Li Feng smiled amicably.

"No. I don't think we met yet. But I think we certainly should. What's your name?" The young boy was hunched over, so he looked much shorter than Li Feng.

Li Feng hesitated for a moment before he relented.

"Li Feng. And you?"

"Li Feng. I see. Interesting. I have a good feeling about you. Let's see." The young man paused for a second.

He ruffled his hands through his brown hair as he looked at Li Feng again.

"I don't know. I was never this piqued about someone before. But this whole batch is interesting. I am in for an interesting year. I can't just scare you away now, can I?" He mumbled, half of his words audible, and another half inaudible to Li Feng.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Li Feng asked again.

"We'll meet again, for sure." The yellow robed boy beamed as he turned around, quickly vanishing into the crowd.

"He just ignored all of my questions." Li Feng blankly stood there, unable to understand what was going on.

He was already deep into the territory of the Seven Sword Sect. They had walked all the way past the gates through a long winding path.

To his left and right, he could see sceneries that were an extravagance in the world outside. Forests and mountains that no one would dare enter if they weren't cultivators.

"How many of these mountains does the sect have? It seems very unfair that a sect can have so much land." Li Feng thought to himself.

He could see that in the very front, slowly, the crowd was slowing down. Li Feng was in no hurry to jump to the very front, and try to take the trials.

It was always better to have someone else be the guinea pig.

"Now, we are finally here!" A loud voice shook everyone and grabbed their attention by the throat.

After what happened previously, no one wanted to offend this young master who was conducting the trials.

No one wanted to get disqualified for some stupid reason.

The commotion and chatter died down in an instant as everyone tried looking at the front.

In the giant crowd, Li Fang could see nothing, but he didn't panic.

"The first trials is the easiest of them all. I don't even know why we do it, but it's a requirement. This, is the trial of strength." Shi Hou said.

"A trial is strength? That is, indeed, very disappointing." Li Feng nodded.

He expected something different from a big sect like the Seven Sword Sect.

"Now then, form three lines and we will start the testing." Shi Hou said.

Immediately, the giant crowd started splitting itself into the three lines.

With some order in this chaos, Li Feng was able to see what was going on in the very front.

He could see three giant slabs of what appeared to be steel, and three young men with white and blue robes standing next to it.

They had a yellow sword mark on their robes, as opposed to the blue on the Gentle Sword's and Shi Hou's chests.

Slowly, he also slipped into one of the lines, looking forward.

At the very front, the categorical bald man stepped up. His muscles bulged as he beamed at the slab of steel.

Stretching his arms, he looked at Shi Hou.

"Should I start, young master?" He confidently asked.

"Why not. All three lines can start now." Shi Hou nodded.

The bald man chuckled as he stepped in front heavily, leaning forward as he burst toward the plate.

Clang!

As his fist came in contact with the plate, the sweet ding of metal rang through the clearing.

Everyone could tell that this was quite the punch that was thrown out.

They looked at the examiner, or rather, the slab itself.

On the slab, slowly, a number started to form.

"23. You pass." The examiner in front of the slab nonchalantly said, as if the punch was nothing but ordinary.

"23 huh? Is that normal? Or better than average? I wonder how much we need to pass." Li Feng wondered.

As if ready to answer all his questions, the two other lines started moving as well.

"11. You fail."

"13. Fail."

"15. Pass."

"14. Fail."

Numbers started going up, and way more fails started getting called out rather than passes.

"The number to beat is fifteen, huh?" Li Feng thought to himself.

"20. Fail."

All of a sudden, the crowd went silent again as they looked forward with surprise.

A lean, young man with lavish clothes had a vein bulging through his forehead.

"I Failed? What the hell are you talking about?" He raged.

"Even a fifteen passed already, didn't he? Then they the hell do I fail? How does that make sense?" The young man shouted.

"Whether we want to take you in as a disciple is up to us. Not up to you. Even if you get a hundred, if we don't want to take you in, then you will not pass. Next." The examiner lazily said as he called for the next person.

"Interesting. I wonder what the criteria to pass is." Li Feng chuckled as he saw the people in front of him dwindle.

He counted maybe twenty who passed, and while there were still many behind him, this was still pitiful.

"Next."

The voice called, and Li Feng looked up.

"Wow. That was quick. Me already?"

———————————————————————————————

If you are not reading this at webnovel.com, that means that this chapter has been pirated. Piracy is a crime. To support the author, read the novel at -

https://www.webnovel.com/book/ascension-a-mortal's-journey_26347494105825605